Scout

Cara's Originally Titled OoC Hangout Thread ♥ (Still)

Hello, folks!

Digital or Real?

Nah, I think it's all in good fun. Until it becomes actual harassment - it's a massive game, I don't imagine it'd be easy to have enough mods policing often enough. I'll get a post up soon... I've ironically been very busy since I stopped working v_v And also a very dangerous addiction to Bloodborne has come full circle.

Kin of the 72nd Expansion Battalion - Shingeki no Kyojin

Jonah Althaus

STATUS: Living
Name: Jonah Althaus
Age: 15
Gender: Male

Appearance:
Click for higher resolution.

History: Jonah was born in the Wall Maria to a father in the Garrison Corps. His mother died giving birth to him, leaving him in the care of his older brother and father. Their city was a small one built near the wall, but a fair distance from any of the gates. They weren’t even prepared with any kind of evacuation plan when the Titans came in 845. The boys couldn’t find their father anywhere, so they sprinted home and Lykos, his older brother, had an idea… an idea which would forever change Jonah’s perspective on the world. If they killed themselves, they would never have to face one of those hideous beasts, see one as it lifted either of them into the air and… It made Jonah shudder just thinking about it. From the kitchen, Lykos took a knife and said he would go first, to show his little brother that it wasn’t anything to be afraid of in a situation like that.

When their father returned in a panic, he would find the small, eleven year-old boy trembling as he tried and tried to use that knife. His brother lie in a pool of crimson, liberated from what the havoc outside. Jonah, on the other hand, would not get to join him. His father relinquished the knife from his hand before the boy even knew of his presence. In tears, he fought, cried, and worked as hard as he could to convince the man that it was the only way they could be safe, but he was far from being as charismatic as Lykos was. He and his father moved beyond Wall Rose and very few people of the town made it out alive. The older man was discharged from the military due to an injury that gave him a permanent limp. Because of the food shortage and his discharge, Jonah’s father was one of the ones selected to sacrifice himself, reducing the population and making rations more attainable. By this point, Jonah had already decided to enlist and he knew that the Survey Corps was for him. If he couldn’t escape the way that his family could, he would damned well do his best to do what they never could: see it all. And, if he had the luck, maybe he wouldn’t return from that first mission.

Ava Ekkehardt

STATUS: Living
Name: Ava Ekkehardt
Age: 16 – just turned
Gender: Female

Appearance:
Click for higher resolution.

History: Ava was born in the Wall Sina and, try as every babysitter, teacher, and noble around her might, they could not stifle the sense of wonderment she felt with the world. The girl was never one to hide behind lies or false truths so after the fall of Maria, she knew that they were all going to be facing danger that they never would have thought imaginable. She had never seen a Titan before in her life, but she rationalized that there were a lot of things she hadn’t seen… and she wanted to see them all. Her parents were horrified and pulled every string they had to prevent her joining of the military. However, Ava stuck to her guns and enlisted, she was there on the first day, facing the insulting drill instructors and even a bit of discrimination for her roots.

Wes Heidrich

Name: Wes Heidrich

Age: 24

Gender: Male

Appearance:
Here


History: Wes is the eldest sibling of the Heidrich family. He always had a protective, take-charge attitude. He’s always kept a level head and an upbeat attitude for his smaller siblings. However, after a falling out with his father at a young age, Wes enlisted in the military. When his father didn’t show up to watch him graduate in the first position of the entire unit, he made the decision to join the Survey Corps’ 72nd Battalion. While the decision was birthed from spite, it was one which he did not regret. He learns a bit more about himself every day and was made one of the youngest people to ever be granted the position of Red Cloak. Now? He’s the third of five in age.

Other: The Red Cloaks are an elite unit of five members existing only within the 72nd Battalion. Typically there are five, but historically there existed as many as ten at one time (it was a particularly famous period for the Battalion, and thus enlistment was high for their specific mission). They act as mentors and overseers for the newest recruits (often acting as “squad leaders” for the groups of newbies who haven’t seen much action) as well as the strongest defenders and fighters for the entire unit. For the most part, their original squads with which they joined and learned alongside are now dead, so they find comfort in teaching the new recruits rather than trying to form those bonds over again, only to lose them. Some, however, received the promotion and still have former, living squad members.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

"Protected..?" She scoffed, her mouth hanging off. "I am perfectly capable of protecting myself, thank you. If anything, I'm coming along to protect you," Her observation was met with a remark about her sword. "That goes to show you just how much Mr. Avatar here knows about swordplay. I'm not a killer, Katsu, and I don't use my dao that way. But what if we were attacked by people with weapons? If they get too close, it's nice to have an alternative. Not to mention, it'll only scare away the kind of people we don't want around anyway."

