[With one nightmarish finger, roughly the size of a four-door sedan, Eren veeeeery lightly - feather-lightly - touches the top of Maruki's head.
[Sit down, idiot, or you're going to fall as soon as he stands back up.
[Hopefully, Maruki gets the message; either way, Eren will protectively curl his fingers up into a little Takuto Maruki reservoir. He slowly stands up, and Maruki is higher than the trees.]
[ He gets the message, okay! He gets it! He's sitting! What the fuck is going on!!!
Even for as slow as Eren's clearly trying to go, it's still being lifted five meters off the ground. Like a plane taking off, there's no denying how anathema it is to the human condition to suddenly be up in the air.
Maruki laughs, breathless, peeking out over the treeline, over Somnius, and it's–
Hiking with Venat up the cliffside, being told that she'd like to show him the world from on high one day, even higher than this – that such a view would undoubtedly alter his perspective on human life, would aid in his journey, would give him the perspective of the woods that he's been missing for so long in a life spent in the trees.
She wasn't wrong. This is like being at the top of the cliff with her, getting a taste of that ability to see a place in all its splendor of a bird's eye view. It takes his breath away now just as it did then. He has little affection for Somnius on his best days and almost none for it at the moment, but even then, there's no denying the beauty of it from up so high.
He looks to Eren again – much closer now, yikes! – and he's grinning, bright and wide, that exhaustion dropped away for the moment. ]
You must usually be taller than this, right?
[ Another thing he knows because of Venat. Vaeros has a way of sizing things down to suit his needs. And from the stories Eren has told, he's sure that five meters is nothing. ]
[Ha. Well. Yes, he was typically quite a bit taller than this at an average of 15-meters, but when you take into account The Founding Titan, numbers start to become meaningless. For the sake of brevity, he nods.
[They won't really be able to continue talking, this way. Part of Eren doesn't mind that - it's easier when he can't, he thinks - but this was, after all, only a demonstration (honestly, it's a lot of energy to waste on something so frivolous, but since things do appear to be more peaceful now...).
[Aside from all that, the worst part hasn't even come yet.
[Eren lets Maruki enjoy the view for a few more minutes before grunting a warning and then setting him gently back down on the ground. After that, the show has one final act. With another oppressive burst of steam, the Attack Titan slumps to the ground, head and limbs hung, limp. There's a fleshy, sickening sound as the nape of the neck splits open, the top half of Eren's body (still fully clothed in the same outfit, for the record) bursting out with a little gasp. Red strips of muscle cling to his face, arms, and legs. He rips his hands out first, using them to tear the rest of the muscle away. With that, he climbs out of the titan and slides off of it. Approaching Maruki again, the carcass rapidly decays, flesh rotting, falling, steaming, then disappearing. It's a slow process. The corpse will probably be here for at least 10 minutes before it completely disappears.]
That's basically it. [Deep red grooves paint strips under Eren's eyes, branching down over his cheeks and behind his ears.] My body can heal itself, too, even in this form. Any injury you can think of, pretty much.
Oh, so gross. More than ever, Maruki appreciates the simplicity of summoning and dispelling a persona, even one as unsubtle as his. He watches the horror show, mouth slightly agape in the way it wasn't for the Titan's appearance. What a visceral, bloody thing, made even worse once the thing begins to decompose.
Maruki tears his eyes away from it to look at Eren, brows knitting together in sympathetic concern at the marks beneath his eyes. ]
Do those hurt...?
[ Yes, he heard what Eren said about healing. He still has to ask. ]
[ Maruki recognizes that given how much time Eren and Akechi spend together, there is a nonzero chance that he's seen Robin Hood.
Even if he has, the connection between the two beyond Akechi and Maruki's shared home may not be obvious at all, because there is nothing similar about the ways they appear.
No blue flames coiling around his legs, licking his face. No dramatic shout of a name. Just his left hand briefly extended before him, his voice quiet and calm, almost fond. ]
Azathoth.
[ The air around them wavers, at first colorlessly like a hot day, then with streaks of green, blue, purple, until an aurora forms around Maruki. It lingers faintly even when Azathoth appears at his side, towering over him. Not quite as tall as the Titan was, but when out in the open air like this, it's almost double Maruki's height.
The mass of tentacles stay docile beneath where it hovers off the ground, the three largest swaying toward Maruki at first – and then, as if sensing that there is nothing that needs to be done for him at the moment, their clawed hands back off.
In the high afternoon sun, Azathoth's body is almost blindingly brilliant and the pulsing glow of its tentacles is subdued, and it stares down at Eren with its neon eyes. There's nothing threatening about its stance, as it clearly knows it isn't in battle and in the presence of a friend at that, but it cuts an imposing figure regardless.
