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seasonsgreetings2023-08-18 12:00 am
seasonsmods) wrote in seasonsgreetings2023-08-18 12:00 am
Entry tags:
Test Drive Meme #4
Test Drive Meme #4
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION
You arrive in an unknown space, dressed in white clothes (player choice what kind of clothes, as long as they cover everything). Whatever was happening to you before no longer happens. It's like everything was put on a pause and you were transferred away from the situation without you realizing it happened.
The space that you find yourself in is one of these four options:
An empty landscape filled with snow and ice, almost like a blank canvas.
A field with cherry blossom trees and spring flowers.
A sunny beach near an ocean that seems never ending.
A quiet forest with falling autumn leaves.
All of the spaces seem to continue endlessly. No matter where or how far you walk it almost seems like you're not moving at all. There are no animals here - just those who happened to wake up there at the same time, in the same place. Everyone is wearing the same kind of plain, white clothes.
Despite the possible rollercoaster of emotions you might be feeling, the place somehow feels familiar. Like somehow you belong there.
And it looks like you're not alone.
After half an hour has passed the surroundings change as everyone is teleported into a room with all the other new arrivals, no matter what space they woke up in. It's a large place with plenty of seats to sit in and beverages to enjoy. Medical attention is offered to those who need it and the doctors here are very prepared for any challenging situations.
Here, in this room, everyone gets an answer to where they are and why. A hologram of a man appears at the center of the room, waiting to be heard. He brings a message on behalf of the leaders of Ellipsa.
The Message [ Click to Expand ]
Hello, my name is Olwen. I'm one of the leaders of Ellipsa as it currently is. I'm also one of the four who summoned you here.
Our world is in trouble and we need your help. I apologize for tearing you away from your world and forcing you to come here but I hope you understand. The magic we used doesn't let us ask in advance, nor does it let us choose who we bring here.
This world is composed of four Seasonal Segments. All of them represent one of the seasons. They were the places we used to get our resources from, but now they're dangerous places no one should go into unless they have the power to fight back. All of them have their own sets of powerful monsters and natural catastrophes.
We used to have plenty of people here who could control the powers of the four Seasons. We called them Seasonal Power Holders. Unfortunately, due to a tragedy you can read about later, we lost almost all of them. Now only four of us remain and the world is in chaos. We have done our best to protect the world, but we need more power holders to do that.
That's where you come in.
All of you have been assigned to one of the seasons. Whatever space you were in just now is what season you represent. You will learn different skills based on the season and those skills are going to help you save this world.
These powers don't interfere with your own natural powers. They use a new energy that has formed inside of you. It's harmless to your health, but it's vital to your seasonal powers. Your own powers should still work, even if the dark energy outside the city might interfere with them.
Unfortunately bringing you here wasn't as simple as it sounds. We couldn't do anything about how to keep you anchored to this world other than making a simple spell that helps with it. That is, you need to touch someone else who is not from this world ideally at least once a day. It will help you stay in control of your powers and boost your magical energy. If you don't, the consequences aren't very good. But as long as you hold someone's hand or give someone a handshake, you should be fine.
That's all I have to say about the situation. The staff of the Research Center will give you more information about housing and other necessary things. I will, however, promise that you will be sent home once the situation becomes better. That's the least we can do.
The hologram can be viewed in private in a separate room later, should someone wish to look at it again. For now, the staff of the Research Center hands everyone their new smartphones with their small flower lucky charms (the flower is anything the player decides). They're also told that the building next door is where everyone can find a room assigned to them with some of their belongings there and possibly even any animal companions. Those concerned about their mount-sizes companions are welcomed to the stables downstairs to see if their friends are there. The mounts are allowed to stay there until you find a place more suitable for them.
In the Arrival's hall there are also several stands with information pamphlets.
First type of stand is for the local Guilds and about the benefits or joining one.
