THATS A CELLPHONE TREE ROBBIE

[usurpers]

WHO: eren annnnd you.
WHERE: various locations!
WHEN: throughout november!
WHAT: a november catch all! includes item hunting, turkey menaces, 3D maneuvering attempts and whatever else happens. brooding. grunting. a lot of grunting. november plotting comment is right over here.
WARNINGS: eren....????

( feel free to hit me up at liberos or owlteer#3609 on discord if you’d like or have any ideas and such! prompts are down below. )

Comments

ITEM HUNTING, AFTER 11/3

[usurpers]

[ after the third and a bit further into november’s first week, eren sets out to search around recollé for his items. three in total, it seems. with the tickets in hand and frowning as he searches, he might tug at you if you seem free, or tap at your shoulder to get your attention. maybe they’re already looking for things together— why not help each other out?

wings of freedom, two dimensional movement is so last year, and shing are helpful descriptions to go by. that’s great. this would’ve been less ironic with less free turkeys running around, but. not everything can be helped. jogging with titan in the park has at least helped in dispersing the gobble squad enough to finally notice: a cloak hanging between branches. blue wings. eren’s chest immediately tightens when his eyes settle on the flapping fabric, swelling with pride. it was his.

and turkeys are stepping all over it. the turkeys probably shit on it.

that’s not to mention the rest of the clothing and belongings scattered all across the park. pants, boots, sashes, metal boxes and so on— you can find eren pelting rocks at the trees, yelling and attempting to get them away as they start flocking, or pecking when he starts a climb. titan’s at least having more than a blast chasing the gobbles, but. turkeys can be assholes when they want to. ]

Stupid—! Get— OFF!

[ he shoves a group off the branch he’s sharing space with, so look out— incoming turkeys, right on your head. ]

[cornets]

[Arion is jogging in the park with Sasuke, carefully sidestepping turkeys and turkey turds (turdkeys), when he nearly gets hit by a flying one.]

Hey!

[He looks up to see if there's more incoming, they can be quite unpreditable, when he sees... Eren instead. Also Titan being a little too enthusiastic about chasing and barking at them. Arion is glad to see the dog is okay after everything that happened last month, but wow are those teeth getting a little too close to those necks. Sasuke takes Arion's pause in jogging as a cue to rest, so he does just that on the other side of the path and away from the turkey throwing.]

Uh...?

[usurpers]

[ finally— after much tugging and angry flailing at the branches to get the birds off his back, eren’s got his cloak pulled free, a fist-full of fabric lodged in his hand. he’s . . . a little side tracked in staring at it, briefly sliding back against the tree’s trunk to scan it and let his fingers run over the blue and white threaded symbol.

“wings of freedom”. he’s expecting something to ping him, but. nothing comes. just that same sensation: it’s his. at least, any further daydreaming and tight faced frowning would have to derail, especially when the horrid sound of a panicking turkey and canine snarls ring up like a show. titan’s ripped off a jawful of feathers from the last playful chomp down, even letting it get an extra head start at running before he— ]

—Titan!

[ —has a turkey’s neck flailing helplessly between his teeth. beak wide open, it flaps into shock, gasps— and titan just looks so proud, his tongue rolling out of the other side of his jaws, seeming to smile at his young human guest in victory, and trying to show off the catch.

the turkey is suffering ]

cries at your direction - for turkeys

[handpuppet]

[Juri shrieks and instinctively covers her head. Of all things she expected today, it isn't to have a turkey coming after her head. Luckily it misses just a hair breath away, but that's just about excitement she could muster for a day, at least in regards of the 'turkeys attacking you' kind are concerned. She's about to ask if Eren's okay until she notices Titan chasing the flightless bird, which causes her to gasp as she chases after the turkey.] No! Don't eat the turkey.

fingerguns at you

[usurpers]

[ eren’s on the ground now, taking half ripped packaging under is arm and finally giving it a look over, thanks to a group of those hideous birds. it looks like— equipment? a lot of equipment, with wires and straps, and a body harness that connects to it all . . . he remembers this harness, this equipment, he remembers it on him in a few of his given memories. curiosity overtakes him when he’s found trying to give the item observational looks and touches, before—

the girl’s scream gets his attention, and titan zips by him after a struggling turkey. not another one, and this time he had ties him. he must’ve gotten loose, shit— he leaves his things on the ground and bolts right after. ]

Titan! Titan, no! [ DOG DO NOT GRAB THAT TURKEY BY THE BUTT— well there he goes. the turkey shrieks some nasty sound of instant death. ] Anhalten!

