trainingwings | (no subject)

Player Name: juli
Are you new?: Yyyyyep!
Character Name: armin arlert
Character Fandom: shingeki no kyojin ( tentative canon point is c51 )

action;

( armin wonders what the catch is.

see: a place like this is almost incomprehensible in comparison to the world he comes from. but more importantly, it's a place where everything is free. he grew up with careful rationing, he knows how hard it is to sustain a population with the limited amount of farm space and resources that humanity had left. after the walls were breached, he saw human greed and practicality in action. his parents and grandfather were essentially culled to keep the rest of them alive. so a place like this, with no restrictions on food and goods? it's unthinkable.

this kind of prosperity is suspicious in itself. it's starting to feel like they're cows being fattened up for slaughter. and armin has really no doubts that they are.

he retrieves his clothing from the shops but doesn't don the uniform, thinking that it's probably best to keep a low profile for the moment. until he knows how to proceed. the lack of the familiar weight of his 3D gear on his hips is also strange, but necessary. for now, he wanders, and it seems like he's doing so aimlessly when he's carefully watching everything he can, filing away details for later use. )

network; audio

( despite being kidnapped, and despite the horrifying rumors he's heard around town so far, armin's voice is very calm and polite when he addresses the city. )

Hello. Since I'm new here, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to answer a few questions.

( the journal thing is interesting. it's a combination of a familiar object and technology that he's never dreamed of. he'll study it in-depth, later. )

Are there rules against leaving the village? And has anyone seen what's beyond this place?

( a slight pause, like he's deliberating the next part of this post -- )

Mikasa. Eren. If you're here, let me know.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He's fine with the shift in topic. While he no longer tries to bury the reality of Marco's death - when he can see his friend every day, living and breathing - like some secret he pretends not to know, that doesn't mean he wants to fling it around in open conversation.

And a strange question is normal in a strange place. He knows why Armin needs to ask.]

I was with you, actually. We were summoned to testify about what happened in Stohess-- [He doesn't use Annie's name, or the words Female Titan.] --but when we got there, we were turned away.

That...was a long time ago, for me.

( he's seen hell since then. he's trying not to reflect upon the fact that hannes is dead, along with countless others. )

[A long time ago. Even though Armin hardly looks any older.]

Oh... [Which is the lamest thing he could possibly say, but he's afraid to ask any of questions that rapidly unfold in his mind. He might not like the answers.]

How...how is everything? [And the lamest question he could possibly ask.]

Our friends are alive. ( he leaves out the information about mikasa's shattered ribcage, because there's nothing that they can do about that here in this situation, and he has to have faith that eren will take care of her. or that the rumors are true, and the stopping of time is possible by the people who run this place. ) You, Mikasa, Connie, Christa, Eren and Sasha are all fine.

( armin doesn't mention reiner or bert, either. )

[Reiner. Bertolt. Ymir. Names conspicuous in their absence. Does he ask? What more can Armin give him than they're gone? He doesn't want the details. He doesn't want to be able to see it.

Instead, after a long pause, he focuses on who remains.]

That's...good. [It could always be worse. He's still alive, somehow. He doesn't prod Armin for more yet. He just waits for him to fill in more gaps in his own time.]

I haven't heard great things about this place.

( nothing more is said about reiner and the others. armin's still processing their betrayal. annie's, he saw coming a long time ago. but it's difficult to differentiate the reiner who always tried to help him out during training with the mass murderer intent on kidnapping his best friend.

speaking of kidnappings, this seems like the bigger priority right now. they can't change the situation back home from here. it makes more sense to compartmentalize. )

Rumors of...experiments. How much of those were true?

[A bit of an understatement. The good parts of Luceti - the abundance of food, the amenities that would be unimaginable back home, the lack of titans, the not dead best friend - are good, but so many problems cast shadows over it all.]

The experiments are real. They call 'em "shifts" around here, which is appropriate enough seeing as how they usually shift reality around.