The small group was off and heading on down the road. Going by foot was not something a lot of people did anymore, but it wasn't entirely unheard of either. Lots of people traveled traditionally if only for the pilgrimage nowadays. Leaving at this strange hour, with only the sleep from the night before, the three were already rubbing their eyes and yawning after only a few minutes. Siku sighed, "How far do you think we should go before setting up camp?" She asked, adjusting the pack on her shoulders and yawning for what felt like the millionth time. The sun was already moving up and Siku was just glad that they were westbound, keeping it out of their eyes. "We could take a quick four-hour nap up here, the road had enough little twists in it that I can only see a couple of the tops of buildings... We could get past the treeline here and set up camp, sleep for a couple of hours, and then get back on the move for a while until we can get a good rest. We can take a look at the map I brought too, figure out where we want to stop for the night... Plan it all out, so we can relax for a minute."

There was little enthusiasm left in the group as they stepped from the road and pushed past the trees, moving deeper into the woods for a few minutes. She dropped her pack to the ground and rolled out the bedroll from it. She didn't pack a tent, but she didn't see any need for one, at least not yet. "Alright, here's as good as anywhere else, right? Night... Morning... Whatever," She mumbled, sitting on the bedroll and laying back. She placed her sheath and sword by her side and put the pillow over her eyes. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. She hadn't had much rest at all since waking up the day before. Between practice and dinner and then... everything between, she was exhausted.

A few hours later, the watch on her wrist began to beep and she rubbed her eyes. "Ugh... Please, just six more hours..." She mumbled, sitting up and looking at the time. Yup, they had to wake up now. She groggily reached for her bag and pulled out a map, "Hey, wake up you two," She ordered, clearing her throat and still trying to wake up fully. "Alright... Alright, c'mon over, let's look at this." The girl ushered the other two toward her and pointed to Republic City on the map, "So, we started here and left... West, right? yeah," She decided having to think for a moment to recall the day so far. "So... If we spend a few more hours walking, we can probably make it... Hm... It might be night time, but we could get to Gung-Li... And then either see if there's any kind of ride to Iwa from there. Or get a little boat and get ourselves there... It's open water, so we'll have to be careful if we don't charter it. Gung-Li might have something, but going farther would yield better results for options, I think..."

Kin of the 72nd Expansion Battalion - Shingeki no Kyojin

Weeks Later...

Ava made sure the saddle on her horse was nice and secure. In the last few weeks, they'd all been preparing to leave. The Survey Corps was... well, a bit more rough already than she had expected. Being the top in their class meant nothing. Sure, teh Military POlice only took that, but she'd already been told by a few of the veterans that they saw people from their own class, from a number one slot, get killed before an average guy. Her nerves showed on her face as she worked hard to concentrate on what was at hand but found it increasingly difficult. Tinker wasn't going with them... He'd enlisted Survey, but a special division recruited him and he accepted - something to do with mechanics and technology. He'd found his niche. Ava, on the other hand, wasn't so sure anymore... She did everything perfectly, just right. What if push came to shove and she couldn't stand up to the challenge? What if, on their first day beyond the wall, she died. Just like that.

"Hey, still having some jitters?" A voice called from behind her. Captain Jason Eldrich, an older man in his late twenties, approached. He had a long green cloak with the symbol of the Survey Corps on the back. However, over that symbol was the number '72' in white. It was against the uniform code, but after the 72nd was founded, the group was hardly held to the same standard. It would be pointless, considering how little time they actually returned to the city. He had short, blond hair that only came slightly over the edge of his forehead.

Ava looked back and sighed, returning to her saddle to make sure she had all of the bags hooked up. "Yeah... I guess so..."

"Don't worry about it. The others just... they don't want you to get a big head from your placement in class. Plenty of them didn't choose the 72nd, they were assigned to it. Some of the cockier kids in training ask for this post, and they have a tendency to think they're better than they really are. So, just don't forget... You'll be going up against a new kind of enemy. You've never actually faced a Titan before, as much as you've trained for it. The real thing is completely different..." He shook his head, "Levi's squad tracks their skills... Don't know if you guys have heard of them... Don't do that. Don't count them. You'll use that to identify yourself and it'll make you passive. I've known people who tried to count, and it's all they cared about, we're not out here to exterminate like they are. Our job is to expand and search, just remember that, okay?"

