OPEN | the television tells me you're a father to a son

[alofts]

WHO: LEVI and YOU
WHERE: Heropa and Playalinda Beach
WHEN: 04/15 - 04/19
WHAT: The only friendship Levi can make is with his vacuum cleaner. But more importantly, BEACH PARTY
WARNINGS: Possible mentions of serious injury and canon spoilers, TBA.
NOTE: Feel free to make your own starter if you'd prefer! PM this account or contact me if you want to hammer out specifics.

A. TUESDAY RESIDENCE #28 - Meet the roomies

[ Alarms were just another technological caveat to living here Levi was forced to accept. Everything had an alarm: His alarm clock waking him up every morning at five; the beeping of the coffee machine when he made enough for himself and four other residences- three he hadn't even met due to his schedule; the incessant noise the fridge made when he left the door open too long. Day in and day out it was all obnoxious noise cleverly disguised as reminders.

Levi was going through his morning routine of making coffee and rearranging the fridge to correct the disarray five people create over the course of any given day. With the fridge put back into order Levi waited out the coffee machine by pulling the vacuum out of the small closet next to the pantry. It was now only six in the morning and well before any sane person would subject their roommates to the living room space being vacuumed. But that was Levi and he took his spring cleaning seriously. ]

B. WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY WILDCARD - Any prompt

[ Any location around Heropa. ]

C. SATURDAY PLAYALINDA BEACH - Accidental beach party

[ Everything was planned down to the letter since they first decided to see the ocean. Levi put what was left of his paycheck towards what he and Erwin deemed the necessities for any beach excursion: swim trunks, brightly colored and tarp-sized towels, even brighter swim trunks (to spot each other at a distance, Levi explained) a cooler for water, sunglasses, and a giant umbrella Levi nearly fell over himself twice trying to put up.

Sun baking through his thin white t-shirt Levi wore with his offensively yellow and orange swim trunks made appreciating the impossible beauty of this place a little difficult. Toes curling in the warm sand he must have stood on the same stretch of beach for the past half an hour just staring out at water without a horizon- rendered speechless by it. Actually going into the water was another story; he had no idea what salt water would feel like. And while confident in his own physical prowess he never went swimming let along in something with an unpredictable current.

Instead, Levi looked over at Erwin to make a comment about the shrieking of the gulls before he surrendered himself to gravity and fell back into the sand. It was a display of impulsiveness Levi didn't think himself capable of, but he also never thought he would see the ocean either. So why half-ass the experience? Feeling the sun on his face and listening to the waves of high tide rolling over the damp sand, Levi almost didn't care that laying splayed out on the shore was madcap behavior. ]

Comments

C.

[sacrificusdux]

[All he can do when they arrive at the beach is stare for a few long moments. Dressed in bright red swim trunks (he can see the tactical advantage, given they don't have the flare guns here), sunglasses, a plain white t-shirt, and flip flops, the heat of the sun is disregarded for a moment as he stared at the vast expanse of water.

This was an important expedition, on par with those venturing outside the Walls but (hopefully) no one would be troubled by the Titans today. That didn't mean he could forget all those he had sacrificed in order that humanity may someday reach this point, see what they were seeing now.

With that weighing upon him, he helped by spreading out their towels. He would have offered to help with the umbrella but instead settled for resisting the urge to smile as Levi nearly fell over. But once finished, he ventured closer to the water line, tearing his gaze away to look down at Levi. There were no words needed for them to understand how much this moment meant.]

[alofts]

[ Sand and heat irritated the permanent bruising from constant 3DM gear use which cut his sunbathing short. Levi hissed when sand fell down his shirt as he pushed himself on his elbows. Looking up at Erwin there was that silent agreement that the meaning behind this trip wasn't lost on either of them. Their shared respect for what it took, in addition to strange circumstance, to bring them here was almost so sacrosanct it didn't need to be said aloud. ]

I don't know what to put in the report. Besides 'you can't drink the water' and 'it's a shitload of water.'

[sacrificusdux]

I think that would suffice. You can add in something about the weather, perhaps.

[Erwin took a step towards the water, leaning over to pick up a shell. Right now all the sacrifices they had made, the entire Survey Corps had made through the difficult years, were not in vain as they looked out over the water.]

Are you going to see what the water is like? [he asked with a slight grin, that same manic curiosity which had driven him to see what was just beyond the horizon.]

[alofts]

It's too warm for April.

[ Levi pulled on the collar of his shirt in irritation, already feeling sweat pool under his arms and in the small of his back. The sunlight felt unusually brutal and warmer than anything he felt in the middle of summer. ]

Thought about it. [ It was an evasive answer, and even as he watched small children jump headlong into the break he felt like it was a stupid idea. ]

Even you would feel small in all of that water.

