riverviewlogs | [semi-open] such a cozy room, the windows are illuminated

who: Eddie Thawne, Cisco Ramon; Rey, Yuri Plisetsky, other guests
what: Eddie and Cisco host a Harvest Festival (Thanksgiving) dinner
when: November 17th
where: Eddie and Cisco's apartment
warnings: none likely, check subject lines

It's been a long day of cleaning the apartment, prepping food and decor, and cooking. So much cooking. The apartment smells like turkey and potatoes and bacon and pie and dozens of other amazing smells. The table is set with enough plates and napkins and silverware for everyone invited and a couple of friends each, and there's a festive pumpkin-and-fall-leaf themed centerpiece that Eddie's particularly fond of. In the background, soft music is playing and the whole atmosphere is warm and cozy.

Eddie himself is dressed in a waistcoat and button-up shirt with a tie, his face a little flushed from spending time over the hot stove and the oven, but he's energetic, upbeat and ready to help Cisco greet guests at the door as they arrive.

Once dinner is set out, it consists of a beautifully roasted turkey, brussels sprouts cooked with bacon, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry jelly, candied yams, warm bread rolls, and whatever other turkey dinner trimming might come to mind. There's coffee and hot chocolate, juice, and wine available for whoever wants to drink it. Best of all, there's pumpkin and apple pie ready for dessert.

Giving thanks out loud is optional, but making new friends definitely isn't.

[OOC: Feel free to throw up a starter for your character or for a certain area or part of the night!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Relaxing doesn't come naturally to Finn, even somewhere seemingly genuinely beyond the First Order's reach.

It's easy not to want to be this moon. It's easy to remember being upset when the orientation support said he must have felt out of place, and all the urgent fear that came from waking up in a new place without anyone that mattered. It's easy to be aware of a city filled with strange people and clothes and food and technology that he had no choice in entering and no choice to leave again right away-- to be wary, rather, to wonder when the other shoe has to drop on anything good about it.

What's easier in this moment is to watch Cisco while he talks. To hear the sincerity bleeding into everything he says. And it's a short recounting of a relatively quiet first meeting, but it says a lot. That Cisco saw someone who looked like she might not be alright, and he couldn't leave her there alone. That he could see enough of the good things about Rey to keep getting to know her. Longer than Finn's had to get to know her, which is weird to keep remembering.

Finn likes Cisco, though. Easy as that. It isn't an active decision he makes to commit himself to-- more like the passive realization of a pre-established fact, a lead he'll be able to follow without too much effort. Cisco is likable. ]

I'm glad. That you met. Rey handles herself alone better than anyone I know, but... it doesn't mean she should have to.

[ She deserves more than that. Finn hesitates for half a second, then: ]

When I met her, she hit me with a stick.

[ Cisco nods; he'd seen how well Rey handles herself, in times of crisis - or, at least, tense moments that might have been crises if things had been different. There's a bravery and toughness in her that Cisco admires. But of course, Finn is right. Cisco glances across the room at where Rey is standing and chatting with Poe. ]

No, she shouldn't have to.

[ He is still looking at her when Finn speaks next, but he whips his head around, expression mingled surprise and delight. Cisco's seen that staff of Rey's, and how willing she is to yield it when surprised. There's delight in his voice as he asks: ]

For real?

[ That went over pretty well with Poe when he heard it, too. Can't blame them.

Finn grins again, shoulders relaxing. ]

Yeah, right in the face. [ It was very stressful at the time and he'd just watched her wreck two would-be thieves. But everything was stressful at the time. This is one of those rare times that something good came out of it. ] Hadn't even said a word to each other yet.

[ Cisco thinks to himself that Finn has a really nice smile; he's glad to see it, wants to encourage Finn to keep talking about this, since it's clearly and fond memory and one that makes him happy. So he lets himself be just as bright and excited as he can be, prompting: ]

Okay, but like, now you know you gotta tell me the rest. You can't just say 'oh yeah she hit me in the face with a giant stick the first time we met' and not give a dude the full scoop.

[ And Cisco even perches himself on the arm of the sofa, looking at Finn expectantly, as if he's settling in for quite the tale. ]

[ This is truly the storytime spirit. ]

The full scoop could get a little complicated, too.

