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seasonsrpg2024-04-01 06:04 pm
urtitan) wrote in seasonsrpg2024-04-01 06:04 pm
Tarot: The World (Reversed)
WHO: Frieda Reiss
WHAT: Frieda is going through it (enormous struggle dump inside!)
WHEN: First half of April
WHERE: Abandoned Graveyard / Secret Getaway and other areas in the Seasonal Segments
WARNINGS: AoT-typical heavy topics - mention of genocide, murder, mental instability, violence, war, etc.
[Many things have been moving at a different pace for Frieda ever since she inherited the memories of her ancestors. This still holds true here in Ellipsa. On some days, she can live in the moment and enjoy spending time with her sister, the few friends she's made, and other people (neighbours, magic school classmates, vendors whose shops she's become a regular at), but on other days, everything she's learned about her homeworld's future since arriving here pulls her under and makes her ruminate for hours on end, lost between those new revelations and the painful history going back 2,000 years.
Lately, those days have become more and more common.]
1) Safe Zone: Mermaid Encounter
(OOC: Since a lot of Frieda's development is internal, I wanted to chronicle it, but as it's pure introspection, by all means skip ahead to the bottom of this humungous prompt if you'd like to!)
[Frieda's first month in Ellipsa was overshadowed by grief after she learned that in the not-too-far future, most of her family will be killed alongside herself. But eventually, her unbreakable inherited will helped her overcome that struggle. What of their deaths? All Eldians should die. It's only right if the royal family dies first. She accepted it, and with a calmer and clearer mind, she could finally focus on starting to unlock her magic and supporting the local ongoings, resolved to make the most of the time she had left.
However, her encounter with Eren, her unintended successor, made her question whether she wasn't too hasty to content herself with her fate.
Eren's resentment of how the truth was kept from the people of the Walls - doubtlessly shared by all of her subjects - made it clear that he doesn't want the Founding Titan to return into the royal family's hands, and Historia, Frieda's only surviving sibling, made it clear that she doesn't want to take it from her friend. In the future they experienced, the outside world failed to eradicate their people, "merely" breaking Wall Maria - which did cause thousands of deaths through its short- and mid-term consequences -, and everybody learned of the truths that the Reiss family hid for a century.
There will be no repeat of the 2 millennia of oppression by the Eldian Empire, given that Eren can't unlock the Founding Titan's full potential and the royal bloodline, should it regain possession of it, is prevented from doing so by the inherited vow, but the situation has nevertheless given Frieda many sleepless nights. In the face of the changed circumstances, her passive stance has started to shift.
I have to take the Founding Titan back from Eren. That's the first conclusion she arrives at. He told her that he'd never go home if he can help it, and she believes him - but what if he gets no say in the matter? What if he gets sent back to their homeworld against his will? It can happen. They both know that.
Much as the imperative to keep her people from becoming a threat to the world again dictates her decision, everything inside her recoils from it. She can't murder Eren! She couldn't murder anyone - not with her own hands, in any case. She knows all too well that all the blood her enforcers spilled within the Walls stains her hands nonetheless (and that of prior rulers' enforcers' victims, too, because she can't and won't exempt herself from bearing the sins of her ancestors). Eren is Historia's friend... What of it?, argues that reasonable voice inside of her, Historia is a disappointment for not acting in the best interest of humanity despite understanding our history. Who cares what she wants?
Frieda has to leave the apartment for longer and longer stretches of time, on occasion even hastily excusing herself to Historia to keep herself from angrily lashing out at her. Sometimes, she wants to grab and shake and even hit her for thinking that's it's acceptable for Eren to keep the Founding Titan. If you won't take it back for our family, I will! What are you even good for?! It takes all her strength to keep herself from attacking her own beloved sister like that, and when the urge eventually subsides, she's desolate each time.
However, after a while of agonising and trying to reason with different parts of herself, she manages to set aside the initial conclusion, for what is ultimately a very simple reason: If she took Eren's titan powers (most realistically by enlisting the services of an assassin, much as she does back home), he'd simply take them back from her once he'd be reborn into this world.
