maskormenacelogs | OPEN | [screams internally]

Entry tags:

OPEN | [screams internally]

WHO: LEVI and OPEN
WHERE: Various locations around Heropa, and residence #28
WHEN: 07/1 - 07/15
WHAT: Catchall for July. Or, the one where Levi goes to a permutation of Hooters and it goes as well you might think.
WARNINGS: Possible canon spoilers but otherwise tbd.
NOTES: Contact mun if interested in a starter!

I. TUESDAY OPEN - A boarding farm outside Heropa

[ Over the weekend when the station had been piled into the poorly air condition conference room to go over the equipment budget and upcoming expectations for the dry season, Levi had been surprised to have been pulled aside by the battalion chief afterward. Expecting some kind of reprimand for one of many instances surrounding his now infamous temper it came as even more of a shock when the chief said that he needed a favor. The battalion chief had been stationed here after a long stint in the New England area sometime shortly after his two adult daughters in college; he was old, the chief. On the cusp of retirement but just shy of filing out which lead him to coming down here.

Levi had absolutely now idea what any of this had to do with him until he went on to explain both his daughters were competitive equestrians sports, and when he had moved he had taken both animals down with him to be boarded locally. It had come to his attention that Levi was adept in horsemanship and would consider it a personal favor if he would go out whenever his schedule allowed to keep the horses active and used to a rider what with the chief getting on his years and his daughters across the country. Not wanting to feel beholden to anyone, especially not his superior Levi said he would do it not as a favor but what would be best for the animals. Privately, he was more than a little excited for the opportunity.

The boarding stables was more a large ranch situated a reasonable distance away from the city. Popular, too he learned because it offered private boarding as well as lessons open to the public whether you owned a horse or not. It was only a hassle to get to only because Levi didn't own a car, or a drivers license for that matter, and the bus only took him so far that he had to walk the last mile. He hadn't learned until after bringing both horses out of the stables however, that both horse and their respective disciplines were as as different as night and day.

Edelweiss was a liver chestnut Hanoverian mare bred for her elegant physique and even temper that made both horse and rider quite a name for themselves in the dressage circuit. Levi had settled to work with her for the day because the other horse was something of a mystery to him. Bruma was a younger gelding and skewbald Appaloosa with a thicker built and powerful legs meant for something called barrel racing who came with the caveat of a saddle setup that left him confused. Western riding was something that left him a little bewildered with how wildly different two disciplines for the same thing could be. Still, he had his riding boots on and both horses eager to be tacked with the entire day ahead of him to explore the sizable tracks of land. Walking Edelweiss out of the stable with tack and harness he considered if his reasonable skill with riding would translate well over to whatever the blessed hell barrel racing was. ]

II. SATURDAY OPEN - The one with the titty bar

[ There had been a large drought fire that afternoon in that risked taking out the whole block and a number of people had their department not intervened in time. When the fire died and the EMTs had leave to move and their station came back to switch shifts smelling like smoke and the wonderful sense of being alive that was when they had finally done it. They convinced Levi to come out with the squad for what had been sold to him as a small celebration for everyone making it out in once piece. They had been running him down for weeks trying to get him to 'loosen up' and stop being so uptight for once to just have a drink with the people he relied on to stay alive. Levi had always brushed them off, but finally agreed when thrown high and lucid by the indescribable feeling of something he had been a part off going off without a hitch.

He quickly learned just what a mistake he had made when they got there sometime around eight that evening. The place was named the Orange Basket, and Levi did not fully understand the name until a woman just out of her teens in an orange crop top that barely held anything together leaned in and asked him what he wanted to drink. Levi wanted to leave, but with Rosales anchoring him to their booth with his too big hands calloused and scarred because his Captain was convinced he could play guitar but couldn't and just sliced his fingers open on the metal strings in the break room every other day was not a man who could not be contested with. Levi ended up with a whiskey and Coke and his eyes firmly set on the table. Things only got worse after Bernal tried to convince one of the girls to kiss 'a real hero'. Levi jumped in to vehemently hiss at them all that it was not 'her fucking job.' Which was apparently that wrong thing to say because the only one she ended up kissing that night was Levi; a fat one just over his right cheekbone. He had no idea what industrial strength lipstick she had been wearing but it had refused to come off completely even after he ran over it when several wet wipes and napkins.

