While most of the fandom seems to now understand that Levi’s age is not, in fact, 34, but rather unconfirmed, there’s still enough speculation to add my two cents.
All we know from Isayama is that ‘Levi is older than he looks.‘ People took this by meaning he’s in his mid to late thirties and “canonizing” his age as about 34, but I think it’s simply not the case. To illustrate why, I went ahead and picked multiple pictures of him alongside Mikasa and Eren much younger than him, as well as alongside other grown adults, including his squad, Erwin, and Hange.
Something is completely clear by doing so: Levi looks like he could be as young as Eren and Mikasa, at least face-wise. He has a cheeky face and large eyes, and even Petra and Hange’s faces, the faces of women, are longer than his. Petra’s eye size is similar, and even Hange is drawn with doe eyes when she lifts her goggles, but that alone is interesting– his eyes are as large as a woman’s.
The differences between Aururo, Erd, Erwin, and Gunter and Levi, with their more noticeable chins and their bigger noses, proves a point: When Isayama says that Levi is younger than he looks, he is referencing the fact that face and height-wise(even if he has a very masculine, adult body, as spoken about here), he looks like a fifteen-year-old boy.
Levi’s age is still a mystery, but considering how he is in top physical condition, has been in the Scouting Legion for at a minimum of five years, and had a famous criminal past beforehand, it’s possible he’s anywhere between his late twenties and mid thirties. But we shouldn’t treat anything as canon until we hear the words come out of Isayama’s mouth or see the words in the manga: 'Levi is ____ years old.’
Interesting points ! I searched, but I didn’t find any confirmation regarding Levi’s real age. Just that sentence by Isayama stating he “is older than he looks”, which is not saying much since he looks like 18 lol.
Also, I’ve just read the Smartpass interviews, and the journalists interrogate him on his background, and he says he was in the Underground as a “kid” (the people of the Underground also remember him as a kid), and that he saw the Outside in his early twenties or something. So he would be around 22-25 by the time of ACWNR, so in his late twenties-30 at most at the start of the show.
➵ Levi Ackerman x gn!survey corps member!reader one-shot
➵ Canon-compliant, fluff, canon-typical angst and violence, takes place a bit before the fall of Shiganshina, can be read as platonic
Sleeping as a soldier was always uncomfortable. It didn't matter if you slept at base, under a tent, or with your back against a tree; the space always managed to feel cramped.
The smell of wet earth mixed with blood and horse musk wouldn't leave your memories, even years after the end of the war. You had no remedy but to cover your nose and mouth under your cape or your shirt and try to ignore the nausea for long enough to fall asleep...
Captain Levi always smelled good. Not of flowers and perfume, surely, but there was something to it, like the timbre of his voice, that always felt good. Maybe it's because he always kept himself clean, even when it was inevitable to end up covered in sweat and blood in places nobody could even imagine at the end of a mission.
You noticed it when he saved you from getting caught by a titan's hand. He grabbed you before the giant could and moved you to safety.
Being on the verge of death leaves one remembering only the smallest details, the things that usually wouldn't matter: The mole on his neck right under his ear; the path of his veins under his skin; the fragility of the cloth his cravat is made out of; the smell of grass and sweat and Levi, of security, of something that is alive and feeling amidst the monsters roaring around you.
You realized that day that your captain wasn't as unreachable as you thought he was. He was humanity's strongest, yes; but he was also right beside you, trying to keep warm in front of the same fire, just at arm's length, under the same roof as you. Not just a hero, not just a perfect ideal, but human.
❀
You started poking at that realization. You would walk a little closer to him, pat him on the shoulder to say good morning, tap his arm to get his attention instead of just calling his name.
Levi was always warm. Especially his hands. You would come to notice when he helped you stand up after you slipped on the floor you'd just scrubbed clean for him.
