video; un: reiner

[hometown]

[ The video opens on a young man in his late teens. Tall, blond hair, gold eyes, solid build—good looking, carrying himself with an air of confidence. ]

Wow, this technology is something else. Weird to think that I don't have to write a bunch of letters.

[ He smiles, easy and genuine, matching his voice. ]

I'm Reiner Braun. I'm looking for a few friends of mine, and it seems like this is the easiest way to get the word out.

One of them is a tall guy—taller than me—with dark hair and green eyes. He probably looks nervous, like he wants to be anywhere but here. The other is a shorter girl, blond hair and blue eyes, who looks like she could kick your ass. She can, too, so maybe don't test her patience.

[ He pauses for a second. ]

I guess I'm also looking for anyone else who recognizes me. Better to get any reunions out of the way now, right?

Anyway, if you see anyone matching those descriptions, I'd appreciate it if you let me know. Or if you just wanna chat. I'm pretty new here, and it'd be nice to meet some friendly faces.

Comments

[tsunotaro]

Mortals don't tend to be very good at reading me, in truth. That said, I'm not as nervous now as I once was.

What is your friend's name?

[hometown]

The tall guy's name's Bertolt, and the short girl's name is Annie. They might be going by something else, though. It's hard to say.

[ The three of them know how to maneuver undercover, but none of them have experienced a situation quite like this. Hence Reiner's decision to introduce himself openly. Better that than letting one of his former comrades do the honors. ]

I've gotta admit, I'm not sure what you mean by "mortals."

[tsunotaro]

Bertolt and Annie, then. If I see someone who may match your description, I can try to call out to them. Though they may just be scared away, I can at least alert them to your presence, Braun.

And uh. Hmmm. By "mortals" here I generally refer to non-fae people. Humanoids like beastmen or merfolk or humans themselves. They often find me frightening or think I am angry, actually.

[hometown]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[ Said with a little nod before Reiner's eyebrows rise with curiosity. Again, he appears unperturbed. "Beastmen," "merfolk"—he logs those phrases, making a note to either ask or investigate on his own. ]

Do you have any idea why they think you're angry?

[tsunotaro]

......

[He actually thinks about that. Why would people think he is angry?]

Hmmm... I do not know. [He has what they call "resting bitch face". He is not aware of this.]

Maybe the just assume sharp teeth or horns or something like that are inherently angry features. Or perhaps they worry that because I am fae that I am volatile.

[hometown]

Well, for what it's worth, your horns and teeth don't bother me. I can't say I've seen anything like them before, but to my eyes, they're not frightening.

[ Sure, he has a significant bias regarding what qualifies as "frightening," but the point stands. ]

So, you've mentioned being a "fae" a couple of times… What does that mean? Is it a different race or species or something? [ Then: ] Sorry if that's a rude question; we don't have "fae" where I'm from.

[tsunotaro]

[He is so pleased at how people really seem just. Okay with him and his weird fairy features.]

I do not think it is a rude thing, to be curious about something new.

Ah, yes. I am a fairy, which is a magical being that men have often heard about or written of in storybooks. To call us another species is to say that a fish is a different species from a bird.

[It's not untrue, but doesn't really cover the gulf of differences!]

[hometown]

[ Reiner nods, trying to recall if he ever read about a "fairy" in a storybook. Maybe a Marleyan child would've encountered them, but Reiner's book selection was … far more limited. ]

Pretty vast difference, then. [ A nonjudgmental observation, curiosity still on his features. ] But you can communicate with humans and the others—the beastmen and merfolk—just fine, right?