bakerstreet | Denny's

Denny's

It's late. Like, 3 AM late. You're hungry as fuck, but nothing is open.

Except Denny's.

RULES

1. Post to the meme.
2. Find somebody to eat with. Figure out why the hell you'd do this to yourself.
3. I don't think they have the Hobbit menu anymore, fuck. Maybe you should ask the waiter or something.

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[ For a man who considers himself an adherent of established rules and regulations, the decision to stop at a Denny's after dispatching the cursed spirit is an incongruity. All the more to sit across from this man — ostensibly a civilian, but when Nanami tracked the curse down to find it attacking him, he also found the man more than holding his own. Despite a lack of cursed energy, he could see the spirit, and moved with the kind of tremendous physicality — agility, speed and strength — that was reminiscent of Zenin Maki's heavenly restriction.

By the rules, he ought to have directed the man to an auxiliary manager and returned, alone, to the school, to make his report and allow the higher ups to decide whether anything further was worth pursuing with this guy.

But — frankly, Nanami had a feeling that if he followed procedure, the guy would be a real pain in the ass about it.

So it is that he watches the man behind his sunglasses, that paranoid (or justifiably cautious) position and odd way of holding the cup. Taking a moment to drink from his glass of beer, he thinks or are we gonna fight about it legitimizes that feeling.

Though he disagrees with the assessment both that he almost got his ass kicked and that he was at any point pissed, he's not possessed of such pride that he's compelled to correct it. ]

Those are unnecessarily limited options. In any case, we should introduce ourselves first.

[levi glowers, not wanting to look in the other man's direction. he might have a point, sure. but after the weird shit he just saw and the fact that he can't get a read on what this guy is actually thinking, he doesn't like the fact that someone has more control over the situation than he does. then there's also the matter of his surname and it feeling weird to even mention since he only recently found out what it was.]

Levi.

[there. easy enough, even if he says it reluctantly. he isn't sure he wants to divulge more than that even if the stare he's getting is very....familiar. that level of imperiousness that used to get under his skin.]

Your turn. I could call you Four-Eyes, but I already got one of those. Be glad you got me and not them or they'd be patting you down for that thing's blood samples.

[levi isn't an idiot - this guy fights like he has some sort of background and knows what he's doing. he's not military, but there's some sort of organization in charge of cleaning up after what just happened. right now, he just wants to understand. the more he knows, the easier these people will be to avoid.]

[ At a "normal" social meal, the man's—Levi's—demeanor could be considered rude to the point of chafing irritation. Granted that Nanami has had essentially zero meals or prolonged, social interaction with civilians since returning to the world of sorcery, and as such, when he occasionally does take a meal with another person, it's another sorcerer. Regardless, this cannot be called a normal situation. New exposure to cursed spirits would naturally raise any number of emotions, particularly if that exposure was a direct attack. Nanami cannot and does not fault his bad mood.

All in all, Levi's taking it pretty well, even with his (equally understandable) impatience for an explanation. That, combined with the ability he displayed against the curse, suggests combat experience. Speculation as to what kind and how gained can wait.

It might be a technically impolite omission, and disagreeable for him to use what sounds like a given name, but Nanami doesn't bother pushing. Though he recognizes the potential utility of gathering his own information should there be more to this, it's plain that it would be a pointless exercise. ]

Do you usually resort to unimaginative nicknames upon meeting a stranger? Rather, I think we'd both be happier if I'd gotten neither of you.

[ Blasé, but he does take note: a companion with glasses with seemingly scientific interest in abnormalities. To the point, then: ]

Nanami Kento. That thing was a cursed spirit.

Edited (admission is in the context nearly the opposite of omission . . .) 2022-08-19 01:04 (UTC)

[okay, that gets a tiny smirk out of him. you might be more interesting than levi originally thought, nanami. interesting name. sounds vaguely like it's from hizuru, but he'll wait and see.]

Can't say as though I'm too happy about it either, but it is what it is and we didn't wind up getting turned into monster shit. I'll take it for what it is. As for the nickname, chalk it up to limited education and getting slapped upside the head one too many times.

[it's the truth - between his upbringing or lack there of and dealing with titans, levi wasn't recruited for his clever nicknames or outstanding social skills. clearly, this guy knows that. as they size each other up, he glances at nanami out of the corner of his eye.]

You mean like a ghost?

[growing up, levi had never scared too easily, so ghost stories were often lost on him. the reality of life was always scarier no matter what bullshit furlan fed isabel after lights out and the brats trying to scare each other was always just that. if there were such thing as ghosts, then he was pretty sure he would've seen one by now. he snorts, the sound more self-deprecating than anything else.]