Levi was in hell and just wanted to finish his second whiskey and Coke and slink out before his squad started singing Daddy Yankee again, badly. Because that was all the radio played that could be heard over the game playing on eight flat screens and dominated every wall. For the first time in his life he tried to look as small as possible with his shoulders drawn up tight and his eyes glued to the football game he wasn't really watching. ]

III. NEXT WEDNESDAY CLOSED - Armin bonding time

[ It had been nearly a week until Levi took notice of the fact the small package had been meant for him, and nearly a month later before he started wearing the leather cuff bracelets Armin had gotten for him and listen to the thumb drive for of their usual screaming and political metal fare which he really rather enjoyed. It had been done for him, for him which he learned after checking the calender was, and he still didn't fully grasp the enormity of it: Father's Day. The entire incident left his thoughts upended and muddled for the next few days and not entirely sure how to proceed. Levi was not someone who could say they had a lot of experiences with receiving gifts, or anything like it for that matter. To him it felt like something that had to be repaid; a sort of action that left him beholden to Armin in some way. It was the only way he could rationalize it.

That night while he thumbed the supple crisscrossed leather of the bracelets that engulfed both of his wrists did he come to some kind of conclusion that abated his unshakable disquiet. Sonata Arctica was a metal band he had been positive had for one reason or another slipped by Armin's notice, and one he might enjoy. Swinging by the music store after his shift he purchased a iTunes gift card and the only CD of theirs they had in stock. Finding the house empty that night he reasoned he would just put it somewhere in Armin's room where it would be easy for him to find and leave the whole thing at that.

Armin's room used to have been his room until circumstances brought them into their home and Levi giving it to him rather than being left to the devices of strangers, and worse, Annie and Reiner. The situation had changed over time but Armin didn't move out and Levi had never asked him to. The room was a far cry from how he was when Levi had occupied it. For one, it looked actually lived in. Personalized with posters on the wall, a stereo on a new dresser that could fit the wide-ranging fashion choices of today’s youth even thought half his clothes were in a laundry basket- folded a week ago but had never been put away for a variety of excuses. At least he kept the place clean so Levi didn't pitch a fit there. The most 'Armin' thing about the room was the bookshelf that hadn't been there before and filled on every shelf with just about every non-fictional and fictional subject known to man. Some of them Erwin's, most of them hoarded from local library sales where Armin would come home with packing boxes stuffed with books purchased ridiculously cheap. A lot of them looked creased in the corners and spines, well-read and better cared for books not left to rot on the shelves.

That was where Levi ultimately decided to leave the gift card and CD, and to unconsciously start rummaging through Armin's personal library out of curiosity if nothing else. On the bottom shelf he found a small but sizable collection of colorful little bottles with tall white screw caps and strange names printed on the sides. Levi picked up one at random; it was black and creatively labeled 'oil spill.' He turned it over in his hand then twisted off the cap and took a cursory sniff of whatever was inside before hurriedly twisting it back on and stifling a gag. The smell was chemical and pungent and not at all what Levi expected as he dropped it on the thinly carpeted floor with a low thud. Whatever Armin was doing with something that smelled so bilious Levi wasn't sure he wanted to know. ]

IV. WILDCARD OPEN - Anything for July

[ Open prompt night. Any location around Heropa. ]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Reach out for the light, far beyond confines, you have read the magic lines...

[Armin's singing along with his headphones absently. Shoes off at the door, of course. He toes off his red sneakers, feeling a bit unhappy that they're starting to show signs of wear. He'd never seen anything that looked or felt as clean as the white rubber at the toes of his shoes.

He's lucky to have a job at the library where it's consistently air-conditioned, but even the commute back home is a bit of a humid mess. He can hear someone stirring upstairs, and doesn't think much of it, refilling his water bottle at the sink to take up to his room.]

