I’ve been wounded…the attack is on me

Taken from here

In the very first post on this blog, I mentioned that high school was a “colossal titan” that came and destroyed my “walls.” As the school year is coming to an end, I’ve finally come to adapt to high school life. It’s pretty annoying how things always end as soon as you’ve gotten used to them. It’s like how you get used to your age right when your birthday is about to come. Then, you have to learn to get comfortable with saying that number when asked your age. When you’ve gotten the hang of saying the new number when somebody asks “How old are you?,” it’s already nearing the time to add another year to that number.

Anyway, back to school and getting used to the…interesting..environment. (The word “interesting” was used because there are so many different sights to see-couples that make out as if it were their last day on Earth together, weird-cool people, cool-weird people, etc.) High school. In movies, you always see dramatized versions about it, which provides a very misleading and somewhat intimidating image of it when you transition from middle school into 9th grade. Obviously, high school wouldn’t be that fun and full of drama because movies/tv shows always add extra crap to make it more enjoyable to watch. The only reason why most movies or shows about high school are interesting is because of the petty conflict among self absorbed teenagers, right? I wasn’t intimidated by high school because of the possibilities of drama and whatnot, but because it’s a significant transition from being a kid with barely any responsibilities to an adult. You enter as a kid and emerge as a young adult. There’s always that overwhelming pressure to do well in order to get into a good college and eventually get a high paying job. Everything counts, and if you mess up one single thing, then you’re going to flip hamburger patties at McDonald’s or work at Walmart and witness some of the most incredible sights. Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it sure does feel that way sometimes. How well I do in high school determines my future. If I don’t get good grades, then I’m a failure, and I’ll be homeless. Why is math such a difficult language to understand? (I view math as a language because numbers are symbols, and symbols are letters, and you can arrange numbers in various ways to calculate stuff and whatnot. Like numbers, letters are also arranged in various ways to mean something.) Why did I hate taking naps when I was younger? I never get enough sleep nowadays. Those are some of the thoughts that I had on a daily basis, and I still have them from time to time. I’m pretty sure every student has these thoughts as well. I always overthink though, which only wastes your time and makes you feel even worse. Instead, I’ve learned to take things easy and that I’ll be able to manage.

The struggle
Taken from here
Source

When you have to wake up for school
Taken from here

After all, I thought I’d go through high school hating it with a passion, but I’ve learned to somewhat like it? Actually, it just grew on me, and I learned to tolerate school. Like the saying goes “If you can’t beat them, join them.” I’ve decided to take the titans’ side because they succeeded in breaking my walls. It’s not like I can avoid my future or skip school without getting caught, so I might as well “attack” school with a somewhat open mind.

Killing from the inside

Taken from here
News Article

This news article was posted on April 23, 2015 at 10:42 p.m. A La Pine man was driving on Highway 31 when he crashed through a fence and into a tree Thursday morning. The man said that he’d been eating a corndog when he choked on it and passed out behind the wheel, Oregon State Police reported. The man, Ronald Eugene Ganienany, was flown by Airlink helicopter to St. Charles Bend, where a nursing supervisor said he was in fair condition Thursday evening. Ganienany said he had been eating the corndog, choked on his corndog, and passed out, not waking until his pickup truck hit the tree.

This is rather random news. What does a car crash caused by choking on a corndog have to do with AOT? Pretty much nothing, but it did give me ideas as to how titans are killed in AOT. In the anime, we learn that titans only have two weak spots that allow the soldiers to kill them. The spots are behind the neck and I think up the butthole? It’s been a while since I’ve watched the anime, so please excuse any errors. Ganienany-the man in the car crash-could have died due to choking, so that made me think about the possibility of soldiers killing the titans from the inside. Of course, there’s no need for that since the soldiers already do pretty well by slicing deeply into the titans’ necks, but as a last resort, it would be smart to go inside of the titan and puncture its neck as you’re being swallowed. Sort of like not dying without putting up a good fight? Ok, I admit this idea was rather lame and cliché, but hey, it’s just a thought. It would probably be impossible for the soldiers to continue fighting the titans anyway because most titans bite the soldiers in half before swallowing. Also, the process of swallowing only takes about a second, leaving no time for soldiers to react quickly enough to stab the titan’s throat. Maybe in the future of the anime, the military will try to shoot unsuspecting titans that have their mouths wide open. It could be a quick and easy kill that would put less of a risk on soldiers’ lives.

That’s it for this week, and for anyone that reads this, don’t eat when you drive. If you don’t drive yet-which is likely-don’t eat when you begin driving or when you get better at driving. Basically, don’t multitask when you drive because it’ll lower your level of concentration, which could lead to more accidents.

Plot Twist!

*Spoiler* Recap of a significant scene in the anime.
In my opinion, one of the most satisfying and awesome moments in the anime is when Mikasa has lost all hope and is wandering an alleyway alone because she thinks that Eren’s dead. Now, I know that sounds terrible, but what happens next is the exciting part. A titan wanders into the alleyway and right when you think that Mikasa’s a goner, another titan comes out of nowhere and starts to attack the titan that would have killed Mikasa. This is an unusual phenomenon to everyone because never before have they observed titans fighting against each other. What’s even more fascinating is that the titan that saved Mikasa’s life knows proper fighting techniques and is beating the other titan to a pulp. Later on, it’s discovered that Eren didn’t die when he was swallowed whole by a titan. It’s very unclear about how it happened, but Eren somehow has the power to turn into a titan when he bites his thumb to draw blood. However, the transformation is only successful when Eren has motivation to do something. For example, he wouldn’t be able to transform if he was doing it just for fun. It’s only when he is determined to do something that the power works. With the newly discovered power, humanity has more of a chance of defending itself against the titans. It also hints at the possibility of other titan shifters-people with the power to transform into titans-living inside the walls of humanity. This sudden discovery in the series is what makes the plot even better and suspenseful. I highly recommend Attack on Titan. Anyone passing by should definitely watch the show…sorry for spoiling…

Romeo & Juliet’s love vs. Eren & Mikasa’s odd love

Source unknown

One word that I’d use to describe Romeo and Juliet’s “love” is “tragic.” In all honesty, I didn’t really feel any pity for their situation because their “love” felt more like lust, which is why the word is in quotes. Although I didn’t feel very empathetic towards Romeo and Juliet’s tale, it was tragic that two young lives were lost due to cheap “love.” At such a young age, rash decisions are bound to happen, but suicide? Ok, so maybe the plan that Juliet partook in was semi reasonable from her perspective because she was extremely desperate to find a way to not marry Paris. Romeo didn’t know of the plan, which is why it ultimately led to his death. However, it’s way too hasty to just kill yourself over a girl that you fell in “love” with because of her looks. He forgot about his other love in about a second when he saw Juliet at the party…says a lot about Romeo’s “love.” I wouldn’t be surprised if Shakespeare had thought about ending the tale with a scene where Romeo falls in “love” with another beautiful girl as he’s breaking into Juliet’s tomb. That kind of ending would have made Shakespeare’s message of lust and “love” between youths even more obvious.

In AOT, the love between Eren and Mikasa isn’t exactly romantic love but sort of like sibling love. Eren and Mikasa aren’t related by blood, but she was taken in as a child by Eren’s dad because her parents had been murdered. The murderers had killed both her parents in order to kidnap Mikasa and sell her into human trafficking because Mikasa is half asian, and asians are rare during this time because nearly all of them have been wiped out. This happened when Mikasa and Eren were still children, which is why the scene that followed the kidnapping was a life changing experience for Mikasa and is also the reason why Mikasa tries so hard to protect Eren. Eren somehow found where the kidnappers had taken Mikasa, and long story short, both Eren and Mikasa became killers that day in order to save themselves. Let me mention the fact that they were both KIDS during this time. After that incident occurs, Mikasa feels indebted to Eren because he showed courage and inspired her by screaming she had to fight to survive while they were getting beat up by the kidnappers/murderers.

Ever since that day, Mikasa’s always trying to protect Eren and joined the military just so she could watch over him. Eren’s a hothead and this pisses him off because he thinks he can protect himself, making Mikasa’s love for him seem one-sided. However, Eren’s anger can also be seen as a form of love because he doesn’t want to lose anyone else to the titans. As the show progresses, the audience can slightly get the feeling that the reason for Eren’s rage is because he’s constantly blaming himself for the deaths caused by titans, and he even blames himself for not being able to save his mom. In one episode, all the characters think that Eren’s dead, which tears Mikasa apart on the inside, but instead of killing herself, she pulls herself together and continues to fight the titans. Now, you might be thinking that the love between Eren and Mikasa isn’t comparable to the “love” between Romeo and Juliet because we’re comparing sibling love to romantic love. That’s true and is a good point, but remember the fact that Mikasa joined the military just to be with Eren and protect him. Hmm, that seems to suggest something other than sibling love doesn’t it? Just a thought though, just a thought.

Anyway, the main point is that Romeo and Juliet’s lack of experience in life was the reason for their pointless deaths. But it wasn’t pointless! They did it for love! No. They let their emotions influence their reckless decisions, and their deaths were built upon a foundation of “love” driven merely by lust. Decisions made in the heat of the moment are caused by less experience in life most of the time. If Romeo had given it time, he would have been able to get over Juliet’s “death.” I, myself, find that way too harsh a statement as well, but they gave up something they could never take back again-life. Their “love” was a weak reason to suicide because I see it as lust and nothing more like I’ve mentioned before. Mikasa and Eren, that’s a different story. They grew up together and overcame a traumatizing experience as kids, which could be the reason why they’re also more capable of actually making rational decisions during dire situations.

Overall, I believe that love isn’t something you find on the first try, unless your life is a Disney tale. It requires experience and maturity.

Taken from here
Eren killing the kidnappers

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of my favorite movies. It’s based off of Roald Dahl’s children novel of the same name. The movie is hilarious and clever, which is why it’s a favorite of mine. Mr. Fox, the main character, is witty and quite a fantastic fox. The main plot of the movie is Mr. Fox, his family, and the other rodents that live around them defending themselves against humans. The conflict is started by Mr. Fox when he decides to steal from three mean farmers- Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. The farmers are stolen from so much that they devise a plan to kill Mr. Fox and his family. This puts the other rodents in danger, making them come after Mr. Fox. The animals then resolve their grudges against each other and decide to work together in order to fight back against the farmers.

Attack on Titan and Fantastic Mr. Fox have totally different situations, but they could be slightly similar in the way that the two protagonist parties are fighting against a greater force. Tiny humans vs. gigantic, man-eating titans, and small animals vs. humans. There’s a slight parallel between the two. The main difference is the intensity of the dangers and the party being threatened. One subject is all mankind, and the other is mere animals. How can you compare the two? One is so much more important, right? These are just some questions to consider how we view things. We’re just a tiny, minute speck of dust in the universe, and yet, we’re able to become so immersed in our temporary problems. It sort of shows how you can’t really understand something until you’ve experienced it yourself. The problems that might come off as a waste of time can be something really important to someone else. Unless they’re first-world problems of course. I’ve managed to go from a movie topic to something totally different, but hopefully it opens your mind to be more understanding of others? This may just be the beginning symptoms of another existential crisis attack kicking in…

Anyway, in Fantastic Mr. Fox, we’re able to experience all the animals compromising with their differences and working together for the same cause. The beauty of differences is shown when the animals decide to launch the last great attack against the farmers in an effort to take back a hostage. Each rodent reveals his or her own unique talents, and viewers get to see different, unique talents all mixed together to create a strong blend of…stuff. Like the animals’ teamwork, in Attack on Titan, all the soldiers that join the Survey Corps have strong determination to attempt to make a difference. They may not be much on their own, but together, they make up a strong force that has great determination. That concludes this week’s topic with a corny lesson. To make good smoothies, it’s necessary to have a wide variety of ingredients to get the perfect texture and taste. Just kidding. Differences and individual talents can make up something greater than uniformity.

