recolle | WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

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WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

WHO: eren jaeger and you, the dream intruder!
WHERE: the dream zone.
WHEN: july 3rd and beyond.
WHAT: you're in a dream.
WARNINGS: high chance of violence, gore, death, war, eating people, the whole attack on titan cw where canon memories are concerned!

YOU’RE IN A DREAM

you exist as if you were always here. you don’t know how you got here, you’re just here— not that that’s something people usually think when they’re dreaming. there’s no back door to leave, only paths that take you forward and beckon to do so, shrouded first by an open sky of hues and a seemingly endless blanket of grass. the colors you see are vibrant, more lively than they should normally look, and that itself could give you a jolt of energy. if you smell the breeze, it’s fresh and comfortably chilly, a mix of nature, of sea salt and of plantlife— it almost shouts to you about just how free you are, even if this isn’t really your head.

note that for option ii especially and a few specific prompts for option iii, i’ll be happy to write the starter for you! just comment with which prompt and i’ll start things off.

you’re free to message me through journal pm,

liberos or owlteer#3609 @discord for any questions/extra plotting!! you can go for as many separate prompts as you want if desired!

I. CANON MEMORIES

Ａ) ＯＮＴＨＡＴＤＡＹ. . .

[ you were talking to a very young eren, no more than ten, maybe someone else was hanging around them, and you might not really remember what you were talking about— a terrible sound cracks, the ground shakes, and just over the 50 meter wall, you see it: a titan. it kicks down the barrier between them, causing shattered boulders to rain down on the protected city and cause instant panic, granting hundreds of more titans access to shinganshina district. there’s screaming, running in every direction in sheer terror from the townspeople, some shriek to encounter bodies already crushed under flung debris. one of those kicked boulders lands in the direction of eren’s house, and all he does is make a run straight toward the danger, shouting one fearful shout: ]

Mom is still home!!

Ｂ) ＷＥ’ＲＥＮＯＴＤＹＩＮＧＨＥＲＥ．

[ you’re alongside a younger looking eren and a handful of faces you can’t quite make out, uniformed and weaponized, all fifteen years old at most, dispatched to counteract the second titan attack against their walls in five years. there’s smoke, houses ablaze and sirens wailing to evacuate civilians. except for you— you’re here as back up.

things aren’t looking so good. there are titans everywhere, the middle guard is already backing up into the vanguard, and one of your new comrades says something gut wrenching: the advanced guard has already collapsed. what do you do? ]

Ｃ) ＩＳＴＨＡＴＦＲＯＭＡＦＡＭＩＬＹＭＥＭＢＥＲ?

[ your surroundings picture the early 1900s— you’re just outside an asylum of sorts where many men, physically and psychologically wounded, are being treated. nurses and doctors in white scurry left and right to tend to them, especially after a balding, elderly man in hysterics they call “mr. jaeger” has a fit, trying to usher him back inside for rest and medication.

other than that, it’s pretty quiet out here. a cripple with a leg amputation and patched eye sits on a bench just by the fence, taking in the sun and looking down quietly at a glove and baseball. he tosses it with one hand, and with the other, holds his crutch. ]

I wasn’t expecting visits. [ he says, trying to get your attention. ] Not from you.

Ｄ) ＴＨＩＳＩＳＡＤＥＣＬＡＲＡＴＩＯＮＯＦＷＡＲ.

[ you’re in a crowd.

you’re only one among the thousands of people gathered at this city’s center for a formal occasion. bleachers are raised, citizens are situated outside their windows to listen just above a cleared stage, lit like christmas, on it a single man speaking out to the public. his words, you can’t quite make out, distorted— but it’s something that chimes with the crowd. they cry, cheer for him, agree with his speech with applauses and heartfelt roars that hum with the air.

to the enemies on paradis, he bellows, earning one stretch of respected silence. this is a declaration of war—

as if programmed to the word war, the earth trembles, the building just behind the stage bursts from the ground upwards. the families outside their windows are crushed in the sudden split of brick and stone, the stage splinters to make way for the titan that explodes from the ground. it roars like a monstrosity, lifting its fist high and bringing it down against the rest of the stage— and right on the blond man.