Fleeing from the light in your mind...

[His heart only drops to his stomach with dread when he realizes Levi's in his room. An inspection? Armin keeps things relatively clean, but he's not used to having so many clothes and sometimes the laundry gets a little ahead of him. He prays Levi hasn't been making a thorough search of the place. Of course there's a banal sort of acceptance of masturbation (and therefore, smut) in the barracks, and Levi could be no stranger to the idea, but there are still certain things he'd rather not have his squad leader know about.

So it's actually sort of a relief to see Levi's looking at his nail polish.]

Sir...?

[ Levi pushed off his knees, sore for how thin the carpet was over hard wood and more solid foundation of concrete. He turns sharp on his heel to see Armin in the doorway of his own room, and still regards his own recruit that inhabited this very room as intruder. Who was he, to invade his own spontaneous inspection, anyway? The face he wore was a mask of invasive inspection and brutal dispassion as he looked Armin once over and again.

He took off his shoes before coming upstairs. At least he had taken something from those years drills and however many more Levi had pounded into him until routine and cleanliness were rendered into instinct. Almost, and so close, Levi had been brought down to something bordering into being impressed. ]

What the hell in this antiseptic smelling shit? [ Levi held up the bottle of nail polish so very not creatively labeled as oil spill black. He wasn't because no noses or furniture was left in pieces to imply he was angry. Only that this was the only way he projected genuine curiosity. ]

[Since arriving to Heropa Armin's acquired a fine dusting of freckles, the product of multiple sunburns and as much time out on the beach in the sun as he can. His posture hasn't changed, even in the loose, civilian clothes he favors.

He is alert, polite, and just glad he's not being taken to task for not having put his laundry away.]

Oh - that's nail polish. You've probably seen people wearing it. Mostly women.

A lot of folks in metal and rock bands like to paint them black, like that - men and women.

[ Levi takes short but encompassing strides across the room until he is practically looming over Armin were it not for the all of three centimeter difference dwarfing him. It was more presence than physicality that allowed him to stand tall against his subordinate. Grabbing his hands and holding them close against what little light the lamp on the nightstand allowed with the closed blinds. His brows furrowed and for whatever reason appeared displeased. ]

The left hand looks blotchy and uneven. Did you do this yourself? It's shit.

[ And then he yanked poor Armin by the wrist because his own dissatisfaction with a job half-done outweighed any personal comfort for his underlings. ]

I'll do it over right now, sir.

[Armin's not the kind of person to make excuses, even if Levi were the type of person to hear them. It's an automatic reaction to simply correct the behavior that so offended Levi, even if said behavior is decorative paint he put on his own body.

Armin pulls his hands away to grab his nail polish remover from the shelf where it sits with his other supplies - and that's when he notices the CD and iTunes card.]

Wait, did are those yours?

No, they're for you.

[ Levi is quick with answer offering all the banal flippancy as if commenting on the weather. Hands tight enough around Armin's wrist with threat to cause discomfort he observed, critical of the jagged nail polish strokes. He ran the hard edge of his thumb in a cursory stroke against one nail trying to peel away the paint. ]

How do I get this off to fix it?

[Erwin had just settled down for the night when he received the text, more accurately what he recognized the distress call from Levi. Even if it was only a few short words, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he began to text Levi back, making him way just for a few moments.]

I'm on my way, Levi. Be patient. [The last part was a comment he couldn't resist before he was up and getting changed. As much as he would comment about it later, he wouldn't ignore the request. He changed into slacks and a polo shirt, taking his time before he was heading down to the restaurant Levi had mentioned in his text. It wasn't difficult to find and he tucked the phone away after sending a text to Levi that he had arrived before stepping inside.]

I have to use some remover... And the cotton balls, right there.

[Apparently Levi isn't letting him go, so Armin sort of indicates his shelf of items (there's also some tubes of makeup) by tilting his head in that direction.] It's the blue bottle.