You thought it was because he'd just taken his gloves off but then he grabbed you by the arm while walking through the market because you stayed behind petting a cat and his palm was just as warm; comforting, even with the callouses and keloid scars.
You would lean your head on his shoulder when you traveled at night, borrowing his heat and basking on that scent that always slowed your heart rate down mixed with the expensive soap he insisted on using for his uniform before it had a chance to get dirty.
"Don't fall asleep." Was all he usually said.
One night, he grimaced at the weight of your head on him. He was recovering from an injury and hadn't told anyone. His breath hitched with pain.
"Captain?" You looked up at him with worry.
"It's nothing," he brushed it off immediately.
You pressed on his shoulder with your fingers. He had gathered his stoic expression already, but you didn't miss the way his jaw tensed up.
You clicked your tongue, brushed his hair behind his ear. It made him shiver. "Don't lie to me, Captain."
"I'm not."
"That shoulder's swollen."
"You can just sit on the other side if you want to. I don't mind."
You paused. "I don't mind that either. I mind that you're in pain."
"I'll be fine."
You sneaked your arms around his waist and nuzzled gently where his injury was still tender. He went so still you wondered if he was breathing.
"Do you mind this?"
"... No."
"Good."
Levi put a hesitant hand on your arm.
"Why do you insist on being so close to me when we're traveling?"
"Because you're warm."
"You can bring a scarf or a coat over your uniform."
"But I prefer doing this."
He scoffed, and pressed your arm just a little closer to his abdomen.
"Why didn't you tell me you were injured?"
"... I didn't deem it necessary."
"Please don't hide those things from me, sir."
He mulled over the thought, staring ahead, eyebrow slightly furrowed. His thumb traced circles on your forearm, spinning around the same way he spun you in his mind, tighter and tighter until you were forever tied to his heart.
❀
Levi was as touch starved as you were. He wasn't used to contact that doesn't involve violence. Hange wouldn't hold back on showing their affection through it, everyone knew that, but a bear hug brought on by euphoria wasn't the same as you holding him during a ride because it's comfortable.
He never dusted his shoulder off after you lifted your head, he never wiped his hands after touching you, never felt the need to clean his office when you stayed too long in the cramped space with him.
He started resting his arm on the back of your chair whenever you placed yourself next to him, which was most days, his arm sneaking closer and closer to your back every time. You didn't question it when his fingers traced lazy patterns on your shoulder while sipping his tea, something he barely even noticed himself.
With time, he knew to expect you to hug him when you saw each other first thing in the morning, before the rest of the team could join in. He would receive you with open arms, the smallest smile tugging on his poker face, and even squeeze you gently before letting go some days.
With time, he started resting on your shoulder during rides, too. Whenever you moved through the city under the shade of the carriage, he would lean in and close his eyes, hide his face on the crook of your neck; somehow going through whatever conversation that was happening like nothing was out of the ordinary if you had company, while everyone else's minds went blank.
❀
Levi ended up being the one to fall asleep on you. Just once. After what you thought of as a successful mission. The scouts lost seven soldiers, a little less than usual, and Hange was carrying a sample to study back at their lab. Levi didn't see it that way.
Your captain stared at his boots, praying to gods he didn't believe in for his bleeding comrades on the carts, slipping in and out of his thoughts when one of them cried out louder or when the road got too bumpy.
At that moment, enveloped in his grief, he was more delicate than ever, and so he shut the outside world and retreated into himself.
You got out with an injury on your leg; he got out with no more than the usual bruise and scratch; some lost their limbs but survived the ride back to reunite with the team; some lost half of their bodies before death could come to rescue them.
"Four of the soldiers we lost today came from Krolva," he stated quietly. "The other three came from Trost."
He cleared his throat, lowered his head further, eyes pinned to the wood of the cart. "I promised one of them I'd show her my favorite tea blend if she came back alive today."
Levi tugged you by the sleeve of your jacket, unblinking, disconnected. You scooted closer to him and wrapped an arm around him.
