Vice Director (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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sevenvices2016-04-04 05:28 pm
vicedirector) wrote in sevenvices2016-04-04 05:28 pm
week 8
 21 players remaining ♫ monday - thursday Monday morning begins just like the rest, slow and uneasy. At 12pm, every television will go off with its usual bout of static, followed by Katerina's calm, albeit disinterested, voice. "Please gather in the hotel lobby within the next hour." That's all that it says before the televisions turn off. Anyone not in their rooms will hear the voice echoing around them as if through a speaker system, although there are (still) no speakers present. After hearing the motive, characters who choose to explore will find that the void around the town has retracted a bit, and there is now boathouse and lake up North Anyone looking for them will also find that Alisha's spear and Sadie's earmuffs are now gone. >Mingle? This is Week 8's mingle log, covering Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday. Investigations will go up on Friday. When posting toplevels, specify the time and location. If you plan on having any private conversations between characters, remember to let us know in the post linked below. More plot elements will be introduced this week. Mod comments will be occasionally distributed to open toplevels, accordingly. setting rulebook profiles private conversations |
monday
Good afternoon...laptop?
[Okay. You got him. He's curious. Technology is involved so he's putting the whole alone time thing on hold for now.]
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She didn't bother you, did she?
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Not at all. I am more curious than bothered. Are you playing another one of your games?
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If it's programming assistance you need, you are free to call on me at any time and I will gladly come to your aid. Though...might I ask what your ultimate goal is with this prototype?
[He has a feeling he might know what it is, but he's not certain. There are a couple of possibilities here, some more plausible than others.]
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[ Inaba, do you really have to say that with such surprise as her eyes light up excitedly? Yes, yes she does, clearly. But when he asks about her goal with the prototype, well. . . ]
Hm, well, I guess you're more advanced than I am. [ In regards to programming. That isn't to say that Inaba herself is complete shit at it! She's actually decent, if not better than most average people in her world. ] But I wanted to make an AI clone of myself, of sorts. In case of an emergency. Also, programming's a good distraction from the... motive. Not that I plan to forget or ignore it. Taichi is important to me, after all. I just hope they never remove that idiot's gag.
[ LIKE NEVER, EVER, EVER ]
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[ACCEPT HIS FRIENDSHIP, INABA, GODDAMMIT.]
Eldar has been around for far longer than Earth has. [Like...so long that their sun is about to die, long.] It's only natural that our technology is more advanced than yours, as we have had more time to develop it. Likewise, there are civilizations out there even more advanced than my own. However, that said, even without your profile, I could tell by examining your computer alone that you have quite the knack for such things.
[DON'T WORRY, INABA, HE'S NOT JUDGING OR ANYTHING HERE. He takes pride in his skills, sure, but he's not that arrogant.]
I will admit though, that while I have worked with brainwave syncing, artificial intelligence is an area I have little experience with. But it should make for an interesting challenge, and a good distraction as you said.
[He glances over at the monitor for a moment. UGH. Fuck this motive, honestly.]
I suppose they'll have to remove them so they can eat, but...I get the feeling they intend to leave them bound and gagged, otherwise.
[Does he look slightly relieved as he says this, maybe a little. Please leave his hostage gagged. Please.]
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[ Inaba's interest is piqued; learning things is also a good distraction for her, it's something that she's always interested in. ]
But yeah, programming's one of the things I'm good at. I was thinking of using a program to record my voice, and another one for the 3D modules. The problem I am having is with language for the most part.
[ As for motive... ]
Yeah... I already know that Taichi might say something stupid that would get himself killed.
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[Because they have INTERSTELLAR FRIENDSHIP and it's great.]
I am not certain how much you need worry about language and translation, honestly. That would actually be fairly simple to program, since it's a matter of spoken word, however...there's something odd about this place that makes translation technology completely pointless. I feel as though any AI program you design would be affected by the phenomenon as well.
[He still doesn't understand how this works at all and it kind of weird him out a little. But he's not complaining, because otherwise he'd be kinda fucked. He's the only one here who speaks Eldarian, after all. And that's the only language he can speak.]
I will hope for your sake, then, that they decide to keep him quiet for the time being.
