I might be biased, but I love with all my heart Daenerys’ relationship with Rhaegar.
Rhaegar died before she was even born, that’s true, but it doesn’t mean their relationship isn’t deep. As such, the memory of Rhaegar and his legacy are things Daenerys holds dear: she craves to know more about Rhaegar, actively asking people who got to meet her eldest brother stories about him; and even taking delight and comfort upon hearing them.
Daenerys also wonders what Rhaegar would do, in crucial moments that require her to make decisions. Rhaegar appears to her in important dreams and prophecies too. I find it particularly funny that, in the House of the Undying, she doesn’t bother much with the vision of her father; upon recognizing Rhaegar in another vision, though, she pays attention to what’s happening and to what he says — and even asks Jorah about the Song of Ice and Fire. This remarks the relevance of Rhaegar to Dany.
Rhaegar was said to be the last dragon; now Daenerys believes herself the last of her family. This is one of their parallels. Not only once, Daenerys is compared to Rhaegar in a positive light, contrasting both of them with Aerys II and Viserys.
In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful and unique sibling relationships in A Song of Ice and Fire.
This two page spread from the end up Episode 102 of “Attack on Titan” I think perfectly thematically demonstrates the contrast between Levi and Zeke, and how the two of them are, in many ways, the most diametrically opposed two characters in AoT, each representing complete opposites in terms of values and philosophy.
Zeke tells his comrades, right before engaging in battle “Don’t let them escape. Wipe them out.”, while Levi tells his comrades “Don’t you die. You have to survive.”.
These two lines from each of them shows us who, at their heart, they really are, and thematically, what they represent within the story.
The most important thing to Levi is that his comrades make it home alive. That’s his priority, and that’s what he imparts to them right before they go into battle. It’s indicative of Levi’s value for life, of how he holds the lives of his comrades above everything, of how he holds life and the continuation of life as precious and inherently meaningful. He views his comrades as people he cares about, people he wants and needs to protect above all else, people who’s lives matter.
The most important thing to Zeke, by contrast, is taking one step closer to realizing his personal goal of euthanization, and what he says to his comrades here, people he’s known and worked alongside and supposedly been a friend and mentor to for years, encapsulates how he really sees them, which is as tools and weapons that exist for the purpose of realizing his goal. He sees them as a means to an end.
Zeke’s message to his comrades before engaging in battle is one of death, telling them to not let any of the opposing side escape, and to “wipe them out”, while Levi’s message to his comrades is one of life, telling them to keep themselves alive, ordering them to survive.
And even what they’re specifically each fighting for here encapsulates this vital contrast.
Levi is fighting for the survival of his people and the island of Paradis.
Zeke is fighting to wipe an entire race of people from existence through forced sterilization.
Levi fights in support of life. Zeke fights in support of death.
Even when Levi kills, it’s always in support of life. He kills to protect the lives of others. To keep others alive. To give others a future. Levi understands the tragedy of death precisely because he holds so much value for life, because he understands its value. He doesn’t try to justify his killing as right, or good, but simply states it for what it is, an action taken to ensure the survival of others. He even calls his actions monstrous, and accepts them as such, never attempting to frame them as anything greater or good. He simply knows he’s willing to act as and become a monster in the hope it will spare the rest of humanity from experiencing similar horrors.
Zeke kills to enable further killing. He kills to bring about the extinction of a race. He views killing, the taking of life, as a mercy, as an act of benevolence on his part. He thinks by taking lives, he’s bestowing peace and relief on the people who’s lives he takes. Zeke doesn’t at all understand the tragedy of death precisely because he holds no value for life, and doesn’t at all understand its value. He convinces himself that his killing is an altruistic and heroic action, something he attempts to defend and excuse by redefining it as “saving” the people he kills, viewing himself as a savior, sparing the poor and ignorant masses from the suffering of life’s meaninglessness.
Again, this contrast between Levi and Zeke, Levi understanding and accepting the ugliness of killing, wishing to spare others from having to experience such extremes and brutality, Zeke thinking killing is an act of heroism and salvation, an act of mercy brought through his benevolence, really highlights the core and thematic differences in their characters. How Levi, again, understands the tragedy of death so well through his understanding the value of life, and how Zeke views death as somehow preferable, as something positive though his failure to grasp life’s value at all.
Levi views himself as “abnormal”, as someone “monstrous” through his willingness to commit violent acts, while Zeke views himself as a “savior”, as someone “heroic” through his willingness to commit violent acts. And this itself highlights a great irony between them, as it is Levi who in truth is the hero, and Zeke the monster, as Levi understands and accepts his violence for what it is, and takes on the burden of it willingly to save the lives of others, a selfless act of true sacrifice, while Zeke attempts to redefine his violence as salvation, not to save lives, but for the self-serving purpose of soothing and boosting his own ego, a selfish act of true narcissism.
