Test Drive for August 2014 Apps

[highseasmods]

Welcome to your monthly Test Drive for high_seas! Here is where new players can test out their characters' voices, old players can try out new muses, and everyone can help each other get some threads for their applications! Feel free to use one of the prompts below, or come up with something on your own! Comment around, have fun, and remember that any CR formed here does not carry over to the game!

See you during the application round!

♦ So you're new to this world and have just woken up in the Town Square. How do you react? What do you do?

♦ You're lost at sea. Maybe you got separated from your crew. Or perhaps you're on an abandoned island. You need help!

♦ "Pirates off the starboard bow!" It's an enemy ship! Attack!!

♦ You and your crew are hanging out on your ship. Just another day at sea!

♦ "LAND, HO!" Hey look, a new island! How about you go explore it? Tell us what you find!

♦ Arrr, here be buried treasure, but not all that glitters is gold! Will ye be telling your mateys what ye found, or keeping it for yourselves?

Comments

Ringabel | Bravely Default

[knightlydiary]

A

[It certainly isn't the first time he's found himself in an unfamiliar place with little to no idea how one got there and in possession of a strange book, so Ringabel is taking this little abduction in stride. Carrying three books is getting to be a bit much, so his first order of business was to find a nice satchel for himself and chat up the girl in the shop for a while. Now, he's returned to the fountain plaza to see what he can find out about this little pickle he's found himself in. He's pretty sure this isn't where he wanted to go, but finding his way back to the nearest convenient glowing pillar of light isn't going to happen without a little information and perhaps a charming lady or two to travel with.

If you're a bewildered, lost little lamb staring at the fountain in confusion and shock, expect a flashily-dressed young man with excellent hair to stick his nose in your business and start up a conversation. If you're a lovely young lady, expect the tone to be more suave and flirtatious than you'd expect from someone so recently yanked through the fabric of reality.]

Good afternoon. Lovely weather we're having, isn't it? It looks like you and are in the same boat, so to speak.

B

[It's a balmy day on board the ship. There's not much to do, so Ringabel has his journal out and is spending his afternoon idly sketching away. If you look over his shoulder, you'll see rather charming pictures of most of the crew, which he's happy to show off. You may also catch a glimpse of a picture or two of a girl with a big black bow in her hair. It's up to you whether you want to take the risk of asking him about those.]

A

[caster_blaster]

Are you already making nautical jokes, pal? Really?

[Gene gives him a flat star, looking up from his current page. He's been flipping through pages and reading the various messages left by other displaced folks.]

And who are you supposed to be, some kind of host?

[knightlydiary]

Host?

[His brow furrows as he considers his outfit. The adventurer who sold it to him (for a ridiculous amount of pg) had said it was the costume of a melodist, whatever that is. "Host" sounds far too mundane for a coat as exquisite as this.]

I have absolutely no idea what that is. If you'd care to elaborate...?

[He fishes out his journal from his satchel. (His journal, the one he's been carrying from world to world, not the latest book he's added to his collection.) It can't hurt to jot down some notes.]

[caster_blaster]

Guys with ridiculously coifed hair and overly showy outfits. They like to bilk lonely patrons out of cash at overpriced bars. Pretty popular in some of the snazzier colonies in the Hei Phong sector.

[knightlydiary]

[He pauses with his pen poised over the book and looks vaguely horrified. What a terrible thing.]

I can assure you I'm nothing of the sort! Believe me, I would never approach a lonely lady to get at her wallet. Why do something so vulgar when her heart is the true prize a man should be winning?

[He says it with a straight face (if you can call a self-satisfied little smirk a straight face) because he genuinely means it.]

[caster_blaster]

[To his credit, Gene listens to his little explanation...right before letting out a PFFFFFT! and laughing his head off.]

Oh please, who do you think you're talking to? That line might work back home, but not on Sentinel III. The chivalrous knight act went out of style centuries ago. Say that where I'm from, and you'll get laughed out of the bar!

[knightlydiary]

[His eyes grow shrewd for a moment. He's never heard of a place called "Sentinel III" or "Hei Phong." Some sort of military outpost? If it is, he should at least have heard the name before. Possibly this world is different not only from his, but from this young man's as well. A shame, then, because it sounds like there are legions of lovely young ladies in this Sentinel III place suffering from a dire lack of handsome, good-mannered gentlemen such as himself.]

I shall have to visit this place you're from sometime. It sounds like I could reel in quite a few --

[He coughs, cutting himself off. He needs to focus on the business at hand, not daydream about scores of lonely women, starved for a bit of chivalry in their lives, throwing themselves at his feet. No, he can do that later.]

That aside, no, I'm afraid I have no idea who I'm talking to. Neither one of us has taken the time to introduce ourselves. They call me Ringabel, by the way, and I've become quite attached to the name. And you are?

[caster_blaster]

...It was rhetorical, but alright. I suppose we should, after all. I'm Gene Starwind, of Starwind and Hawking. I'm kind of a big deal, back home.

[knightlydiary]

Is that so?

[Ringabel saved all of existence a few hours ago, but it would be a bit rude to bring that up now. This Gene fellow seems quite impressed with himself, after all.]

Some sort of merchant, then?

[That's what it sounds like, though Gene looks a bit scruffy for that. Unless it's one of those not-quite-above-board sorts of merchantries, which is entirely possible.]

[caster_blaster]

Eh, not so much. I guess you could say I'm a jack-of-all-trades, like most Outlaws in space.

Though most Outlaws haven't saved the galaxy from a massive threat. Even if I didn't get any actual proof of it, yet.

