i believe it's better to inflict than to attempt relief; [open]

[blondtactician]

WHO: Armin Arlert and YOU (open)
WHERE: various locations in Heropa
WHEN: 2/24 - 2/26
WHAT: Armin's infected. He's likely to try to lure you somewhere and attack you, with either blades or a home made chlorine gas bomb. Fun, right? See OOC notes at the bottom of the page.
WARNINGS: Violence of the stabbing or poison gas kind! Yelling! Teenagers!

YOUR HORNET MIND-CLONE IS: Allen Hill, who has visceral reactions to imPorts, even the very mention of them. Has a thirst for vengeance, a bit on the bloodthirsty side, but does not think his actions through carefully.

A. TUESDAY MORNING, EARLY [open to the first reply]

[Armin might say later that it was the writing on the wall or something as cryptic as that. As he's booking it toward the Porter in full gear, hood up, he sees a flashing billboard: something innocuous, offering discounts for registered imPorts or something like that. He comes to a dead halt. He's angry, suddenly.

Angrier than he can ever remember being in his entire short life.

Usually, when things anger him, he thinks around it. Tries to understand the situation from every angle, assess, and plan action if appropriate. Now, he's too angry to even think clearly, and it's just from seeing the word imPorts. He has to turn around to make sure he won't have to see it for a moment.

He sees another imPort walking by and thinks, No. I have to do something about that.]


B. TUESDAY AFTERNOON, A HARDWARE OR GENERAL GOODS STORE - OPEN TO ALL!

[Armin's since ditched his gear and uniform. It's really not such an odd thing for a young man in Florida to be buying chlorine tablets to clean the pool. And why not a lot, because they're cheaper to buy in a big bucket? For the time being, he seems perfectly normal. The tub is heavy, so he has to carry it with both arms. Upper body strength has never much been his thing. He's fidgeting a little in line, humming along with the bland music on the radio.

ALTERNATIVELY, he's simply buying a basket almost comically full of rubbing alcohol at a different store.

But this mild moment could change, of course, depending on his company.]


C. TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY EVENING - open to all!

[Armin sits perched on the roof of a building in one of Heropa's more bustling neighborhoods, the domain of a fine cocktail or a nice cup of coffee. For now he's just watching the crowd, but every now and then he spots someone he recognizes as an imPort and calls down:]

Hey! You're a Hero, right? Can you help me? I think there's a cat up here in the vents, I can here it crying but I can't reach it, I think it's hurt...!

[He's waiting. Those who might approach him on the roof without his knowledge might notice he's outfitted with his 3d gear and blades, and waiting to shove a chlorine tablet into a soda bottle full of rubbing alcohol and lob it at his unsuspecting victim.

If you're lured into his trap... you'll be lobbed with the 'bomb', which produces a small explosion and more alarmingly, a cloud of chlorine gas that may blind you, burn your lungs, or cause a myriad of other problems.]


D. WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON - open to residents of #016.

[Maybe it's just your imagination, but does it seem like Armin's in a Mood lately? He doesn't call out a friendly hello when he gets home, nor hang out in the common area. Apparently he's completely run out of his usually-plentiful smiles and small talk. He takes his meals in his room and is clearly avoiding speaking to anyone. Right now, he's making peanut butter sandwiches in a tidy row. By his expression, one would think he's sending off these dozen sandwiches to be executed.

It's kind of a lot of food. But, he is a growing boy.]


E. THURSDAY MORNING - closed to Jaime (khajidont)

[Armin texts Jaime the night before to ask him to go on a jog with him in the wee hours, stating he doesn't feel safe to go on his own lately but he "needs his routine". Jaime is a good person, Armin's sure he can handle getting up early for a friend's sake just this once.

He asked Jaime to meet him at a nearby park. Currently he's stretching, dressed in soft running clothes. He's a little more covered up than one might want to be in Florida, but he's always been on the slightly modest side.]


