#mikasa found eren’s scarf warm in the same way levi found the sunshine warm

[levmada]

(knowing that there is not a single facet of aot that isayama created on a whim/for no reason:)

levi’s name is really interesting. in literal terms, levi was jacob’s son that would be the founder of one of the 12 tribes of israel. and levi’s sin was violent and cruel anger (unlike jesus’ righteous anger. this is important).

levi’s name literally means ‘joined’ or ‘united’. that’s a very succinct description of his character, and (similarly succinctly) he’s also described as ‘the pumping heart of the survey corps’. not so much levi himself but the idea of humanity’s strongest soldier, captain levi who represents humanity’s resilience and fighting spirit is what holds the survey corps together in spirit (and in body a lot of the time, probably).

forget about eren for a second. in the 5 years after wall maria fell before eren appeared, how likely is it in all that abject devastation, humanity barely scraping by after willingly sending 250,000 civilians to die, with one of the only three walls destroyed that the survey corps would not have been dissolved without levi?? yes erwin’s scouting formation cut deaths down drastically but who is there fearlessly killing the most titans no matter how hopeless the situation seems and setting soap ad trends?? captain levi.

levi’s name being biblical - and blatantly, his birthday being the traditional interpretation of jesus’ birthday (even though it’s not) - definitely implies levi being something of a “savior” figure of humankind.

that’s not what he goes on to be, but in the established “beginning” of aot, before EMA, it makes sense for captain levi (not levi levi lol).

levi is idolized on the basis of “miracles” - his literally superhuman strength.

1 John 4:8 in the bible: “god is love.” what does levi sacrifice his heart, spirit, and body for if not for the love he holds of humanity, humanity’s yearning for freedom, humanity’s hopes and dreams?

levi is what joins together the hope and strength of humanity behind the walls. and that’s what he loves, and love is the reason he sacrifices.

ps, i think this parallel was intentional on isayama's part on a surface level. i dont have the education to go deeper than this lol