[Video]

[lonered]

[Keith spent a long time debating whether to bother with video for this or just go with text. But the truth is, for what he's aiming for, it's better to do this virtual-face to virtual-face. Or something. He's even done bothering with the frankly ridiculous mask. For now.

The video opens to a fairly normal looking teenager (aside from the fact that what's visible of him is definitely dressed in a skin-tight vaguely glowy futuristic space suit), hesitating a moment like he's still debating on how to begin.]

So. Uh.

[Good start, Keith. Solid.]

I guess all of us are stuck in the same boat whether we want to be or not. And apparently that boat is headed for some other world before we know it.

I'll be honest. I don't know if we can trust this Astoria as far as we can throw her. [And he knows she can hear this, but he's said as much to her face, so there's that.] But for now I guess I plan on going along to see how things play out. [Which after discussing with Shiro, he feels pretty okay about, as plans go.]

But... just waltzing into other worlds, and potentially meddling in them... that could go bad really quickly if someone makes an enemy of the wrong person. If that happens, it might not be a terrible idea to know what we've got on our side.

Not just magic either. Because... that's really new to me at least. But we all bring some experience or skills or knowledge or something to the table, right? If we're gonna be any sort of team, we may as well know our strengths. And what we might be lacking.

[Maybe? Keith is now wondering if it was a bad idea to give him a way to talk to so many people at once. But he's committed now, no help for it. So he'll even go first.]

I'm Keith. Uh... I guess I'm pretty good with a sword. Pretty good in anything that flies. And I'm mostly used to being in space, lately. But it does't sound like that'll be helpful in this El Minha place. Also apparently I can fly now. So... there's that.

Anyone else feel like sharing?


(( hit him up, hit each other up, threadjack as you like! ))

Comments

[Video]

[spaceforged]

This was a good idea. [Keith is trying and he has more than a point, however rough around the edges it is.]

For the purposes of this network....I'm Shiro, formerly with the Coven but my power is the same. I shapeshift in a mechanical flying lion. I can fly but there's....some adjustments to be had with this newer version of the magic.

I'm also a pilot with decent combat experience. [Understatement. He pauses.]

...it would really be a good idea for anyone to start figuring out their magic now. Or ask Astoria about it. Some magic might be passive and cause problems the rest of us need to adjust for to help that person.

[Video]

[lonered]

[Keith doesn't intend to look as relieved and pleased as he does at that approval, but he definitely does.] Yeah? Good.

[But Shiro brings up a few points that Keith wouldn't have even considered.] You know way more about this magic stuff than I do. What do you mean by "passive?"

[Educate him, Shiro. He's all ears. Also, for the record.] Also "pilot with decent combat experience" is a candidate for understatement of the deca-phoeb, you know.

[Video]

[oohmami]

[ there is one ( 1 ) very confused fifteen year old eying you warily through the feed, shiro, but at least he looks earnest?? ]

I'm gonna level with you, man, I didn't understand most of what you just said.

[ mechanical ... flying lion??? wtf is this place even. ]

But - "their magic"? What's that all about?

( video )

[insubordination]

[ roy is a Network Stalker (tm) and has been following all of this since arrival, but what he notices most is that shiro and keith know each other. and he considers that for a moment before he turns on his own video feed, and while he doesn't offer up any information right off the bat, he does say: ]

You know Shiro.

[ followed up with: ]

You have a wealth of experience for someone who can't be any older than eighteen. How old are you?

( video )

[lonered]

Yeah, I know him. From back home.

[Keith answers, like Shiro isn't essentially the most important person in his life.]

You know Shiro? From the, uh, Coven he talked about, the witch before this witch?

[...and then he's straight up called out.]

...Eighteen. [SHH.] Maybe nineteen, actually. It's been hard to keep track of the date away from Earth. Anyway, age never really seemed to come up in the war. [Pidge is like eleven. Or something. Or maybe just eleven-year-old-sized. Sorry Pidge.]

Video;

[a_sharp_wit]

[Feels like sharing? Elizabeth considers.]

I am afraid I do not have as many wondrous things to share as you. Even if I do seem capable of mending items through touch alone, I have certainly never been to space.

[... Her voice nicely matches the teasing expression on her face.]

I am the second eldest of five sisters though. Perhaps that is some accomplishment, at least in the realm of patience?

Video;

[lonered]

You can fix things just by touching them? What kind of things?

[Because that sure sounds like it could be a useful trick.]

Actually, that sounds pretty impressive. I don't have any... [Family.] siblings... but I've got these five friends that were kind of like a family, and I think we tried even Shiro's patience. Which is saying something.

