when through that mist i see the shape of you, and i know-i know that i'm in love with you.
1.5k words. angst. mutual pining.
The world is a ghost now.
You don’t remember when the mist swallowed the battlefield. One moment, the air was choked with screams and the stench of blood and the familiar haze of Titan steam; the next, it was silent, as if the earth itself had swallowed up all sound in one big gulp. Your leg burns where you’d hurt it hours ago, or was it minutes? Time blurs here, in this limbo of smoke and ever fading adrenaline. And here you were having injured the same leg you’d just gotten stitches in last week. Just your luck.
You limp forward, each step sinking into mud. The mist curls around your ankles, cold and clammy, and for a split second, you wonder if it’s the hands of your fallen comrades, dragging you down to the depths to join them. Your breath hitches, loud in the silent and the stillness, and you cover your mouth with your hand. Idiot. Breathe quieter. Breathe quieter or they’ll find you.
But there’s no “they” left. Only the fog, and the clang of your blade hitting against your thigh.
A twig snaps.
You freeze, fingers twitching toward your gear. Your heart hammers against your chest, feeling like a trapped bird with broken wings, desperate to escape. The sound comes again, closer. Closer. Closer.
Footsteps.
Not the thunderous crush of a Titan. Not the frantic scramble of a wounded comrade. This is controlled, almost silent, almost practiced. Your hand shakes as you unsheathe your blade.
“Tch. Stop staggering around like a drunk. You’ll reopen your stitches.”
The voice is low, raspy, frayed at the edges, but unmistakable. Relief floods you so violently your knees almost buckle.
Levi steps from the mist. His uniform is torn at the shoulder, dark with blood that may or may not be his own. Ash clings to the spiky black hairs of his undercut, and a fresh cut slices across his cheekbone, but his eyes, all steel and storm, are as sharp as ever. He surveys you with a scowl.
“Captain,” you rasp, voice weak and lips tasting like metal.
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he strides forward, boots squelching in the mud, and crouches to inspect your bandaged leg. His fingers are cold as he prods at the wound, but his touch is precise. You suppress a whimper.
“Pathetic,” he mutters. “You’d let a scratch slow you down?” But his hands tell a different story as he carefully inspects the wound.
You want to retort, to snap that this is more than a scratch, but the fight drains out of you when his hand lingers on your calf, just above the bandages. His thumb brushes the edge of a bruise, so faint you might’ve imagined it. But it doesn’t stop the racing of your heart nonetheless.
“I wasn’t… slowing down,” you manage. “I was looking for survivors.”
He scoffs, rising to his feet. “Tch. You are the survivor. And you’ll be a dead one if you keep wandering in circles.”
Before you can argue, he slings your arm over his shoulders. You stiffen, but he only adjusts his hold, ignoring the way your blood smears his uniform.
“What are you-?”
“Shut up,” he growls. “You’re worse than Hange when you talk.”
You let him drag you forward, too exhausted to protest, to argue…and if you’re honest the weight of his hold you is comforting in a way that you know might be because of the way you’re heart always seems to flutter when he’s near. But that’s not important now.
The mist thickens, and for a while, there’s only the rhythm of his breathing and the warmth of his side pressed against yours.
He finds a hollow beneath the roots of a massive oak, shielded from the wind and the worst of the thick fog. You collapse against the trunk, shivering as your adrenaline fades and the cold overcomes you. Levi disappears into the mist again, returning minutes later with an armful of damp branches.
“Don’t expect a five-star service,” he grumbles, striking a flint.
The fire sputters to life, its glow painting his face in flickering shadows. He sits across from you, closer than necessary, cleaning his blades with a rag. You watch him through half-lidded eyes, tired, eyes heavy. The firelight seems to softens the harsh lines of his face, and you watch his brows knit as he scowls at a nick in the steel.
He’s alive, you think. We’re both alive.
The realization comforts you.
You’ve spent years burying it. This stupid thing that curls in your chest whenever he’s near. When he’d bark orders during training, all ice and gruffness, and you’d pretend your pulse hadn’t quickened. When he’d pass you a cup of tea after a long night of paperwork, his fingers brushing yours for half a second, and you’d pretend you hadn’t sat there and memorized every speck of blue in his eyes.
Stupid. Reckless. Futile really.
Yet here, in the mist and the quiet of the forest, it’s harder to deny.
You must drift off, because when you jolt awake, the fire has dimmed to embers and Levi is staring at you. Well not at you, but through you, his gaze distant, like he’s seeing something else in the mist. There’s an intensity there in the specks of those blue-grey eyes and for a heartbeat, he looks… unguarded. Almost haunted. Like he’s realized something that lays heavy on his chest.
Then he blinks, and the moment shatters. Gone.
“You’re bleeding again,” he says flatly, nodding at your leg.
You glance down. The bandage is soaked through, crimson seeping into the white of your pants.
“Sit still.”
He moves before you can reply, kneeling at your side. He rips a piece of cloak, working to wrap it around your wound. The mist is heavy around you both, muffling the world beyond this spot under this big oak tree, until there’s nothing but the occasional crackle of the fire.
“Why did you come for me?” you ask suddenly.
His hands still on your leg. “What?”
“You had other priorities…?”
He doesn’t look up. “You’re a comrade. We don’t leave our own behind.”
“You’ve left others before.”
“When there’s no choice.” His voice hardens, almost defensive. “There was a choice today.”
The words hang in the air, heavier than they should be. You want to ask what he mean, but he finishes the bandage and leans back, face as unreadable as it’s ever been.
“Get some sleep,” he orders. “We move at first light.”
Dawn comes reluctantly. You try to stand, but your leg betrays you, buckling like flimsy paper. Levi catches you before you hit the ground, his arm banded around your waist.
“I swear to god,” he hisses, “if you die because you’re stubborn, I’ll kill you myself.”
You laugh weakly, your forehead brushing his collarbone. “Promises, promises.”
He stiffens. You expect him to shove you away, to curse and call you an idiot. But his grip tightens, fingers digging into your hip. When you tilt your head to look at him, his face is inches from yours, his breath warm against your lips.
And there it is, a look that makes your breath momentarily cease. The look you’ve seen on soldiers crouched over dying lovers, on mothers clutching lifeless children. Raw. Terrified. Furious. But this isn’t grief.
This is something else entirely.
You’ve loved him for years. Quietly. Secretly. A stolen glance in the mess hall, a shared flask on a winter patrol, the way he’d once shielded you from debris without a word. You’ve buried it under layers of discipline and denial, but here, in the mist and the blood and the carnage it almost threatens to spill.
Don’t, you beg yourself. Don’t. It’s impossible. Stupid. Reckless. Futile.
You hear shuffling in the distance.
He releases you like you’ve burned him, stepping back so quickly the mist swirls between you. His expression returns to normal, all sharp edges and colder than ice detachment.
“They’re here,” he says, turning away. “Stay put. I’ll send a cart.”
You watch him go, his silhouette dissolving into the fog. When the others arrive, he’s already barking orders, his voice cutting through the haze like a blade. He doesn’t look at you, not even when they lift you onto the stretcher.
But as the cart lurches forward, you glance back.
He’s standing at the edge of the clearing. The mist clings to him, softening his outline until he’s little more than a shadow.
A shape. A memory. A confession never spoken.
Weeks later, you find him on the barracks roof at dawn, a cup of tea steaming in his hands. The sky is clear, the air crisp, but he’s scowling at the horizon like it’s offended him.
“You hate the sun now?” you tease, leaning beside him.
He doesn’t smile. “I hate the clarity.”
