#oc x canon

A/N: I almost didn’t get this chapter out on time, it was a little tough to write! So it’s a shorter one, but I promise the next one will make up for it. I’m really excited to write the next one, but for now I hope you enjoy this one! :)

Fandom: Attack on Titan 
Pairing: Levi x Mia (OC) 
Words:7.1k 

Warnings: brief violence, head injuries (and patching up said injuries), detailed Titan captures (at least I think they’re detailed lol), mentions of a distressed Hanji (my poor baby) 

Taglist:@omg-lexiloveyou,@ataraxia101,@super-peace-fangirl,@mr-robot-x,@unusversuscanicula, @cyborgnate, @saltypancakes 

If you want to be added to the taglist, just let me know! (I promise I don’t bite!) 

- 

|LVIII|

Twenty days later, on the last day of May, the gates of Trost opened up once more. Hanji led the way through, whooping and hollering, with a terrified Moblit at her side.

The Titan capture had been approved, with the assistance of the Special Operations Squad and Elite Reconnaissance Squad required for its success. Along with our squads were Hanji’s logistics team, directing wagons that held multiple nets, spears, blades, and other weapons needed in order to subdue the Titans.

Hanji had drilled in the objective of this mission until every one of us could recite it in our sleep: the goal was only to injure, not outright kill any of the Titans. At least, not the ones she had her eye on.

And which ones did she have her eye on? …Who knows?

At least my squad looked eager enough. They had been considerably less excited than Hanji had been, given their intended involvement in the capture, but they had prepared extensively throughout the last few weeks. If anyone could make this mission a success, it was them. 

Especially if Levi’s squad was going to be with them, backing them up at every turn. He had put them through their own special training, ensuring that they would be able to fight to the best of their abilities beyond the Wall. The two of us seemed to have the same idea in mind, preparing them as much as we could. No matter what, every single one of them had to come back alive.

Currently it was just after dawn, with the first Titans roaming about in the distance. The first slivers of sunlight spilled across the valley beyond, giving it a gorgeous red hue. Edel snorted and shook his head, and I realized that his mane was starting to tint with red. I smiled and ran my fingers along his neck, humming as he nickered at my touch.

“Make it as quick and painless as possible,” I yelled over my shoulder. Reggie was the closest to me, followed by Murphy and Gretel, and finally Emily and Evan. “We capture one, maybe two of them, and then we go home. Understand?”

“Yes, captain!”

I shifted my gaze to Hanji, who was already rambling on to Moblit towards the center of our little formation.

You better keep to your word, Han. I need all of those kids to come home alive today.

Erwin had instructed our little mission to not stray far beyond the boundaries of Wall Rose; instead, we were to keep to the Walls as close as possible, securing the Titans and blocking off an area specified for Hanji’s research. A handful of Garrison soldiers were already stationed at the top of the Wall, ready to guard said area from any other Titans. If everything went according to Hanji’s plan, they would help us lure the Titans towards the Wall before trapping them against the surface with a heavyset net, designed specifically for keeping them locked in place.

Of course, Hanji had thought of a few back-up plans, as well. If for some reason we weren’t able to lure them towards the Walls, we would take to singling out the stragglers and subduing them by cutting off their limbs, one by one, before trapping them in a net against the ground. It was considerably more dangerous, since we had no guaranteed way of escape if we trapped them anywhere else beside the Walls. Still, we had to at least try.

“Ooh, there! There! What about thatone?”

A lone Titan, probably close to nine meters tall, was lumbering aimlessly around in the near distance, its heavy arms swinging from side to side. Its eyes were glazed, a mop of black hair on its head, and its jaw was slack, revealing two rows of blunt white teeth. Just the sight of it made me want to grimace.

Of course, Hanji wants thatone.

“Yeah, it’s perfect!” Despite Moblit’s sputtering at her side, Hanji pointed in the Titan’s direction—and my stomach began to roll when its dead eyes finally landed on our little group. “Start leading it towards the Wall!”

That was our cue. With Levi’s squad lingering close behind us, I motioned for my kids to follow. Reggie inched his horse further away from Edel, and from over my shoulder I could see every member of my squad behind me, in a loose but focused V-shaped formation.

The Titan was even more frightening up close. Glassy eyes trailed from Scout to Scout, as though it was sizing each of us up. I could see Gretel glowering at it from afar, with Murphy trying his hardest to mirror her expression. (Although, his didn’t look nearly as natural as hers did.)

“Come on,” I hissed, my knuckles turning white against Edel’s reins, “take the bait already!”

Suddenly the Titan lurched forward, dead eyes blown wide and jaw snapping open, and its heavy arms stretched out in a terrified Evan’s direction.

I could feel my heart in my throat as I shouted at him, “Brose, keep your distance! Enns, back him up!”

Murphy was at his side in a flash, subtly shouldering him away from the Titan’s course. The ground trembled beneath its footsteps; I could no longer hear the comforting clop of Edel’s hooves against the grass. I motioned towards Gretel and Emily with a wave of my hand, and silently they spread out to cover Evan and Murphy, trailing the Titan from behind.

“It’s cornered now,” I yelled out to Reggie. “Take up the rear with the girls. Be ready to strike at the limbs when I tell you to!” If we couldn’t lure it close enough to the Wall, we would have to trap it out here in the open instead.

