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[fiddlestick]

Elliot Craig

[MUFFLED VIOLIN MUSIC IN THE DISTANCE]

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Group Texts: Fairweather Clan | ReVA Staff | Club Sunshine | House Mochi

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[usurpers]

It was. Fifty meters high. The Colossal Titan was sixty. And the Armored Titan was bulky enough to tackle through the district’s safety wall.

[ that was probably . . . the tragedy of tragedies to tell, but here we go. ]

They let all the titans in.

[fiddlestick]

That's...horrible.

[He wasn't an expert on Titans, but he knew they ate people. And he remembers what it was like before Eren got control of his own Titan shift- it was terrifying. To have a bunch of Titans unleashed like that...and to have it be people intentionally doing it]

How could anyone do something like that...?!

[usurpers]

[ this is where eren goes quiet, giving elliot an understanding yet melancholy sort of glance, his arm finding his shoulder to pull him closer and rub it soothingly. ]

Because that’s war. They were just kids. [ eren pulls in air to inhale, looking up at the stars. ] And ten years later, Junior did the same thing to their country. Worse, even.

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot was about to argue that that wasn't war, that was a war crime- when Eren drops that next bombshell on him.

Junior...did the same thing but worse to another country. That level of atrocity, he committed...]

That's...

[What do you even say to that? It's a good thing they are using different names, because it makes it easier to separate. Junior did that. Not Eren. Not the guy who was holding onto him.

He takes a deep breath, collecting his thoughts.]

Is...that the memory that changed your mind about the memories?

[His attitude shift in February. Even if it had been a long time coming and there'd been earlier signs- it seemed somewhat abrupt. A bad memory like that would surely make anyone not want to be like that]

[usurpers]

[ a deep inhale here, and eren ends up knocking his head into elliot’s, gently for comfort. sure, they're separating everything— it makes things that much easier. but it didn’t mean . . . he didn’t feel. ]

. . . Yeah. [ but after a moment, he feels the need to defend them. to defend all of them, even the people he once called monsters that had broken into his home and . . . destroyed his life. ] I was angry at first. I didn’t get how Junior could do something like that, and I ended up throwing everything at Prompto. For making me remember. [ and— felt the need to keep it to himself for a while. ] But now— I know none of them did it because they wanted to.

All of them did it because they had to.

[fiddlestick]

[ Elliot will pick up that comfort, and nuzzle his own cheek against Eren's. His arm will wrap around Eren's side, letting him be close.

Did it because they had to... Elliot doesn't understand it. It's not in him to understand that level of death. It's one of the reasons he wasn't cut out for joining the military. Even if they found a way around his physical weaknesses, his heart would never be fit.

But he knows that he trusts Eren. That if Eren believes that, he shouldn't condemn them as monsters so readily. ]

...Sounds like a cruel world, if they have to do things like that.

[usurpers]

It was.

[ tragic, really— but . . . even if it had been horrible, not all of it was. as little as they were, he still had . . . good memories. he met good people that he wished he could’ve doesn’t more time with. wished that maybe, they didn’t have to meet under the circumstances that they did. ]

But it was still beautiful. [ not the cruelty, far from it! eren says it with fondness, at least a little bit of melancholy. there were good people from there that didn’t deserve what they lived through, but. past is past. ] You’re up.

[fiddlestick]

[that sounds pretty poetic. Cruel yet beautiful. He supposes a world like that wouldn't be all bad, else why would people fight for it. Still, he'd rather Eren stayed in this world. Junior...never seemed to have any real chance.]

Oh, mine huh? Well...

[He thinks on it, finishing off a slice of pizza.]

If I had to guess, one of the things that fueled the war from happening was there was this terrorist group. The Imperial Liberation Front. They were after some Chancellor's head...but I also remember them taking an iron mine hostage...with some nobility's help.

[So..that's not great.]

[usurpers]

[ he remembers something as elliot begins to speak, the pause being fleeting and brief. it was mikasa telling him what he had told elliot just now.

what else can we do? this world . . is cruel. they just had to fight for it to keep seeing the beauty. luckily, eren doesn’t space out; he listens. ]

What did the terrorists want, anyway–?

[ to take up places hostage instead of blowing them to pieces probably meant something–?