I take it wasn't supposed to see that in the first place.

[ No, he's probably even less interesting than Levi originally thought. He's also indifferent as to that impression and what the man ultimately concludes, in no small part because this will likely be the only time they speak, but his shift in expression is welcome enough. Nanami may not fault whatever mood comes of being thrust into this shit, but he naturally favors improvement.

That pragmatism, too, he can appreciate. Surviving another day without becoming curse food is often the best one can ask for. ]

Those would be better excuses if you were still a kid.

[ Levi may not be the tallest guy around, but he's clearly an adult. Still — not really caring about the nickname, the frequency with which the guy uses them, or whatever in his past contributed to it, Nanami dips a french fry in ketchup, pops the whole of it into his mouth, chews, swallows, and answers: ]

Rather than supposed to or not supposed to, the vast majority of people can't. When alerted to a cursed spirit and, particularly, during an exorcism, jujutsu sorcerers do have procedures to contain and block the area from civilian reach. Realistically, it isn't always possible or practical to get everyone out before doing so. You were caught behind the curtain. Sorry.

[ A distinct lack of emotion in that apology, but it isn't insincere. More beer, then addressing the former question, and with it, the edge to that snort. ]

"Ghost" is probably the simplest comparable concept, but we don't understand many, even most, curses to be the remnants of those who have passed. Instead, they are the result of the accumulation of negative energy. Generally speaking, the more people, the more negative emotion, the more likely that cursed spirits will manifest. It may sound too fantastic to believe, but whether you not you believe it, you experienced it.

[ Nothing derisive or impatient in that, no criticism for expected skepticism. Nanami speaks matter-of-factly, lifting a sandwich half as he lets this part of the explanation percolate. ]

[the ultimate indifference is fortunately mutual, which is good. they can figure each other out with little to no bullshit involved. levi prefers things that way. and if nanami thinks some kind of monster is gonna scare him off in the first place, then he'd be wrong. people are always worse...well, aside from one other thing.

levi just shrugs.]

Been mistaken for one a couple times. Worst part of that is dealing with clowns.

[he's only half-joking - that is the scariest thing he can think of. no titan or apparent curse could come close. as he mulls over what he's being told, he just stares down at the teacup in his hand.]

No point in apologizing for something outta your control - wrong place, wrong time. But since getting people outta trouble and doing the fighting is usually my job, I figured it'd be pretty shitty to just let you fight something that ugly alone.

[there isn't a lot of inflection in his voice either. it's just a matter of fact. he's seen so many people die over the years that it's always preferable to make sure that doesn't happen.]

You'd be surprised what I could believe. It makes sense even if I like it about as much as getting a tooth knocked out. That being said...that kid you were with. He make it out?

[he just takes a sip of his tea. negative emotion? shit. he better not be seeing these things everywhere now. they would've been everywhere in the area he grew up in.]

[ Believing that people are worse is, in this context, rather appropriate, given that the negativity and distress of humans are what lead to curses. One sorcerer-cum-curse user of particular note had taken that blame to a logical, if terrible extreme, advocating for the eradication of all non-sorcerers, thereby preventing curses from manifesting.

In any case, Nanami saw clearly in the thick of it that Levi wasn't afraid. Rather than scared off, he simply doesn't want to involve a non-sorcerer. Even if said non-sorcerer near-accomplishes the arguably impossible — the mental image of clowns treating this guy like a kid needing cheering up is, even for Nanami Kento and entirely despite himself, enough to make the corner of his mouth twitch toward a smile.

Vanishingly minimal, but it's there. ]

Shitty or not, it would have been smarter. You moved in a way that suggested experience fighting something nonhuman and with confidence that was plainly well-founded. But, you didn't know what you were fighting. It isn't possible to exorcise a curse without using cursed energy.

[ Also notable: Levi hadn't gotten in his way.

It is a potentially noble sentiment, not wanting to leave him to it, little though Nanami suspects either of them has time for nobility. If not nobility, then Nanami would relate too well: too much death.

As for what he can believe, Nanami isn't surprised, and shouldn't have assumed. Not when he's already assumed too much from what he observed of his skill. It's a hell of a leap to read non-human opponents in the moves of someone who'd never seen a curse before, but Nanami's been in his "profession" and worked with other sorcerers for years now. He knows what it looks like to fight a man, and what it looks like to fight something else entirely. ]

Relatively unharmed. Thank you for that assistance.