You follow his gaze. The sun exposing every scar, every truth the mist hid. But when you look back, he’s already gone.
You never ask him about that day. Some thing are better left unsaid. But sometimes, when the steam curls off his tea, he’ll stare at you a moment too long. And you’ll pretend not to notice the way his fingers tighten around the teacup.
Just as he’ll pretend not to notice how your eyes follow him, always.
Not gonna call out people on Instagram...but are you guys confused...?
Him and his mother are not Japanese. Black hair and being related to a half Japanese person does not make you Japanese 💀 the Ackermans in general are not Japanese and they are not French either.
I’ve had this in my drafts for about 5 months because I’ve been too afraid of stirring the pot if my takes are hot, but I also really just enjoy character analysis so… this is my opinion!
Levi would not be a rough, mean dom in bed, and he wouldn’t have a high sex drive.
(CW: sex, prostitution, trafficking, all the Levi childhood things)
To start, if we look at his childhood, his mother was a prostitute in the Underground. And he was the direct product of this. While it was never specified exactly how Kuchel died — just that she was sick — I'd wager that it was almost definitely from an untreated STD; and even if not, it was precisely her dire circumstances that would've prevented her from receiving adequate treatment for any other illness. This lifestyle killed his mother, and we can see how deeply her death impacted Levi through even the smallest behaviors in his adult life; in the way he treats life as valuable, how he looks out for the young teenagers who end up on his squad, even in the way he holds his teacups. Kuchel loved him, and she was a kind person, but it didn’t matter—the world was too cruel of a place.
In Bad Boy, we see young Levi being threatened with the prospect of being sold into the same life as his mother — one of the men says, "We should make him do the same job as his mother. He might have inherited her talents." That's not something he'd easily forget, and, unfortunately, would likely be an experience that shaped his perception of self-worth, what sex is, and how the world works. This is not to say anyone is defined or shaped by their traumas, but our childhoods are very often where many of all our behaviors lead back to.
I'd imagine that if this is the life he grew up with, it would make his viewpoint on sex that it's something harmful, cruel, and unforgiving; it's a transactional means to an end, something taken with brutality, not an act of care, love, and intimacy.
There likely wasn’t anything in his life in the Underground to shown him otherwise, and he was there for all of his key, formative years. Even aside from his own personal experiences, we know that prostitution and trafficking ran rampant in the Underground—Mikasa and her mother were intended to be sold into it.
His abandonment by Kenny (who he almost definitely thought was his father at the time), only would've compounded his negative views regarding self-worth and the dysfunction/unreliability of relationships that are supposed to be caring, comforting, and nurturing. It took him decades to find out who Kenny really was or why he was abandoned—that's plenty of time for these emotional scars to cement themselves deep within him, even if subconsciously.
He'd then go on to lose basically anyone he'd ever dared to care about from that point forward—from Furlan and Isabel to the original Levi Squad to almost the entire Scout Regiment to Erwin to Hange to Sasha and Eren. Because of all of that emotional turmoil and the loss of all of his relationships that had mattered to him (despite his best efforts to keep them), I don't think emotional or physical intimacy would come easily to him or be something that he'd go out of his way to find, because why risk it? Why take the chances of getting attached to someone if your life is full of loss?
For that reason, I don't think he'd seek out sex just for the pure physical release. I think that for sex to even interest him at all, there'd have to first be a level of emotional connection and trust. With the right person, I'd reckon that over time, he'd develop a desire/need for it—it feels good physically, he'd see that it does foster intimacy, it would likely soothe some of his emotional wounds, and he'd want to please his partner. It’s also not to say he’d be overly gentle or timid or meek; but there’s a difference between passion and being rough with someone to the point of harm.
I just don’t envision him being particularly rough or dominating about it. He's not a violent or aggressive person at heart—only by necessity and circumstance. Honestly, I think, to some degree, he likely struggles internally with the super-human physical strength and fighting skills he's inherited. In my mind, it's not a far stretch to think that Levi has viewed himself as more of a tool/weapon/killer than a person, and I don't see him wanting to bring that into sex (or a relationship at all for that matter).
Levi didn’t choose to be an Ackerman/fighter — it was a perfect storm of his bloodline, Kenny’s influence, and the survival instinct necessary to live in the Underground that turned him into one. But that doesn’t mean that it’s his true nature. (Yes, he can at times reach a breaking point and lash out because he’s human, and almost no one constantly acts in line with their true nature and morality when put into dangerous, pressurized situations.)
I feel that Levi would want to avoid being violent or aggressive in an intimate setting, toward someone he deeply cares for, at all costs. Underneath his stoic exterior, crudeness, and the hardened mask he's often had to wear, he's shown to be a deeply caring, protective, and empathetic person.
Not to mention, I could genuinely see him being wary of his own sheer strength and not wanting to hurt his partner in any way or potentially scare them off, which would lead to yet another loss/abandonment.
Again, none of this is to say that a person’s trauma has to define them or shape their actions, feelings, and behaviors; but Levi is a deeply empathetic person, and I don’t see him easily shaking off seeing his mother’s tragic life, being abandoned, the loss he’s experienced, and the violence he has committed. Sure, it’s possible that after he gets into a relationship, or feels truly comfortable enough with someone, he’d be more open to different types of sex and not be as wary, but he’s just not a violent person in my eyes.
But mostly… I think, after a life of fighting and violence and aggression, he’d be eager to leave that behind when he can.
He’s not a violent dog, he doesn’t know why he bites.
This is not to discount anyone’s versions of Levi that they write/enjoy in fics/smut, I don’t really care what other people do and this isn’t about that. I’d never tell anyone what to do in regards to that. At the end of the day, we are really all just having fun here and living out our little fantasies as our our collective favorite character (I mean, I mostly write fluff pieces, so it's really not all that serious…). This just happens to be my take on Levi, it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s by any means, and I think character analysis is interesting! Pls don’t come for me, I won’t come for you!
What’s with ppl always pushing this view on others? Nothing here says anything about how he would be in bed, that’s all YOUR HEADCANON. Isayama confirmed Levi sees prostitution as another job so a lot of your take is wrong anyway but you don’t see anyone going after “sensitive levi” writers or hcs
Just write the content you wanna see instead of jumping on the hate train.
Did I not say it’s my opinion and that I don’t care what anyone else does with their fics or how they envision him in his head? Did I not say my view doesn’t have to be anyone else’s? Did I not say I’d never tell anyone what to do in terms of the fics/smut/interpretations they like and enjoy?
Nowhere did I say I “hate” when people view him a certain way. I genuinely don’t care what other people write, I’m just sharing my own thoughts and opinions, much like everyone else here. Also, nowhere did I say that what I think is fact or canon. No one’s interpretations of him are canon.
Perhaps, “people like you” should write the content you want to see instead of going out of your way to bash someone else’s opinion.
if you don’t care how others envision him, then don’t try to shove your own ideas on others throats 😪 make it make sense.