[ he stops, as he’s told, but a few seconds too late, titan stands in place with it in his jaws. proud as can be. the poor thing probably kicked it out of shock. ]

RECOLLÉ WOODS

[usurpers]

[ maybe you’ve seen him coming out here everyday through all these crisp november afternoons all the way until the evening chills bite, or even later. eren can be found disappearing into recollé woods with heightened frequency after strategically parking a new motor bike, gathering a bulk of gear under his arms and strapping up.

he remembers using these, wearing these. he remembers how the body harness hugged him, how the straps ran down his legs and over his torso. a few rough guesses the first time had soon enough led him to slipping it on with more and more ease over his clothes. wearing it was one thing; the hard part, though . . . was figuring out how to work it. there were— handles, and wires, hooks. a gas canister. trial and error plays a huge roll as eren does what he can with them, from shooting the grappling hooks by accident, to getting them to sink into trees with more aim. he plays with the mechanisms like one would with new controls. he tries to force himself to remember, he swings and bangs the handles against his thighs, his hands when it doesn’t work, when nothing comes.

eventually, things do happen, whether in a fit of impatience and anger or an accidental pull of a trigger, somewhere in those woods, comes a scream. a churned yell. maybe a crash? it might be angry, spouting curses and thrashing in the branches. maybe the ground has shaken and someone sounds painful. maybe it’s just a whole ton of wooooooosh in the distance with the wind— but it’s there, and you’re somehow close by enough to hear it. ]

[complementing]

[About twenty minutes later, enter one red-eyed, silver Shiba Inu, stopping at the bottom of the tree that Eren is stuck in. He sets his front paws on the trunk, his ears perked forward, and then barks up at him. Hello, what's up?

(Eren is!)]

[usurpers]

[ attempt 19: no memories and only a rough idea, managing 1.5 seconds of flight. the minute he had to shoot the hooks to keep going, he panicked at the sudden freefall and just desperately pressed down at the joysticks and triggers. something shot out, it cracked into tree trunks while the other spun around a branch. the result: an intense ricochet from the hips that knocks the air out of his gut until he wants to gag. needing a few minutes to regain air, eren hangs there, patience beginning to bubble into nothing the more he comes back into place.

the new goal: make enough movement to loosen one of the hooks and reel it back. commence angry flailing and wire tugging, until— he spots the dog. clapping to keep getting his attention, he yells. ]

—Hey!!

[ a dog that well taken care of has to have an owner nearby. ]

[gunsandveggies]

[Haru sometimes goes hiking out here, just to get away from the city for a while and enjoy nature for what it is. This is where she feels the most at home, out here with the trees and the grass, even with everything still being gray. It's quiet out here, peaceful.

...

Or, you know, it usually is. But someone's shattering the peace and quiet with all the screaming.

Of course, Haru reacts by hurrying toward the sound, worry continuing to grow. Did someone get hurt? Did they fall and twist, maybe even break something? It sounds more angry than anything, but that could mean all kinds of things.

But the screaming seems to be coming from... up? She lifts her head as she gets closer, and... oh. That... sure is someone up there.]

Um, hello?

[usurpers]

[ attempt 43: still don’t know how to stay upright while getting launched for more than half a second, and his aim is ridiculous. eren’s leg is strung through one of the wires that had chipped into the closest trunk, locking the pulling mechanism into a useless jam. not to mention the abrupt halt he earned that made his hip pop and threatened to leave his entire leg numb as it hung there. he hisses and snarls, trying to pull the wire back enough to ease the pressure, but. not working. and it’s hurting.

how is he not getting any of this—? another series of incoherent anger-babble, jostling the unused handle in his palm, eren tries to look for a place to shoot, all while the branch he seems to be stuck on begins snapping. ]

Shit–!

[ HARU LEAVE ]

[dejerate]

[He's just out for a walk. Nothing to indicate what a strange sight he might find on said walk. Yuu is still mulling over all he'd learned on this strange app he now has on his phone, and what it might mean. How to make sense of it from what he knows and has been told thus far. But that doesn't last long before he hears the screaming.

He's instantly distracted at the yell and sound of the crash. Yuu rushes in that direction, stumbling through some trees and lower bushes before finally coming across Eren. Stuck in the tree.]

You ok -- what are you doing?

[He tries not to laugh. He does. But it does look kind of ridiculous?

So. Yeah, he might be chuckling even as he then shifts to get closer, to reach to climb up to try help Eren down.]