[ It was very possible the woman was angling for a large tip from literally the only man in the sports bar who had aggressively defended her honot but when she had brought around their second round of wings and beer she stopped in front of Levi. Sandwiched between Bernal and Castillo's weight, fat shoulders her was hard-pressed to resist as their waitress bent down and kissed Levi yet again above of his brow this time, against all of his anguished, flushed squirming. The entire bar cheered and raised their glasses while Levi wished nothing more than to shrink into non-existence.

He had texted Erwin but when one of the truck operators commented on the 'Captain America looking mother fuckers' coming in through the bar area had he desperately wished he had contact Hange instead. She would have been less of a spectacle even if she would have been louder. Hey, Short-stuff is that your dad? one of the rescue operators asked before Levi had time to duck back into his jack and Coke. ]

Edited 2014-07-02 05:51 (UTC)

[ Levi had relented, long enough to drop Armin's now aching hand from his crushing grasp long enough to turn on his heel towards the drawer and rummage through several oddly shaped bottles and compacts of god knew what to find the blue bottle Armin had mentioned. That it had nail polish remover printed across its label was a bit of a help, but Levi was only eager to get that crap job of a manicure off someone he had totted around as the Corps' best brightest to consider the finer details. ]

Got it. [ He snipped with a plastic bag of cotton balls in one hand, nail polish of the same color held between his knuckles, and polish recover in the other. There was desk chair centered off askew from its respective work desk that Levi only just assumed he didn't have to motion Armin towards. ]

[Erwin ignored the distractions around him, the comments around didn't matter if they weren't useful to what he was there for. He doubted Levi was sitting out where he would be easily spotted and it wasn't difficult to spot a hunched over figure with familiar black hair when he passed by a table.

He noticed the smears across his skin, only sparing the waitress an even look before thanking her for her service and that she was no longer needed before his gaze fell back on Levi after a cursory glance at his companions.]

I assume you're ready to come home now, Levi.

[Oh, he would never be forgetting this.]

[ Levi spotted Erwin well before he made it to their booth, the blood flushing out of his face almost with every step the man took. Not knowing if this would have been a fantastic joke to either Erwin or his squad-mates, of if Erwin were really here to take him home the lines across Levi's brow and creases of his eyes deepened. Sharpened as he looked at him levelly like he wasn't smeared across the face with drying alcohol and lipstick. ]

I'm too half in it to call a cab. [ He had half-responded before Rosales yet again had him around the shoulders in his grizzly bear arms, hair and all. Shaking him and laughing. Esé, let's buy the old a round!, they yelled and if these hadn't been the men who had dragged his sorry ass out of the literal inferno he would have been inclined to level them then and there. ]

He's not a drinker, sit your ass down.

[At some point, somewhere along the line, Armin might have thought of a turn of events in his life as strange. He sort of figured it couldn't get stranger than the colossal titan, and then his best friend came back from the dead and could become one. Then he was snatched from death another time, by Reiner, and so on like that. Being imPorted has also been a similar lesson in stretching his beliefs, and then he heard Erwin and Levi getting up to things he never in his life wanted to hear them getting up to.

So Armin is getting pretty good at just accepting reality. Anything can happen at all times, and it's stressful but sometimes it's also kind of a relief, not wasting much energy on incredulity.

Armin opens the window to pre-empt the fumes, and turns the fan on so it will push the smell out of the room. Before sitting down, he opens the CD and places it in the stereo, setting it to play at a reasonable volume.]

Sonata Arctica, huh? Thank you.

[Finally, he sits.]

[Erwin kept his eyes on Levi's face, keeping his expression impassive as if he were back in the military court. He looked just as amused except for the hint of something in his eyes which would be easily missed. He took in the state of Levi's face, if he had any less willpower he wouldn't have been able to resist looking amused.

There would be time to comment on it later.]

I have a cab outside. [His tone left no room for argument before his gaze fell upon Rosales. He wasn't offended by the comment about his age, it simply didn't matter what others would have thought of him. It really changed nothing.]

While your offer is appreciated, we will have to decline. Levi, if you will. [Erwin said simply, to the point. Perhaps Hange would find out about this later, but Erwin would at least spare Levi from most of the embarrassment.]

