[Elliot moves into a more comfortable sitting position on the shoulder, all while holding onto that lock of hair. Okay, this...this isn't so bad. It's surreal, but he's feeling more confident he can get used to this.
And then Eren breaks out of the back of the neck like some freaky alien birth. That's both horrifying and really gross. Elliot yells and thankfully is sitting, otherwise he would've been at risk for falling off. Instead, there's a sizable YANK on the hair]
[ clearly: eren’s gotten comfortable enough with this to feel like it’s something— well, not normal, but perhaps familiar? enough that it doesn’t hit him that open flesh and neck birth is precisely so: not normal. the people in his memories were used to seeing blood and guts everywhere, seeing live flesh wasn’t a problem. for them. ]
Shit— Sorry, sorry, you— you don’t need to look, I, [ hold on, he’ll fix this. how, he doesn’t know, he didn’t even think to start, but??? ] fucked up.
[ then we are in agreement that eren is not normal
after a minute of looking tense, not that elliot sees it and you bet he’s taking advantage of that, he does . . . try to lighten his tone. ]
It sucks. [ that’s still a nice view, nevertheless. ] But I don’t need to talk much while throwing punches. [ that’s what this was for, anyway. look at that musculature. but he could derail, just this once. he could use it to take his boyfriend out on a forest stroll. ]
If I’m in this thing now, it’s ‘cause of you. And I don’t regret it.
[ as freaked out as he initially was, but— he’s had a lot of time to think about it. ]
Y-Yeah...there's not really time for one-liners like you see in movies for fights. [He'll go along with lightening the mood. He didn't want to make Eren feel BAD for a power he didn't really get a choice in]
[ a quiet yeah, attempting to lean himself away from the steam to get a better inhale of cool air. it’s refreshing, to say the least. but at least it’s warm in here. for how gross it actually is to be wrapped in flesh. ]
I think I’d still be rejecting it if you didn’t say those things back there. The fire magic, how I wouldn’t accept it in the past if it were that bad—
[ a beat. he’s going to be honest. ]
It freaked me out. It freaked you out too, but . . . You were still there. I was ready to run.
[ save them, so i may hear them in all their glory
but eren listens, finding a smile prying his lips to the sides. he wouldn’t want to stray from that, even for a second. his beliefs, especially, and the strength to make them move forward was what marked eren for who he was. ]
I needed you to believe when I couldn’t. [ time to . . . come clean about something though, not that he knew. ] I already had memories of being in this thing, and controlling it. I just— didn’t know what it was.
And if I did, I think I wanted to ignore it somehow.
[Some of the memories that Eren's told him about, they made more sense in that form rather than his small human one. Like the one about breaking a guy's neck in a wrestling hold. Why bother with that when he usually had weapons? But in Titan form...body was all he had.
But he gets it. There's bits and pieces in his memories that don't make sense. That he decides to shelve until later. ]
I get it. The memories can be hard to comprehend sometimes. And controlling a titan form...that's got to be really confusing.
[ he’s trying to find the right wording without it sounding, well, weird. ]
It feels like . . . You’re in water. [ he realizes he needs to elaborate, and he will, beyond what he had said earlier: steering something that had its own energy. ] You can either get lost under it or keep your head up. If you’re leveled, it’s almost like— moving your own body. Everything’s connected.
[He pauses as he thinks about it, drawing the information back. His eyes flutter shut as he recites it for him]
Attack Titan, Eren Jaeger. No matter the age, this titan has always moved ahead, seeking freedom. it has fought on for freedom. Strengths are size, rapid regeneration, hardening. Weaknesses are cutting Eren out of the nape, up to an hour time limit, energy limits of 3 consecutive shifts at maximum, heavily weakens and strains the body after use. Extremely high strength, defense, and power Average speed.
[ wow, he didn’t. know that. it sounds really cool. completely unheard of, but rather fitting, and for once . . . eren’s face seems to light up. who knew the word “titan” in the same sentence would make him do that. ]
. . . A titan that fights for freedom.
[ maybe— it really was the right power for him, after all. there’s so much about titans he doesn’t seem to know. but there’s . . . one thing that he didn’t already have a feeling about. ]
. . . I’ll figure it out. You did a lot with that already.
[ and he’s probably done a lot up until now, too. just by hanging on his not shoulder and. being okay. grossness aside.
and maybe it’s because he’s not completely used to it, or because he’s been using it a lot the past week to get it straight that— he’s starting to feel like his real body is getting pulled down. he has to put some strength into keeping his head “above water”, so: ]
Mind if I set us down and we get going?
[ he’s done what he’s felt that he had to do. they both needed some rest, and actual quality time that didn’t involve a giant in between. ]
[ . . . aw. his lips quirk up at that, feeling touched that he actually got gloves in case of emergency. elliot, actual disney princess craig, will you marry me.
but that is a question for a good few years from now. eren shakes his head. ]
I got it, but— thanks.