Maruki glances up at it, smiles, presses a hand to the warm golden chassis. ]
I suppose I don't have to ask you to keep this a secret.
Edited (when i get my azathoth pronouns wrong) 2024-06-27 05:59 (UTC)
[It's like nothing Eren has ever seen, of course. He's seen a lot of things since coming here, so he doesn't react with outright fear or shock, but his eyes do, indeed, go wide, and he stares, mouth agape, head tilting just slightly to the side.
[ What or who really is a great question. The figure is nothing like the spectral form of Robin Hood, and Maruki feels a much more personal connection to it than Akechi does. It feels more like a who than a what more often than not. ]
Thank you, I appreciate it. And, ah– Azathoth is its name. I know it's a bit of a mouthful...
[ He drops the hand resting on Azathoth's body to gesture vaguely as he speaks. It's fun, because he's still learning what the hell a persona is himself. Explaining it to someone else is probably good practice. ]
It's sort of like... A literal representation of my spirit. Or my will power, rather. I'm still very new to it – it only manifested physically to me right before I arrived here, and I just regained the ability right before– you know, before everything happened.
[ With one last look over at Azathoth, Maruki lifts his hand again, and it dissipates until nothing is left but that aurora – and then, nothing at all.
The Titan's carcass is still decaying behind Eren.
See? Things are much neater this way.
Maruki looks at Eren again and smiles bashfully, shrugs. ]
I didn't want to keep up the ruse around you any longer. You deserved to know the truth.
[It's just one or two seconds before Maruki recalls Azathoth that Eren reaches a hand toward it. When the aurora appears again, Eren upturns his palm like he might catch it as it falls, but...it never does.
Yes. Please keep that a secret as well. Although Night Sky has already insinuated it on the network, but she didn't know at the time that I wanted to stay out of it.
[ Hands in his pockets now, he looks at Eren with an expression that's plainly open and honest. ]
I value your friendship, Eren. I want you to know these things about me that few do.
[ It's such a sincere offer, such an earnest promise, that Maruki can't help the affection that blooms in his chest and surely shows on his face.
I can handle it. For you.
And isn't that all there is to it, at the end of the day? For the people you love, you'll handle things that you otherwise couldn't.
He reaches out to clap Eren on the shoulder, laughing, overflowing with gratitude. ]
Thank you. I know that you will. I promise to be honest with you going forward.
[ About.............. most things, anyway. Look, no one in Somnius gets total honesty from him, not even Venat. ]
When I first arrived here, you were so concerned for my ability to defend myself and to fight if needed. Rightly so. I should have taken you up on your offer for training, but I was stubborn, and scared. So... I wanted to show you that you don't need to worry about me when things start to go bad. As it turns out, I can protect myself and fight harder than I knew was possible.
I didn't show it, though. Not knowing, I should have protected you.
[He should have done a lot of things; should not have done a lot of things.]
I think I probably made a lot of enemies. [There's no real...remorse to his voice, but he doesn't exactly sound happy about it.]
Anyway. Now, I know.
It's good.
[There's a...somewhat wary glance at Maruki, then, but that isn't really who Eren is looking for. He offers a cautious:] Thanks...Azathoth...[He doesn't quite get the pronunciation right, but...]
hehe we can wrap here or on yr reply.... i'm sob....... THEM...............
Maruki feels a lot when it comes to Azathoth. Its absence was as palpable as its presence. A constant, gentle pressure at the back of his mind, the base of his skull – a comfort more than anything else. Summoning it is like being filled from the soul up with unknowable power, pinpricks of light along each and every nerve. During battle it's as if a current of primordial chaos builds as a wave at the back of his mind and crests over all else, pooling in his temples, keeping him sharp and focused and ruthless. If he lets himself think of Actualization – and he doesn't, if he can absolutely help it – that golden chassis melts down into a thick syrup, seeps down the back of his neck, coats over every bit of pain he's ever felt.
There's no shortage of sensation.
This is a new one.
Like a log being thrown onto a smouldering fire, embers bursting and new flames coming to life. A flare in the back of his head, a warm glow. Contentment, pride.
Maruki startles a bit to feel it, then laughs at himself, fool that he is. ]
It's always with me, even when you can't see it. It felt your gratitude.
[ Maruki doesn't know if Azathoth itself has feelings – the rage they share was born entirely from him, he knows that – but that seemed true enough to say.
And then he gestures for Eren to join him, swings an arm casually over his shoulders as they walk back around to the front of the castle. ]
Come on, we can hang out a bit longer before you finish up your route.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ –at the fuck?? ]
Are you going to pick me up?
no subject
no subject
Ah. Okay. Be gentle, please.