Edel’s whinny rang in my ears as I dug my heels into his sides. He knew this dance all too well: the heat of battle, the rush of adrenaline, the slick of sweat on our skin. How many times had I urged him on in a similar manner, before pushing myself out of the saddle to take down a Titan? Today would be no different, apart from aiming at the Titan’s limbs instead of its nape.

The Titan seemed to smile as Edel and I crossed its line of sight, coming up on Evan’s right. Another human to target, another possible meal at the end of the day. The thought sickened me; the urge to grab my blades and slice open its nape was bubbling at my fingertips.

Reading Ilse’s notes, and the last words she’d ever written in this world, had only fueled my hatred for these monsters. Hanji could capture and study them all she wanted, but I could never understand them. I would never want to understand them.

The silver surface of the Wall loomed over us in the near distance. I could already see the group of Scouts gathered at the top of the Wall, along with the neighboring Garrison soldiers, ready to drop the net to trap the Titan. Just a little bit further, and we would have our first Titan capture in literal years.

“Section Commander!” Moblit’s voice was laced with pure panic. “Up ahead—a three-meter and a six-meter!”

I couldn’t stop and look around for them, but the sound of thundering footsteps told me there were many more on their way. Evan shot me a nervous look, while Murphy looked as though he was ready to throw up right there on his poor horse’s back.

“Stay focused,” it was a struggle to keep my voice level, but I managed to do it. “You have a job to do, soldiers! Let Captain Levi’s squad take care of them. You just focus on the mission at hand!” And thankfully, they seemed to understand and stared ahead, keeping their horses at a moderate pace.

Still, it was hard to follow my own advice. I didn’t have to look in his direction to know that Levi would head for the approaching Titans at once, ready to defend our little capture mission with everything he had. Eld and Gunther would be close behind, with Petra and Oluo acting as backup.

They’ve got this, Wolf. My fingers grew stiff around the reins. He’s got this.

Yeah, you’re right. Stay focused. No more reckless acts.

The Wall was getting closer. The Garrison soldiers were taking aim, gripping the edges of the heavy net at the top of the Wall. Scouts were shouting at each other left and right, making last-minute preparations for the inevitable capture.

The Titan’s fist suddenly came down hard on the ground, right between Evan and Murphy. Edel jerked at the impact (he never liked it when the ground rumbled under Titan footsteps). Evan shouted something I couldn’t quite catch, before Murphy’s mare broke formation and raced towards the Wall alone—without Murphy on her back.

Shit!

My stomach was churning as I saw Murphy sprawled out on the grass below, both hands clutching his head. The Titan wasted no time in skidding to a halt and reaching out for him, seemingly uninterested in either myself or Evan.

A blur of green and gold swooped in front of the Titan at once—and before I even had time to blink, its pale arm came crashing down to the ground below, completely severed at the elbow. With a holler, Emily swung herself around the Titan’s knees before lowering herself back to the ground, letting Gretel and Reggie take the lead as she cradled Murphy against her chest.

Reggie kept himself low to the ground, slicing both of the Titan’s ankles in one fell swoop. The Titan groaned almost pathetically as it sank to its knees in the dirt, forcing me and Evan to scurry out of the way before it fell face first into the ground. With a screech of her own, Gretel brought her blades down on the Titan’s other arm, blood and steam spurting from the wound as she tore out a sizeable chunk of its elbow.

“It’s too far from the Wall!” Evan’s voice brought me out of my daze; between Emily and Murphy, and now Reggie and Gretel’s teamwork, I’d almost forgotten about the mission at hand. Some captain you are, Wolf. “We can’t use the net anymore!”

“That’s fine,” the words were out of my mouth faster than I could think, “then we just go to our backup plan. Hanji!” I waved both my arms out as hard as I could, upon spotting her and her squad just at the edge of the Wall. “We need the barrelsnow!”

And let’s hope your new invention is as great as you said, buddy.

Evan was off his horse at once, joining Gretel to stand on the injured Titan’s nape. Thankfully it was motionless, but its limbs would regenerate in a few minutes if we weren’t fast enough with Hanji’s new weapons. And it wasn’t until I saw Reggie’s nod from his spot beside the Titan’s legs that I finally took my eyes off the subdued Titan.

Relax, they’ve got this. They’ve trained so hard for this, you know. Now go check up on Murphy.

Edel snorted as I squeezed his sides once more, but he didn’t object as he broke into another gallop. And within moments I was kneeling down at Murphy’s side, with my medical bag clutched in my fist.

“Enns, can you hear me? Can you seeme?”

Emily was holding him close, her hands gentle and steady as she cradled his bloody cheeks. The poor boy groaned, blinking the blood out of his eyes as he managed to stare up at me. There was a gash on his head from where he had fallen, but it didn’t look serious enough to need stitches.

“Captain…”

His voice was no more than a mumble, a soft sound that only made me want to work even faster. It was hard to keep my fingers from trembling as I grabbed a wad of bandages and a vial of water from the bag.

“You’re going to be fine, Enns.” With Emily’s help, I was able to rinse the wound out with a steady stream of water, cleaning any excess blood off the skin. “You did such a great job. We already brought down the Titan, you know.”