[ Nanami may not be quick to thank him for stepping in for himself, but Itadori warranted it. ]

Edited (not so sneakily "eradicates" subject line) 2022-08-25 04:43 (UTC)

[levi just shrugs. the problem with this guy is that he makes everything his responsibility. admirable, but probably just as stupid since an army of one only has so much of a shelf life. then again, levi knows that scouts aren't exactly meant to think when it comes right down to it. if his suspicions are correct, sorcerers seem just as disposable to their higher up's since their people lock them in with the monsters.]

Look, if you wanna lecture me, fine, but I kinda got that much when I cut its...whatever that was and barely did anything to it. I'm not gonna insist I'm on the same level as you when I know better, but it wasn't like there was much time to think. And I'm not too big on weighing options for too long.

[to say 'too much death' was an understatement, but nanami seems to get it even if he isn't saying it. people being threatened has always been enough for levi. it...was like all the other times. when he has to fight, something else just takes over. cursed or not, it's never been easy to ignore. but since he hadn't been given an order, not only does it make the rumors complete and total bullshit, but apparently useless in the face of shitty human emotion. good to know.]

Don't worry about it. I got brats too. [he takes a sip of tea, glancing over. it's good to see nanami cares about somebody, he guesses.] Not mine, but...

[eh, close enough.]

So is the meat cleaver a personal choice or are they standard issue?

Edited (Gotta keep it clean, after all!) 2022-08-26 07:28 (UTC)

[ Not everything. Being assigned a mission, beginning that work, those external factors made the exorcism his responsibility. To his mind, it wasn't a matter of personal onus, something deep-seated and intrinsic. He resists that kind of thing — or believes he does. The mind isn't always the most familiar with the heart, particularly when it's in the long business of restraining it.

Regardless, whether or not sorcerers (or scouts) think doesn't matter, if they are, indeed, ultimately disposal. There is someone in his world who means to change that, who's begun to surround himself with those as capable.

Nanami isn't that person. He tightens his tie, or takes it off as appropriate, and gets the job done. That's all. Relatedly: ]

I'm not interested in lecturing you —

[ — only, he can hear it now. That he'd definitely been lecturing him. Accumulated habit from the kids and not a few of the adults he works with. ]

— but I may have overexplained. You read the situation well.

[ More concession, not at all praise, but also not a bit of criticism.

His brow quirks, just so, above his sunglasses. Which are odd enough looking outdoors, but all the more unusual inside the Denny's. He doubts he has to say it, and so doesn't, but — of course Itadori wasn't his, either. ]

Personal choice. I don't require a tool for my technique, but the type of tool naturally affects the product.

[concession is fine with levi. he doesn't think much of all the ass kissing and hero worship that seems to follow him around and it's a relief to meet someone who thinks he's just some stupid grunt. it's much easier that way. and he also can't say it sucks to learn more about the way someone else fights. whether it's for humanity or selfish reasons, none of that really matters either. if you fight and fuck up, you die. they both understand that.]

Makes sense. So the glowy shit is all you then.

[between him and mikasa, he's seen roof tiles break. floorboards. other people's bones. with the right motivation, the number or size of the enemy doesn't matter. but he's never seen a single man do something the way nanami has. it's impressive...and kinda fucking terrifying, but a man does what he has to do. it's respectable.]

You got one nasty right cross. Guess I better avoid pissing you off.

[he glances at the other man with a faint amount of humor in his eye. he doesn't smile, but it's there...sorta.]

Though if your people every figure out how to fight aerially, I don't make many promises.

[so okay, he's joking...slightly. this is why hange handles the social situations.]

[ Because Levi had been able to see the cursed spirit despite seeming to possess low cursed energy himself, it isn't surprising that he'd also perceived the concentrated increase in Nanami's energy, the so-called "glowy shit". It isn't surprising in this insular context, but remains puzzling in the broader picture.

With this man, there seems to be a gap. Nanami doesn't like to think of people as puzzles, with pieces to collect and shift, trying to slot this and that together to make a whole the prying person can draw their own meaning from. It's trite, a cliche, and unbearably nosy. Nanami isn't a man of that kind of personal curiosity.

Unfortunately, this gap cannot be left at personal curiosity. That agility, movements that suggested experience with more than human opponents, blasé acceptance of the grotesque supernatural and humans who seemed to glow — Nanami also isn't the kind of man to jump to conclusions, but whatever his own preference, he's compelled to hold a measure of professional curiosity.

