Ereri

"He is a headstrong youth. In his childhood, in his trainee days, he got into numerous fights and gained an unaccountable number of injuries. He had even nearly gotten killed by traffickers. He had even gotten swallowed by a titan...Yet, that violence and any other form of pain will never break the boy’s spirit."

- Levi about Eren in Burning Bright Ereri is the slash ship between Eren Jaeger and Levi Ackerman from the Attack on Titan fandom.

Canon
Although there are no obvious romantic tones in the pair's relationship in either the manga or the anime and their relationship is only ever described as "friendship," Eren has a strong sense of respect for Levi built up throughout the story. Levi cares about Eren's wellbeing, but that's mostly part of his job assigned to him by Commander Erwin.

To Eren, Levi represents everything he comes to respect: freedom from the outer walls, hatred of Titans, and a desire to avoid the fate set out for oneself. At one point, Eren inquires about Levi's past and Petra informs him that he was once a thug in the Underground.

The beginning of their canon relationship is mostly dominated by Eren's hero-worship and Levi's belief that Eren little more than a monster with the potential to become an asset to humanity.

When Eren is taken into custody, Levi asks him, "What is it you want to do?" Eren fiercely responds that he wants to "join the Survey Corps and slaughter some Titans," to which Levi says, "Not bad." Interested by Eren's attitude towards Titans, Levi takes responsibility for him, vowing that if he "betrays us or goes berserk, I'll kill him on the spot."

When things go wrong for Eren at his trial and it becomes clear he will be sentenced to execution, Levi makes a show of kicking and degrading him in front of the court to demonstrate that he can keep Eren under control. Erwin believes Eren's abilities to be a vital asset and seals Eren's fate as a member of the Survey Corps. Even before they met, Levi and Erwin had looked into Eren's background, so they knew that he could handle the level of violence Levi exhibited towards him in the courtroom.

Eren is expressive and hot-headed, while Levi is closed-off and abrasive. His stoic expression often makes it difficult for others to tell what he's thinking or feeling. However, both characters prefer communicating through body language rather than words. There are also many parallels between their backgrounds; both grew up without mothers, and had to resort to violence to reach their goals.

In the visual novel, Burning Bright in the Forest of the Night, released as an official DVD bonus feature, Levi describes his developing attitude towards Eren over the course of the series. Over time, a guardian/ward type of relationship grows between the two. Because of this, Eren is able to open up to Levi without fear of being judged, since Levi understands much of what he feels. However, Levi does not hold back in his criticisms of Eren, making their relationship a little different from the standard "mentor/mentee" relationship. Unlike Mikasa and Armin, Levi is not hesitant to label Eren a "monster" at an early point in their relationship and consistently calls him a "brat." Levi's criticisms often intensify Eren's self-doubt, but Levi is simultaneously very good at reassuring Eren.

In his early days with the Survey Corps, Levi ordered Eren to get his Titan abilities under control for the sake of humanity. However, when the rest of the squad calls him a monster after an accidental shift, Levi takes Eren's side, asking him if he's alright and later explaining why the squad reacted the way they did.

After the deaths of their squad members, Levi consoles Eren, emphasized that there was nothing Eren could have done to save them, and telling a wry joke in an attempt to lighten the mood.

During their female Titan expedition, Levi helped Mikasa save Eren, although he injured his ankle and going against his aversion for filth during this rescue attempt. Levi is often described as a "clean freak," but we learn in Episode 9 of the anime that Levi tends to only touch dirty things if he deems it necessary.

Although Eren's hero-worship of Levi fades over time, he maintains a great respect for him and works harder to impress Levi than anyone else. At one point, even though he is in the middle of a crisis, Eren goes out of his way to help Jean clean things to Levi's standards, leading to him being called a "nagging housewife." When Levi makes a comment about the lackluster job the squad did cleaning, Eren is the only one who seems to care.

When Eren begins to suffer from the intense amount of training he's been subjected to, Levi is the one to notice and make sure he takes a break. He offers Eren a tissue and comments that "he probably used his titan powers too much,"

At the beginning of their relationship, Levi was apathetic and disinterested towards Eren, but shows great concern for him at various points throughout the series. By they time they reach the final battles, it seems that killing Eren himself like he suggested at the start of the series would be very difficult for Levi.

Quotes
"The wings... of freedom..."

- Eren watching Levi, Chapter 14 "Eren...You're not wrong. If you wanna do it, go ahead...I know. He's a true monster. It's got nothing to do with his Titan power. No matter how much he's held back, no matter what cage he's in...No one can force him...to submit."

