Okay first off apologies for the double post. Consider this a placeholder for my CS as I bother [@Madame Kitten] and [@Karl Kadaver] with questions.

Speaking of:
Is it absolutely mandatory to play as a high schooler? First off the character I have in mind is a character at 19 years, not anything creepily old.
[hider=Bastian Saunders, WIP]
[img]http://terminallance.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Abe_TL.jpg[/img]
[img]http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/41927292/images/1439802272448.png[/img]

[b]Name:[/b] Bastian 'Bastion' Saunders

[b]Gender:[/b] Male.

[b]Grade:[/b] Lance Corporal. (19 y o)

[b]Weapon of Choice:[/b] Himself. Given that he is a marine as well as somehow the [i]USS Iowa[/i] this is more than enough for most practical purposes.

[b]Bio:[/b]  Adventure has always been in Bastian’s blood. While he liked books growing up he also frequently went out to actually try some of the more ‘exciting’ things he read about. Whether that be fighting imaginary dragons to parkour to posting as neighbourhood watch for a few months. However, other than ‘adventurer’ he really did not know what to make of his life. He was intelligent enough to go to college, healthy enough to work, and blessed enough to not need to choose early. This lack of direction and thirst for adventure combined into what he now calls one of the best bad decisions in his life. He enlisted in the USMC.

Bastian got called 'Bastion' in boot camp because he complained about how a French recruit butchered his name. It has nothing to do with the fortress bit or the video game, no matter what he claims to the contrary. While training has ground out most of his dreamland tendencies, he is still very much up to any challenge put in front of him that does not offend his morals. Said morals are slowly but consistently and enthusiastically lowered by his fellow marines.

Now take this young, fresh out of boot and still emotionally utterly clueless marine. It is Bastian's first time abroad, his first proper bit of shore leave and he is one giant buzzing ball of bright eyes and excitement now free(ish) to roam the fabled land of sushi, katanas and, most importantly, anime and manga.

Through translation mishaps, enthusiasm, and general lack of fear to step on toes both literal and figurative he found his way not to Otaku central in the Akibahara district, but a small time manga store in the Shinjaku district. This turned out to be a most fortunate little misdirection for two individuals.

The first was of course the gallant soldier still dealing with major aftershocks of puberty. The second, a bookish and nerdy girl wearing a black poofy victorian dress in a desperate effort to imitate her paper heroines. Very much an Otaku with a capital O. On first glance 'dressed like a princess' as the errant American told her.

They met through serendipity. The shopkeeper was friendly enough but barely spoke a word of English, so translation fell to her, the high school student who happened to be an ace in English.

Take a step back and think what would lead a person to cling to fantasies so much that they dress up in their likeliness. Especially in an extremely rigid and demanding culture one finds in Japan. Then, take someone of the opposite gender who is genuinely interested in the same hobbies, does not care about social stigmas, is physically attractive and has a stable future ahead of himself. A future far away from places that have youth traumas attached to them in both literal and figurative sense.

Is it any wonder that these two picked flowers for one another?

Come the following morning we find our marine waking up atop the waves in the middle of Yokosuka harbour. Off to either side frigates circle warily while a strange weight hangs off his back. As Bastian groggily tries to process these developments an officer of rank God begins to question him with a megaphone. In order if the marine can explain why he A) can walk on water B) has the radar return reminiscent of an Iowa class battleship and C) got back after curfew. Now.

[b]Describe your sempai:[/b] An adorable Otaku girl. First time she and Bastian met was in an out of the way manga store after he got lost in Tokyo and wound up in Shinjuku by accident. Being the only one in the store who spoke English well, she acted as his translator and general tour guide of the city. About three weeks later the love blossoms sprouted. She likes to cosplay, for example she was dressed as [url=http://blazblue.wikia.com/wiki/Rachel_Alucard]Rachel Alucard[/url] when they first met. Personality wise there is one factor that really has to match: That same sense of adventure Bastian has, to be brave enough to every once in a while take a plunge into the unknown just because she can.
[/hider]

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There are many directions I can take this character. For example the reason government interference is kept to a minimum is because of a team he is now the field agent for, and is tasked with sorting the mess out with minimal fuss. There is the foreigner angle. Stuck in pacifist Japan now for the foreseeable future is going to be quite the culture shock for a 'violent yankee' from Boston. Or I could play up the fact he's just that touch older than most of the other empowered youth and the inherent conflict when he tries (and mostly fails) to be the adult. Or how his relation is essentially a spur of the moment affair where neither party really thought everything through and it remains to be seen how stable it will be.

So GMs! Am I to leave, never to return? Or perhaps you see something of value hidden away in my writings?