Professional wariness, too. Both of which he keeps neatly separate from a stolid appreciation of Levi's attitude. ]

No, pissing me off is irrelevant.

[ From the even, matter-of-fact way he says it and his obscured eyes, one would be hard-pressed to identify whether or not he's also amused. Only just and sort of.

But, (to his mind) it's true. He only fights "on the clock," so to speak, and while working, it's his principle to keep emotion out of it. The only circumstance in which Nanami would turn that right cross on Levi, would be if he turned out to be a curse user and actively attacked civilians. ]

A few of us can.

[ Fight aerially — most being sorcerers far more impressive than him, including the man seeking reform. It might have been a joke, but here, an opportunity for due diligence in accordance with that professional curiosity. After another swig of beer, ]

However, it sounds as though you have something specific in mind by fighting aerially, and that your people have figured it out. Judging by your unfamiliarity with cursed energy, is it right that you use tools to do it?

[levi snorts at the blunt statement, half-amused. nanami seems like an okay guy, but he knows that this whole situation just has to have the guy squirming. and he accepts that - it's not within the plan and loose ends are rarely safe to have. the good news is, levi is content to deal with his variety of monsters in the future and leave curses to the people here. though...if he starts seeing curses back home, he's more than willing to just let a titan eat him at that point. there isn't enough soap in all of paradis to scrub off the feeling that having to deal with curses all the time is sure to bring.]

That's what guys like you always say. Then whomever you hit wakes up in the trash behind a tavern somewhere.

[so okay, he's messing with the guy a little bit...he can't help it. the last blonde with a stick up his ass that he knew didn't crack a smile too much either and there's no chance of that now. and levi sure as hell isn't gonna do it.

he nods quietly at the question.]

Yep. We didn't think we'd be fighting anything, so we left the gear off this time. Though to most of you, ODM straps probably would get some weird looks. [he sets the teacup down.] Like we're into something.

[even the people in the survey corp admit as much - that part's never been a secret.]

But with no place to refuel, it's just as well. Don't think you want a bunch of dumbass kids thinking they gotta prove something dropping outta the sky while you're trying to work.

[ Despite not infrequent accusations of having no sense of humor, Nanami can recognize a joke. And he certainly knows when he's being messed with, as the prime accuser delights in giving him (and everyone in his vicinity) a hard time. At least here, it's nearly a shared joke. Nearly, because of course, Nanami refrains from having a sense of humor.

Again his brow quirks, eyebrows lifting more distinctly above his sunglasses. ]

I doubt we've known each other long enough for you to accurately categorize "guys like me". Rather, I don't want to know why our short acquaintance has lead you to believe I'm the kind of man who would get into a petty quarrel and toss my opponent into a dumpster.

[ Deadpanned for a subject altogether less important, and considerably more silly, than Levi's combat experience. ODM straps mean nothing to Nanami, and describing them vaguely as earning weird looks and giving the impression of some kind of deviance isn't helpful. His mental image is muddled, even as he tries to connect leather straps to an elevating device — grapplehooks, ziplines? Machinery of some kind that required fuel, but must be portable —

Even if he had a better imagination, Nanami suspects it would be useless trying to picture it without a better visual or actual demonstration. He stops trying. ]

That would be inconvenient at best, a pain in the ass at neutral, and a disaster at worst.

[ It seems as though they both agree it should be prevented. But what Nanami thinks won't matter, if the higher ups learn of this avenue, if there is the possibility that Levi's kids could hold their own against cursed spirits, could exorcise them. They may be short-staffed, but the last thing Nanami wants is more kids getting caught up in this shit. It isn't his call, but hell, for all his adherence to regulation, he'd kept the secret of Itadori's survival when entrusted with his safekeeping. ]

Further, most cursed spirits aren't large enough to warrant aerodynamic combat.

[levi was adamant about not being the one to mess around smiling, but okay, nanami. the fact that this guy has even less tolerance for nonsense than levi himself is mildly funny for some reason. it's so strong that it got the ultimate pessimist to faintly crack a smirk for a fraction of a second. and that alone is a special feat.]

You protest pretty hard there, but okay. Fruit stands or bakery windows then. That classier for you?

[somehow he gets the feeling that's even more sacred, but either way nothing is meant by it really. he can see the guy's brain going into overdrive just by the hard line his mouth tends to set. being unable to see his eye doesn't change much of that.]