- Levi about Eren while escaping from the female Titan (Chapter 25)

"The difference between our judgement and yours is experience. But... You don't have to fall back. Choose, believe in yourself, or believe in me and them... The Survey Corps. I don't know the answer, I never have. Whether you trust in the choices made by reliable comrades. No one knows when the outcome will be. So, as much as you can... choose whatever you'll regret the least."

- Levi to Eren about choosing decisions (Chapter 25) "Stop right now! Yeah, you Rod Reiss!! You tiny old man- ... Ah!!"

- Eren accidentally insulting Levi, Chapter 67 "Hey...Is that...Eren?"

- Levi watching how Eren got hit by the Colossal Titan, Chapter 80

Fanon
Levi consistently dominates in both Japan and the West, while Eren is the series' main protagonist. Because of this, it has become the most popular slash pairing of the franchise and is also widely considered to be one of the most popular yaoi ships in Japan (particularly when it comes to doujinshi sales). The two are also represented in more official art and merchandise than any other Attack on Titan pairing because of the relative popularity of the characters.

Although Levi's age has never been officially confirmed, Isayama has stated that he is "surprisingly old," so it has often been suggested that he is in his early 30s. Because Eren is 16 (as of March 2016), this has led to controversy surrounding the ship, particularly in the western fandom. Despite this, the fanbase continues to grow, with some preferring to focus on the emotional bond between the two or choosing to reimagine the characters at different stages in their lives, and others stressing that the extraordinarily cruel world of Attack on Titan has given Eren an emotional maturity that almost matches Levi's, stating that "age is just a number." Eren is currently 19 in the manga and the anime, making him of legal age. However, some still believe the ship is morally wrong since the pair met when Eren was just 15.

The vulnerability of humanity in the face of Titans and the brutal deaths of Levi and Eren's loved ones have led some fans to imagine that they would develop a romantic/sexual relationship overtime, finding comfort in one another. Both have violent tendencies and struggle with the weight of responsibility placed on them as "humanity's hope" and "strongest soldier/s," and there are moments between Levi and Eren in canon that suggest they could overcome these issues together. On a superficial level, Levi's cold demeanor and his treatment of Eren in Episode 14 lend themselves easily to a sadomasochistic template. Eren's inner fire combined with the unwavering respect he feels for Levi indicates that there's not much he wouldn't do to satisfy him.

However, although the standard seme/uke dynamic prevalent in most yaoi animes suits Eren and Levi, fans like the pairing because both characters are well-rounded and neither are completely submissive or controlling. Eren could easily overpower Levi, and vice versa.

The popularity of the ship in Japan can also be attributed to the prevalence of Yūki Kaji (Eren's voice actor) and Hiroshi Kamiya (the voice of Levi) as Seiyuus. In addition to their voice acting credits in anime and gaming, both have done a number of 'BLCDs' (Boys' Love CDs), which have a huge market in Japan. A crossover of clips from these CDs has over 1.8 million views on YouTube. Although there is little to no probability of Levi and Eren ever interacting romantically in canon, the fan culture is encouraged by what are effectively fanon sex-tapes.

Levi and Eren's interaction in the courtroom scene is not the foundation of their relationship, and the popularity of the ship isn't exclusively sexual. A popular theme for Eren and Levi fan works (and Attack on Titan fan works in general) is that of reincarnation. After all of the suffering both have experienced at the hands of Titans and humans alike, there is comfort in the thought that, after death, they could lead a happy life in the modern world.

Levi's status as Captain in the canon world and the power dynamic this entails has also led to a number of alternate-universe (AU) fanfictions being written, with the predominant theme being those set in a school (largely thanks to the official parody series "Attack on Titan: Junior High").

Levi's cold and calm attitude in contrast to Eren's hot-headed character has also led to a surge in works placing Levi as a company boss and Eren a distracted college student. Unlike the characters in 50 Shades of Grey, Eren and Levi are accustomed to violence but not abusive, and are familiar with their boundaries. Thus, the artists who make connections between the two franchises, such as in this '50 shades of Ereri' YouTube "trailer" are clear in their belief that by incorporating Isayama's characters and the concept of reincarnation to the franchise they could "transform it into a meaningful one, with similar visual expression."

As well as BLCDs and fan artists, Ereri shippers are also benefited by the huge number of official works relating to the couple. Magazine spreads, advertisements for watches, and even Eren dreaming about Levi on an official CD track all contribute to the prevalence of the pair in the Attack on Titan fanbase.

Fandom
FAN FICTION


 * Eren/Levi tag on FanFiction.net
 * Eren/Levi tag on FanFiction.net
 * Eren/Levi tag on FanFiction.net

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