#are there still eruri shippers out there?

[setthenight0nfire]

bolo tie

[cosmicjoke]

Levi and the importance of staying true to ones heart:

I'm gonna' talk about another aspect of Levi's choice in Shinganshina, but first, I want to dedicate this post to all the little bitch eruri shippers out there who are too scared to come off anon, who now can't send me hate messages over it since I turned anon asks off and ya'll are a bunch of cowards. Hope you enjoy this one, because it's for you.

I was thinking about an ask I got a few days ago, about why Erwin chose Hange over Levi to take over as commander, and why in turn Hange chose Armin, and I answered that I thought it had a lot to do with Levi's own philosophy of "no regrets", that is, Levi's insistence on always following ones heart, doing what one feels is the right thing in any, given situation. Not necessarily right in terms of what the outcome will be, but right in terms of how your choice will sit with your conscience.

I think obviously, this aspect of Levi's character, his belief in always doing what your heart tells you to do, is evidenced by his choice in Shinganshina, to give Armin the serum and to let Erwin die.

Putting aside all arguments regarding whether it was the right thing to do "for humanity", I think what maybe people don't focus on enough when it comes to this moment is whether it was the right thing to do morally.

I've talked before about how Levi's choice was really an act of compassion over ideology, here: https://www.tumblr.com/cosmicjoke/737207612761915392/the-importance-of-compassion-over-ideology-levis?source=share And I think it's worth revisiting this aspect of his choice again.

I think people get so caught up in the concept of "the greater good" when discussing "Attack on Titan", and this moment in particular, that they miss one of the main overarching themes of the story, which is that the "greater good", particularly, things done in the name of the greater good, can actually lead to horrific atrocities and cruelty, and that the idea of the "greater good" itself is based in subjectivity, and never absolute. It isn't something we should ever prioritize over the tangible and concrete reality before us. That tangible and concrete reality being the things we can do to alleviate the suffering of others now, rather than hoping for and pursuing some idyllic utopian future where nobody ever has to suffer, and, ironically, causing people to suffer in the pursuit of that goal.

I talk a lot too about how I don't think Levi has ever held any great faith in the concept of a better world. I think Levi is a realist. Someone who understands and accepts the bleak reality of life on this planet, someone who accepts human nature, who knows that a utopian existence isn't really possible because of that reality, but who, despite that, still maintains a great depth of kindness and compassion toward others, still values life and the right of others to live.

His support of his comrades in the Survey Corps has more to do with his wish to fight for them, to support their own, personal dream of a better world, than it does his own belief in that better world. He thinks of Erwin as a "greater existence" than himself, to quote Isayama, because he believes Erwin is able to conceptualize and believe in a better world, to see that possibility, while Levi himself can't.

What Levi is fighting for is people, not a concept. That's always been true of Levi, I think. We see that manifest in multiple ways, multiple times throughout the story. In Levi's first appearance, when he holds that dying soldier's hand and promises him that his sacrifice will give Levi the strength to keep fighting. When he gives Petra's patch to that grieving soldier. When he goes out of his way to help the people of Trost. When he saves Ramzi, endangering their mission to rescue a single child. When he refuses to accept right away that Eren has gone rogue, to turn on him, because so many of his comrades died for him and Levi can't bear the thought of them having sacrificed their lives for nothing. And we see it manifest in his choice to let Erwin die. He prioritizes a person over a concept. And I think that fact emphasizes the great morality of Levi's choice, and ultimately, the rightness of it. Concepts are just that. They aren't real. They're ideas. But people are real. People exist. People matter.

Armin talks early on about the need to abandon ones humanity in order to achieve victory. Erwin's entire character revolves around this premise. He's seen as a great and visionary leader because of his ability to detach himself from human emotion and make tough decisions and sacrifices. Basically, for his ability to engage the concept of the ends justifying the means. Whatever it takes to "win".

But then, what does winning even mean, what does salvation for humanity mean, if in the pursuit of it, we lose our humanity?

Levi talks about being willing to take on the role of a "monster" if it means nobody else having to. He understands that, if people are forced to lose their humanity in pursuit of freedom, then freedom itself is rendered meaningless. There is no salvation for humanity if we ourselves lose sight of what it means to be human. Levi says he's willing to become a monster, that he's willing to lose his humanity, as long as no one else has to. He's willing to make that sacrifice.

But what Levi's choice in Shinganshina shows us is that he actually wasn't able to abandon his humanity at all. He never was a monster, and never actually could be. Because he couldn't, in the end, look upon the suffering of another human being, and ignore it.

That goes back to what I said about why Erwin chose Hange, and why Hange chose Armin. To be an effective leader, in order to achieve "victory" of some abstract goal, one has to be able to abandon their humanity. And Levi can't.

Levi is the most compassionate and empathetic character in AoT. And part of the reason for that is because of the inherent nature of that compassion. He isn't able to give up his humanity, he isn't able to lose it, because it's too much a part of him, too deeply rooted in who he actually is. It's the driving force behind everything he is and does. The beating, bleeding heart and soul of the Survey Corps. His presence, his role within the story, in many ways, functions as the moral compass by which both the audience and the other characters are guided.

Even in the face of violence, war, atrocity, and prejudice, even in pursuit of some concept of "the greater good", Levi can't bring himself to actual cruelty. Because that's what it would have been, to give Erwin the serum. It would have been an act of cruelty, against a man who didn't deserve it. And, again, if in the pursuit of a better tomorrow, we ourselves become cruel, pitiless, unempathetic, merciless, how can a better tomorrow actually be achieved? What salvation is there for humanity if, by the end, we have no humanity left in ourselves?

Erwin was able to abandon his humanity in pursuit of a personal dream, and we saw where it ultimately lead him. Into a state of such utter depression, and so wracked by guilt, that he became ineffectual, needing Levi to do the right thing for him. Erwin had strayed down a path that went against his heart.

That's something Levi was never able to do. Go against his heart. Go against what he felt was right. The only time we really see Levi do something that doesn't sit right with him is when he helps Hange to torture Sannes, under Erwin's orders and as a favor to Hange. Levi is noticeably less enthused about the whole affair than Hange, taking no actual pleasure in the exercise, even visibly distraught over Hange's level of cruelty. And still we see after how heavily that weighs on him. He completely forgets to inform Historia of the information they tortured Sannes for in the first place, and then explodes on her when she refuses out of self-pity to take on the role of queen, threatening to render the whole thing pointless. Do what your heart tells you, this is something Levi emphasizes to others again and again, which is what I mean when I say he acts as the moral compass of the story. Do the best you can, make the choice you won't regret. That doesn't mean the choice that will have the best outcome. That means the choice which will sit well with your conscience.

And I think in order to understand Levi's choice in Shinganshina, one needs to understand what sort of choice it was. Levi's choice, in its purist form, was a choice of the heart. It was a moral choice, decided upon through conscience, through the understanding, at an intrinsic level, what was right, rather than some ideological pursuit with an intangible endpoint.