what comes next is a rather terrifying sequence: the crowd is silent, struck with terror enough to lose their voices. the titan crushes the man in its fingers like snapping toothpicks, throws him into the air effortlessly, and swallows what remains of his mangled body whole in a single chomp. reality takes a hold of the city, and one after another, people begin to scream. they trample over each other to get out of the way, to run. some are already crushed or impaled by thrown pieces of rock, wood and metal, others are soon to be crushed as the titan prepares to land another devastating blow on the fleeing.

if there’s anyone who can help these people, it’s you. ]

II. ORIGINAL AU MEMORIES

Ａ) ＣＡＮＩＨＡＶＥＩＴ

eren gets his first mecha with his mother. you get to babysit? and listen to a very aggressive kid talk about why optimus prime is the true superhero, superman can bite me.

Ｂ) ＹＯＵＤＯＮ’ＴＫＮＯＷＷＨＡＴ’ＳＢＥＳＴＦＯＲＭＥ

wanting him to go after medicine and secure his son’s success his way, eren’s father verbally battles with a young and bullheaded eren to change his mind about joining the air force, leading him to get kicked out of the house once he turns 18. eren storms out strong, but soon shows how much it hurt him.

Ｃ) ＴＨＥＡＩＲＦＯＲＣＥ

characters will follow eren through a mashup of days of training at the air force. keep up, because you’re there as an air man, too. those will notice that eren starts out eager and happy, getting through basic training shenanigans all the way to the daily e-1 life before . . . slowly showing the opposite.

Ｄ) ＹＯＵＤＯＮ’ＴＫＮＯＷＷＨＹＢＵＴＹＯＵ’ＲＥＤＹＩＮＧＴＯＴＲＹＳＯＧＯＯＮＡＮＤＫＩＳＳＤＡＢＯＹ

eren realizes his feelings for elliot a little too late, asking him to have dinner with him and finding out he had a casual date with another guy the same night. help him get his head back together as he cries on his mechas and probably on you. he’s very passionate!!!

Ｅ) ＴＨＥＹ’ＲＥＮＯＴＴＯＹＳ

eren argues with zackery fairweather about his really expensive mecha collection that are not toys?? guess what, you’re in zack’s place. welcome to hundreds and thousands of dollars spent on giant robot models.

III. OTHER AUS

A — why did they do this?; related to the new au, eren’s father is robbed and murdered, sending him into rageful mourning and various personal ways to deal with it. some of it is drumming, which is pretty impressive, other ways have to do with fighting you. does talking help? only when he’s run out of energy. this may or may not hurt.

B — enter melodic screaming; eren’s the lead singer of a hard rock/metal band called the titans and really wants to make a living out of this! in this au, both parents disapprove, earning him zero financial help and a kick out of the house.

C— i’m basically batman and dexter combined; eren’s father and mother both die in this au by criminal hands, turning the boy sour, rich and thirsty for justice. he goes after criminals on his own in gruesome ways and becomes a sought out killer himself. are you a friend, an enemy, or have you witnessed something?

D— i choose you; not pokémon au! lets go on a journey together, lets catch that legendary monster, etc etc, i’m here for character teams like it’s my life.

E— are we drift compatible?; i hope you didn’t think eren, once a mecha nerd, will not dream about piloting giant robots with you. let’s go fuck up some kaijus.

F— may the force be with you; we’re in SPACE, we’re on WORLD SAVING or WORLD DESTROYING missions!! comment and i will wildcard a crazy planet and our mission!

G— attack on shitposting; welcome to the attack on titan canon, you’re a soldier for the survey corps now. you’re also in a dark comedy sitcom.

