Rivetra

"She (Petra) says she intends to devote herself to you completely..."

- Mr. Ral to Levi.

Rivetra is the het ship between Levi Ackerman and Petra Ral from the Attack on Titan fandom.

Canon
Levi and Petra had an exceptionally close relationship. Levi being her captain and Petra being his subordinate.

The two had their first encounter when the newly formed Special Operations Squad held their first meeting after Levi personally handpicked Petra as one of his members. On the day she was supposed to meet him, Petra attempted to make herself presentable by washing her face with extra care, putting on light makeup, and cutting her fingernails short. She then explained it was a childish act out of her admiration for him. Finally meeting Levi up-close and personal, Petra was surprised to see how small he was and by how much boss-of-a-thug-gang energy he emitted. Following the meeting, Levi ordered them to take a break, making them treat themselves to a cup of tea. Levi took notice of Petra's clean fingernails as she held her teacup up and praised her self-care awareness since keeping themselves as clean as possible is the best thing the soldiers could do to maintain the ideal condition for controlling the ODM gear and avoiding hygiene troubles.

Despite Petra being a member of the most elite squadron in the military and having one of the highest known Titan-kills, Levi still tried his best to steer her away from danger by giving her tasks relatively safer than her other comrades. During the Battle of Trost District, even though Petra was already with him, Levi still had her call for reinforcements. After Eld and Gunther arrived, Levi ordered her to tend to the wounded soldiers on the ground but sent the others to attack the Titans on the right side. Petra was quick to object to his orders, but Levi ignored her and immediately left. In the Survey Corps’ 57th Expedition Outside the Walls, just as Eren thought to himself that the operation seemed to be going well, a soldier approached their squad with a verbal message that the right flank had been destroyed. Levi then ordered Petra to deliver this message to the rest of the scouts on the left, immediately putting her further away from the Female Titan’s grasp.

Petra, on the other hand, had continuously shown her tremendous respect and dedication to Levi. Oluo, one of Petra’s comrades, often imitated Levi to intimidate “newbie” Eren, but she would always be quick on her feet to berate him and defend their squad captain, frankly saying that Oluo has absolutely nothing in common with Levi. Trying to once cheer up a disappointed Eren after Levi scolded him, Petra entered the room he was in and talked to him. She started by saying that his reaction towards Levi’s treatment was not unusual because, as what Petra quoted, the real Captain Levi is unexpectedly short, high-strung, ill-mannered, and unapproachable. She continued to fill him in about Levi’s notorious life underground before joining the Survey Corps. Not many people would have the guts to say anything wrong about Humanity’s Strongest Soldier; however, that did not stop Petra from telling Eren that their captain is not the perfect hero that most people expected him to be. Their conversation had shown how Petra saw Levi past his flaws and everyone’s expectations, despite knowing his true nature and upbringing.

At one time, for a plan devised by Levi, Eren was put at the bottom of a dry well to induce a transformation when given a signal. He repeatedly bit his hands, hoping the pain would cause the change, but nothing happened even after seriously injuring his hands. During their break, Levi ordered Eren to do something about it and walked away. Petra instantly left her seat and followed an agitated Levi to calm him down. She was then seen happily talking to him while he drank his tea. At the same time, Eren tried to stir his drink but dropped the teaspoon due to his injuries. As he bent down to grab it, he explosively generated a muscular Titan arm from his hand, surprising everyone, including Levi. He found himself surrounded by his comrades, but he did not get a moment to tell them it was unintentional, with Eld, Gunther, and Oluo threatening him and demanding explanations. Being the strongest soldier inside the walls, Levi did not need anyone to worry about his safety, but still, Petra was the only one concerned enough to yell at him and make him move away from Eren. They later questioned Eren about the transformation and, after confirming that it was not on purpose, they all bit their own hands to apologize for their actions.

Levi’s evident trust in Petra’s judgment was portrayed when they came to comfort the dying soldier he had saved earlier that time. Levi approached Petra as she tried to revive the soldier but could not do so because of his heavy bleeding. After the soldier asked if his sacrifice were helpful to humanity, Levi took his hand and told him he had done more than enough, and his spirit would stay with him and make him stronger. Levi then swore that he would eradicate the Titans. As Petra announced the soldier’s death, Levi turned to her to ask if she believed the soldier had heard his words to the end. Petra reassured him that the soldier had because he looked like he was just sleeping peacefully.