He knew it was wrong to bring Erwin back into the world, and to put the same expectations on him to be the great leader he had been. He knew, in its way, that to do so would be to betray his own declaration, of taking on the role of a monster for himself so long as it spared anyone else from having to do the same. Erwin was corrupted by his dream. The threat of that corruption promised to make him into a monster. And Levi wasn't going to let that happen, just like he said. He wasn't going to allow Erwin to lose his humanity, even if it meant condemning himself.

Whether one wants to argue over Levi's choice being the right choice for humanity's salvation or not, what I don't think is up for discussion is that Levi's choice was, in the end, the right choice morally. And no, that doesn't mean Levi chose Erwin over humanity, or that he sacrificed humanity for Erwin because he loved him. It means he chose compassion over an idea. He chose humanity over a concept. He chose a person over an ideal. Because it was the choice that rejected the ideology and the dogmatism of "the greater good" in favor of something real, which was kindness and mercy for another human being. It was a rejection of cruelty and barbarism in pursuit of some evanescent and ultimately meaningless concept.

There is no greater good without morality. There is no salvation for humanity without mercy or compassion.

[leviismybby]

I am going to be honest. I think my love for Levi is dissipating which just makes me sad. There's just too much discourse going on around his character that just makes me feel like a split personality type of thing idk. On Twitter most canonize him as queer/subby. And some people here try to force more suffering onto him. Which I stick to canon and know there's no proof of it but when everyone keeps saying it it just kind of feels like an attempt to override canon. There's nothing wrong with headcanon but now people treat so much headcanon as canon, spreading misinfo and then people run with it. At some point I feel like is something even canon if so many people disregard it. I know technically it is canon but then to me personally I can't help but feel disturbed. I know I should stick to reading only canon materials but I have already read the manga and watched the anime. I would like to read extended materials from fans but doing it has only left me with a nagging feeling because there's so much weird but popular takes about his character. So much that people actually believe. I see it on Twitter and Tiktok, literally tens of thousands, even millions of people believe these takes. And now that Aot is over, they are going to have that takes as canon forever. The thought is just crazy to me. The Erwin x Levi(Eruri) tag on Tiktok has 1.1 billion views that are full of different takes. It's just outrageous

You shouldn't let them do that to you anon and I will be honest with you, I don't have twitter and I do not engage with the fandom on tiktok for more than one reason, shipping being a large one. Erwin and Levi are an mlm ship, mlm ships have always been more popular amongst fandom, funny thing is, even today, Eren x Levi is still the most popular ship which is nuts. What I do is I engage with the fandom on here and on YouTube, on YouTube mostly people who aren't really part of the fandom are on there so they see those characters for what they are. I can't change someone mind on how they see Levi, if they see him as some subby clingy uwu boy for Erwin or whoever, good for them, it just proved to me that the ship they follow is more important than Levi's character. Also, I doubt that, what I have been seeing since aot ended is people on tiktok and twitter actually calling these people out and telling them that Levi deserves better treatment from the fandom. They can't overrun canon Levi, they aren't the author nor are they that big, trust me. It may seem like Eruri is huge online but it's the minority. In real life aot fans mostly never engage in ships or ridiculous takes because canon is enough for them, most are shocked to learn that people ship Levi with Erwin or whoever. Shippers aren't as powerful as they seem, anon haha. I think the best for you would be to avoid toxic apps such as tiktok and twitter. YouTube would be my best recommendation, people on there are normal and you won't find shippers running all over the place.

[7m7n7]

lmao @cosmicjoke just curious...do you actually even believe what you wrote? or are you just that pathetically lacking in self-awareness? it literally takes an EFFORT to even scroll through how much you blabbered about me FOR DAYS, HOLY SHIT LMFAO. anyway, scroll away in this one i guess, since it includes some receipts from poor blameless wittle ewuwi fandom you're claiming is "mostly good" and just must be "defensive" to awful people such as myself :-(

Yeah, i said you woobiefied him (which is a degradation of character no matter how much you froth from mouth 🙂) and YOU wrote me 3 different wholeass paragraphs and in one of them accused me of sending you hate. And you still do, despite the fact i had literally no reason to do so. wanna suck up to eruri fandom that bad, huh? you're so fucking stupid and SO obsessed with retaining that moral highground you SO CLEARLY jack off to, you're even letting eruris who hate you using you to get back at me. who do you think those anons and sock accs you're chatting w are? "this dumb bitch comes at me with insults and accusations" what a hilarious sentence! can you write one sentence without projecting so intensely that you need to be in a mental ward?

"self shippers are so jealous uwu" OHHHHHH MY GOD LMAO. the fucking eruri rhetoric of GRAND PROJECTION. NO fucking self-shippers gives a fuck to eruri you absolute dumbass 😭 entire discourse happens bc eruris harass them (and other levi shippers) bc of THEIR OWN JEALOUSY holy fuck!!! how can you be so fucking disgustingly biased? and even though you know i also like rivaere and have no problem w other levi ships, you're trying to use me as a scapegoat to "prove" self-shippers are "homophobic" and against "gay ships" start discourse with real levi stans bc some of them also didn't validate your ridiculously awful levi takes apparently. even though you also should be well aware tons of OC shippers also enjoy or don't mind eruri, you're literally attacking people JUST bc they disagreed with you in a previous discourse, just like what you're doing to me right now.

LMAOOOO nobody's crying anything you braindead loser, and the only one getting "curb-stomped" is your pea-sized brain trying to generate a sentence that doesn't have five contradictions and failing pathetically. "if they just left a sentence exactly like what i had in mind uwuwuwu i wouldnt have started to froth from mouth uwuwuuw how dare they accuse me of woobiefying levi when i obv woobiefy him uwuuuwu 🥺" LMAO nobody is obligated to treat your fragile ass like glass, not my goddamn problem you're so fucking pathetic you start losing you GODDAMN MIND when someone strays a little outside what you deem as acceptable. i didn't throw insults or anything at first either, i just said what it is: that you woobiefy his character, and you clearly can't stand being told the truth. Once again: you %100000 woobiefy him and resent people who don't agree with you. the fact you're THIS vitriolic towards people (thanks for showing i wasn't the only one, at least!) acting like i tainted your honor shows that enough. you literally wrote a "call out" bc of one comment which YOU turned into a fight. you lack introspection madly and you constantly project, so ofc you're just gonna spiral into another fit of rage when you see this, but you can't fool people who are unbiased no matter how much you blabber on 🙂