[ Levi watched Armin moving around the room throwing open windows and flipping on the units, preemptive of the stench Levi could only anticipate as no less pleasant than what ever the hell it was he shellacked pver his fingers to pull those dark, striking colors from his nails. Certainly nothing the fashion forward of the innermost Walls would have considered. ]

Finns don't sing shit about the way of the world, but Reckoning Night is supposed to be one of their best. [ Levi screwed off the cap and the turpentine stench hits him like a wall but he remained largely unaffected after a small shudder before he doused a cotton ball and on bended knee worked off Armin's shoddy paint job from both hands meticulously slow. All the while ignorant to anything he might have been unfortunate enough to catch wind of. ]

This a popular thing for brats to do?

Kind of. There are actually places to have it done professionally, even. [Though again, it's mostly for women.] It's actually kind of soothing, like maintaining your gear. And you can pick different colors to match your clothes. [It's kind of embarrassing to talk about this with Levi, and more so to appear enthusiastic about it, but he can't help it.] Mostly I do my toenails so people can't see if I do a bad job. [Or make rude comments, but that's something else entirely.]

Sounds expensive. [ Levi intoned, neutral but mildly disgusted by the idea as was his nature; he could only think of the perfumed and coiffed elite lords and ladies of the innermost Wall to associate with any idea of paying someone for the upkeep of ones personal appearance. Hard for him to accept the very idea he had born in the gutters, but at the same time within Sina itself and alongside the people he so scorned. Just under their feet, but so far out of their notice. ]

Black is simple, and I'm not touching your nasty ass feet. [ Hands firms around Armin's left before he moved to the right and offered the same quick, sterile cleaning as the other. Both hands smelling of chemicals with fingers red from the rough and quick run through of a decent cleaning Levi seemed at least satisfied with his own handiwork. White twist cap between his teeth he spit it across the room where it landed and bounced over the thing carpet, landing in some darkened corner of the room. He released Armin just long enough to dip the brush tip in the inky black pot careful as any painter before eyeing Armin's hand, brows stitched together. All firm and mindful motions he ran the fine brush over each of Armin's nails. So careful and precise just as he did with hunted eyes and exacting motions as when sought out the nape of a titan's neck. ]

Probably easier if you had one less arm. [ Morbid in everything he said or did it was difficult to say if he had been joking were it not for the slight quirk to his lips before it was gone forever. ]

[ As much as he wanted to run his fist through Rosales's smirking face he passed on every opportunity, many as their were. The man was his captain; his superior, and as much as appearances contradicted the fact remained Levi had tightly controlled and strictly maintained adherence to authority. ]

Don't want to leave the meter running. [ Levi sniped over their jovial protests and raised glasses, but this had been one evening on the town too many and Erwin had being his way out that allowed for no words of drunken demurral. Coat draped over his arm he walked a funerals march out of the bar in Erwin's shadow, very adamant to avoid any glances or riled up calls thrown his way. Once outside he took the moment to breath in deep as if smog choked suburban Florida air was something to get excited over. ]

Shit. It's good to be out of there.

That would make applying it on my own pretty difficult.

[Armin smiles back faintly, watching Levi work and listening to the music. All of this must seem so excessive to someone as straightforward as him, yet here he is. Armin couldn't explain himself if he tried, he simply enjoys the sense of accomplishment he feels when he sees his nails (however shoddily done, they were still better than the last time) and the way it clears his head to focus on a small, repetitive activity. Sometimes, when he finds himself too overwhelmed with tension to even read his beloved books, he does things like this.]

You'd be surprised.

