‧˚𑁍ܓᴛsᴜᴍᴜ!! ࣪˖

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Content Warning: Discussion of rape, sexual abuse, and sex trafficking

“Bad Boy” makes it even more explicitly clear that the Underground was no place for a child. From the “Bad Boy” panels alone, it is evident that Levi likely had constant people preying on him at all times—especially before he awakened his Ackerman powers. All these men Levi encounters here had no issue beating a child to (near) death or selling him into sexual slavery. Similar to the way it is portrayed in the “A Choice with No Regrets” storyline, the Underground is also described by Levi as “hopelessly dirty” with “rotten air”. 

It is significant to note here that Levi was well-known for being a prostitute’s son; all of those men were aware of Levi’s relation to Kuchel, even before Levi himself made it clear. They wanted to traffic him for that reason. In terms of speculation, it is very believable and even highly probable that Levi experienced sexual assault and rape before he awakened. Having grown up in a brothel with his mom, and now further seeing how common sex trafficking in the Underground was and also Levi’s infamy for being a prostitute’s son—there is no doubt that Levi was exposed to extreme levels of sexual violence regularly, whether it be him being witness to it, him experiencing the direct threat of it such as in “Bad Boy,” or him experiencing the actual act. The trauma of this is impossible to overstate. It seems the most likely, however, that Levi has had direct personal experience with the act itself, as men would have likely continued visiting “Olympia” after she died (and before Kenny appeared), and upon discovering she was no longer a viable option to have sex with, some of those men would have set their sights on Levi, who was a helpless child in the process of starving to death. 

The men in “Bad Boy” spoke about Levi as if he was born strictly to live a life of sexual slavery, referring to him as a “whore’s child” and discussing how they’d be able to profit from making him do the same job as his mother, saying he may have “inherited her talents”. Levi had probably heard this sort of language used in his presence before. As such, it would not be surprising if Levi had learned to expect this sort of treatment, as if he was placed in the world solely to suffer. Levi would have sought out a reason for this—why must he constantly be subjected to suffering? Is it because there is something wrong with him? If that’s the case, what specifically is wrong with him? It is important to consider as well that Levi’s entire sense of identity at this point was wrapped up in being the son of a prostitute and being raised by a serial killer, who may or may not have been his father. 

The violence Levi was subjected to in “Bad Boy,” such as having his head repeatedly smashed against the ground with a fist, would have most certainly resulted in his death, or at the very least, permanent brain damage, had Levi’s powers not awakened in that moment. However, what’s notable to me during all of this is the absence of Kenny’s presence. This indicates that Kenny would leave Levi alone in the Underground for significant enough periods of time that Levi still had the opportunity to find himself in situations of extreme danger, situations such that would have resulted in his death. Given what we know about Levi’s childhood from Kenny’s recollection of it in the main series, Kenny would subject Levi to fights against fully grown men in order to develop Levi’s combat skills and likely prompt his awakening. It is also clear in these “Bad Boy” panels that Levi already knew how to fight, given the way he initially tried to protect himself from being beaten by all those men. He was, however, helpless in protecting himself, given the deep disadvantage he had from being a child, as well as being faced against multiple opponents. Levi’s combat skills after his awakening also demonstrated he already had significant training. The responsible thing for an adult in Kenny’s position would have been to, not teach Levi how to fight, but remove him from the environment that necessitated that knowledge in the first place.

Needless to say, this practice was cruel and immensely abusive. The amount of psychological damage and self-worth issues this would undoubtedly cause Levi are immeasurable. It was Kenny’s responsibility to protect Levi’s childhood innocence, but it is because of Kenny’s actions (and inactions) that Levi was placed in a position of having to kill multiple men as a young child. Kenny may have saved Levi from the imminent death of starvation, but his abuse and abandonment ultimately caused Levi more harm than good in the long-run; he taught and exposed Levi to a life of violence. Indeed, Kenny wanted Levi to be a force for violence. That is all he ever modeled for Levi and desired from him, even though he had the capability of sparing Levi from such experiences. However, it speaks to Levi’s innate goodness that he still loved Kenny after all he was made to suffer by him and even forgave Kenny by the end.

The awakening of Levi’s powers demonstrated to Levi the idea that he was an agent of destruction and a monster. Recall back to the moment during the “Uprising” arc when a man accuses Levi of being such and Levi simply responds, “Maybe I am”. Levi’s awakening was described by Levi as a form of dissociation, as if he was not fully aware of what he was doing. Consider his words here: “I didn’t think it was strange that something had happened to me at the time. The pain in my head disappeared and I felt calm, as if my head was submerged in water. And the idea of what to do came to mind. But I just followed the instinct and acted accordingly.” And yet, Levi likely blames himself for the brutality of which he killed his attackers, despite acting in self-defense and having no other recourse. It was an answer to his question: what is wrong with him? He must be a monster. Being forced into such a situation as a child would instill this view in Levi that he was born into his life only to bring suffering to others. That is why he suffers in turn.

This perception of an inner monstrosity in Levi is furthered by what the man in the glasses tells him directly after this: “Stop doing things that will make your mother in heaven sad!” Levi’s impression of Kuchel, his mother, was the one thing that brought him comfort in his life. He remembered her “elegant” posture. With these man’s words, even that one comfort was lost to Levi. Now the thought of his mother would instead be associated with the idea that she would view him as bad—that she would have seen his “murderous” actions and would cast judgment on him. This is completely incorrect, of course. The only reason Levi even awakened his strength was because he was protecting his mom’s image from the cruel words the men were speaking against her. Levi was severely beaten to near death, all because he loved his mom essentially. Think of the tragedy of that; Levi was directly punished for loving someone. This further demonstrates that innate goodness in Levi—how he continues to love and care about others, despite the immense suffering it’s brought him over and over. To further the tragedy of all this, it is evident that Levi still views his mother with fondness, in spite of the belief that she would hate him. Levi purposely seeks out the brothel in which he grew up with her, undoubtedly filled with countless awful and traumatic memories, in order to feel closer to her presence.