Ohhh lmao, it reaaaaaaally couldn't be more obvious you have beef with people who like top levi. that's literally it. Do you fucking realize how goddamn creepy you are when you talk about how i must want to get "smacked around" by a man just bc i said you were woobiefying him? You're a fucking freak. You have no idea what i even like (since you're so curious, i enjoy a wiiide range of levi) but this doesn't have anything to do with what we talk, you think people don't woobiefy characters they like as tops? bc it's SUPER common in most fandoms. the way you immediate resort to talking about people's sexual fantasies is freak behaviour and shows where your true problem lies. and what does this even mean "what the actual reality of Levi's sexuality would likely be"? Do you think people who have trauma can't be dominant? "Assuredly wouldn't enjoy sexual aggression" Why, were you in the room when he was banging people? That's just your hc you're pushing as canon, AGAIN. You want everyone to act like their hcs are just ooc hcs, but they have to accept your hcs as canonical regardless of how much bullshit they are. There's this insane push against *any* top levi content from eruri stans which they dub exactly as you do even though it doesn't reflect the fanon at all, and it makes it TOO OBVIOUS what your real issue is. Lmao, an eruri shipper who has a problem w ppl who like top levi, what a fucking surprise! 🙂

also this is from that @p-ssypink imbecile who's also obv an eruri

stop projecting and pulling discourse out of your ass. "forced masculinization" levi is already a hypermasculine character in canon, you clown. which probably makes you cry :^) and what does this have to do with homophobia? you think all gay men are feminine? pretty sure such stereotyping constitutes as homophobia. anyway, i said "my deal is im in love w him" bc that clown said something like "your whole deal is your hate for eruri rather than stanning levi" i think that message was cut from the og. obv loving a character doesnt make anyone an authority. but "every eruri is out to get self shippers bc they're ego-maniacal lunatics who cant separate fanon from canon and only see levi as a smol bean omega bottom to be protected" Yes, you got one thing correct, congrats! :) 👏🏻 That's exactly how %99 of eruri shippers are like and anyone who has been in this fandom long enough knows that. But "to be protected" is misplaced, since they mostly get off on degrading and torturing him. sometimes they just like to pretend they have any sympathy for him since they've been accused of being levi haters since ALWAYS, lmfao, but don't worry, i can send you a lot where they admit that too. and ofc, the pretend sadness fits right into their agenda with that sad pathetic little doormat levi they want.

anyways. am i homophobic or are people who consistently emasculate a character in %99.9999 of their fanon bc they think being feminine or bottom is degrading the ones who are homophobic? or maybe calling him the f slur constantly, you'd think qualifies? you don't think treating him like a "little twink who's only job is to get fucked" is fetishistic and homophobic, is that tooootally okay for you? What about bullying and mocking people who think differently and forcing their hcs on them, is that fine?

"inability to top" hmmmmmm i wonder how do these people see t/b roles and why they're so aggressive about them 🤔

plotting to get a levi/oc video down....kudos on that courage to admit that on their main! 👏🏻

there are so many, this was veeeeeeery hard to pick tbh but here are just few examples. and no, these aren't just one off events or "bad apples" and all of these people are known eruris, and some have thousands of followers. you may accuse me of "making hating eruri my entire online identity" which is fine and dandy. but ENTIRE eruri fandom makes their identiy hating on what they deem is a threat to their glorification fantasy.

as a bonus here are some multishippers who love eruri talk about the same issue being so common as well 🙂

i think it should be clear why :')

and @jayteacups saying this nonsense, idk if theyre just playing obtuse but lmfao. some people just don't know mentality in shipping communities enough soooo

having an OC/self-insert have NOTHING TO DO with what im talking about when i criticize self-inserting/identifying etc with a character. and what i'm criticizing isn't even the fact they self-insert into a character lmfao, it's the entire toxicity it brings, bc through overly identifying w some inadequecy of a character (in this case it's obviously the fact levi's more popular and attractive than erwin that bothers them) they grow jealous and resentful, bend canon to alleviate their insecurity + derive ego wank and attack others who don't validate them. as a result, practically all they do is degrading levi in every way and use him as a validation device (and other characters too btw, just look at how they treat zeke) to make erwin come off "superior", gatekeeping levi bc they can't stand seeing him w other characters, even real life fangirls, both out of possessiveness but also bc it ruins their narrative where erwin's the "conventionally attractive" one. that's the reason for the push against people who like levi in a "hetero" way (read: Top, masculine, alpha, daddy, het, whatever bc they think it translates into "conventionally attractive" lmfao, and precisely why they love bi erwin but NEVER bi levi). and this isn't just against self-shippers, they treat every other levi fandom similarly, and these ships also get mocked as "self insert ships". ironic considering their treatment of erwin puts early ff.net mary sues to shame 🥴 they can't be honest about jackshit bc it ruins their glorification fantasy where erwin has to be the one that ship is all about. they're the definition of "have my cake and eat it too", they act like they barely tolerate levi just for erwin's sake but bitchfight over him every second with everyone, depict him as a one-sided simp for erwin, try to alleviate their insecurity by reducing him to a loser doormat while doing the exact opposites towards erwin.

⬇️ gotta be pretty self explanatory lmfao

^ Very famous and beloved people among eruris

despite the fact there's a lot of pushback, they'll still argue tooth and nail that women wouldn't like levi and would prefer erwin. Why do you think this is soooo important to them? :^) ⬇️ lol wonder why they want him to convince ppl he's "feminine" so bad! almost like it's bc they see it as unattractive and degrading! but sure, we're the sexist homophobes for hating eruri fans, right? oh and the white supremacist rhetoric also so common - bc i've never seen anyone refer to being blonde in MEN as a good thing outside eruri fandom - since it's a feminine stereotype. "tall DARK and handsome", no? :') But they'll use ANYTHING just to make erwin look better, so they're pretend it's related to generic beauty standards rather than, idk, fucking rantings from hitler's headquarters. maybe some other day i should post them calling him aryan, hmmm....

look at how they act towards even their own (rare good ones lmao) artists when they depict levi in a conventionally attractive way, they bash on it and call it "hetero" hmmm :')

Oh oops they already said the quiet part loud! 😱But going around shitting on artists and calling levi "erwin's submissive little bitch" is okay to you, right?

By the way, one of the anons cosmicjoke made a fake acc to come at me just now on twitter bc i called out one of the eruris calling levi f*ggot. Apparently according to them it's just no big deal, that's just calling levi "gay". :') linking it bc too many pics: https://x.com/emeraldsas77759/status/1801556666556559451

Just a small taste of what eruri fandom is like, since most people here on tumblr don't have a fucking clue. Anyway cosmic"joke", what an apt name. Now, you can puke blood all over all you want like the useless, pathetic eruri ass-kisser you are and write few other novels for my sake! don't get too comfy with those erwin stans who are now sending you their love instead of harassing you tho lmfao!

(^ bc they said levi had a bolo tie of his own and MAYBE he wasn't wearing erwin's bolo tie in the FUCKING OFFICIAL ART LMFAO)

"don't ruin the rep of our fandom they're not eruris uwu" Familiar argument, isn't it? :') bc THAT'S what they do, creating ungodly amounts of toxicity, shitting on everyone, intruding in everyone's spaces, then when they get even a little pushback, they start screeching like little rats trying to shift the blame on others. These are the people you defend when you defend eruris. But hey, you can continue to suck up to them, try not to step one milimeter out of line tho, saying levi isn't erwin's dog may get you death threats. Have fun, goodnight, good luck! 😘

[lostcauses-noregrets]

Hi Lost! I'm really curious how long have you been an EruRi shipper? Do you also feel like it's just some phase? I was a shipper from 2014 and stopped around mid 2019. I was continuously reading the manga but I'm not active with the fandom anymore. I'm back again since the hype of S4 part 3 and the anime nearing its end. It fills me with joy how much the EruRi fandom has grown because it's literally one of the purest and most beautiful dynamic in the world of fiction. At some point did you also felt like leaving the fandom? What keeps you from sticking with Erwin and Levi even if every day there is a new media to consume? Thank you <3

Hi Anon, welcome back to the fandom! I know a lot of people predicted the demise of the Eruri fandom after Erwin's death way back in 2016, but we're still here and we're still going strong.

