genessia | Chapter 2 | Closed to Weiss

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Chapter 2 | Closed to Weiss | Audio + Action

[It's been a couple days since he's arrived, and though he's not all right - it'll be a long time before he will be able to truthfully claim that - he's well enough to realize that, without a job, he's nothing but a burden on Eren and Mikasa. And he refuses to be a burden.

Looking up jobs in the paper, he has to admit to himself how life as a soldier did little to prepare him for this - but sees a number of promising ones at the Schnee Company, and after doing a little more research, decides that he likes what they are trying to do.

He finds the number to contact, and after taking a long moment to composes himself, makes the call, trying to sound as confident and professional as possible. After his experience in the theatre last month, he's surprisingly good at it.]

Excuse me, Ms. Schnee? My name is Armin Arlert. I arrived here a few days ago. and I'm interested in applying for a few of the positions listed available for your company.

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[A disagreement? Armin frowns, considering. He doesn't generally get into a lot of disagreements - that's more Eren and Jean. Or Eren and Mikasa, or Jean and Connie, or Reiner and Annie - come to think of it, he's been around for disagreements between most of the members of the 104th. But he can't think of any that he himself has been in. Maybe...]

I can't think of any disagreements I've had with a - a coworker. [The terminology is obviously a bit awkward for him.] But there was a time, when we'd just become refugees, a couple of years before we joined the trainees. When they were handing out food, we overheard one of the soldiers complain that more of us hadn't been ea -

[He falters suddenly, an almost frightened look on his face, before an abrupt look of determination overtakes it. He continues, though he changes a little of whatever it was he'd been about to say.]

- complained that more of us hadn't died. There was already a food shortage, you see, and people who lived in the outer districts were always looked down upon. When Eren heard that... he went up and kicked the man, saying that he didn't understand what we'd been through. They kicked him down, and were about to do a lot worse...

I got in the way, apologizing to the man and drawing the attention of the crowd before he could get beat up any further. He didn't want to make a scene, so he let us go. It's not that I disagreed with Eren - but there was nothing we could do about it at the time, and Eren getting beaten or worse wouldn't help anyone.

Eren was angry with me for that, though Mikasa and I talked him out of doing anything rash. But in a way, they were both right. The soldier was wrong to wish for the deaths of the people he should have been protecting, obviously... but it was true that at the time, we were nothing but a drain on resources. There just wasn't enough food to go around. [Nevermind that they were only ten at the time. In a way, that story ends when they became soldiers - when they started contributing and fighting back.

Armin knows he's leaving a lot out of the story - it doesn't make as much sense without knowing about the titans. He'll explain further if she asks - but he really hopes he doesn't have to. For both their sakes.] I'm s-sorry, I guess that's not quite what you asked...

[ Weiss knew from the second that he said refugees that this wouldn't be a story she could understand on an in-depth level and relate to. She never had that unfortunate circumstance to deal with, given her upbringing and her family's situation. But she knew those who had to deal with difficulties- even if she didn't know any details that would've lead her to believe it was as bad as this. She couldn't relate, but she wasn't unsympathetic.. but regardless of her feelings about the situation, this was an interview. It wasn't a feel-good party.

Steeling herself a little better, she continued listening to the story. The fact that Armin recognized that there were two sides to that story was a huge positive in his checkbox. He would be capable of playing devil's advocate and thinking without bias in a job- something that was important. Something Weiss needed because she tended to get caught up in her own biases from time to time. Something like that in an assistant.. ]

No, it answered the purpose of the question, so it's fine for an answer. Is there anything you can tell me about why you would be good for this job, above other candidates? Clerical experience of any kind, the ability to anticipate needs?

[Armin nods, glad that the story had answered what it was supposed to. He bites his lip at her next question, thinking. A little hesitantly, he reaches into his shirt and brings out a small, worn, leather notebook.]

I suppose... this kind of answers both of those questions. I'm good at adapting quickly to new situations, working things out and making hard choices with little information. Genessia... isn't the first world I was brought to after being taken from my home world. For more than the past year, I've been thrown from world to world, one every month or so, with a group of people much like the populations of the cities here. There, there would be some event, some turning point for a city or a country or even a planet that we were intended to influence - but we were never told what the event was or how we were meant to shape it.

Given how little information we had... I did my best to write all of it down - the places we went, the situations we faced, the people I traveled with, and the deeper meanings behind everything, along with my thoughts and speculations. I figured eventually we'd have enough data to start seeing patterns and figuring out the larger picture.

[He hands the notebook over to her, albeit with a little trepidation. With no object permanence in liminal space, he's used to having to pay careful attention when he hands his notebook to someone else, lest it vanish and all his work be lost.