That doesn’t work other way around bae 😂 bc I don’t bash on anyone’s sensitive or soft gentle levi takes, I even enjoy them. while you bash on people who write levi differently. you can say it politely all you want, but it’s still “people like you” trying to police other fans.
this is going to be the last time i engage with you because i think you misunderstand the fundamental difference between sharing a perspective and trying to control what other people think. people have different opinions on almost every aspect of AOT, but only get this heated when it’s about their character of choice. like i said in the original post, i’d never try to control what anyone else does. write all the dominant, BDSM, levi daddy smut you want—if it’s fulfilling an entertaining to you, knock yourself out.
i don’t want everyone to have the same opinions. sounds overly homogenous and boring, where thought is stagnant. disagreeing with a viewpoint is normal—conflating it with attack and offense, or assuming it’s inherently antagonistic, is not. if someone wrote a think piece arguing the complete opposite, i’d read it and find it interesting—i wouldn’t think the person is trying to control the entire AOT fandom or shove their opinion down my throat.
interpretation is not a crime, though a lot of people on here take it as one. this is how people have interacted with media for way, way before the existence of tumblr—by having different thoughts and freely sharing them.
passive aggressive posts like this also try to shame and control ppl and also youre talking like ppl dont talk badly abt dom levi all the time? it’s literally “nobody: you: DOM LEVI IS BAD AND THIS IS WHY-“. idgaf don’t like it don’t read it, nobody’s coming at you for not liking or not writing dom levi, but yall think dom levi writers should be criticized or shamed.
You seem like one of those people who conflates your personal fantasy of who you want Levi to be with actual canon Levi. Pretty common in this fandom, unfortunately. It interferes with your fantasy of being Levi's sexual partner to acknowledge that Levi, canonically, has trauma revolving around sex and, particularly, forceful and violent sex. The fact you can't acknowledge that that's what's going on with you shows a lack of introspection on your part.
Anyway, @acmeangel You made an excellent analysis of Levi here, using actual, canon evidence to back up your view. I'd just ignore this clown from now on, and all the self-shippers in the comments who don't seem capable of separating their headcanons of who Levi is from who Levi actually is as a character. To them, Levi is just an avatar through which to indulge in their sexual fantasies, and whenever someone like you comes along, who disabuses them of that notion by discussing Levi's actual personality in canon, they lose their shit. They don't even want to acknowledge that Levi has a personality in canon, because it, again, interferes with their ability to cast him in the role of their personal sex god dom daddy, or whatever other made-up fictional role they want to assign him in relation to themselves. Talk about giving the self-shipping community a bad name.
Levi's primary characteristic is his empathy and compassion. His compassion is driven by his innate, deep empathy, his ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, and to also feel those emotions himself. Ergo, it makes perfect sense to assume Levi would feel compelled through his experiences with his mother, and through having been threatened himself with sexual violence, to show compassion toward women and to act in a manner opposite to how he witnessed them being treated in the Underground with regards to sexual encounters. Everything Levi does is driven by his empathy and the compassion which finds its roots in that aspect of his character. Every action he takes, every decision he makes, is compelled by a desire to protect and shield others from harm, particularly to protect them from going through the same, awful experiences of his own life. Again, that's something which finds its roots in Levi's naturally deep capacity for empathy. He wouldn't want to engage in behavior that he knows causes women harm because of his empathetic nature and compassion. And make no bones about it, Levi knows that sexual violence has a deeply negative impact on anyone who experiences it. If we're actually talking about Levi's canon personality, then what @acmeangel is saying about him makes a hell of a lot more sense than this ridiculous notion that some self-shippers push that Levi would be some violent, domineering, physically abusive asshole in bed. Again, that's nothing but pure projection of a sexual fantasy. It requires a total disregard for everything we know about who Levi is as a person. Which is fine, go ahead and project whatever you want onto him while writing your fanfiction or making your fanart. But don't go around acting like you're the one being objective and giving an unbiased analysis of his character while simultaneously ignoring everything about his character that might contradict what you want him to be in order to indulge your fantasies, attacking anyone who dares to actually talk about who Levi is as a character, based on what we see in the actual story itself.
HOE you think you're isayama? oh she thinks she's gonna decide on what's canon for Levi, gimme a break. Like the same can't be said for you and OP, confusing who you want Levi to be with actual canon Levi, writing cold af takes about how you think others are wrong bc it interferes with your fantasy. Acting like you know any better than everyone here as if this didn't start bc ppl keep trying to police writers.
All of those are your hcs and they have nothing to do with being a "sex god dom daddy" you're jumping here taking a chance bc you just wanna bash on smut writers (all of whom are thousands of times more loyal to levi's character than someone like you can ever be)
The only "clown" is you seeing Levi just as an avatar through which to indulge in YOUR sexual fantasies onto. Yet you and ppl with this take for some reason always acting like they're isayama himself. Nobody will criticize your take if you just wrote the content you want, but you all want to tell people they're wrong, when you're the one in the wrong yourself, or are just talking about things none of us can even know.
I know and love Levi's personality thousands of times better than the likes of you ever could, get off your high horse, fun police who isnt even capable of talking without insults ☺️
You're the one who came onto @acmeangel post and attacked them just for talking about Levi's traumatic childhood and how it's impacted certain aspects of his behavior in the present. Nobody said shit about the smut you "write". The post had nothing to do with you personally. You just decided to make it about yourself because you're apparently a narcissist incapable of viewing anything outside the context of your own, personal thoughts and feelings.
Anyway, that's all I've got to say to you. Bye, now.
Nothing says stuckup narcissist than acting like reblogs are office documents 😩 you take yourself too seriously, maybe log off and touch grass lolllll anime isn't supposed to be this serious
I reblogged their post to say that they shouldn't police people bc this is a take we see so much and unprompted. I don't write smut but I sure enjoy it, and I don't want writers to get bullied by people like you.
Again, you're the one who came onto a post to give your unsolicited opinion on a topic that had nothing to do with you.
You're telling someone they shouldn't "police" people while literally engaging in that exact behavior yourself. The lack of self-awareness is astounding. You also should work on coming up with your own ideas when attempting to insult others, because it just makes you look unoriginal when you parrot back what's been said to you. "I know you are, but what am I" type shit, lol.
I agree chinchillaerwin’s post deserved hate because they were hating on how writers choose to depict levi in their fanfics (and they have a history of hating on people’s fanfic depictions in general) but acmeangel’s post didn’t deserve hate - they were talking about their own interpretation of the canon and not demeaning fictional portrayals of levi
its the timing bae, acme sent that right after chincillas post. also even if its worded a bit nicer, in this fandom where we see the saaaammeeeeee COLD ASS take every week for no apparent trigger you cant not see it as an attack on writers
it's literally this
Nobody:
Random blogger of the week: LEVI IS NOT YOUR MEAN DOM DADDY AND THIS IS WHY
I’ve had this in my drafts for about 5 months because I’ve been too afraid of stirring the pot if my takes are hot, but I also really just enjoy character analysis so… this is my opinion!
Levi would not be a rough, mean dom in bed, and he wouldn’t have a high sex drive.
(CW: sex, prostitution, trafficking, all the Levi childhood things)
To start, if we look at his childhood, his mother was a prostitute in the Underground. And he was the direct product of this. While it was never specified exactly how Kuchel died — just that she was sick — I'd wager that it was almost definitely from an untreated STD; and even if not, it was precisely her dire circumstances that would've prevented her from receiving adequate treatment for any other illness. This lifestyle killed his mother, and we can see how deeply her death impacted Levi through even the smallest behaviors in his adult life; in the way he treats life as valuable, how he looks out for the young teenagers who end up on his squad, even in the way he holds his teacups. Kuchel loved him, and she was a kind person, but it didn’t matter—the world was too cruel of a place.
In Bad Boy, we see young Levi being threatened with the prospect of being sold into the same life as his mother — one of the men says, "We should make him do the same job as his mother. He might have inherited her talents." That's not something he'd easily forget, and, unfortunately, would likely be an experience that shaped his perception of self-worth, what sex is, and how the world works. This is not to say anyone is defined or shaped by their traumas, but our childhoods are very often where many of all our behaviors lead back to.
