singillatim | Hot Potato (party log)

Who: Chloe Frazer & any and all party people!!
What: Harvest Celebrations/Halloween Party/Ruby’s Birthday/Rat Marriage/Big Communal Cooking Party so Chloe doesn't burn down her house
When: October 12
Where: At Chloe’s house on Greene Street

Content Warnings: Food descriptions, probably.
Other Notes: Feel free to make this a mingle and reply to other characters!

Chloe had wondered whether to go through with the harvest party once Lalo had disappeared, but as they say, the show must go on. There's still a lot worth celebrating, and people need something hopeful after the mess last month. Luckily her house had made it through everything all right.

The poster had said to wear a costume, so she's hoping to see a lot of those, and she’d recruited some people to help her put together the menu exactly to Lalo’s specifications, so unfortunately no one is safe from British Potatoes. There are even candles for the birthday cake.

Chloe herself is dressed as a sexy lumberjack, with one of Lalo’s old flannels tied in a knot under her breasts and denim cutoffs made from the jeans Kostya had gotten blood on (shh). She's got a fire roaring, because otherwise she’d freeze.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Reiner looks away, his folded arms tightening a little. His jaw works, explanations considered then abandoned one after the next. How would he go about explaining any of it? How would he put even half of it into words without breaking down here and now?

There were so many factors at play. So much loss. So much death. Even saying the simplest part, that Eren enacted the Rumbling, would require additional explanation. Not just because of how it happened, but because of how Reiner has reacted.

He should hate Eren. He doesn't. He understands Eren, and he can't stop.

"… It's a long story," he finally says, even his voice sounding faintly defeated. "I…"

I don't want to talk about it, he wants to stay. How childish.

"I wouldn't know where to start." True, but far from the whole truth. Reiner looks at Levi again, exhaustion creeping into his gaze. "I don't have a reason to fight you anymore, and every reason not to. That was true back home; it's true here, too."

Levi is aware of the possibility of the Rumbling -- Armin's version of it. He's not really considering the alternatives, because why would he? Eren might be going through his rebellious stage, but he's still on their side.

Right?

Their higher-ups don't seem to think so, but fuck them. Levi isn't going to let them brush off all those sacrifices that went into keeping the kid alive. That was why he'd wanted to do away with Zeke instead, before... before that happened.

Still, he can see that Reiner is uneasy about something. He's bothered by something, and he's dodging the question, which doesn't really give Levi any answers but it does suggest that whatever happened couldn't have been Marleyans' decisive victory.

Will he have better luck pressing Eren? He's not quite sure. But if he and Reiner have something like a truce going on here, he'd rather not fracture it by being stubborn.

"Alright," he says finally. As long as they both keep to it, it should be fine. Which means... Reiner's something of his people now, and that means looking after him at least to some extent. He eyes him for a moment before swiftly changing the subject.

"Do you have a place to stay? Food?"

The questions catch Reiner off guard. He startles slightly, gold eyes widening, the surprise on his features temporarily easing some of his exhaustion. He looks younger when he's surprised. Less like a worn-out Warrior marching toward his grave.

Then he offers a tiny smile—one that shows more in his eyes than on his lips—and nods.

"Yeah, I'm all right. There are plenty of places to sleep here. And people have been pretty generous."

Reiner survived in Paradis as a child, after he and the other Warriors broke through the Wall. Compared to living through an actual famine, this place hasn't been bad.

There's something perhaps a little melancholic to Levi's gaze as he watches years get shaved off of Reiner's face with a mere expression that's not a mask to hide behind.

He thinks of his own squad, the way Reiner seems to fit in with them that much better all of the sudden, yet their expressions had changed a lot over four years, too.

They're all still kids, in some ways. In others, some of them have never have been.

"Good." He considers leaving it at that, but he's not sure how much of the welcome talk Reiner has gotten, so he adds after an awkward pause; "If you run out, there's usually extra at the town hall."

He's one of the people making sure of that, so he feels well within his rights to tell someone else to raid it if they need to.

The town hall. Reiner nods, making a mental note of it. It'll be helpful while he gets his feet under him, figuring out things like what and where is safe to forage.

"I'll check it out." Then, a little quieter: "Thank you, Levi."

Simple words, but sincere ones.

It's worth checking out for many reasons. There's usually spare clothes, and the message board that allows for communication, albeit potentially slower than a mail carrier.

For a moment, he considers giving Reiner an encouraging shoulder pat, but decides that they're not that close, at least not from where he's standing. Still, the start is decent. Instead he nods, a simple noise of acknowledgement following.

Then he turns to continue his search for the newlyweds he's supposed to congratulate.

Hot Potato (party log)

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wrapping up i think!