It's a mechanism that fits around the waist and thighs. Two blades attached to cables in each hand and each blade handle has the accelerator. One squeeze and the mechanism deploys wires we use to hook into our surroundings when we move. The full body harness just helps distribute the weight is all. And the blades aren't much good for cutting anything other than the titans themselves.

[he raises an eyebrow. not as big as titans huh?]

Not for nothing, but I'll say that's probably a good thing. The little one was ugly enough. Pretty sure they'd only get worse if they grew.

[ That smirk, however ephemeral and fractional, doesn't go unnoticed. Little though they know one another, Nanami has the idea that, even without the idiosyncratic circumstances, it isn't a frequent expression for the man. He doesn't feel any particular sense of accomplishment, instead taking another drink, which just happens to hide or otherwise occupy his mouth.

Unfortunately, that's the last of the glass, which he sets down closer to the edge of the table. ]

If you think it's classy to throw someone through a bakery window, then I don't want to know what you think is trashy.

[ A bakery is, indeed, even more sacred. Not enough for him to speak with any severity against what is still an obvious joke.

As for the description of the ODM straps, it's not bad. He doesn't have a clear picture yet, because it remains so strange a concept that even with the loose pieces assembled, the whole eludes, but ideally, he won't need to know more or to get a look at them. Just as, ideally, Levi won't be troubled again by cursed spirits. ]

Some do.

[ Get worse when larger. ]

Titans — between your conversation, the design of those ODM straps, and the name itself, I assume they're behemoths.

[ And if unrelated to cursed spirits, then what the hell were they? More importantly, where the hell were they? ]

[don't worry, nanami. your secret's safe. levi definitely didn't notice that thing you did with your mouth there and he didn't just do the exact same thing. and since he hates talking to most people, it's not like it'll ever come up in conversation. polite or otherwise.]

Don't really like seeing tea shops get vandalized, but shit happens.

[so it's a half-truth...and more like a whole truth. he's pretty particular about that and only that in terms of what he holds sacred, so...moving on.

he still winces slightly at the idea of that disgusting squirmy bastard they fought getting any bigger.]

Yeah...the biggest we got on record is about sixty meters. Give or take since the steam it puts out melts everything including its own body.

[he fidgets only slightly thinking about it. who carries the colossal now and who could've had it doesn't matter anymore. no regrets.]

Still not as bad as the mindless ones that grab and eat whomever runs the slowest.

[ Clearly, men such as them have mouths that lack the requisite muscle structure to produce that sort of curvature (but sufficient structure for its inverse). Biological, genetic. Whether an evolutionary advantage or disadvantage remains to be seen. ...in fact, it doesn't rise to such an absurd level of denial, but as as matter of course, his principle of managing himself and any feeling results contributes to his general lack of expression.

But shit happens, even to tea shops cafes. He won't argue with that kind of fundamental truth — except that, of course, he'd never choose to be the vandal.

Sixty meters disrupts the placidity of his countenance, though much of the change is in his eyes, wide behind shaded lenses and the thick, blocking frames. Much, but not all, because his brow also furrows, lining, creasing. Steam output doesn't make sense to him yet, except that if it melts the body, that might suggest that the body isn't able to sustain that size — or that might be a result of injury or death, a defense mechanism that it couldn't defend against.

Mindless monsters eating the hapless and less capable, however, is standard enough for curses. ]

We haven't recorded anything close to that big. If the biggest on record is sixty meters, what's the average? Here, mindless creatures that feed reflexively on humans are more common and far outnumber those with forethought. Are yours also the majority?

[managing emotions is never a bad policy. being hard to read can only help when dealing with people - soldiers, civilians, or otherwise. and in worse times, forcing the emotion down deep where it can't hurt anyone or get in the way is often the only way to survive the ordeal. feeling too much can cause someone to make mistakes. or overlook something. and levi knows he's guilty of both. something tells him this nanami's been through similar things, so he's willing to go with biological advancement. not that he'd get decent marks in any science class with his third grade reading level and ten word vocabulary.

noting the concern in the other man's facial muscles, he just shrugs. that news generally tends to upset people. or it used to. he vaguely remembers a time where nobody knew about the colossal titan and fuck, those passed for better times.]

Pretty much. The regular titans can range from about two to fifteen meters with a couple exceptions once in a while. They're big. Stupid. Easy to take out so long as there ain't more than one. It's the goddamn abnormals you gotta worry about. You got curses that show any kind of intelligence?

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Denny's

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ruins clean thread to say ... work sucks, i understand if this is too late!

no such thing as too late! but lol, work IS shit

it DO be like that

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