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here's the thing: its hard for me to be convinced about erwin as a stone cold bastard dom, because while he is powerful and manipulative, he isn't particularly authoritative. i enjoy that historia confronts both erwin and levi in this scene, bc they offer the same response-
-operating under the principle of 'follow my order or don't, the consequences are yours to face'. as with almost every other instance of erwin's leadership, he sympathizes with human weakness, and always asks for those under him to make their own decisions.
for instance, even in his interpersonal relationships, he doesn't scorn or judge others negatively for choosing to live 'cowardly'. with nile, he respects that his friend chose the conventional, safe life- even admires the unique strength it takes to raise a family.
every example of his manipulative tendencies is him making an appeal to a person's sense of agency. his fixation during the uprising arc with "who gets to make the decision" existed even during the first military tribunal, in which the staged performance of eren getting his shit-
-kicked in was a deliberate demonstration to the other military commanders that they did not have the agency to control eren as they thought, HE did, because at his disposal is the unmatched power of levi.
but he understands his win conditions. without levi's strength, he had no leverage. without appealing to nile's love for his family, he had no coup d'etat. erwin is... EXTREMELY capable and he knows it, but is still lightyears away from being arrogant.
