(open) ☀️ beach bonfire party

[niwabi]

WHO: Everyone! You and you and yes, YOU!
WHAT: Summer Beach Party
WHEN: June 23rd
WHERE: Solarpeak Beach
WARNINGS: none for now!

BEACH PARTY

The sun is shining, a cool, crisp ocean breeze flutters across the shores of Solarpeak Beach. There's not a single cloud in the sky, the perfect day to have a party! Whether you heard about it through Yoimiya's network post, word of mouth or just happen to stumble onto the festivities, everyone is invited to Ellipsa's scorching hot Beach Bonfire Party! Grab your swimsuits, sun dresses, or whatever you feel the most comfortable in, and join in on the fun.

➤

Gonna Soak Up the Sun

Through the combined efforts of Sisu, Yoimiya, and the many kind volunteers who lent their assistance in setting up the venue, the beach party is here and open to the public! Upon arrival, everyone will be given a choice of colorful, handmade hibiscus leis or bracelets to adorn for the party. They aren't mandatory in the slightest, just a cute little thank-you gift to those who are attending. After receiving a warm welcome from the hosts, you're free to set off and have fun! Meet up with friends or introduce yourself to new people from distant worlds, the party is your oyster. Of course, there will be plenty of other activities to partake in as well. Venture forth to the fun!

Feeling brave and daring? Sitting on top of the ocean is an inflatable balance beam built especially for water jousting. Foam joust poles and life jackets (if you wish to wear one!) will be given to would-be challengers looking to scratch the itch for a fight. The goal is to assert your dominance by knocking adversaries into the water and be the last person standing. Show off your strength and become the champion of the beach!

Perhaps you might be in the mood for a bit of fun in the sand. A large area of the beach is sectioned off for the grand Sandcastle Competition. Solarpeak residents from all across the city are bustling with excitement, flocking in to watch the artists do their magic, so go wild with your creations and give them a good show! Buildings, any kind of sculpture, or even just a basic castle are all accepted, let your imagination run free. You can even drag a buddy in for a helping hand if your work of art requires assistance. For the winner, the grand prize is a summer gift basket filled with goodies for a nice relaxing spa day at home. Tucked away inside the basket are gift cards to various restaurants in Ellipsa. Don't fret if you aren't interested in participating! Anyone is welcome to walk around and marvel at the competitor's creations.

➤

A Feast for All

The hosts are bound and determined to ensure that no one leaves this beach hungry. If you're craving a cold tasty treat to stave off the heat, a bustling shaved ice stall is here to cool down roasting attendees. An endless variety of flavors are available for mixing and matching, waiting to quench your thirst. If you are feeling adventurous, there are a few questionable flavors on the menu such as Bacon, Durian, Jalapeño, Ketchup, Mushroom, Pickle juice and Seaweed. Try them at your risk or if your palette is "hungry" for something more on the "unique" side.

For those who made inquiries about alcohol, special arrangements have been made! A small pop-up bar has been set up for today's joyous occasion. The bar's pride and joy is a variety of summer-themed cocktails but you can also find other basic liquor or non-alcoholic drinks if your tastebuds are craving simplicity. To go alongside the refreshing beverages, food is also provided at this small establishment. Some of the dishes on the menu are: kebabs with a hint of rum, peach bruschetta, spring rolls, fish and chips, crab hush puppies, and a spicy jalapeño popper dip (you can also ask for the ghost pepper version of this dip if you are feeling brave). All the hosts ask is that visitors to the bar be mindful of the people who can't or aren't interested in drinking.

Decorated across the shores of the beach are tables, picnic blankets, and sizzling hot grills for the designated picnic area. In a similar fashion to the potluck that took place a while back, several tables have been set up for those who like to go crazy in the kitchen or wish to advertise their food business by bringing samples to share.

Time flies when so much fun is taking place! As the last light of day begins to fade, the stars come out to brighten up the night sky on this clear summer day. However, just because there's no more sunlight, doesn't mean the party is over. Far from it! There's still lots of excitement to be had for the attendees who wish to stick around for the night festivities.