WILDCARD

if there is anything else you would like to do, whether it not be an option above or your choice on any regains (or even yours), hit me up with it!! it doesn’t have to be dream related either!! eren can be found frequently in the libraries, at the hospital or anywhere for martial arts/drumming! ✨

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ which ever way you look at this dream, it’ll almost always have a bad end— this memory was a bad end, an effect that matched a reckless cause and plagued eren quietly. the importance of teamwork, of a clear mind to make the right decisions. eren was young, here. this eren lost sight of his dreams in favor of hate long ago, years ago. this eren was not aware of the power he held.

he was only a hotheaded soldier here out on his first battle. the eren elliot knew remembers this one and learns from it: hate is a powerful, powerful thing with consequences. there are consequences to everything you do. if you think you’re good— you’ve got something else coming for you.

eren’s team hangs on top of a building, only now arriving from flight across their battlefield. they couldn’t just stand here— and eren takes the reigns. ] Don’t let it hinder you! Secure the area and don’t—!

[ there is something terribly, terribly wrong with this picture. there is someone who wasn’t meant to be here, yet there they were. the eren of this dream recognizes the strike of ginger hair with them, and memories begin to clash. he doesn’t act like a boyfriend, elliot’s boyfriend and long time friend of years, but something in him does register him. he knows him. ]

What’re you . . . What’s he doing here? [ their company doesn’t speak a word, not beyond the quiet eren . . . he’s part of the squad that he doesn’t seem to listen to. he grows restless and yells against it instead, approaching elliot in rising panic. ] What’re you still doing here?!

Edited 2018-07-09 02:36 (UTC)

[Elliot was trying to be discreet as he checked for his ARCUS. It was easy enough with his small stature. He feels tugs of relief as he finds it in a pouch. His staff wasn't with him, but thank god he'd have something to get through this-

And then Eren notices him there. He gives a small squeak as he covers up the ARCUS with the pouch cover, then looks at Eren. He looks...a lot younger. Like he did when they first met. Not to mention, he looked panicked at Elliot being there. He looked as panicked as Elliot felt inside.]

I uh- [He gulps] I-I don't know...? Just sorta ended up here....

[ elliot felt important— elliot was not uniformed, not equipped, everything told eren he didn’t belong here when his own dreamscape told him he’s been with them the whole time. dreams aren’t supposed to make sense, and eren would argue, civilians are supposed to be evacuated or then i’ll escort him, but . . . we are not dealing with “eren”.

they’re right in the middle of a crisis, they’re surrounded by titans, they need to follow demands and eren could finally get his taste of the blood he’s always wanted, what he spent his short life preparing for. it only takes a few moments, he’s confused and disoriented, and his squad speaks up: “eren, we can’t stay here!” “if he’s with us, he knows what to do!”

eren is young, and eren has priorities. in this memory, right now, elliot was not one of them. he can’t panic now, everyone was panicking now. he prepared for this his whole life. he’s ready for this. he has to be and he won’t settle for less. he won’t settle for a weakness he condoned everyone else for. he gets it together, breathes in deeply, and speaks. ]

Humanity’s on the brink of extinction and we can’t let that go further. [ that includes his feelings. he’d be being a hypocrite and doing exactly what mikasa was doing to him. ] If you’ve made it this far, it’s for a reason.

[ it’s all he says with a really . . . for lack of better wording, unnerving look in his eyes for anyone who hadn’t lived with it in this life. he looks about ready to hug the devil, and he takes off— the other squads needed back up.

elliot would find that at least eren’s dreams are somewhat merciful to him; look up, back down, and you're in maneuver gear now. don’t know how to use them? it’s fine, because you just have to think about where you want to go, and you’ll go like it reads your mind and acts for you. ]

[ It's only been a couple short moments in this dream, and already he was missing his Eren over this overly intense young Eren. There was a fire in this guy that was...well, a little scary.

And at the idea of them being responsible for saving humanity? It makes Elliot gulp a little. The titans haven't even shown themselves yet, and this is already in nightmare land. ]

Ah, r-right. No pressure!