I could hear Hanji’s squad in the near distance. The roll of wheels against grass, the twang of arrows splitting skin apart—thatmust be her new invention. But I was far too busy to admire her work right now.

Murphy’s mouth was moving, but his words were a jumbled mess. I wanted to scold him for talking, insist that he save his energy until we got back to the base…but I wanted him to talk. At least that way I knew he was still alive.

“M-Misty,” his eyes were wide as he spoke the name of his mare out loud. “Where did she go?”

“She’s fine, I promise.” I could see her out of the corner of my eye, her reins wrapped around Evan’s hands, as I slathered a bit of ointment across the wound. “Evan has her. She’s alright.”

Still, I couldn’t help but smile at the kid’s priorities. Go figure, the first thing he worries about is whether or not his horse is alright. Not that I could blame him, of course.

Once his wound was dressed with ointment, I tore a strip from the bandages and began wrapping it around his head. I glanced up at Emily as I worked, noting how still she appeared to be throughout the entire ordeal. Most soldiers would become squeamish at the sight of blood, especially those as young as her. But instead she remained indifferent, her jaw clenched as she kept her eyes on Murphy’s wound. From the way she was acting, I could only assume she had at least a little bit of experience when it came to the messy field of medicine.

So calm and focused—such rare qualities in new cadets. I bit back a smile, wondering if I’d have to take on a medical apprentice in the near future.

“Alright, you should be fine for now.” Thankfully the wound wasn’t bleeding through the bandages; it could hold out at least until we got back to the main base. “But I don’t want you back on Misty when we head back. You’ll ride in one of the wagons, understood? I’ll take care of Misty for you,” I added when I saw the look of fear in his eyes. “I promise, I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Slow and steady, Emily and I helped Murphy to his feet, and once his arm was slung around my shoulders, I finally got a good look at the battlefield before me.

Reggie and Gretel were now standing close to Hanji, and the Titan they had taken down was now bolted to the ground with a series of arrows, wires and nets. The steel arrows were part of Hanji’s latest invention (and the focus of today’s mission, if the Wall nets didn’t go as planned). Stored in six barrels stacked up on top of each other in a wagon, the arrows were launched through a cannon firearm and latched onto their targets, with silver wires connecting each of them back to the main barrel. And just for good measure, a weighted net was thrown over the target to prevent even the slightest bit of movement.

Hanji had boasted about this invention for practically months, even before she had asked Erwin to approve a Titan capturing mission. And for the most part, it seemed to be doing the trick. The Titan was now lying motionless on the ground, completely trapped by the wires and nets. And to no one’s surprise, she was looking quite proud of herself.

“The arrows will only get deeper the more it regenerates,” she addressed the Scouts behind her, “so I think it’s safe to leave this one for now! Good job, you guys!” There was no missing the pure excitement in her voice, as though she were five years old again, a child trembling upon receiving a brand new gift for their birthday. “Now come on, let’s go see what Levi caught for us!”

Wait, Levi?

In all the commotion with Murphy and his injury, I’d almost completely forgotten about Levi and his squad—as well as the approaching hoard of Titans. But once I saw the collection of Titans trapped against the surface of the Wall, weighted down by a heavy net courtesy of the Garrison, I let out a soft sigh of relief.

Petra and Gunther were panting hard, their blades stained with blood and dirt. Oluo looked exhausted as well, but he puffed out his chest in a silly attempt to look unbothered (after all, Levi wasn’t looking the slightest bit tired). Eld was the only one who didn’t seem to be bothered by the intense workout, save for his disheveled hair and slight smile. But all of that vanished when his eyes landed on Murphy, who was still leaning on me and Emily.

“He’s alright,” I assured him, as one of the medics from Hanji’s squad reached for him. “He’s got a gash on his head but it’s stopped bleeding. I want to get him back to base in one piece, though.”

I glanced up at Levi, just as the last traces of blood lifted off his cloak. His blades were as polished as ever, not a hair out of place on his head. Sometimes I wondered how he managed to look so clean and focused, even in the messiest battles we’d endured together.

His eyes flickered to Murphy, and then back to me. I gave a slight shake of my head. We’ll talk about it later.

“So…you guys managed to snag four of them, huh?”

Indeed, there were four Titans trapped against the surface of the Wall. Well, three of them were currently steaming from their napes, with only one left completely unharmed. It was a four-meter Titan, a stark contrast to the nine-meter Reggie, Gretel, and Emily managed to take down. With short legs and a mess of blond hair, it waved its stubby arms against the thick ropes of the net, groaning to itself when it realized it couldn’t break free.

“Four small ones,” Levi corrected, motioning over to Hanji, “but she seems happy with it. We couldn’t keep them all, they were starting to tear at the net.”

Still, Hanji seemed elated at the brand new capture. A nine-meter Titan bolted to the ground, and a four-meter Titan secured against the Wall. The first Titan captures the Scouts had made in over twenty years.

I kept my voice low as I asked, “Did we lose anyone?”

But he shook his head, and I could’ve sworn I felt his hand brushing against mine at my side. “Not a single one.”

I smiled at him, and despite Hanji’s shrill screeching, the chatter of the Scouts around us, and the ugly sight of the dying Titans before us, he smiled back at me. A small one, but a smile nonetheless.