[ video ]

[oohmami]

You've been to space?

[ yes, soma, that is the most bewildering thing about this post and their general situation. he scratches his head with both hands, ruffling his already haphazardly spiky hair. ]

Man, all of you are so much cooler than me. This is unreal!

[ for what it's worth, though? he looks more amazed ( star-struck, one might even say ha ha ) than upset about this revelation. he starts listing facts off of his hand at that point, like this is a classroom introduction or something. ]

Uh, I'm Soma. I'm fifteen years old, I'm from Japan, and I'll cook you one of the best meals you've had - on Earth or in space? [ ( unsure ) ] Yeah, that's all I've got for you right now.

[ video ]

[lonered]

Yeah... sort of live there now. Or will once I get out of this place again.

[But okay. Keith will listen to that little list.]

Honestly, alien food is pretty terrible, so you'd definitely have that beat without a doubt.

[Like really. Hunk does his best and it's amazing how well he does. Anyway.]

What power did Astoria stick you with?

video;

[byherself]

"Anything that flies"?

[ Which... sounds like it'd be him now. Well, that's still pretty cool. Ryoko pauses, reflecting on what she said the last time she's had to introduce herself. Hrm. ]

--My name's Ryoko Asakura. I'm a... former Magi, and I think I'm still able to heal. I used to be able to make a closed space, but I can't do that anymore.

[ Not right now, anyway. ]

Oh, I'm good at cooking too! And I'm very good at following directions, and I'm going to do my best.

[ That last thing goes without saying, but it felt like a good thing to end up on! ]

video;

[lonered]

Yeah. Haven't found anything I can't fly yet.

[It's more than a little cocky, but he's got a fair amount of justified confidence in his piloting abilities. ...though he's still learning the ins and outs of his own ability here because, as it turns out, he does not handle like a fighter or a lion.]

A Magi? [He echoes because in his head that's one of the three kings in the Christmas manger scenes or something, right? But she can't mean that. So.

Also that was... so pure. Keith doesn't even know how to respond.] Uh yeah. I... uh... I hope we all are. Our bests.

video;

[flyingsolos]

Oh! We're flying buddies!

[ AREN'T YOU JUST SO HAPPY, KEITH.

And yes, Rion will address the rest of this properly, but for now--!! Look at that, similarities. ]

video;

[lonered]

Flying... buddies?

[Well. Umm.]

You can fly too? How's it going for you?

[He is still figuring it out.]

video

[purrtagonist]

[this is a serious post that is trying to gather helpful, useful information]

I'm Akira, and I'm great at telling knock knock jokes.

[this is not at all a helpful response]

video

[lonered]

Uh.... that's good? Not exactly what I was going for but, yeah. That's a... talent.

[Kind. Of? Keith's skeptical face is full on right now.]

[Video]

[tranquilforest]

[Weirdly, the mentions of magic and swordfighting and flying are things she's more familiar with than most of what she's run into here so far. Space, eh, not so much.]

I must confess I'm a little surprised to find someone even here who is proficient in swordfighting. [Her tone is genuinely admiring and surprised.] I don't know what the world you come from is like, but that seems somewhat, ah - old-fashioned? [That word doesn't sit quite right, but the translations do what they want.] compared to what other people have mentioned.

[Video]

[lonered]

Maybe a little. Or maybe just traditional. I mean... it's hard to call aliens old fashioned.

[He draws his sword then to hold up and demonstrate. The blade is long and curved, a faint violet glow runs along it.]

This was my mother's. And the group that I fight with, they're the ones who've trained me to use it. It might old-fashioned, but it's pretty effective in combat.

video;

[sunborne]

[ one day daylight will break out of his habit of raising his hand so he could have a turn to speak. ]

For what it's worth, I think Astoria is nice. She means well. [ seems to, meddy beeps at him from his side, a cautious reminder more than anything. with a roll of his optics, daylight shoos meddy out of the screen. fuss at the wall or something, meddy.

anyways- ]

I guess it wouldn't hurt for us to, um, agree to a set of conditions and rules we should place on ourself when we go to a new place in an attempt to help. A manifesto of sorts? That's what my... what the starship I was on did. [ the lornful light had a specific set of rules and regulations when it came to the missions and assignments. a staggering amount, really. daylight never got around to learning them all but that's what dialup and feedback and the likes were for in fireteams.

daylight pauses, as if trying to figure out what else to meaningfully add to the conversation and- ]

I'm a hundred and eighteen. I'm also basically a flashlight right now.

[ there we go. ]

video;

[lonered]

[Oh hey this guy. Who seems pretty enthusiastic. But nothing wrong with that.]