I'd imagine that if this is the life he grew up with, it would make his viewpoint on sex that it's something harmful, cruel, and unforgiving; it's a transactional means to an end, something taken with brutality, not an act of care, love, and intimacy.
There likely wasn’t anything in his life in the Underground to shown him otherwise, and he was there for all of his key, formative years. Even aside from his own personal experiences, we know that prostitution and trafficking ran rampant in the Underground—Mikasa and her mother were intended to be sold into it.
His abandonment by Kenny (who he almost definitely thought was his father at the time), only would've compounded his negative views regarding self-worth and the dysfunction/unreliability of relationships that are supposed to be caring, comforting, and nurturing. It took him decades to find out who Kenny really was or why he was abandoned—that's plenty of time for these emotional scars to cement themselves deep within him, even if subconsciously.
He'd then go on to lose basically anyone he'd ever dared to care about from that point forward—from Furlan and Isabel to the original Levi Squad to almost the entire Scout Regiment to Erwin to Hange to Sasha and Eren. Because of all of that emotional turmoil and the loss of all of his relationships that had mattered to him (despite his best efforts to keep them), I don't think emotional or physical intimacy would come easily to him or be something that he'd go out of his way to find, because why risk it? Why take the chances of getting attached to someone if your life is full of loss?
For that reason, I don't think he'd seek out sex just for the pure physical release. I think that for sex to even interest him at all, there'd have to first be a level of emotional connection and trust. With the right person, I'd reckon that over time, he'd develop a desire/need for it—it feels good physically, he'd see that it does foster intimacy, it would likely soothe some of his emotional wounds, and he'd want to please his partner. It’s also not to say he’d be overly gentle or timid or meek; but there’s a difference between passion and being rough with someone to the point of harm.
I just don’t envision him being particularly rough or dominating about it. He's not a violent or aggressive person at heart—only by necessity and circumstance. Honestly, I think, to some degree, he likely struggles internally with the super-human physical strength and fighting skills he's inherited. In my mind, it's not a far stretch to think that Levi has viewed himself as more of a tool/weapon/killer than a person, and I don't see him wanting to bring that into sex (or a relationship at all for that matter).
Levi didn’t choose to be an Ackerman/fighter — it was a perfect storm of his bloodline, Kenny’s influence, and the survival instinct necessary to live in the Underground that turned him into one. But that doesn’t mean that it’s his true nature. (Yes, he can at times reach a breaking point and lash out because he’s human, and almost no one constantly acts in line with their true nature and morality when put into dangerous, pressurized situations.)
I feel that Levi would want to avoid being violent or aggressive in an intimate setting, toward someone he deeply cares for, at all costs. Underneath his stoic exterior, crudeness, and the hardened mask he's often had to wear, he's shown to be a deeply caring, protective, and empathetic person.
Not to mention, I could genuinely see him being wary of his own sheer strength and not wanting to hurt his partner in any way or potentially scare them off, which would lead to yet another loss/abandonment.
Again, none of this is to say that a person’s trauma has to define them or shape their actions, feelings, and behaviors; but Levi is a deeply empathetic person, and I don’t see him easily shaking off seeing his mother’s tragic life, being abandoned, the loss he’s experienced, and the violence he has committed. Sure, it’s possible that after he gets into a relationship, or feels truly comfortable enough with someone, he’d be more open to different types of sex and not be as wary, but he’s just not a violent person in my eyes.
But mostly… I think, after a life of fighting and violence and aggression, he’d be eager to leave that behind when he can.
He’s not a violent dog, he doesn’t know why he bites.
This is not to discount anyone’s versions of Levi that they write/enjoy in fics/smut, I don’t really care what other people do and this isn’t about that. I’d never tell anyone what to do in regards to that. At the end of the day, we are really all just having fun here and living out our little fantasies as our our collective favorite character (I mean, I mostly write fluff pieces, so it's really not all that serious…). This just happens to be my take on Levi, it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s by any means, and I think character analysis is interesting! Pls don’t come for me, I won’t come for you!
What’s with ppl always pushing this view on others? Nothing here says anything about how he would be in bed, that’s all YOUR HEADCANON. Isayama confirmed Levi sees prostitution as another job so a lot of your take is wrong anyway but you don’t see anyone going after “sensitive levi” writers or hcs
Just write the content you wanna see instead of jumping on the hate train.
Did I not say it’s my opinion and that I don’t care what anyone else does with their fics or how they envision him in his head? Did I not say my view doesn’t have to be anyone else’s? Did I not say I’d never tell anyone what to do in terms of the fics/smut/interpretations they like and enjoy?
Nowhere did I say I “hate” when people view him a certain way. I genuinely don’t care what other people write, I’m just sharing my own thoughts and opinions, much like everyone else here. Also, nowhere did I say that what I think is fact or canon. No one’s interpretations of him are canon.
Perhaps, “people like you” should write the content you want to see instead of going out of your way to bash someone else’s opinion.
if you don’t care how others envision him, then don’t try to shove your own ideas on others throats 😪 make it make sense.
That doesn’t work other way around bae 😂 bc I don’t bash on anyone’s sensitive or soft gentle levi takes, I even enjoy them. while you bash on people who write levi differently. you can say it politely all you want, but it’s still “people like you” trying to police other fans.
this is going to be the last time i engage with you because i think you misunderstand the fundamental difference between sharing a perspective and trying to control what other people think. people have different opinions on almost every aspect of AOT, but only get this heated when it’s about their character of choice. like i said in the original post, i’d never try to control what anyone else does. write all the dominant, BDSM, levi daddy smut you want—if it’s fulfilling an entertaining to you, knock yourself out.
i don’t want everyone to have the same opinions. sounds overly homogenous and boring, where thought is stagnant. disagreeing with a viewpoint is normal—conflating it with attack and offense, or assuming it’s inherently antagonistic, is not. if someone wrote a think piece arguing the complete opposite, i’d read it and find it interesting—i wouldn’t think the person is trying to control the entire AOT fandom or shove their opinion down my throat.
interpretation is not a crime, though a lot of people on here take it as one. this is how people have interacted with media for way, way before the existence of tumblr—by having different thoughts and freely sharing them.
passive aggressive posts like this also try to shame and control ppl and also youre talking like ppl dont talk badly abt dom levi all the time? it’s literally “nobody: you: DOM LEVI IS BAD AND THIS IS WHY-“. idgaf don’t like it don’t read it, nobody’s coming at you for not liking or not writing dom levi, but yall think dom levi writers should be criticized or shamed.
You seem like one of those people who conflates your personal fantasy of who you want Levi to be with actual canon Levi. Pretty common in this fandom, unfortunately. It interferes with your fantasy of being Levi's sexual partner to acknowledge that Levi, canonically, has trauma revolving around sex and, particularly, forceful and violent sex. The fact you can't acknowledge that that's what's going on with you shows a lack of introspection on your part.
Anyway, @acmeangel You made an excellent analysis of Levi here, using actual, canon evidence to back up your view. I'd just ignore this clown from now on, and all the self-shippers in the comments who don't seem capable of separating their headcanons of who Levi is from who Levi actually is as a character. To them, Levi is just an avatar through which to indulge in their sexual fantasies, and whenever someone like you comes along, who disabuses them of that notion by discussing Levi's actual personality in canon, they lose their shit. They don't even want to acknowledge that Levi has a personality in canon, because it, again, interferes with their ability to cast him in the role of their personal sex god dom daddy, or whatever other made-up fictional role they want to assign him in relation to themselves. Talk about giving the self-shipping community a bad name.