Two Titans captured and no lives lost. That’s not bad for a day in the Scouts.

|~|

To no one’s surprise, Hanji wanted to linger at the Wall to help the Garrison soldiers with the captured Titans—but everyone knew she really wanted to stay just to keep an eye on her new “babies,” as she had deemed them. Levi didn’t even attempt to hide his disgusted scoff at that.

So the rest of us headed back, with myself and Levi left to deliver the report on Hanji’s behalf, as Moblit had elected to stay behind in Trost with her to keep her out of any trouble. But before we headed for Erwin’s office, I helped Murphy out of the wagon and guided him towards the medical wing. I knew Lina was the best person I could trust to take care of him.

Thankfully his words were no longer slurred together, and he seemed much more alert and aware than he had been earlier. Still, I wanted Lina to keep an eye on him. No way was I going to let one of my best soldiers falter because of a head wound.

Surprisingly, once I’d left Murphy in Lina’s care at the medical wing, I’d practically tripped over Emily, who had been leaning against the front doors the entire time. Her cheeks were a pale pink color as she stumbled over her words, sifting through excuse after excuse as to why she had been lingering outside this whole time.

“I want him to be alright,” she finally sputtered, her shoulders going rigid as I stared at her. “That was a pretty bad wound—I just want to make sure he’s feeling alright…”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, Fischer. I trust Dr. Stuber with my life. She’s a valuable medic in the Scouts; we’re incredibly lucky to have her.”

She nodded at once, although she made no move to leave. A laugh bubbled up in the back of my throat. She’s so obvious, even worse than I am.

“You can ask Dr. Stuber if you can see him, if you want. She may want him to rest, though.”

“Oh no, that’s alright,” she replied, although her bright cheeks told me otherwise, “I just want to make sure he’ll be okay.”

There’s something else at play here, besides her personal feelings. Is she worried about the injury because of how serious it looked? Could she have had one herself in the past, or maybe knew someone who did?

Either way, it wasn’t my place to ask. If she wanted to tell me all of that, she would have to do it herself. I wouldn’t force her to say anything she didn’t want to.

Instead, I leaned against the door and crossed my arms over my chest. “You were incredibly calm out there, you know.” As though you’ve seen this kind of stuff before.

Emily’s jaw clenched, her lips pulling into a thin, tight line. The air was silent, save for the light scuff of her boots in the dirt. But then she shrugged her shoulders, eyes dropping to the ground, hands clasping together at her back.

“My parents run an apothecary shop in the heart of Trost District.” Her voice was soft when she spoke, a far cry from her usual tone. “Lots of people always came in, always bleeding; after the Wall fell, we even had a couple of soldiers come by the shop. You get used to it after a while, I guess…”

Sothat explains it… I gave her a smile when she glanced back up at me, her blue eyes as wide as ever.

“Well, I’m grateful you were there with us today. And I know Murphy is, too. Without you, I don’t know how he would’ve stayed so calm.”

It hurt to see her so shaken up like this. While she didn’t show it in her shoulders or arms, I could see it in her eyes: seeing Murphy like that had scared her. Whether it was because of the injury itself, or her time in the apothecary shop—or both, perhaps. Either way, I hated seeing the fearful look in her eyes. It didn’t suit her at all.

She’s just a kid. Fifteen at least, right? No one should have to see all of that, especially a kid her age.

Such is the life of a soldier, I reminded myself with a sigh. That goes double for the Survey Corps, doesn’t it?

“Alright, Fischer, I’m off to give the Commander our report of the mission.” I gave her shoulder a squeeze, and my chest seemed to grow lighter when she smiled at me. “Try not to get into too much trouble, alright? And if you want, make sure to go see Enns later on. I’m sure he’d like to see you and thank you himself.”

She remained silent as we parted ways—but the bright blush on her face, as well as the shimmer of her pretty blue eyes, told me everything I needed to know.

|~|

The days following the mission crawled by painfully. Filled with paperwork, plans for upcoming expeditions, and nonstop yammering from Hanji about her two precious little babies over at Wall Rose.

“Chikachironi’s getting so rowdy under that silly net! He’s not like Albert at all; he’s a good boy. He just lays there all patiently, and he doesn’t even snap at us! I’m so proud of him!”

“That’s lovely, Han.” I swirled my spoon in the bowl of stew in front of me, placing my chin in the palm of my hand. Suddenly I don’t feel so hungry anymore. “Which one’s which, again?”

“Albert’s the one your squad caught, the nine-meter under the net. And Chikachironi is the little one against the Wall! Oh, they just get so much cuter with every day!” A couple of soldiers were staring at us now, drawn to her dramatic, high-pitched squealing. “But I’m really not looking forward to the pain experiments we have to do next week. I hope they’ll be able to forgive me for that…”

I glanced over at Nanaba, who seemed to be just as bored as I was from her spot across the table. Neither of us found the appeal in Hanji’s fascination with the captured Titans; hell, no one in the Survey Corps (or maybe even the entire Walls) shared her enthusiasm for them.

How can she refer to them as her babies, when they’ve probably killed so many of our comrades? And in cold blood, too?

It was almost enough to bring me to tears. I knew better than to assume Hanji had no compassion for the lost lives we mourned for every single day. The countless nights of her crying into my chest after a particularly tough expedition attested to that. Still, it didn’t sit well with me, hearing her address them so casually.