That seemed to snap him out of his daze. He glanced at the stain on your uniform, soaked with blood that hadn't dried yet where your thighs met, and exhaled tiredly before laying his head on your shoulder.
❀
"Give me your hands, sir."
You asked him once on a late night, in front of the light of a single oil candle, when neither of you could sleep. He went downstairs after he got tired of the view from his office window and found you reading in an attempt to lull yourself back to bed.
He furrowed his eyebrows, but indulged you anyways, relaxing as soon as he felt your gentle grip. He exhaled slowly, wondering how he ended up in that situation when you ran your thumbs over his rough knuckles, examining them like they had precious stones instead of bruises.
"I don't want to forget your hands..." You'd said. "I realized I can recall your face perfectly at any time, but not your hands. The hands that saved me..."
He flexed his fingers, halting you in your movements. "I'm not your savior. You've survived all the way here of your own merit."
"I'm not talking about survival." You smiled at him, pulled his hands to your cheeks, pressed your face on his palm and closed your eyes. He stared at your blankly, bewildered.
"I'd forgotten what human warmth feels like. It had been years since..." You trailed off with a sigh.
He took another deep breath before daring to caress your cheekbone, his stone gaze softening little by little.
"Is it weird that I realized how lonely I was because of you?"
You smiled sadly, searching for his grey eyes. You found them tracing your features, engraving them deep in his mind, where he could revisit this moment whenever melancholy assaulted him.
"You brought that loneliness to the surface at once, then took it away from me, little by little..."
He narrowed his eyes. "Funny, I've been thinking of it the other way around this whole time."
Imagine you found out about something that has never once crossed your mind,
with Captain Levi.
levi x gn reader
Genre||Vibe; nights at the regiment headquarters, "what are you doing here?", past curfew, superior role, squad captain, saw-something-you-weren't-supposed-to, just another scout (?), you should be in bed, unspoken-rule-to-not-mention-it-to-anyone-but-you-probably-will
Summary; As a newly appointed squad captain for your consistently great performance in the regiment, you were now technically authorized to roam the headquarters past curfew. Tonight was one of the first times you'd done so and, well, you may or may not have found something about a certain captain during your little stroll...
🗡a/n; i've been wanting to write something with levi in glasses as well as a canon-compliant setting TEEHEE. i will most definitely write another glasses related fic some time in the near future since this technically is just a cute surprise thing. hope you enjoy! all my love ^^
The Scout Regiment Headquarters was dead quiet at this hour.
It was just the quiet flicker of torches on walls and the wind that howled across the many empty hallways of the castle were the only other sounds. The shadows that danced around the fire were the only other moving company you had.
Your boots clicked against the cold stone floor, walking around to clear your head after the day’s heavy paperload. Reports left and right—some from Sect Commander Hange, most from Commander Erwin that were passed to Captain Levi then to a different squad captain, then passed to you.
As one of the newly appointed Captains, they were merely easing you into the new kind of work that didn’t just involve physical ability and brute strength. Being introduced to the world of office work wasn’t exactly the funnest thing about the promotion.
Though the no curfew did feel nice.
This was one of the first few nights when you actually decided to walk around past midnight, you quite enjoyed the silence.
You were bee lining around the place, until you ended up pushing the Mess Hall’s door open, the still atmosphere of the place feeling rather unsettling since you were used to standing in it with the noise of the regiment surrounding you. But it was peaceful, in a sense.
Your gaze swoops across the big space, the empty tables, the cold chairs, and the few lit torches. Something small on one of the tables caught your eye. A quick glint of light that you saw the moment it came and went when the fire hit it at the right angle.
You went down the small set of steps and walked over to the table, eyes glued to the thing—glasses.
Before you thought much about it, you had already picked it up, inspecting it closely, wondering who could've possibly owned it and left it here this late. Surely if it was some regular scout, they would’ve come back for it before curfew, so that narrows it down to people who were allowed out past it.
