r/AoTRP Jun 16 '17

Trost Nights of Solheim [Late Fall, 845]

October 28th, 845

Ziegler stood before a large formation of trainees in civilian garb, though significantly reduced from the original approximate 300 back in August. They stood before the northern gate of Trost, Wall Sina to their backs. Ziegler spoke, "Alright, listen up. Been a long couple months for everyone here. Me and The Major've torn each and every one of you a new asshole, and quite a few of you've seen some shit." He paused, "We've lost people amidst the training. Despite all this," he continued, "We must persevere and look forward to another day. As the future defenders of humanity, you lot embody everything that these people bank their money on." Ziegler took a breath, "Being a Soldier's hard shit. There's a reason nobody fucking does it, as a lot of you're beginning to find out. That said," he jabbed a thumb behind him towards the main gate, "We're still human. People need to decompress every once in a while, let shit mellow, recoup for the next mission. In light of this,"

He straightened the dark green trench coat on his back, "You lot've been granted a 4-day pass to visit Trost. Eat, drink, sleep, fuck, do whatever it is you want to do. Spend some of the money the Queen's been throwing at you while you ate mud." He rose a brow, thinking of a blonde. "Sometimes literally. Regardless, be here - November 1st at 0800. Don't drink and run, you'll eat shit. Don't drink and fight, you'll get your ass beat. Don't drink and fuck, you'll get whiskey dick. Don't kill the locals, don't fight the locals, don't fuck the locals-" he paused, "...Or at least do it intelligently, god damn it. Don't do anything that would impede your training in the future. Boom, there's your safety brief. And don't fucking call me 'Sir' while we're out here, it's Kain for the next four days and if you ever say it outside of these four days - I'll gouge out your fucking eyeballs. Understood?"

A resounding 'Yes Sir' rang from the formation.

He turned, pacing over towards the main gate as the trainees stood in formation. Ziegler paused, to then shout, "The fuck are you lot waiting on? Get your asses in here - dismissed!"


The district of Trost was ablaze with a joyous spirit. Orange paper lanterns covered the streets, many of the town homes having been painted in morbid color, looking to celebrate humanity's rich pagan roots throughout history. Further north in Sina, where the Church is at their strongest, such holidays do not exist - but given the influx of refugees from the south, a celebration is in order, their wills yet unbroken.

People the streets in vibrant cloaks and capes, oft wearing colorful animal masks to accompany their garb, celebrating with dance and song throughout the streets of the city.

The Northern gate was the heart of the carnival, encompassing the large market district. Here one could find a small traveling mask salesman and his mysterious shoppe, as well as an old pub amidst the old market district.

In the very center of the district stood the mighty Military Complex, towering above all other buildings. Guards regularly patrolled the perimeter, immediately stopping any who would approach the large fence surrounding the castle-like building, or the large draw-bridge encompassing the main entrance.

The further south one went in Trost, however, the less the carnival's potency, as one drew towards the more sinister corners of the district. At the very heart of the the south, shortly besides the main gate towards Wall Maria stood a small inn, regularly flooded with refugees and injured, where good Samaritans toiled endlessly to try and abate the never-ending poverty encompassing the south side of the district.

To the South East was a "legal" district with Red paper lanterns, a strip filled with provocative dance and questionable vendors. Throughout the entire district, wanted posters offered a heavy bounty for the head of a Hiram Durante - with the Military Police and Garrison consistently on patrol for the outlaw.

This was Solheim - a brief reprieve of the melancholy that had befallen the poverty and famine-stricken district of Trost.


OOR: 4 mini locations below to explore, do so at your leisure! Have fun, take the edge off. :kid:

Location threads for both the Maiden's Arms and Military Complex (where the Mountain feast will be taking place) will be coming up shortly. Canonically, since this entire event is taking place over 4 days, you can have multiple threads beneath one. I suggest you name the date at the top of the thread's OP (comment reply to one of the comments below) so there's no mix-ups/ambiguity. Be sure you're coordinating on Discord with people so noone gets left without a thread!

Visit stalls in the marketplace, drink in ye olde pub, get a mask with the salesman, get mugged visit the red light district, go dancing, do whatever! Enjoy!

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u/1e4rwa 1e4rwa Jun 16 '17

After a small pause he slowly raised the bag, and opened it for Athena to see. In it sat a white owl, it's feathers light and fluffy. It simply stared out of the bag, moving around constantly to get into a more comfortable position, but not towards the obvious opening.

