Hey, so, the delivering of gifts is going smoothly, even if we still miss some!
I'll wait a little more for everyone's works, and will start checking on people who didn't send me anyything after New Year.
Here we go for Secret Santa~! I am not sure if you'll like this, but I did my best and I hope you like it. It's kind of short, yes. I'm sorry about that, it actually continued, but I didn't like how it came out in the end so... ;v;
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It all started pretty well, actually.
Eren had let curiosity get the reigns of his body, and upon finding out that snow now covered everything, he had decided to see it for himself.
He wanted to see it, to touch it, to feel how it melted in his hands and let them especially sensitive to the cold air around them. Some could think it was nothing special –even though Eren didn’t know anyone who didn’t like snow- but he didn’t care, too thrilled about being a witness of such a miracle. As he walked down the corridor, he thought he saw Jean complaining about how someone had put mistletoe above every single door frame.
It made Eren muffle a laugh.
‘As if you were going to be kissed any time soon, horse face.’ Eren thought, lips curling up into a tiny smirk. It was true, that thought was kind of cruel, but it was Christmas Eve, and everyone was in a surprisingly good mood as of lately. Maybe it was because of how people cherished all the happy moments they shared.
Living as a soldier, and as a member of the Scouting Legion was something that could make you break down in front of everyone, and yet, you would only be looked at with pity and empathy. But this was going to be the first Christmas in which people were missing, in which they were active members of the military; and you could feel just how much everyone tried to make it something worth their time.
His steps sounded muffled as he stepped on the snow-covered ground, and as strange as that sounded, he found himself walking more than necessary just to hear that sound again and again. Something in it was enamoring, and Eren couldn’t help but smile in response. His fists were soon full of snow as he tried to give it some shape that was appealing to the eye, but he soon grew frustrated when he saw how he couldn’t form anything but snowballs. He wasn’t complaining at all, really, but he was surprised to find just how difficult it was.
Eren idly wondered if maybe it was just him, since others seemed to not have any problems with it at all, but quickly shrugged it off. It didn’t really matter, after all.
After a few minutes of building something that could just barely resemble a snowman, his hands were pink, cold, and slightly stiff. He suddenly remembered that he should have brought gloves with him to avoid getting them like this. Contemplating the idea of going back inside to grab a pair wouldn’t happen; he must have become lazier these days.
Unfortunately for him his trail of thought was interrupted by a hard hit against the back of his head. He let out a surprised cry, rubbing the sore spot as he turned around, ready to shout at whoever the culprit was, but his words died in the tip of his tongue when he saw his captain at a precarious distance.
In his hands was another snowball, ready to be thrown like the other one had been.
“Hey brat. Are you for a fight?”
And the moment he agreed, he knew something wrong was bound to happen.
At first the war was quite pacific; truth be told, hardly any snowballs hit their targets, for they had built a small wall out of snow to hide behind it. But it soon escalated into something fiercer, and they were aware that every single hit they made on the other’s body would probably leave a bruise.
Eren was running out of strength in his arm due to how cold his hands were and the force behind every projectile. His arm extended to his right, hoping to be able to grasp more snow and throw it back to Levi when---
A loud noise rang through the air as a huge arm was raised, a great amount of snow inside its fist. In a couple of seconds the snow passed from being within the titan’s fist, to cover completely the body of a wide-eyed raven, who didn’t even have enough time to react.
While Eren waited for his gigantic arm to dissolve into nothing, he sent worried glances towards the unmoving pile of snow away from him. Hopefully, Levi would be fine, but since nothing had come out from under all that white mass, he cringed in response.
Once he could get away from the flesh and bones surrounding his human arm, he quickly ran towards that pile of snow, digging down with his hands and trying his best to ignore the feeling of needles prickling at his skin. The sight of a familiar frown and closed cold eyes staring at him with annoyance in his mind almost made him sigh in relief. In a matter of seconds, the whole body had been unburied, and Eren carefully picked him up. He didn’t know just how much time he had been there, and for all he knew, Levi could be about to have a severe case of hypothermia. It was best not to risk anything.
“Y-You s-stupid brat---“ Shivering as he was, the fact that he couldn’t speak without stuttering wasn’t surprising. With the way his teeth clacked against each other, well, he’d probably end up biting his tongue much like Auruo did from time to time, back when he was alive.
“Yes, yes I know. I’m going to take you to Hanji.” As if he had suddenly remembered, he quickly muttered an apology and started to walk at a fast pace towards the building he had exited no more than an hour before.
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You could say they both were lucky enough to escape unscathed from the experience, more so Eren than Levi, of course. Due to Eren’s titan-like high temperature, it was to be expected, but the captain wasn’t as lucky and was victim of a very annoying cold.