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[ Inaba knows about "certain things at home that she should have protected" but she ended up not protecting anyway because she went fuck it and spilled. But nothing happened to her afterwards, so it's okay? Clearly. ]
Well, I thought it would be more difficult to program spoken word than to program in text.
[ She smiles, a little strained. ]
Mm, yeah... he's a good friend of mine, after all.
[ Although Inaba sounds a little melancholic she sounds as if there's more to it than them just being friends. ]
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[They'll have to really dig into the code later. It'll be great.]
I...had a feeling he was someone very near to your heart. You seemed particularly distressed when the motive was revealed. [He'd wanted to say something at the time but, well, Faize is basically shit at comforting others even when he's not grieving, and for some reason, he'd disappeared fairly quickly after the announcement ended. He sighs after a thoughtful pause.]...My apologies, I am still not certain what to tell you to make the situation any easier. This is Hajime's area of expertise, I'm afraid.
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[ Meaning that Miku would be able to say words that Inaba would otherwise not use. ]
Right now all I have is the base module, the audio that comes with the Vocaloid program, the text editor, and input mapping to make her do things. Like you can type in this- [ She quickly types in the word "dance" and then presses enter. ] And then she dances. There's also specific inputs you can do for different kinds of dances.
[ When he says that, she smiles, melancholic. ]
He's more important to Iori than he is to me. Taichi's a good friend of mine, and, well... he's selfless. More than anyone else. He'd jump bridges if it meant that he could help someone, without thinking about the consequences. Or what people would think about it. It really shouldn't have been him, of all people. Anybody else would have been- [ not fine, but ] better.
Ah, but don't worry about it. Everyone's good at something, and you'll just learn how to do this kind of thing better the more times you do it, I suppose. By the way, I couldn't tell, but -- who was the person they got for you? Ah, wait, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine, too. I shouldn't assume that just because I said anything means you will.
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[The continued talk of hostages snaps him back out of it though.]
Mmm...I certainly hope so. [But he sounds kind of doubtful. He's pretty sure it's too late for him to get better at this whole comforting thing. Emotions are hard and Earthlings deal with them so much differently than Eldarians. He's so out of his element. So he's glad to latch onto talking about something else.]
Has she finally stopped glaring at me then? [He looks back at the screen. And if Inaba looks as well, she'll notice that a very young girl does, indeed, seem to be staring right at Faize with an almost fiery intensity. Despite the fact that her face is emotionless enough that she could pass for a doll. It's all in the eyes, really. Faize winces slightly, sighing a little.] I suppose it was a little too optimistic to hope otherwise.
[Why does it seem like they have a very complicated relationship. Oh, wait. Because they do.]
Her name is Lymle, and she is...technically a member of the Calnus crew. Though I'm certain you can tell by looking at her that it's merely a title, for the most part. [Look at those robes...she's gotta be a ye olde.] She comes from a very underdeveloped planet, technologically speaking. So she doesn't do anything when it comes to ship operations or mission critical decisions. But she is a valued member of our team, all the same.
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[ She looks a the screen and notices the glare. That sure is a thing. But even with their complicated relationship, she seems nice? Maybe cute, but in the "little shit" kind of way. ]
But I get it. Everyone in the team is valuable, no matter how trivial they may seem. It's the same for me, after all.
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Mmm. She may have no technological prowess at all, but her symbological abilities surpass even my own, making her quite the force to have on our side in battle.
[Is that really the only positive thing you can say about your hostage? wtf Faize.]
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It's an...ability shared by many different lifeforms on many different planets, though predictably, each one uses it a little differently. I suppose one could liken it to magic, but that would be simplifying it. [It's. Logic. Magic.] By using a combination of a written symbol, spoken incantation, and mental focus, certain individuals are capable of manipulating their surroundings to bring about supernatural effects. For example, making earth rise into spikes, healing minor injuries, increasing or decreasing a target's physical capabilities...the list goes on but the effects can be offensive, defensive, or supportive.
[Aren't you glad you asked, Inaba?]
We Eldarians are among those lifeforms who are capable of using it, however it is a somewhat rare talent. It seems to be less rare among Lemursians, [Apparently what Lymle is?? She looks 100% human though, if a little small. Apparently this is all that distinguishes Lemursians from Earthlings. They are short, magical humans.] and they also seem to be more adept at using it. Lymle is especially talented, even amongst her people. Something of a child prodigy, I suppose you could say.
