Attack on Holidays

[hometown]

WHO: the Attack on Titan cast and their +1s
WHAT: holiday shenanigans
WHEN: around the Solstice
WHERE: an inn in Stormreach
WARNINGS: tba; please check subject lines



Sometime after a less than stellar conference call, Reiner sends an invitation to everyone from his world. "You're Invited to a Holiday Party," the store-bought invitation reads in swirling seasonally decorated letters. How very fancy!

The invitation specifies three things. Number one: it is a celebration of the holidays. Number two: it is a celebration of a year of a successful non-aggression pact. Number three: everyone is invited to bring a "plus one."

Surely, nothing will go wrong with this plan. Surely!

The party itself takes place at an inn in Stormreach, part of which has been reserved by Reiner. The inn is made of stone and wood, its aesthetic closely resembling buildings in Paradis. There are several spacious rooms available: places for eating, places for mingling, cozy corners for more private conversations, and access to the inn's bar.

• In one of those cozy spaces, one might find a lit candle known as a Candle of True Feelings. In its presence, people understand their feelings better and feel inspired to talk about them. How very curious!
  
  
• Of note: magic supersedes technology in Stormreach. One is far more likely to run across potions and crystals than gaming systems… But that hasn't stopped Reiner from setting up a gaming system in a corner, anyway.
  
  
• If one steps outside for a breath of (cold) fresh air, they'll find themselves close to the clock tower. Local legend claims that those who kiss on top of it are destined to never breakup. However, that legend has not been tested … yet.
  
  
• During the party, a table is filled with various gifts for the "+1s," created by those from Paradis and Marley. The gifts include knitted clothing (scarves, mittens, socks), chocolates, sweet baked goods, and fidget toys made of wood or stone. Feel free to partake, +1s!

Naturally, there is a wide assortment of food—some of which is best described as "ungodly spicy"—with a particular focus on potato-based foods. Also, peaches and pineapples, for Reasons™.

Have fun, and try not to break anything!


( ooc: this is a mingle! top-level, tag around, etc. put any warnings in subject lines, and if a thread heads toward smut, please take it to an inbox or something. ♥ )

Comments

[skyscrapes]

[ That is so much??

Bertholdt keeps his nervous smile in place, even as he tries to follow along with her statements. ]

I know of Evangeline, yes. I haven't been by the zoo, but I want to go and see what kinds of animals they have. You said your parents study animals - are they researchers, veterinarians?

[sunspotted]

Whether through similar foresight, because it's homemade pudding, or because Jean may have dropped a hint about Levi's germophobia, the pudding is actually held in small plastic containers with plastic covering the tops, to keep skin from forming. Similarly, the cookies are individually bagged, each containing three total: two chocolate chip, and one sugar cookie cut to look like a tree and iced green. The icing isn't perfect, but they're much better than his slightly burned attempts the previous year.

He beams slightly at Levi as he approaches them.

"These are them, yes! Feel free to try one, I think someone gathered some spoons over here..."

[roundandaround]

Yeah, they research populations in the wild! I used to move around a lot before we moved to Tiotio Island. I bet you'd have fun at the zoos, there's a couple of them.

[abnormalizes]

She'll happily take that hug. Squeeeeeze.

"You're welcome! I saw it and thought of you instantly."

Marco is a delight, anyone who thinks otherwise can fight her.

[wingbound]

[ Huh. He actually cares about that? Maybe not all between them is lost, after all. ]

So you don't practice in shitty weather, huh? Do monsters prefer sunshine where you're from?

[ He can understand the desire to not get wet and muddy, but he thinks it's important to know how to deal with those situations. You never know when a fight might find you. ]

The simulations can only use what we already know. It doesn't teach how to deal with the unexpected.

[wingbound]

He has no idea who either of those people are, so he'll just hope that this was the last of that particular problem for Evangeline, too.

He glances past her for a moment, as if to make sure they're not overheard.

"Not if they hit his ass with a tranquilizer before he can shift."

There are more conditions to it, of course, like the necessity of a wound on his body, but he isn't going to give away all of the shifters' secrets, even to someone he otherwise trusts.

[abnormalizes]

Evangeline, frankly, doesn't want to know all of her shifter friends' secrets, except in the case that it becomes relevant to her and to keeping them safe.

"Fuck. What was even their problem with you to start with?"

[wingbound]

Levi makes a small noise of acknowledgement. He doesn't know how nice it really was or whether such a compliment is warranted for something as silly as a game, but he appreciates it all the same.

The rest of it has him quirking an eyebrow however. Sure, he did not know Gabi as well as his version back home apparently did, but they'd spent enough time together in Ellipsa for him to know that girl was competitive about everything. Eren was spirited, driven by rage and a sore loser, for sure, but he hasn't come as close to making Levi eat mud as Gabi did, as far as he's concerned.

"Are you saying she hasn't been as competitive with you?"

[wingbound]

How thoughtful! Levi is definitely snatching one of each, then... and then extra ones, because he thinks it sounds like something Erwin might like, too. He inspects the cookies, rather impressed with the icing even if it's not quite shop-window-like.

"Looks very festive," he says, his tone bland as usual though there's a note of warmth in it.

Jean's Friend Marco seems eager to have him try one of the puddings, though, so he scans over the table until he spots the aforementioned spoon pile. He takes one, then procures a napkin from somewhere on his person that smells faintly of disinfectant, and wipes it down before putting it in his plate and carefully peeling the pudding lid open.

"Did you learn this here?" Yes, he at least tries to make conversation while spooning at the dessert.

[wingbound]

"...Long story." Which probably isn't too much of a deterrment, considering they're at a party with time to kill. "I may have broken some of their friends' fingers going off faulty information someone gave me. I did apologize when I realized but I guess it wasn't enough for them."