Levi's primary characteristic is his empathy and compassion. His compassion is driven by his innate, deep empathy, his ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, and to also feel those emotions himself. Ergo, it makes perfect sense to assume Levi would feel compelled through his experiences with his mother, and through having been threatened himself with sexual violence, to show compassion toward women and to act in a manner opposite to how he witnessed them being treated in the Underground with regards to sexual encounters. Everything Levi does is driven by his empathy and the compassion which finds its roots in that aspect of his character. Every action he takes, every decision he makes, is compelled by a desire to protect and shield others from harm, particularly to protect them from going through the same, awful experiences of his own life. Again, that's something which finds its roots in Levi's naturally deep capacity for empathy. He wouldn't want to engage in behavior that he knows causes women harm because of his empathetic nature and compassion. And make no bones about it, Levi knows that sexual violence has a deeply negative impact on anyone who experiences it. If we're actually talking about Levi's canon personality, then what @acmeangel is saying about him makes a hell of a lot more sense than this ridiculous notion that some self-shippers push that Levi would be some violent, domineering, physically abusive asshole in bed. Again, that's nothing but pure projection of a sexual fantasy. It requires a total disregard for everything we know about who Levi is as a person. Which is fine, go ahead and project whatever you want onto him while writing your fanfiction or making your fanart. But don't go around acting like you're the one being objective and giving an unbiased analysis of his character while simultaneously ignoring everything about his character that might contradict what you want him to be in order to indulge your fantasies, attacking anyone who dares to actually talk about who Levi is as a character, based on what we see in the actual story itself.
HOE you think you're isayama? oh she thinks she's gonna decide on what's canon for Levi, gimme a break. Like the same can't be said for you and OP, confusing who you want Levi to be with actual canon Levi, writing cold af takes about how you think others are wrong bc it interferes with your fantasy. Acting like you know any better than everyone here as if this didn't start bc ppl keep trying to police writers.
All of those are your hcs and they have nothing to do with being a "sex god dom daddy" you're jumping here taking a chance bc you just wanna bash on smut writers (all of whom are thousands of times more loyal to levi's character than someone like you can ever be)
The only "clown" is you seeing Levi just as an avatar through which to indulge in YOUR sexual fantasies onto. Yet you and ppl with this take for some reason always acting like they're isayama himself. Nobody will criticize your take if you just wrote the content you want, but you all want to tell people they're wrong, when you're the one in the wrong yourself, or are just talking about things none of us can even know.
I know and love Levi's personality thousands of times better than the likes of you ever could, get off your high horse, fun police who isnt even capable of talking without insults ☺️
You're the one who came onto @acmeangel post and attacked them just for talking about Levi's traumatic childhood and how it's impacted certain aspects of his behavior in the present. Nobody said shit about the smut you "write". The post had nothing to do with you personally. You just decided to make it about yourself because you're apparently a narcissist incapable of viewing anything outside the context of your own, personal thoughts and feelings.
Anyway, that's all I've got to say to you. Bye, now.
Nothing says stuckup narcissist than acting like reblogs are office documents 😩 you take yourself too seriously, maybe log off and touch grass lolllll anime isn't supposed to be this serious
I reblogged their post to say that they shouldn't police people bc this is a take we see so much and unprompted. I don't write smut but I sure enjoy it, and I don't want writers to get bullied by people like you.
I’ve had this in my drafts for about 5 months because I’ve been too afraid of stirring the pot if my takes are hot, but I also really just enjoy character analysis so… this is my opinion!
Levi would not be a rough, mean dom in bed, and he wouldn’t have a high sex drive.
(CW: sex, prostitution, trafficking, all the Levi childhood things)
To start, if we look at his childhood, his mother was a prostitute in the Underground. And he was the direct product of this. While it was never specified exactly how Kuchel died — just that she was sick — I'd wager that it was almost definitely from an untreated STD; and even if not, it was precisely her dire circumstances that would've prevented her from receiving adequate treatment for any other illness. This lifestyle killed his mother, and we can see how deeply her death impacted Levi through even the smallest behaviors in his adult life; in the way he treats life as valuable, how he looks out for the young teenagers who end up on his squad, even in the way he holds his teacups. Kuchel loved him, and she was a kind person, but it didn’t matter—the world was too cruel of a place.
In Bad Boy, we see young Levi being threatened with the prospect of being sold into the same life as his mother — one of the men says, "We should make him do the same job as his mother. He might have inherited her talents." That's not something he'd easily forget, and, unfortunately, would likely be an experience that shaped his perception of self-worth, what sex is, and how the world works. This is not to say anyone is defined or shaped by their traumas, but our childhoods are very often where many of all our behaviors lead back to.
I'd imagine that if this is the life he grew up with, it would make his viewpoint on sex that it's something harmful, cruel, and unforgiving; it's a transactional means to an end, something taken with brutality, not an act of care, love, and intimacy.
There likely wasn’t anything in his life in the Underground to shown him otherwise, and he was there for all of his key, formative years. Even aside from his own personal experiences, we know that prostitution and trafficking ran rampant in the Underground—Mikasa and her mother were intended to be sold into it.
His abandonment by Kenny (who he almost definitely thought was his father at the time), only would've compounded his negative views regarding self-worth and the dysfunction/unreliability of relationships that are supposed to be caring, comforting, and nurturing. It took him decades to find out who Kenny really was or why he was abandoned—that's plenty of time for these emotional scars to cement themselves deep within him, even if subconsciously.
He'd then go on to lose basically anyone he'd ever dared to care about from that point forward—from Furlan and Isabel to the original Levi Squad to almost the entire Scout Regiment to Erwin to Hange to Sasha and Eren. Because of all of that emotional turmoil and the loss of all of his relationships that had mattered to him (despite his best efforts to keep them), I don't think emotional or physical intimacy would come easily to him or be something that he'd go out of his way to find, because why risk it? Why take the chances of getting attached to someone if your life is full of loss?
For that reason, I don't think he'd seek out sex just for the pure physical release. I think that for sex to even interest him at all, there'd have to first be a level of emotional connection and trust. With the right person, I'd reckon that over time, he'd develop a desire/need for it—it feels good physically, he'd see that it does foster intimacy, it would likely soothe some of his emotional wounds, and he'd want to please his partner. It’s also not to say he’d be overly gentle or timid or meek; but there’s a difference between passion and being rough with someone to the point of harm.
I just don’t envision him being particularly rough or dominating about it. He's not a violent or aggressive person at heart—only by necessity and circumstance. Honestly, I think, to some degree, he likely struggles internally with the super-human physical strength and fighting skills he's inherited. In my mind, it's not a far stretch to think that Levi has viewed himself as more of a tool/weapon/killer than a person, and I don't see him wanting to bring that into sex (or a relationship at all for that matter).
Levi didn’t choose to be an Ackerman/fighter — it was a perfect storm of his bloodline, Kenny’s influence, and the survival instinct necessary to live in the Underground that turned him into one. But that doesn’t mean that it’s his true nature. (Yes, he can at times reach a breaking point and lash out because he’s human, and almost no one constantly acts in line with their true nature and morality when put into dangerous, pressurized situations.)
I feel that Levi would want to avoid being violent or aggressive in an intimate setting, toward someone he deeply cares for, at all costs. Underneath his stoic exterior, crudeness, and the hardened mask he's often had to wear, he's shown to be a deeply caring, protective, and empathetic person.
Not to mention, I could genuinely see him being wary of his own sheer strength and not wanting to hurt his partner in any way or potentially scare them off, which would lead to yet another loss/abandonment.
