have you ever heard of bad ideas

[usurpers]

Who: eren jaeger (+ mikleo in the closed prompt), you in the open prompts!
When: may 7th - may 14th more or less i’m flexible
Where: mostly the coven’s magical creature stables, coven baths, wherever else if you’d like to plan something different! just hit me up 🤙
What: eren jaeger is a mess
Warnings: mild body horror (itching, raw skin, self harm, shedding?? w/e you call it), some nudity, eren jaeger


Ａ． ＣＡＲＥＴＡＫＩＮＧ
[ if you’ve heard about some newcomer dingus going into the wilde and coming back mostly unscathed— then you’ve also heard, through the coven’s gossip, that nessie and mhairi have already given them stern punishment! forty lashes!! starvation!! banishment!! torture by—

you’ve probably heard it all and more. the truth is, eren is under stable-arrest for a week after being reckless, working harder than the daily keepers and wearing a closed off, unfriendly frown through most of his errands. either thinking about troubles or punishing himself through tasks.

tiny (many) braids hoist the longer hairs that would usually stick at the back of his neck when he’d start to sweat, despite the moisture and cloudy days of the month— the beginning of his hand, leading to his palm and thumb is disfigured and healing the old fashioned way, victim to a bite (from his own mouth), but laboring through any stings with sharp inhales. catch him working, or resting, or. doing something weird.

he can mostly be found around the horses, picking their hooves, carrying blocks of hay over his shoulders for feeding time, mucking their stables and brushing them with certain skill. he had to learn all of that to ride them back home— he’s tried his hand at the pristine unicorn out back, alas . . .

he has wonderful intentions, but his actions and intent to get there are far from pure. she rejects his attempts at petting often for grazing, but doesn’t turn her back to him completely. she watches him plenty, in fact, every so often coming over to smell his back as he mucks her space— and so does he (watch her), respecting her and making sure the water shines like her coat does.

the cockatrice rooster doesn’t seem to like him. puffing its neck out and stalking eren from behind, the cock asks for a duel with his foot as he scatters feed for them in the mornings. accidentally stepping on a resting hen’s tail doesn’t help his case. a scandalous squawk causes him to jump, the cock to attack— and this to happen. it’s hard to say which one’s screaming the loudest.

or wildcard a mythical creature there are so many good ones. ]

Ｂ．Ｙ’ＡＬＬ ＤＯＮ’Ｔ ＫＮＯＷ ＡＢＯＵＴ ＭＹ ＫＮＩＦＥ ＳＴＩＣＫ
[ knives, blades, needles and tools are no novelty to eren! when interest piques as a simple idea, it’s easy to ignore. at most, he’ll pick up whatever it is, give it a once over, before setting it back where it belongs while cleaning out the sheds and organizing utilities.

as his week passes, the idea becomes a desire. the oddity in collecting what has suddenly interested him gradually slips away, and soon enough—

by the end of the day, when the evening colors the sky with purple and murky charcoal, eren can be found going through the tool shed near the peryton for the sharp objects present, and ah.

just looking and testing the edge with his fingers, sharpening any dull things with the stable’s file. nothing more. noticing someone’s extra presence, he’ll look over his shoulder and speak up. ]

. . . I used to use blades a lot. Two at once.

[ it makes sense in his head at the moment, for staring at the edge of a hoof pick and garden sickle and holding back the small urge to stick it into his pocket. it’s the only thing that makes enough sense. ]

Ｃ．ＢＡＴＨＳ (cw: mild body horror)
[ once the days are close to over, eren heads out to wash his clothes and himself back at the coven’s baths, but almost always in a rush, caring not for the company he’d meet or share baths with. near panic flares his nostrils and makes his breathing heard from afar— because his body burns.

it itches day in, day out, he can’t sleep can’t eat can’t do anything with how much its come to drive his mind into a spiral. have you ever had full body psoriasis? once his clothes are discarded carelessly, wading into the waters until they lap at his hips, he scratches wildly at his skin, nails digging relentlessly into flesh until they leave behind streams of even brighter red than what they already were from grating at them all day. his teeth hurt, his mouth aches (another problem) and his skin crawls raw, hell he’s itching, he’s been itching horridly ever since he’s gotten back from his field trip to the wilde, and as a man who has a lot less self preservation than one should have—

it feels like there’s something under his joints, the corners of his eyes, his ears, his neck, the tops of his hands and feet up to his shins beyond the sore dryness and flaking; where the burn and skittering underneath is at its worse.

so he scratches, and cusses, and scratches until skin breaks, until it bleeds in the form of dots of crimson— until he’s picking at it, caring less for the stings it causes, what feels almost like relief rather than more pain to worry about.