[ And then, sure, he fucking guesses he will step? up?? into Eren's palm??? ]
This is so weird...
no subject
[Sit down, idiot, or you're going to fall as soon as he stands back up.
[Hopefully, Maruki gets the message; either way, Eren will protectively curl his fingers up into a little Takuto Maruki reservoir. He slowly stands up, and Maruki is higher than the trees.]
no subject
Even for as slow as Eren's clearly trying to go, it's still being lifted five meters off the ground. Like a plane taking off, there's no denying how anathema it is to the human condition to suddenly be up in the air.
Maruki laughs, breathless, peeking out over the treeline, over Somnius, and it's–
Hiking with Venat up the cliffside, being told that she'd like to show him the world from on high one day, even higher than this – that such a view would undoubtedly alter his perspective on human life, would aid in his journey, would give him the perspective of the woods that he's been missing for so long in a life spent in the trees.
She wasn't wrong. This is like being at the top of the cliff with her, getting a taste of that ability to see a place in all its splendor of a bird's eye view. It takes his breath away now just as it did then. He has little affection for Somnius on his best days and almost none for it at the moment, but even then, there's no denying the beauty of it from up so high.
He looks to Eren again – much closer now, yikes! – and he's grinning, bright and wide, that exhaustion dropped away for the moment. ]
You must usually be taller than this, right?
[ Another thing he knows because of Venat. Vaeros has a way of sizing things down to suit his needs. And from the stories Eren has told, he's sure that five meters is nothing. ]
rare baby icon for u again
[They won't really be able to continue talking, this way. Part of Eren doesn't mind that - it's easier when he can't, he thinks - but this was, after all, only a demonstration (honestly, it's a lot of energy to waste on something so frivolous, but since things do appear to be more peaceful now...).
[Aside from all that, the worst part hasn't even come yet.
[Eren lets Maruki enjoy the view for a few more minutes before grunting a warning and then setting him gently back down on the ground. After that, the show has one final act. With another oppressive burst of steam, the Attack Titan slumps to the ground, head and limbs hung, limp. There's a fleshy, sickening sound as the nape of the neck splits open, the top half of Eren's body (still fully clothed in the same outfit, for the record) bursting out with a little gasp. Red strips of muscle cling to his face, arms, and legs. He rips his hands out first, using them to tear the rest of the muscle away. With that, he climbs out of the titan and slides off of it. Approaching Maruki again, the carcass rapidly decays, flesh rotting, falling, steaming, then disappearing. It's a slow process. The corpse will probably be here for at least 10 minutes before it completely disappears.]
That's basically it. [Deep red grooves paint strips under Eren's eyes, branching down over his cheeks and behind his ears.] My body can heal itself, too, even in this form. Any injury you can think of, pretty much.
I'M SO BLESSED BABYREN
Oh, so gross. More than ever, Maruki appreciates the simplicity of summoning and dispelling a persona, even one as unsubtle as his. He watches the horror show, mouth slightly agape in the way it wasn't for the Titan's appearance. What a visceral, bloody thing, made even worse once the thing begins to decompose.
Maruki tears his eyes away from it to look at Eren, brows knitting together in sympathetic concern at the marks beneath his eyes. ]
Do those hurt...?
[ Yes, he heard what Eren said about healing. He still has to ask. ]
no subject
They're kind of sore, I guess. I don't really notice much.
no subject
Well, that's good.
[ His question from before still stands. ]
So even with that, you weren't able to defeat the Green Knight, huh... Were you alone in that fight?
[ You think Akechi has told him shit? lmao of course not ]
no subject
I'd rather not talk about that.
no subject
That's okay, I was just curious.
[ He tips his head, evaluates Eren carefully before smiling again. ]
Yeah, alright. Do you want to see what I was going to show you?
no subject
[Eren nods.] Alright. Show me.
can't believe both erens have been subjected to this recently
Even if he has, the connection between the two beyond Akechi and Maruki's shared home may not be obvious at all, because there is nothing similar about the ways they appear.
No blue flames coiling around his legs, licking his face. No dramatic shout of a name. Just his left hand briefly extended before him, his voice quiet and calm, almost fond. ]
Azathoth.
[ The air around them wavers, at first colorlessly like a hot day, then with streaks of green, blue, purple, until an aurora forms around Maruki. It lingers faintly even when Azathoth appears at his side, towering over him. Not quite as tall as the Titan was, but when out in the open air like this, it's almost double Maruki's height.
The mass of tentacles stay docile beneath where it hovers off the ground, the three largest swaying toward Maruki at first – and then, as if sensing that there is nothing that needs to be done for him at the moment, their clawed hands back off.