Second type of stands is for the Welcoming Committee that aim to show otherworlders what the world is like and help guide people in the beginning of the journey and helps in getting settled into the new world. They even have people to help if you're unfamiliar with the new phones.
Third type of the stands is for The In Touch Support Group that is led by the Otherwordly Ambassador, Kamisato Ayato. The pamphlets have contact information for businesses looking to help Otherworlders. They also focus more on the lore of the World and what they have discovered so far, as well as a guide on what to think about when preparing to venture out to the Segments.
Once you get your smartphone and necessary information, you're urged to go out and find your apartment. After that whatever you want to do is up to you.
Part 3
The building next door is where everyone can find their new apartments. As you enter, you're told by a friendly native that for the first two months you can live anywhere rent-free and five meals a day are paid for you. After that they get a monthly payment that helps with some of their living expenses, but otherwise they have to have a job to support themselves.
All of the apartments are comfortable, two bedroom apartments with all necessary utilities. They are also completely soundproof. Sometimes the magic system, however, does glitch and you might find yourself rooming with a stranger. This is not the intention and the staff will immediately prepare you your own room if you ask them. But maybe having a roommate isn't all that bad?
In the Arrival's hall there are also several stands with information pamphlets.
First type of stand is for the local Guilds and about the benefits or joining one.
Second type of stands is for the Welcoming Committee that aim to show otherworlders what the world is like and help guide people in the beginning of the journey and helps in getting settled into the new world. They even have people to help if you're unfamiliar with the new phones.
Third type of the stands is for The In Touch Support Group that is led by the Otherwordly Ambassador, Kamisato Ayato. The pamphlets have contact information for businesses looking to help Otherworlders. They also focus more on the lore of the World and what they have discovered so far, as well as a guide on what to think about when preparing to venture out to the Segments.
Once you get your smartphone and necessary information, you're urged to go out and find your apartment. After that whatever you want to do is up to you.
The building next door is where everyone can find their new apartments. As you enter, you're told by a friendly native that for the first two months you can live anywhere rent-free and five meals a day are paid for you. After that they get a monthly payment that helps with some of their living expenses, but otherwise they have to have a job to support themselves.
All of the apartments are comfortable, two bedroom apartments with all necessary utilities. They are also completely soundproof. Sometimes the magic system, however, does glitch and you might find yourself rooming with a stranger. This is not the intention and the staff will immediately prepare you your own room if you ask them. But maybe having a roommate isn't all that bad?
Over the course of one night, fairies have decorated various trees all over the districts with special fairy lights. It's the 200th birth anniversary of the Fairy Queen coming up, so the lights are up for the duration of the celebration. The queen herself may be currently missing, but the fairies have not lost hope in finding her one day, hiding from the Darkness somewhere.
The lights are beautiful and in various different colors. Some even change colors occasionally. They seem very harmless, but some of the lights have been altered with mischievous fairy magic. Touching a tree affected by the magic will make characters act like a dere.
Just a light touch is all it takes. Even a falling leaf from the tree can trigger its effect. Suddenly you're acting just like a (player chosen) dere. Some trees also have an additional effect on making the character like the person who touched the tree at the same time, either in a temporary romantic way or a completely platonic manner, making the 'dere-effect' manifest in its full glory.
The effect usually lasts for an hour or two, but in rare cases the effect has been known to last for the rest of the day. No one really knows why that happens, it just does.
All of the districts now have an aesthetically appropriate party going on, with food and drink for anyone to try. As long as it's normal-sized, it's safe to eat. All of the districts also have small hanging platforms that look like stages or treehouses for the fairies to hang out and dance in. They're mostly visible for the duration of the celebration.
Those who want to help the fairies celebrate are asked to make miniature furniture for the hanging party spots. This also includes making cups and plates from leaves. Those that help the fairies with this will have the chance to receive genuine fairy wings on their back for the rest of the week (or for the rest of the month, if you ask nicely). These wings enable them to be able fly short distances (across a normal sized street, for example).