[usurpers]

[ attempt 79: almost got it. for three seconds. he was so focused on what to press when that he didn’t see the branch right in front of him in time and— there went his gut. and oxygen. and all possibilities of eating on the same day. do not vomit. try to breathe before going too purple, and do not vomit. maybe gurgle a little. eren coughs, holding onto the branch with both arms while the wired handles of his maneuvering gear hang from his sides. the only thing holding him up here are his arms, the rest is in danger of free falling— if he let go to get the handles, he runs the risk of slipping and, from this height? breaking some ribs, that if he didn’t crack something already. it kind of hurt to breathe in too deep.

the sound of chortling is the last thing he needed, but a comedic scene, it was. guy hanging from a tree, red in the ears from embarrassment, in radical sport equipment. that is to say, yu doesn’t receive the biggest of thank yous, earning a growled snarl that barks out: ]

Yeah, screw you, too.

[ he tries to pull himself up through a near spitting fit, and ends in the same place he started. ]

[vitis]

[ obviously, there's no better place for john to hone his ability than the forest. it's too easy. except when, what with the few dozen or so trees he shares his senses with, he feels the unexpected movement of something between them, sharp grappling hooks and wires scraping against bark— finally, there's the crash. the trashing amongst branches, yelling, and... well, it's remarkably difficult not to pinpoint an exact location. ]

[ it's a few moments before, hands in pockets, john ambles within view of eren... he hasn't the faintest clue of what was meant to be happening here; it's all a bit more of a mess than he expected. nevertheless, he manages a strained smile. ]

Yo. [ he lifts a hand in greeting, the thin amount of vines tangled about his arm compliantly shifting with the action. ] Havin' fun, up there?

[mr_fancy_car]

[Miles enjoys walks through these woods, too. They can be quiet, peaceful...and some of the well-worn paths are great for some jogging. After class he has decided to take a detour...and when he hears a scream and a crash, he turns and sprints toward the source.

Are the trees growing young men now or something? He skids to a halt.]

What the...what happened?!

[heroforall]

[Izuku happens to be out in the woods looking for Eren when he hears the scream. It's definitely not a place he would usually venture through, but he hasn't seen his 'big brother' in awhile and he's heard that he's been frequenting the woods lately. For...some reason.

Hearing the screams though, he immediately races off in its direction, worried that someone could have gotten hurt and need his help. Worried that Eren could have gotten himself hurt.

He makes it to the clearing, which he's pretty sure had been the source of the noise, but he doesn't seen anyone. At first. Happening to glance up, he spots the man he had been searching for. Stuck in a tree.

Worry and amusement battle it out on his face, and the urge to laugh is winning out. He bites his lip to keep it in.]

Are you okay, Eren?

[invocate]

[After her rather disastrous first encounter with her Dark Boots the previous month, Li-Na had avoided touching them for a while. But she hadn't been able to let go of what Noah said, that the boots were somehow weapons. For fighting monsters. (Why hadn't she gotten them back in August? They would have been so useful then.)

It made no sense, footwear as weapons, until Eren helped her take care of that robot on a foggy night. Within days she'd remembered a strange scene, the other her, fighting a robot just like the one she and Eren had seen, kicking it to pieces with her boots. And the way she jumped... it was almost as if she could fly. Almost.

With her dance class right after school, the only time Li-Na can experiment with the boots is immediately after. So she takes a bus to the edge of town and, once the bus has pulled away, sits down and changes her shoes. She doesn't even squeak anymore as the boots wrap their way up her thighs. It is a strange sensation, but one she is getting used to. Then, once her sneakers are safely stowed in her dance bag, she says the words from the memory.]

Innocence, Activate.

[The top portion of the boots unwrap to her knees, green glowing marks appearing on her thighs and the boots themselves. But most interestingly... green flames sprout from the ankles of the boots. Wearing her dance bag slung across her back, Li-Na walks into the woods. Right now she's been working on jumping, finding a tree with branches at different heights and trying to jump from the ground to branches of different heights.

The trick has been jumping back down to the ground without making large craters. And it's on one of those downward jumps that she almost collides with Eren, as he'd been travelling more horizontal to her vertical.]

Oh! Look out!

[windeity]

[Luckily (or maybe unluckily) for Eren, he's not the only one in the woods this evening. It's hard to shake off the feeling of being able to sense the air and while he's up and flying through trees he can sense the disturbance of the wind around him.

On the other hand he has no idea where it's coming from, so it's almost too late by the time he realizes the sound is coming directly at him while he's in flight and he spots Eren.]

Dude! [And there's no time to react before the collision and John goes tumbling through the air as Eren bounces back and away. That probably could have gone better, couldn't it?]