After Levi’s awakening, Levi soon after finds himself in yet another fight, and it is this moment that Levi watches as Kenny walks away and abandons him forever. Levi thought Kenny wanted him to become strong. He thought his strength would earn him Kenny’s acceptance, but instead, he was met with his rejection. If Kenny still didn’t love him even after becoming strong, that once again proved to Levi that there was something deeply wrong with him. Similar to the way Levi would come to associate his strength as the thing responsible for making him a “killer” and ruining his mother’s perception of him, Levi would likely form the association that his physical strength led directly to Kenny abandoning him. Moreover, what was the purpose of his strength? Levi did not want to use it to bring suffering to others. 

Levi discovered on his own that his strength could be used to help others—to protect. This is incredibly significant because Levi was literally taught the opposite his whole life: that it made him a monster, that its only purpose was for saving himself and bringing death and destruction—he was taught even that that’s something he should desire. Somehow, despite all that, Levi still found a way to use his strength for the benefit of others. Although, this highlights a further tragedy in Levi. As demonstrated earlier, Levi was taught that it was the normal state of the world, the status quo, for him to be abused; he learned that this treatment of him was, not only happening because it was something he was somehow meant for, but also happening because he was some abnormal monster. Levi desiring to use his strength for others does not negate Levi’s own negative perception of himself. All of the events in Levi’s childhood taught Levi that he had no worth, and that is indeed the way we see Levi treat himself throughout the entire series. 

Thank you sm man :(( I'm so going to be rereading this every other day and using this as my character analysis for when I write my fanfics.

Though I sort of believe levi didn't get sexually assaulted himself. I definitely believe he watched his mother get violated just to put food on the table for them, after all, there was only one room. But it's said kuchel didn't get any customers for a good while, meaning she was out of service ever since she got sick, everybody knew she was sick, and I doubt a man would want to go to a sickly woman. But I'm so sure levi has a huge disliking for sexually related things or is very cautious about it. Maybe he was touched during that time when his mother was around, but I don't think she'd let it happen, or at least divert the attention back to herself.

Which also says that despite seeing his mother is such ways, he still found her elegant because she was his light when everything else was dark. It only shows how much love he has for her and how much he probably acknowledges her sacrifices as an adult.

Let me make it even worse by saying how she must've been in her teenage years when levi was born and only in her early twenties when she died!!! Given how levi and kenny have only 10 years or so age difference.

Gosh I love this post so much man :((

Where The Light Lies (光の在処) by tkjn

A flower that’s just like her.

Shingeki no Kyojin・Levi/Hange・18 pages・G

* Please do not remove the source from the caption. * Please do not download, distribute, edit or repost.

From むっつりリヴァハン by shica

Hange moves in with Levi. [Post-canon AU]

Shingeki no Kyojin・Levi/Hange・7 pages・G

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Keep reading for more:)

Their love just blossoms :((

👊🏻 🫀🫀 ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🩹

Paper rough + Mappa’s original scene recoloring + flames 🔥

Hearts 🫀

WHAT ELSE TO SAY MAN OMGDISHSKNS HANGE'S ARMS OMG I LOVE WOMEN

GOOGLE, HOW TO BE LEVI ACKERMAN PLEEEAASEEEE

He’s hurt and beaten (and it was probably the day that he was left alone by Kenny) and he misses his mom and try to relive the moment when he drinks tea with her (because maybe to find comfort). And when his mom’s precious tea cup’s handle got broken it became the reason why he holds cups like that. I’M GONNA FUCKING CRY 😭

I haven't seen the whole thing so this was just my interpretation of these two pages and the translation of Levi, Gabi and Falco’s conversation via google.

Well their conversation went like this:

L: Ever since then...I've been in a dark place all my life without having to hold the cup's handle.

G: ...I'm sorry, Corporal, for making fun of the way you're holding it.

G: I also vow to live without a handle for the rest of my life.

F: Stop

G: I burst into tears

F: Stop it!

I guess Levi shared that story when Gabi started teasing him about how he holds his cup.

I wAS ALWAYS CURIOUS ON HOW HE HAD AWAKENED HIS ACKERMAN POWERS. I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO BE TRANSLATED AND BE ONLINE

He’s hurt and beaten (and it was probably the day that he was left alone by Kenny) and he misses his mom and try to relive the moment when he drinks tea with her (because maybe to find comfort). And when his mom’s precious tea cup’s handle got broken it became the reason why he holds cups like that. I’M GONNA FUCKING CRY 😭

I haven't seen the whole thing so this was just my interpretation of these two pages and the translation of Levi, Gabi and Falco’s conversation via google.

Well their conversation went like this:

L: Ever since then...I've been in a dark place all my life without having to hold the cup's handle.

G: ...I'm sorry, Corporal, for making fun of the way you're holding it.

G: I also vow to live without a handle for the rest of my life.

F: Stop

G: I burst into tears

F: Stop it!

I guess Levi shared that story when Gabi started teasing him about how he holds his cup.

He better have lived a good life where he gets to talk about his soldier days to the kids + onyonkapon.