[Closed-ish] Swift as the coursing river

[shortspoken]

Who: Annabellie and her victims students
What: 3DMG lessons
When: Nowish
Where: The forest just off Chloe's ranch



[ Anyone who expressed even the slightest interest in learning to use the 3DMG - and a few who didn't (hello Bertl) - will have received a customarily curt private message via the network this morning. The message contains nothing but a time, the address to Chloe's ranch and instructions to "bring your own gear if you have it."

Contrary to appearances, it's not some kind of drug meet. IT'S 3D MANEUVERING LESSONS TIME, YO. Everybody party. Tell your friends. And watch this while I set up some fukken subthreads.

OKAY DONE. Tag in wherever you'd like, don't feel like you have to play out all the lessons because wow nobody has time for that shit, annnnd if you have questions just prod me. ]

Comments

BEGINNER LESSONS

[shortspoken]

[ Super basic operation up in here. You've got to learn to balance before you can learn to do crazy flying acrobatic spiderman bullshit, guys.

You're probably going to get hurt. Don't expect Ellie to nurse your booboos. ]

[honestopinion]

[Yet another child that Gavin has agreed to drop off here in the farmlands of Chole. Jamie's more than just a little nervous, when he had tired on the 3DMG at that Christmas echo-party thing he'd received nothing even remotely like an echo..]

I-I'm here..

[Worried that today would finally be the day that told him Jean was nothing more than an average guy.. just like Jamie. Backpack full of hardbound cases filled with portable video games as well as his 3DS and now new PSVita, a little packed lunch made by his mother and a change of clothing advised by Gavin in case he got dirty.

Please, just one superpower.. or skill, or ANYTHING.]

[shortspoken]

I can see that. Do you remember how to put the gear on?

[ She indicates her own set, piled up neatly on the ground. That's right, Jamie. You get to borrow Ellie's for a bit.

Scuff it up and she'll kick you in the head. ]

Leave your backpack here. You don't want to break anything inside.

[dirtdevil]

[ Hey guys, look who's here. Y'all ready to get schooled? Well, I hope not, because it's not gonna happen anytime soon. Yes, it's sad to say, but humanity's strongest reincarnation could not find his ass with both hands in the 3DMG. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Fortunately, that's what lessons (and conveniently-timed echoes) are for, right? And he's off to a good start, having already put the gear on correctly thanks to an aforementioned conveniently-timed echo. Said echo included his own set, too. Which is good, because he doesn't like wearing other people's clothes. Eww.

His eternally-straight face belies the slight feeling of terror inside. Let's get this (painful, possibly nausea-inducing) party started. ]

[shortspoken]

You managed to do your own straps. Go to the top of the class.

[ Her snotty-ass tone is nonetheless accompanied by a little nod of approval. Gee, mixed signals. Just what anyone wants in the person teaching them how not to kill themselves with crazy wire/blade/bondage contraptions, right?

AM I RIGHT? ]

Do you remember anything else? Basic operation? [She lifts one of her own triggery whatsits, fingering the mechanism to show how it works.] Fire, retract, release. Familiar at all?

[anequal]

[Putting on the maneuver gear was not the most difficult part even though it took time to adjust it so it felt secure but comfortable. He wonders if it's muscle memory he's picking up -- this memory thing really is freaky.

He's got to admit he's nervous, but it's got to be like those harnesses for the trampoline bungees he's never tried but knew about. It can't be that bad. It would just hurt to smack his face if he landed wrong... right? But he's learning this shit from Ellie and he doesn't want her to realize he's nervous so he sets his jaw and nods to her.]

I think I'm good.

[shortspoken]

Good? Well, we all make mistakes.

[ HEYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SHOTS FIRED ETC ETC

Though there doesn't seem to be as much prickly Ellievenom in her tone as usual. Possibly because she feels much more in control of things in this kind of environment than she does at parties?

Fuck parties, seriously. ]

Anything in your pockets? Any existing health conditions? Did you already sign the waiver stating I'm not responsible in the likely event of your death?