“I wouldn’t get so attached to them, Hanji,” Nanaba said, taking a sip of her drink. “Who knows how long we’ll be able to keep them tied up like that? It’s best not to get too involved with them.”

“Don’t be such a downer! As long as we’re careful with them, nothing bad will happen!”

Another baffled look between myself and Nanaba. Hanji, of all people, suddenly being worried about being careful with something? It was a miracle.

And I can think of at least ten things that could go wrong off the top of my head…

“Alright, whatever you say.” It was hard not to giggle as Nanaba smirked at me from over the rim of her cup. “I’d just hate for you to get your hopes up for nothing, Hanji.”

|~|

And sure enough, the two of us had been right. Go figure.

Moblit had practically dragged a pouting Hanji back to the base the following week, and I knew something was wrong the moment I saw her. Her hair was messier than usual, frayed ends sticking out of the loop of her ponytail (probably from her constantly threading her fingers through it). Her eyes were red and puffy, her chest heaving almost painfully as she leaned against Moblit’s shoulder. Eventually the poor man gave up and hoisted her onto his back, keeping his hands around her thighs as he carried her towards her office.

“The experiment didn’t go as planned,” he whispered to me, and that was all I could catch before Hanji started wailing again.

That’s not good. I’ll have to check up on her later.

Nifa had given me the run-down of the day’s experiment. She was one of the newest members of Hanji’s squad, in the same year as Emily, and the two of them often gravitated towards each other during meals and training. She was a kind girl with a band of freckles across her nose, and in the right amount of sunlight, her red hair almost reminded me of Isabel’s.

“We tried cutting their napes to see if it caused them any pain.” She kept her voice low, as though she was worried Hanji could hear from all the way across the castle. “We ended up cutting too deep and killing them both. She’s really distraught about it, though.”

Butwhy?

It was a question that kept me awake until the late hours of the night, tossing and turning in my bed, and occasionally disturbing Levi beside me. Why was Hanji so attached to these two Titans? Why did she feel the need to treat them as though they were pets—no, as her own children? And why was she currently crying her eyes out in her office at their deaths? She had never cried over a Titan’s death before, so why was she starting now?

And when I brought this up to Levi over our nightly cups of tea in his office, he only scoffed and shook his head.

“She’s a fucking weirdo, that’s why. A Titan’s still a Titan at the end of the day. She just let herself get too attached to them.”

“Yeah, but…why?”

“Tch, I don’t fucking know. Go ask her yourself, if you’re that interested.”

But I could see it was bothering him too, by the way his fingers tightened around the rim of his teacup. He despised the Titans as much as I did, maybe even more. And to see such a close comrade acting so friendly with them… It was enough to piss anybody off.

Butfuck, if I wasn’t so damn curious about it. So I finished my tea and stood up from my seat, giving Levi a kiss on his head before heading out of the office. “I’ll be right back,” I whispered, and he only grunted as I closed the door behind me.

The door to Hanji’s office was left unlocked, and when I stepped inside, an exhausted Moblit offered me a smile. His hair was messy, his shirt was rumpled, and his eyes were drooping further by the minute. The poor man looked as though he would crumble to the floor at any second.

“I can watch over her for a bit,” I told him, “at least until she falls asleep. Why don’t you get some rest?”

I could afford to stay with Hanji for a little bit; Levi wasn’t exactly an early sleeper, so I knew he would be up for at least a couple more hours. The least I could do was help Moblit out a bit and take Hanji off his hands for a while.

And if there was one thing the two of us knew from experience, it was that dealing with a sobbing, distraught Hanji was absolutely exhausting.

“You don’t have to—”

“It’s okay, I want to. Is she in her bedroom?”

Moblit pursed his lips together before nodding. “She’s been tossing and turning all night long. I tried giving her some tea but she just won’t settle down.”

Of course she wouldn’t. Hanji grew incredibly restless whenever she was upset. Twisting around in the sheets of her bed, disturbing the other girls in the barracks on the nights she couldn’t sleep. Mumbling incoherently to herself, until either Anna or Lily shushed her. On particularly hard nights, I would open the blankets of my bed and let her climb in beside me. The two of us hadn’t been able to do that for the longest time, what with our separate offices and my growing relationship with Levi (and I knew for a fact he wouldn’t be so keen on having company during our late night cuddle sessions).

“I’ll go check up on her. Get some rest, alright?”

I pushed open the door that led to Hanji’s bedroom, just as Moblit hit the couch with a soft flump. His snores were already filling the air as I stepped into the room, closing the door halfway behind me.

A trembling lump sat atop of Hanji’s bed, wrapped up in blankets and sheets and…are those extra shirts of hers? A steaming cup of tea had been left on her nightstand beside her glasses, untouched save for a few small sips. When I sat on the bed, she poked her head out of the blankets, eyes swollen and cheeks puffed out.

My chest tightened when I saw the pitiful look in her bright red eyes. While I had no idea why she was so upset with losing those two Titans, I wasn’t about to ignore her when she needed me.

So I took her into my arms, pressing my chin against the top of her head. Her breaths were shaky, shoulders quivering as she wrapped her arms around my waist. I could already feel the collar of my shirt growing damp with her tears, but I made no move to push her away. Instead I held her close, as she began to ramble against my chest.