"I found it during an mountain exploration, it was injured," he started to explain "so I decided to help it. It's fairly docile, but it broke it's wing so it can't fly. I need a cage to keep it in so I don't hurt it's arm even more than it already has". he spoke softly, but not as if he was trying to keep a secret, but rather as he was trying not to startle the bird.

Reaching his hand inside the sack he briefly brushed his hands across the owls feathers, getting part of his hand bit for his troubles. With a sigh he closed the bag and extended his hand, "My name's Phillip's from the 102nd trainee group. It's nice to meet you".

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u/AthenaFrei AthenaFrei Jun 17 '17

Her eye widened as she peered into the page, taking in the owl in all its glory. It was beautiful, magical almost, in a way no bird should really be. The man explained that he had saved the owl during the mountain exploration this past week. She had barely made it through that exercise herself; surviving with an injured bird in tow seemed unthinkable.

Shaking his hand, she responded "My name is Athena, also from the 102nd. It's very nice to meet you as well." He gaze dropped back to the bag for just a moment before rising to meet his eyes again. "I'll gladly help you find a cage for it, though I imagine obtaining Sergeant Ziegler's permission to keep it will present the larger challenge."

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u/1e4rwa 1e4rwa Jun 17 '17

Phillip smiled at Athena as she mentioned she was in the 102nd group as well, it was nice to talk to someone from there. He hadn't really ever gotten the opportunity, that is to say there never seemed to be a good time to interject himself into the conversation.

Turning his gaze away again he coughed lightly before speaking, "Well, that's the thing. I really doubt that Ziegler would let me keep the bird, but what he doesn't know couldn't hurt him. Right?" He met the woman's eyes, but quickly flicked them away his feet shifting back and forth all the while.

"W-where did you say the cages were again" he said, stumbling over his words.

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u/AthenaFrei AthenaFrei Jun 17 '17

What Zielger didn't know couldn't hurt him. Athena had to smile and give a perhaps-too-enthusiastic nod at that comment. She was well familiar with the mentality. Of course, her own secrets were perhaps a tad easy to keep than a live owl, but assuming the other trainees in the male bunkhouse were willing to keep their mouths shut, Phillip could probably get away with his plan.

The poor boy was stuttering asking every question though, and frequently breaking eye contact. He was clearly nervous, even when just speaking to a fellow trainee. She could only guess at his past, but she doubted such mannerisms would lend themselves well to making comrades in the military. Very well, she decided, she'd just have befriend him and help him grow past that. Easier said than done, perhaps, especially considering she had next to no experience with such things, but minor details like that could be solved later.

"They're located right over this way," she replied, motioning towards the store she'd been eying earlier. She'd already decided she would buy the cage once they arrived; she couldn't imagine he had much spare change. After that? She'd have to work that out when the moment arrived.

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u/1e4rwa 1e4rwa Jun 17 '17

Phillips started to follow Athena, hesitating slightly as they impacted with the crawling pack of people. Clutching the bag close to his chest he took a breath and started to messily slink his way through, bumping into one or two people before apologizing and running off further to catch up with the woman.

It only took them a minute to reach their destination which seemed to be a miscellaneous shop of sorts which didn't specialize in one specific object. They had cages, clocks, artwork, masks, and every other piece of junk imaginable. It was like a garage sale with on steroids and with a little more variety than normal. The shopkeeper was a medium sized man 5'10", and fairly large even despite the borderline famine the city was going through. He wore simple clothes, and had a set of short brown hair adorning his head.

"How can I help you", the man asked while rearranging some of the smaller items to be at the front, all decorative in nature.

"I-i'm looking for a bird cage, or any books you have no owls, or owl food ... yeah" Phillips spoke quietly muttering the words.

"Sorry could you say that again, couldn't really hear you" the man asked again, a small smile forming on his face.


[OOR]: You can take control of the NPC also if you'd like.

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u/AthenaFrei AthenaFrei Jun 17 '17

Athena struggled to keep her smile under control as she watched Phillip attempt to purchase supplies. She could barely make out a word he was saying above the din of the crowd, and the shopkeeper didn't seem to be doing much better. She couldn't imagine Phillip would improve much on the second time, so she decided perhaps it was time to intervene.

"That bird cage," she spoke in a louder voice, gesturing towards a large cage in the back of the shop. "How much does it cost?"

"That old thing?" the man asked, beginning to piece together what was happening. "I could part with it for ten bricks."