It's a given: Much as she doesn't want him to return home and resist the Eldian atonement plan, he doesn't want her to return and work towards its fulfillment either. For being ideological opponents, the two of them were reasonably cordial towards each other despite the palpable tension, but if she were to turn on him, he'd surely retaliate in kind. As it is, he holds the stronger position, having actual experience in using his titan's powers, and if he wanted to, he could already have taken hers. She mustn't disturb the current balance.
What can she do, then? Her silent internal struggle continues for days or weeks (she can't tell anymore, even though it's interspersed with uninterrupted stretches of normalcy and little joys - somehow!) until a realisation more bitter than anything prior dawns on her: There really is only one way to ensure that the Eldians of Paradis Island won't be a threat to the world anymore. If the outside world will fail to eradicate them, their ruler must do it.
He entire being refuses that solution. How could she possibly do that?! She can't even murder one person! All those innocent people..!! No! No!! But all Eldians must die. In her mind, she practically screams at the first king of the Walls. How dare you not finish what you started?! How dare you leave it to your successors? You couldn't do it because you loved your people? How do you think I feel?! But of course, there's only her own mind to answer her, and despite fighting against the resolution with all she has, she's drawn further down the path, exploring her practical options.
In that state, she can't bear the city. Even in quiet places, she may encounter people, and while they're not her subjects, she can't endure their innocent eyes on her, feeling beyond monstrous for what's going on in her head. As such, she takes to the safe zones in the Segments to find some solitude.
She avoids the cold Winter Segment - the watchtower is close to the city, and people pass by there with relative frequency. Likewise, the Temple of Life in the Summer Segment is intermittently frequented by people coming to gather fruits or tackle the video game simulator inside. The waters of Ellipsa have provided an embrace and escape for her ever since her arrival, and so, she can ultimately be encountered in mermaid form, resting at the bottom of the Secret Getaway's lake-pond or on the safe side of the iron fence separating the Autumn Segment's flooded graveyard from the monster-infested wilderness.
It's unlikely that anyone else would dive in either body of water, but who knows! If she doesn't encounter anyone in the depths, then at some point, when she finally feels like herself again, having battled the mental images of death and suffering away for the day, she has to exit the water, and perhaps it's then that she and the other person visiting the safe area startle each other through her sudden appearance on the water's surface. Whether underwater or above, she'll call out in the same way.]
Oh..! I'm sorry, you scared me!
[She says that as if she isn't the weird one for popping out of a place that's definitely not a designated swimming area!]
2) Unsafe Zone: Titan Encounter
(OOC: Feel free to choose the Segment, otherwise I'll use an RNG!)
[In the end, Frieda manages to stabilise herself to a degree by resolving to do what Eren decided: To never return home. It's painful to imagine that she'll never see her family - safe for Historia - and other dearly beloved people again, but she simply can't abide the thought of having to complete what her ancestor wasn't able to even begin. She'll rather follow her successor's example and remove the Founding Titan and its powers from their world forever. That way, at least any ever-so-remote chance of total titan domination will be gone.
Of course, the conflict between her inherited will - which had to adjust to an unforeseen change for the first time since its implementation - and her still persevering wishes as a human being remain almost impossible to reconcile. She has to make compromises with herself. Since she can't guarantee the length of her stay in Ellipsa, she needs to at least prepare for what must be done if she is sent back to her homeworld.
Unwilling to look at the horrible methods she'd need to employ in such a scenario, she instead puts her focus on something very basic that she nevertheless neglected: Her control over her titan manifestation. If she is forced to return home, it won't do if Eren's father kills her before she can do anything to prevent history from playing out as Eren and Historia experienced it.
She feels ashamed to have outright squandered a quarter of her remaining lifetime, idly waiting for her and her people's extermination... how could she have been so naive?! But she always was, wasn't she? She bitterly remembers her idealistic 15 year old self, volunteering to inherit the Founding Titan from her uncle with a smile, confident that she wouldn't give in to her ancestors' ghosts, without even knowing of the history of the world. Stupid. Ignorant. Selfish.