She nodded, "Aye, sir. I will. Thanks, Captain."

Jonah held out his palm with a small white cube to let the horse in front of him take it happily. He gently ran a hand over the side of the horse's face. Nearby, Sanja was doing much the same. Neither seemed to be really worried about death... Not that they weren't afraid of the Titans, anybody would be, but Jonah was already at peace with losing his life. He'd come to terms with it a long time ago, he wouldn't beg for life. The Captain had moved to the front of the battalion and his voice boomed over everything.

"Aaaalright, folks!" He shouted with a grin. It looked painful, living with everything that he'd seen and still putting on this brave face for his comrades. Maybe he'd learned to deal wit hit... That's what a leader did, wasn't it? "We're gonna be heading out soon and we'll be gone for a few months, at least. It's the same thing as last time, sure, but for the new people, I'll go over some ground rules. There's going to be a lot of camping and you do not go anywhere without one of your comrades. Always stay with the group, report everything and anything you find. For those of you who are new - you make it through a few weeks, excellent. You're going to face some incredibly hard times, but you're also going to see some things that even the other units of the Survey Corps could never even dream of. Day one is going to be a long one - we don't stop riding until we're really clear of the city. The Titans infest the world, but most of them are closer to us here, so we can't camp until we're quite a ways out. Then we'll sleep in shifts for each site. You pair up on your own. Nobody is to be left alone. Now, I don't give two shits if you hate the person next to you - you will fight to the death to make sure that they stay alive. This battalion is built on trust, even if you don't care for them, they're still your brother or your sister. If I see any of you neglecting the others, so help me god I'll make sure you spend the rest of our deployment in hell. Do I make myself clear?"

"AYE-AYE, SIR!!" The entire crowd of veterans shouted. The small number of new recruits looked around at each other, but didn't exactly respond.

"Alright, saddle up, we're leaving soon!"

Ava patted her horse before looking to Kiryuu, who would have been readying his equipment too. "Hey, Kiryuu, you ready to roll out? We can't turn around once we get past those walls..." She observed, one hand on the reins of her horse as she approached.

Jonah, on the other hand, was already standing directly beside Alois, looking a bit more liberated than he ever had before. He grinned at his buddy, "Alois, we're finally gettin' out there." He was more confident, probably, than he should have been, but he was excited. For the first time since he childhood, he was facing real danger. That was the thrill. "Ready?"

"Hell yes!" Sanja chimed. Jonah flinched slightly - he hadn't realized that she was exactly nearby. Her squad while they were training had excluded her near the end of their time, so she joined theirs when she found out they were all interested in the 72nd. She was strange, but Jonah still didn't know her so well that he could say anything about her beside that. "Finally, we can go somewhere! See these things for ourselves..."

Attention from a majority of the squad members turned back to their captain at the front. Everybody was starting to climb onto their horses when a man in a Garrison Corps uniform came sprinting by and spoke briefly to the captain. Nobody knew what they were saying, but it was clearly a messenger. Ava, Sanja, and Jonah all mounted up while they spoke, only vaguely aware of what was happening at the front.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

My next post will be pushing Grun out of the picture until Olminu says something otherwise. We're free to continue.

In the Rough

Sienna sighed and finally rubbed the sleep from her eyes, getting her things back in order. Her defender was holstered and her machete sheathed after she climbed from the cot. The woman ran her hand through her hair a few times, shaking it out in the hopes that it wouldn't look too frazzled. She glanced over to Zoe and cocked a brow, "Rough night, eh? Takes some time to get used to it," She said, noticing the bags under the other girl's eyes. However, she had no sympathy for her. "Don't worry, we'll make it a walk, there's a small settlement between here and there so we can get some water. I've got the caps, but we're going to have to spend a lot of the day dehydrated anyway. Could make it to Sydney before nightfall again, though. Let's see where the sun's at," She explained, opening the door and stepping out into the dessert.

"Oh, duh, I forgot," She said, laughing and rolling her eyes as she had to shield them from the blazing light outside the shack. "Hold up," The woman turned and headed back behind the counter, grabbing a couple of sunglasses. They were cheap and incredibly old, but she'd found them on the store shelves when she got here. There were a few pairs leftover and they'd need them pretty badly. "Here," She handed over the lenses, putting the other pair over her own eyes before resting her hands on her hips and looking out across the wasteland.

