Scout

Kin of the 72nd Expansion Battalion - Shingeki no Kyojin

Jonah was only seconds behind Alois, his own blades making a wedge only a fraction smaller than the other boy's. God dammit, how could he close that gap between them? The points were so slim, but it looked like Alois just had some kind of drive that made it night on impossible to get there. Perhaps it was just natural skill alone.

Ava was long-since at the Titan cut-out as the others arrived. She had the eyes of a freaking hawk and ranked first in nearly every race with the maneuver gear since they learned to use it. She didn't even flinch at Tinker's gunshot; Ava was not easily surprised, even by noises as loud as a gun. However, her cuts were still more shallow than any of her squadmates'. They were all barely deep enough for a kill, but still better than the average soldier. They always had the perfect shape to them though and she never missed. The instructors pushed her to cut deeper, but she had silently refused every time; it required more strength than she was willing to exert on it. Why go deeper? It was unnecessary energy spent. However, she was waiting on them to find the cut-out before moving on. She heard her name as Kiryuu threw the ball into the air and as she squeezed the trigger, she heard the most satisfying sound.

The loud sound of the cable releasing and spiking into a tree was music to her ears as her hips were yanked forward. She blasted off at an amazing pace. Her acceleration was truly impressive and within moments she was streaking over Kiryuu's head, snatching the rubber ball from the air before letting her momentum carry her into a limb. Her cables released from the trees and her feet came up. As they hit the limb with perfect precision, she bent her knees and countered her momentum to throw her weight in the opposite direction. As she launched from the limb, she fired off her cables again and carried on with the others.

"Three... Two... Driuker!" She shouted out, waiting until the very last second to launch the ball. She wasn't even looking at Tink as her shoulder extended and she let the ball fly into the side of a tree and rebound right into the other boy's path.

Jonah's eyes were lightning as he raced, neck and neck, with Alois. Ava called out the next titan spotting and he grinned, "This one's mine," He said, daring the red-head to try and take it from him. As he sped off toward the sound of Ava's voice, he got there just a little bit sooner than Alois. His blades dug into the neck of the dummy and he caught himself shortly after to take a look... He deflated - it was almost there, but not quite deep enough. He typically got a great depth, but when he didn't focus, he would miss the mark - he envied Ava for her consistency in her strikes, but there was little he could do about it now, he just had to watch Alois beat him again. Not to mention his ears were still ringing slightly from Tinker's gun test. Geeze, why did that kid have to make such crazy things? If any of them were any good, they shouldn't need something like that. Besides, it took some of the challenge out of Titan Hunting.

Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

I would say there are too many Superhero RPs.

I understand the agitation with fandoms, though I don't fully agree with it. It's more about finding a good group to do them with and changing the canon to make it your own. When I do a fandom, it's because we've taken the setting and either 1. disappeared the canon characters, or most of them, and/or 2. taken a route so different from the canon that it's literally nothing but the most basic of concepts being the same (like an AoT RP would take the maneuver gear and base parts of the world, and then do something like spend all of its time exploring far beyond the walls).

I had a real complaint a few minutes ago... but I forgot... ;n; Hate when that happens.

The Frozen Flame: Dark Fantasy/Steampunk RP

We'll see, Love... not sure if I have the time, but maybe I do... /: I really wanna see this come to fruition, but... You know... restarting Kassandra a third time is going to be so hard... Especially if we're missing Avery :( Because I lost two or three of her most important connections after the guild went down, Motya is one of the only ones left that she was actually close to. /: And I really don't want to revamp it all.

Digital or Real?

The boy sat intently, listening with more patience than other boys his age to the girl beside him. She was just full of interesting little facts. As she spoke, his eyes held on to the scene before them, the trees sprawling out as the river weaved between them. It was strange how, in just another couple of months, the leaves would all be back and of the lushest greens. Gorgeous. James tilted his head to rest softly against hers. These were the moments that he knew adults were talking about when they said they said there were moments that they didn't want to end. James was always one for moving forward, but it was so serene.