He shrugs and sips his drink.

[abnormalizes]

"Seriously? All of that over just that?"

...Ppppause.

"Okay, I recognize that to 'normal people' breaking fingers is like, a relatively big offense, but still."

[hometown]

Reiner shrugs. "Competing with Gabi was different." Then, upon a moment of reflection, he amends, "It's probably more accurate to say that I wasn't as competitive with her. I liked to push her, but I also liked to see her win."

With Eren, on the other hand, Reiner has long since stopped holding back.

[rustyhonesty]

Jean chuckles. Both at the eyeroll and what Marco says about their graduation party.

"I don't think I had ever experienced a real, proper party before leaving home. All of the ones I did experience at least pale in comparison."

'All' which total to maybe two or three.

His gaze searches for Evangeline for a while before stopping back at his smoothie again. "I wasn't aware how many of us Evangeline knows. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Considering all the titans.... how disappointed was she everytime she heard someone from their home wasn't a titan, he wonders.

[urtitan]

I couldn't have... not after meeting everybody.

[Of course, it's ironic that she says that, having lived among her people since she was born - and it isn't as though she doesn't cherish those she knows within the Walls, her neighbours and friends and the farmers working the land surrounding her family estate. By and large, the people of the Walls are good people, she believes that whole-heartedly. Even so, the millions of people in the outside world must take priority over them.]

Or maybe I should say, not after hearing about the future. It was... hard to accept at first, but it made me resolve to try my utmost to find a better way forward.

[Her ancestor's will initially made her come up with horrible ways to try and prevent Eren's war, once returned to her own place in the timeline: Destroy the Walls using the wall titans, or else use the Founder's powers to make all Eldians' bodies lethally defective - an active genocide rather than a continued passive wait for the end. But how could she possibly do that? There has to be another way, and even though her suggestion was vetoed, she doesn't want to give up hope that everyone can be saved, somehow.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Of course he cares... he practically got second-hand trauma from witnessing Erwin's death in that goddamn memory portal; he's invested in this reunion!!]

Give me a break! I only train in the VR like five percent of the time, and I do my sword practice and pokémon training outdoors every day regardless of the weather! Besides, it's not like we can reliably prepare for anything unexpected in the real world either!

[Or do you have any special advice beyond "be ready for anything", Levi?]

[wingbound]

"Yeah. I was confused too. Back where I'm from --" And a long time back, if he's being precise. It's been some ten years since he had his fearsome reputation in the Underground, though his reputation topside was fearsome as well. "Well. They would've known better even without an apology."

If they had just taken it, let the whole thing go, several of their friends would still be alive instead of very much not.

"And it's not even a real injury here. There's people who can fix it with a wave of a hand, for fuck's sakes."

Probably. He's not sure what makes it not work, like his knee, but he doubts it would be a problem. Aw, look at him, he's bitching.

[abnormalizes]

"You literally can fix it in ten seconds! I thought these were hardened criminals but apparently they're a bunch of whiny babies."

On second thought, that might be an insult to babies.

[wingbound]

You don't want to see Eren win? he wants to ask, but considering their... history, Levi supposes it makes sense that Reiner might have complicated feelings about that. However many times they have faced off and Eren had slipped through his fingers yet again, often with the Scouts' help.

"I understand," he says instead, a faint fond look in his eyes. "We have met at a fair a few times. She's got a mean pitching arm." He can't even say that he let her win in some of those games, she's a force to be reckoned with all on her own. Of course, it's not like Levi would go particularly serious at a booth game anyway, out of concern of hurting someone if nothing else, but still.

[wingbound]

[ He'll be happy to know that the reunion is going splendidly, then! ]

It's not about preparing some gadgets, it's in the state of mind. You see enough weird shit in the wild, you start adapting to it quicker when it happens.

[ That's the tricky part, though. He can't really teach anyone to think like him, and so, they won't be able to move like he does even if they copy his techniques. ]

Sounds like you're pretty diligent, though.

[ He can acknowledge that the man does seem to be taking his training seriously and committing! Wouldn't want him to push it too far like Jean has, though. Rest is also important. ]

[mayoninofukucho]

[He huffs - damn right he's diligent!]

Don't you worry about my state of mind. I've seen so much shit, nothing can surprise me anymore.

[He probably could have claimed that even if he'd come here fresh from Edo.]

[wingbound]

"Oh, they are. They didn't even go after me themselves, they hired a different gang to do it. Piss-drizzling prissies."

[abnormalizes]

"They outsourced taking a hit out on you? What the fuck is wrong with them?"

ABSOLUTELY an insult to babies.

[wingbound]

I never said I was worried.

[ He was just explaining why the VR is limited and one should engage with the real thing as much as possible! ]

[mayoninofukucho]

Good.

[Is he going to deliberately block out the very real possibility that rather than "I know I don't have to worry about you, Hijikata, you're always on top of your game" Levi meant "I couldn't care less if your pig ass is braced for all eventualities or not"? Believe it.

He should get on with his evening and chat with some of the others - hell, most if not all of them are nicer to him than Levi -, but watching this goddamn cleaning game puts him in such a state of serenity, he's going to stay put. Maybe, they can spend some quality(???) time in companionable silence!]

wrap?

[wingbound]

[ It's definitely more so the latter than the former, though Levi does care a little bit. What happened in the summer hurt Levi's trust -- partially through his own fault though of course he refuses to entertain that thought -- but he doesn't want the guy dead or anything. ]

[ He does still feel oddly comfortable with him around, so companionable silence is more than welcome. If he sticks around long enough, Hijikata might even get another go at the game! ]