Disclaimer: I don't own SNK, nope, definitely do not.

Notes:

When I start writing for a new fandom, before I can even begin to write things that feature canon-characters only (other than fluffy oneshots), I absolutely have to write fics that heavily feature OCs because I'm still figuring out how to write that world, how to lose myself in it, etc, etc, and I'd rather go through the learning process with my OCs because there's more room for trial and error, experimentation, etc
Anybody else have this thing?

This is really just for me to play around with the characters and the SNK world. This isn't meant for anybody to particularly like it. I'll try self-betaing, and won't half-ass any plot, writing, etc, but unlike I do for fics that I really *intend* for people to reallllly enjoy, I would stress myself out.

There will actually be a large, large chunk of this fic that does not involve canon characters at all which will start very shortly.

*Title means sister in German - it's subject to change, but I needed a working title.

I have this big headcanon that Erwin Smith was born a noble from Wall Sina..so I went with it.

Prologue: No Wonder He Left The Nobility

Evelina had always known that her family was a little strange. 'Normal' was the last word anybody would use to describe the Smith family. For one, nobody really talked about the brother she idolized and rarely saw, because according to her mother, he was "an ungrateful fool who turned his back on his family." Erwin, however, said that he had "finally had enough of the nobility's bullshit" and decided to do something about it by getting himself out of it by choice before their parents made a show of disowning him to save face. She might have been biased, but she was always more apt to believe her brother over their parents. Part of her bias toward her brother in spite of the whopping seventeen-year age difference may have had something to do with the fact that their childhood experiences were relatively comparable.

Sit straight Erwin; Evelina, a lady walks with her head up and looks straight ahead

No son of mine will be seen running around with the tailor's son; you cannot be friends with Lenore, she is from the outskirts of Wall Sina

As your father's elder brother has no heir, you are the Smith's heir; as your brother turned his back on us, you are the Smith's heir

They are beneath you, son; the commoners are worth less than we are

Stop filling your head with ideas from those books; stop letting that traitor poison your mind

You still talk to those kids from the edge of Sina?; stop writing him, he will only steer you the wrong way

Good boys do not let their trousers get dirty; good girls never wear trousers

No, son, the soup spoon is for soup; it isn't proper to be left-handed, learn to use your right

Comb your hair; no, you cannot cut your hair

Part your hair to the right, it looks better that way; never let your hair come unbraided

Always say please and thank you; a lady does not demand, she requests

Make your smile less disturbing; do not snort when you laugh

I will slap you if you say something like that again; roll your eyes one more time, I dare you

The trickiest part about their parents was the fact that they were not awful enough to simply hate. They were not physically abusive, and only occasionally were Maite's words cruel enough to consider emotional abuse. At times, though neither parent was particularly nurturing, they had their good moments. Sometimes, they were nice enough to where Evelina would think that it wasn't them she hated, but their ideals. Until she is punished for playing hide-and-seek with servants' children, or slapped by her mother for finding Erwin's old clothes and wearing them because dresses were so miserable, or scolded for using the wrong eating utensil.

Every move they made, their parents had a million reasons why it was wrong. Otto Smith was not quite as strict as his wife. Otto's only concerns were that his children grew up knowing how to acceptable members of noble society; he could not care less whether his son occasionally slouched in his chair, or if his daughter liked to look at the ground as she walked, or if they wanted to join the military, play with butchers' children, or befriend servants' daughters. Maite, on the other hand, was a direct descendant of the royal family – her grandmother was his grandfather's youngest sister – and put the utmost emphasis on public appearances. Otto had undeniably married up the social hierarchy and sentenced his offspring to a life of demanding rigidity and constant judgment. Both brother and sister learned the hard way that there was no room for independence in thought, action, or speech. It was either right or entirely, disgustingly wrong.

At seventeen years his junior, it was admittedly strange that Evelina maintained a somewhat steady, albeit long distance, relationship with her brother. She was not born until he was halfway through with his first year with the Survey Corps, and even then, he found out about her birth accidentally. He had accompanied then-commander Commander Willis to Wall Sina to gain support from the nobles for an expedition beyond the walls, and while kissing up to a nobleman whose name was hardly worth remembering, he overheard some women gossiping how Maite Smith gave birth a few months ago at the unusually old age of thirty-six, and of course it had to be an affair, because their son and only other child was seventeen, so if they wanted more they would have had them earlier. If only they knew that the Smiths had not shared a bedroom since Erwin was small. If only they knew that Maite could not even say the word 'sex' unless she had had a few drinks. If anybody in that household was having an affair, if would have been Otto.

Although he knew that it would be years before he could be of any use to his sister, he promised himself that should he still be alive, he would regularly write to her and offer himself as an ear to shout at (through ink and paper) or a source of advice. If anybody could help her survive their parents and still end up a remotely decent person, it was him. Being an active player in her life was all but entirely out of the question with his duties to the Survey Corps, but when he had the chance – usually three or four times a year for a maybe twenty-four hour period – he was always welcome at his childless uncle's house. It wasn't much, but to Evelina, it was better than nothing, and to Erwin, it was a way for him to make himself into a decent human being. He knew the horror that was being the child of Otto and Maite Smith, and he'd be damned is he did not at least try to help his sister through her own ordeal with them.

Evelina, though she had tried, never could figure out how to thank him enough. She also owed a great deal to her uncle Felix, her father's childless elder brother. Felix had graciously agreed to be their accomplice in their plan to keep in contact. He allowed them to send the letters to and from his address, and whenever Erwin did make it to Sina for his day-long visits, his door was open to him.

Without her uncle, Evelina would not have her brother, and without her brother, she would not have an 'I Survived Growing up a Smith' success story to model herself after. Erwin was in many ways more of an authority figure and role model to her than her parents were. To her, he was a hero and somebody to idolize. Erwin gave her hope that there were people in the world who cared about things more important than what somebody's surname was, or how much money someone's parents had, or what hand a person ate and wrote with. While she had no burning desire to go to the extent of joining the Survey Corps, Evelina desperately wanted to follow Erwin's path of independence.

In her mind, there was no greater achievement than independence.