"I'm glad somebody decided it was worth the resource to keep it alive..." He noted, making a small pause. He was not wont to be the mushiest of boyfriends. It was less that he lacked the ability to and more that he actively tried to avoid too much cliché and that generally acting too sweet could cause a bit of heckling from his friends, or even Matt. But today they were alone and he always felt at ease with Sasha. "That makes it the second most beautiful thing out here, I guess," He said, hoping to keep the statement from sounding too awkward.

"I don't wanna go, let's stay... We don't get to sit like this too much, y'know? I mean... we do at school, but... I dunno, there's something about being like this... alone, but together. Like you said, getting away from our everyday schedule's nice." He grinned and gave her lips a soft kiss, yet another luxury they could rarely enjoy because of her parents, his parents, or their classmates being around. A lot of the other kids in their school liked to show off and snog in front of everybody, but it absolutely disgusted James - the absolute disregard for other people's personal space was atrocious so he avoided doing more than very light displays of affection unless they were positive they were alone.

"I don't wanna push it too much, Sash... But... Mum asked me to see if you'd been able to talk to your parents. It's my fault for not asking you to go with us sooner, but you know I'm kinda forgetful and, even though you've had like... no time to get ready for it, I'd really like you to come along," He admitted, scratching, biting the inside of his cheek nervously. Rarely was James one to admit what he personally wanted beyond a gentle hint in one direction or another. He didn't like to overtake another person's preferences just because he wanted things one way or another. He was a "go with the flow" kind of guy; however, some people would label him falsely as introverted or stoic.

Far From Home

Why was Suto so hung up on this kid? Whoever he was, he must have done something moronic, otherwise he'd be here with people who cared about him so much. The girl snapped from her reverie when Suto clicked his finger in front of her face. Her relaxed state tensed instantly, a glare replacing the lackadaisical gaze. "Force of habit. If I'm paired with somebody it's usually because they need their slack picked up - I was just making sure you didn't get distracted by a shiny and go running off like a child," She replied with ice in her voice.

The young girl rose to her feet as she noticed Jason beginning to open the door, "Come on." She said, beckoning for the Suto as she drew her rapier and began heading for the threshold.

---

The entire party was on-edge as they opened the doors, Kimi had to squint and use her hand as a visor for a moment. They were on the roof? What was the point of all of that? She sighed and slashed the air, "Dammit - what kind of bullshit goose chase was that?" She asked as she saw Jason and Alphard heading into the open. Something trembled and she saw it before the others - her Searching skill was likely one of the highest here. Nero was likely only a moment behind her, but it was a critical moment. "Alphard, move!" She cried out, launching herself for Jason's first vantage point, taking hold of the chains. Even from up here, it was impossible to tell exactly how the worm had hidden beneath the floor of the roof - it must have been in the programming of the surface here. A bit illogical, but inconsistencies had to exist sometimes... The young girl saw Alphard hit the ground and her rapier flashed a bright pink as she launched herself acrobatically from it, speeding like a cruise missile. <<Shooting Star>> was a Sword Skill she'd acquired only the other day, but she had been using it often - the speed it gave her was phenomenal. As her fine blade sunk into the flesh of the beast, the worm recoiled, taking the girl's momentum from an angle and having to reel back. However, it was also a sturdy monster, having such a solid center of gravity and massive weight. However, one could only hope that the surprise attack was the most dangerous part of the beast...

Nero saw Alphard get thrown to the floor and somehow Kimi was already responding. He looked over to one of his only "friends" in the world and called out, "Suto! On me!" He brandished his blade - somebody had to block for the other boy and Kazaro never really needed a partner. The silver-haired baron readied tipped his hat cockily and readied his sword, sprinting for Jason, who was likely already on his way for Alphard. They needed to group up - they didn't have much in the way of defense, but they could all fend and typically dodge for themselves. Alphard was the exception.

Finally, as Kimi yanked her blade from the flesh of the sand worm, she gave it a good hack before using it as a springboard. The monster was recovering and when it readied itself again, the small girl was already on the ground beside the rest of the party. A gut-wrenching scream tore through the air as the worm let out its cry.

Digital or Real?