[ he’d hug him, but this is not the situation for that. instead, he hopes his eyes can relay his feelings before he dips back into the world of gross neck flesh, allowing it to heal over him and get the titan moving. reanimating, eren lifts the titan hand back to elliot, curled just enough to offer safety around the sides so he wouldn’t fall, or if he wanted to use fingers as a crutch, it was there. a few steps and eren grumbles, brows knitting together— he had more time, but he’d rather not take the chance, carefully lowering elliot to the ground, cupped hands to keep him secure, then kneeling down with him, even attempting to cross his legs and sit.
there you go, love. safe and sound. titan purrs for you. ]
[Yeah and ideally the moment you pop the question, you aren't half submerged in a meat mecha. Just saying.]
Okay, seeya in a moment then.
[He makes sure not to watch Eren go back into the nape, as he can't imagine it's much better than seeing him come out of there. But when that hand gets lifted up, he'll carefully climb back onto it - this time with a little more certainty and confident than before. He still hangs onto the finger as he gets brought down, but he'll look up at the titan's face as he heads down.
It still feels surreal. But at least this helped it make it a little less scary.
When he reaches the ground, he'll carefully climb off the hand and onto the ground. In respond to the purring, he'll reach over to touch the palm of the titan's hand with his own hand for a moment. After a moment, he'll make sure to step back away so he'll be clear of the steam. When he's at a safe distance, he gives a nod and thumbs up at Eren. ]
[ the last thing eren would probably do in response is to loosely curl his hand around elliot’s, brushing his thumb over it before letting him slip away. that looks like a good distance. eren gives a thumbs up and a nod as well before— it might take a minute, delayed because he’s trying to build up strength to pop out again, and this time rip himself clean of the flesh. he’s halfway out again in a burst of steam, pulling his arms, his whole body— until it’s all slowly beginning to peel away, snapping and leaving there marks.
except all that force backwards to break free leaves eren falling right off the titan with the beginning of a yell and an ugly sounding thud, while the steam begins to spread through the entire corpse left and lift to the atmosphere.
. . . he’s taking a while to get up and walk isn’t he. ]
[Yeah okay so everything seemed to be going much smoother than before until Eren breaks free and falls to the ground. Elliot had been watching, so he caught full view of that ugly looking falling]
Eren!
[Forget waiting awhile. Elliot's raising his scarf to cover from that steam and trying to make his way over to Eren as fast as he can]
[ he seems to be alright once elliot’s made his way through the steam— no immediate looking injuries, and he doesn’t seem to be wincing or in pain. just really . . . sweaty looking? and worn. he’s been using a tree to try and get up on his own, but he hasn’t been able to pull himself up with anything.
thus, where he drops himself now when he can see elliot. pale and breathing shallow, but at least he’s alert, and lifts his arms to him. ]
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And then Eren breaks out of the back of the neck like some freaky alien birth. That's both horrifying and really gross. Elliot yells and thankfully is sitting, otherwise he would've been at risk for falling off. Instead, there's a sizable YANK on the hair]
GAH! E-Eren!?
[THE MEAT MECHA IS A LOT GROSSER THAN VALIMAR ]
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Huh?!
[ HE DOESN’T UNDERSTAND
DID THAT STARTLE HIM ]
E-everything’s fine, we’re not gonna fall!
[ CLEARLY THIS IS THE PROBLEM ]
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Y-You just came out of its neck like a horror movie!
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oh
elliot’s weak with gore ]
Shit— Sorry, sorry, you— you don’t need to look, I, [ hold on, he’ll fix this. how, he doesn’t know, he didn’t even think to start, but??? ] fucked up.
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Give him a few more months
But Elliot will look away. LOOK BACK ON THE NICE VIEW]
N-No, I get it. I-It's a little hard for you to talk when through just growling.
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after a minute of looking tense, not that elliot sees it and you bet he’s taking advantage of that, he does . . . try to lighten his tone. ]
It sucks. [ that’s still a nice view, nevertheless. ] But I don’t need to talk much while throwing punches. [ that’s what this was for, anyway. look at that musculature. but he could derail, just this once. he could use it to take his boyfriend out on a forest stroll. ]
If I’m in this thing now, it’s ‘cause of you. And I don’t regret it.
[ as freaked out as he initially was, but— he’s had a lot of time to think about it. ]
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'Cause of me?
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I think I’d still be rejecting it if you didn’t say those things back there. The fire magic, how I wouldn’t accept it in the past if it were that bad—
[ a beat. he’s going to be honest. ]
It freaked me out. It freaked you out too, but . . . You were still there. I was ready to run.
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A pause]
...I know. I could tell you were getting ready to bolt.
I just... [He gives a little shrug of his shoulder] I can't see you ever being okay with hurting the people you care about. That's not the you I know.
Maybe it was a little idealistic, but I wanted to believe there was a way to control it. [A small wry smile] Glad I turned out to be right.
