Going back to the whole “Eruri is one-sided because Erwin didn’t love Levi” thing… has anyone even noticed that Erwin is actually much warmer and more affectionate with Levi than the other way around?
I mean, Erwin laughs at his jokes (which aren’t really jokes, but he laughs anyway), praises him in public, smiles at him in that very specific soft way, treats him as an equal rather than a subordinate (he probably even sees him as a better man than himself). I don’t know… I just always felt like Erwin treated Levi differently, even back when I was still expecting some kind of Petra flashback from Levi. LOL. And I used to tell myself, “Well, of course, he’s his best soldier.”
But then I also noticed that, within Erwin’s military logic, Eren is seen as humanity’s hope—a highly valuable asset—and even so, he risked him just so Levi could resupply. And he didn’t take Levi on the mission to retrieve him because of his injured ankle. In the anime, Erwin even asks if he can fight, and Levi says he has no choice, but Erwin still doesn’t take him.
And sure, you could argue military logic again, that Erwin wouldn’t want to lose another valuable asset. But we know that’s not really the case. It’s canon that the deaths of his soldiers weigh heavily on him; he carries guilt over his father’s death too. So he doesn’t want Levi to die, not because of strategy, but because it would be too much for him.
God, I have so many good examples that prove Levi was actually Erwin’s real weakness (not even the basement), I just wish I had more time.
But I’ll start with this: the hospital scene.
Erwin realizes that Titans might be human and makes that unhinged face. Levi notices and calls him out. And then Erwin’s expression changes, he’s clearly shaken, because the man who trusts him so blindly has just seen what Erwin considers the worst part of himself. Levi says something harsh, and Erwin responds with a soft smile and a ridiculous, almost pitiful request: “I lost my arm, have some sympathy for me.”
Erwin, the same man who has to maintain an emotionally detached facade for the sake of his position, shows warmth and vulnerability with his subordinate.
And this is the same Erwin people claim doesn’t care about Levi.
So yeah, Erwin loves Levi. No one’s convincing me otherwise 😤
#Eruri