slapping salves on him from the offered treatment some bonded have given him helps, and to stop mutilating himself more than he’s already prone to doing, he lathers up even before soaps to rub the excess dirt off him, exhaling a sigh when he could finally breathe. at least. for as long as the temporarily relief that the ointments bring would give him.

fearing that he’s caught by the very disease that overtook the filly pair past the slums . . . he’ll have to talk to mhairi again. perhaps one may want to stop him in the meantime, he’s starting to pick enough at spots that it looks like he’s 👌 this much away from tearing off layers. ]

Comments

CLOSED

[usurpers]

[ he’s tried going out alone with no success and the same answer no matter how many times he asks guards: “no”.

his intentions aren’t ill meaning— and neither was the help he asked mikleo to accompany him outside of the walls. as new as they were to each other, eren remembers the dream he had and how he feels about him now. so far, he would like to have faith in mikleo. he knows there are times and times, the wrong time to accept and the right time to confide in others. there was a time for everything.

(it’s funny that time has become something that he’s thought he’s had so little of.)

they should near the gate soon, but there’s enough distance in between to talk and explain, and see if there’s acceptance or not. all eren wants is to attempt a shift, and he couldn’t do that here unless he wanted to accept the risk of becoming a fifteen meter giant and cause panic in a city already struggling to accept the idea of monsters being allies.

you can’t be an ally if you accidentally crush a building, or step on someone— nessie and mihairi seemed too busy to question again.

so he makes the mistake of doing things himself. ]

It’ll be quick. [ so far, he’s only mentioned breaching the walls, straying just enough to create distance, and come back. quests that he’s heard have been done with safety. they wouldn’t be going too far from the slums.

it was going to be alright. he did his research (although perhaps not enough of it). ]

I need to make sure I still have my powers.[ there’s direness in the objective, worry— ] There’s too much at stake if I can’t.

[reenforces]

[It was a simple enough request, and Mikleo was eager to step outside, so of course he hadn't declined. Despite depending on these people for food and shelter, Mikleo isn't one to blindly accept what he's told. He needs to see things for himself and learn the truth that way. In his mind, this is no different from the scouting mission he'd been given by Zenrus in order to dig up information on their first human visitor. It's no different than anything else Mikleo has done, and he's prepared to accept a little risk if it means coming out of it with knowledge-- particularly knowledge that people are reluctant to hand over.

And so, he finds himself at Eren's side with his staff in hand, still unaccustomed to having this kind of magic but nevertheless ready to step outside the Wall.

There's too much at stake if I can't, Eren says, and Mikleo looks at him seriously.]

You have to prepare yourself for that possibility, Eren. If I'm basically human, then whatever powers you had might be gone too.

I don't think it's permanent. I think it's just because we're bound by the laws of this world while we're reflected in it.

[usurpers]

We don’t know for sure if it’s temporary either.

[ he should be prepared for both possibilities. he knows better than anyone how hopeful thinking could twist your reality. the should be thinking. realistically. and if, realistically, they had options to test . . . ]

—Any limits count. If we know them, we can work to fixing it. [ a beat; absently eren brushes a hand under his neck, the small braids working the ends of his growing hair doing its job on making him look slightly more tidy— by the captain’s request (the request was to actually cut it but not to worry, I have a permit, and the permit just says I’m free). ] I can’t do it in here, though.

[reenforces]

You're right.

[Mikleo can't argue that second point. In order to help themselves they need information and that's exactly why Mikleo came with. That and he felt he owed Eren some kind of favor, dream or not. Admittedly a not insignificant part of him fears what he'll do by himself if he isn't watched.

He glances at the tiny braids in Eren's hair and he's reminded of the kid with the dragon. Boy had that been an awkward conversation.]

Then let's go. I'm not a fan of being told to stay put, if I'm being honest. It hasn't worked since I was a kid and it's certainly not going to work now.

[His expression is almost mischievous. He likes exploring. A lot.]

[usurpers]

[ wow. wow!!! thanks for the vote of confidence!!

hiccup is g for doing eren’s hair and that is all that will be said. the acceptance, while not bringing undoubting relief to eren, it does bring a smile to his face. the closest one to being full to this day! not sly, but certainly catching on.

he’s one step closer, but he holds back on celebration. he still has responsibility in adding to their safety to come back (little did he know, the dangers are far worse than assumed). ]

Never been like that either. Thanks, Mikleo.

[ they near the guards, and just as mihairi said (although not exactly what she said), they allow them to pass after mentioning a pair task near the slums. they aren’t lying. ]

What did you get into as a kid?