[sacrificusdux]

It is, it already feels light summer instead. [It's hotter than he's felt at the height of summer with all the gear, already Erwin can see his skin taking on a rather red color but he thought nothing of it at the moment.]

I wonder how deep it is. [Even the Walls themselves seem suddenly small and insignificant in comparison. Even so, the people around them didn't seem that concerned with rushing headlong into the waves or even going further out.] You're here now though.

[alofts]

I feel like baked shit. [ Every time he turned towards the shore Levi could see the nape of Erwin's neck blossom with an angry red he wouldn't see unless they had spent the entire day outside. In the middle of summer, no less. The heat was beginning to bother him for more reason than one, and now taking refuge under the umbrella seemed more attractive than going for a swim. ]

From what I've heard there are parts of the ocean that are the deepest places on earth. [ There was, he learned, a reason they called 'sea level.' Watching the other beach goers he could see they kept to the shore and never ventured much farther. ]

Maybe we should have brought a book on this so we knew what the hell we're doing at here.

[sacrificusdux]

I brought one with a map of the ocean of the Atlantic Ocean, it's in my bag. [Erwin said, gesturing to where their stuff was laying nearby.] Under the towels.

[It's not like he would go anywhere unprepared, after all. The heat is starting to become uncomfortable but it's a sacrifice he's willing to make. But here they do have the luxury of having water on hand, something that wasn't always possible during training in the summer months.]

c

[smarterthandad]

Mr. Levi, will you watch my stuff? I want to go in the water.

[Valeria Richards isn't acquainted with the concept of dignity, or at least doesn't see how it relates to her. She's wearing a pink and green bathing suit that makes her look like a strawberry--or at least that seems to be the designer's intent--a floppy sun hat decorated with large, primary colored buttons, novelty kiddie sunglasses with heart-shaped frames, and an inflatable horsie ring around her waist.

Most kids can blame that crap on their parents. Val picked it herself.]

[alofts]

[ Levi looked up to see a cartoonish blue horse head with a pink mane and crossed-eyes staring down at him. His weapons dealer was a little blond strawberry trying to push beach bag guard duty on him. That alone should say enough about the strangeness of his situation. ]

Erwin will watch your things. [ Levi sat up and eyed the white foam bleeding over the wet sand and rocking waves with suspicion. It was high tide, and that horsie ring would only keep her above the water. It wasn't going to do anything if the current became too much for her little legs to handle. ]

I'll go with you.

[smarterthandad]

[Levi, she has force field powers, gosh. Which she's failed to mention, leaving him with the responsibility of reading her mind on that score, apparently.]

Well, okay. Do you know how to swim?

[She'll save him if she has to, but she'd really rather not.

Val takes off her hat and tucks her sunglasses inside, depositing the package on Erwin's towel. She doesn't look substantially less ridiculous, though not having heart-shaped glasses on anymore does help a bit.]

[alofts]

Well enough.

[ He lied. Levi has been in water before. Thrown in the lake by a titan or in other situations that were out of his control. It had to count for something, and he was confident in his own physical strength.

Graduating from pulling himself out of the drink after being bodily thrown in to swimming in the ocean was something he could do. Levi approached the shore with a three year in told with the same determination reserved for complex military operations. When he was up to his calves wading into the water he was surprised by how cold it was. ]

Shit, this is freezing.

[smarterthandad]

Water has a high thermal mass and it's only mid-spring.

[Val's only half paying attention to Levi as she splashes right into the breakers. She's much too small not to get knocked over, but that's the entire plan, and her inflatable ring keeps her afloat and giggling as she rides a wave back onto the sand.]

[alofts]

I'll make a note of that.

[ Everything he said was in that same, disinterested monotone, but it lacked any sarcasm. Val had made her staggering intelligence known and Levi wasn't going to question it.

After some hemming and hawing, Levi made the literal plunge and dove into the first oncoming wave. Saltwater stung the inside of his nose and it took no small amount of control not to open his mouth with the urge to breathe while submerged. Gasping when he broke the surface he rubbed his eyes and pushed through the stinging opaqueness clinging to his vision only to see Val drifting away.

Instinctually, he lunged forward and found purchase around the slick plastic of her circular blue horse. After a moment he registered which direction she was going in, and her giggling. ]

You meant to do that?

[smarterthandad]

Don't they have surfing where you're from?

[What Val's doing can't be called surfing or even body-boarding, but she's not strong enough to wrestle with a board in open water, so getting pummeled about close to shore with her horsie ring will have to do.]

Incoming.

[Close on the heels of the wave Levi "rescued" Val from, another breaker is curling over behind him.]

A.