FOR DAVE STRIDER

[usurpers]

[ a roof is actually— almost better than the woods. it was more open, fresh air pretty much cleansed his lungs, and that wind— the height was liberating. he liked it high up like this, even more when he actually had control over his movements. but strapped into his harness and gear, necessary for the use of the swords, eren holds both controllers over to dave, resembling pistol handles with a few more grasps, triggers and ever a little joystick thing. bladeless right now, they connect to the waist by two separate wires, and on both thighs— thin metal boxes, where the buds of the blades stick out to attach to the handles. ]

Then you just connect them, [ taking one handle that isn’t being looked at, he snaps the locking mechanism in and pulls with it the actual blade, then again, he’ll hand it to dave to get a better look at it. it seems segmented, made of ultrahard steel, and maybe to a trained eye: it’s not meant to last. while immediately sharp, the blade’s form is rather brittle— any hard, lone impact and it can snap, or shatter. it’s also extremely prone to dulling. ] they’re all the same, too.

[parodeity]

[ now that he sees them, dave's got a better idea of what they are. he's running careful fingertips over the blade, frowning and giving eren in the harness a once over because that sure is a thing. ]

These ain't made to last - that is, I'll have to be careful not to break 'em. The wires are kinda interesting...exactly what kind of fighting were you doin'? I get not wanting to lose your weapon mid-fight, but this setup is pretty intense.

FOR ELLIOT, DAVE, JOHN

[usurpers]

[ things that you learn when going to t.g.i. friday’s: eren’s a fruity sap for shirley temples. is this his fifth, his fifteenth? what he doesn’t drink in alcoholic beverages he drinks in ginger colored ginger ale. hah, get it, fingerguns. the lights are ambient and comfy, they got themselves a spacey bunk in the back and a table full of the finest finger snacks for four. ribs, wing me combos, queso dip, loaded potato skins and jack sliders— i’ll be here all night naming the vast amount of yummies.

and surrounded by good company, no less. elliot’s presence already puts an up into eren’s humor, coupled with dave and john, there’s so little reason for him to keep a frown on his face. in fact, he’s trying to explain something with a touch of stern enthusiasm— ]

I’m serious. The rubber chicken is a legitimate test for the Air Force Honor Guard.

[ eren jokes on u but you’re the only person on this earth that takes that test seriously ]

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot was happy to be invited out to this. He liked John and Dave, and obviously he liked Eren- so it seemed like a good fun evening. While Eren at least got a shirley temple, Elliot is even more tame with a drinking a fanta fountain drink. He's grabbed plenty of the snacks though on his place- especially the potato skins. Delicious man.]

Aha, but what exactly is it supposed to test..?

THANKSGIVING VISITS, SEMI-OPEN 🍗🍗🍗

[usurpers]

[ happy turkey day!! once afternoon rolls around and eren frees himself from lunchman duty at fort mccoy, the jaeger household is free for visits, turkey hopping, and a few tunes on acoustic guitar, starring angela. friends and family would’ve most likely received invites for casual visits to the spacey apartment, nothing huge or tremendously festive— he’s got the two turkeys that titan accidentally hunted, and people need to help him churn that out before he gets stuck eating turkey leftovers, forever. not to mention some other snacks, chips, air force dinner leftovers and mrs. jaeger’s most famous apple strudel. she made like, four entire forms. help him.

titan, his german shepherd, is also home for the holidays and seems pretty comfortable with guests! just don’t do anything to irk him— like owner like dog. throw him kong. he loves kong. sneak him turkey pieces while eren isn’t looking. he loves throwing kong toys in the apartment because that’s where a massive dog should be running around in. please be his kong dispenser while eren is too busy.

those busy factors could be anything, like the the kitchen, where eren works the stove and some of the food. he’s a little sloppy when it comes to cooking, but at least he’s got the basics, and when he gets it right, it tastes good, even if it looks like half a disaster. all you can eat turkey, air force gravy, mrs. jaeger recipe stuffing and . . . what’s that smell??? of burning???

(note: bring your own beers, adults, eren hates drinking. you’re stuck with a fridge full of grape juice and ginger ale)

you can also find eren mingling about and letting y’all chill; there’s video games if you want some multiple-party antics like mario, mario’s always a kick, but be warned he only has like, one. the rest is fifa or war games and fps (why don’t you just accidentally buy him more games, online, with his account). maybe you’ve found him standing in front of his huge ass tv with a cup of popcorn. yes, he drinks his popcorn, and munches on it furiously. especially when there’s a sport airing live. it’s not american football— he’s got it switched onto UEFA europa league, and today it’s a good game. come talk to him! he’ll nerd all about european soccer at you, and most likely, you get to experience eren’s true form.

which has led to, later, probably later evening, poor eren with his head in his hands and thinking about his life choices, on that couch, or the dining room table, with the tv screen shattered in a single spot and the entire playback just. frozen.

the time that you walk in is all up to you, friends 👌🏻 threadhop, do w/e gobbling you want ]

[activatingcombatmode]

[Since he didn’t get to bring a couple of cold ones to his last Thanksgiving Dinner when he gets around to table hopping over to Eren’s place it’s with a six pack tucked under his arm and whatever else Elliot has him carry in. It might also include a lovely jello creation curtesy of their family as well. It’s tradition!]