“I didn’t mean to do it. But it all happened so fast! Chikachironi—he screamed when we struck him! Like he was in pain the entire time, and he probably was! He was probably so confused, none of us had tried to hurt him until today. But we didn’t mean to do it! One minute he was fine, and the next…”

I smoothed her hair down against her nape. She shuddered and sucked in a deep breath, before sobbing into my chest again. I didn’t know what else to do, so I just kept holding her.

“Albert, he was such a good boy too… He never made a sound! Not once! Not even when we cut him a little too deep! He was so well-behaved too, he never fought against us! He even let me pet his cheek once! And I wanted to sit on his shoulder after that, but Moblit wouldn’t let me…”

I bit back a smirk at that. Of course he wouldn’t.

“And now they’re gone because of me.” She took in another deep breath, before raising her head off my chest to look me in the eyes. “Because I gave the order to go for their napes. And I don’t think they’ll ever forgive me.”

The tears staining her cheeks, the flush of her eyes, the sense of utter failure written across her face… Why is she getting so worked up over this? Over a pair of Titans, no less?!

I had seen Hanji cry over fallen soldiers plenty of times before. We had both done it together, holding each other in our arms as tightly as we could, as though it would somehow lessen the gaping pain in our chests. But this was the first time I’d seen her cry over a Titan. And sure, they were Titans we’d specifically captured for her research, but they were just test subjects. Nothing more, nothing less, right?

“Hanji, I just want to know…” I swallowed hard, unsure of how to frame the question. “…Why do you love those Titans so much?”

She blinked twice, her lips parting as she stared at me. “W-what do you mean by that?”

What do you mean, ‘what do I mean by that’? “I mean, well…what made you grow to like them in the first place? Didn’t you want them so you could perform ex—I mean, conduct some research on them? So what made you like them so much?”

I kept my voice slow and calm; I didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was. But thankfully, she seemed to understand what I was getting at. And for the first time all night, she managed to smile—a weak one, but a smile nonetheless.

“Because they could give us some answers. They were volunteers, almost—well, not really, but you know what I mean. And if we kept them around for a little bit longer, we could’ve learned so many things about how the Titans work. How they live, what else they eat, whether or not they have any other weak spots…”

But then she was frowning again, silver tears slipping from her eyes. I grabbed the corner of one of the blankets and began dabbing her eyes with it (since my shirt had already suffered enough). As I wiped her face clean, she continued to speak, her voice soft and gentle.

“Maybe we could’ve found a way to communicate with them, like Ilse had.” My hand froze at the mention of the dead soldier, whose corpse was still rotting away in that old tree hollow in the forest. “Maybe we could’ve learned something else from them. But now we can’t, because I killed them. And who knows when we’ll be able to capture another pair of Titans like them…”

When her face was dry, I pulled her back into my chest and began to smooth her hair once more. She sighed against my collarbone, her soft eyelashes tickling my skin as her eyes fluttered shut.

“You didn’t see their eyes when they died, Mia. Almost as though…they were afraid. Like there was someone in there this entire time…”

Wait, what? But that’s silly, not to mention impossible.

I’d stared countless Titans in the face before killing them with my blades, and not one of them had shown any trace of fear or regret in their gaze before their deaths. They were always so cold, lifeless, soulless… But that’s what made them so easy to kill. I knew there wasn’t anyone in there, just a bloodthirsty monster hell-bent on destroying what was left of the entire human race. And that’s what pushed me to kill them, every single time.

But if Hanji had really believed they were sentient, in some way or another, then it was no wonder why she had been so upset upon returning to the base.

I glanced down at Hanji, a thousand questions lingering on my lips—but she was already snoring against my chest. I smiled to myself before laying her down against the mattress, wrapping the blankets around her in a little cocoon. She made no move to stop me as I stood up from the bed—she was finally out for the night.

I leaned down to press a soft kiss to her forehead, right beneath her messy brown bangs. Goodnight, Hanji.

I closed the door as softly as I could behind me, careful not to disturb either her or Moblit, who was currently sprawled across the couch, lost in his own deep slumber. Before I left the office, I draped a blanket across his chest, to keep him warm throughout the night.

I’ll have to thank him later for watching over Hanji for me. That was the thing I loved the most about Moblit: he was always there for Hanji, keeping a watchful eye on her whenever I couldn’t.

The door shut with a soft click, echoing throughout the empty hallway. With a heavy sigh, I pressed my palm to my forehead and began the trek back to Levi’s office, with Hanji’s last words spiraling over and over again in my mind.

Sentient Titans? I’d never heard of such a thing. They aren’t capable of showing human emotions. Even the Titan that spoke to Ilse didn’t seem to show remorse—it still killed her in the end. But maybe Hanji’s two Titans were different? Is it possible for some Titans to be emotional, while others simply aren’t?

I shook my head. I’d encountered too many Titans over the years to start second-guessing their intentions now. I’d lost too many friends and family to them over the years, ever since I was a little girl. Now was not the time to reevaluate my feelings about them.

Besides, there will be time to think about this all tomorrow. It’s too late right now to get involved with all of this.

…Yeah, you’re right. Worry about it tomorrow, when you have the time.

