#eremika.thoughts

it’s always a wonderful day to better understand the ackerbond

Ackermans were created to be the sword and shield for the eldian king, right? but they can't be controlled the same way Eldians can. so an Ackerman isn't a 'slave' to their bond with another person, but i feel they love more intensely than a regular person.

being a product of Titan science guarantees infallible strength and power of a Titan. but they're also human, so it makes sense that they'd look for connection to another person in the same way any other person would, but specifically an equal. so Ackermans look for something in a person that they themselves lack.

Levi looked for a bright future and a peaceful world, even for someone who has suffered and seen suffering as much as him, in Erwin.

Kenny looked for compassion, even for garbage like him, in Uri.

Mikasa looked for true love, even for a world as cruel as hers, in Eren.

it’s so so so so sweet when eren actually conquers the odm gear training, reiner, bert, and armin all automatically assume eren is being arrogant or filled with pride.

but eren is thinking (happily) of how mikasa won’t have to worry about him anymore.

and mikasa corrects armin

i love how mikasa is the only one who understands eren… it’s the same as levi and erwin except for their conflict. their “miscommunication” concerning freedom vs devotion, and what is love, which is the main theme of aot.

i think that eren and mikasa’s ‘ackerbond’ dynamic is an exact mirror of, and the more immature version of eruri, but it is not more unhealthy at its core.

arguably the main theme aot examines is what it means to be a slave and what it means to be in love, and straddling that line. for instance: eren went out of his way for mikasa to become independent and to keep from having to protect him. whether that was for mikasa’s freedom, or to preserve his pride and freedom is up to interpretation - and equally likely, when you don’t understand their bond. is mikasa choosing to protect eren anyway slave behavior or the behavior of someone in love?

mutually, levi continues to trust in and believe in erwin after he learns erwin leads the survey corps for selfish reasons, prioritizing freedom/the world outside/the debt he feels he owes to his father over others’ lives. is levi concluding, “it is what it is; i’ll still help you” the behavior of a slave or the behavior of someone in love?

here is where the immature vs mature distinction comes.

for eren and mikasa it’s simpler; mikasa promised carla she and eren would stay alive, they knew each other as kids through a traumatizing event, and at the end of the day mikasa wants to be by eren’s side with them both alive.

but naturally as two adult men, particularly with levi in particular maturing into an “adult” when he was still a child, their relationship is more mature. trust between two children is unashamed and even inherent, but in the first place levi was determined to kill erwin, and erwin saw levi as an object to further his goals. eruri’s bond of mutual trust is not “healthier” than eremika’s because it was more challenging to have happen, but it is more mature.

the one true marker of immaturity between the ackermans is their willingness to free their respective halves from the dream they were enslaved to. levi came to that decision much much much much “easier” than mikasa would; even during the battle of heaven and earth, annie tells her to focus on something else until eremika’s relationship climaxes like eruri’s did with their final conversation.

…this is more up to opinion, but eren’s actions ****towards mikasa**** was no more cruel than erwin was towards levi, but eren was much more immature at handling the conflict between them. erwin wouldn’t recognize levi’s devotion as the pure, unadulterated force it was; the greatest insult of all perhaps being the remark erwin made in his head that everything levi has done is a result of erwin having tricked him. on the other hand, eren would lie to mikasa in a final resort to push her away (note the trend) by telling her he had always hated her.

eruri don’t have this trend; they’ve always had the “mutual bond of equal trust”. it’s the world’s cruelty, creating a devil out of erwin, fueling his guilt, that would sew their entire personal conflict. for eren, it’s ingrained in him - to be “free” in every positive and every negative meaning, including being stubborn, and including running away to live with mikasa.

so again, eremika’s dynamic is technically more immature/simple, but not any more unhealthy. if you want to pick and choose, then technically their lifelong bond is better than eruri’s, but in fact their individual circumstances and differences create a respective relationship that’s just as secure and intense. immature, “innocent”, but not unhealthier.

An excerpt from: 'Monologue Drama: Mikasa's side' (i did not tear up while watching this not at all)