We have arrived!! Bring on more food!!

[And ... holy hell, there’s a lot of it here. Not that he’s complaining-- Zack’s an endless black hole when it comes to food.

... But then he sniffs.] Hey, is something burning?

[androidheart]

[Eren there is a blond cousin stealthily lurking in the kitchen as he's busy at the stove or other such cooking duties. After a few moments, she'll reveal herself by hugging him from behind, lightly tapping her forehead against the back of his head. She had been a bit late to the party, let in (presumably) by Elliot, so this was her first chance to properly say hello and thank him for the invitation.]

Hello, dear cousin.

AN ADDENDUM

[usurpers]

( on the night after this thread )

[ eren shoots through the sky with his blades in each hand as he speeds up a massive wall, the wind speeding past his face and the fabric of his cloak whirring near his ears. he thinks, as he steels himself, as he holds his breath to leave anxiety behind. his heartbeat rattled his chest: i can do this.

his mind brings to him the images of his comrades as they wait at the top of wall maria, of armin, mikasa, of captain levi, of a young woman with glasses and an older man, blond with thick eyebrows. they’re important, and they remind him to change his words: no . . . we can do it.

he climbs the sky and rockets past the top of the wall, to the highest point his gas canisters can take him and sees the world beyond, sees the lines upon lines of soldiers looking outwards in waiting, the crowd of soldiers farther below, with their horses, that looked like nothing but specks. the silence is foreboding, they’re all waiting for something to happen. something was coming, nothing explains the sheer number of them in formation.

he remembers sasha, he remembers the boy with a buzzcut, that ate that raw potato once, and he remembers a young man with a long face and bangs. all of them, and more, were counting on him, counting on this moment, and waiting. waiting for whatever was out there. the only sound that rings out in an echo is the roar of his own maneuver gear, all as he continues to climb and reach around 80 meters above the the ground, clenching his teeth and forcing himself to reach the highest point needed.

because, all of us, from the day we’re born . . . there was something special, about all of us.

he uses one more blast of pressurized gas before turning his body in midair to change direction, hanging for seconds until he begins to fall, holding his entire hand to his mouth.

we’re free.

one of the grapple hooks shoot out toward the wall, and in seconds he’s facing a massive hole crumbling from the wall’s base. he waits as he swings down, coming faster and faster, even faster now that the gas shrieks behind him. now, he feels, and bites into his own flesh with resolve much stronger than a mere thought, and only one goal in mind, one that surges through his limbs as he tears through his own flesh. i’m sealing this hole, and we’re taking back wall maria.

there’s a horrible sound, like thunder cracking right into your ears, and a burst of light as heat surrounds him— but when his eyes shoot open, he’s found staring at the ceiling, huffing with that burst of adrenaline and his heart pounding like drums.

he stares, wide eyed, and takes a while to sit up as he comes back into place. once he finally sits up, he goes back, and thinks about it all over again. that wasn’t a dream. that’s something that happened.

he didn’t sleep for the rest of the night, hard to, and ends up getting out of bed, to shower, get ready for work and eat some breakfast while looking outside the window, from the height of his apartment and watching recollé slowly arise as well. it didn’t make much of a difference when he was supposed to wake up some three or four hours from now. it was far from a nightmare, but it really made his head twirl up a storm of thoughts.

we’re all free.

that’s what he’s always believed, and could never put in words in such a way, but what was he doing? a mission of sorts, sure, and he’s heard it being mentioned a few times, but why does he bite himself, and what happens when he does? there was a light as he swung down, into a massive hole in the wall— but that’s all he remembers.

he looks at his hand for quite a while, and relives the entire memory until it’s time to go. it keeps hanging onto him, and makes him completely disfocused throughout the day. he almost rides past a red light. were they at war to “retake wall maria”? were the titans their enemies? how was he going to seal the hole in the wall? why does he bite himself, and what happens when he does?

he wants to learn more. a lot more. there’s something about that detail, self harm aside, that makes him think thousands of different scenarios. from everything that happened before he woke up, to the other memories he had that mentioned something, but never really made sense out of context . . . he has to have some sort of power. what it was, though. he’s hoping to trigger more memories, somehow.

maybe he should talk about it. or at least talk about freedom more. ]