I've been involved in the fandom since late 2015, and in all that time Eruri has been my only ship, by which I mean it's the only ship I've written and read fanfic for. Some of my friends left the fandom after Midnight Sun and others have drifted away over time as they've fallen out of the fandom or moved on to other ships. (I really love seeing my friends becoming obsessed with new ships. It's too cute. 🥰 )

Personally, I haven't yet fallen out of love with Eruri or felt the urge to leave the fandom, though I'm not going to deny that my energy and engagement waxes and wanes depending on what's going in irl and in the fandom. There have been times in the past that I've felt like I'm a bit out of kilter with the fandom as a whole, but I think that's inevitable if you stick around in any fandom for long enough. I'm not possessed with the same urgency to write as when the manga was running. I'm starting to feel as though I've written most of the stories I want to tell, though I still have one or two ideas up my sleeve. I do enjoy watching new media, but nothing has captured my imagination quite the way Eruri has, though I confess I am kinda side-eyeing Trigun right now.

As to what keeps me sticking with Erwin and Levi, well that's the million dollar question. I genuinely have no idea. I mean they're obviously incredibly attractive and well written characters and their canon relationship has so much depth and nuance, but that's equally true of other characters in other series. I honestly don't know what it is with Eruri that sparked something in my brain, and whatever it is, that spark hasn't quite fizzled out yet. I'm sure I will move on from the Eruri fandom eventually, but that time hasn't come yet, and when it does, I don't think I'll ever forget the impact this amazing ship has had on me, and I know that some of the friends I've made here will be friends for life.

[seamsterspell]

as a Levihan shipper (like me ), what do you think of eruri and its popularity in the west? and also why do you think levihan is better than eruri? ( yes i know i am bias .. i am so Levihan trash)

Hello hello!

Uh oh, I feel we are trotting into a dangerous zone here xD /j But okay, here goes nothing >:D

Just to be safe, I'm going to abbreviate Erwin & Levi as EL.

Well, first of all, I like almost every dynamic between characters in SNK. IMO Isayama did a great job of building connections in his story. So, I don't really have NOTP(s) in SNK. Even if I don't ship A, B, C, or D romantically, I can still appreciate the bonds between those characters.

Regarding EL, if you've read one of my fics, you would know that I like the veterans, especially the veteran trio (Erwin-Levi-Hange). I really enjoy the relationship between Erwin-Levi, Levi-Hange, and Erwin-Hange. To me, they are close comrades who have deep trust in each other.

At first, I was not so sure what to make up in the relationship between EL though. I found Erwin to be quite intense back then, so I didn't know how to read the dynamic between him and Levi. As a trainee, Erwin seems to be much more outspoken and passionate. But as an adult, Erwin becomes more reserved. Therefore, I used to think that this man must have been hiding something. Then, I finally understood it all when I read about Erwin's backstory (and apparently he was hiding his trauma and guilt, who would've thought!).

Anyway, in short, I like EL! I feel like their personalities complete each others and they have their fair share of both meaningful as well as comedic moments. What makes them interesting to me is that they are the kind of people that you would never thought would be friends, but well apparently they are. Some might argue that Erwin was only using Levi to reach his goal. But I disagree, even in a world where there are no titans around, I still believe they would become great friends who can rely on each other. So yeah, I can see the appeal of EL.

Hence, I can understand why they are so popular, both in Japan and the west (and internationally tbh). However, their popularity had never bothered me since I already knew that M/M ships tend to be much more popular in almost every fandom in existence. I mean I've shipped Levihan (and Aruani) since 2013 and oh boy we were like a small cheerleading club back then xD

To be quite honest, I don't think Levihan is better than EL. I mean sure, in my book they are the best HAHA but I tried to never really put any relationships in a hierarchy. To me, shipping characters are more about preferences anyway. Like, we tend to ship a pair with dynamics or tropes that we love.

I ship Levihan (and not other Levi's ships) because they embody many tropes & dynamics that I like, such as opposites attract (this feels like their trademark tbh). However, their main appeal to me is the way that their relationship feels so mature and healthy but also FUN. Despite their stark differences, they are able to trust and look after each other, not only in combat but also outside. You can see them fighting together in one chapter and then see them teasing each other in the next chapter.

I also like the fact that they don't always bound together. I like crumbs (and full meal) as much as next guy, but I actually appreciate that they have their own characters moments as well as relationships with other people. It highlights their personalities which make their dynamics—when they are together—much more interesting.

Not only that, before chapter 126, their relationship and moments were actually pretty subtle (the one where you kinda have to squint to see or blink-and-you-miss-it kinda thing). Which I LIKE SO VERY MUCH! I actually prefer subtle romantic-ish moments between characters over blatant romantic moments. I like ships with potential, ships that will give me enough (not too much and not too little) materials to daydream every day HAHA. I mean, out of all the ships that I like, Levihan is the ship that I have the most fanfic ideas. They are my go-to ship every time I need to distract myself lmao.

I feel like I want to say more but man, idk, I just like them I guess. I can't put my love for them into words T_T But to sum up my feelings about them: I WISH THEY WERE MY PARENTS

That's all anon! Thank you for the ask! I hope my answer makes sense to you xD

[aetheternity]

I can’t stand xingyun either. I really like Xingqiu and Chongyun as individual characters, and when I heard about the ship I was like “eh at least the fandom doesn’t ignore them” but I quickly found out that the fandom has stripped them of all personality except for the single trait “they like each other” which pisses me off, they’re great characters on their own. But every time someone draws or even talks about one of them they always include the other, even when they’re not doing it for shipping intentions. And the shippers are always yelling about how “it’s canon!” Kinda like eimiko shippers- I’ve noticed this behavior anytime a character has a best friend.

Anon you said everything and I love you for this.

When I first joined this fandom my favorite character was Chongyun because one of my favorite colors is blue and I enjoy aesthetically pleasing colors put together. (That's why my second favorite character was Venti). At the time I had just come from the Attack on Titan fandom and the random burst of Eruri shippers after that ship had been announced as canon had put a very sour taste in my mouth. Because I was a huge Levi simp and because of that ships random burst in popularity I would randomly stumble upon nsfw ship art between the two characters because that fandom hated tagging correctly / putting warnings so I left.

Anyway I adopted to Chongyun quickly but the sour taste had returned because the only content 99.9% of the time I could find of him had something to do with Xingqiu as well and every time someone talked about Chongyun the conversation quickly opened to be about Xingqiu as well.

Like ok I'll be honest the original reason I couldn't stand that ship was just because I loved Chongyun and I liked Xingqiu's character and wanted to see more of the two separately but now the ship has actually kind of grown on me. And by grown on me I mean I think the two of them would be cute together. Don't get me wrong I don't want them together at all because Xingyun shippers are really fucking annoying. But the whole childhood best friends to lovers pining for each other is actually really cute.