[ SEE SHE'S JOKING THIS IS FRIENDLINESS ]

[betroth]

[ CHLOE'S BEEN READY FOR THIS. SO READY. SHE SPENT LIKE A HUNDRED HOURS OF GRUELING TRIAL AND ERROR TO PRACTICE PUTTING THIS SHIT ON, SHE'S THAT READY. Learning to wrangle horses into saddles and bridles and leads sort of helped her cause, with all these straps why does it have so many straps, but she's managed to look "professional" when she reports outside her own house for duty.

SHE'S GONNA DO THE THING — ]

...I hope this looks right.

[ — once she's sure she's not going to plaster herself upside a tree. ]

[shortspoken]

[ Jesus H. Christ could Chloe be more obvious in her enthusiasm. Ellie is not used to this. HOW DEAL??? ]

It seems fine. Is it all on securely? You don't want to cut off your circulation, but you don't want it to shift around when you move.

[ Pushing her pinky finger underneath one of her own straps to demonstrate. SHIT HAS TO BE TIGHT, YO ]

INTERMEDIATE LESSONS

[shortspoken]

[ Time to learn how to actually maneuver! In 3D!!!

Hopefully you're fine with heights. And moving at high speeds. And having to make fast decisions. ]

YOOOOOO

[toobig]

[After a lot of coaxing from Ryan, Bertholdt had managed to come despite his skin peeling over his chest and back now from his right side. It's not painful, and mostly his shirt covers it, but he worried about it stretching even more while using the gear. Equipped with his own set he'd Echoed back, Bertholdt had been in the beginner's part of all of this when he and Ellie had realized... when he'd Echoed back his gear, he'd Echoed back the muscle memory to use it without knowing. It had been easy for him to put it on, lift himself in the air, so on and so forth. He's sweating a lot sure, as seen by the pits and back and chest of his shirt... gross, but he's done very well! So well, that it's time to actually try this thing. Good thing he was the best at this 3DMG stuff, right?]

I'm... not sure if I'm ready, Ellie.

[shortspoken]

Stop fussing. I won't ask you to do anything difficult just yet. And if you get hurt, you can just heal the damage.

[ She rubs at the back of her neck thoughtfully. ]

Unless you snap your neck. Or manage to decapitate yourself. Try not to do that.

ADVANCED LESSONS

[shortspoken]

[ People who make it to this stage will be confronted with ACTUAL TITANS!

By which I mean Ellie painted really terrible angry faces on a few trees and pinned up feather pillows just beneath them to represent the nape of a titan's neck. Perfect titan-killing simulator right here, folks. Are you skilled enough to kill one? Or will it take you five years and forty manga chapters before that happens? DEAR GOD, THE SUSPENSE! ]

[wirsinddiejager]

[FUCK YES MURDERING THEM TITANS

GONNA KILL SO MANY TITANS

GONNA KILL THEM ALL

and shut up with the snide narration about forty manga chapters okay some people still don't have any kills]

[shortspoken]

[ Alan might be used to being the target of Ellie's judging stares, but this one is still pretty impressive. ]

...Are you sure you're ready for this? You don't need to go off for some alone time first?

[ Because wow, Alan

w o w ]

MINGLE

[shortspoken]

[ OBLIGATORY SOCIAL CHATTY BULLSHIT THREAD. Nurse your scrapes, laugh at each others' horrifying failures and generally do all that other stuff that doesn't involve scootling through the air with anime bondage gear. ]

[schild]

[ GUESS WHO LEFT THE APARTMENT FOR THIS SHIT-- THIS GUY, THAT'S WHO! He brought his gear and his Survey Corps jacket but he's already echoed his boss 3DMG usage, so really he's just here to cheer people on and hand out water.

It's not creepy watching your friends train for how to kill titans... when you're a titan... right? Nahhhh. Totally not weird. The Armored Titan in 3DMG, now ain't that a sight. ]

Remember to stay hydrated, guys!