[knightlydiary]

[Ringabel starts an entry in his journal for "Gene Starwind the Outlaw." It may not be an Asterisk, but he can sort of hear that capital letter, so it's worth a few notes.

That second statement gives him pause, though.]

Don't count it saved until you have that proof, my friend.

[His whole demeanor immediately sobers. If their situations are in any way similar, it may explain how they've both found themselves in a place like this.]

Especially now that we've passed into another world.

[caster_blaster]

I've been to a lot of other worlds, though. This is actually pretty nice, all things considered. I just miss technology.

[knightlydiary]

I think you missed my point. If you saved your world, why are you here? What happened to the world you were in before? I know I for one shouldn't be here at all, yet here I am.

[Ringabel makes a few more notes and waits for the ink to dry before he puts his journal away.]

I had a destination in mind and this certainly isn't it.

[caster_blaster]

I got taken after all of that. Months after. I was just out on a job, got trashed in a bar, and woke up here.

I didn't plan for this either, but I figure it's just meant to be. Obviously this place needs Gene Starwind very badly.

[knightlydiary]

[That's...questionable. There are four Heroes of Light and the only one likely to be found in a questionable bar extolling his own virtues is currently eying Gene a bit skeptically.]

Somehow one half of that statement doesn't support the other half.

[caster_blaster]

Which part?

[knightlydiary]

Generally one doesn't find one's heroes, ahem, "trashed in a bar." It strikes me as a bit irresponsible.

[Gorging themselves at all you can eat dessert buffets, however? That's another story entirely.]

[caster_blaster]

[That certainly catches his attention. He leans back, giving a somewhat cheeky grin to him.]

...Oh, I get it. You're one of those kinda' guys. The holier-than-thous. Everybody likes a good drink now and then, pal. Some of us just like it more than others. It's got nothing to do with getting the job done.

[knightlydiary]

[He isn't entirely certain whether to be offended by that or not. After all, he's no longer the stick in the mud he once was. Still, there's a bit of a line to be drawn between "responsible hero behavior" and "things one might expect more of a degenerate vagrant" and drinking oneself into senselessness in a less than reputable establishment falls firmly into the latter category.]

I think I beg to differ, but that aside...

[That aside...what, exactly? Gene doesn't seem to know any more than he does about what's going on. In fact, he seems to know less. Ringabel sighs and crosses his arms. So much for intelligence gathering.]

A

[darklaw]

[As lovely as this particular lady may be, the expression on her face is rather dark at the moment. It is not befitting the High Inquisitor to disappear shortly before the beginning of a trial of such great importance... Not to mention she doesn't recognize the place, which shouldn't be possible; after all, nothing exists outside the walls of Labirynthia and every person living there is aware of that fact. While there are some similarities -- why, the fountain plaza is not unlike the one she's familiar with -- the woman is more than certain she is no longer in the town where she's supposed to be. The only one who she supposes could be involved in this is that "Professor Layton", though frankly, she's having a hard time imagining him kidnapping someone.

As Darklaw continues to dwell on her predicament, she notices a young man who approached her seems to be talking to her now. She frowns slightly, choosing her words carefully as she answers.]

... I take it you had no intention of coming to this location either, then.

[knightlydiary]

Most certainly not! Though...

[He tips his head to the side and taps his chin.]

I suppose it's possible it's a case of "a hero's job is never done." After all, if a lovely lady like yourself has found herself displaced, I would be remiss if I didn't come to her aid.

[He bows deeply. He'd probably take her hand and try to kiss it, but he's occasionally not as foolish as he looks. Occasionally.]

Ringabel, at your service.

[darklaw]

A "hero"?

[That actually causes a small, smug smile to form on her lips. Well, that makes sense, she supposes. After all, what is a "Story" without its own "hero"?]

My, aren't you a confident one. Very well then. I suppose you wouldn't mind sharing any potentially useful information in your possession, now would you, Sir Hero?

[Darklaw's amusement doesn't last too long, however, as the scowl returns to her features soon enough.]

A word of warning, though; pointless flattery will lead you nowhere... save for dungeon.

[... Not that she holds the position of power to make it happen here, but hey. Let us not sweat over the details.]

[knightlydiary]

Pointless? Flattery? My dear, I assure you that I speak from the depths of my heart, which you have well and truly stolen. And as such, I will gladly tell you all I know.

[Though that could take some time, because he's kind of an expert in this sort of thing by now. Hopefully he'll be able to keep her attention.]

We seem to have found ourselves in a world not our own. I don't know about you, but this is sixth time this has happened to me and I thought the fifth time was supposed to be the last, so this is a bit confusing. If everything is true to form, there's some business with crystals to be dealt with before we can go home.

[That was a bit of an oversimplication, but it was a start. No doubt that would be enough to raise some questions he'd need to answer before continuing.]

[darklaw]

[One million years dungeon, Ringabel.]

You are more than welcome to take it back. I have no plans to hold onto it.

[She hopes with that the topic of his heart can be considered done with.

The woman listens patiently to his exposition, her expression turning sour as she does.]

... Are you suggesting we have been transported to another world? [That's difficult to believe. Most residents of Labirynthia are convinced the town is the entire world, and while the High Inquisitor isn't one of them, moving to other locations within the world is where she draws the line.] Surely you jest.

[If he does, Storyteller has mercy on his soul, as Darklaw is obviously not amused.]

[knightlydiary]

If only that were the case. I must say that this is the first time I've ended up in one this unfamiliar to me, but this is without a doubt not the world I started out from. Here.

[He fishes the journal he's been carrying with him throughout his travels out of his satchel. He probably could just hold it out, but he takes this opportunity to step into her space and attempt to put it into her hands.]

Have a look through this, if you'd like.