Too bad Xingyun shippers neglect to realize that if any pining is going on it's ONLY on Xingqiu's side. I haven't had one nice interaction with a xingyun shipper since I entered this fandom. Almost all of them only like to think of them as two little gay twinks. It's so uncomfortable and gross. These are the same guys who would set you on fire for sexualizing Venti or Traveler but get so quiet when someone draws fanart of Chongyun and Xingqiu making out half naked. They're right up there with Eimiko, Rasnett, Cynonari shippers on the ship is cute but the fanbase for it ruins it completely.

Like yeah ofc I don't care what people ship but the gay ship fanatics for the biggest most popular ships are so atrocious and unhinged it's pathetic. These are still nonexistent characters after all and nothing is canon.

Sorry to vent but I've been carrying these feelings for a year and some change.

[dont-f-with-moogles]

Hey, Captain...

Hey, Captain… Characters: Levi x Hange, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Sasha Word Count: 577 words

Canon universe, during the meeting with Shadis (just before the battle to retake Wall Maria). A response to the Great Shipping War. (Part 1 of 2)

With a scrape of his chair, Commandant Keith Shadis, the former Commander of the Scouts, stood and walked from his office. His visitors remained seated around the polished, mahogany table. Opposite where the Commandant had been sitting, Eren wiped at his forehead with his palm.

“Are you okay Eren?” Mikasa turned in her chair. “That was a lot for anyone to process…”

“There’s still one question which Shadis didn’t answer…” Through half-closed lids, Eren glared at the individuals surrounding him. 

“Eren, what is it…?”

At this, Eren flung out a finger towards Levi’s astonished face.

“Hey Captain, are you and Hange-san really just friends or is there something more going on?!”

Sasha, for the first time since the meeting had begun, peeled herself away from the wall.

“Yeah, tell us!”

A look of sheer terror passed between Levi and Hange.

“We’re just friends,” Levi replied shortly. 

“I’m not only speaking for myself when I say you guys have old married couple chemistry,” Jean explained, eyebrows raised. “The way you insist on acting like our parents is kind of creepy.”

“And your poop jokes,” Eren chimed in.

“Four Eyes,” Sasha mimicked in a stern voice, causing a ripple to pass through the 104th recruits. “You two don’t share nicknames and in-jokes with anyone else!”

“Then surely we’re more like siblings.” Hange’s eyes were narrowed. “Look at the way that you and Connie behave. We’re really no different.”

“Miche told me something…” Eren grinned at Armin, who seemed to shake his head in silent horror as his friend ploughed on regardless. “He saw you grab Hange by the hair and pull her round to face you.  Said he could hardly swing an axe, never mind a knife, to cut the sexual tension.”

“We don’t have time for shitty, schoolyard gossip,” Levi snarled. “And if you all must know, Erwin and I have a much closer bond than me and this Four Eyed annoyance.”

“Um…” Sasha wrinkled her nose. “Would Commander Erwin agree?”

“I thought Commander Erwin only had eyes for Eren’s basement.” Jean laughed to himself as he cracked his knuckles beneath the table.

“Hange, you said that Erwin had forsaken any hope for future plans, romantic or otherwise.” Armin had raised an acclamatory finger as he spoke. “You showed me the letter he wrote to Marie many years ago but never sent. He had a choice back then, and he chose to put everything, his whole being, into leading the scouts rather than pursuing any kind of relationship.”

Levi’s head snapped around to Hange, who managed an embarrassed smile.

“Look, you brats. Erwin and I have a bond that none of you could understand!” Levi snarled. “I am bound to follow him into battle and protect him from harm.”

“Didn’t he lose an arm during that last battle?” Mikasa stared blandly up at the ceiling. 

“Well, fuck me, I’m not superhuman, am I?” Levi exploded. In reply, Armin uttered a small, dissatisfied sound. 

“Well, actually-”

“Enough of this!” Hange insisted, waving both hands wildly. “We are just friends. Please stop trying to force something romantic and ruin a relationship which is purely platonic.”

“Exactly.” Levi pushed back his own chair and stood, much to the clamour of the younger recruits. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. 

“Come on, Four Eyes. The bath’s getting cold.”

As the two senior officers marched off in the direction of the barracks’ baths, their young wards gazed after them, open-mouthed.

x-x-x

So, I'm hardly opposed to Eruri shippers if that's what they like. I don't even mind if people aren't interested in Levihan but I've seen so many comments where people are in utter disbelief that Levi and Hange have any sort of connection, like dude... did we read/watch the same thing? Are you blind? That's the only thing that annoys me - wilful ignorance of the source material. Just keep an open mind, people. They aren't canon but there's enough evidence for a healthy debate. I've said my piece.

[ddsayu]

I think there is a correlation between different insterests that can and often go together for people writing nsfw fics: Rank, Size Difference, Economic Status, etc. nsfw can also flatten characters in order to focus on the sexy aspect rather than character building for a horny fic. It's kind of to be expected that the inertia of that is usually going to place Levi in a non-dominant position, so when you go into the spectrum of the more unusual kinks, like r*pe fantasies, it's going to be more common for Levi to be at the center of them. Having said that, I do think I have come across fics where Erwin is the center of r*pe/non-con. I usually avoid both of these fic types because they are not my cup of tea, and can sometimes indeed make me quite uncomfortable, but I do not get the impression they are meant to undervalue Levi's character. Levi's character is a tool for a narrative purpose, which gets me to my ultimate point: all characters are tools for a narrative purpose and you can't harm them. You can harm people, and that is what tags are there to help avoid. I have gone on comment sections to ask for specific tags and I understand that. But insulting writers, bullying them? Never. Moreover, I really do feel this hater(s?) wants an excuse to hate on Eruri writers as a whole. I get it, they don't like the ship, maybe they don't like the trends within the ship tag. As someone that likes Eruri, I don't like all the Eruri fic trends either, but I can just avoid what I don't like. Similarly, I would hope that this anon can learn that just because they like SNK or Levi and Erwin independently from each other doesnt mean they have to wage a war on shippers.

Hey Anon! Good to see you, have tea^^ You know, I'd say let people write whatever they want. I mean we have such great things like CW and TW. A while ago you had to go to the bookstore and could only read the backside of the book and had to decide if you may want to read it or not. I had it multiple times that I bought a book and then stumbled in it over a topic I didn't really want to read. Great, money wasted…

Non con in any kind of way is not my cup of tea but as we all have different tastes in food so we also have different preferences. I can decide and choose what I want to have on my “fanfic plate” and what not. But there is no use in shaming others for what they write. With such a thinking we get into the very dangerous territory of ignorance. If you keep that in mind it doesn’t matter if you flatten a character for NSFW purposes. I came across many fanfics which do that, some in a way that it still feels like the character, others where it feels off for me. If that’s the case i just close the fanfic and move on. There are a lot of great writers out there and many fics to read which hit the good spot. I honestly have neither the time nor the energy for hating them. I really hope also that the other Anon made their peace and looked into how to avoid triggering topics. I can’t imagine that it is a good feeling to have all that anger and hate inside.

