Why Ereri/Riren should be embraced, not discouraged.
Recently, me and a close friend of mine were having an argument on whether or not Ereri/Riren should be canon, and why it’s even a ship to begin with. And that made me wonder, “Why did we, the fandom, even ship this to begin? And why does it make such perfect sense to us?” So, I decided to dig deeper into this ship.
First off, let me clear up a few things. Ereri/Riren is NOT pedophila. The legal age of consent in Japan IS fifteen, and Eren Jaeger IS fifteen. So if someone were to write him sleeping with Levi in a fanfic, it’s isn’t pedophila. “But the age of consent in America is eighteen, so it is pedophila!” Uh, no. It’s not. A person I recently met stated that if Isayama had been American, he would’ve written Eren off as eighteen. And like I said, fifteen is the legal age of consent it JAPAN. And if you look at other shonēn and shoujo manga/anime, the majority of the protagonists/main characters are 14/15 and older. So if they were to be included in any fan fictions, it wouldn’t be pedophila.
Second, don’t write it off as “gross” or “disgusting” or “immoral”. That’s just bigotry, and you should get the fuck off of Tumblr. The pairing of Eren, the last hope for humanity, and Levi, humanity’s strongest soldeir, wouldn’t be that terrible. I understand that in an anime like Attack on Titan, it’s hard to be “romantic and lovey-dovey”, but who gives a shit? Yumikuri is canon, and they barely show any love except for Ymir’s protective nature towards Christa/Historia. Speaking of protective nature, let’s get this out of the way: I doubt Erekasa will ever be canon. Sure, Mikasa has a protective nature towards Eren, and her comrade’s joke about Eren being her “boyfriend”, but that’s only because she’s so….well….protective. Eren has shown no interest in Mikasa whatsoever, and I’m sure he only sees her a sister because they’re like….no, ARE family.
[☆ Side Note: Petra × Levi was never canon or confirmed. Levi showed no interest in Petra romantically, and Petra loved and admired Levi’s dedication and strength as a leader. Nothing more, nothing less. ☆]
Third, if you ever were to consider the possibility of it being canon, you have to take in the fact that it’s Attack on Titan. So, it’s basically an apolocalypse/kill-or-be-killed scenario. Titans are slaughtering hundreds of people and you could very well die the next day, so who gives a fuck who you love and who you wanna be with as long as the feeling is mutual? No one’s gonna care about the age difference in the middle of a slaughter fest.
Fourth, the ship’s representation. I mean, it represents the ‘Wings of Freedom’ for Christ’s sake. Eren, humanity’s last hope. Levi, humanity’s strongest soldeir. The colors of the ‘Wings of Freedom’ are: White: light, goodness, innocence, positivity, and hope. (Eren) And blue: trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, and truth. (Levi) I mean, what’s strength without hope? You can’t have one without the other.
Lastly, the pairing as a whole. This link explains Levi and Eren’s relationship more thoroughly than I ever could, so I’d encourage you to check it out: http://erens-jaeger-bombs.tumblr.com/post/92186415110/a-look-at-eren-levis-relationship
The symbolism in their first meeting, what happened after the courtroom scene, their conversation after the incident with the female titan, it’s all so…meaningful. It’s not a disgusting, perverted ship: it’s probably one of the most beautiful, thoughtful ships out there and I support it to the fullest extent possibly.
THANK YOU
@sunshynesflower this needs more notes