In the high afternoon sun, Azathoth's body is almost blindingly brilliant and the pulsing glow of its tentacles is subdued, and it stares down at Eren with its neon eyes. There's nothing threatening about its stance, as it clearly knows it isn't in battle and in the presence of a friend at that, but it cuts an imposing figure regardless.
Maruki glances up at it, smiles, presses a hand to the warm golden chassis. ]
I suppose I don't have to ask you to keep this a secret.
no subject
[It's nothing like a titan...]
What...
Or...who?
[Oh--]
No, I. I won't tell.
no subject
Thank you, I appreciate it. And, ah– Azathoth is its name. I know it's a bit of a mouthful...
[ He drops the hand resting on Azathoth's body to gesture vaguely as he speaks. It's fun, because he's still learning what the hell a persona is himself. Explaining it to someone else is probably good practice. ]
It's sort of like... A literal representation of my spirit. Or my will power, rather. I'm still very new to it – it only manifested physically to me right before I arrived here, and I just regained the ability right before– you know, before everything happened.
[ With one last look over at Azathoth, Maruki lifts his hand again, and it dissipates until nothing is left but that aurora – and then, nothing at all.
The Titan's carcass is still decaying behind Eren.
See? Things are much neater this way.
Maruki looks at Eren again and smiles bashfully, shrugs. ]
I didn't want to keep up the ruse around you any longer. You deserved to know the truth.
no subject
[He looks to Maruki.]
What can it do?
Can it keep you safe?
no subject
Sorry– we're secluded, but not entirely safe. I worry about others seeing it.
[ And as for that question... Well. ]
Yes, it can battle. Quite well, as it turns out. It can heal me, or others... I'm sure there's more that it can do. I'm still learning.
[ ..................................... : ) ]
It does keep me safe. I would have easily died against the Green Knight if Azathoth hadn't been so hellbent on protecting me.
no subject
no subject
[ Hands in his pockets now, he looks at Eren with an expression that's plainly open and honest. ]
I value your friendship, Eren. I want you to know these things about me that few do.
no subject
I won't tell anyone.
Tell me anything you want. [There's a pause...] Really. Anything. I can handle it. For you.
I will.
no subject
I can handle it. For you.
And isn't that all there is to it, at the end of the day? For the people you love, you'll handle things that you otherwise couldn't.
He reaches out to clap Eren on the shoulder, laughing, overflowing with gratitude. ]
Thank you. I know that you will. I promise to be honest with you going forward.
[ About.............. most things, anyway. Look, no one in Somnius gets total honesty from him, not even Venat. ]
When I first arrived here, you were so concerned for my ability to defend myself and to fight if needed. Rightly so. I should have taken you up on your offer for training, but I was stubborn, and scared. So... I wanted to show you that you don't need to worry about me when things start to go bad. As it turns out, I can protect myself and fight harder than I knew was possible.
no subject
I didn't show it, though. Not knowing, I should have protected you.
[He should have done a lot of things; should not have done a lot of things.]
I think I probably made a lot of enemies. [There's no real...remorse to his voice, but he doesn't exactly sound happy about it.]
Anyway. Now, I know.
It's good.
[There's a...somewhat wary glance at Maruki, then, but that isn't really who Eren is looking for. He offers a cautious:] Thanks...Azathoth...[He doesn't quite get the pronunciation right, but...]
hehe we can wrap here or on yr reply.... i'm sob....... THEM...............
Maruki feels a lot when it comes to Azathoth. Its absence was as palpable as its presence. A constant, gentle pressure at the back of his mind, the base of his skull – a comfort more than anything else. Summoning it is like being filled from the soul up with unknowable power, pinpricks of light along each and every nerve. During battle it's as if a current of primordial chaos builds as a wave at the back of his mind and crests over all else, pooling in his temples, keeping him sharp and focused and ruthless. If he lets himself think of Actualization – and he doesn't, if he can absolutely help it – that golden chassis melts down into a thick syrup, seeps down the back of his neck, coats over every bit of pain he's ever felt.
There's no shortage of sensation.
This is a new one.
Like a log being thrown onto a smouldering fire, embers bursting and new flames coming to life. A flare in the back of his head, a warm glow. Contentment, pride.
Maruki startles a bit to feel it, then laughs at himself, fool that he is. ]
It's always with me, even when you can't see it. It felt your gratitude.
[ Maruki doesn't know if Azathoth itself has feelings – the rage they share was born entirely from him, he knows that – but that seemed true enough to say.
And then he gestures for Eren to join him, swings an arm casually over his shoulders as they walk back around to the front of the castle. ]
Come on, we can hang out a bit longer before you finish up your route.