Sincerely and lots of love to you, my sunshine^^

[jellie-the-aqua-puma]

So I was super late to the Ereri game and I know it's a controversial ship now. I know you used to ship it, and was wondering, is it something you dropped due to the controversy, or did you just fall out of love with it? No judgement either way, just stumbled across some of your old content and was curious :)

Hi! Thanks for asking, it’s always been controversial (cue eye roll) because of course what we ship is a reflection of what we are like as people—sike ;). But I fell out of love with it when I fell out of love with Attack on Titan which was pretty much around the Rumbling arc. The story was not making a lick of sense to me and I felt a huge disservice was being done to Eren’s character and that’s it haha. If AoT had ended differently, I would probably still be shipping them —or maybe not ;)— I have sooo many I WIPs that may never see the light of day if I can’t repurpose them!

I know you said you were late to the party, so if you ever want someone to talk to about them feel free to reach out even though it might make me sad :)

Thank you for asking!!

More thoughts under the cut!

I adored them with all my heart! I didn’t know about any of the controversy when I did, because a friend of mine liked Ereri and encouraged me to give AoT a chance. I had to look at a lot fo fanart and fanfiction before I fell in love with it, so by the time I learned, I was in too deep.

But you know, we don’t have to justify why we like what we like and Ereri has really helped me come to terms with that. It has also made become a lot more understanding of what other people ship!

(You know a lot of people who ship my current main, Soukoku (from Bungou), if they were also in the AoT fandom, they were Eruri shippers? The correlation is astounding, I always feel like an anomaly).

Sometimes you just like the way two people look and fit together, you like the way their personalities clash, you like the way their personalities don’t, or something else benign even if doesn’t make sense from a narrative standpoint. That’s ok! I really liked their fire / ice powerhouse personalities and I like that in other ships too!

[cosmicjoke]

The funny thing was it was a shipper that said that about Levi. Like I’m confused do you even like him if you’re saying that?? And to defend their argument they basically said Erwin would have prevented the yeagerists rising up to power, yes. As if Erwin would solve every problem. As if Erwin hasn’t been outmaneuvered before like in the battle to retake Shiganshina. Erwin is incredibly smart but he doesn’t always have all the answers and taking on the rest of the world would be a big task for anyone. But to defend their argument, they’re using a Kamiya Hiroshi interview as proof to why it’s Levi’s fault Paradis became what it did. Since I can’t insert a picture this is word for word what the interview said:

Interviewer: What did you think of Levi’s choice between saving Erwin or Armin in that scene where only one could be saved? 

HK: What struck me during the recording was when I was told, “You don’t have to speak to Floch. It’s fine if you just talk to yourself.” Director Mima always said on set, “You have to look at who you’re talking to and think about what happens after you finish your lines (or you’ll die on the battlefield).” There was an option to direct some comforting words to Floch, but they wanted it without that. This direction made me feel that for the first time Levi pushed forward his own feelings, which influenced Floch’s fate and led to a new tragedy. Well, if Erwin had been chosen here, then Eren and Mikasa would have probably ended up in Floch’s position, so either way, it would have likely led to a tragic outcome. 

The bolded text is what they highlighted as proof to their argument. The thing is they are completely ignoring the sentence that follows that goes against that. I don’t understand why people take VAs words as canon. I also don’t understand why some people always hold Levi to such a high standard compared to everyone else. And I’m confused why we are thinking that if Erwin lived, Eren would act completely rationally and not enact anything he later did after he lost one of his closest friends…

How about the people responsible for Paradis falling to the Yagerists were Eren and Floch? Because those two are the ones actually responsible. Throw Yelena and Zeke in there for good measure. It has nothing to do with Levi.

And of course, I'm not surprised to find out it's a shipper. I'm assuming it's one of those eruri shippers that love to make Levi look bad in order to hold Erwin up, for whatever reason. Maybe because they can't reconcile the notion that, if Erwin was really with Levi romantically, and he didn't share the truth of his motivations behind his leadership with him, regardless of that romantic connection, it would reflect horribly about Erwin's character. It would mean he kept his greatest secret from the man he supposedly loved, and that he didn't trust Levi enough to share it with him. It would show sociopathic tendencies. But if they can paint Levi as this morally compromised, morally ambiguous character, then they can drag him down to that level and say 'see, they're perfect for each other', or some shit. They can pretend that Erwin's withholding of that information from Levi wasn't horrific because Levi didn't care anyway and would have followed Erwin to the ends of the earth, and blah, blah, blah. The problem for them is, Levi DID care. He cared a whole hell of a lot. He cared so much that it nearly destroyed his relationship with Erwin, before he was able to push his disappointment and doubt aside and continue to trust in Erwin, despite his flaws, not because of them. He knew, despite Erwin's human frailties, he was still a good man, deep down, who wanted to do the right thing. He just needed a little help to get there.

Levi wasn't responsible for Floch becoming what he did. The circumstances Paradis was pushed into, through Marley's actions, is what led to Floch's true nature coming out, and, as I said before, Floch's own actions and weakness of mind. To blame Levi for that on any level is absurd. You might as well blame Levi too for Eren becoming what he did because 'oh no, Levi told him to make the choice he'd least regret', or he told him in Shinganshina that it wouldn't be over until their enemies were dead (meaning Reiner and Bertolt). How about we blame Levi too for the Rumbling, because Zeke blew him up and was able to meet Eren and make contact with him? Give me a fucking break. Eren became what he did because that's what he always was. The same for Floch. I don't care what Levi's voice actor, or any other voice actor, has to say. What I care about is the text, what Isayama wrote and what his panels conveyed. Floch was always going to become radical, again, because he was weak of mind and spirit. He was a bad person, in his heart. Someone prone to extremism. A coward and a fool and bloodthristy.

The moment he wasn't killed in the charge against the Beast Titan, we saw the vengeful core of Floch, when he found Erwin, dying on the field, and dragged him up onto the roof, wanting to punish him for leading them into a death charge by forcing him to continue to live and lead. He wanted to make Erwin suffer, just for doing his job, and for leading the rest of the scouts that day to do theirs, something they had willingly signed up for. That tells you all you need to know about what kind of person Floch was. He was cruel and ugly.

And we see that cruelty and ugliness all the more clearly in contrast to Levi's compassion and kindness, in wanting to put an end to Erwin's suffering. The two of them are juxtaposed against one another for this reason.

Levi puts compassion over ideology, and Floch puts ideology over compassion. That has everything to do with who they already were, not with what either of them did or the circumstances surrounding it.

This idea that Levi not offering words of comfort to Floch is what led to him becoming the massive piece of shit that he did is such a joke. No, Floch was already that, long before Levi ever made his choice. Floch joined the scouts only after he thought the hopeless nature of their mission had been overcome and there was only glory to be found, and his anger and resentment and hatred came to the fore when he realized that wasn't the case, that he wouldn't be able to reap all the rewards of being a soldier in the most dangerous branch of the military while remaining safe and unthreatened.