Again, none of this is to say that a person’s trauma has to define them or shape their actions, feelings, and behaviors; but Levi is a deeply empathetic person, and I don’t see him easily shaking off seeing his mother’s tragic life, being abandoned, the loss he’s experienced, and the violence he has committed. Sure, it’s possible that after he gets into a relationship, or feels truly comfortable enough with someone, he’d be more open to different types of sex and not be as wary, but he’s just not a violent person in my eyes.
But mostly… I think, after a life of fighting and violence and aggression, he’d be eager to leave that behind when he can.
He’s not a violent dog, he doesn’t know why he bites.
This is not to discount anyone’s versions of Levi that they write/enjoy in fics/smut, I don’t really care what other people do and this isn’t about that. I’d never tell anyone what to do in regards to that. At the end of the day, we are really all just having fun here and living out our little fantasies as our our collective favorite character (I mean, I mostly write fluff pieces, so it's really not all that serious…). This just happens to be my take on Levi, it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s by any means, and I think character analysis is interesting! Pls don’t come for me, I won’t come for you!
What’s with ppl always pushing this view on others? Nothing here says anything about how he would be in bed, that’s all YOUR HEADCANON. Isayama confirmed Levi sees prostitution as another job so a lot of your take is wrong anyway but you don’t see anyone going after “sensitive levi” writers or hcs
Just write the content you wanna see instead of jumping on the hate train.
Did I not say it’s my opinion and that I don’t care what anyone else does with their fics or how they envision him in his head? Did I not say my view doesn’t have to be anyone else’s? Did I not say I’d never tell anyone what to do in terms of the fics/smut/interpretations they like and enjoy?
Nowhere did I say I “hate” when people view him a certain way. I genuinely don’t care what other people write, I’m just sharing my own thoughts and opinions, much like everyone else here. Also, nowhere did I say that what I think is fact or canon. No one’s interpretations of him are canon.
Perhaps, “people like you” should write the content you want to see instead of going out of your way to bash someone else’s opinion.
if you don’t care how others envision him, then don’t try to shove your own ideas on others throats 😪 make it make sense.
That doesn’t work other way around bae 😂 bc I don’t bash on anyone’s sensitive or soft gentle levi takes, I even enjoy them. while you bash on people who write levi differently. you can say it politely all you want, but it’s still “people like you” trying to police other fans.
this is going to be the last time i engage with you because i think you misunderstand the fundamental difference between sharing a perspective and trying to control what other people think. people have different opinions on almost every aspect of AOT, but only get this heated when it’s about their character of choice. like i said in the original post, i’d never try to control what anyone else does. write all the dominant, BDSM, levi daddy smut you want—if it’s fulfilling an entertaining to you, knock yourself out.
i don’t want everyone to have the same opinions. sounds overly homogenous and boring, where thought is stagnant. disagreeing with a viewpoint is normal—conflating it with attack and offense, or assuming it’s inherently antagonistic, is not. if someone wrote a think piece arguing the complete opposite, i’d read it and find it interesting—i wouldn’t think the person is trying to control the entire AOT fandom or shove their opinion down my throat.
interpretation is not a crime, though a lot of people on here take it as one. this is how people have interacted with media for way, way before the existence of tumblr—by having different thoughts and freely sharing them.
passive aggressive posts like this also try to shame and control ppl and also youre talking like ppl dont talk badly abt dom levi all the time? it’s literally “nobody: you: DOM LEVI IS BAD AND THIS IS WHY-“. idgaf don’t like it don’t read it, nobody’s coming at you for not liking or not writing dom levi, but yall think dom levi writers should be criticized or shamed.
You seem like one of those people who conflates your personal fantasy of who you want Levi to be with actual canon Levi. Pretty common in this fandom, unfortunately. It interferes with your fantasy of being Levi's sexual partner to acknowledge that Levi, canonically, has trauma revolving around sex and, particularly, forceful and violent sex. The fact you can't acknowledge that that's what's going on with you shows a lack of introspection on your part.
Anyway, @acmeangel You made an excellent analysis of Levi here, using actual, canon evidence to back up your view. I'd just ignore this clown from now on, and all the self-shippers in the comments who don't seem capable of separating their headcanons of who Levi is from who Levi actually is as a character. To them, Levi is just an avatar through which to indulge in their sexual fantasies, and whenever someone like you comes along, who disabuses them of that notion by discussing Levi's actual personality in canon, they lose their shit. They don't even want to acknowledge that Levi has a personality in canon, because it, again, interferes with their ability to cast him in the role of their personal sex god dom daddy, or whatever other made-up fictional role they want to assign him in relation to themselves. Talk about giving the self-shipping community a bad name.
Levi's primary characteristic is his empathy and compassion. His compassion is driven by his innate, deep empathy, his ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, and to also feel those emotions himself. Ergo, it makes perfect sense to assume Levi would feel compelled through his experiences with his mother, and through having been threatened himself with sexual violence, to show compassion toward women and to act in a manner opposite to how he witnessed them being treated in the Underground with regards to sexual encounters. Everything Levi does is driven by his empathy and the compassion which finds its roots in that aspect of his character. Every action he takes, every decision he makes, is compelled by a desire to protect and shield others from harm, particularly to protect them from going through the same, awful experiences of his own life. Again, that's something which finds its roots in Levi's naturally deep capacity for empathy. He wouldn't want to engage in behavior that he knows causes women harm because of his empathetic nature and compassion. And make no bones about it, Levi knows that sexual violence has a deeply negative impact on anyone who experiences it. If we're actually talking about Levi's canon personality, then what @acmeangel is saying about him makes a hell of a lot more sense than this ridiculous notion that some self-shippers push that Levi would be some violent, domineering, physically abusive asshole in bed. Again, that's nothing but pure projection of a sexual fantasy. It requires a total disregard for everything we know about who Levi is as a person. Which is fine, go ahead and project whatever you want onto him while writing your fanfiction or making your fanart. But don't go around acting like you're the one being objective and giving an unbiased analysis of his character while simultaneously ignoring everything about his character that might contradict what you want him to be in order to indulge your fantasies, attacking anyone who dares to actually talk about who Levi is as a character, based on what we see in the actual story itself.
HOE you think you're isayama? oh she thinks she's gonna decide on what's canon for Levi, gimme a break. Like the same can't be said for you and OP, confusing who you want Levi to be with actual canon Levi, writing cold af takes about how you think others are wrong bc it interferes with your fantasy. Acting like you know any better than everyone here as if this didn't start bc ppl keep trying to police writers.
All of those are your hcs and they have nothing to do with being a "sex god dom daddy" you're jumping here taking a chance bc you just wanna bash on smut writers (all of whom are thousands of times more loyal to levi's character than someone like you can ever be)
The only "clown" is you seeing Levi just as an avatar through which to indulge in YOUR sexual fantasies onto. Yet you and ppl with this take for some reason always acting like they're isayama himself. Nobody will criticize your take if you just wrote the content you want, but you all want to tell people they're wrong, when you're the one in the wrong yourself, or are just talking about things none of us can even know.
I know and love Levi's personality thousands of times better than the likes of you ever could, get off your high horse, fun police who isnt even capable of talking without insults ☺️
I’ve had this in my drafts for about 5 months because I’ve been too afraid of stirring the pot if my takes are hot, but I also really just enjoy character analysis so… this is my opinion!
Levi would not be a rough, mean dom in bed, and he wouldn’t have a high sex drive.
