Cardamom and Other Stories

This has been a real labour of love, I'm so excited to finally be able to share Cardamom and Other Stories with you. This book is available to buy worldwide in softcover & hardback from Blurb at the following links.

Heartfelt thanks to @seitsen-sarvi​ for her beautiful artwork, this book would not have happened without her.  And thank you also to @momtaku​, @lordirrelevant​ and everyone who has encouraged my writing over many years.  I owe you all a huge debt of gratitude ❤️

Awww thank you so much ❤️ It's honestly a pleasure to have been part of this amazing fandom for so long. The generosity and creativity of the Eruri fandom never ceases to amaze me and I've met so many good friends over the years. It's lovely to know you're enjoying the fandom so much too 🥰

Thank you so much! I'm glad you've found my fics useful :)

In terms of finding a beta, you could just try asking around the fandom. There's a very active Eruri writing community on twitter and I have seen people asking for betas there and getting lots of replies. Some of the folk there also run an Eruri writing discord called Devoted Hearts and writing event, EruriWriMo, which is a great way to meet other writiers. You can find out more about Devoted Hearts and EruriWriMo here: @EruriWriMo. I know there's an active Eruri fandom on TikTok too but I don't go there so I'm not sure if many writers hang out there. Don't be afraid to ask around, it's a very friendly fandom. Good luck!

Oh man I have a lot of thoughts about this.  I totally agree with everything you've said, however I can also understand people's reticence to dwell on grief, it's a difficult and overwhelming emotion. I know there are a lot of fans who want to believe that postwar Levi was able to live his best life, unencumbered by grief, and enjoying his freedom with Gabi and Falco.  And I also know that there are some fans who are really offended by the idea that Levi would spend the rest of his life grieving, never moving on from those he lost during the war. Certainly living a hollow, grief stricken life is a terrifying prospect, however grief isn’t that simple.  One of the best explanations of grief I’ve come across said that when you lose someone you love, you don’t just forget them, or replace them, time can never heal that wound or fill that void. However with time and patience your life can grow around that absence and expand to encompass new people, new love, new experiences.  The absence is always there, it becomes part of you, and your life continues to grow around it. I think Mikasa is actually a good example of that.  It’s clear that she continued to love Eren for the rest of her life, but that didn’t stop her from loving other people and going on to raise a family.  I don’t think she ever “moved on” from Eren, no one could ever replace him,  but I do think she was still able to find love in the world.  The Ackermans were fierce and constant in their love and their loyalty; both Mikasa and Kenny remembered their liege, their chosen person, to the end of their days, and I see no reason for Levi to be any different.  I believe Erwin’s absence would have left an indelible mark on Levi, and I don’t think anyone could ever replace him, however I also believe that Levi was able to forge a new found family with Gabi, Falco and Onyankopon and I hope he was able to end his days peacefully. 

If you're interested, I've written several fics about Levi's life after the war that explore his grief for Erwin and his fallen comrades, and his new life with Gabi and Falco.

Ooof there’s  a lot of different questions here but I think they boil down to the following: 

I’ve answered the first question many, many times over the years. You can read all my various answers here.  In short I do think that Erwin reciprocated Levi’s feelings and I think the evidence is there in the manga, the official guidebooks, the Smartpass stories, and the side content for anyone who cares to see it. I’m not going to list all the side content here, but there’s a very old post by @erbeansandravioli that links to a lot of it: Eruri receipts.

As to why people question Erwin’s relationship to Levi, well that’s an interesting one.  Some people clearly just don’t get Erwin’s character (see the previous ask I just answered), they don’t understand his role in the plot or the significance of his relationship to Levi.  For example I’ve seen people arguing passionately that Levi’s vow had nothing to do with Erwin, which is just mind boggling to me. It’s certainly true that Erwin is a much harder character to read than Levi who very much wears his heart on his sleeve.  Erwin is more reserved, and holds his cards closer to his chest.  However the fact that Levi is the only one who he reveals his true self to is significant. Daisuke Ono put it beautifully when he said in an interview that the amplitude of Erwin’s feelings is so great that it can be hard to see.  

It could also be that some, perhaps younger, readers just don’t recognise their relationship for what it is. It’s certainly not a typical shounen romance, but it is a deeply believable adult relationship; one that is based on mutual trust, respect and understanding. This is from a previous ask I answered on the subject:

And as to whether I’ve ever doubted the ship, the answer to that would be no, never.  Sure we’ve never seen them swear undying love in canon (though some would argue with that and point to Erwin’s "Arigatō Levi".) I wrote this in response to an ask about Eruri canonicity: 

Having said that, you are absolutely right that you don’t need any canon evidence to ship a couple.  Hell, I’ve had great fun written Hanji and Petra as a side ship and I don’t think they ever even interacted in canon.  In Erwin and Levi’s case though there is more than enough evidence in canon to attest to the significance of their relationship. 

Hope this answers your questions.

Really?? Erwin had “no role in the story whatsoever and was barely even present”? Are you sure she was watching the same show? Erwin is the catalyst that sets in motion many of the major plot mechanics of the first half of the series. Besides the small matter of overthrowing the government, and setting up Levi’s showdown with Zeke, how many times did he save Eren’s sorry ass? Sheesh. 

There is an interesting point here though and it’s one that tsuki addressed recently in response to a very astute Anon who said

It’s worth reading the rest of this ask, because in terms of explaining Erwin’s role in the story, I honestly couldn’t have explained it better myself. I wonder if your sister fell into the trap of equating screen time with significance? In which case I’d argue that’s a media literacy issue. I should add that of course it’s fine to dislike Erwin as a character, he doesn’t float everyone’s boat and people will always have their own preferences, but to say that he has no role in the story is just plain wrong.

Sure thing Anon! I've got a rec list here of Sports AUs which @the-memoirs-of-a helped put together and I also have one for Skating AUs. Please also enjoy this beautiful art by @ackermantihora The capture of the freedom bird and @itaya54's stunning snooker Eruris. Enjoy!

Hi Anon, sorry, nothing is springing to mind. Perhaps someone else can recommend someting?

Tricky one. Usually the attraction tends to be mutual from the off. Here's a few that do feature Erwin actively seeking Levi's attention though.