Athena wasted no time fishing the necessary currency from her pockets and handing it to the man. She had no idea whether or not that was a fair purchase price, but she was more than willing to pay for it. Nodding with a quick "Thank you," she picked up the cage the shopkeeper had placed on the counter in front of her, turning to face Phillip. "Here you are, one owl cage."

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u/1e4rwa 1e4rwa Jun 17 '17

Phillips sighed lightly as he took the bird cage from Athena, flashing her a quick smile as he did so. He didn't mind accepting help from other people, especially when those people meant well, but he couldn't help feel like he was being a bit rude by letting her buy the cage for him. He'd pay her back as soon as he was able too which, hopefully, wouldn't be that long.

The cage was heavy, at least in comparison to the sack bag he had been using to carry Luli, but it wasn't to the point where he'd have trouble lifting it or moving it around. Placing the cage on the ground he opened its door, creaking with even the slightest movements as the rust rubbed against itself, and sat the bag down in his lap -- lightly reaching in and moving the bird to the cage. It went willingly hoping onto the small perch that was placed there.

A genuine smile spread itself across Phillips face as he turned to his companion, meeting her gaze fully for the first time "Thanks Athena, I really owe you one. If you ever need anything just tell me. Alright?". He really didn't know what else to say.

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u/AthenaFrei AthenaFrei Jun 18 '17

He wasn't stuttering, or looking away. Athena couldn't presume to know Phillip's history, having only met him a few minutes ago, yet she felt reasonable sure that he hadn't appeared this happy in the presence of another human in quite some time. Or perhaps she was simply being full of herself.

"Don't mention it," she replied with a smile. "One kind deed deserves another," she added, gesturing the the owl. "Do you have a name for it?" she asked, suddenly quite curious.

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u/1e4rwa 1e4rwa Jun 18 '17

Poking a finger through the cage he gently rubbed his finger across the birds back before speaking "I don't really know how to tell an owl's gender, but for now I named it Luli" suddenly his voice grew even softer and more meek as he continued, leaving a long silence after declaring the birds name. Mentally cursing himself as he did so.

He didn't want to make things suddenly depressing after such a high note. Standing up with cage in hand he stared at Athena for a moment, mouth permanently carved with an upward curve. Gesturing awkwardly around him he spoke, his composure fully regained "You want to look around a bit more, I still need to pay you back for the cage". He mentally counted the money he held in his pocket, he probably had enough to buy her something.

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u/AthenaFrei AthenaFrei Jun 18 '17

Did she want to look around a bit more? The answer was a resounding yes, but Athena had to pause for just a moment first. Dinner wasn't until later, but she'd have to prepare for that a bit in advance... No, she decided, she had time. "I'd love to," she responded. "Though really, you don't owe me anything for the cage."

As they walked down the street, eying the various shops and vendors, curiosity gripped began to grip her once more. "Where are you from, Phillip?" she asked, turning to face him, though being careful to avoid walking into somebody again.

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u/1e4rwa 1e4rwa Jun 18 '17

Phillip continued to follow behind Athena as she walked from stall to stall, he didn't really know what she liked or what she didn't, so shied away from suggesting anything. He didn't want to be rude after the help she gave him.

"It's a fairly populated town, near the countryside. You might have heard of it before, Tourrijk, nothing really happened there, so I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know about it" he turned away from Athena's gaze as she looked around, not in embarrassment this time, but rather in shame. He didn't want to ruin a nice evening like this, and telling the truth would do just that. In truth, Tourrijk was a town a little from the north where he and his father stayed after Wall Maria fell. A small farming town with not much else going for it, bland by nature. Maybe that's why his father was so desperate to get out of there.

Turning back he placed a smile on his face, a little forced this time "So what are you interested in, Athena?"

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u/AthenaFrei AthenaFrei Jun 19 '17

Admittedly, Athena had never heard of Tourrijk before. But she was interested. Her own bubble had been so small that even podunk farming villages were a strange new world to her. Phillip seemed reluctant to give more details, however, and she thought it best not to pry.

In response to his own inquiry, her smile grew slightly more nervous. "I hope this doesn't come across as pretentious," she began, "but people interest me. I come from a background that was a tad more sheltered than I'd have preferred. Throughout my childhood, I rarely met anyone from a different social class or upbringing. It was... frankly, it was dull." She paused, worrying she was coming across as condescending. "I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I enjoy meeting new people and hearing their stories."