[ No, seriously, Ryan brought water and everything.

[anequal]

[Man all this looks different in broad daylight. Anthony's taking a break from the maneuvering and wandering over to bara dad where the water is.]

With the way you say that, it's like a bizarre soccer practice.

[shortspoken]

Ryan. I don't remember ordering a cheerleader.

[ Don't mind her handing over a first-aid kit. A surprisingly un-cheap one! Because she stole it from work. S i g h. ]

You're on patch-up duty if anyone screws up. The ones who can't fix themselves, anyway.

[dirtdevil]

[ Out of fucking nowhere, someone grabs a bottle of water and then staggers over to a rock and flops down on it. Oh, it's just this guy, but he looks... unwell. He's looking at the water bottle like he really wants to drink it but is afraid something bad might happen if he does.

In the interest of full disclosure, though, that "something bad" has already happened several times. And he's mortified. Motion sickness sure is a bummer, ain't it? ]

[wirsinddiejager]

[By the time he comes to get some water, Alan is covered in feathers from killing pillows. Despite looking sweaty and tired, he's in a very good mood. KILLING TITANS YAY :D]

Not gonna do any training yourself?

[honestopinion]

R-Ryan....

[Jamie trucks himself over with more than just a couple scraps, huffing in exhaustion.] D-do you have any water..?

[All this training was talking every last drop out of Jamie. He's just not used to being outside.]

Mysterious Like The Moon she is not here at all shhhhh [closed to horse goddesses]

[siesinddasessen]

[By which I mean yes she is here. There. Around. Far enough in the distance to not be noticed by those losers that are apparently from the same world as her and that she worries might want her head should they echo back what she knows... that she ate some friend of Bertholdt's. Which does not only mean that she probably in some way was one of those maneating (and dickless, thanks afro) giants that they all seem to have fought, but also much more importantly... well, if she ate someone, who knows what else she did and just doesn't remember yet (and she certainly isn't an angel in this life...)? And Bertholdt seems to have been friends with the rest in his past life, so who knows who many others had that friend, too...

Yeah, she'd rather not risk chatting one of them up and getting echoes (especially not before she has more herself and can judge her past situation better). So there is a Blaine sitting in a tree with binoculars and watching the proceedings. She's probably getting a good laugh out of the show. Thanks for the memories, Ellie.]

[betroth]

[ After things have settled down, Chloe's busied herself with bustling around in and out of her house, providing extra water and pails for those less graced by intestinal fortitude. All in all, she's surprised there wasn't more vomit and ugly tears. So, chalk one down for 'good' day! Still, in the quiet, she hopes she hasn't missed her opportunity. While trotting up the steps, she'd gotten a glimpse of some kind of reflection off a little ways from their practice area. There was something she knew in that moment, that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

So once she attends to everyone, she sneaks off to find the source. Which, as she manages to get right up underneath the tree, is something — no, someone — that doesn't surprise her. Tucking her hands behind her back, she clears her throat primly. ]

Are you curious?

[siesinddasessen]

I had an off day and wanted some entertainment. Seems like I found the right place.

[She'll stay perched on her tree, legs hanging down and leaning against the trunk. Looking like nothing is happening at all, like she totally expected Chloe to show up and feels nothing at this encounter. At all.

Which obviously is not the case. She should have noticed the other woman earlier, but nature is not really a habitat that she's a frequent guest to and her ears cannot pick up on any "unusual" or "intruding" sounds like they could usually in the city. Curses. At least it is Chloe, who has met her before and... hopefully won't get another echo from that. Even if the situation is different here. Argh. If she just remembered more of her former self, she could judge what would have her risk an echo better... And she would know better what happened in that past life so she could know how much negativity it might toss her way to have others echo about it.

Also there is a cute girl at the bottom of the tree. Really cute. Even cuter than she remembers her, probably due to the different lightening and a more fitting place... Yeah no, pushing that away. She can't have random cuteness distract her.

She'll just. Sit here. Wing it.]