[ He doesn't use it as an avenue to shut down having to tell the story, doesn't tense up-- more as a friendly warning. There could be a rabbit hole of explanations lurking beneath the surface of this. World differences, oddly specific circumstances. Standard fare.

While Finn's more than amenable to talking about how he knows Rey (and possibly Poe) at length, it would feel unfair to charge into those potential tangents point-blank. ]

[ Cisco, sensing the difference - consciously or unconsciously picking up on Finn's body language, on his tone - and eager to learn a little bit more about him. Sure, he could always ask Rey, but then they would end up with him knowing more about Finn without Finn having told him and that's just a weird dynamic Cisco doesn't want to get into. ]

I'm comfortable with complicated. Trust me. It might not look like it, but... I've had my fair share of complicated.

[ Don't even get him started about the time travel, Finn. ]

[ Somewhere across the multiverse, a speedster's ears are burning for reasons they can't define but generally deserve.

Finn gives it a couple of courtesy seconds, just on the off-chance that Cisco decides he's maybe not looking for more shares of complicated than he's had. (He wonders about that. Different world, different rules, different people: there are so many ways things can get complicated even before you take that into account. How complicated is it, to put that tone in someone's voice?)

Then he nods. ]

Okay.

[ He's not sure he can make this sound fun or cool across the board, because living it was mostly confusing and terrifying? But wow. Where's the best starting point. ]

First thing to know is that Poe got into some trouble and had to leave a droid on Jakku. And Rey found the droid. Looked after it. [ A very important distinction. ] I was the one who found Poe. Not sure I can really say I looked after Poe.

Okay, I'm with you so far.

[ It's perhaps a leap, but Cisco is just assuming that the 'trouble' Poe had gotten into probably had something to do with that whole First Order thing Rey had mentioned to him. But she'd seemed pretty reluctant to even mention its name, apart from warning him to watch out for them, so he doesn't ask whether or not that's the case. He's just going to listen, and he can always fill in the gaps later. ]

I'm sure you did your best. Besides... I mean, I only talked to Poe once before but he sounded pretty capable of taking care of himself.

[ He'd pretty much told Cisco he ought to take self-defense classes or something like that; definitely seemed like the kind of guy who could manage in a scrape. ]

So, then what?

[ He's glad Cisco is a smart person. It makes edited storytelling much easier, somehow. ]

Yeah. We stole a ship together. Me and Poe. Trying to get back out of trouble. But we got shot down. All I found was this jacket. [ He gives the front of his jacket a little tug to indicate that it's a specific this and not a general some-jacket-he-found this. ] I thought he was dead, so I took it with me. Just--

[ Good cover from the sun. A good reminder that he did meet Poe Dameron, and Poe Dameron gave him enough of a chance to get out. He wasn't just someone who went down on Jakku and wound up forgotten. Luckily Poe was out there taking care of himself. That was a really nice surprise, which makes telling this story even more easy. It's hard to get from "Poe lost a droid" to "Rey hit me with a stick" without covering some of the middle. ]

Started walking until I found an outpost. That's where Rey wound up, too. [ Droid fully in tow. Finn pulls a face. It's like regret, but a life regret you can fondly look back on sometimes. ] It turns out droids have a great memory for jackets that their owners used to wear.

[ LET THAT BE A LIFE LESSON, CISCO. DON'T MAKE HIS MISTAKES. ]

[ Cisco makes a soft 'ohhh' sound when Finn comes to the end of that story, piecing it together well enough. ]

So the droid tells Rey that's Poe's jacket, and she assumes you stole it from him, or hurt him, or probably both, and hit you with her staff because Rey is Rey.

[ They haven't gotten into all that much trouble together, but Cisco's seen Rey's ferocious streak. He knows how protective she can be, how righteously angry, in the right circumstances. She'd come from a world where niceness, softness, almost always was punished, and still there was some part of her that wanted to look out for others. It was pretty remarkable. Cisco casts a quick glance over to where Rey is, smiling. ]

Well, I'm glad you worked it out in the end. First impressions are bullshit, anyway.

[semi-open] such a cozy room, the windows are illuminated

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