[He says that to mostly no one as the others are already leaving, including Eren. He takes a second to steel himself- this is just a dream, it's just a dream. Before following after. At least the maneuver gear has appeared and seems easy enough to use- thanks dream logic. So he'll be doing his best to follow after the squad, hoping he can maybe find some way to use his magic instead of even trying to use blades against a giant. that just seems insane okay]

[ “he’s been through a lot” makes me laugh because that’s not even 30% of the tragedy and this is the kind of eren we get at low power. mind blown.

but off they go. the titans at the distance they’re in can be seen towering and stomping above the roofs of houses, some destroyed while the specs flying around them, other soldiers, either successfully cut one down or disappear with a swat, screams, then silence.a good time, this was. they’re just flying into a front seat into hell and eren’s leading them.

oh god one of them say under their breath through the wind, there’s way too many— says another. eren pushes on until he catches sight of something climbing up one of the nearby towers . . . and screams. ]

Abnormal to your left!! Scatter!!

[ sure enough, there is a titan scaling the tower on all fours, before it drags its arms and legs together and leaps for the group. you’d be best to scatter and then regroup, but.

well, there’s someone missing. ]

[Ellot remembers and has taken part of many battles, both in his memories and in his Recolle life. But none of them really match up to...this. All those fights were skirmishes, fighting only a small number of opponents at once. Class VII even made a point to avoid full on battlefields.

This...was a full on battlefield. There was chaos everywhere, and danger at every turn. Elliot could hear the screams and the destruction, and it shook him to his core. There was a part of him that wanted to do nothing but cower in a corner somewhere, or run. It's only his desire not to let himself be seen as useless, to push on, that makes him continue.

When the abnormal shows up, he's not sure what makes an abnormal but he's got enough survival instincts to jump away with the rest of the group. Dangit, it was really hard to cast anything when you had to be moving constantly.

But luckily, Elliot is attentive to his group, so he's quick to pick up someone's missing]

Eren?!

[ eren wishes you were the only one never here since the start, elliot. i agree with you.

the pack scatters and regroups in seconds on top of the closest roof that still hasn’t fallen. eren tried to pick himself up from the impromptu crash, while everyone else’s already on their feet with blades in their hands. he hears his name, and stumbles up even faster. where was everyone, where was the titan? elliot was there, so was the girl, and the one other boy . . .

eren doesn’t know whether to ask or prepare to fight. ]

Where’s Thomas?

[ eren asks elliot, then flicks his eyes to the next one who looks absolutely horrified of what’s up ahead: the abnormal titan, straddling the tower it launched itself onto, lowering itself steadily the ground, with a blond boy between its teeth. thomas doesn’t have even a second to finish what he’s saying, mouthing a horrified oh my god, before the titan pulls the boy into the rest of its mouth, and chews.

the sound is sickening. the sight of blood dribbling from the giant’s lips even worse. it simply turns around and ignores the others ahead, taking a stroll in the opposite direction from where it came.

in situations like these, you’re supposed to think with your head, you’re supposed to look out for the rest of your group and survive. the goal of their task was above them— that was the right thing to do, something that eren doesn’t assimilate. he screams, a warcry that cascades with hate. that’s one more person eaten. one more friend gone. ]

Get back here!!

[ he shrieks to the titan, as if it had to hear him, his voice cracks— and he goes after it.

he leaves elliot, and everyone else behind. in a situation like this, he listens to his heart fully, his emotion on high, and he blatantly endangers everyone. there’s a huge hole in the group now, without their leader and only three. elliot and two more.

eren!! the girl yells back, eren, don’t!! she only gives elliot a fully concerned gaze and tugs quickly at his arm. he’ll kill himself!! we need to go!! ]

[Well....this is sure going to be something his therapist hears about. Even if it's a dream, it's terrifying to watch someone get eaten and be unable to do anything. He didn't know Thomas, but no one deserves a fate like that.

But before he can react, Eren is already going full rage mode and flying after the titan- leaving them behind]

Eren, no!!

[There's no argument at to what the girl is getting at. They couldn't just let Eren fly off like that. So he gives a nod and with the two of them, they go flying off in the direction that Eren went. In the meantime, he kept trying to think of a spell that could work here. Maybe a sleep spell? Do titans sleep?