➤

A Midsummer Night's Glow

On the middle of the beach, a blazing bonfire burns ever so brightly inside a log fire pit. Eat snacks, catch up with friends, meet new people, or get cozy with others should one be feeling touch starved. In need of an icebreaker? A game of truth or dare or telling scary stories makes for a good way to pass the time. Maybe you'll have a fateful encounter and land yourself a date before the night is over.

With a sky full of beautiful stars, a bustling bonfire, and a large open space, the atmosphere is perfect for dancing. The DJ for the evening is the bright and energetic Aimoto Rinku, here to bust out an array of sick beats with her turntable. There's plenty of fun to be had in a group conga line or grab a partner for a slow, romantic bolero, and dance to whatever music piques your interest. A small makeshift stage is also set up for those who wish to sing, Rinku will be more than happy to work with any potential performers. From upbeat EDM to ballads, all types of genres fill the air with music. Let loose, enjoy the melody, and dance the night away!

➤

Festive Mementos

For one of the hosts, summer just isn't the same without fireworks exploding across the sky. To end the evening with a bang, a beautiful barrage of fireworks paints the night sky in various colors and patterns. As a final gift to the attendees, Yoimiya has prepared sparklers for everyone to play with. There are a variety of colors to choose from, pink, red, blue, green, orange, purple, yellow, etc. No matter what color catches your fancy, with a little flick of the wand, all of them appear like twinkling stars sparkling and flickering across the stick.

To end off the light show, fireworks representing each of the seasons burst into the sky. Blue snowflakes for Winter, pink cherry blossoms for spring, a yellow sun for Summer, and red maple leaves for Autumn. After the vibrant display, a final golden ray of light flickers and explodes into a bright, heartwarming message for all of the guests. "Thank you for attending! You are all amazing! Let's have a great time in Ellipsa!"

(OOC: Make your own top levels, mingle and have fun! ♡)

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Comments

[titanscience]

[The mention of a familiar name causes Hange to divert their attention from the Pokemon to the guy in front of her. Hopefully this means that Eren has been making friends, and not enemies...]

Oh. I know Eren. We come from the same "world", so I've known him for a long time!

[Hijikata's thinking would be correct, Eren doesn't necessarily know that his Yamask is a high level, he only said it was a higher level when compared to Hange's fresh-out-of-the-pokeball Sprigatito and suggested that it was not a good idea for them to duke it out.]

You know Eren too?

[PLEASE say he's been behaving himself...]

[mayoninofukucho]

Yeah. We're both summer power holders, so we met at the guild opening.

[Eren has been a very good boy - a quick fire magic learner, a reliable questmate, a good lay. Hijikata slowly starts leading the way back to the party, Tepig in tow, so they can sit in the shade of the umbrella if they want to talk for a while.]

I've known Jean a lot longer, though. We met on Avalon. Did he mention Avalon?

[Hange has to be one of the latest batch of people Jean said arrived from his world, then... but who? Probably not the queen, going purely by vibes.]

Are you also in the Survey Corps back home?

[titanscience]

[Oh.. that sounds like a perfectly normal way of meeting people. Great job, Eren! Hange is honestly pleased that he seems to be making some friends.. though it appears that this guy knows Jean also? Maybe that's how they are acquainted.]

Jean's told me a little about his time there. I knew Mikasa thankfully ended up here with him also, but I didn't know that someone else did. How curious! Were the two of you friends in Avalon? Did you appear here together?

[So many questions! Luckily for Hijikata, mention of the Survey Corps serves as a suitable distraction from trying to unlock the secrets of inter-world travel with your friends.]

Mmm, that's right. I'm the Commander, or rather I was! [Now those duties have been foisted onto Armin! Because of reasons.] I'm Hange! Nice to meet you!

[A friend of Jean and Eren's is a friend of Hange's! Probably.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Jean didn't introduce them to each other in person, but he vented talked about Eren's arrival beforehand. That's why Hijikata was excited to actually meet the famous titan shifter, humanity's only hope (his conjecture, not Jean's words.