She closes her eyes to try and ground herself. She's on a mission and needs to focus. As a titan, it should be a lot easier to identify safe areas for new teleport- and barrier stone installations. Having tested out beforehand that she'll still be conscious of herself and her objective while in titan form, she deems it safest to transform a good distance away from the teleport stone she just used to travel here. After all, she wouldn't want to startle someone else arriving!
Little does she know that there are still reckless people venturing into the Segments on their own despite all the warnings - and not necessarily by ground, given the many airship license holders, winged mount owners, and people able to fly either naturally or by way of animal transformation! As such, should she really be surprised when someone approaches her 13 metre tall dark-haired titan? That is, if she'll even see them coming...]
WHAT: Frieda is going through it (enormous struggle dump inside!)
WHEN: First half of April
WHERE: Abandoned Graveyard / Secret Getaway and other areas in the Seasonal Segments
WARNINGS: AoT-typical heavy topics - mention of genocide, murder, mental instability, violence, war, etc.
[Many things have been moving at a different pace for Frieda ever since she inherited the memories of her ancestors. This still holds true here in Ellipsa. On some days, she can live in the moment and enjoy spending time with her sister, the few friends she's made, and other people (neighbours, magic school classmates, vendors whose shops she's become a regular at), but on other days, everything she's learned about her homeworld's future since arriving here pulls her under and makes her ruminate for hours on end, lost between those new revelations and the painful history going back 2,000 years.
Lately, those days have become more and more common.]
1) Safe Zone: Mermaid Encounter
(OOC: Since a lot of Frieda's development is internal, I wanted to chronicle it, but as it's pure introspection, by all means skip ahead to the bottom of this humungous prompt if you'd like to!)
[Frieda's first month in Ellipsa was overshadowed by grief after she learned that in the not-too-far future, most of her family will be killed alongside herself. But eventually, her unbreakable inherited will helped her overcome that struggle. What of their deaths? All Eldians should die. It's only right if the royal family dies first. She accepted it, and with a calmer and clearer mind, she could finally focus on starting to unlock her magic and supporting the local ongoings, resolved to make the most of the time she had left.
However, her encounter with Eren, her unintended successor, made her question whether she wasn't too hasty to content herself with her fate.
Eren's resentment of how the truth was kept from the people of the Walls - doubtlessly shared by all of her subjects - made it clear that he doesn't want the Founding Titan to return into the royal family's hands, and Historia, Frieda's only surviving sibling, made it clear that she doesn't want to take it from her friend. In the future they experienced, the outside world failed to eradicate their people, "merely" breaking Wall Maria - which did cause thousands of deaths through its short- and mid-term consequences -, and everybody learned of the truths that the Reiss family hid for a century.
There will be no repeat of the 2 millennia of oppression by the Eldian Empire, given that Eren can't unlock the Founding Titan's full potential and the royal bloodline, should it regain possession of it, is prevented from doing so by the inherited vow, but the situation has nevertheless given Frieda many sleepless nights. In the face of the changed circumstances, her passive stance has started to shift.
I have to take the Founding Titan back from Eren. That's the first conclusion she arrives at. He told her that he'd never go home if he can help it, and she believes him - but what if he gets no say in the matter? What if he gets sent back to their homeworld against his will? It can happen. They both know that.
Much as the imperative to keep her people from becoming a threat to the world again dictates her decision, everything inside her recoils from it. She can't murder Eren! She couldn't murder anyone - not with her own hands, in any case. She knows all too well that all the blood her enforcers spilled within the Walls stains her hands nonetheless (and that of prior rulers' enforcers' victims, too, because she can't and won't exempt herself from bearing the sins of her ancestors). Eren is Historia's friend... What of it?, argues that reasonable voice inside of her, Historia is a disappointment for not acting in the best interest of humanity despite understanding our history. Who cares what she wants?
Frieda has to leave the apartment for longer and longer stretches of time, on occasion even hastily excusing herself to Historia to keep herself from angrily lashing out at her. Sometimes, she wants to grab and shake and even hit her for thinking that's it's acceptable for Eren to keep the Founding Titan. If you won't take it back for our family, I will! What are you even good for?! It takes all her strength to keep herself from attacking her own beloved sister like that, and when the urge eventually subsides, she's desolate each time.
