themainframe | action + video;

[action;]
[There's a young, blond haired boy sitting at a bench outside of the small (although it's extremely large to him) Tokyo Tower with a blue dog beside him. The Gaomon refuses to stand still, punching and kicking and jumping around, even as Armin sits as still as he can. He's silent, staring at the ground as a million thoughts run through his head (why him? what is this place? he got the explanation but it just brought more questions. was he the only one here? how would he survive here, he's never known anything outside of the walls that wasn't out to eat people.) He sits there for almost an hour until he finally gets to his feet, taking a deep breath and clenching his hands into fists to keep them from shaking. He's got to figure this out. He begins to walk, the Gaomon pausing its training to follow him as he begins to look for anybody he would be able to talk to.

And that person is you! Clad in a dark green cloak with the crest of a pair of wings embroidered into the back, Armin's expression is both serious and nervous, and he manages to stay calm as he walks up to you, raising his arm to show his D-Terminal.]

Excuse me-- I just arrived here a short while ago, and I'm afraid that I'm having trouble figuring out how this works. If you're familiar with how it works, would it be all right if I asked you to show me? As well as... a few tips on how to get by around here, if it's not too much trouble.

[video;]
[The video is later in the day, hours after Armin left the Tokyo Tower and learned some locations in Terminal Tokyo and found his way to the newcomers' apartment. He hasn't entered his room yet, but instead seems to be standing in one of the corridors, holding his device to show his face on the camera.]

... This is Armin Arlert of the Scouting Legion.

I've arrived at the housing prepared for newcomers to this world. If there is anybody from the Scouting Legion, Garrison, or Military Police -- or anybody who recognizes those names, I would like to request correspondence.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What about cute girls?

[ She has some of her ego left after all. ]

... Huh?

What do you mean?

I'm asking if you're used to cute girls. Normally if you want me to help you with your D-Terminal, you'd pad my ego a little bit by insisting there are none as fair as I.

[ A low sigh. ] It deflates the effect for me to have to explain it, so come here. I'll help you with it free of charge.

[Well he thinks Mikasa is pretty. And Christa is a deity. When he realizes that she'd wanted him to do her a favor, he furrows his eyebrows.]

... Thank you. My name is Armin Arlert.

Oh, is it really? [ Recognizing the name, she wonders if she should tell him about the angry boy she ran into previously? ] I've never heard of a name like that before.

Are you from Germany?

[He shakes his head.]

I've never heard of a location like that. I'm from the town of Shiganshina, on the exteriors of Wall Maria. I don't think our geography shares common names.

I've never heard of that first name before, but Maria is a common enough name in my world though never used in association with a wall.

[ Pausing, she remembers her manners by some sheer miracle. ] I'm Tousaka. Rin Tousaka to be exact, though I suspect no one dares call me by my first name.

[... He can't even tell which one of those is her first name with the way she said it. But as far as he knows back home, people usually would say their first name and then repeat with their full name if they didn't skip the first part entirely. So Tousaka was her first name?]

... Rin, then?

[ A groan. ] Tousaka. No one calls me Rin unless they're really close to me and I mean so close that we're practically making out, so unless you plan to kiss me right here and now...

[ She's too eccentric right now. ]

Oh.

My apologies, Tousaka. I wasn't sure which was your surname. Although, is that a part of your world's culture that only your lover will call you by your first name, then?

I'd never let a lover call me by my first name in any world!

[ She flew off the handle pretty quick at that, but doesn't actually appear to be all that hostile. Just angry. ]

I suppose that it's common enough in Japan where my family originates from. The surname is usually spoken up until you're really close friends with someone and oh, don't get me started with honorifics. They're sort of like titles in the military--that would be the easiest way to explain it.

--But you wanted me to show you this stuff on the D-Terminal, yeah?

Didn't you say you'd have to be kissing someone to let them use your first name?

[It's an off-hand question. He's more interested in learning about the strange culture from the strange country he's never heard about.]

Japan. That's also a country I haven't heard about...

But yes. If it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to know at least the basics.

Yeah, let's get down to it.

[ Speaking of other countries can wait. She's sure there's plenty of people who can help him figure that out, but he can chat about those things with them on his own terms. For now she will stick to what she knows. ]

So this right here is how you turn it on, your Digimon partner can tell you that much. In fact they know a lot more than they likely let on about these things and the world... um, let's see. With it, you can use it to communicate publicly with everyone else who has one or access to the network--that is a central hub, kind of hard to describe. Do you have televisions in your world?

[He shakes his head as the Gaomon takes his place at his partner's side, nodding in agreement to Rin's explanation but not offering to say anything himself.]

No. That is a foreign word to me. Are they similar to this device?

Kind of, they both have this thing called a screen. [ Pointing to the glass on the D-Terminal. ] Here is where you're able to see everything so whenever someone tells you to just look at your screen, you ought to focus on this.

[ She'll continue on in this manner (fairly polite for her) until every feature has been explained on the D-Terminal. If he had any questions, she just kind of ignored them in favor of continuing her lesson until she's done. ]

So that's how to use this thing. Keep it with you because it's a very handy tool for communicating with others in a pinch--that's an emergency, you know.

[He listens carefully, a little regretful he doesn't have anything to write it down on in case he doesn't remember. But the way she explains is clear enough, and he figures he'll be able to get most of it right.]

... I know what a pinch is. But thank you, Tousaka -- did everybody here receive one?

That's right. If they aren't using it themselves, there's a good chance that their Digimon are using it which means if you call for allies from home and if their Chosen has spoken about you before...

Well, it makes it a lot easier to meet up.

I agree. This is an amazing way of relaying information to one another. Much more efficient than anything I've seen before.

Technology is so amazing like that... [ Sighing in bliss as she practically loves it. ]

If you need any more help, here is my room number. [ And: ] You can ignore the other two roommates I have there. They might be helpful, but they're also a handful!

Your roommates? Well, I'll try to drop by when I'll bother them the least, if I have to ask for your help again then. Thank you, Tousaka.