[reenforces]

[In contrast, Eren's thanks earns a recognizable smile that he tries to hide by looking away.]

Don't thank me. I have my own reasons for wanting to come out here.

[Mikleo lets Eren do the talking this time. He's surprised by how easy it is to get through. No bonding? No passport required? Nice.]

There were some seriously extensive ruins by our village. They're a couple thousand years old. We started mapping them out and exploring as soon as we could climb.

It was dangerous, of course, but there was always something new for us to find. Risk and reward. Sometimes the risk was Sorey breaking an arm but that never stopped him for long.

[usurpers]

[ a soft psh passes his lips when asked not to thank him. rubbish, he’ll thank you all he wants. it’s not truly flippant a sound, but, you know. the same way mikleo had his reasons, eren had his.

the explanation brings a huff of laughter not quite having momentum to become a guffaw, smile less prominent but still there. that sounds like kids being the way they were supposed to be. it warms part of his heart, truth be told, when he can imagine a place where that’s possible. innocence. the world was better with it. it’s just a shame that reality can be a bit different.

because, the world was cruel. something in him still believed there was something beautiful about it, regardless. they were born after all, and they were born free, the most special gift of all. ]

There’s nothing gained without risk. [ said with a little more weight, the lines of his features pulling experience onto a face that was too young for said things, admittedly. ] Your friend?

[reenforces]

[Tsunderes, man.

Mikleo knows how rare his and Sorey's upbringing is. They were raised like that on purpose. Had things gone just a little differently, they would both be dead a hundred times over, and the world would be overrun.

Destiny is a heavy weight indeed.]

Calculated risk. Though I'll admit some of our best discoveries were made accidentally.

[Eren really is too young to be saying things like that, yet Mikleo knows people who saw war at the age of sixteen. It's an unfortunate truth of being alive: innocence isn't forever.]

Yes. [Friend seems... inadequate a word, so he goes on to explain:] Sorey and I were taken in by the elder of a seraph village. He was the only other person my age, so we were pretty much inseparable. We've been together our whole lives-- at least until recently.

[He pauses.]

He's here too, actually. I'm sure he'd like you, though admittedly that's not a high bar since he likes everyone. [He glances at Eren up and down.] You can't be older than twenty, right? He's seventeen, maybe closer to eighteen now.

[usurpers]

[ sometimes you don’t have time to do the math!!! eren would say, or at least something similar. now doesn’t seem like— mm. a time to go so deep.

he’s attention is taken in the meantime; they’re given passage, crossing the wall’s gates and onwards, to a place that wasn’t so populated. north, from what he’s gathered.

eren gives a quiet hah. he, for one, didn’t like just anyone— and it was even worse when he was a kid. he only had one friend! one. he has more now, sure— but eren was picky. ]

I’m 18. [ give or take some months. he’s probably closer to 19 at this point. ] We could do something together some time, [ and then, adding: ] He doesn’t sound boring.

A, well fuck you too mouse

[long_live_the_queen]

[Kaede had been feeling better lately. She'd settled into her limbs belonging to herself again--they'd even started to itch and ache, like a milder form of pins and needles that came from a limb that had woken back up.

Still, she tended to keep away from people. The library had been a good respite, but she couldn't stay in there forever. The gardens usually had people in them, this time of year. But the stables were close by, relatively quiet, and had...interesting animals to look at.

Well, usually quiet. Kaede had been distracted by a peryton who'd been wandering loose and accepted scratches between its budding antlers. The screaming made the creature snort and stamp its front foot as it snapped its head up, The impact mashed Kaede's fingertips into its head, which...didn't feel nice, but she could tolerate it. Not like it was the animal's fault.

With a frown, the horned woman went over to investigate—the peryton stayed sensibly back in the yard.

There seemed to be quite a tussle coming from the yard with the not-chickens, and not all those flailing limbs seemed avian. Kaede approached slowly, but steadily.]

[usurpers]

[ eren doesn’t want to actively punch animals, but. this cock isn’t giving him too much leeway to choose, is it! the cockatrice squawk among each other in a frenzy of flaps and feathers, a chaotic happy hour being served to them on the ground where seeds and ration have been— spread poorly.

look again, and the reason might be more apparent. the birds flock over one flailing ball, scattering and returning with each bit of space the raging rooster gives them to have their share of feed. under the crowd is a young man, screaming his own fair share at the bird who yells and scratches back at him with talons! gallantly fending off the giant from his harem!

eren doesn’t punch him, but he certainly tries to smack the bird away as much as he can to have room to get up. the hungry hens don’t help when they snap blindly at the pellets all over his clothes, his hair— lord, help him. he makes a tremendous effort to smack them all away, and with frustration, kicks enough to thrash them all into a spook. ]

Agh!! Off!!