[OOC: Jaime will be the one to take down / stop Armin in the end. If your character attacks Armin in self-defense, be appraised that he may use his power of persuasive voice to distract yours or do whatever he needs to in order to escape! Please PM me or contact me on plurk (alienchrist) for questions or details!]

Comments

[blondtactician]

[Ordinarily Armin, should he find himself in such a situation, would immediately recognize just how outmatched he is and withdraw to a safe vantage point. As it is, Armin barely manages to avoid losing his head. While he's received good training, this is hardly his strength. He's enraged that Suzuya is so much stronger than he looks, but if he'd paused for even a moment he might've wondered what that title of inspector meant after all. He of all people should know people aren't what they seem.]

That's the general idea, imPort trash! [For now, Armin's run to a place out of the immediate reach of the scythe, but, that can't last forever.]

[quinque]

[ Armin is definitely out of luck if he's going to try and out-pace Suzuya's reach, especially when it comes to this weapon. Almost like it has a mind of its own, the blade warps and ripples, turning from a solid form to something definitely organic.

When he changes grip on the staff to swing it around, a dozen long, thin tendrils erupt from the blade, reaching out like they're hungry (they are. he hasn't fed the blade in a long time now.) ]

You're going to be in trouble.

[blondtactician]

[Why has he done this? Armin didn't have half a clue what the risk might be in attacking this small, selfish, naive person. But he couldn't control it. He needed to fight. Now he needs to live to fight another day, but he's so angry he can barely think clearly.

Armin takes a calculated risk and shoots his cords into a nearby building, swinging him up toward it. He can only hope his reaction time is faster than what that weapon can do - it's possible those tendrils will get tangled, or smash at him.]

[quinque]

[ He'll be in trouble if he harms a human. Ghouls? Those things don't matter, they're nothing but monsters that are unnecessary and need to be eliminated, but humans... It isn't a moral voice that stops him from pulling out a dozen knives and lobbing them into each of Armin's eyes; it's a childish voice that's afraid of losing his toys when he gets scolded.

He'll lose his rank if he kills a human, and he'll lose his quinque. If Armin goes off to hurt anyone else if Suzuya lets him go, he doesn't care--that isn't his problem. He can massacre everyone if he wants; it doesn't involve Suzuya. He just can't kill him himself.

He draws Jason back, the tendrils of it receding into the smooth, metal blade they were initially, and it almost looks completely solid again, like it isn't made of muscle and meat. He rests it across his shoulders, looking entirely too relaxed for someone who is supposed to be fighting for his life. ]

That thing is cool. If I beat you, can I have it please?

sorry this is so late! you don't need to continue if you don't want

[blondtactician]

[Armin manages to swing up onto the building, though his landing what one might call graceful. Rather than give any specific answer, he unhooks the flare gun from his belt and fires it at Juuzou.

He's not agreeing to anything, but he can't let things be just yet.]

[quinque]

[ That doesn't seem like the reaction of someone who is going to let you take their gear when you win. :( But Suzuya doesn't seem to be too phased by the flare, and reaches into the tails of his coat to pull out two short knives, tossing them at the flare before it can reach him.

It isn't a good idea, because the thing explodes mid air, obscuring his vision of Armin. ]

[blondtactician]

[Armin is so angry he can barely see. He can use the smoke to his advantage, he thinks, and get in close and slit Juuzou's throat like it's nothing.

But could he get there in time without Juuzou getting him with the weapon? If it can move like that, who knows what else it can do. He might be able to strike through the smoke and get a blind swing at him. It's not worth the risk.

Armin deploys his gear, jetting onto another building and hiding behind a vent. Not the most stealthy ploy, but he wants to see if Juuzou will go after him. An ambush might still be viable.]

[quinque]

[ He won't. There are too many places to hide, and by the time the smoke clears enough to see, Armin is gone.

It's a little disappointing, and Suzuya rests Jason over his shoulders, arms hanging limply over the bar. He hasn't moved from his spot, and though his posture is relaxed and effortless, he's still on high alert, listening and watching. ]

Why are you hiding? Don't you want to put on a show? Do your best and mama will praise you!