The only other person you could consider was Hange—they could’ve stayed at the mess hall late or around this hour and may have forgotten their glasses…this one didn't look like the ones they owned though…
“Oi.”
Your back stiffened straight at the sudden echo of a voice, when you turned around, you were already half expecting who to see with that voice and terrifyingly quiet gait.
“Captain Levi,” you began, saluting, holding the glasses conveniently on the hand that settled behind your back, “hello.”
He’d waved your salute off and walked down the steps, eyes scanning you then the tables around you—specifically the one you were standing by.
“...can I help you?”
“What are you doing out late?” He asked rather than answered the pretty stupid question you had just asked—which in your defense, you were startled by his sudden appearance—what on Earth were you supposed to say in this situation? He stopped a good meter away in front of you, arms crossing loosely.
“I was just taking a stroll around, Captain.” You explained, mouth and posture tight. He still technically was your superior despite now having the same title.
Levi eyed you for a good moment before he turned his head away and clicked his tongue, “Stand down, Levi is fine.” He said sternly before looking back, “Authorized pass for curfew doesn’t mean you could roam around at night. It’s for late meetings.”
You sucked in a breath after that. That makes sense, though if you didn’t know any better, you would've argued with asking him why he was out then since you weren’t made aware of any meetings. You chose not to, not with that look on his face no.
“Yeah. Right.” You swayed forward a little as you gave him a reluctant nod, "I'll leave you to whatever it is you’re doing then.” A pause lingered then you walked past him when Levi had returned the nod, his attention elsewhere now.
Glancing back as you neared the short steps, you watched him, at least for a second longer before he could point out that you were staring.
He seemed to be looking for something. You just then remembered the glasses you had found and were still holding. Against your better judgement, you stopped abruptly and looked down at it, then turned around before your mind could even catch up to what you were doing.
“Capt—Levi,” your voice almost cracked when you corrected yourself.
Levi raised a brow and turned slightly, enough just to look at you when you’d called, and enough to see what you were holding. His eyes flicked to your face, then the glasses, then to your face again.
You cleared your throat, “Do you think these are Hange’s?” You asked, voice with a clear wing of uncertainty. “...I found them left there,” you said quietly, nodding at the table he now hovered around.
Levi blinked once, then for a second he looked like you could see the cogs in his head turn to think, but before you could even dare guess what he was thinking, he’d already beat you to it by speaking.
“They’re mine.”
It was your turn to blink.
His? Captain Levi wore glasses??
“Oh.” Was all you managed. Levi was already in front of you, hand asking for the glasses—his glasses, to which you automatically handed, “I—”
“Go to bed, brat.”
Your mouth was well zipped up when he’d walked past you, up until he was entirely gone from the mess hall.
You scoffed. Didn’t think humanity’s strongest soldier needed glasses. It never crossed your mind.
Now you just had another reason to like your promotion because frequenting in his office for paperwork meant that you can have hopes of catching him wearing them.
'til next time. cheers, my love
p.s; i want to write more canon-compliant imagines/scenarios so i'd love to hear a wee bit of feedback on how levi's written here. that's it YIPEEE!
the best fanfiction you've ever read was written by a woman in her 40s before she made dinner for her kids. it was written by a teenager after school when they should've been studying for a history test. and a barista came up with the idea while they cleaned the espresso machine and busser fact-checked it on their break and the post-doc edited between writing grant proposals and the nurse apologized for typos in the notes after a long shift and behind every drabble and one-shot and multi-chapter fic there is a person with a wonderful and interesting and chaotic life and it is such a privilege that we get to be apart of it because they decided to do this thing we all share, for fun.
Do something creative even if it sucks. Do something creative even if it sucks. Do something creative even if it sucks. Do something creative even if it sucks. Do something creative even if it sucks. Do something creative even if it sucks. Do something creative even if it sucks.
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