But even when I reached Levi’s office, even when we finished our tea and showered and tucked ourselves into bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Hanji had said. Even with Levi’s warm chest pressed against my back, I couldn’t take my mind off of what those Titans must have looked like to Hanji.

They’ve committed such horrible atrocities, every single one of them. And they have the nerve to look scared when humanity finally fights back a bit? That doesn’t make any sense. Why would they suddenly get all defensive once we have the upper hand?

No, stop it. Hanji’s just upset, maybe she just thought they looked scared. She has a strange relationship with Titans to begin with. That doesn’t mean every single Titan out there is sentient. They’re all mindless creatures with a taste for our blood, aren’t they?

“Stop it.” Levi’s breath was hot against my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “Whatever you’re thinking about, just stop.”

“…How do you know I’m thinking about something right now?”

“You keep shifting your legs and twisting your head, and it’s getting on my nerves. You only do that when you’re nervous.”

My cheeks grew warm at his words. Who knew he paid so much attention to my little habits? “I’m just…thinking about Hanji’s Titans. She’s really upset about them.”

“She’ll get over it.” His arms tightened around my waist, fingers brushing against the skin of my stomach. “I’m sure we’ll get her a new pair of them before the summer ends.”

Besides, it’s not as though they were humans to begin with.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right…”

“I am,” he replied curtly, and I stifled a laugh as he kissed my neck. “Now go to sleep. Or I’m kicking you out.”

“Aw, but you can’t!” Suddenly I was facing him on the bed, wrapping my arms around his neck and throwing my leg over his own. “Who’s going to keep your bed warm if you kick me out?”

“I have a few blankets in the closet.”

“Levi!”

The two of us were giggling now, smiling through the faint moonlight that spilled in through the window. He ruffled my hair with his fingers before curling his arm around the back of his head, keeping his other firmly pressed against my back.

“I’m serious, brat. Go to sleep. You need it.”

“Fine,captain.” I gave him a quick kiss on the mouth before snuggling into my usual spot against his collarbone, with my head tucked beneath his chest. “But only if you promise to fall asleep with me.”

“Tch, you’re unbelievable sometimes.”

“Maybe, but you’re stuck with me.”

I could feel his fingers dancing along the hem of my shirt, gently massaging the skin of my back as he pulled me in close.

“I guess I am.”

It took a little bit more convincing, with a few kisses thrown in here and there, but eventually I found myself dozing off against his chest, with his arms draped across my waist. The mention of any possible sentient Titans was now pushed in the furthest corners of my mind, with a silent promise on my tongue.

Worry about it all tomorrow, when you have the time.

Mao Mao introduces one of his sisters to Mitsue and Adorabat :0

Oc, Vicky, and Idea belongs to Gacha7761

Tried something new lmao

I FINALLY FINISHED! Btw most of these backgrounds aren’t mine, they belong to Cartoon Network, the animation and drawings are mine tho. I decided to try an art style inspired by my old ones.

I just had to do it

Remake of my old fangirl oc I found. Mai’s new name is Mitsue and their new pronouns are they/them :D

What a buncha dorks <3

Lmao sorry for being dead have some gay electronics

Ok so, school’s being just pain rn and I’m panicking as fucking hell for my Math test that I have in like- 2 days so I drew this thing based on the little fanfic I made for MIDI

[click for better quality pls ty Tumblr mobile just hates me]

Damn I may have gone through some big ass improvement but my background skills keep being literally inexistent fr like ajdnsnf

Also basically my first time drawing Sweet Cap'n and K_K and I’m pretty proud of how they turned out nlg

Guess fucking what

I decided to create a new Deltarune OC since my old ones are pretty much dead I’m so sorry for being a bad parent I promise I’ll revive them

Also because I desparately wanted to ship K_K with someone anyway because please they deserve love and I would die for them

So yeah, have an MP3 boyo because apparently that’s the best idea I could come out with ajdnn

[click for better quality pls Tumblr mobile hates me]

I also made a really rushed fanfic about how he met the three boys and since I kinda found out how to put a “read more” on Tumblr mobile, I’ll leave it down here

There may be a lot of spelling errors and shit I literally did this at 2am last night and I have a Chemistry test tomorrow please spare me

Also I’m not that good at writing characters that are not mine cuz it’s kinda difficult to keep them on canon without going wild or fucking everything up so hope I did it right jsjdns

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New entry

It was sort of a special day at the Queen’s Mansion. The Swatchlings announced the arrival of a special guest, a very special one, requested by the Queen herself. It doesn’t happen every day to receive a royal invitation!

As the doors opened, a curious fella walked in, he was what seemed to be an MP3 player, with 90s aesthetic clothing.

[Queen]“Ohohohoh! Here comes the boy! What was your name again?”

[MIDI]“The name’s MIDI m'lady! Heard ya wanted me to pay a visit for- somethin’- still dunno what kind of somethin’-”

[Queen]“I’ll tell you immediately. Swatch! Have you got those three already darling?”

[Swatch]“Of course my Queen”

Swatch then bowed, introducing the entrance of three little happy dudes. The first one looked like a teeny tiny speaker, with a small cap and a single yellow eye. The second one was a little shorter than the first. They seemed to be a some kind of boombox, with fancy, round sunglasses, a cap worn backwards and a blue hoodie.