However those who are mean to fairies in any way will instead get a pig tail and ears, with a possible pig snout for the same amount of time. The effect can be reversed by apologizing to the fairies in earnest.
There are several ways to party and some fairies are more mischievous than others. They have taken upon themselves to do fairy pranks. They're all very harmless and silly and they don't want to actually hurt anyone. Just have a little fun.
Some examples include: hair braided into small braids, a glitter bomb exploding on characters, items teleporting from one person to another and people being tricked into eating fairy food (makes random, small fairy wings appear on random parts of their body that fades in a few hours).
During the dark of the night another magical thing has happened. The fairies claim that it has nothing to do with their magic if asked, but they're sure it's a miracle produced by the celebrations itself.
A large variety of mushrooms and forest berries have grown all over the districts, no matter what climate they have. Scientists (and fairy helpers) have determined that all of them are safe to eat and have decided to challenge anyone to gather these nutritious and tasty treats the earth has offered them.
Most of the mushrooms are quite normal, in both taste and how they look. There's one particular glowing mushroom that causes hallucinations, but no poisonous ones have been detected. Among the berries there are some interesting ones that have magical effects; wild strawberries make people burst into song, wild blueberries make people poetic and lingonberries appear to cause an increase in philosophical thoughts.
Upon later investigation, it seems the berries were, in fact, a fairy prank. But the mushrooms they haven't touched.
During the evening of the third day the mushrooms appeared, some chosen people get a message straight into their minds. Its telling them repeatedly to go to the Mushroom Sanctuary, slowly trying to gain control over the characters' bodies and mind. It seems some of the mushrooms were actually fae mushrooms, a dangerous mind controlling mushroom that is near impossible to detect before it's too late.
Should characters fall victims to the fae mushroom they will start making their way to the Mushroom Sanctuary in the Autumn Segment. They will do whatever it takes to continue making their way there, including fighting anyone who tries to stop them or even hitching someone's vehicle of choice to get there faster. All they have to say is "I need to go. I'm needed."
The only way to stop the mushroom's effect is to find translucent cordyceps, native to Autumn Segment, and make them eat them somehow.
Click on the image or here to make the map bigger.
Uninterrupted, those affected by the fae mushrooms, native or otherworldly, will make their way into their destination. The Mushroom Sanctuary is home to many peculiar mushrooms, big and small. It's light up by the glowing ones, making it look quite beautiful during the night. But no one is here to do sightseeing.
Instead, inside two of the biggest mushrooms, there are two stairways into the underground. After leaving all of their items, except their clothing, inside a third giant mushroom, the affected walk down these stairs and end up in an underground area. Once they get inside, the fae mushroom effect fades into a faint voice at the back of their mind, letting the people take in where they are.
They are surrounded by native mushroom people, who are now identified as Mushroom Fae (mushroom at max height of 1 meter/3'3 feet that have arms, legs and faces, as well as now revealed fairy wings). Everyone here has been brought here to work for the fae in order to build their Underground Kingdom. Food and other necessities like sleeping area have been provided, as well as a bathing area since they know how some humans are particular about their hygiene. Work includes digging tunnels, carrying away dirt, carrying the building material down, putting up support pillars and even building stone walls.
Animosity towards the Mushroom Fae and any attempts to attack them will trigger the Fae Mushroom control again, making the person essentially an obedient doll again. But the Mushroom Fae promise that after a few days (or a week, depending on how fast they work) they'll be released again. They just need a little bit of raw power to help with their project and this was the best way they could come up with.
Rescuing the workers is always an option, but those controlled by the Fae Mushroom will attack people who try to rescue them unless the spell is undo for them.
After the people have been rescued from the Mushroom Sanctuary, the fairies living inside the city will make an announcement that they have nothing to do with the Mushroom Fae. In fact, they had no idea they had survived the Darkness and transformed into regular looking sentient mushrooms.