Is fine ^^ I won't be able to post for an indeterminate time due to our recent move and our ISP being AWOL. :(

Trouble Posting and Editing

^ case and point. One of my RPs had a triple post and another had several doubles lately.

Kin of the 72nd Expansion Battalion - Shingeki no Kyojin

Understandable... There was once a time when we could delete posts... But those days are by and gone.

Kin of the 72nd Expansion Battalion - Shingeki no Kyojin

Jonah shared a bunk with Alois, but he was laying on the floor while everybody rallied together for another training session. A rubber ball floated easily up into the air and back down into the boy's hand with a soft sound. He tossed it again... Three years and not one person knew where he got this thing, but he always had it. Once, he dropped it and it went bouncing away; he ended up with a rather nasty punishment for using his maneuverability gear and gas to catch up to it before it vanished into the tree line. The dexterity required to react and collect the rubber ball before its disappearance was impressive, but it didn't stop the drill instructors from being furious with him. The ball was confiscated on more than one occasion - some people thought that he had more than one, but it really just took a hell of a lot of sleight of hand to always get it back. One of the trainees swears on his life that he saw Jonah swipe the ball from Captain Schaeffer's own hand and replace it with a smooth river rock. Some of the instructors found it absolutely infuriating, but Jonah's apathy was the reason he could get away with... well, just about anything.

The trainees of Squad 3 were assembling for training, so he caught the ball and placed it in his zip-pocket, closing it up securely. He rose slowly, deliberately to his feet. Did Alois have any idea how insane it made him when his leg bounced all freaking night? he wondered in slight agitation. It wasn't long before the other boy was rising off his bed.Tinker had a new thing-a-ma-what to test, but Jonah had a large preference for his blades and maneuverability gear.

Being the ever-present realist that he was, Jonah crossed his arms, "How about instead of focusing on showing people up, we practice for what comes after this?"

Ava looked to her squadmates and nodded, "You're all right. We can't let anybody think we were going for top ten so that we could slack off - but Jonah is too; pretty soon, 'practice' will be a word we can't use anymore... we'll be in the thick of it - no matter where we are, now that Wall Maria was compromised." She gave them all a small smile before heading out the door. They all gathered their gear, fastened firmly to their hips and thighs. Four pairs of Ultra-Steel blades each, two canisters' worth of gas, and an astounding amount of high-tension cable. Squad 3 was geared up and ready to go as they left the armory, all ready for their exhausting until-dark training session.

Suddenly, a booming voice sounded from behind them. "Ekkehardt!" It called, the girl stopping on her heel, pulling an instant salute, and pivoting a full one-hundred and eighty degrees.

"Yes, si-" She stopped flat, her arms dropped, and she let out a very irritated sigh. "What the Hell do you want, Elder?" She asked the boy who was named First in the 101st. Friedrich was notorious for sounding like an instructor - if you heard his voice, he sounded nothing like a fifteen year-old.

"I just wanted to say congratulations to your squad - you guys all making the top ten and whatnot... Was wondering where you were going after this," He said curiously, resting his hands on his hips. "I mean, everybody's spending tonight celebrating - we've got a party and everything that'll get started in a few minutes, maybe an hour. I thought you guys would all like to go." No he didn't. He wanted to know if Ava was going. The girl wasn't fooled for a moment as she brushed a bit of hair from her eyes before tying it back and clearing her throat, taking her good time replying.

"Oh geeze, you know, I would, but... Gosh, we've gotta get to training, I only made seventh place, you know, and we've got a lot of work to do. You're welcome to join us, but you're not really likely to keep up - I'm taking a guess that you're already wiping a lot of the training you got from your brain, now that you're moving into the Military Police," She pointed out cockily.

"Wait - you guys aren't going to the inner walls?" He asked in confusion, his brow furrowed in surprise, "I mean, I know you said the 72nd, but you're from Wall Sina - so is Zero over there - I thought you were all kidding," The boy was clearly shocked. "You're all fucking nuts. Ava, you were only seventh place - first placers aren't even guarunteed survival."

The girl shrugged, "Hm... Too bad we don't really know our placements' accuracy - you should have seen us take the exams, not a moment went by where one of us wasn't taking some weight off another, or giving them a hand with their maneuverability speed. We got docked a couple of points when we got caught, so be check your arrogance." She confessed, "Are you done, yet? Really, you're wasting daylight that we kind of need."