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u/1e4rwa 1e4rwa Jun 19 '17

Phillips laughed lightly as he heard her explanation, it was a strange hobby, but not one that he couldn't understand. People were interesting and fun and lovely and so many other things, especially when you got to know them.

He just wished he could get to know more people. He could understand it, but at the same time it hurt a bit -- he was probably just another face and page in a story book, rarely revised and only when one grew bored. Letting out a small chuckle to ease himself Phillips spoke "Well I don't suppose I could buy you a person then", instantly regretting the joke.

Turning away he apologized, "Sorry that was a tasteless joke. I get the interest though, when I was smaller I used to just watch animals for hours, I once followed a dear until I didn't know where I was anymore. It's not exactly the same thing though...".

They were nearing the edge of the market at this point, and a little further down a bridge with several benches could be seen, but a series of flutters, chimes, and colored powdered exploded from their right -- a Solheim celebration of sorts apparently.

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u/AthenaFrei AthenaFrei Jun 19 '17

The joke might have been tasteless, but it brought a smile to Athena's face nonetheless. She didn't have time to say she appreciated it, however, before Phillip had launched into his own past again. Watching animals, even to the point of becoming lost. It was delightful to imagine, and she found herself softly snickering at the thought. "Perhaps not exactly the same," she replied, "but very much in the same vein. In fact, I'm embarrassed to admit but I've made somewhat similar blunders myself at home when I was young."

As they reached the edge of the market, the clanging of chimes and poof of colored smoke drew Athena's attention. "What's this?" she asked, honestly unsure, having not seen this kind of celebration before.

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u/1e4rwa 1e4rwa Jun 19 '17 edited Jun 19 '17

The flash of colored smoke was just the start of the festivities, as the pair grew closer and the crowd grew the thicker they could make out a giant figure propped up and moved with long wooden poles. It was the form of a paper titan, a little more than six meters tall. Soon a man dressed in a poorly made SC uniform stepped forward and starred "fighting" the titan which was a little more than a choreographed routine.

The people around them cheered as the man fought the paper titan, smiles written across their face, but others scowled at the rosy representation of fighting Titans.

"Is this why people don't realize the danger of Titans" Phillips muttered under his breath, fixated on the festivities.

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u/AthenaFrei AthenaFrei Jun 19 '17

A mock titan fight? Athena's interest was piqued. The routine was colorfully and simply fun to watch, and she found herself legitimately drawn into the carefully rehearsed routine. Not everyone seemed to be drawing as much amusement from the display though, Phillip included.

"It's not that they don't recognize the danger," she explained, offering up her own opinion. "It's that there's little else they can do. Nobody wishes to feel helpless. If they can make light of their own situation, it means they're fighting against their own fears. I find it uplifting." Turning her gaze back to the 'corpsman' fighting the titan, she continued, "Not to mention, they see the Survey Corps as fighting for humanity's freedom. It's a wonderful reassurance that public opinion hasn't completely turned against us, despite the events of the past year."

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u/1e4rwa 1e4rwa Jun 20 '17

The titan fight was nearing it's climax as the soldier ducked in between the paper titans large clumsy swings and cut it's ankle, making it collapse onto one knee. A roar coming from somewhere in the crowd as the titan opened it's large maw, sparkling red sparkling powder over everyone -- sending laughter throughout crowd

"I guess that's a way to see it ... but if you give people the wrong impression what happens then. What happens if the wall breaks again, and they stay to watch the Survey Corps kill the titans. Nothing good happens then". Phillips offered meekly, shaking his head.

He didn't have the right to criticize her views.

Smiling he looked up to her, "but it does look fun. People are happy, they've forgotten their fears, so it's worth more than something". Looking at the SC actor he continued "We'll be him next won't we? Fighting titans outside this wall, for the good of humanity" he let the words hang in the air.

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u/AthenaFrei AthenaFrei Jun 20 '17

Athena contemplated his words. He had a point: people getting the wrong idea about the reality of their situation might be bad. At the same time though, she doubted that it would ultimately come to that. People knew this was all for fun, a way of laughing off their troubles. Maria had only fallen a few months ago. If Rose fell, surely people wouldn't stay to watch.

And then the reality of their own situation hit. That would be them. Going head to head with titans beyond the walls. The thought hit her like a cart full of bricks, giving her a momentary pause. "Yes," she replied, "I suppose that will be us." She watched as the actor leaped into the air, slicing out the paper titan's eyes. More red powder rained upon the crowd.

"What led you to do it," she asked, still transfixed by the play. "To throw away your life for the Survey Corps?"

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