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot doesn't notice Eren's pause, thinking about his own memories]

I'm not...sure. I mean, I know they wanted to kill this chancellor who had a lot of power. But why or what that has to do with taking over a mine... I don't know. My memories are still too spotty.

I know they called themselves the Imperial Liberation Front though. Not sure how working with nobility would liberate anyone though.

[usurpers]

Politics are bullshit wherever you go.

[ is the conclusion he comes to, at this point. but to help piece things together, maybe help him out with trying to remember (because it’s much better to be prepared for something than get hit with disleveling emotional shock) . . . ]

. . . Nobles have money. Money buys a lot of things.

[fiddlestick]

[He makes a slight sound of agreement. Yeah. BS is a good way to put it. ]

Maybe...but the nobles will also arrest you for made-up crimes if they don't like you or even your relatives.

They're not exactly the nice nobility you hear about in fairy tales.

[usurpers]

That’s how nobles usually are, though— guys with too much cash that just want their way.

Put the two together and you have a pretty strong group. They’ll do what it takes to get what they want. [ eren shrugs a little and makes a face. ] Until one of them doesn’t need the other.

[fiddlestick]

[He sighs, unhappy but unable to deny it] I guess so...

[And his other self is stuck in the middle of that mess. Great]

Your turn?

[usurpers]

[ eren rests his cheek on elliot’s head and rubs over it reassuringly, tapping his arm as he keeps a loose embrace around him. ]

I figured out who that woman I had memories from is.

[fiddlestick]

[He leans into that embrace, relaxing with an exhale through his nose]

Really? Who is it?

[Is it Junior in a wig because really even he couldn't completely dismiss that theory]

[usurpers]

The queen. [ well— ] Dad still called her “king of the walls”. They could both turn into titans.

[ remember what he said about crappy ass politics!!! ]

He asked her for her help when the walls fell. And when she refused— they fought. He won and took her powers away.

[ and after a dry pause— ]

He ate her.

[fiddlestick]

[..................]



He...ate...the queen.



[GONNA NEED TO PROCESS THAT FOR A SEC]

[usurpers]

[ Y E a H ]

Then I’m pretty sure Junior ate him.

[ Y




E A H ]

[fiddlestick]

[.............]


I....

Uh--

[WHAT???]

Wow.

[usurpers]

[ he almost wants to laugh, and he sort of does as he rubs a temple with a free hand and drops it between his half bent leg. yeah. yeah. ]

It has to do with . . . taking someone’s powers, I think. Junior isn’t supposed to remember the first time for some reason.

[ he actually— remembers a pretty questionable conversation while he tried to beat someone up with chicken wings. ]

No one is.

[fiddlestick]

Y-Yeah....I can see why anyone would want to repress a memory like that...

[Cause seriously, that's all manner of MESSED UP. He takes a small deep breath, before weakly joking.]

I-I guess that's just one more reason for us to avoid cannibals...haha...

[usurpers]

It’s a lot less repressed and just— kind of screwed up with an injection.

[ but hey, that story is kind of up in the air still. the awkward sounding joke has eren lifting his head to look down at elliot, in the eyes. ]

. . . You’re not— worried, are you?

[fiddlestick]

R-Right. Well still, it's probably a blessing...

[Some things are better forgotten. ]

What? No! [He shakes his head and lets out a sigh] Not exactly. Just...Junior's dad ate a queen, and then got eaten by Junior is ... I'm not sure how to react to that. But it's not like I think you'll eat anyone, really.

[He does give a slightly worried look up at him though]

Though...maybe you should be careful who you tell that your power is inheritable. Just in case.

[Elliot wasn't naive enough to trust everyone on the app. It's one of the reasons he was actually pretty vague about how his magic work on the network. All it'd take is one person absolutely crazy enough to try...]

[usurpers]

[ well thank god!!!! eren has always had a bit of insecurity involving that, especially after thor-chan. and if there are more shifters . . . who guarantees that he didn’t eat more people?

but elliot was right about one thing. ]

It’s hard to explain, anyway. You’re the only person who knows. [ because he’s the only person eren can trust with certainty. not even the person he shares memories with is a good idea. maybe in the future if they’re close, but. they’re not. ] I don’t want to go telling people I consciously ate other people.

[







WHOOPS ]