YES. YES YES YES this makes me want to cry. Everything Levi does is rooted around protecting others. Even as a kid pursuing strength under Kenny was likely for protection than it was for power. He is placed in positions of power because he’s strong AND because people trust him. Every one of his soldiers is loyal to him even to death and there is a reason for that.
In my fic I wrote “If Eren Jaeger was Paradis’ ultimate weapon, then Captain Levi was surely Paradis’ shield.”
He has dealt with so much loss of life since childhood. You’d think he’d be numb to people’s lives/loss but in fact it makes this military Captain even more sensitive to and valuing of life. I love Levi’s character sm
“If Eren Jaeger was Paradis’ ultimate weapon, then Captain Levi was surely Paradis’ shield.”
That’s a great line, and so accurate. Indeed, Levi acts as a shield more than anything, as he uses his great strength, and wishes to use it, above all else, to protect others. I always say about Levi too that, though he has no personal dream of his own, what drives him is fighting for and defending the dreams of others. That’s been true of Levi since he was with Furlan and Isabel, and probably even before, he just didn’t know it because they were his first real friends and family. But ever since being with them, and beyond, he’s always fought for the dreams and hopes of other people, lending his strength to them to protect them in their pursuit. It’s why he latched himself to Erwin the way he did too, because he felt Erwin had a far reaching dream that would lift humanity to freedom and a brighter future. By lending his strength to Erwin’s dream, Levi thought he would be lending it to all humanity.
I just wanted to reblog this again, as really, I think this moment from the manga, and the anime, is sort of the defining point in which the reader and viewer is supposed to really understand that Levi and Zeke are meant to contrast each other, and serve as one another’s foils within the narrative. They’re meant to be compared and contrasted in terms of their values and beliefs. Zeke on the one side, advocating for death, literally, telling his comrades to “wipe out” the enemy, and Levi on the other side, advocating for life, literally, telling his comrades “Don’t you die.” and “You have to survive.”
@targaryensource’s Targaryen Week 2023 || Day 3: Favourite Targaryen monarch - King Aegon I Targaryen & Queen Daenerys I Targaryen
No one was calling her DaenerystheConqueror yet, but perhaps they would. Aegon the Conqueror had won Westeros with three dragons, but she had taken Meereen with sewer rats and a wooden cock, in less than a day.
Daenerys Targaryen is no maid, however. She is the widow of a Dothraki khal, a mother of dragons and sacker of cities, AegontheConquerorwithteats.
I’m tired of people saying that Erwin would support Eren’s genocide when there are literally these panels.
Hange saying literally that no one of them was that narrow-minded to think that Eren’s plan is good.
And Erwin greeting Hange saying her she did well helping them save humanity. I don’t think he would greet her this way if he was on Eren’s side.
People are forgetting that Survey Corps was trying to save humanity. HUMANITY. I don’t think that killing 80% of humanity means saving it.
(Also I saved these from twitter acc @dailyerwins)
I will add even more proof:
1. Erwin came up with the scouting formation that allowed them to go outside the walls without encountering titans. Because the Scouts weren’t looking just for how to get rid of the titans, but to learn about them as well. What’s the point of wasting energy with killing the titans if an infinite number will come after? What’s the point of killing all humanity if you’ll still have conflicts? And the yeagerists are the living proof that conflict will continue until they all kill each other. He would’ve been on Pixis’ side and be for the partial rumbling.
2. Levi has an entire monologue in the last chapters where he says he does not regret choosing Armin, cause he has the same look in his eyes as Erwin. Armin is against the rumbling, Levi is the best at reading people and one of Erwin’s closet friends. The math is simple.
3. During Erwin’s conversation with Levi before going to seal the wall, Levi asks what will Erwin do after he sees what’s in the basement. Erwin says “Eliminate threats”. Yeah, he’d do that, he’d have Eren eaten, like Pixis suggested. Eren is the threat. He would sacrifice people to make sure the island is free, but would not kill everyone outside of it.
4. If Erwin’s dream was to find out what is beyond the walls, wouldn’t destroying everything be a bit counterproductive? He gave an arm for his dream, was living with regret for ordering so many to die for his dream. Wouldn’t he want to explore the world in peace?
“you don’t get it Armin did’t support genocide he wanted to be close to Eren one last time”
He didn’t even TRY to change Eren’s mind, it doesn’t change anything to the fact he accepted genocide to get his friendship back, the amount of people believing Eren or Armin or anyone among the cadets (except maybe Mikasa because, you know, she did kill Eren) still has any right to wear the wings of freedom after that
I swear Hanji Levi and the previous Survey Corps members are the only one still saving SnK