[performance]

[ Between the unfamiliar setting, his usual nocturnal habits, and a double dose of paranoia, Dick had managed to get about an hour of sleep the night before... and he looked it. He squinted miserably at Levi as he came down the stairs, one hand resting on the rail, his hair sticking up at an odd angle on one side. ]

... Good morning?

[alofts]

[ The fringe of his hair held up with a bobby pin and white kerchief the early morning light coming in through the open living room windows highlighted Levi's permanent scowl. Pressing the power button the loud noise of the vacuum was cut off and Levi followed Dick coming down the stairs with his steady gaze. ]

Coffee. [ He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the coffee pot. ]

When it doesn't conflict with work or school the communal areas of the house are cleaned every other day. I started early because I'm nice like that.

[performance]

Nice. Right.

[ He frowned, running a hand through his hair, giving serious consideration to the coffee. ]

Not that I don't appreciate your devotion to spring cleaning, but I was hoping I could get a little more sleep. You know, before school.

[alofts]

[ Levi looked over his shoulder at the clock that hung in pride of place over the living room. ]

It's already six, what time are your classes? [ Tellingly he says 'already' and not 'only.' ]

[performance]

Already? They don't start until eight. I don't need two hours.

[ But he shrugged. Nothing to be done about it now, and he didn't want to make a bad first impression. Maybe his housemate was just... not used to having other people around. Right? ]

It's okay. I'll, uh, have some coffee. That'll help.

[alofts]

Well now you have two hours.

[ Eight was a little ridiculous to start classes in his opinion, but he was far too used to rising at dawn to be impartial. Levi regarded Dick with neutrality, but by all appearances his stare was downright withering. ]

There is a duty roster by the coffee maker; you should write you name in a blank space so we can divvy up chores with a little fairness in mind. [ It wasn't a question. ]

a.

[sciencewhizard]

[ Between being Wally and his mother's housecleaning habits, it shouldn't have bothered him to hear the vacuuming going on, but that was the thing: he was used to that sort of thing from his mother. That, coupled with the knowledge that he wasn't home, caused him to spring awake and fall out of bed with a loud yelp, sheets and all.

The redheaded teenager groaned and began to crawl for the door, not moving from under the cover of the sheets. He reached up and struggled for the handle, before finally reaching it with the tips of his fingers and giving it enough of a tug to open the door.

God help whoever crossed the crawling lump of sheets searching the halls for the source of the vacuuming. ]

that got lost in my inbox I apologize

[alofts]

[ Plug torn out of the wall and the vacuum locked back into a standing position the house was silent again. Levi popped out the dirt bin with the same precise movement executed with using his 3DM before he turned sharp on his heels toward the halls.

He marched down the hall less with a fully awake, conscious awareness of his surrounding and more on an instinctual routine. Trash whatever was ground into the rugs, pull out his laundry, then wake up Erwin. That was a routine because it worked- it was predictable. It took a lot to throw Levi for a loop. Titan shifters in his ranks, his commanding officer losing an arm, a red headed mummy knocking the dust bin out of his hands and breaking the spell that his morning might have gone off without a hitch.

Dead silence as he watched dust and pulverized cereal and god knows what else go into freefall before exploding over the floor, this kid's sheets, his clothes, and fucking everything. Levi watched, Levi considered tabling his personal hang-ups against murder. ]

[sciencewhizard]

[ To add to the unpleasant contact of bumping into someone, Wally could feel the dust and other debris falling over him like a cloud of icky death, and especially getting into his hair. Vain as the teen could be, Wally was having none of that, and in a burst of speed, he shot up to his feet, batting at the grey dust in his hair.

Unfortunately, he should have thought better due to the sheets. Feet getting tangled in those, he flailed around for a second before he fell back right onto his ass with a loud yelp. This was simply not his morning. ]

What the heck- why am I- [ And then, as the final stretches of sleep wore off, he blinked and looked up to see Levi. He let out a nervous laugh. ] Morning?

[alofts]

[ Levi yanked down the handkerchief that spared him dust flying into his mouth that also blurred the display of inhuman speed Wally demonstrated before he tripped of his own fet. ]

Are you fucking deaf, dumb, or both? [ He kicked the dirt bin hard enough to put it out of his warpath without sending it flying. ] Do you always walk around with a sheet over your head and conveniently forget other people occupy your universe?

[sciencewhizard]

[ The sudden bout of swearing assaulted Wally's ears - he wasn't a saint, and he did go to high school, so he was no stranger to language like that. That didn't change the fact that it still managed to be harsh and sent him scooting back a little from the brunet. ]

I fell out of bed and just kinda- Wait, why am I explaining myself to you? [ He suddenly tried to shift off the blame for the mess which was his fault. He gave Levi a bought and suspicious look. ]

Who the heck are you and why are you even vacuuming at the crack of dawn?