However, after a while of agonising and trying to reason with different parts of herself, she manages to set aside the initial conclusion, for what is ultimately a very simple reason: If she took Eren's titan powers (most realistically by enlisting the services of an assassin, much as she does back home), he'd simply take them back from her once he'd be reborn into this world.
It's a given: Much as she doesn't want him to return home and resist the Eldian atonement plan, he doesn't want her to return and work towards its fulfillment either. For being ideological opponents, the two of them were reasonably cordial towards each other despite the palpable tension, but if she were to turn on him, he'd surely retaliate in kind. As it is, he holds the stronger position, having actual experience in using his titan's powers, and if he wanted to, he could already have taken hers. She mustn't disturb the current balance.
What can she do, then? Her silent internal struggle continues for days or weeks (she can't tell anymore, even though it's interspersed with uninterrupted stretches of normalcy and little joys - somehow!) until a realisation more bitter than anything prior dawns on her: There really is only one way to ensure that the Eldians of Paradis Island won't be a threat to the world anymore. If the outside world will fail to eradicate them, their ruler must do it.
He entire being refuses that solution. How could she possibly do that?! She can't even murder one person! All those innocent people..!! No! No!! But all Eldians must die. In her mind, she practically screams at the first king of the Walls. How dare you not finish what you started?! How dare you leave it to your successors? You couldn't do it because you loved your people? How do you think I feel?! But of course, there's only her own mind to answer her, and despite fighting against the resolution with all she has, she's drawn further down the path, exploring her practical options.
In that state, she can't bear the city. Even in quiet places, she may encounter people, and while they're not her subjects, she can't endure their innocent eyes on her, feeling beyond monstrous for what's going on in her head. As such, she takes to the safe zones in the Segments to find some solitude.
She avoids the cold Winter Segment - the watchtower is close to the city, and people pass by there with relative frequency. Likewise, the Temple of Life in the Summer Segment is intermittently frequented by people coming to gather fruits or tackle the video game simulator inside. The waters of Ellipsa have provided an embrace and escape for her ever since her arrival, and so, she can ultimately be encountered in mermaid form, resting at the bottom of the Secret Getaway's lake-pond or on the safe side of the iron fence separating the Autumn Segment's flooded graveyard from the monster-infested wilderness.
It's unlikely that anyone else would dive in either body of water, but who knows! If she doesn't encounter anyone in the depths, then at some point, when she finally feels like herself again, having battled the mental images of death and suffering away for the day, she has to exit the water, and perhaps it's then that she and the other person visiting the safe area startle each other through her sudden appearance on the water's surface. Whether underwater or above, she'll call out in the same way.]
Oh..! I'm sorry, you scared me!
[She says that as if she isn't the weird one for popping out of a place that's definitely not a designated swimming area!]
2) Unsafe Zone: Titan Encounter
(OOC: Feel free to choose the Segment, otherwise I'll use an RNG!)
[In the end, Frieda manages to stabilise herself to a degree by resolving to do what Eren decided: To never return home. It's painful to imagine that she'll never see her family - safe for Historia - and other dearly beloved people again, but she simply can't abide the thought of having to complete what her ancestor wasn't able to even begin. She'll rather follow her successor's example and remove the Founding Titan and its powers from their world forever. That way, at least any ever-so-remote chance of total titan domination will be gone.
Of course, the conflict between her inherited will - which had to adjust to an unforeseen change for the first time since its implementation - and her still persevering wishes as a human being remain almost impossible to reconcile. She has to make compromises with herself. Since she can't guarantee the length of her stay in Ellipsa, she needs to at least prepare for what must be done if she is sent back to her homeworld.
Unwilling to look at the horrible methods she'd need to employ in such a scenario, she instead puts her focus on something very basic that she nevertheless neglected: Her control over her titan manifestation. If she is forced to return home, it won't do if Eren's father kills her before she can do anything to prevent history from playing out as Eren and Historia experienced it.