As an apology for not realizing this sooner they will offer free delivery services for the rest of the year, meaning anyone can call upon a fairy to teleport an item (a non-sentient one) from place A to place B at anytime. The fairies may be invisible but usually always hear a plea even if further away.
- Lore Related: In Ellipsa fairy and fae, while similar creatures, are different species; fairy are generally nice and fun-loving creatures who do harmless pranks while fae are usually very suspicious and may even cause harm to achieve their goals.
- Map Related: The flowers and trees are all fae made things that give light to the underground space. They're otherwise not harmful. There are plenty of places to sit down and tables to eat at (food will be basic vegetable or meat stew with mushrooms, depending on if characters eat meat or not). The bathing area has water orbs that acts as shower heads, but also big public baths that are mixed gender.
- Ask your questions related to the TDM here.
- The TDM is available only to friends of the mods and their friends. If you want to play in the TDM, please leave a note here to inform us who invited you over. We will get to you as soon as possible.
- Test Drive is open for current characters to make a top level as well. New characters can add TDM on their subject line to indicate they're new!
- Current characters cannot access the starting area again to meet new arrivals. They can, however, be at the Research Center when the newbies are teleported in.
- The TDM is game canon so anything in the TDM can happen for your character(s) in the game as well.
- Smut is not allowed on the TDM. You can play situations leading to it, but if the thread is turning into smut, please move it to a private space such a post in your character's journal, or a locked post in the game's log community if you decide to app!
- Check Locations: City to find more areas to explore inside the city. Every place in the districts are open.
- Similarly, Locations: Segments is useful for outdoors adventures.
- You can find monsters to encounter on Beastiary.
- FAQ has information on characters' smartphones as well as general things about the world that might be handy.
no subject
[He takes a deep breath, letting it out in a short huff.]
Of course not. I couldn't care less if I tried. Don't think any different. It's not like I'm happy to see you or anything.
no subject
Is Armin genuinely just trying to fuck with Reiner's head? ]
… Right.
[ He looks Armin up and down, assessing him more carefully. Definitely older, maybe Jean or Eren's age. (That likely makes Armin a little older than Reiner, which will never stop being weird.) Reiner thought that he was done dealing with weird timeline bullshit, at least for a while. And yet, here he is. ]
So, when was the last time you saw me? [ He cocks an eyebrow. ] Not that you were happy to see me, then.
no subject
I'm with you right now! [In the flying boat, chasing after Eren...
[But, wait. No. That's not right. His head feels cloudy...He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, putting a hand to his head as if it hurts. He's becoming aware that there's something influencing him, but...not quite enough to fight back.]
I-in the flying boat, I mean, geez! Don't act so weird.
[It doesn't even occur to him that he's looking at Reiner from four years ago...]
no subject
In a flying boat.
[ Repeated in a voice just as flat and emotionless as his face.
Because there's no such thing as a flying boat. Not in their world. ]
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You don't remember? Wait, wait...[He holds his head again. The effect of the fairy lights is still strong - Armin can only push it back for seconds at a time.]
You-- You wouldn't know what I'm talking about anyway. You're just a kid. [He's just a kid? Still? How...?
[There's something Eren said on the beach...What was it?]
Just...just leave me alone, idiot! I don't want to talk to you anyway!
[Why am I saying that? Why did I just say that?]
no subject
That's the only warning Armin receives before Reiner starts shouting. ]
I'm just a kid?! I am?! Who the fuck do you think you are?!
[ It's not just being called a kid, dismissed like he's an ignorant child instead of a full-grown man rapidly approaching the end of his lifespan. It's everything. It's Armin's lies. It's the ridiculous sense of betrayal Reiner feels. It's the fact that he still gives a shit, that he can't stop caring even when he tries. It's months of stress and pushing himself harder and harder, refusing to rest. It's being surrounded by enemies on all sides. It's facing down yet another familiar-yet-unfamiliar face. It's the fact that everyone from his world is going to celebrate, and Reiner is still.