"Alright... Sydney is... This way..." She pointed, biting the inside of her cheek hesitantly. "Oh, wait, no, this way... Or was it..." She tapped her chin before sighing. "Guess it wasn't that funny, c'mon," She nodded her head in the initial direction. Conversation was sparse save for the odd Radroach or feral Dingo every now and then. "The critters like to come out at night..." She observed, waving a hand dismissively, "At least in this region, the muties are more nocturnal than anything. Look, up there, ready to meet your first non-slaver Wastelanders apart from me?" She asked with a grin, pointing to the few buildings and tents off in the distance, just on the edge of their sight.

Avatar: The Price of Freedom

Thankfully, Katsu was taking responsibility for his lifestyle choice. Yakedo harbored no ill-will for the boy, but was certainly comforted by the fact that he hadn’t remained a child or turned into a real criminal since he left. The Grand Lotus let the small group work out what they wanted on their own until Katsu asked him a question.

“If you’ve any friends, I recommend choosing one that knew you before you found out you were the Avatar. Are you still in touch with any of them? The Fire Nation would certainly have less defectors looking to hurt you,” He mused, hesitating as he thought out loud. “Where you go is up to you, Katsu. You guys can get anywhere you want. I’ll leave you a bit more cash, make sure you can get where you need to, where you feel safe. I can’t even know for sure where you’re going – trust me, you’ll be safer without the attention on me being on you as well.” Hideki gave a small smile and clasped the boy’s shoulder.

-----

Siku huffed and rolled her eyes, “Stop. No self-pity on this one, Katsu. There’ll be time to pay us back when we find somewhere to settle down, alright? Sounds like we’re gonna have a long way to go and… we can’t be at each other’s throats for that.” She sighed and tried to push the irritated look from her face. Stepping up to Katsu, she knocked on his forehead, “Hey, you. Yeah, Mr. Avatar. You wanna pay me back? Let’s get somewhere safe – like the Fire Nation or wherever you wanna go – and then duel me. That way, I can officially say I beat the Avatar in a fight,” She declared proudly. “Once Asha is all packed up, we’ll go get mine, and then we’ll head out, alright?”

-----

Siku’s House

“No, Sesi… You can’t go with us…” Siku explained as she packed her things. The girl’s younger sister stomped her foot.

“You don’t let me do anything! You wouldn’t let me learn with you and your pro-bender buddies, you don’t let me go around the city with you, I don’t get to do anything!” She complained.

SIku sighed and took a knee in front of the smaller girl. “I know, I’m sorry… I promise, when I get back, we’ll go and do all sorts of things. And then, when you’re older, we’ll leave the city together and I’ll show you some of the really cool places I get to see now, okay?”

The girl kicked at the floor absently, frowning and staring downward. “Ugh… Fine… But… You have to write, okay? Lots and lots!”

Siku rolled her eyes and smiled, “Fine, Sesi. I’ll try, okay?” Meanwhile, she had risen back to her feet and opened an armoire in the large bedroom. Inside was a leather harness with shoulder and hip guards. After putting it over the clothes that Asha had given her on the island, Siku pulled a long black case from the shelf inside and placed it on her bed.

“Siku, why are you taking… that with you? You’re just travelling aren’t you?” Sesi asked nervously.

Siku sighed, “It’s… uh… ceremonial, Sesi. It’s not because I expect to need it or anything,” She said with a reassuring smile, unlocking the case and pushing the top open. Inside, a long, curved dao. The handle was wrapped in pitch-black leather with a modest, circular crossguard. In the case, just above the sword, was a sheath of white emblazoned with a golden dragon wrapped about it. Culturally, it was a hodge-podge of themes. The sword itself was used in the Earth and Fire Nations by benders and non-benders alike, the sheath was of Fire Nation design and origin, but Siku’s father had given it to her after they moved to Republic City from the Water Tribe. She inserted the blade to the sheath and attached it to her hip before rising and shutting the case, closing it back into her armoire.

Giving her sister a hug, she finally went back downstairs to the foyer where her father, Katsu, Asha, and Yakedo stood waiting. She had a bag and on back with some changes of clothes and a bedroll – nothing too huge. She wore a pair of rough leather gloves which she often used when practicing her swordsmanship. Her father seemed a bit irritated, but was trying not to let it show to Katsu. Siku would be fine out there, but he didn’t want her to leave. She wasn’t even done training…

“Alright, Hideki… I’ll trust you on this one. But this effort better not be extraneous…” The older man stated, “You know it’d be really bad if this got out… If you guys are going to the Fire Nation, I know somebody out there… Lives a little bit like a hermit nowadays, but he’s in a little coastal town out there… I think it was… Iwa, on one of the tail-islands of the Nation. One of the real small ones at the end of the tail somewhere… I might have the name wrong, but he’s a very talented water bender. Find yourself out that way, I think you could benefit a lot from at least some of his tips,” He said, looking more to Siku than Katsu.

