ANCHORED.

⚓︎

July 12, 854.

I have lost everything, Mein Herz. I hung onto my father's pride, my mother's love and my sister's name when they had all been long, long gone, merely faded blots of ink on the page of time. I hung onto my dreams of leading a life of purpose and heroism and righteousness, stretching my hand towards the stars, unaware that they had always been — and would always be — out of my eager grasp. How long those years were! Those endured years when I clung tight, a slave to my hope, even as my fingers slipped treacherously from the blood that stained them. Was that the price for what I wanted? How much blood did my love have to cost? I asked the world, and was met with grave, deafening silence.

But now, I am not who I was. I have no need to latch onto things that have ceased to exist; even the searing wound of remembering you has begun to fade. A dull throb from another time, another life, another name. For the first time in strained months and never-ending years, I am unanchored to my past. And I have turned my back on my father, my mother, my darling sister, my hometown, and you. No longer can I helplessly, hopelessly watch your spirits burn.

自　由　の　翼

CAST.

EMIL FISCHER THE UNANCHORED

portrayed by Felix Mallard

EIKE FISCHER THE FATHER'S PRIDE

portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen

LILYA PETROVA THE MOTHER'S LOVE

portrayed by Cate Blanchett

MILA FISCHER THE SISTER'S NAME

portrayed by Billie Gadsdon

    ⚹.  ᨵׁׅ   🪽

JEAN KIRSTEIN

Sam Claflin

AXEL STARK

Maxence Danet-Fauvel

MIKASA ACKERMAN

Suzu Hirose

MARCO BODT

Taylor Kae Knott

で　は　足　り　な　い

BACKGROUND.

YEAR 854, present time. Snatched away from his hometown in 850, Emil Fischer has resided in the continent of Marley for four years. Outside the walls, it is not Titans that roam the vast lands, ravaging everything in sight and crushing corpses into sand — it is humans that traipse across fields and mountains, humans that chase pigeons down cobbled streets, humans that share stories by the fireplace at night. Here is Emil Fischer's one and only chance to start over, to live a new life away from bloodshed; here is Emil Fischer's only chance to move on from the man who does not love him back.

    ⚹.  ᨵׁׅ   🪽

Author's Note.

Thank you for being here! A few disclaimers: This is largely going to be a character exploration fic with little real-time plot progression — however, there will be many flashbacks that will hopefully spur your interest in the unfurling of Emil's past. This fic will be written in third-person, contrary to the misleading opening monologue. Also, Emil is an unreliable narrator because I wholeheartedly love unreliable narrators. Take what he says about himself with a grain of salt, because he is utterly terrible at any form of emotional acceptance. Potentially disturbing themes include violence, abuse and racism (everything AOT.)

Thank you to my friend group (H8BOTS) for being very pretty and very sweet. Special thanks to Rei, Char and Nadya for (hopefully) inducing a writing renaissance with me. Cover & layout are both mine.

There is something else I'd like to say: although the world of AOT purports to be a dystopia, there are notable similarities between Isayama's world and the world we live in. Was it fair for Eldian children to be persecuted for crimes their ancestors had committed? Similarly, regardless of your views on the October 7 attack, is it fair for 13,000 Palestinian children to be massacred as a result? Every day, the horrors committed in Palestine by the IDF get worse. This is an ongoing genocide; it is not something we can shut ourselves off to, just because these people look different from us, or just because we feel as though we aren't qualified to speak on the subject. There is no excuse — everyone can see the stone-cold facts. Boycott, donate, educate. Don't be afraid to speak up. We are on the right side of history.

With that said, thank you again for taking the time to read. Enjoy!