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Hah. I'm not as much of an idiot to say something like "all special abilities are the same, so they must be magic". I've dealt with enough supernatural bullshit and enough anime and manga to know that there is a point to differentiating the both. I mean don't even get me started on how Fate/ magic works. But that's interesting to know
[ Actually, since they are on this topic... ]
I see. When using this ability, does it consume some sort of energy? Is it from within the person or outside?
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I suppose you could say it uses mental energy, in a sense. As I said, mental focus is a necessity. As a result, using it can be rather draining, especially when using it in battle as it is often necessary to cast multiple symbols, very quickly, for a prolonged period. [Lucky for Faize, he uses a sword too so he's not a pure magic user. Or is that unlucky since it means he's exhausting himself both mentally AND physically...] Of course, reaching a point of exhaustion depends on the skill and fortitude of the symbologist.
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I see. Makes me feel lucky that I've never had to deal with combat my whole life... [ But, hm. ] Can you show me some? I think a live demonstration would be interesting.
[ Basically she wants to see this in person. ]
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I will gladly demonstrate, if you truly wish to see. Though I am afraid our captors have put some rather severe limitations on what I am able to do here, so I have only my three most basic symbols available to me. But even so, we will have to move outside. I would rather not test the rule about damaging the hotel.
[He'll start moving towards the front door, slowly so as to give Inaba enough time to close up her laptop and follow him if she wants.]
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[ That's something that she can wholeheartedly agree on, no matter what. ]
That's fine by me. I mean, the limitations do suck, but -- it's better to see them for future reference. [ But sure, she'll close her laptop to carry it outside. ]
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[He leads her a little ways away from the hotel, coming to a stop once he's satisfied that they're enough out of the way of anybody potentially walking by.] This should suffice, I think.
[He inhales deeply, raising his right hand in front of him and drawing it downwards, into a fist, in front of his face. His lips are moving the entire time he does this, though it's near impossible to understand a word he's saying, due in part because he's whispering. As he chants, a blue circle of light, full of bizarre and appropriately mystical-looking symbols appears in midair before him, rotating slowly. It's at this point that Inaba will likely realize the biggest drawback of symbology: this shit takes time and leaves the caster completely defenseless for the duration. It's nearly a full minute before Faize thrusts his hand forward with a loud cry of:]
Earth Glaive!
[The symbol circle stops rotating, shining brightly as a large spike of rock suddenly bursts upward from the ground a few feet away. It remains for maybe thirty seconds or so before retreating back into the ground and disappearing completely as the earth reforms over it flawlessly. Well, mostly flawlessly. The spike did kick up a few decently-sized rocks that were have been left scattered all over the ground now. When Faize turns back to Inaba, he looks a little tired, but not worryingly so. He's not about to pass out or anything.]
Obviously, that would be an example of an offensive symbol. Earth-element, specifically.
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[ She definitely is going to take notes on this because she always takes notes out of sheer interest. Look, she may hate supernatural bullshit, but she's likes learning new things... even if she doesn't completely understand it. It's probably something in their biology or something.
But when she sees the Earth Glaive, she can't help but grin, clapping her hands with the most impressed look. ]
I see... That's quite amazing, actually; being able to do offense. So a question. Are some elements specifically offensive or defensive or...?
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[Normally, he has all offense and then...an intelligence buff and antidote. Because why the fuck not, I guess? Go ahead, pick two of the most random support spells imaginable, Faize. Whatever floats your starship.]
As far as I am aware, all elemental symbols are offensive, regardless of whether or not they are fire, ice, wind, earth, lightning, light, or darkness. Though that is merely my own experience, not necessarily a universal rule. Symbols must be developed and can therefore vary greatly from planet to planet. For example, two different societies can develop a symbol that results in the same effect...but write it in two completely different ways. So, in that same vein, it is entirely plausible that somewhere out there, a society has developed a way to use elemental symbols in a truly defensive manner.
[As opposed to "the best defense is a good offense" which is about all Faize can really do with his. Hit them before they hit you.]
The possibilities are quite possibly as vast as the star ocean itself.
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