She feels ashamed to have outright squandered a quarter of her remaining lifetime, idly waiting for her and her people's extermination... how could she have been so naive?! But she always was, wasn't she? She bitterly remembers her idealistic 15 year old self, volunteering to inherit the Founding Titan from her uncle with a smile, confident that she wouldn't give in to her ancestors' ghosts, without even knowing of the history of the world. Stupid. Ignorant. Selfish.
She closes her eyes to try and ground herself. She's on a mission and needs to focus. As a titan, it should be a lot easier to identify safe areas for new teleport- and barrier stone installations. Having tested out beforehand that she'll still be conscious of herself and her objective while in titan form, she deems it safest to transform a good distance away from the teleport stone she just used to travel here. After all, she wouldn't want to startle someone else arriving!
Little does she know that there are still reckless people venturing into the Segments on their own despite all the warnings - and not necessarily by ground, given the many airship license holders, winged mount owners, and people able to fly either naturally or by way of animal transformation! As such, should she really be surprised when someone approaches her 13 metre tall dark-haired titan? That is, if she'll even see them coming...]
no subject
But this development gives him quite the unique opportunity to get the upper hand. So he keeps his cool, since he’s got no reason to panic. “Karl” has inadvertently set him up for an advantage.
But first, he needed to be insufferable and get the last word.]
Dear me, so arrogant after just one spell. I suppose that means I no longer need to hold back then?
[And with that he froze the mouth of the titan just as it was ejecting the bile in its stomach- leaving it nowhere else to go but up into the service they were having their little battle. It would surely only last a moment until the hot liquid fell back into the stomach, but this gave him the opportunity to assume his true form safely. Without gravity holding him back he was able to swiftly discard his pants as he took his true form and sped for Frieda, where he wrapped his long buddy around the fleshy cocoon she was in. To be an extra bastard he made sure he was hugging her from behind, head on her shoulder.
Smiling like an asshole.
Go on Karl. Tempt him. He needed to make it abundantly clear that he was better than this inherited buffoon possessing his Frieda.
It no longer mattered what he tried, even if he managed to drain this… whatever it was, Jade was safely coiled in place. Of course there was no telling how safe it was to “breathe” whatever liquid this was, but eh. That would be a problem for future Jade.]
1/2
What are you doing?!?
[She thrashes around, but while the titan mimics her movements, it does nothing to help her shake off the persistent eel boy.]
2/2
As its nape opens up and she and Jade see sunlight again, she closes her eyes for a good long moment, and when she opens them again, she reaches up behind her to tousle his wet hair... only to yank his long strand a moment later. She needs to catch her breath and collect her scattered emotions first, but what was the madman thinking!! He endangered himself and really embarrassed her (granted, he was aiming at her ancestor, but even so)!]
no subject
His landing was met with a less graceful “oof”, but it wasn’t anything more than a few bruises thanks to his thick hide.
Of course rather than catching his breath, he was busy trying to “spit” titan gut-fluid out of his gills, because yeaaaah, that was honestly incredibly unpleasant to breathe in. Mistakes were made.
The moment she yanked him down by the hair, he knew she was herself again, and laughed as he let himself fall over in the direction of her tug- chuckling all the while.]
Ah, welcome back. Things took quite an eventful turn while you were away.
no subject
Hearing his laughter at her hair tug relieves her, but it doesn't right away dispell the mortification she feels, nor the retroactive worry for him.]
I-- I know what happened! Jade, you can't provoke me when I get like that! I could've eaten you!
[She wraps her arms around him, relieved that he came out on top against her vow-driven self (and even seemed to have fun at it!)... and on some level, even in her fretfulness she enjoys the feeling of his smooth, tough eel skin under her hands.]
I know you're a great mage, but please, think of me, too! In fairness, though, it's on me... I never should've taken you into the nape with me!
no subject
Now, now. There’s no need to fret over me like that. I rather enjoyed the challenge, and I believe you wanted to learn how to better control your titan.
I would say we accomplished that.
[He said like that was his plan all along. It certainly shoved better than “I was being incredibly petty and I didn’t want to lose”.]