The actual depth of their relationship was highlighted more after the Female Titan slaughtered the Special Operations Squad, including Petra. While he merely glanced at the others, Levi slowed down when he got to Petra’s broken body, making sure to get a glimpse of her face, which in return moved him as he did it with a pained expression. That scene heavily implied that Levi was most affected by Petra’s death amongst his squad. Levi then released his anger while fighting with the Female Titan. Later, Levi stood next to a row of dead bodies collected onto an open field and stopped in front of who was allegedly Petra because of the body’s small frame and the bite mark on the hand. Levi mournfully knelt and took her Wings of Freedom patch as a memento to remember her and her sacrifice for humanity.

The expedition continued as the Survey Corps went home. However, it was revealed that two soldiers, named Dieter and Jurgen, did not follow orders and still tried to retrieve the corpse of their friend, Ivan, causing Titans to pursue them. Levi then slowed down his horse to reach the last wagon where Petra’s body was at. Knowing that there were no trees or tall buildings nearby, their ODM gears were useless for fighting; hence it was suggested that he stayed back near the Titans in his attempt to protect her body. After Jurgen was killed by a Titan, it soon became apparent that they could not outrun them, so Levi ordered the soldiers to dump the corpses, including Petra’s, which would increase the wagon’s speed. After initial hesitation, the soldiers followed, and Levi watched as the bodies were disposed of one by one. An up-close view of Levi’s mournful look was shown as he watched Petra’s body finally got thrown. They were able to speed up and escape. The soldiers later took another break to figure out their route. While they were at it, Levi approached a grieving Dieter and was forced to give him Petra’s patch, the only memory he had of her, to somehow comfort him for his failed attempt at bringing his friend back.

When the Scout Regiment returned to Wall Rose to face the civilians, it was finally revealed by Petra’s father, still unaware of her death, that she harbored a deep devotion for Levi and intended to sacrifice her life to him. Her closeness to Levi and what she expressed in her letter led her father to believe she was considering him for marriage since he told Levi that his daughter was still too young to let her marry.

Four years after Petra’s death, Levi remembered his dead comrades who sacrificed their lives protecting Eren, and she was seen at the center of his memory, away from the rest of his squad members and in front of everyone.

Behind the Scenes
"Regarding Levi, it's Petra that I'm concerned about."

- Kamiya Hiroshi, Levi's Japanese voice actor, during an interview

"Someone told me it would be exciting (moe) if the Captain pushes Petra against the wall (kabedon). I understand! Totally understand!"

- Natsuki Aikawa, Petra's Japanese voice actress

The English voice actors have also said something about these two. During the Attack on Titan panel Q&A at KrakenCon 2014, Matthew Mercer and Caitlin Glass were asked to improvise a scene where Petra confesses her feelings to Levi. During the SacAnime Winter 2015 - Attack On Titan Panel, the voice actors for Annie Leonhart, Mikasa Ackerman, Petra Ral, Levi Ackerman, and Armin Arlert were asked who they shipped in the show. Nobody knew how to answer the question until Lauren Landa (Annie Leonhart) said, “I honestly can probably see - well, not anymore, but Petra and Levi.” Matthew Mercer (Levi Ackerman) says, “Yeah, I could see that too." Caitlin Glass (Petra Ral) responded with, “They would be like the cleaning King and Queen."

Fanon
Levi consistently dominates fan popularity polls in both Japan and the West. Thus, it has become one of the more popular pairings of the franchise and is also widely considered one of the most popular het ships in the Attack on Titan fandom. Petra is also one of the most popular female characters in the fandom, which got them to rank within the top 5 ships in the fandom when the anime has just started releasing.

As of early 2021, Rivetra is still included within the top 10 AoT ships with the most fan arts in Pixiv.

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Trivia

 * Petra has a character song named The Light of Dual Wings (双翼のヒカリ) in Linked Horizon’s The Trails of the Advance (進撃の軌跡) album, which sings about her feelings toward Levi and her final moments before being killed.
 * The two had teas together late at night.
 * In the Attack on Titan TACTICS game, it was revealed that Levi would usually put everyone in his squad through a special intense cleaning training session except for Petra.
 * Petra once was the one who picked out Levi’s clothes for her birthday.
 * For the Wings of Counterattack (反撃の翼)’s 2015 Valentine’s Day event, Levi can be seen opening his gift from Petra as she stands next to him, blushing.
 * In the AOT AU Smartpass, Eld once teased Petra by asking her, “Disappointed it’s not Captain Levi you’re with right now?” while they were taking cover from the heavy rain.