#llyesterdat

I think Kamina would have held the team and Simon back from their potential.  His death really rocketed Simon harshly into a period of self development and independence and it was REALLY NEEDED seeing as how quickly they were thrown into the war.  They were also able to carry with them a vague sense of what Kamina wanted and represented, an idealized form of Kamina - a far cry from the immature kid he ACTUALLY was beneath his insanely high charisma rolls.

Nia had to die because of the themes of GL in my opinion, but if she had lived I think you would have gotten a very typical happily ever after with her and Simon.  She probably would have accompanied Simon around the world planting flowers and making sure humanity was adjusting to and thriving in surface life.

You may have already read them since you’re sending me this message, but I did a handful of... not so much analyses but fan rants on several of the characters and plot points about 5 years ago. They might be pretty buried though.

It really is a shame though, Nanoha has such a deep and rich story with lots of wonderful messages, nuanced characters, and themes that so many people can relate to strongly. If only it could have been marketed with more dignity when it was initially licensed.

Unfortunately there’s not much to be done about that now. All we can really do is share the series with anyone we can ourselves and try to spread that love.

For my case, my love of the series hasn’t changed, it’s still one of my absolute all-time favourites and... kind of influences how I feel about all kinds of other things. The problem is that... the energy of a small number of individuals to invest into that kind of in depth analysis and content creation... takes a lot out of you. Like I said, it’s been over 5 years since I myself was in the height of my meta days, and even though I still love it, there’s other things I love that I haven’t already had the time to ponder over and explore yet.

This last thing here is... something of a personal bugbear of mine. But I’ve also found that some of the english speaking fandom for Nanoha that does exist is.... not welcoming to newcomers!! Or even really, to veterans. There’s been at least two established communities of supposed Nanoha lovers that have been incredibly hostile to my presence, and there was a clear lack of interest in making those communities any better.

Still though, there are actually crossovers and theories and other fanworks around if you go looking for them; they’re scattered far and wide, but they exist. I’ve read a number of them, and there’s a few decent ones. I don’t have anywhere to send you, but if there’s any discussion you feel like leading on one topic or another, send it to me or @ me and I’ll do my best to add my piece! :D

Levi could have so much more to offer to the story, he has connections with a lot of characters, one way or another, and it would be pretty disappointing to see his life end here. But I thought the same about Annie and Ymir and look how it all went, lol.

As for the grudge, I don't think it's unreasonable for him to be deeply angry with Zeke, just like Connie has every reason to, it's just that...it is irrational to think the problem merely lies in Zeke, that revenge will actually mean anything all things considered. I think he realized this as well, because he was indeed willing to cooperate with Zeke, if he was given a good enough reason, so I'll give him that. Just as everyone has realized with dread that the enemy wasn't the titans or a single individual (for example, the shifters), but the whole world, he probably has realized the same... 

So, my opinion is that that promise, that he elaborated all by himself, is "outdated", as defeating Zeke was initially meaningful in RtS arc because they thought he was their main and last enemy and after killing him, they would gain the truth and so their freedom back, making the deaths of everyone worth something. But that's not the case anymore. It has just been weighing him down towards a negative path ー that of senseless brutality and death. It could lead him towards a positive goal if he wanted to: saving lives, obtaining freedom (that's what I thought he was fighting for, at the very least?). He decided to follow Erwin because he thought Erwin was facing towards the future, a better one, that Levi couldn't see. Maybe learning of Erwin's truth (that he was fuelled by and stuck in the past, not really facing towards the future) impacted Levi's vision as well. What has he fought and killed for, all this time? Hence why the lack of direction Isayama mentioned. 

If "killing Zeke > learning the truth > being free > the sacrifices have been worth it" was a line of reasoning that made sense and was positive, now it just doesn't. Becoming free is what makes the suffering worth going through, imo.

Basically, him getting stuck on killing Zeke won't make the deaths of his fallen comrades worth it, because Paradis will still be chained, at the mercy of a world that wants them gone, whether Zeke is alive or not (and assuming Eren's plan needs Zeke alive in order for freedom to be obtained, if Zeke is dead, it's just gonna be worse for Paradis). But lots of interactions Levi had with or in correlation to Erwin led him to act violent or towards despairing situations (Levi's squad's death, serumbowl, rage towards Zeke, his outburst at Historia, anger at Erwin pre-RtS, to name a few), so I'm not that surprised, while mentoring the 104th has been a positive experience for him, I think. That's why I think he should actually take this promise and forget about it, reformulate it, or redirect it towards something more useful for the people who are still alive, himself included.

That doesn’t make any sense.... Isayama always showed us that war is something super horrible and that oppression is not a good thing. The protagonists have always fought for their freedom. They live in a world full of injustices and they are fighting against that. And yeah, he uses all these War stuff, but that doesn’t mean he supports those atrocities.