(CW: sex, prostitution, trafficking, all the Levi childhood things)
To start, if we look at his childhood, his mother was a prostitute in the Underground. And he was the direct product of this. While it was never specified exactly how Kuchel died — just that she was sick — I'd wager that it was almost definitely from an untreated STD; and even if not, it was precisely her dire circumstances that would've prevented her from receiving adequate treatment for any other illness. This lifestyle killed his mother, and we can see how deeply her death impacted Levi through even the smallest behaviors in his adult life; in the way he treats life as valuable, how he looks out for the young teenagers who end up on his squad, even in the way he holds his teacups. Kuchel loved him, and she was a kind person, but it didn’t matter—the world was too cruel of a place.
In Bad Boy, we see young Levi being threatened with the prospect of being sold into the same life as his mother — one of the men says, "We should make him do the same job as his mother. He might have inherited her talents." That's not something he'd easily forget, and, unfortunately, would likely be an experience that shaped his perception of self-worth, what sex is, and how the world works. This is not to say anyone is defined or shaped by their traumas, but our childhoods are very often where many of all our behaviors lead back to.
I'd imagine that if this is the life he grew up with, it would make his viewpoint on sex that it's something harmful, cruel, and unforgiving; it's a transactional means to an end, something taken with brutality, not an act of care, love, and intimacy.
There likely wasn’t anything in his life in the Underground to shown him otherwise, and he was there for all of his key, formative years. Even aside from his own personal experiences, we know that prostitution and trafficking ran rampant in the Underground—Mikasa and her mother were intended to be sold into it.
His abandonment by Kenny (who he almost definitely thought was his father at the time), only would've compounded his negative views regarding self-worth and the dysfunction/unreliability of relationships that are supposed to be caring, comforting, and nurturing. It took him decades to find out who Kenny really was or why he was abandoned—that's plenty of time for these emotional scars to cement themselves deep within him, even if subconsciously.
He'd then go on to lose basically anyone he'd ever dared to care about from that point forward—from Furlan and Isabel to the original Levi Squad to almost the entire Scout Regiment to Erwin to Hange to Sasha and Eren. Because of all of that emotional turmoil and the loss of all of his relationships that had mattered to him (despite his best efforts to keep them), I don't think emotional or physical intimacy would come easily to him or be something that he'd go out of his way to find, because why risk it? Why take the chances of getting attached to someone if your life is full of loss?
For that reason, I don't think he'd seek out sex just for the pure physical release. I think that for sex to even interest him at all, there'd have to first be a level of emotional connection and trust. With the right person, I'd reckon that over time, he'd develop a desire/need for it—it feels good physically, he'd see that it does foster intimacy, it would likely soothe some of his emotional wounds, and he'd want to please his partner. It’s also not to say he’d be overly gentle or timid or meek; but there’s a difference between passion and being rough with someone to the point of harm.
I just don’t envision him being particularly rough or dominating about it. He's not a violent or aggressive person at heart—only by necessity and circumstance. Honestly, I think, to some degree, he likely struggles internally with the super-human physical strength and fighting skills he's inherited. In my mind, it's not a far stretch to think that Levi has viewed himself as more of a tool/weapon/killer than a person, and I don't see him wanting to bring that into sex (or a relationship at all for that matter).
Levi didn’t choose to be an Ackerman/fighter — it was a perfect storm of his bloodline, Kenny’s influence, and the survival instinct necessary to live in the Underground that turned him into one. But that doesn’t mean that it’s his true nature. (Yes, he can at times reach a breaking point and lash out because he’s human, and almost no one constantly acts in line with their true nature and morality when put into dangerous, pressurized situations.)
I feel that Levi would want to avoid being violent or aggressive in an intimate setting, toward someone he deeply cares for, at all costs. Underneath his stoic exterior, crudeness, and the hardened mask he's often had to wear, he's shown to be a deeply caring, protective, and empathetic person.
Not to mention, I could genuinely see him being wary of his own sheer strength and not wanting to hurt his partner in any way or potentially scare them off, which would lead to yet another loss/abandonment.
Again, none of this is to say that a person’s trauma has to define them or shape their actions, feelings, and behaviors; but Levi is a deeply empathetic person, and I don’t see him easily shaking off seeing his mother’s tragic life, being abandoned, the loss he’s experienced, and the violence he has committed. Sure, it’s possible that after he gets into a relationship, or feels truly comfortable enough with someone, he’d be more open to different types of sex and not be as wary, but he’s just not a violent person in my eyes.
But mostly… I think, after a life of fighting and violence and aggression, he’d be eager to leave that behind when he can.
He’s not a violent dog, he doesn’t know why he bites.
This is not to discount anyone’s versions of Levi that they write/enjoy in fics/smut, I don’t really care what other people do and this isn’t about that. I’d never tell anyone what to do in regards to that. At the end of the day, we are really all just having fun here and living out our little fantasies as our our collective favorite character (I mean, I mostly write fluff pieces, so it's really not all that serious…). This just happens to be my take on Levi, it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s by any means, and I think character analysis is interesting! Pls don’t come for me, I won’t come for you!
What’s with ppl always pushing this view on others? Nothing here says anything about how he would be in bed, that’s all YOUR HEADCANON. Isayama confirmed Levi sees prostitution as another job so a lot of your take is wrong anyway but you don’t see anyone going after “sensitive levi” writers or hcs
Just write the content you wanna see instead of jumping on the hate train.
Did I not say it’s my opinion and that I don’t care what anyone else does with their fics or how they envision him in his head? Did I not say my view doesn’t have to be anyone else’s? Did I not say I’d never tell anyone what to do in terms of the fics/smut/interpretations they like and enjoy?
Nowhere did I say I “hate” when people view him a certain way. I genuinely don’t care what other people write, I’m just sharing my own thoughts and opinions, much like everyone else here. Also, nowhere did I say that what I think is fact or canon. No one’s interpretations of him are canon.
Perhaps, “people like you” should write the content you want to see instead of going out of your way to bash someone else’s opinion.
if you don’t care how others envision him, then don’t try to shove your own ideas on others throats 😪 make it make sense.
That doesn’t work other way around bae 😂 bc I don’t bash on anyone’s sensitive or soft gentle levi takes, I even enjoy them. while you bash on people who write levi differently. you can say it politely all you want, but it’s still “people like you” trying to police other fans.
this is going to be the last time i engage with you because i think you misunderstand the fundamental difference between sharing a perspective and trying to control what other people think. people have different opinions on almost every aspect of AOT, but only get this heated when it’s about their character of choice. like i said in the original post, i’d never try to control what anyone else does. write all the dominant, BDSM, levi daddy smut you want—if it’s fulfilling an entertaining to you, knock yourself out.
i don’t want everyone to have the same opinions. sounds overly homogenous and boring, where thought is stagnant. disagreeing with a viewpoint is normal—conflating it with attack and offense, or assuming it’s inherently antagonistic, is not. if someone wrote a think piece arguing the complete opposite, i’d read it and find it interesting—i wouldn’t think the person is trying to control the entire AOT fandom or shove their opinion down my throat.
interpretation is not a crime, though a lot of people on here take it as one. this is how people have interacted with media for way, way before the existence of tumblr—by having different thoughts and freely sharing them.
passive aggressive posts like this also try to shame and control ppl and also youre talking like ppl dont talk badly abt dom levi all the time? it’s literally “nobody: you: DOM LEVI IS BAD AND THIS IS WHY-“. idgaf don’t like it don’t read it, nobody’s coming at you for not liking or not writing dom levi, but yall think dom levi writers should be criticized or shamed.
I’ve had this in my drafts for about 5 months because I’ve been too afraid of stirring the pot if my takes are hot, but I also really just enjoy character analysis so… this is my opinion!
Levi would not be a rough, mean dom in bed, and he wouldn’t have a high sex drive.