Hot baths.
That was the solution that Hanji had cheerfully provided them before leaving them alone with only a wink as a parting gesture.
Eren did not really mind the presence of the other, used to it by now. He wondered just how many people knew of their relationship apart from the titan lover. Did the Commander know? Mikasa? Armin? The thought made him wince; he still hadn’t decided when to tell them.
On the other side of the bathtub, Levi snoozed again and again, looking completely disgusted. The teenager realized that it was probably his OCD kicking in, if the pointed looks at the used tissue in Levi’s hands before they entered the bath were anything to go by.
“I find it unfair how my day has been literally horrible so far while yours has been like a field trip. “ Levi commented, in a rather matter-of-factly tone.
“It was not my fault---“ Upon hearing those words the captain glared at him, and he hurriedly changed them in an attempt to fix it. “I mean, it was not intentional…”
“…I’ll give you that. Not even you would hide it if you decided to kill someone. You’d probably your all your damn cover for the crime.” A sarcastic snort if any, but seeing the corners of those lips twitch upwards made Eren grin.
“Come on, I’ll make it up to you. I promise. As an early birthday present?” Cue the best puppy eyed look the titan shifter could muster. It was met with a sneer.
“You better do that. Now stop moving your hand blindly under the water, for fuck’s sake. I can tell if you’re trying to grope me or tickle me.”
Happy holidays Tiffany! This sort of snowballed (let's hear it for seasonal puns) into an idea I really liked and I plan on continuing, so consider this the first installment of a sort of sad fic:
Staying Afloat
I: The Beginning of the Rest of My Life
My elbow bounced uncomfortably, forcing my head to bob around in my cupped hand, as I tried to maintain a leaning position against the rounded ledge under the car window. This was all I could really do to avoid squishing Armin and Mikasa who were along for the grueling seven-hour drive from Chicago to Dauper, a small University in Minnesota. For Armin and I, our senior year summer had just ended, and Mikasa, already a shining student at Brown, would have to make her trip back in just a few short days. Armin and I naturally weren’t going to the same college; he had been offered a hefty scholarship to go to Stanford, where he could treat his brilliant mind to a world-class education and drive to the coast on weekends, fulfilling his lifelong dream to see the ocean, and as much as he pleased. He would be leaving in a week, after I was already unpacking my bags at Dauper. It’s going to be so strange, no, so hard, without them with me. I was hot headed and stubborn, and while these qualities helped me get into a selective University, under the nicer labels ‘determination’ and ‘wit’, they hadn’t been great for making friends, and I couldn’t remember a time before being glued to Mikasa and Armin. Despite the embarrassingly straining effort it took to keep my right arm in its place under the window and support my chin in the vibrating car, I kept it up, not wanting to so much as shift my weight and earn a glance from either of them; I didn’t want to look at their bored faces and have to think it would be the last time for a year.
Trying to instead focus on the little streams of rain on the glass, I remembered, I hadn’t even met my roommate. All I knew about him was his name, haircut and supposed interests from the little profile I got in the mail. Abandoning my painful position at the window and making sure to keep my eyes down, I fished the printout out of my muddy black backpack. I unfolded it out of nerves and reread it for the thousandth time: Springer, Connie. Freshman, thinking of majoring in ethics, minoring in writing, enjoys playing rock climbing and frisbee. His picture was pretty frightening, with a fearless buzz cut and a slight frown, but then again nobody’s application picture was cheerful looking. What was I supposed to deduce from this? It’s a pretty sick joke on the University’s part to leave it up to your imagination without even giving you your roommate’s email address. Whatever, whatever fuck it—it’s not anything I could change if I tried. Stuffing the paper in the side pocket meant for water bottles, I gave up trying to reconcile with my thoughts and pangs of nausea. I should be excited, this is the beginning of the rest of my life, and really, Armin and Mikasa are only a phone call away. Trying to convince myself of the positives of going to college, I leant on Armin and drifted off into a somewhat fitful nap.
II: I’m From Chicago
I awoke to Armin pulling on my nose, halfheartedly swatting at his stupid blonde head, still fuzzy in my waking eyesight.