But first thing was first, catching up to Eren]

[ making eren sleep was probably the better of all outcomes imaginable to this memory— things don’t play out quite like they did, but it’s close enough to what eren remembers. he’s preaching of justice as he soars, catching up to the titan with another cry as he spins and raises his blades to cut through its neck. whether his friends are close to him or not, it never stops this from happening.

another titan has been watching him though, and jounces up from between the buildings to snap its jaws around him. only by height did it miss completely taking him, and instead— it snaps his leg right off. it jostles his tragectory violently, and he loses footing of everything. he slams into roof after roof, skids across brick and lays there without moving another inch and soaking himself in his own bloody pool.

what’s worse, with elliot and the rest of their group after him, it’s clear moment after moment that eren’s led them straight to death. a titan smacks one boy out of the sky when they speed past a corner with a building far too tall to see it coming. the girl with them shrieks, looking back to offer help— but before she could, she gets flung back, into the dirt and hitting her head enough that her eyes seem dead. she doesn’t move, but the titan that’s run into her wires plucks her from the leg and lefts.

and then, elliot’s alone. he can either keep going forward, to catch up to a semi-conscious eren, or he can fight the bloody mouthed monster stomping after him. the rest behind them either scream or aren’t awake enough to realize they’re being eaten, but the screeches of trapped human are very attractive to the rest in the area. ]

[THANKS A LOT EREN.

Elliot sees in horror Eren's leg get bitten off, followed only by his two companions getting eaten. He hears himself yelling in horror, but his own survival instinct is telling him to keep moving. Don't look back, don't stall. Just keep running. Make it to Eren.

This is a dream. this is a dream. This is a dream- he keeps telling himself over and over, as if that'll help stop the fear in his mind. If that'll make his ears deaf to the screams around him.

By some miracle, he manages to reach the roof that Eren's fallen on. He quickly runs over to him, determined to retrieve him. Maybe they can find safety. They just need a spot where Titan's can't reach them.]

Eren! Eren answer me!

[Eren if you are unconscious I SWEAR TO GOD]

[ he semi-conscious. his eyes are open, hidden a little from a terribly bloodied face from the impacts he took. he mutters, tries to talk when elliot talks to him, but he’s still in the numbness of pain and the whirl of dizziness. god, he can’t feel a thing. he feels woozy. ]

El . . . Elli—ot . . .

[ there is a titan, perhaps two more, making the house’s rumble and stopping where they could see the two boys, permanently smiling at them. it’s the bearded titan that looks a lot like santa (merry chrysler), while another is a smaller one, too short to reach the building’s roof on its own and leaping like a child wanting the cookie jar at the highest shelf. there is the tower if they go back.

eren says something else, but it’s too quiet. meanwhile, santa titan makes a sluggish reach for them both. it’s in no rush. they’ll get them eventually. ]

[He looks up from Eren. They're surrounded from all sides. Maybe someone extremely skilled could swing their way out of this while carrying Eren, but Elliot was physically weak. There's no way he could carry Eren, much less use vertical maneuver gear while moving them.

There were too many of them for his magic to hit at once. And even if it could...terror is starting to seize up. All those deaths, all that blood. This is it. This might be how they die.

Why can't he move? He needs to...]

E-Eren... [He's getting choked up.] I'm so sorry.

[ even if he’s bleeding out and slowly coming to from the daze, eren keeps trying to move as their seconds tick. there’s nothing where his leg used to be, but he still drags it up from the knee to prop himself up. he still curls his fingers around his blades and forces his arms to stretch out and hold his weight.

why is he apologizing? for all eren knew, they were going to make it out alive. he huffs and denies the words, recognizing that it’s elliot who’s crying, his elliot. their dreamscape begins to distort, and one batshit titan comes barricading from nowhere, sliding across the very many roofs, akin to the movement of a snake, and reaches them both in a matter of seconds. from elliot’s back, its jaws split, and they’re both surrounded by teeth, tongue and saliva.

they only haven’t been swallowed yet because eren’s using every bit of strength he had to keep those jaws pried open, with the help of his blades between those teeth, holding tightly onto anything he can that’s on elliot. ]

I won’t let go!! I promise!!