Everybody loves to blame someone else for the way things turned out or the radical, bad actions certain characters took in AoT, but ultimately, every character is responsible for their own actions. Nobody is responsible for what Eren did but Eren himself. Nobody is responsible for what Zeke did but Zeke himself. Nobody is responsible for what Floch did but Floch himself. The circumstances and environment may have put them in a position to act out their true desires and natures, but the circumstances and environment didn't put those desires or nature in them. That's just who they always were. That's true about every, single character in AoT.

These idiot shippers love to use these meaningless interviews by voice actors as "evidence" that their ship is real, or that their interpretation of the text is right. But the voice actors are only interpreting the text themselves, with their own, biased view influencing that interpretation. It doesn't mean anything. It has no bearing on objective reality. It's just a personal reading. The scene where Levi tells Floch that Erwin deserves to rest, and Kamiya being directed to have Levi talking to himself instead of "comforting" Floch, that in itself is a personal interpretation by the director of the text. It's not objectively true to the text itself. And even if it was, it still wouldn't serve as proof that that was the moment Floch became radicalized. Again, Floch was always going to become radicalized, because he was always a shitter.

The only thing that would have stopped Floch from becoming radicalized that day is if Floch had died with the rest of the scouts that charged the Beast Titan. It's too bad his joke ass didn't.

And finally, Erwin couldn't have stopped the Yeagerists from taking over Paradis. There's nothing he could have done to change the course of events. Floch wanted Erwin to suffer. He thought Erwin would be the "monster" they needed in order to "win" against the enemy. But what would Floch's reaction have been had Erwin not become that heartless monster he wanted, willing to stamp out all of humanity for the sake of one island? Either Erwin would have been willing to do what Eren did, or he wouldn't. He either would have become extreme and led Paradis down a path of militarization and nationalism, or he wouldn't. And if he wouldn't, Floch would have turned elsewhere, because that's what Floch was gunning for, long before Levi ever made his choice. And we know, already, that Erwin never would have supported such a course of action. And so Floch would have, like he did in canon events, turned to Eren and helped facilitate his plans. He would have believed Erwin was no longer what he wanted or needed. Erwin wasn't a monster. Eren was. Beyond that, if anyone tries to argue that Erwin's skill as a negotiator and politician would have allowed the Survey Corps to convince Marley to stand down, no, because Eren didn't allow the Survey Corps to even try. He disappeared before the scouts could even attempt negotiations. Erwin being there wouldn't have changed any of that. It all would have played out exactly the same way.

Anyway, the entire claim is a joke. Some Erwin stans are massive assholes who can't admit that Levi was a morally superior person to him. But he was and he is. Levi, ironically, encapsulated what the Survey Corps was meant to stand for more than Erwin ever could. That's why Erwin entrusted Levi with making the decision, ultimately. Because he knew Levi would do the right thing, even as he himself couldn't, and he was grateful to Levi for that, because he wanted to do the right thing. Like I said, Erwin wasn't a bad man. He was just flawed.

Floch was a bad man. He was weak, and just like Zeke, just like Eren, just like Yelena, that weakness is what allowed all those bad qualities in them to take control and dictate their actions.

They have no one to blame but themselves, let alone a truly good man like Levi.

[olivieraa]

its hard to hate the first season of SnK

like, Ive had OP 1, 2 & 3 in my playlist for 10 years now. I dont listen to them as much as I used to. I'll skip them sometimes, I'll let them play out sometimes. they used to be my treadmill songs lmao

but there's something about an OP song when paired with the visuals of an OP. it hits different.

my first ep of SnK was the ep right before the second OP came out, which was ep 13. so I watched 13 eps in one day (it was hella addictive)

so by ep 14 I watched it as it aired and it had the new OP and I remember my dash absolutely flooded with fan theories about what the vague visuals meant

it was an intense time lol like my memory is so vivid

either a) discussions of the new OP and what it meant b) justice for marco or c) ......those darn Eruri shippers (I think that's the name idk)

do I think s2 went a bit downhill? yes. I barely remember it. but s1 still gets me hype, gives me chills, i still get surprised despite knowing what happens. the music is sensational. the twists are bomb. but also, knowing spoilers, there's so much you look at differently. ESPECIALLY knowing who the two main titans are. their dialogue is so interesting when you know.

but yeah to be up to the ep when I first started watching it is why I feel a little more nostalgic.

literally the thing that got me to ever even watch SnK was a picture of Levi talking about how disgusting germs were. I was like I LIKE HIM I'M IN

[glassesntea]

Never said I was nice bitch. You think I am the anon who asked those questions but I am not. I don't ask Levi x Oc shippers questions. I don't tolerate lunatics and I think that Eruri anon was not in their right mind to ask y'all questions in the first place. Smelly ass bitch

Bitch this, bitch that... you are though and strong, uh? Insulting people while STILL on anon. No, you are not nice and even sane in the head. Because other people have messaged me saying you targeted them, too.

You don't tolarate lunatics? You are one, for hunting down people like that. You do realize that it's not normal, right? You need help, ASAP.

And you, my friend, are a liar too: you are the exact same person I think you are, so don't try to pass me as a fool. It's you, it's the same pattern of messages all over tumblr, and again you are making a moron out of yourself, willingly.

I don't care what you ship or not ship. I don't have the viciousness to scream like a bat on caffeine to other people because my ship is not canon. Who cares? You, on the other hand, do this pathologically.

Seems I've strike a nerve, however, for the fact that you sent me two messages in rapid succesion, you like the attention but not being called out.

The mere fact you stalked me from a comment that I left on another blog you were harassing as well is a testament of your insanity. I suggested you to calm down and you did the opposite by being a rabid dog and keep molesting people.

Get off the internet, if you are set to made people miserable, it will be beneficial for you too to live a little.

Probably you'll refuse to read all that so I tell you this:

BEFORE SMELLING MY ASS, GET UP YOUR CHAIR AND SMELL YOURS, YOU'VE BEEN AT IT ALL DAY SO IT'S PROBABLY VERY MUSTY AND CRUSTY. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND MIND YOUR OWN ANUS BEFORE WORRYING ABOUT MINE.

Since you still cower, if you don't come off anon and have a civil conversation I won't indulge you any longer.

You have not won, If you are thinking that, because no one will know if you have messaged me back. I have the last world on my blog, as petty as it is.

If you'll keep going, I'll report you.