[ OFF he screeches again, with more room to finally lift himself off dirt and chicken shit, but it hardly comes out sounding like words. ]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Goodness, the marvels never ended here. Kaede just leaned on the fence, watching. She'd never seen chickens in person before, let alone what these were. So this was some brand new fascinating animal behavior.

By now she'd realized there was a person under there, but there were too many feathers and bird-things darting about to make out much more than kicking boots and thrashing arms. It wasn't until he spoke that the horned woman tilted her head slightly--did she know that scream?

Oh--someone from the festival.

...she supposed she owed him for not letting her pancake into the ground. Kaede swung herself over the fence, tugging the end of her skirt in annoyance when it snagged on a splinter. A far cry from something three-quarters dead. Some of the hens pecked at her shoes inquisitively, found nothing, and went back to their feast--until Eren screamed, kicked like a cat mauling a rat and sent the hens scattering with distressed squawks. The unexpected noise made Kaede flinch too, but she didn't back off.

Neither did the rooster, coincidentally. The cockatrice jumped at Eren again--Kaede seized the creature under the wings as it did so. It immediately took issue with this, kicking and squawking and flapping its wings, so Kaede clamped it to her chest, curling her arms over its torso to stop its flailing wings from smacking her. Some of its claws had poked holes in her shirt anyway before it got there, but now its feet kicked uselessly at empty air. The most the cockatrice would do now was snap irritably at her face--its neck was just too short to reach.]

Having some problems?

[She was ostensibly talking to Eren, not the wriggling cockatrice in her arms.]

[usurpers]

[ the stings that gash across his forearms are going to stay there more than he’s used to actually keeping injuries, no matter how small or thin they could be. In this instance, considering the tremendous itches he’s had, these actually help in relieving them. eren lifts himself hurriedly once he’s given the chance, breathing out and examining the damage the cockatrice has left behind.

shaking his head and batting at his clothes, to get the excess dirt, feed and feather dust off (his mouth, too? he tries to raspberry whatever it was that got in there because eren doesn’t even want to know), he looks up midway, the frown he wears deep into his features— but they lighten up to wide eyed regard and a double take when he sees the pink haired girl he sat with during the city’s earlier festivities.

she looks— a lot better. ]

You got the bigger one . . . Thanks. [ in her hands, literally. inhaling deeply and shooing off some hens with his foot, he keeps his fingers running across his injured forearms. It was almost weird. ] You’re more lively.

[long_live_the_queen]

[Kaede doesn't respond with 'you're welcome,' just tilting her head a little. The rooster took this as an opportunity to snap at her chin, and she promptly stopped doing that.]

Thanks...?

[Was that a jab or a compliment...?]

[usurpers]

[ she’s confused . . . isn’t she . . .

eren stares for a moment himself, trying to figure it out himself while absently dragging nails up his arm. as if it wasn’t scratched up enough as it is. ]

That’s a good thing.

[ considering you were almost dead!! ]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Kaede is not very good at people. But her head straightens back up, and she huffs a little.]

...okay.

[The cockatrice had given up on its attempts to bite her--for now. Its neck was still puffed out, and it made a growling cluck every so often. You'll be sorry, just you wait! As soon as he gets free...!]

[usurpers]

[ it’s okay, eren is at least a little better at this that she is (but not by a landslide). the cockatrice raises its neck up at eren once he makes an attempt to step over, but. yikes, it puffs out even more. ]

I’ll throw the food and you toss him.

[ getting that prepared with ration and corn being scattered ahead and stepping back, yes he explicitly just said to toss the cock. ]

[long_live_the_queen]

[She'll consider tossing the cock.

But not until she's satisfied Eren is holding up his end, which Kaede is naturally suspicious of. So she hesitates, watching him as intently as the cockatrice is. For separate, non-murderous reasons.

When he threw some of the corn, though, the cockatrice turned his head to look at that instead--and Kaede flung the creature away from her explosively. Not...not literally, but the way the thing was squawking and furiously flapping its wings it might as well have been.

Please go for the feed instead of her face, chicken-dinosaur monster thing.]