So Hange is the Survey Corps' Commander... for a brief moment Hijikata remembers the blond man who took the novice members on their horrible last ride in Levi's memory portal. It's enough to make his smile waver for a second. He sure as hell wouldn't want to be promoted because his Commander went out like that! But regardless, he gladly shakes Hange's hand as they walk through the sand (trying not to think about what that "I was" might imply, because the Survey Corps doesn't seem like an organisation people get to retire from). Perhaps it's for the best if he focuses on the multiverse adventure stuff for the moment.]

It's as you said. We got to know each other well on Avalon. Honestly, it feels like I've known Jean forever. I attended his and Mikasa's wedding; it was really nice. I think both of them got called here together because of a ritual that was part of the ceremony and meant to prevent them from ever getting separated.

[It felt really good to see them so happy on that day... even if Hijikata has somehow never managed to speak with Mikasa one-on-one despite regarding Jean as a little brother figure. She gives off an intimidating aura, okay?]

We all got here at the same time, right in the first batch. Other people we got to know on Avalon are here as well.

[titanscience]

[Yeah, it really isn't the type of position you get to retire from. Unless your name is Keith Shadis I guess in which case you do get to just yolo out. Talk about lame!]

[Hange shakes his hand enthusiastically, and once the two of them reach the shaded area again the former commander plops themself down on a laid out beach towel, the sprigatito curling up to nap in Hange's lap as they peek into the plastic bucket once again just to make sure the little crab friend seems to be doing okay. It still looks quite alive, so success!]

So the two of you must have known each other for some time, if you were present for the wedding. It's odd that so many of you appeared here after coming from the same place.. you weren't a native of Avalon either, were you?

[Just a hunch, from the way Hijikata mentioned it. Calling it 'on Avalon' and not 'my home' or something similar. But they could be wrong! Also, one little tidbit there is also rather interesting...]

Oh? You think the ceremony had something to do with it? [Dismissing it as a coincidence would be easy, but they are currently on a world that beings the dead back to life after all! Nothing is strictly outside the realm of possibility!]

Did the ceremony include something specific, outside of normal marriage vows? A ritual perhaps? Did anyone else from Avalon undertake it too and show up here with their partners? Hey, Hijikata, are you married..?

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata is about to ask what Hange's got in the bucket - after all the pokémon battle took precedence over that earlier -, but the many questions need to be answered first!]

Yeah-- no-- I, I'm not married. And yeah, I'm from yet another world. One of the Earths.

[Luckily he can focus on the wedding magic instead of his messy personal life or the mess that is the multiverse!]

I don't think anyone else got married on Avalon apart from Jean and Mikasa - no otherworlders, I mean. And yes, it was a ritual. The king personally carried it out. Jean and Mikasa got a ribbon wrapped around their hands, then they got pricked so their blood would be in the fabric... and then the ribbon had a spell cast on it that folded it into a rose, and then the rose crystallised.

[One might think that he'd just hang back smoking at a wedding, but he paid attention!! (Also he hopes Hange doesn't suspect that he's just remembering a magical girl anime here...)]

The rose was at the reception after the ceremony, and people could touch it to feel the-- the love between the two. But I didn't do that.

[During the entire explanation his voice became gradually hastier. He didn't realise that it'd be so stressful to talk about this kind of thing even when it's about other people altogether!]

[titanscience]

Earth? That world is popular here, right? When people on the network talk about home worlds, it seems to me that there are several from 'Earth', but too few from our own world here, in comparison..

[But no other marriages? Damn! There goes that theory. For a moment there Hange considered it a real possibility that more people had traversed the worlds due to this special ceremony, and if it were the case they absolutely would have set about attempting to recreate it just in case something happened here and people were shipped off into yet another isekai arc. Imagine dropping that conversation with Levi...]

[Luckily, Hange has no idea what an anime or a magical girl really is so they take Hijikata's explanation at face value, attempting to remember and file away all the little details. They aren't really one for weddings, members of the survey corps generally had to put survival above romance, but Jean and Mikasa likely enjoyed it a lot.]