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but eren listens, finding a smile prying his lips to the sides. he wouldn’t want to stray from that, even for a second. his beliefs, especially, and the strength to make them move forward was what marked eren for who he was. ]
I needed you to believe when I couldn’t. [ time to . . . come clean about something though, not that he knew. ] I already had memories of being in this thing, and controlling it. I just— didn’t know what it was.
And if I did, I think I wanted to ignore it somehow.
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[Some of the memories that Eren's told him about, they made more sense in that form rather than his small human one. Like the one about breaking a guy's neck in a wrestling hold. Why bother with that when he usually had weapons? But in Titan form...body was all he had.
But he gets it. There's bits and pieces in his memories that don't make sense. That he decides to shelve until later. ]
I get it. The memories can be hard to comprehend sometimes. And controlling a titan form...that's got to be really confusing.
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[ he’s trying to find the right wording without it sounding, well, weird. ]
It feels like . . . You’re in water. [ he realizes he needs to elaborate, and he will, beyond what he had said earlier: steering something that had its own energy. ] You can either get lost under it or keep your head up. If you’re leveled, it’s almost like— moving your own body. Everything’s connected.
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But basically to keep control you have to...keep swimming?
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[ which explains the time limit. but that even helps him picture things clearer. you can’t swim forever, after all. ]
I guess I need to get out before feeling tired. Did you see anything else with your spell?
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[He pauses as he thinks about it, drawing the information back. His eyes flutter shut as he recites it for him]
Attack Titan, Eren Jaeger. No matter the age, this titan has always moved ahead, seeking freedom. it has fought on for freedom. Strengths are size, rapid regeneration, hardening. Weaknesses are cutting Eren out of the nape, up to an hour time limit, energy limits of 3 consecutive shifts at maximum, heavily weakens and strains the body after use. Extremely high strength, defense, and power Average speed.
[He opens his eyes again]
That's what I got.
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. . . A titan that fights for freedom.
[ maybe— it really was the right power for him, after all. there’s so much about titans he doesn’t seem to know. but there’s . . . one thing that he didn’t already have a feeling about. ]
What’s hardening?
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[ He's not sure how much of it is the titan specifically or Eren's use of the titan, but still. It fits. ]
Dunno. The spell didn't say.
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[ and he’s probably done a lot up until now, too. just by hanging on his not shoulder and. being okay. grossness aside.
and maybe it’s because he’s not completely used to it, or because he’s been using it a lot the past week to get it straight that— he’s starting to feel like his real body is getting pulled down. he has to put some strength into keeping his head “above water”, so: ]
Mind if I set us down and we get going?
[ he’s done what he’s felt that he had to do. they both needed some rest, and actual quality time that didn’t involve a giant in between. ]
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Of course. Will you be able to get out of this on your own? I...I brought gloves this time.
[So less burns hopefully?? Though he'd rather not do it at all]
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but that is a question for a good few years from now. eren shakes his head. ]
I got it, but— thanks.
[ he’d hug him, but this is not the situation for that. instead, he hopes his eyes can relay his feelings before he dips back into the world of gross neck flesh, allowing it to heal over him and get the titan moving. reanimating, eren lifts the titan hand back to elliot, curled just enough to offer safety around the sides so he wouldn’t fall, or if he wanted to use fingers as a crutch, it was there. a few steps and eren grumbles, brows knitting together— he had more time, but he’d rather not take the chance, carefully lowering elliot to the ground, cupped hands to keep him secure, then kneeling down with him, even attempting to cross his legs and sit.
there you go, love. safe and sound. titan purrs for you. ]
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Okay, seeya in a moment then.
[He makes sure not to watch Eren go back into the nape, as he can't imagine it's much better than seeing him come out of there. But when that hand gets lifted up, he'll carefully climb back onto it - this time with a little more certainty and confident than before. He still hangs onto the finger as he gets brought down, but he'll look up at the titan's face as he heads down.
It still feels surreal. But at least this helped it make it a little less scary.
When he reaches the ground, he'll carefully climb off the hand and onto the ground. In respond to the purring, he'll reach over to touch the palm of the titan's hand with his own hand for a moment. After a moment, he'll make sure to step back away so he'll be clear of the steam. When he's at a safe distance, he gives a nod and thumbs up at Eren. ]
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except all that force backwards to break free leaves eren falling right off the titan with the beginning of a yell and an ugly sounding thud, while the steam begins to spread through the entire corpse left and lift to the atmosphere.
. . . he’s taking a while to get up and walk isn’t he. ]
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Eren!
[Forget waiting awhile. Elliot's raising his scarf to cover from that steam and trying to make his way over to Eren as fast as he can]
Eren?! Are you okay?!
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thus, where he drops himself now when he can see elliot. pale and breathing shallow, but at least he’s alert, and lifts his arms to him. ]
I’m fine, just— can’t get up.
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[He moves closer, worried. He'll squat down when he's close to Eren, so they're on the same level]
Did you hit your spine on that fall?
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