The notebook itself is superb - containing careful and meticulous notes and accounts on all the subjects Armin mentioned, and more. Most is written in Armin's small, neat script, though a couple passages - mostly about worlds that other Travelers came from - were clearly written by someone else. There are even some illustrations on a few of the pages, and what they lack in flair they more than make up for in detail.

Taken without context, it all seems a fantastical tale - stories of crashing space stations, star crossed lovers of warring crime families in 1930s Brooklyn, fighting both dragons and half-immortal master mages in a strange, magical medieval kingdom, even a story about pirates and mermaids - told mostly from a mermaid's point of view. There was a place where a ceremonial dance supposedly drove the movement of the celestial bodies. Except instead of told to entertain, the stories were told from more of a historical and personal perspective, and how they all fit into the larger narrative of the Traveler's journey.

Most of the stories seem to imply that, for a time, Armin or some of his companions believed themselves to be denizens of whatever world they were in, with their own lives and memories and motivations, not remembering their time as a traveler or even their home worlds at all. There were also accounts of fantastical places that seemed to be not so much worlds as waiting rooms - places where the Travelers rested and recouped for the next jaunt, though reality in these places was malleable. It never made sense, and it was shaped, at least in part, by consciousness - beyond which, rules like gravity were easily broken.

The whole things tells of a harrowing and at times tragic or even traumatic experience - but though Armin's own role is often minimized, the notebook clearly shows that he's a clever, perceptive, caring, and methodical individual.]

[ Weiss pages through the notebook, quickly scanning through any emphasized words, headers, drawings. A habit of previewing things she'd picked up from having excellent study habits. The amount of detail was interesting. She obviously couldn't read it all right now but she.. definitely wanted to.

It showed her what she needed to know- different traits that made him an ideal candidate, that he had experience with at least doing detailed and effective work. Though she did want to ask one thing: ]

Can I borrow this?

[Armin looks frankly taken aback by the question. She... wanted to borrow it? Was that because she wanted to take longer on deciding whether his work was good enough for the position, or because she genuinely wanted to read it all? The latter, in all likelihood. He's not quite sure how he feels about that - but he supposes it doesn't particularly matter too much, because there's no real reason to say no.

If he's going to remain stuck here, it's not like it's probably of much use to him anyway. Still...] All r-right - as long as you're very careful with it.

Of course! I'm just the type of person who likes to learn about anything I can.

[ She pauses for a moment, looking at something before closing the notebook carefully and tucks it under her arm for now, safe and sound. She looks back to Armin and holds her hand out to shake his. ]

I think you're qualified for the job so I'm going to hire you on a trial basis. The lack of knowledge regarding technology may be a problem, so I'm going to give you two to three weeks to get at least basic skills down. If you can manage that, you can consider the position yours.

[He nods - that is something they share, though survival and other larger concerns have taken precedence over Armin's dreams and his desire to learn for many years now. Still, it's nice to hear in someone else as well, especially when that someone is going to be his boss.

Which happens to be the next thing he finds out as he listens. A small, happy smile slowly spreads across his face at the words. For the moment, he looks sharper, more confident than she's seen him yet.] Yes, Ms. Schnee. Th-thank you. I'll do my best.

When would you like me to start?

Tomorrow. Today, you need to go shopping for new clothes.

[ She's not going to let up on that. Look professional or get fired. That's non-negotiable. ]

All right. I'll do that. Tomorrow, then.

[He gets up to leave, ready to leave, but pauses in the doorway.]

Eight o'clock?

Nine to five would be standard hours for the position, but you're welcome to come in earlier if you'd like. I might be here earlier on some days, but if I'm not here by 9 you can typically assume something happened if I didn't call to tell you otherwise or make not of it ahead of time.

If you need time off, please try to notify me at least a week in advance unless you're really ill. If you come into work and make a sickness-related mess because you have a really strong work ethic, I'll dock your pay.

[ It sounded dramatic, but she wasn't kidding. She didn't want to get sick and she didn't want anyone else to get sick. ]

[Armin nods again - everything she's said makes sense, and he's fine with it. It might seem dramatic to some people, but Weiss has nothing on the military as far as that goes. For Armin, the rules here are going to seem positively lax - though of course he won't let himself do any less than his absolute best.]

I'll see you tomorrow at 9 then, Ms. Schnee. Thank you again for the opportunity.

[ Weiss only gets incredibly strict when things are being done wrong. If they aren't going the way she wants them to, that's when Armin will start seeing how much of a pain she can be. As long as that doesn't happen though, a happy Weiss is a semi-relaxed Weiss. ]

You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow.

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Chapter 2 | Closed to Weiss | Audio + Action

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