Seems a little embarrassing, having the people around you "feel" a couple's love... I don't know that I'd want to do something like that. Then again, I don't think I'd ever get married anyway, so problem solved!

[Haha! There are far too many other important things in the world to be invested in! Such as roombas! And crabs! Speaking of, the bucket is back in Hange's lap once again as they take their phone out to snap pictures of their little friend.]

[mayoninofukucho]

That's how I felt!! It would've been invasive, right?

[Even if the happy newlyweds shared the rose freely, he's just too reserved for that sort of thing!]

But as for Earth, it's kind of a dime-a-dozen word. There are multiple ones. What's your world called, anyway?

[He never learned the name of even just the city! Since there is only one, by all appearances, maybe it doesn't have one? Jean did tell him that there are other settlements out there, but he assumes that they're a lot smaller and more vulnerable... which doesn't say much, arguably, given what happened to the walls.

He leans down to also peer into the bucket. A crab... huh. It's nothing special to him, but maybe Hange has an interest in animals. He should perhaps take his leave instead of hovering around, but meeting a person from that shitty world who seems neither as dickish as Levi nor as traumatised as Jean and Eren makes him wonder if he might have a chance of getting some answers to more questions he's been holding on to.]

[titanscience]

Far too invasive! I might have touched it anyway just to see what it's like, but I don't think I'd do it for myself!

[Kids these days! Honestly!]

[Though right after that, Hijikata poses a good question. What is their world called?]

To be honest, I don't know for certain if it had a name. There were several nations, and landmasses that we came to understand are called 'continents', but for the entire world? It must have had one, but with far greater issues at hand it was never a priority to ask.

[There were far too many things to ask of their new friends from Marley, such as why their island was hated, or what aircraft were, and what the fuck is electricity! Who cares about the planet's name at that point?]

[Hange continues to swish the bucket around and observe the crab, but talking about their experiences with the world serves as a sudden reminder that Jean likely doesn't know any of it.]

Hijikata-kun, you're good friends with Jean, right?

The truth is, I come from a time several years in his future when the knowledge of what is outside our walls isn't known to him yet. And for those of us here who experienced those events, we've come to an agreement of sorts not to discuss it with the rest of them. They have no desire to know, and I'm fine with that.

I don't mind answering your questions, but if you go blabbering to him about it, I'm seriously going to come looking for you!

[mayoninofukucho]

[Wow, the titan world doesn't even have a name... what a shithole!! Or maybe the people just don't know it? What the hell happened there? Something just doesn't feel right about it all, and Hijikata thinks back on how both Ellipsa and Prismatica lost many historical records in their respective cataclysmic disasters. Maybe something like that..?

He perks up at the mention of Jean (and finds the -kun honorific strangely easily to accept from Hange... huh). He listens and eventually nods, expression serious. He understands that Jean doesn't want to hear how many more horrible things happened, how many more of his friends and acquaintances died.]

Don't worry. I won't tell him. I won't ask you about specifics about individual people, either.

[Little does he know how jaw-dropping and worldview-changing even the answers to his "general" questions may be! He hesitates for a moment before continuing.]

...

Is it okay if I ask you some questions about titans? There are a few things that really bother me that I don't understand about them.

1/2

[titanscience]

["Is it okay if I ask you some questions about titans?"]

[Hange had been fiddling with their bucket but suddenly their hands freeze to a halt, looking up at their new friend with confusion, as if they somehow didn't hear him correctly.]

[Somebody... interested in titans...]

[HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN......]

Huh...?

You want to know about titans?

2/2

[titanscience]

[The bucket gets shoved back under the shade (it'll be fine, probably) as Hange scoots closer on the sand. And then even closer, because it's better to have these conversations face-to-face! Like, directly face-to-face. Who needs personal space? Move out of the way, Tepig! We're having a moment here!!]

Wh..What do you want to know?

[You can ask ALL of the things, Hijikata. All of them!]