Last but not least…

MIDI gasped a little at the sight of the third. They were really tall, maybe taller than the other two put together. Their body was formed by two boomboxes put together. One was the chest, white, with two big speakers. The other one was the head, green, with two big black eyes and tiny yellow pupils instead of the other two speakers. Their pants were also green. While the little dudes were noisy, jamming over their own music, the third was, instead, really chill, but still cheerful and supportive towards the other two. They had something… “special”, but MIDI didn’t know what that meant…

The little speaker was the first to notice MIDI standing there and exclaimed “Yo! Who’s that fancy guy over there!” The other two started staring curiously at the “fancy guy” as the Queen cleared her throat with a sip of battery acid to respond to the question.

[Queen]“Sweet, Cap'n, K_K, I present you…”

“Your replacement!”

Everyone was shocked, especially MIDI, who immediately opposed.

[MIDI]“Ayo what!? I didn’t know any of this! I didn’t know you already had musicians!”

[Queen]“Ohohoho! Because I don’t! At least since now. These little WALL-E ripoffs will now be imprisoned and you’ll be my musician as we stated yesterday! Isn’t it wonderful?”

[MIDI]“What!? Wonderful!? Of course not! I ain’t goin’ to steal someone else’s job!”

[Sweet]“Hah yeah! Plus, we sure have better beats than tha–”

[Queen]“Sweet. Honey. Darling. Shut up ^v^”

The Queen then made a smooth, royal gesture, as an OK to the Swatchlings to take the three to bring them in their cell. As those huge guards approached the three, Sweet and Cap'n immediately ran behind K_K.

[Cap'n]“H-Hey! Come on! There must be another way!”

[Sweet]“Yeah! W-We can do better! Give us another chance!”

No response from the Queen. The Swatchlings tried to grab Sweet and Cap'n, but K_K quickly put themselves on the way to prevent it.

[K_K]“D-Don’t come any clos–”!!!

They didn’t even let them finish, that a Swatchling lifts them up and squeeze them hard to block them.

[K_K]“OW! Put me down!”

[MIDI]“HEY! STOP!”

MIDI went to the rescue, attacking the Swatchling until he dropped K_K. MIDI ran to catch them and held them close to him to protect them. He then turned to the Queen defiantly.

[Queen]“MIDI! Sweetie. Honey. Darling. Why be so disobedient!”

[MIDI]“If going on your side means hurting these fellas then I’m sorry…”

He then held K_K closer. For some reason. K_K is highly confused, and embarrassed, but safe.. they don’t seem to dislike it at all…

[MIDI]“…I won’t take the deal”

[ * MIDI casts SOUND EQUALIZER!]

[ * The enemies are now blocked by 4 huge sounds equalizer walls. For how long? I don’t fucking know ]

MIDI held K_K’s hand for some reason and started running out of the Mansion, heading to the Thrash Zone.

[Sweet]“Hey! Wait for us!”

[Cap'n]“Yeah! What’s all this runnin’ all of a sudden! I wasn’t ready!”

Once arrived to a safe place, the four could finally stop and metaphorically breathe a big sigh of relief.

[MIDI]“Woah- that was a pretty crazy run wasn’t it? Never ran so fast in my life!”

[Sweet]“Yeah but you still could’ve ran slower! I couldn’t even catch you!”

[Cap'n]“Sucks to have short legs, doesn’t it?”

[Sweet]“Hey!”

And so the two started fighting- Still no response from K_K, who was just staring at their hand still squeezing MIDI’s. When MIDI noticed, he gently let go, embarrassed.

[MIDI]“A- Sorry that was embarrassing- I’m MIDI by the way, couldn’t have the chance to introduce myself properly. And- Uhm- you are?”

[K_K]“K_K! It’s the short for Cakes”

[MIDI]“K_K…”

[K_K]“Yup?”

[MIDI]“Oh nono- nothin’ I was just- being sure I understood it right- I-I don’t want to forget it- Memory plays tricks most of the time if y'know what I mean! Hahah-…”

MIDI shyly nudges K_K’s shoulder then stops, even more embarrassed than before. “Damn what the fuck were you thinking MIDI! That punchline was terrible!” He thought.

K_K exploded in a joyful laughter right after, which brought a smile on MIDI’s face. It was… simply adorable…

[K_K]“You’re so silly! You should come with us!”

Sweet and Cap'n stopped fighting as soon as they heard K_K’s words.

[Sweet]“Him!?With us?”

[Cap'n]“Wasn’t he tryin’ to steal our job or somethin’ a few minutes ago?”

[MIDI]“Oh nono! I never wanted to! I would never! Plus, y'all seem like a nice gang!

K_K clapped their hands happy and stared at Sweet with big puppy eyes waiting for a confirm.

[Sweet]"Oh well, if you put it like thatthen,welcome to the good side!”

Shipping your ocs with canon is way funner than I expected it to be, if youre reading this give it a try-

thinking abt my res evil 8 oc pascal my beloved little firecracker <3333

(click for better quality)

In case your wondering yes Morgan is in fact a rodeo gal specifically Barrel Racing

Jae and Lia the goth/punk besties

I need to draw them more

Laelia and Fugo

She’s just listening to him

Mariposa and Giorno again

Morgan and Okuyasu

Giorno and my jjba oc Mariposa