CLOSED

[usurpers]

[ work never really ends, especially not for eren. finding that he’s grown better at the tasks around the stables, he’s chosen to stay there when the time allowed it. manual labor was a forte! of course, eren wouldn’t just . . . stick to it. there were more things to do around the city, out of it, when he had the proper training, and

well, cleaning, now. he wouldn’t. not. help his captain clean. eren’s even given the length of his hair a viable solution: braids! tiny little braids at the back of his neck. maybe it still looks like shit, but at least it’s not the amazon.

in one larger house now, going through a dining room and kitchen with a broom, eren sweeps dust into a pile and prepares a wet cloth to remove the excess of the surfaces. the way levi likes it. it’s horrendously dirty for his tastes, and you know what else? eren’s still itching way too much, despite being lathered in scented oils. his skin flakes where it doesn’t break, scabs fall because he scratches at those too, bites at his own arm even to give himself relief (you don’t know what a man would do if they’ve been itching for a week).

he gets thoroughly distracted from the cleaning with items left behind, though. books he’s separated off to the side, stories with pictures in them and . . . some with crazy calculations. what takes most of his time, though, is a lamp he bumps into enough to fall to the ground. colorful glass shatters and eren flinches, hoping it couldn’t be heard from the second floor. agh.

sweeping those up into a pile, though, has him eventually kneeling down and inspecting the jagged ends of each piece. he runs a finger over it, lightly— and when it leaves the tiniest of cuts, eren’s— heart skips.

like literally.

it’s sharp. he wants it. he likes it. he stashes it into his pocket (???? because that’s a great idea) and does the same inspecting with the rest. fractures with dull ends are separated into another pile, meant for garbage. that’s exactly what he’s doing instead of cleaning. ]

[dirtdevil]

[ it takes Levi about 1.5 seconds to notice that Eren's attention has wandered from the cleaning at hand. he's been watching Eren scratch at himself like some kind of diseased rodent for awhile now, but he's kept his rude comments to himself. who knows where that guy's been? he's not sure he even wants to know.

however.

the sound of glass shattering is the last proverbial straw. this sloppy behavior won't be tolerated. ]

What the fuck are you doing?

[ ...bending down to pick up the shards. with his bare hands. Levi eyes him in irritation. and maybe a little concern. (but mostly irritation.)

Don't just— [ SIGH. ] Stop picking it up. That's what brooms are for.

[ he taps his own broom loudly against the floor for emphasis. ]

Sweeping. You need a refresher on basic human tasks?

[usurpers]

[ shit shit shit, because, levi’s angry voice? will always give him shivers. things as little as touches already do, because who doesn’t remember the time he got beaten at the stake HAH eren does.

eren remembers.

as quick as he can, like a child who just stole the cookie from the cookie jar and got caught, eren stuffs the remaining shard in his pocket, hissing an ow! when it slides into his finger. the other he was holding falls, chips into another fissured pair, and not enough time is had to go for that one either.

eren erects his back, puts himself into attention and sweats bullets. it’s unsure if the redness is from the rush, he’s red everywhere, but his ears in particular swell with deep eggplant purple.

the kind that happens when mom catches porn on your web history. ]

N-no, sir! [ he’s. he’s got a broom!! now holding it with both hands and leaving a. blood stain on the wooden handle. ] I just— thought I saw something!

[ eren deserves oscars for most of his acting but not this time. he didn’t have time to practice. ]

[dirtdevil]

[ ah, the great courtroom beating. precious memories, for sure. ]

And yet you managed not to see that lamp.

[ may it rest in peace. but there's no time for mourning, as usual—because this is about the time he notices the blood on Eren's broom. he wrinkles his nose. gross, dude.

he holds an arm out, motioning to the bloody broom. ]

Give me that and go clean up your hand. There's no point in trying to tidy this place up if you're just gonna bleed all over everything.

[ he doesn't get paid enough to deal with this. ]

[usurpers]

[ speak too much and he will be silenced :x eren presses his lips together tightly, about to say something but knowing he probably shouldn’t. not with levi. for the most part, he stiffly hands over his broom to scurry over to the sink, thankfully nearby— god, what was he thinking? these weren’t up to his standards at all and he’s still considering the pile.

as if the shards in his pocket weren’t enough. ]

Sorry, Captain. [ curt, as he should be. running water cleans his fingers and alleviating the bright red scabbing close to his scars— yes, scars. the ones eren got by trying to titanize, not working, and . . . not regenerating. he clears his throat as he pulls off the water lever (plumbing, cool), and mindfully planning where he’s going to dry them.

mindfully. on his own clothes would mean sudden death. ] I’ll clean the rest up— the broom, too.

[dirtdevil]

[ he watches Eren dutifully rinsing himself off, and that's when he notices the scabs. first thought: eww.

second thought: waaait a sec. ]

...Are you not regenerating?

[ could it be that Eren's gross lizard powers don't fly here?? yikes. ]

[usurpers]

[ he has

completely different lizard powers. there’s a pause here, and something in eren’s expression drops with concern. ]

. . . No, sir. [ the water is off, and eren returns. ] I can’t shift, either.