[mayoninofukucho]

[What did he do?! Why do they have to be so close to each other for this?! He automatically leans back a good bit without actually moving from him spot, and his Tepig indeed does wiggle its way out between the two of them to (probably) bother its new cat friend(????) again. Are Hange's eyes really shiny, or is that just a sunlight illusion?]

Well... for a start, why are there titans in the walls? That's just...

[It gives him the creeps!! It's so wrong!]

[titanscience]

[he only brought up the best topic in the history of EVER, that's what!]

[though as for the answer.. hm... well.. if he promises not to spill things to Jean (and if the two of them have been good friends for so long, this Hijikata must be a good and trustworthy guy, right?) why not tell him the things he wants to know?]

When you say the "titans in the walls...?"

[Are we talking about titan-shifters living within the walls, or the actual titans literally insidethe walls? They are two very different things!

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata is definitely a good and trustworthy guy. Just ask Jean! (Please don't ask Levi.)]

The ones built into the walls meant to keep them out. When Eren fought the Female Titan, the innermost wall got damaged, and there were titans inside, right?

[He knows about the other part and he doesn't want to talk about that!! It'd only get his blood pressure up all over again. There's a reason Eren is "Eren", but Annie, whose name he also knows, is "the Female Titan".]

Jean said that the church just told you guys that it's a secret, but what the hell kind of statement is that?!

[titanscience]

[oh so THOSE titans.]

We eventually found out that the walls were made using a titan hardening ability. The reasons why titans were in the walls, was because they formed the walls themselves by using this ability around them.

[Aaaaand there is of course more to that story, such as why and who did it and what if they break out but maybe he will be satisfied with this answer? (Probably not, Hange wouldn't be if the roles were reversed.)]

Back then, Eren eventually managed to master it too. Thanks to him, we were able to patch up holes in the walls and retake the areas we had lost.

[mayoninofukucho]

[The first part does only leave Hijikata with more questions, but he temporarily brightens up as Hange details the humans' achievements in pushing the titans back out of their city.]

Really? You got the invaded territory back? That's... that's great!

[Seriously, this is such a relief!! His voice is warm as he continues.]

Eren is such an asset, isn't he? It has to be hard on him, but he gives everyone hope. He's your Defence Titan!

[titanscience]

We did! [Hange's own expression brightens even further, reminiscing over that time when they finally, finally began to make real progress in humanity's name.]

Before that, I managed to concuct a device using Eren's hardening technique and logs of wood, so we could lure titans in and smash their heads in without anybody needing to fight them directly. It worked really well! That's the Exectioner from Hell for you!!

[Hange still gets excited about it even to this day, thinking back to it and how they managed to clear out all those titans without loss of life!]

[Unfortunately the mention of Eren puts a little dampener on that mood because oh boy. It was certainly hard on Eren, and he definitely did the things he did to protect those around him, but not in the ways that Hijikata must be thinking of.]

...It was hard on him. More than any of us even realised.

[There's obviously more to that story. Hange could elaborate on that... but they choose not to. Hmm!]

But Defence Titan, I can see how that would be a fitting name for him. Everything that Eren did, it was always because he wanted to keep his home and his friends safe.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata likewise brightens up even more. Hange is the first person from that goddamn titan-infested world to actually tell him about something good that happened there, and it's healing. Hearing that they were able to kill titans without putting their lives on the line almost makes him do a little fist pump (he leaves it at an excited clench).

His take-away regarding Eren, given the way Hange's joy momentarily clouds over, is that he must have suffered even more than Hijikata realised. Just how much did he go through..? It must've been worse than hell itself. But it's all the more of a relief that everyone (not everyone, but at least a good chunk of the people Eren cares about the most) are here now, are safe now.]

Jean had already told me that you're really resourceful... have you considered working at the Research Centre?

[Unless that's already the case!

He wants to ask more questions about the wall titans, but the other matter that really gives him pause is bothering him more. He's hesitant to drag down the mood by bringing up one of the worst moments he witnessed - the one from Levi's memory portal -, but he really wants to understand what he saw.]