Besides, what exactly would have happened if you had. You said yourself, titans do not digest what they swallow, and it’s not like I was going to drown.
no subject
[He really couldn't have drowned. It'd just have been like a less-than-aethetically-pleasing hot bath for him.
If anyone else were around right now, they'd witness an interesting visual: A human and a long-bodied merman clinging on to each other on the ground in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by steaming remnants of enormous bones. Frieda shivers as a breeze touches them - they're both wet, and the air is chill.]
What do we do now? I have my Travel Crystal, but where do we go?
[They look like they went to the sauna in their clothing! Jade's trousers that are lying around nearby didn't get spared either.]
no subject
But he knew Frieda wouldn’t leave him to wither and suffocate under the sun, so he wasn’t panicking. He was actually rather relaxed in sort of his less than ideal predicament.]
Well… if I could bother you to fetch my trousers? I believe those will be rather necessary for wherever we decide to go.
[Oh course this would mean that they need to part, rather unfortunate since he’d just started to idly play with her hair.
Yeah, he’s making no effort to actually move or let her go. He’s rather comfortable. He WILL at least have some mercy for her, and with a little wave of his hand, and magic, her clothes are dried.]
no subject
I didn't know you could do this!
[Instantly dry her clothing, she means.]
Did you just pull all the water out?
[He's so good at his magic, so far advanced - but maybe with her titan, which he seems so bafflingly enamoured with, she'll be able to make more of a contribution on their adventures going forward.]
no subject
[He says like he's had some experience with the subject. He was only a second year, so while he'd learned some more complex spells, there was still some limit to it. Still, he supposed in a magicless world, even what he considered mundane would feel impressive.
...he wasn't about to correct her about it anytime soon.]
Despite all the fireballs and such you see me throw around, magic is generally used for mundane matters of convenience.
Like, say you happen to have an easily distractable brother that tends to forget to take his laundry out of the washing machine when it's done.
no subject
[Finally, her sense of humour is properly coming through again. She jokingly shakes Jade a little in mock anger, then hesitantly lets go of him - but not without cupping his cheek in her palm for a moment. She's really exhausted, and her embarrassment over their unforeseen fight inside the titan still lingers, but more than anything else, Jade's unwavering acceptance means the world to her.]
Alright, let me get your trousers. Don't worry, I'll turn around when you transform back!
[After all, his human form isn't as tempting to look at as her merman form.
It's not a fetish though!!]no subject
[He playfully plucked at a lock of her hair before she stood… and they shared a little moment. They both knew feelings where mutual between them, yet they remained in this odd limbo. To Jade it was a fun game, what would happen was ever the mystery, and Jade found it all rather fascinating.
He returned the look to her with that silent challenge… briefly letting his hand brush hers as she pulled away, but that was all.
He did need his pants after all.]
I’m hardly worried. You were sitting on my lap a moment ago just like this.
[Y’know, the little reminder he’s been naked this whole time.
Absolutely a kink.]no subject
I'm sorry I don't have it in me to give you any more titan time today, but then again, it's probably been enough even for you, hasn't it?
no subject
[And he does shift back to his humanoid shape, and dressed swiftly after reusing his little clothes drying spell for his own benefit.
Though there is still a rather noticeable tattered hole and several punctures in the back of Jade's shirt and jacket, his sleeves are in a similar state as well. He pays it no mind at all, and goes about collecting his scarf from the fading Titan's hair.]
I hope you don't mind if I take this back for now? Since you aren't using it, of course.
no subject
The sight of his scarf, still tied into a bow, turns her smile even fonder. It's lucky that the titan's thrashing didn't toss it away into the landscape. Clearly, Jade knows how to tie a good knot!]
Please do - and thank you for lending it to me.
[That unruly strand of hair totally was in her titan's face! She takes the Travel Crystal from her bag and offers her hand to Jade.]
Let's eat out today, alright? I'm too tired to cook. Shall I teleport us to the summer guild?
[It'll be closest to home, so Jade will be able to change into another outfit first of all, and there are many seafood restaurants around! Frieda already plans to seek a mender to fix up his clothes (whether by magical or mundane means) as soon as possible.]