Fucking.
Alone. ]
YOU'RE FULL OF SHIT, ARMIN!
[ He's screaming now. (Screaming in a way that he never will when he's older, grief and guilt grinding him down into a shadow of himself.) Screaming like he hasn't screamed since that day he shouted Eren into silence, claiming that the Reiner and Bertholdt Eren knew were dead, "And if all you want to do is cry about it, then go ahead! Keep crying!!" ]
YOU'RE A TWO-FACED, LYING SACK OF SHIT! [ It's hypocritical. He doesn't care. ] "THEY'RE TORTURING ANNIE"?! HUH?! FUCK YOU!!
no subject
[It’s right around “lying sack of shit” that Armin fully snaps out of his trance, eyes going wide with shock and confusion. His memory isn’t lost though. It all makes sense very quickly.
[Thinking about Annie at a time like this, and especially what he had to say about her - it stings, but. There are more important things to focus on.]
Reiner, hold on!
[He holds his hands up, palms facing Reiner - the universal sign of surrender.]
I wasn’t in my right mind. I was under the influence of something - it’s those lights!
If we both just calm down, we…we can talk about this!
no subject
But Reiner is so very far from calm. ]
Those lights, huh?! Those lights?! Are you gonna claim they blinded you back home?! Are you gonna hide behind some bullshit excuse?!
[ Months of worry and regret. Months in this world spent feeling like a fucking idiot, reeling from the words, "Of course." Of course Armin lied to create an opening. Of course Armin manipulated Bertholdt's unspoken feelings for Annie. Of course Armin, the quick thinker, the good Scout, used every weapon at his disposal.
Of course. ]
Are you gonna talk and talk and fuck with my head again?!
[ "We haven't … even had a chance … to talk this over!!" ]
THERE'S NOTHING TO SAY!
no subject
[Armin’s voice is very soft now - cautious, like he’s confronting some sort of wild beast. He keeps his palms up. Reiner could lash out any moment if he wanted to…]
I’m not messing with you, okay?
Listen, I know you’re angry, but we won’t be able to solve anything until we’re both. Calm.
I did something cruel. I’m not denying that. I understand.
no subject
Reiner sucks air through gritted teeth, his fists clenched, nails biting into his palms. Still furious. Still wanting nothing more than to…
… To what? What the fuck does he even want?
He can feel eyes on him, strangers staring at the spectacle they've (he's) made. The spectators probably think that Reiner is behaving unreasonably. They probably see how big he is, how angry, and think that Armin is in the right.
Reiner makes a disgusted "tch" sound and turns his head away, not wanting to look at Armin's lying face. ]
You understand jack shit.
no subject
[Observing the boy now, he notices that he is younger - never someone Armin would call a kid though; none of them ever had the chance to be that.
[There has to be so much he doesn't know...A dread washes over Armin that chills every inch of him to the bone. Reiner won't have learned about Bertholdt yet - if he ever really learned at all? The idea makes him feel physically ill
indigestion, but he pushes through it.]I don't mean to be presumptuous. I'm willing to hear what you have to say, if we can both be amicable about it.
no subject
He's not shouting anymore, but he's still far from calm. ]
"Amicable," huh?
[ For a long, tense moment, Reiner is silent. Then he takes two steps away, grabs a chair from a table, and spins it around, straddling it as he finally faces Armin again. ]
All right. [ Gold eyes lock on Armin's. ] Why don't you amicably tell me how you trapped Annie. While you're at it, how about amicably explaining how you identified her in the first place.
[ Jean has already told Reiner about the first part. It's a decent test to see if Armin will choose honesty or more lies. ]
no subject
[Annie...Is she here also? Reiner can't possibly know that the two of them are friendly - that she's alright, free, and taking control of her life, making her own decisions for once.