Another thing I don't get about titans is that... well, when Levi beat the Beast Titan, he wanted to find someone else to inject with something and... eat the titan shifter. I assume that means it'd have turned the other person into a titan, too?

[But there's no way Levi would turn anyone into a titan for good, which means--]

Into a titan shifter, rather? Does the blood of titan shifters turn other people into their kind?

[titanscience]

[Thankfully he did not ask about that obvious shift in mood. While it is true that Eren suffered greatly, it is definitely not in the ways that Hijikata could imagine and that is not a conversation they are willing to enter with a stranger.

It is a blessing that others from their world do not wish to know the future, because they had decided that Eren deserves a second chance here; a happier, less destructive future, one that could be taken away if people were to learn the truth. If people are told the truth, it will only come about if Eren allows it, or speaks of it himself.]

[Onto less depressing topics!]

I saw they had various openings, but right now I'm enjoying the freedom to pick and choose what I do... sometimes I stay there to help out with some research, but I like to take on guild missions with Levi or the others when I need money without having to commit too much.. and more importantly, it means I'm saved from mountains of paperwork every night...

[Their little group of scouts still needs an authority figure from time to time, such as the current ongoing issue with Reiner and his peace treaty, but for the most part Hange is happy to hang up that Commander's mantle for now and just be free to do whatever they want with each waking day. This is true freedom! we're the same, Eren.]

Levi told you about the Beast Titan..?

[Knowing Levi isn't too much of a surprise, being a close friend of Jean, Hijikata likely ran into him at some point just as the two of them have met here on the beach, but Hange's surprised that Levi had been talking to a relative stranger about.. well, anything that didn't involve tea, dust, or shit jokes to be honest!]

Ah, that's more or less correct. Those of us on the island belong to a race of people called 'Eldians'. If you inject the spinal fluid of a titan into an Eldian, they will also transform in to one.. then if a titan eats a titan-shifter, they also consume their power..

[Once again, there is a lot more to that story, but Hange is curious about how much he already knows..]

What else did Levi tell you?

1/2

[mayoninofukucho]

[For better or worse, Hijikata is so biased in Eren's favour, he wouldn't even think of interpreting anyone's mood sinking at the mention of him in any other way than them feeling sad for him!

He nods at Hange's elaboration regarding the Research Centre job option. He understands completely - much as he enjoys his job back home, being the Shinsengumi's Vice-Commander also means being responsible for a shitload of paperwork! For a researcher it's got to be even worse! And he certainly understands the draw of the quests, being a guild adventurer himself. As for why Levi told him about the Beast Titan, though--]

Oh, Levi didn't tell me voluntarily. We got trapped in one of those memory portals.

[He isn't sure if Hange participated in that battle - the memory only showed him Levi, the man who presumably ended up being succeeded by Hange as Commander, and a bunch of new recruits - but it turns out that he luckily doesn't have to elaborate.

He listens intently as Hange explains what's behind that injection which Levi was trying to find a survivor for in that memory. This is actually the first time someone tells him that the walled city is on an island, and suddenly the isolation of the people there from the rest of their world makes a lot more sense - but the rest of what Hange says, the actual answer to his question, only leaves him more confused.]

Eldians..? But you're humans, right? So you have different genes from the rest?

[Hold on, though...]

2/2

[mayoninofukucho]

[Wait a second, wait a second--]

Does... does that mean that a whole bunch of the titans that overran your city... were once people?

[WHAT THE FUCK!!! He's been hating on those monsters since day one; they've had him ready to slice and dice and murder and immolate with utter impunity, what with them eating humans for no reason... and they used to be people?!

Everything he learns about that godforsaken place feels like taking a wrecking ball to the gut. He really, really should just stop asking questions. (He didn't answer Hange's question, but he didn't know about this, for instance!)]

[titanscience]

[Oh.. those damn memory portals. Well if it contained that Beast Titan and talk of injecting someone, it's pretty clear to Hange what kind of memories those were, and they really aren't enthusiastic about digging up all those feelings again (dig what up, they're always there). Their scouts were almost eradicated, Levi had to make an impossible choice, and Hange lost two of the people closest to them as well as an eye. Talk about a shitty day.]