“Eren—hey Eren”
“Christ Armin leave my face alone I’m exhauste-“
“We’re here,” he smiled weakly, “we uh, we gotta get your bags to your dorm and get you signed in and stuff. Your mom and Mikasa are heading out to get your keys and some food.” I nodded and took his forearm as he pulled me out of the backseat and into full consciousness. I felt my throat tighten when it occurred to me that since I was the first to leave, I wouldn’t be able to do this for Armin. I wouldn’t be able to pull his sleepy ass out of mom’s van or ride with him up the elevator and stock his little dorm shelf with our favorite books or even set foot on his campus to make him a little bit less alone—
“Eren do you have that manila folder with the directions? I don’t really know where we’re going so if you’d snap out of it and—”
“Yeah sorry,” I could tell he was unsettled too and grabbed the folder out of the front seat, “looks like we need to go to that building with the wings um-“
“Wait wings-“
“Yeah uh I mean the coat of arms thing on its banner, you know under the building name,” I pointed to the enormous green tapestry-looking cloth billowing over the tower’s main doors.
“So you’re in building Maria then,” Armin smiled, “hey lucky you Eren, you’re in the dorm closest to the train and bus stations.”
“The town is supposed to be so tiny though,” I looked at him making an obvious effort to be positive and restarted, “but that’s probably a much better way to meet people. Oh and I won’t have to always study in the gloomy library if the town is this close and quiet and all. Maybe I can even get a part time job at a shop; I really feel like that would be a better niche for me than one of those die hard clubs, you know…”
Our conversation didn’t get the chance to evolve past semi-comforting small talk before we were already boarding the elevator to my room. At least Armin would get the chance to meet my roommate, and help me get off on the right foot with him. Shit are we seriously getting off already? When am I going to say goodbye oh God—
“Wow Eren looks like you’re the second-to-top floor!”
Wow was right. I’d be taking some long elevator rides this year. I glanced around as we stepped out with my suitcases trailing behind us. The hallway was pretty dark, lit mainly by a single window near the elevator corner, bathing a small furnished area in a pale grey, matching the lifeless clouds that loomed just outside. My room was actually the second from the elevator, and its door enjoyed the same grey glow against its dark wood. When Armin realized that I had spotted my room he promptly started towards it, eager to relieve himself of my heavy bags.
“Hey Armin-”
“Don’t worry Eren. We have all afternoon to check this place out. And Connie’s probably not even here so let’s just-“
But Connie was there. He appeared in the doorway just seconds into what was probably Armin’s last chance at words of encouragement.
Connie looked even more terrifying in the harshly lit corridor, and for a few seconds we stood staring each other in the face.
Armin spoke up, “Hello, um you’re Connie right? This is your roommate Eren. He’s a freshman too so uh— ”
Connie interrupted, his face stretching into a brilliant smile that nearly forced his eyes shut, “Oh man you’re Jaeger! Dude I’ve been here alone for a half hour and I started to worry, what if my roommate is as creepy as this dorm? Like what will I do? His profile says he wants to major in biochemistry, like what if he’s crazy and has a four-headed frog or something—” I covered my mouth with my hand to stop a relieved drunken giggle from rolling out.
Connie looked at me like maybe I really was crazy.
“No, no I’m sorry Connie, I was pretty nervous too. It’s just that,” I wheezed out my words almost unable to contain myself, “I’m from Chicago and the way you said Jaeger just sounded so-” I couldn’t help it; I doubled over and snorted like a five year old “- so ridiculous,” I thought I really was losing it when I looked up and saw his thoroughly confused expression. But next to me Armin was snickering too, and pretty soon Connie was infected with our ridiculousness and cracked another big goofy smile.
“Let’s get these bags of yours in here man, we’re kind of being a fire hazard,” he said, still red in the face from laughing. We pulled them into the room, wearing our stupid smiles, and I thought, this might be alright.
III: We Have Three Days
After Connie and I had shoved most of my stuff either into the my dusty personal closet and drawers and Armin had gingerly assembled my printer and laid out my desk things, Mikasa finally caught up to us in the dorm, toting a few more boxes of posters, sheets, and the textbooks she and mom had picked up at the office. Mom must have had to go re-park the car in a more permanent spot, I thought. Mikasa quietly introduced herself and then busied herself making my bed and taking pictures of the room for mom, until she hesitantly turned to Connie.
“Can I ask, what is that tank for?” I hadn’t noticed the glass structure under his desk until she pointed it out.
“Oh, well I was thinking of getting a fish. Or maybe a jellyfish. If Eren doesn’t mind. There’s a pet store in town, Levi actually works there. He has some really awesome fish and he pretty much convinced me to get one. We should go tomorrow Eren, I went this morning and it’s no Chicago, but it’s pretty student friendly and it’s loaded with food places.” Mikasa smiled at him in approval, and I told him it sounded great. My plans had been to pretty much sulk in the dorm and maybe go meet a professor or two, and I preferred this by far.