[Now's not the time to get into any of that. In kind, Armin pulls a chair over to sit across from Reiner.]
More than one instance pointed me in Annie's direction. [Just diving right in, here.]
When Sawney and Bean were killed, we all had our ODM gear inspected, but I noticed that Annie was using Marco's.
[Armin frowns a bit at this, glancing down at his hands, which are palm-up in his lap.]
I didn't want to believe what I was seeing, so I didn't speak up just then. But, then, later, when we encountered her on the scouting mission...
[He lifts his head to look at Reiner in the eye now.]
It was clear she was intelligent. I knew she had to be like Eren. Then, with the deduction that whoever was controlling the female titan had access to ODM gear...It all just came together.
[Armin has to take a breath before continuing. It's a sizable one; a deep inhale with a long, slow exhale. He hates thinking about this. Annie, all those years, frozen, alone...]
In Stohess, I met with Annie and told her that we needed the help of someone in the Military Police to smuggle Eren out of town - to buy time before a decision was made about his fate.
That was a lie.
[His gaze doesn't falter away from Reiner's, so long as Reiner is looking at him.]
It was a trick, to lure her underground and capture her so we could gain more information on her abilities. But it didn't work.
Annie saw through my lie. She transformed, and she and Eren fought in Stohess. When she was defeated, she was removed from her titan's nape. That's when she enclosed herself, using the titan hardening ability.
[Another breath - slightly more shallow than the last.]
That's the truth. All of it.
no subject
There is no contradiction between Armin's words and Jean's explanation. Nothing that Reiner can identify as a lie. And that makes it all so much worse.
When Armin finishes speaking, Reiner finally drops his gaze, staring in the vague direction of Armin's feet. Marco's gear. Annie presented Marco's gear for inspection. What the hell was she thinking? There were any number of anonymous dead soldiers whose gear she could have presented. That's what Reiner did; that's what he thought she did, too. And yet, she chose to use Marco's. Why?
There's no use in speculating. Not when a half-dozen possible reasons spring to Reiner's mind. Not when Annie's thought process remains mostly mysterious, even after growing up together. The simple fact is that she chose to use Marco's gear.
Gear that she removed from Marco on Reiner's orders.
Orders Reiner gave because he didn't see another option.
Because they couldn't talk it out.
Because Reiner and Bertholdt talking was what caused the whole fucking disaster.
Reiner's jaw tightens as he tries to keep the bitter, helpless anger off his face. (He doesn't quite succeed.) Annie used Marco's gear, and Marco is dead because of Reiner. If he hadn't talked—if he'd acted just a little differently, behaved more like Marcel—then Marco would still be alive, and Annie's cover wouldn't have been blown.
One more regret to join the mountain of others. One more reason for that murder to haunt him. One more reason to loathe himself.
Reiner raises his eyes again, the anger having mostly faded, pushed inside to eat away at his shattered sense of self. ]
You mentioned a flying boat. Right before calling me a kid.
[ Something that his tone reveals he is still none too happy about. ]
no subject
[The question makes Armin's stomach twist a little - drives home that there's so much - so much - that Reiner must not know yet...Armin can't imagine. Is he going to have to be the one to tell him...?]
I don't think you're a kid. I'm sorry I said that. I wasn't in my right mind.
[The easy part, now out of the way...]
I think I'm from a different time than you.
[Does Reiner know that Eren is here too? Armin shouldn't mention him...]
The last time I saw you, you were much older, and we were working together. I'm sure the mention of a flying boat must sound ridiculous to you, but...there's a lot to explain from where you're standing.
no subject
But it does leave Reiner's expression stern. Not somber; that will doubtless come later. (That will plague him for the rest of his life.) He looks less like the "big brother" figure and more like the Warrior who stabbed a Scout while climbing out of the Wall.
No surprise, there: that's one of the last things Reiner remembers doing.