(CW: sex, prostitution, trafficking, all the Levi childhood things)
To start, if we look at his childhood, his mother was a prostitute in the Underground. And he was the direct product of this. While it was never specified exactly how Kuchel died — just that she was sick — I'd wager that it was almost definitely from an untreated STD; and even if not, it was precisely her dire circumstances that would've prevented her from receiving adequate treatment for any other illness. This lifestyle killed his mother, and we can see how deeply her death impacted Levi through even the smallest behaviors in his adult life; in the way he treats life as valuable, how he looks out for the young teenagers who end up on his squad, even in the way he holds his teacups. Kuchel loved him, and she was a kind person, but it didn’t matter—the world was too cruel of a place.
In Bad Boy, we see young Levi being threatened with the prospect of being sold into the same life as his mother — one of the men says, "We should make him do the same job as his mother. He might have inherited her talents." That's not something he'd easily forget, and, unfortunately, would likely be an experience that shaped his perception of self-worth, what sex is, and how the world works. This is not to say anyone is defined or shaped by their traumas, but our childhoods are very often where many of all our behaviors lead back to.
I'd imagine that if this is the life he grew up with, it would make his viewpoint on sex that it's something harmful, cruel, and unforgiving; it's a transactional means to an end, something taken with brutality, not an act of care, love, and intimacy.
There likely wasn’t anything in his life in the Underground to shown him otherwise, and he was there for all of his key, formative years. Even aside from his own personal experiences, we know that prostitution and trafficking ran rampant in the Underground—Mikasa and her mother were intended to be sold into it.
His abandonment by Kenny (who he almost definitely thought was his father at the time), only would've compounded his negative views regarding self-worth and the dysfunction/unreliability of relationships that are supposed to be caring, comforting, and nurturing. It took him decades to find out who Kenny really was or why he was abandoned—that's plenty of time for these emotional scars to cement themselves deep within him, even if subconsciously.
He'd then go on to lose basically anyone he'd ever dared to care about from that point forward—from Furlan and Isabel to the original Levi Squad to almost the entire Scout Regiment to Erwin to Hange to Sasha and Eren. Because of all of that emotional turmoil and the loss of all of his relationships that had mattered to him (despite his best efforts to keep them), I don't think emotional or physical intimacy would come easily to him or be something that he'd go out of his way to find, because why risk it? Why take the chances of getting attached to someone if your life is full of loss?
For that reason, I don't think he'd seek out sex just for the pure physical release. I think that for sex to even interest him at all, there'd have to first be a level of emotional connection and trust. With the right person, I'd reckon that over time, he'd develop a desire/need for it—it feels good physically, he'd see that it does foster intimacy, it would likely soothe some of his emotional wounds, and he'd want to please his partner. It’s also not to say he’d be overly gentle or timid or meek; but there’s a difference between passion and being rough with someone to the point of harm.
I just don’t envision him being particularly rough or dominating about it. He's not a violent or aggressive person at heart—only by necessity and circumstance. Honestly, I think, to some degree, he likely struggles internally with the super-human physical strength and fighting skills he's inherited. In my mind, it's not a far stretch to think that Levi has viewed himself as more of a tool/weapon/killer than a person, and I don't see him wanting to bring that into sex (or a relationship at all for that matter).
Levi didn’t choose to be an Ackerman/fighter — it was a perfect storm of his bloodline, Kenny’s influence, and the survival instinct necessary to live in the Underground that turned him into one. But that doesn’t mean that it’s his true nature. (Yes, he can at times reach a breaking point and lash out because he’s human, and almost no one constantly acts in line with their true nature and morality when put into dangerous, pressurized situations.)
I feel that Levi would want to avoid being violent or aggressive in an intimate setting, toward someone he deeply cares for, at all costs. Underneath his stoic exterior, crudeness, and the hardened mask he's often had to wear, he's shown to be a deeply caring, protective, and empathetic person.
Not to mention, I could genuinely see him being wary of his own sheer strength and not wanting to hurt his partner in any way or potentially scare them off, which would lead to yet another loss/abandonment.
Again, none of this is to say that a person’s trauma has to define them or shape their actions, feelings, and behaviors; but Levi is a deeply empathetic person, and I don’t see him easily shaking off seeing his mother’s tragic life, being abandoned, the loss he’s experienced, and the violence he has committed. Sure, it’s possible that after he gets into a relationship, or feels truly comfortable enough with someone, he’d be more open to different types of sex and not be as wary, but he’s just not a violent person in my eyes.
But mostly… I think, after a life of fighting and violence and aggression, he’d be eager to leave that behind when he can.
He’s not a violent dog, he doesn’t know why he bites.
This is not to discount anyone’s versions of Levi that they write/enjoy in fics/smut, I don’t really care what other people do and this isn’t about that. I’d never tell anyone what to do in regards to that. At the end of the day, we are really all just having fun here and living out our little fantasies as our our collective favorite character (I mean, I mostly write fluff pieces, so it's really not all that serious…). This just happens to be my take on Levi, it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s by any means, and I think character analysis is interesting! Pls don’t come for me, I won’t come for you!
What’s with ppl always pushing this view on others? Nothing here says anything about how he would be in bed, that’s all YOUR HEADCANON. Isayama confirmed Levi sees prostitution as another job so a lot of your take is wrong anyway but you don’t see anyone going after “sensitive levi” writers or hcs
Just write the content you wanna see instead of jumping on the hate train.
Did I not say it’s my opinion and that I don’t care what anyone else does with their fics or how they envision him in his head? Did I not say my view doesn’t have to be anyone else’s? Did I not say I’d never tell anyone what to do in terms of the fics/smut/interpretations they like and enjoy?
Nowhere did I say I “hate” when people view him a certain way. I genuinely don’t care what other people write, I’m just sharing my own thoughts and opinions, much like everyone else here. Also, nowhere did I say that what I think is fact or canon. No one’s interpretations of him are canon.
Perhaps, “people like you” should write the content you want to see instead of going out of your way to bash someone else’s opinion.
if you don’t care how others envision him, then don’t try to shove your own ideas on others throats 😪 make it make sense.
That doesn’t work other way around bae 😂 bc I don’t bash on anyone’s sensitive or soft gentle levi takes, I even enjoy them. while you bash on people who write levi differently. you can say it politely all you want, but it’s still “people like you” trying to police other fans.
this is going to be the last time i engage with you because i think you misunderstand the fundamental difference between sharing a perspective and trying to control what other people think. people have different opinions on almost every aspect of AOT, but only get this heated when it’s about their character of choice. like i said in the original post, i’d never try to control what anyone else does. write all the dominant, BDSM, levi daddy smut you want—if it’s fulfilling an entertaining to you, knock yourself out.
i don’t want everyone to have the same opinions. sounds overly homogenous and boring, where thought is stagnant. disagreeing with a viewpoint is normal—conflating it with attack and offense, or assuming it’s inherently antagonistic, is not. if someone wrote a think piece arguing the complete opposite, i’d read it and find it interesting—i wouldn’t think the person is trying to control the entire AOT fandom or shove their opinion down my throat.
interpretation is not a crime, though a lot of people on here take it as one. this is how people have interacted with media for way, way before the existence of tumblr—by having different thoughts and freely sharing them.
passive aggressive posts like this also try to shame and control ppl and also youre talking like ppl dont talk badly abt dom levi all the time? it’s literally “nobody: you: DOM LEVI IS BAD AND THIS IS WHY-“. idgaf don’t like it don’t read it, nobody’s coming at you for not liking or not writing dom levi, but yall think dom levi writers should be criticized or shamed.