You have been warned, chicken

[lostcauses-noregrets]

ASDFDSADF I am sorry for showing up uninvited but oh my god that other asks speaks to me! I joined Eruri fandom in January and the whole "you are a fake Eruri if you love Levi more than Erwin" thing (someone posted several screenshots of Eruri shippers and blamed them for liking Levi more????) happened back in the first or second day of February so I was pretty new to Eruri and its fandom and it ruined my entire vibe because I'm not interested in fandom dramas I just want calm and nice fandom interactions. You probably understand me considering how I have never seen you involved in any shipping or fandom drama. Anyway, that really made me feel :/ about this ship and 2-3 days later I saw someone mocking OC shippers and L*vihan shippers "oh he's a gay man he'd not fuck you you can't call yourself a Levi stan if you don't ship him with Erwin" and I was only a baby Eruri, only for a month and I thought no matter how amazing the ship is the fandom was terrible but luckily I saw how the fandom reacted to that first tweet they were all joking about how they are fake eruris for random reasons and thank god I stayed around to see that because for me honestly Eruri is the best ship ever and I really enjoy all the fan arts and fanfics but that tweet still haunts me SDFGdsadf some people need to realize that Erwin's position didn't allow him to get close to anyone else and his deepest bond was with Levi so a huuuuge majority of Erwin stans ship Eruri while Levi is extremely popular especially in Japan and he interacts with other characters more and he's "shipping shaped"/perfect for shipping so I think his stans are often multishippers and that's why it seems like Eruri is an Erwin ship to that other person, there is no consipracy theory or anything, it's simple as that. I know some Eruri fans pick fights or argue with other Levi ships but my experience after that tweet was very calm and wholesome, I think it's because Eruri is a mature ship? Most Eruri shippers I see are adults. (Sorry if I sent this twice I am drunkish but I got excited because lol that was my first Eruri drama and I never saw anyone else mention it before) love your blog by the way lots of love <3

Ooh....right! This is actually starting to ring a bell now! I do remember seeing people posting the most hilarious shit about being fake Eruris, but I missed the original tweets that caused the whole drama in the first place. This is invariably what happens, I miss the actual drama and end up catching the tail end of the fall out which leaves me completely confused. Literally me when there is drama on the timeline 😂

Fandom, by its nature, attracts people who tend to be...a little obsessive (to put it mildly) and no fandom is immune to drama, no matter how old or supposedly mature the fans are. The Eruri fandom is no exception. However I do think that with an older fanbase there is a better chance that drama will be viewed more dimly and shut down more rapidly when it inevitably arises. This is a case in point. I have no idea if anyone took the original posts serious or not (I hope not) but the fandom was pretty quick to turn the whole thing into a joke and pour ridicule on the idea that you were a "fake Eruri" if blah blah blah.

Anyway, I'm so glad you didn't let this nonsense put you off the Eruri fandom Anon and I'm glad you stuck around to enjoy all the amazing fic and art that we've been blessed with over the years.

[glassesandswords]

Hi, Ness. I’m pretty sure you still can befriend EL shippers. I bet there is mature people who don’t give a f about ship wars, so they won’t judge an entire fandom by them, who probably are always the same acc. If they do that, well, maybe those people weren’t made for you anyways.

You’re right, a lot of Eruri shippers are really chill people who ignore the ship wars and do what they love. They are super friendly too! One of my favourite people here is Momtaku and I respect and adore her so much.

Not to forget, the EL/LH multi-shippers who are an ABSOLUTE blessing to this fandom. I genuinely admire them because they are like, the true middle ground to all this bs shipping wars.

It's just that pointless squabbles like these tarnish everyone's reputations, no matter what ship they ship. In the end, these 'wars' create a mindset where people are judged not as individuals with their own personality/circumstances/preferences, but simply as a part of a group that a person may or may not like as a collective. Just like any other war in history did.

And now everyone's scared to make friends with the other community even if they wanted to, because what if you get bombarded with hate when you reach out?

I'm sure hundreds of people have said this before, but it is really important to get out of this mindset. If a person's taste in harmless ships- that happen to be different from yours- triggers you like this, imagine how much you'll be triggered if you see the diversity we have in the world? About people whose values don't match with yours? Especially considering Eruri and Levihan are very similar in what qualities they stand for- loyalty, respect, trust, selflessness, sacrifice, and companionship in the darkest of days.

Fighting over ships is like saying "The food I like is better than the food you like." AKA it doesn't make sense and it's petty. So what is it that you're really fighting for? To defend the honour of (let's face it) fictional characters and (again, let's face it) non-canon ships?

If the answer is yes, it's high time you get something interesting to do in your life. Use that energy to write some fanfics pls, there can never be too many fanfics.

TLDR: Shipping wars are pointless and I wanna be friends with solarfry so bad.

[olderthannetfic]

That ask about the ship between a 30 year old and 15 year old that turns about twenty later... It's ereri, isn't it?

As an ereri shipper for now almost a decade (damn) I've noticed two trends in the fandom when ageing up Eren.

The first one is the one I respect. It's mostly people who don't personally feel comfortable with Eren being 15 in their own works and only treat it as preference. They don't give shit to anyone for keeping his canon age. Curiously, they don't usually age him up to 18 except in AUs and instead make him 16/17. My theory is that these are ages that keep Eren in the realm of adolescence while globally accepted as the age of consent in a way 15 isn't. These people are chill.

The second trend is those who ship ereri but have been stung by the anti bug and have trouble accepting the ship in its whole problematic glory. They claim to only like post-timeskip ereri because he is an adult then, which is a bummer because 80% of content is pre-timeskip. They are influenced by a wider trend in the aot fandom that originates from people suffering from mild anti-ism and claim to only tolerate ereri if it's post-timeskip. These people won't harrass you directly, adopt a "discourse-neutral" stance and have enough internal logic to recognise they can't trash ereri when Eren is 18 lest they sound hypocritical. I've encountered many of those, I trust none of them.

To go back to the ereri shippers that want to exclusively ship them post-timeskip, there's two outcomes for them: either they eventually realise they like the ship too much and fiction is just fiction and embrace ereri in its full problematicness (yay!) OR they go full anti and start hating on the ship and bemoan how all the shippers are freaks and thirst on children (unyay).

Unfortunately, the latter is more common because the ereri fandom has since embraced the problematic appeal of the ship. To elaborate, in the past ereri shippers tried to appease and justify ourselves to those who hated us. We don't ship it bc of the age gap, we only like the dynamic... You get it. The truth is if an anti sees you shipping their NOTP they will find a way to call you problematic (*), there's no sense in arguing and ereri's problematicness is just blatant. So you have the ereri fandom producing lots of content that is problematic and occasionally dead dove (noncon and a/b/o are flourishing, the age gap is made more blatant, etc.) I personally love this but I can see how someone still under the influence of antis would freak out and run for the hills.

(*) I realised this when I found out the biggest ereri antis by far, eruri shippers, are in a bitter ship war with rivahan shippers which puzzled me because there's absolutely nothing remotely problematic about rivahan. And then I learned they called it problematic because of alleged homophobia (since Levi is supposedly gay and Hange is a woman). It's so flimsy, it's laughable.

What anon is referencing (if the ship is ereri of course) is, in my eyes, related to the second trend, someone who has been converted to antiism. Sigh.

And to end this long ass ask about ereri with some anti ridiculousness. Since ereri shippers are mostly unphased by Levi being about 30, some antis try to claim he is, no joke, a senior citizen. Yeah. It backfired and became memetic. Then some decided that since the age gap and abuse scaremongering doesn't work, perhaps claiming that Levi is Eren's father figure and the obvious implication of incest this has will. It also backfired.

Apologies for dropping this in your inbox, in my defense, shipping ereri since 2013 has made me the witness to so much.

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