His eyes narrow slightly. So, Armin isn't like Jean and Mikasa, growing older in different worlds. Instead, Armin is more like Levi and Hange, hailing from a bewildering future. One in which Gabi considers the people of Paradis to be allies. Friends. ]
Right. The future where I play some "important role." [ Levi's words, not Reiner's. ] You'll forgive me if I don't ask you to explain.
[ A more polite way of calling Armin a two-faced, lying sack of shit. ]
no subject
I understand, yes.
['We don't have to talk about anything you don't want to...'
[Is it...too soon to try to defuse the tension a little, with tone if nothing else? Armin tries to sound more casual - non-threatening, easygoing, but without making it sound like he finds what they're talking about to be trivial. It's a delicate balance.]
To be honest with you, Reiner, I'm still just trying to get my bearings. I'm not exactly sure what it was about those lights that made me...act that way, but...It's definitely nothing I'm used to.
I'm sorry that you had to be the one to bear witness to that.
no subject
He knows it would probably be easier for the others if he did. If he played along and pretended to stop seeing the divisions between sides. If he looked at the incongruous uniforms hanging in his closet and called them the same, instead of feeling his head pound and his heart ache.
But to hell with that. Why would Reiner want to make things easier for Armin? Why would he want to help the two-faced fucker who so mercilessly manipulated Bertholdt's feelings? ]
It's magic, [ he says, his voice cold and flat. ] This world is full of it.
[ Magic so potent that it can overwhelm even the power of the Titans. Not that Reiner is going to share that. If Eren wants to do so, that's his choice. ]
no subject
[Should he just...keep...pushing? Small talk Reiner into getting bored and walking away? Would it offend him if Armin excused himself instead?]
I never realized something like magic could actually exist. Though, they did mention it in orientation, I guess...
[That was a whole Thing for Armin's brain.]
no subject
[ If not physical ones, then certainly mental ones. It's hard for Reiner to imagine Armin, of all people, failing to be a good student—even if there was no grade on the line. ]
Which season are you?
no subject
Knowing the details doesn't make it any easier to believe, though. Maybe marginally, but...experiencing things like this is still totally out of my wheelhouse. My mind hasn't really acclimated yet.
[There's a small sigh.]
Summer - that's my season.
[That's where he'd started - on the beach, with Eren. Surely he and Reiner must not get along either...]
no subject
His eyes drift to the side, looking at the lights twinkling on the tree. Armin says it's hard to acclimate—and truthfully, Reiner can't really relate. He adapts too quickly. The moment he arrived, he threw himself into learning his new powers, determined to master them as rapidly as possible.
But most people haven't spent five years behind enemy lines, where the price of failing to adapt was far too steep to pay.
Reiner's gaze returns to Armin. When he speaks, his voice finally loses that harsh edge, sounding completely normal. ]
Then you should talk to Jean. He's a Summer; he can help you. Historia is a Summer, too, I think, but I don't know how well she knows her powers.
Or you can talk to Eren.
[ There is a slight difference in the way Reiner says Eren's name. Something that only a person who knows Reiner well would pick up. It is a certain softness, as though he savors the shape of that name in his mouth. ]
no subject
[Historia's here too, then, and Jean. How much do any of them know...?]
I've talked to Eren, actually.
[Perhaps testing the waters a bit, seeing how far this apparent ambivalence goes...]
He's the first person I saw when I arrived. He filled me on what he could.
no subject
"Did Eren mention me?"
What the hell kind of question is that? Why would he ever dream of asking that, especially of Armin?
Reiner gives a short nod. ]
Good. Then he can take care of you.
[ Meaning that Reiner doesn't have to do so. Something he assures himself he would only do for Eren, Jean, and Historia's benefit—nothing more.
That settled, Reiner pushes himself to his feet, smoothly swinging the chair back to its place at the table. ]
Anything else?
no subject
That's all.
(no subject)