[ The whole statement open-ended made while Levi's thoughts are elsewhere as he busied himself with keeping every drop of polish from falling into the ravines of Armin's cuticles. Several times he resorts to cleaning up his own mistakes with a quick application of removers, but the end results is something even Levi at his most scrupulous and demanding could accept as a job well done. He was not gentle, thumb pressed into the senstive bend of Armin's open palm with finger clenched around the back of his hand to check and then double check the handiwork. ]

I've noticed you're quite the egghead. [ Levi commented as if he speaking on some inconvenient shift in the weather when he, at least, let go of Armin's hand to start on the other. Fingers already soaked through in the stringent, turpentine smell of nail polish removed. ]

There are languages classes at the community center in town I've been attending if you've wanted to put that inflated brain to some use. You and the others could benefit from off all this forbidden knowledge. [ It was not the kindest way of selling such an offer, and the inflection he put on the word forbidden spoke volumes how much energy he exhausted worrying over what and what not prohibited to them but the Wallists. Levi was brutal in his practicality and had been the last among them to take to the streets in joy over all these new opportunities. ]

[ It's quite boring when Connie's at work and unable to join Sasha in another adventure of exploring this land. Now that she's been fired from work and school's out (until summer school, so unfair), Sasha has way more time than she knows what to do with. At the grocery store she heeds Will Graham's warning, buys a couple of fruits and one of those turkey sandwiches, and sets off on her own back to the parking lot she's been visiting a lot recently.

There's no other good place as far as she knows for trying out these superpowers of hers, so it's back to sprinting up the pathway and as soon as she's within closing distance of the dumpster she adjusts her weight, bends her knees slightly and springs into the air. It's difficult to remain physically relaxed without the security of 3DMG strapped to her hips, so her body is more rigid than she means it to be.

Alas, she can already feel her feet being dragged down and her boots hit the pavement with a loud thud, her figure crouched low to keep from falling over. She wobbles a bit and groans loudly in disappointment.

This isn't working. ]

[ Roof hopping at odd hours was becoming something of an unshakeable habit of his that he knew would eventually set the eyes of the enagamtic American government running this imPort dog and pony unfavorable on him. With his status still firmly set as an upstanding Registered member of their little community, Levi didn't much care if he ruffled a few feathers working the kinks out of the new powers they had given him in the first place. As long as he held onto that shred of self-possession then anything else was not something he would be losing any sleep over.

Propeled off of a street lamp and skidding across the gravel lined roof top of a squat little corner grocery store. There is a moment where he assumes the crash below is just some cat that got a little too ambitious with its dumpster diving, that is until he catches the tail end of a very human groan of frustration. Leaned over the edge of the building as if weightless or some kind of especially dour puppet taut on its strings, is Levi, peering down at Sasha with something almost amused buried under all that vexation. ]

The hell is this?

Edited 2014-07-02 10:13 (UTC)

[ She's beginning to regret not bringing out her 3DMG for this again. Her kneecaps sting a little after the impact, so it takes her a second to straighten her legs out. Before she can lean over to begin rubbing that part of her legs, she registers a familiar, but unexpected voice from above that startles her, her back snapping into a straight posture in the presence of her superior officer. ]

... Captain.

[ She swallows, staying put akin to a deer caught in headlights. Or small prey trying and failing to go unnoticed in the open. How long has the Captain been standing there? While she didn't wind up upside down again, it's still unnerving to have Captain Levi's eyes focus directly on her. ]

I'm... practicing, sir.

[Armin flexes his now-sore hand, blowing on his nails appreciatively. He takes some issues with the idea his brain is not being put to use, after all he's being doing everything he can in the last two months to absorb what he can of this world's history and its political situation, not to mention all of the reading about biology and the like he does strictly for "pleasure."]

Of course. It would be great to learn Spanish. As for Eren and Jean and the others, they might need a little convincing to study.

[More than a hint from Armin could provide, in other words.]

I'm sure. The situation must have been dire if you resorted to texting me. [Erwin waited as Levi escaped, only turning away without another word once he was sure he was following him. From a first glance it might have been assumed that he was displeased but if anything, he was rather amused as they got into the cab.

Only when the door was shut and they were on their way did he allow himself the hint of a smirk, reaching out to rub at the lipstick smeared across Levi's temple.] I can't say this shade of red suits you though.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 5

OPEN | [screams internally]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

ii.

no subject

Re: ii.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

( iv. wildcard )

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject