Grisha Jaeger - Tumblr Posts
Love as a key for freedom
Why love is important to make people free? The lesson from Eren Kruger.
As a character Grisha seek freedom at first. He joined restorationists and tried to achieve a common freedom for his people. However, he failed. Zeke, his “perfect tool”, betrayed him and their group was eradicated. Grisha was tortured and would be almost killed if Eren Kruger didn’t intervene and lended him his titan abilities.
At the moment of his lowest, Eren Kruger said “Love someone inside the walls. If you can’t, we’re doomed to repeat it again. The same history. The same mistakes. Again and again.”
Grisha didn’t understand his words, but still followed his advice and reached the walls. Inside, he met Carla, who was an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. She wasn’t special like Dina and he married her not because of their common goal, but because he genuinely loved her for who she was. He finally found peace that is so rare in this story. He found a love.
So why Eren Kruger told Grisha to find a love if he could simply tell him to finish the mission and help Eldia?
The answer is...you can’t free people if you don’t feel for them. To chase the freedom for your people, you need to feel empathy, an ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
What Grisha did before was simply acting upon his anger and feelings. It wasn’t because he felt for his fellow Eldians, but simply because he was obsessed with the idea of getting revenge on Marley and dooming it.
His actions had a solid base and were fueled by a strong motive like revenge, but the fact that he didn’t actually love his son and mistreated him caused him to fail. If Grisha treated Zeke with empathy and simply loved his own son, who knows, maybe he wouldn’t fail and would reach his goal.
Grisha learned about love and peace living a new life with Carla, so his objective quite changed. However he still continued his mission. But in this case it wasn’t because of his anger or will to get revenge on Marley, but because he wanted the best for his family. Grisha once ditched his mission, but he knew that someday, if no one decides to act, their future is screwed. He did it for the future of his family and others.
Eren Kruger taught Grisha that freedom can be achieved only when you feel empathy/love for people you are fighting for. Without love the fire of revenge will burn out really easily and everything that you fought for might be doomed in the very end.
How does love change our motivation on the way of freedom? Parallels between Grisha and Eren.
Unlike Grisha and Zeke, Eren was born inside of the walls and always had a urge to see the outside world. He openly hated the way the society was living. Eren wanted freedom for himself.
However, as his hometown was destroyed and mother was eaten, Eren developed hate towards titans and getting revenge was his ultimate goal. When he was a cadet, he didn’t even talk about how he wants to see the outer world, but simply eliminate titans that restrict his freedom.
Both Grisha and Eren wanted revenge after their close ones got killed (Faye and Carla). Their actions were supported by love for their deceased ones, but it wasn’t enough to actually chase freedom for their nation, because their goal was personal. Not collective.
However, when he learned the truth about the world, his goal changed. His goal wasn’t simply revenge or personal benefit. It became more seriously and global. His love for his friends and fear to lose them changed his approach. Eren knew that he can’t dream about going back to good old days and seeing what is outside. Like Grisha, Eren learned about empathy, because he met so many people who influenced his view and Eren went through so many situations that tested his beliefs.
If in Grisha’s case his biggest action was eating the Founder, in Eren’s situation it was “betraying” his friends for their own good, eating War Hammer and activating the rumbling. Both of them knew that the enemy won’t wait and someday they will attack them.
Both Eren and Grisha simply wanted to live with their families, but their ideals and goals were truly crucial for the existence of their nations. Love truly changed their approach. They became more altruistic and empathic, which is, again, truly important for achieving common freedom.
Can love and freedom coexist together within individuals? The internal debate of Eren and Grisha.
Eren and Grisha both seek freedom and love. They wanted both, but they had to let go one of them and it was their interpersonal love. Grisha loved Carla and Eren, but he had to leave them behind for the sake of freedom. Eren loved and wanted to be with Mikasa till he reached his end, but he also had to choose freedom for the sake of future.
These two concepts are closely intertwined and can’t be separated, but in AoT they can’t coexist within individuals. Chasing freedom over love means neglecting your own happiness and choosing love means giving up on humanity’s future. Grisha and Eren simply couldn’t win when it comes to their love and freedom.
They either selfishly love or selflessly free others.
How love can free others? The lesson from Mikasa.
So the final destination and how love will end the curse.
Even though Grisha’s life ended tragically and he died from the “hands” of his own son, he did fulfill what Eren wanted, he stole the Founder. But aside from that, because of Grisha Eren met the person who he loves the most, Mikasa. If Grisha didn’t know Mikasa’s parents and didn’t take Eren with him on that day, Eren would never meet Mikasa and who knows how the story would turned out to be.
As we know, Eren did choose freedom instead of love. But Eren’s choices are not the only ones that matter. Decisions that are made by other characters are extremely important as well. Who is the person Eren loves the most in this world? Right, Mikasa. Aside from Eren’s decisions, Mikasa’s choices are extremely important.
In ch.123 it was the first time when Mikasa questioned the importance of her actions. What would happen if she made another choice? What would Eren do if she answered differently? Ch.138 gave us the answer, Eren would give up and beg her to forget him. Eren’s wish wasn’t simply “Mikasa, forget me”, but he also asked her to stop loving him, which would mean that she would go against herself. Mikasa didn’t accept it and chose to still love him.
Here comes one interesting point. Love in AoT is both selfish and selfless. Without love Grisha and Eren wouldn’t understand freedom and they wouldn’t want freedom to give the best for people they love, but only choosing it would put an end for their goal and at the end neither they and their loved ones would be free.
In Mikasa’s case, on the other hand, her selfish choice to remember and love Eren is selfless, because without it, people wouldn’t be freed and Ymir wouldn’t want to end the curse.
Yeah :(( I feel so bad for Zeke, like, the way he was crying when Eren called him "older brother"? when Reiner and Berthold told him about Eren back in Paradis, he couldn't believe that his father was still alive and had another son, and Zeke swore that he'd save his little brother. Man he just wanted to be loved
Goddammit I'm crying again
I honestly feel really bad for Zeke, like the lad was used by his parents as a way to further their agenda, they never loved him, he always felt like he wasn't good enough, he had to eat the one person who loved him like a son. And after all, his euthanasia plan might have been inhumane and awful, but between that and mass genocide idk what is worse? And sure, Eren went through a lot but he was loved and his parents genuinely showed him love, something Zeke never got.
I totally forgot about this one
No matter what we say, everyone's just a victim
aot character's nationalities
okay, so from what I've found (taking things like name origins and canonical story building), im going to try and make a complete list of aot characters and their nationalities.
Eren Jaeger/Jäger: as a surprise to no one, Eren is three fourths German, one fourth Turkish.
Carla Jaeger/Jäger: Half Turkish, half German. ("Carla" comes from Germanic roots.)
Grisha Jäger/Jaeger: German. Duh.
Zeke Jaeger/Jäger: Three fourths German, one fourth English.
Mikasa Ackerman: Half Japanese, half Ashkenazi Jewish. (Duh X2. Ackerman is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname, usually hailing from Germany or Scandinavia. While I don't know which one of the two the Ackermans we see would fall under, as none of them slap me in the face as German except for perhaps Kuchel [and even she strikes me as more Italian or Dutch than anything], Ashkenazi is widely regarded as an ethnic group of their own.)
Levi Ackerman: Half Russian, half Ashkenazi Jewish. (As a half Russian Ashkenazi Jew, pretty spot on.) Levi and Russian men have similar facial structures, in which their heads are sort of heart shaped, or rounded and then pointed at the end.
Kenny Ackerman: Ashkenazi Jewish.
Kuchel Ackerman: Ashkenazi Jewish.
Armin Arlert: Okay, so (slightly?) hot take (lukewarm at best), but Armin's half German, half Finnish. He has a similar rounded face structure to most Finnish people, not to mention the hair and the eyes. (Seriously, the hair texture looks so similar.) Plus Arlert is an OLD Germanic surname, which often coincided with people of Scandinavian descent. Half German because Armin is a German name. Plus, if you look at pictures of his parents, his father resembles men of Finnish descent and his mother of women of German descent. So, tl;dr: Armin's half German, half Finnish.
Sasha Braus: I can take this one out quick as a bitch; Austrian with some Czech sprinkled in. ('Braus' is an Austrian surname. So, woo-hoo for my home country, LOL! And before people say something about how her name is a play on a German language saying...what language do you think us Austrians speak?) While not definitively Czech to the point where she can say specific family members have that descent, it's made its way into her gene pool with the hair color and texture, cheekbones/shape, and nose. (I would not say she's Russian even though 'Sasha' is definitely Russian, mostly because the other indicators point to Austrian and Czech being more likely.)
Conny Springer: Alright, hear me out AGAIN. Conny's half Slavic, and more specifically, he's half Serbian. Springer (or Špringer) is an Irish/Slavic surname often found in Serbia. Your average Serbian man and Conny share deep-set eyes, nice brows, a face that curves in that particular Conny shape, and a similar hair texture. Conny, and also John Constantine (which is what I believe is his canonical full name, someone correct me if I'm wrong), but specifically Constantine, has origins in both Old English and in Slavic language. Which brings me to his other half: German. Because when in doubt, in AOT, they're part German.
Erwin Smith: ENGLISH. next.
Hangë Zoe: Half Greek, half German. They're half Greek because the name Zoe is of greek origin. Hangë also shares qualities similar to Greek features; a Greek nose, tan skin, and dark hair. Plus with Greece still overcoming an emigration crisis as of 2019/2020, in the future, its quite plausible that many Greeks (including Hangë's possible ancestors) wound up in Germany. Hangë is a loose translation of the name "Hans", which is a VERY stereotypical German name. I mean, you literally cannot get more German than Hans unless you pull out Gretel. That being said, I do also believe that Hangë has some Indian heritage, and this is because the surname "Hange" without the umlaut gives us that of an Indian descent. Seeing has "Hangë" is, as stated before, a loose form of "Hans", the addition of an umlaut could also be just another loose form of "Hange". Although that last part might be a reach, it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that one or two of their ancestors were Indian.
Ymir: So, with Ymir, it is a COMPLETE toss up because her name was given to her by the cult as a namesake and not as a geographically given name. What we know about her is that she is; most likely fully caucasian; she has dark hair and freckles; she's taller than most of her other women comrades at 5'8"; her eyes are darker in shade and droopy. So, using that information to our advantage, I would say that she is some mixture of Dutch, and most of all, Romanian and Hungarian. While she has the sort of long face that the Dutch do, she has the complexion and facial structure of Hungarian people. Even her skin tone, which looks to be slightly more tan than everyone else's, matches that of the Hungarians and Romanians.
Historia Reiss: Half German, half Swedish. Reiss is a German surname, and Historia just fits the whole BILL (minus the height) for the average Swedish woman. I also think Historia has some Jewish in her, because Reiss is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname. (Plus, and this might be personal bias, but I'm a blonde & blue eyed Ashkenazi Jew, LOL.)
Jean Kirstein: Hear me out! Jean is not German at all; but instead, he's half Danish, half Icelandic. The first records of the name "Kirstein" were in Denmark and Prussia (a state of Germany), but was more common in Denmark and then Prussia as time went on. A quick google search of "Danish men" will show you men with Jean's striking eyes and brows that are thick at the beginning and thin out towards the end. The Icelandic is even more clear, with the two sharing very similar facial structures, with high, prominent cheekbones and a strong nose; that good ol' fashioned "Horse-Face" clear as day.
Marco Bodt: Whew. Okay, so obviously when I first heard the name 'Marco', everyone thinks; oh, he's Italian! But 'Bodt' is actually a Dutch surname, and I believe that Marco is purely Dutch. The typical Dutch man and Marco share similar face shapes (Angular and somewhat blocky), noses that have a strong base but upturn a little at the end, and slightly bigger ears that stand out a little bit.
Moblit Berner: Okay, this one's also very easy. Moblit is German and English. "Berner" is an Old Germanic name, and from what little I could scrounge up on "Moblit", it's an Irish/English name given to those with red hair. So while not a ginger, he's a English/German, probably more German than English.
Onyankopon: This one's rather easy for me as well. A very quick google search will tell you that Onyankopon is typically a Ghanian name. Given that it's a religious name, too, and Onyankopon seems to be a religious man, I think it checks out. Also, he's easily one of the coolest new characters we've seen. Give him more edits!!
Reiner Braun: Do I even have to do this one? Really? Reiner is as German as they come.
Bertholdt Hoover: Now at first, I was inclined to say that he's just German as well. But he's also Swiss! He shares LOTS of Swiss facial structures and hairlines, and "Hoover" is an anglicized version of the Swiss-German "Hubar". While I cannot account for that boy's freakishly insane height, I guess he just got the luck of the gene pool draw. So more Swiss than German, but German all the same. I'd give it a good 2/3s Swiss, 1/3rd German.
Annie Leonhardt: Okay, so fairly easy, like her other buddies; half Russian, half German! Annie is a Russian name, and she shares many characteristics of Russian women. "Leonhardt" is a German surname.
Falco & Colt Grice: Half French, half Swedish. "Grice" as a surname occurs in both old French and Scandinavian languages, and Falco (plus Colt) both look similar to Swedish men. Although we can't say for sure what Falco will look like fully grown, as we've only seen him in a few manga panels, we can look to Colt to see what he will look like. And hot damn, the resemblance is there! He's got that nose that widens a bit towards the end and eyebrows that rest sort of heavy on his eyelids. For the French aspect, we get the long, smooth facial structure and sort of pillowy-thin lips. So, safe to say that Falco and Colt are French-Swedish.
Pieck Finger: Okay, so Pieck is 3/4ths Ashkenazi Jewish and 1/4th German. "Finger" is originally derived from the Ashkenazi surname "Fingar", and can be traced back to old North Germanic origins. "Pieck" is often primarily found in North Germany, so she might actually also have some ancestors from Denmark, as they share similar jawlines and drooped eyes.
Yelena: Yelena might be the easiest one on this list besides Erwin. RUSSIAN!
If there's any I left out, lmk, I would love to do them! Thanks for reading, and remember that this is just my person head canons. You can all believe whatever you want. <3 Have a nice day!
On what zeke said about eren acting like grisha by making the same mistakes and failure on what he did in his life and family (dina + carla) shows that eren thinks differently I mean yeah sure eren maybe is acting like grisha but in the right way instead of the wrong way by making the right choices to show that eren is willing to give his own family/his child on what grisha couldn't give his because he failed but eren holding his child while Saying your free shows that he's more better and more.
Hello Anon.About Zeke. I think he is still conflicted with his past and his parents. And is understandable since he lived with parents who used him as a tool, never paid the attention love he deserved as a kid. He was seen as a royal blood kid, not as Zeke. Grisha did everything for his goals of eldia restoration. He put his family in dangerous and didn’t think about Zeke being just a child. So it’s natural that Zeke thinks Grisha wouldn change from being a careless father to a carying one. That’s why he thinks Eren is the same as Grisha. Now he saw Grisha was a totally different father, but still thinks Eren is acting the way Grisha wants. But he is wrong, he is blinding himself because of his childhood. Even when he didn’t meet Eren, he was wrong with his idea that Eren had the same life as him. Zeke does not know Eren. He is just coming to conclusions based on Grisha. But Grisha and Eren since the beginning has differents goals, at least for me.Grisha was more like a nationalist and imperialist. He wanted the Eldian empire to come back. He was full of hatred because of his little sister’s horrible unfair death.Eren since he was a kid he felt like he was in a cage and someone stole his freedom. He wants his people to be free. Everyone should be free, because everyone was born into their world. Zeke thinks that Eren’s goals are the same as Grisha, but see how much Zeke was wrong with Eren since the very beginning, thinking he was suffering the same as him. Eren is not that close to his brother, so Zeke does not really know him. I don’t think Eren is acting exactly like Grisha.If the baby is Eren’s and the final panel is Eren and Historia’s baby, i can imagine that he is carrying the baby the same way Grisha carried him, he saw how Grisha damaged Zeke and how carrying was with him, the right way to treat a son/daughter, with love. So maybe these memories of Grisha were good representations of being a good father so Eren learnt about all of this.Still i’m not sure if Eren is the father, i used to believe that the theory was impossible and i was being delusional because i am an EreHisu shipper. But i always try to be objetive and, for Historia’s character and EreHisu’s bond and development i think it makes so much sense the theory, but still a theory.As always, sorry for my english, is not my first language but i hope u got my point.