Taken from: http://fantasticmrfox.wikia.com/wiki/File:FoxBadgerCussing.gif

Interviewing Eren Jaeger

Eren Jaeger is a fictional character, and his answers to the questions are what I think he’d say. It makes more sense if you’re part of the fandom. New people are always welcome 😀

Interviewer: What do you remember most when the Colossal Titan broke the wall?

Eren: My mind just went blank. Mikasa, Armin, and I never would have thought that the walls would be broken down. We always thought the walls were indestructible. It just seemed like a crazy thought that would never come true. Everything happened so quickly when the Colossal Titan broke the wall. Debris everywhere, titans of all shapes and sizes wreaking havoc onto us. People were crushed by boulders. Everyone was screaming and children crying. It was so unexpected that I couldn’t think clearly and focus on what was important. Maybe…maybe things would’ve been different if I had acted quicker. Maybe I would’ve been able to save her…mom…:(

Interviewer: Why did you choose to join the Survey Corps, regardless of how many soldiers die each expedition?

Eren: I’m not intimidated by the number of soldiers that have put down their lives for an honorable cause. It doesn’t matter that there’s a greater risk involved in being a part of the Survey Corps. I joined because I intend to make a difference. I won’t let humanity be on the losing side of this fight. I will kill them all. I WILL KILL ALL THE TITAAAAANSSSS!!!!!

Interviewer: I already know the answer to this question, but I’ll ask anyway because your answer’s an important part of the fandom, and it pretty much sums up who you are if I were to explain what you’re like to someone. lol jk. What’s your goal in life?

Eren: TO KILL ALL THE TITAAANS!!! TITAAAAANSSSSS!! TITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNSSSSS!!!!

Interviewer: Thank you for your time.

Eren: Titans…

Taken from: http://leviiackerman.tumblr.com/post/75494556149/imagine-eren-jaeger-playing-flappy-bird

No inspiration :P

I have writer’s block. 😦

The AOT fandom

Considering how depressing and bloody the plot of Attack on Titan (AOT) is, you would expect the fandom to be equally gruesome and depressing. However, that’s definitely not the case. The AOT fandom is the exact opposite. The contributions made to the fandom usually include fan art of significant events or random things in the show put in a comical light, or it’s touching, emotional art.

Credit: unknown people who posted on tumblr
The AOT fandom in a nutshell

creator unknown
Taken from: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/shingeki-no-kyojin-attack-on-titan/images/35379952/title/eren-photo

Source: growlithes.tumblr.com
Taken from: http://giphy.com/gifs/shingeki-no-kyojin-attack-on-titan-rm5j50dTCo63K

What the show is like

Taken from: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/shingeki-no-kyojin-attack-on-titan/images/35546737/title/titanic-photo
creator unknown

What the fandom is like

As you can see from the pictures above, there is a stark contrast between the show and the fandom. I like to think of it as fans making up for the fact that the Attack on Titan universe is dark and saddening. Throughout the show, we find ourselves making connections to the characters and feeling for them because of the raw emotions that the characters express. Us, viewers, get to witness the growth of Eren and his friends becoming young adults, which is why the show is so impacting. When someone dies in the show, we also can’t help but feel pain because it feels as though we grew with him/her. Despite the immense variety of sad/angry emotions the show can cause, the fandom gathers together to poke fun at the characters and the specific scenes from the show. A pretty cliché and cheesy outlook on this all would be that although things can get tough, as a group, we can still manage as long as we have each other. Instead of being a depressing group of individuals that mourns the loss of the characters, we make fun of nearly everything in the show. To be honest, the corny thing I said up there is only a tiny bit true. We make fun of almost everything in the show because it’s hilarious and not what the characters would do at all.