Friedrich looked like he wanted to say something else, but took a step back, turned around with a roll of his eyes and walked off, annoyed.

The girl turned back to her team and didn't say a word, leading them toward the forest training grounds.

Jonah looked to Alois and pulled out his rubber ball, "Who's up for a bit of Catcher in the Trees?" He proposed, now speaking to the group with a devilish smirk.

Ava sighed, "God, can't we go one session without you guys acting like a bunch of idiots? It's a wonder we don't occupy the top six spots," She said, starting into a mini-lecture. "Think your game is clever, don't think I didn't see a few of you playing during exams..." The girl warned them again about her eagle vision...

Jonah furrowed his brow, "Of course you noticed - you were playi-" She cut him off.

"Enough. Fine, play your stupid game," She said, though they all knew she'd be participating within no more than a few passes.

Catcher in the Trees was a game that was initially Tink's idea, but the rules were modded over a hundred times by all of them. They used Jonah's ball to see how many distance-passes they could successfully have without dropping or missing the ball. They'd become quite skilled at it, and even some of the more carefree instructors had a fondness for watching them play the unique game. Holding the ball for more than ten seconds caused the count to be reset, so the game required clear and articulated communication between the six of them. The count also reset, obviously, if the ball was dropped or a catch was missed; they didn't point fingers for blame anymore - be it a bad throw or a terrible judgment of space - in order to keep the game moving smoothly. A normal catch counted for one point, a rebound catch counted for as many things as the ball bounced from except for the ground, and a batter (when a player hit, punched, or kicked the small ball to somebody else) counted for five so long as the ball was caught. The most important rule was that they stayed near enough to each other and kept their eyes on the goal: practice. They had to hunt down the "Titan dummies" and aim for getting the deepest cuts on the necks of the wooden silhouettes.

Jonah grinned as they neared the treeline. Few things in life brought him so much joy. He spiked the ball at the ground and it ricocheted straight up into the air. "Game on," He said, squeezing the trigger in his sword's hilt. He was off - darting into the trees as he waited for somebody to catch the ball and and kick off the round.

Ava didn't grab it, she shot off into the trees, passively waiting for the game to kick off as her eyes scanned the forest for their targets.

Far From Home

The girl took the answer in stride, "No need to worry. I've been watching my own back for months with little, if any, assistance," she replied confidently. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, her entire being tensing for a moment as a hand met her back. Touching, touching, touching, touching, her brain screamed in paranoia and discomfort. It took her no more than a quick moment to realize and fix her reaction. She looked up at Jason and nodded, "Thanks - if not, I'll just have to find somebody else," She said, waving her hand in dismissal. She wasn't quite so lax as she let on, but if she showed any desire or vulnerability, it could be consequential.

Nero had kept his gaze firmly on the ground, taking a few long breaths. When he finally looked back up, his eyes looked almost normal again and his expression was nearly deadpan. Jason walked away, Suto was recovering, and he felt a hand tug him away from the two other guys. Kimi crossed her arms and looked up at him, "Get your crap together and put your game face on," Her voice was low and firm.

"I am, now leave me alone," He snapped at the small girl, causing her to physically wince and step back.

She hesitated before recollecting herself, giving him a small nod, and walking away in silence, rejoining Suto. "Ready for this?"

---

Kazaro decided to take the lead throughout the rest of the floor, though it seemed that both he and Alphard were vying for the space at the head of the party. It didn't really bother him much... At least, not that it showed. It was very subtle, but he was take just one stride a little bit longer at a time until he was rather clearly at the helm. The unconscious power struggle was of little importance, of course, as everybody split off into pairs for the fighting. Finally, they came to the door for the very top of the tower and everybody began sifting through their inventories for preparation. Kimi took a seat against a pillar near Suto, closing her eyes in relaxation, keeping one of them very slightly open, watching Suto.

Nero was double checking the durability of his equipment and Kazaro was watching everybody in the party, waiting for them all to be ready to proceed.