Siku nodded, “Thanks, papa… I… Guess we should really get going,” She said, shifting on her feet before giving her parents and Sesi each a hug before all of them let. Siku wasn’t sure if Katsu had spoken to her father much while she was packing, but it didn’t much matter now as they all departed. It didn’t seem like long before all five of them were at their final meeting point. They stood at one of the small routes out of the city, westbound. Yakedo and Hiresh looked to the three newest travelers and Yakedo sighed.

“This is where you guys and us part, I suppose. Take good care of these ladies, Katsu…” He said with a small smile before looking to Siku, “Keep him in line, Ms. Tsukiko. It’s not often you get to have an Avatar in your debt,” He teased. Despite his age, Hideki still held onto that youthful excitement, even in the most serious of situation. “Come on, Hiresh, I’ll get you to the station and talk to the Chief.”

And with that, they were gone… and Team Avatar was once again formed. Siku looked to her two newest companions and then placed her hands behind her head, “Leave it to me to travel with the one Avatar that doesn’t have a faster ride than his own feet,” She mused tauntingly. “Ready for this, Asha? We’re gonna be stuck with doofus here for a while, don’t let him get the better of ya.” She winked, glad that she’d not even had the time to process leaving her family yet.

Survival of the Fittest; Island Detention

The small girl standing in the doorway caused Eli to cock his brow. Did they say... mother? What the fuck kind of power did she have? He wanted to know, but... If she was their mother, who didn't look over ten years old, but still managed to provide for the small family, then what did that say of her ability? Elijah desperately wanted to try it already, but he wouldn't take something so... odd hastily. Honestly, in the field, he'd never seen anything like it. But he hadn't been catching Users since they first appeared and most of the big powers were in the initial surge. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like rounding up those people early on.

"Hey, hey, what the fuck?!" He shouted as Kabal yanked him back. Just as he was pulled, he noticed the glint of a blade swiping by. "Holy shit, what are you doing? I didn't fucking do anything!" He cried out, dodging the subsequent attacks before Kabal teleported him across the room. "Ah! Geeze," He gasped, catching his breath. Teleportation? Nifty, he was gonna have to try that out. He was probably switching powers more than he ever had in just today. But at this point, he was just tired of people randomly launching themselves at his jugular.

When all was said and done, the little home was in pretty bad shape, Kabal and the small girl were gone, and Jackie was buried under some cement. Eli was breathless, looking around, "What... the fuck... was that?"

"Elijah, meet my mother, Jessica. Don't piss her off... and that little copycat power you've got? Don't... Just don't mess with hers, okay? It's not as much a power as a burden, despite what it might seem..."

"I don't get it... What the hell is her ability in the first place?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

Quentin crouched down by the pile of rubble holding Jackie down and sighed, "Don't worry about it. Just don't use it. Help me get this poor girl out of here..."

Eli nodded, though still confused as Quentin started pulling rocks up and setting them aside. He knelt down and took hold of Jackie's hand, "How's your brother's power work..? Do I just... kinda concentrate on the place I wanna go?"

"Wait, don't!" Too late, Eli and Jackie vanished before reappearing a few feet away. The mimic gasped and panted heavily, doubling over as Jackie fell back to the floor, bruised and a little battered. He fell to his knees.

"Holy... fuck... What the... Oh my god, that..."

"Yeah, it really knocks it out of ya. You should've seen him when he first started practicing. You're just lucky that you didn't get halved. He teleported once and there was a pole straight through his shoulder. He has to be real careful, if you teleport around something, you get splintered. It's... Fucking disgusting. Watch yourself, it's really tiring too. You might wanna sit down, I'll make sure she's okay..."

Quentin stepped over and looked down at Jackie, taking a knee to look over her injuries. "Hey, Jacks... Jacks, open your eyes, you okay?" He asked, shaking her shoulder a little bit. "C'mon... wake up."

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

<Snipped quote by Song Book>

I agree with you on the internet friends thing. More people are meeting on the internet and becoming friends than meeting at bars or libraries or coffee shops or whatever have you. Saying that internet friends are not real friends is completely wrong in this day and age.

I actually started Skyping, then dating, then had a few very awesome vacations with, then moved to another state to live with someone that I met right here on this site :) Still happy as ever.

@DemonTongue

Is positivity allowed in this thread?

Kudos. XD