By the time that Armin, Mikasa, and mom had to leave the campus, I was exhausted. I would miss them, but right now I had actual options to consider and figure out rather than worry about things I couldn’t change. I have three days before the school year starts, three days to meet my first friends and to explore a little. Not to mention I still planned to visit a few professors. Sliding into bed felt sort of strange, although it was still wrapped up in the same soft plaid sheets as my bed at home. I was too tired to think anymore, and pulling the cold underside of my pillow over my face, I drifted off into a sweet, dreamless sleep.
IV: Life in the Tundra
I woke up and my eyes darted around the room, my room, I remembered. Connie lay opposite my wall with a heap of laundry at the foot of his bed, and I wondered if he was the messy type. That was fine by me, but when I glanced over at the tank glinting form under his mattress, I really couldn’t picture a messy person taking care of a fish. The clock read 7:00am, pretty early by my standards. On weekends I would crash and burn, sleeping late into the afternoon, but this energetic waking was lucky and probably the best way to start off such a big day.
I felt restless and didn’t feel like tackling my own laundry and boxes yet, so remembering that Mikasa had stowed a mesh bag of toiletries in my bottom drawer, I gently pulled it out, and draping my room key around my neck, tiptoed neatly outside into the hallway and carefully clicked the door closed. The pale glow of the elevator and its controls was comforting; I would hopefully never have to venture too far into the dimmer back hallways because of my room’s convenient location. There was a student on his laptop, to me mostly a silhouette against the harsh white of the window backing the tiny furnished area I saw yesterday. I really wanted to brush my teeth and change, maybe even take a shower, and while I could probably find it on my own, asking the student where the bathrooms were wouldn’t hurt. Maybe he’d even be going to town with us, so why the heck not ask? I approached him feeling pretty optimistic, but when he looked up from his screen, it felt like a punch in the stomach.
I can’t breathe—why, why?
He looked back down at whatever he was reading. He didn’t give one single fuck that I was stupidly standing two feet from him, in full light of the window. Maybe he was too tired to care? Or too...I didn’t know what sort of vibes these were that he gave off. He looked like stone, curled in the fetal position, folded into a forest green Dauper hoodie and pale blue boxers. He didn’t look bad, or really all that dangerous, but he looked strong and cold and, well, threatening. Maybe he was dangerous. But it really seemed like he was more aloof than anything, like we weren’t experiencing the same chilly morning, like he was somewhere completely else. His skin was pale where it showed, and his oddly cropped black hair was laced with tiny dewy drops. Had he already showered? Or been out in the rain? He was clearly older, but it took embarrassing effort to collect myself and play the freshman card,
“Uh do you, er, know where the um—”
‘The bathrooms are down the hall and to the left now will you pretty please leave me the fuck alone, kid?”
I normally wouldn’t let an asshole get away with something like that, but I was still too confused to really think of what to do. Instead I nodded back to the pajama-clad upperclassman, still watching his monitor with vacant eyes, and turned away towards the elevator corner. I padded softly down the cement-like flooring in my, now frozen, bare feet until I reached the men’s room, on the left, as promised.
[this chapter is unfinished but i'll be messaging you in the near future with more. I'm pretty sure it's got all your ships covered, and I promise fish-buying and sweaters and cocoa and sad backstories. have a super rad December]
hey im the secret santa for erenismyhome!! my laptop stopped working before i was able to finish what i was originally working on, so i had to make something traditionally. anyways, merry christmas and have a fantastic vacation!! (ps that is you in the picture in case you couldnt tell„ i looked in your selfie tag and youre rlly cute wOW)
I was on a family trip so this was all I could do with my little talent orz I would've done something more realistic and cool, but this is my limit of ability to draw so... yeah...
i'm afraid i'm going to be a little late submitting the finished picture for ask-irvin-smith (i was hospitalized shortly after i signed up for this SS so i've been caught up in treatment) but i wanted to submit this sketch so that they know that i've kept them in mind :) have a merry christmas!
Ahhh!! I didn't realize that you could submit as a picture. I already sent mine in but if you want to repost it as a picture instead of a link then please do so.
This was for Ysds
Merry Christmas!!
I will be a little late in getting my gift to corporal-leviii i lost half of the progress in the ficlet I'm writing for them when my comp crashed and I haven't had the time to work on it with work and not knowing it hadn't saved. If my gift has already been submitted please withhold it until I turn mine in.
Merry Christmas~! I'm sorry you got stuck with me as your Secret Santa, but I hope you enjoy my lame drawing all the same! ;w; I tried to make them look older, but they pretty much look the same, save for Armin being a tad more filled out... ^^; Anyways, again, Merry Christmas, and I hope you get all the awesomest presents ever! \o/
jacobvanloon
dededos
dailybridgerton
theartofmadeline
origamiaround
ellievsbear
romaincrisis
blakekathryn