[Given that perspective, the abject horror found in the knowledge that they had been killing people for decades somehow feels like the lighter topic, but the lively air found within Hange's expression finally fades away.]

Mmm, that's right. We found out that Eldians on the continent were often transported to our island and then turned into titans as punishment, though you can likely debate the authenticity of their crimes.

[Victims of persecution for the most part, for not bowing down to their oppressors. Sure the roles may have been reversed in the preceding centuries, but that doesn't matter in the here and now does it?]

I spent most of my time within the Scouts trying to learn what I could from titans. After spending enough time with the ones we used to capture, it became obvious they each had their own personality and traits, even though they couldn't communicate. But the reality was far more grim than and of us realised...

[There had come a time, eventually, when Hange wondered about titans and their connection to humans, especially when the titan shifters began to crop up, but to find out that it was a simple case of innocent people turned against their will...]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata has reached a point where the horror is so overwhelming that he's actually staying calm. All his feelings seem muted, which is probably for the best, because otherwise he might just yell and scream about the sheer awfulness of it all, and him having a temper outburst would be an ill repayment to Hange for patiently explaining all these painful things to him.

The prospect of people being turned into titans as punishment is so beyond the pale, if anything his anti-Marleyan sentiment would be multiplying right now if he had a concept of Marley. As it is, the identity of the Eldians' enemy is still pretty diffuse to him. Speaking of enemies, though...]

Does that mean that Reiner and his allies are Eldians too? But they grew up in enemy territory? I see.

[That makes their motivation in attacking the walled city more understandable, but doesn't change much for him at this point. He's looking at a much larger scale of fucked-up-ness now.]

Can regular titans be turned back into humans in any way other than eating a titan shifter? What makes the shifters different from the others, anyway? Is it just a chance mutation that allows some people to turn back?

[He increasingly feels like he should give Hange a break from his questions already. He sure has a knack for inadvertently ruining people's happy leisure time days!]

[titanscience]

[It is for that very reason that Hange is steering away from laying all the blame on 'Marley'. Firstly because they see it as a bigger problem involving the world as a whole, but secondly because it would unfairly place the blame at the feet of the present Marlean citizens, which then conveniently come up in Hijikata's inquiry.]

..They are. Only those with Eldian blood can become titans. But from what I understood, those who became Warriors and were selected to take on the power of one of the titans were then also bestowed certain privileges that normal Eldian's wouldn't be given. Same goes for their families too.

[It is an important thing to note, because with that information of course anyone would want to sign up for it, if it meant giving your parents or siblings a better life and to not be looked down upon so much.]

[Hange doesn't mind the constant questioning, in a way it's kind of nice to vent about it with someone who wasn't there and to talk about all those frustrations (is this what therapy is??) but they skip over the last line of questioning for now. Hijikata apparently knows Reiner and will likely cross paths with him here (maybe on this very beach) so there are some things that need to be made known.]

I don't know how much Jean has told you about Reiner and his allies, or maybe you heard from someone else. But it is all a culmination of what happens when you teach children that the "island of devils" are the enemy and in completing your mission you are helping to save the world on behalf of a nation that benevolently allows you to exist there.

[That's what it essentially boils down to. Even though he is responsible for his own actions, overall it isn't really Reiner's fault. And considering the amount of forgiveness they are offering Eren, who caused a lot more damage, the same should be extended to Reiner. Alsop, on top of that, Hange just generally feels a pity for him.]

Trust me, nobody comes out of this looking like a saint, myself included. But both Jean and Reiner come from a time where they both believed each other to be enemies. They don't know that they will end up working together, and the reasons behind it.

[Meaning...]

What I'm saying, is don't go gossiping about alright! [It's said rather firmly, but not in a mean manner.] Those kids are already giving me enough trouble, they can be so stubborn, you know! I just want everyone to get along, but we aren't there yet. So you can't talk to Jean about people being alive outside of the walls, and you can't yell at Reiner for breaking them.