[ there’s still a brilliant fire in his eyes that speaks truth and assurance that one wouldn’t know where it came from— he wants to survive. he wants to live. there’s nothing that would take away the fight in him, and for a second, eren could seem even more monstrous than a titan. nothing breaks him. ]

[ He doesn't see the mad titan until it's too late. His eyes go wide as he looks behind him and he lets out a scream. This is it, this is death. But then Eren, being Eren, seems to refuse death as their fate. Despite bleeding like crazy, he's holding the monsters jaws open like he had super strength ]

E-Eren!

[Well if this isn't the last chance for Elliot to do something for them to try to survive, he didn't know what was. If anything, Eren's will to survive reminds him of his own. He didn't want to die here. He wanted to live, even if it was a dream.

He focuses and casts the first spell that comes to mind. Suddenly several lances made of hard rock come shooting out from the root, impaling the titan's mouth from top to bottom so it can't close.]

[ it’s more time than he ever thought he’d have. eren promised he wouldn’t let him go, he can’t break that now— with the titan’s jaws breaking his blades, stone saves them when the titan wants to snap down on them and can’t. eren pulls elliot with him, to drag them out of the titan’s mouth in a short blast from the handles of his gear.

they’re out, in the air, hovering and using the momentum the gear’s gas has given them. for a few seconds, it looks like they’ve won. they’re free, they just escaped fate, a fate that eren would say never existed. eren’s adrenaline still runs high, he acts as if his leg wasnt half gone, or his bones broken from the crash. ]

I won’t let get go of you. [ it feels like he has time to say it. their flight seems so slow, and quiet— ] I never will.

[ Elliot meanwhile does not have it in him to pat himself on the back. His heart was beating so hard it might burst out of his chest. There are still titans everywhere. This was close. Too too close.]

Ah...ah...

[That's right just panting as he gets over their close brush with death. Elliot is not shonen enough to just shrug off that experience. It is touching to hear that assurance, but- ]

W-We need to go somewhere where I can heal your leg.

[he doesn't know if Eren has regeneration in this dream, but even if he does needs to make sure the bleeding is stopped]

[ heal his leg? what? eren almost laughs out of desperation as he gets a quick glimpse of his leg. heal it into a stump, perhaps, this eren, while recognizing elliot at this point, does not have any awareness to his powers. he’s going to be a cripple, now. he served well, at least, and they were on their way to safety. ]

Heal my—

[ eren’s words are cut short by a shadow, darkness that takes away the sun’s rays over them as they maintain mostly airborne, as eren still holds his hand. teeth snap down onto him, and the last thing that elliot would’ve seen was a face that couldn’t fathom what had happened right then and there. it was a look of horror. a look of shock and not enough time to say anything else. his lips part and he yells something, but it can’t be heard. in seconds, eren is gone, and what’s left of him is a little bit of the arm that the titan that had pounced up didn’t reach, and the small ribbon of blood that danced away from it.

elliot’s alone and falling now. he’ll either die from the free fall down or by a titan eventually. ]

[You know what? he's going to go for option C.

Wake up screaming right when he's about to hit the ground. Yeah. Because seeing that? That's exactly what he does.]

[ this had been a nightmare. if it had been any other dream, he’d probably wait it out and casually tell him about it in the morning. like anyone would usually do. oh, hey, funny i had a dream about you the other day!! except this just shakes eren to the core.

he’s pretty sure he woke up screaming too, enough that the dogs came rushing to his room to check on him. ]

Elliot?

[ just one message would suffice. he didn’t want to keep him up, neither did he want to wake him if he was still sleeping, but. maybe a short exchange would calm him. ]

[Elliot was wide awake, sitting up in bed as he tries to catch his breath. Elliot has his share of nightmares, but that one truly was terrifying. He debates texting Eren himself, and berating himself that he's come off as childish if he texted in the middle of the night over a nightmare.

But thankfully, Eren solves that anxiety filled dilemma for him and texts first. His hands are shaking while he types in the phone, still trying to sound casual]

Eren? You okay?

I’ll be okay, I just need to settle down.
Were you already awake?

Yeah. Just woke up.
Really bad dream.

Me too. Want to talk about it?

[A pause]

We were in a town getting attacked by titans.
We were supposed to help fight them off but
It failed. We all died.

[ !!! ]

I had the same dream.
And that wasn’t a dream.

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