Credit: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm21123984
http://www.nicovideo.jp/user/14851561

Credit: unknown artist
A play on Armin’s-one of Eren’s childhood friends-name

Attack on “existential crisis”

Danisnotonfire

One of my favorite youtubers is Danisnotonfire. His humor and youtube vids are centered around the everyday struggles of being a “decent” human being and strange incidents that we may encounter from time to time. Dan is most relatable in the way that he experiences “existential crisis.” Existential crisis is the deep concern of unanswered questions about the meaning of life and existence. Existential crisis can occur at any time, which results in the disruption of daily activities and moments of apathy and depression. In those dark moments of apathy and depression, sometimes all you can manage to do is stay in one spot and breathe as you spiral into a pit of despair. It can lead to the questioning of why we do what we do when we are all aware of the fact that we’ll ultimately die. This leads me to questioning why Eren does what he does even though he will eventually die someday.

Dan experiencing an existential crisis moment

In the Attack on Titan universe, the military consists of three different divisions: the Garrison, Military Police Brigade, and Survey Corps. Eren is part of the Survey Corps, which is involved in titan combat, titan study, and human expansion. Although the Survey Corps has had little success and is the cause of most soldiers’ deaths, it still symbolizes “the hope of mankind” because it’s the only way that the human race might still have a chance of survival. The Survey Corps studies and comes into contact with titans in order to learn more about their structure and possibly where they came from. The Survey Corps also finds different areas that could possibly become a future area for human expansion. If it’s able to accomplish just a little, it’s proof that the humans aren’t fighting a losing battle. It’s proof that humans still have a chance-even if it’s a miniscule chance-to win against the titans. Even though Eren faces such a deadly threat to his life, he still constantly continues to give his all as a soldier. He doesn’t question the meaning of attempting to defeat all titans. Eren doesn’t care if he dies fighting, as long as he made a beneficial difference towards the survival of mankind.

This connects to existential crisis in the way that when we have discovered our ultimate purpose or passion in life, we continue to live without stressing about what is to come in the future. However, is this really true? Even if you have discovered what you may like to do in life, that doesn’t always take away the curiosity of why we’re here. Existential crisis really devours all of you and can make you question everything you believe in. Even if you have found what you believe to be your purpose in life, is it really your purpose in life? Is there value in your purpose and what you do? What will become of what you strongly stood for in life when you die? These are just some questions that are the result of overthinking everything and being indecisive. Please don’t take this too seriously.

Lucky for Eren, he hasn’t experienced an existential crisis in the show at all. He has found what his passion is in life, which is to kill titans. His determination, motivation, and sureness of what he’s doing allows him to be free of the impeding pressure caused by existential crisis. Hopefully, anyone reading this post has been able to learn a somewhat positive theme about just doing what you want to do without worrying about the obstacles we all go through in life. If this steered you in the right direction towards becoming a motivated, strong-minded individual because you don’t want to be burdened with existential crisis, then that’s great. If not…welcome to the existential crisis club.

Livin’ on a Prayer

Credit: http://viria.tumblr.com/tagged/my_art

The song that I feel connects to Attack on Titan for most of the series is “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. I chose this song because throughout the series, Eren and his childhood friends-Mikasa and Armin-are vulnerable nearly all the time. Since they joined the military to defend humanity against the titans, they are faced with the danger of dying at all times. What they can do as soldiers is very little because they’re at such a disadvantage. Titans are humongous creatures that can snap any part of a human just by picking him or her up. Therefore, the way that Eren lives is like “living on a prayer.” All they can do is hope that they have the strength to defend humanity as best as they can.

Sometimes in life, we’re knocked down to the point where all we can do is live on a prayer. We can feel so weak that the only thing we can do to make an effort to even live is to just hope for the best.