That's definitely what she wants us to think, yeah. And she comes across that way.

[But words are easily faked. Action is what's going to matter.]

Maybe. It's not a bad idea. But I doubt we'll have time for that before we wind up tossed somewhere, at least the first time. And there's a lot of us here. Trying to get everyone to agree to cooperate at all might not be that easy.

[But. Wait.] You're a flashlight? Oh. You mean with the magic you got?

video

[reeliable]

You've got a good point about things going bad fast, but I'd like to think the group of us aren't going to go looking for trouble on first arriving. Astoria did give us a sort of idea on what the situation is, so ... hopefully, it's enough of a heads up to not step on any toes.

[But learning what everyone has is another good point too, and Noct isn't really good at trying to advise others so much - this is why he has an advisor.]

I used to have more skill to bring into a surprise situation like this, but I've been sort of left with a short end in powers, so now I'm just another guy with a sword.

Er - [Shoot, he's gone into this without ever giving his name.] Noct, my name is Noct. I can say I've got enough experience for knowing how I want to go about things, once we get to El Minha though, if you'd like to hear it out?

video

[lonered]

You don't always have to be looking for trouble for it to find you. There's a lot of us, and it's an alien world. There's a lot of room for things to go wrong. Hopefully nothing happens. But... I'd rather be ready if it does.

[Keith isn't the most optimistic, clearly. And maybe working with the Blade has only sharpened that in him, in a way.]

Hey. As someone who's usually just another guy with a sword, a blade in the right place at the right time can make all the difference.

[But Keith nods in agreement.] Sure, I'm all ears.

voice

[oculusriffs]

Yeah, okay, fair enough.

My magic trick is creating stuff — you know, like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but instead of a hat it's nothing, and instead of a rabbit it's something inanimate.

[so, pretty much nothing like pulling a rabbit out of a hat.]

I'm also really good at breaking swords.

voice

[lonered]

Right. Hatless, rabbitless, rabbit out of a hat.

[That weirdly enough makes perfect sense and Keith nods.] Can you create anything inanimate? Have you figured out your limits?

[Wait.]

...that's a weird talent. {Stay away from his sword.]

;voice

[zaptime]

No, you're right! We shouldn't be trusting anyone so quickly, they could be a really bad person and we could be doing bad things without knowing!

;voice

[lonered]

Could be yeah. So we need to keep our heads straight and make our own decisions until we figure out what really is up with this witch. I mean, we know she kidnapped all of us, so she'll resort to those sorts of things at least.

[But it remains to be seen if she's genuine in wanting to help.]

video;

[parttimes]

Yeah... I'd share, but what if we don't have anything worth sharing?

[He wasn't really joking when he told Astoria she had to have the wrong guy.]

Especially for things like politics in random cities, I've got nothing.

video;

[lonered]

Everyone has something worth sharing. Even if it's being a support for the people they're working together with, everyone can contribute something.

[Not everyone can be the head! Giant robot metaphors also need legs, and stuff. Wait. No that's right.]

You could start with your name. And whatever ability Astoria stuck you with.

[ video ]

[buff_for_a_nerd]

I know a few things about magic. The problem with that is that exactly what magic means seems to vary pretty drastically depending on where you are.

[ But that's not his primarily relevant skill in most cases. ]

I know a lot about supernatural creatures and how to deal with them. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves... Things like that.

[ video ]

[lonered]

Yeah. There don't seem to be super clear rules for what it even means right here.

[Which is. Awesome. Really. Keith's eyebrows lift at that next bit.]

Huh. Those are things where you're from? Outside horror movies? [What sort of world is this Sam. Keith will take space aliens any day.]

[ video ]

[bowtiedbones]

[she sitting in one of the hallways on the video feed, surrounded by just so, so many chalk eyes. she's trying to get used to this new power as quickly as she can.]

Oh gosh, I hope we don't go anywhere or do anything that needs swords...!

Um! I'm Eliza, I'm proficient in my world's system of magic, and I'm a necrobiology major, which is under the Paleontology department— post-grad, thanks! I also teach fitness yoga when they need a substitute at the gym?

Re: [ video ]

[lonered]

[Keith doesn't say the first thing that comes to mind which is "I've yet to go anywhere that doesn't" and instead shakes his head.]

I'm hoping we don't have any reason to fight, too.

[But okay. Hang on.] Necrobiology? What's that?

[video]

[thetenthstorm]

That's a good head on you. [He's not being sarcastic, he actually looks genuine in the remark.] Knowing how much meddling can backfire, I like it. [He feels like Astoria is missing that quality, and sure, maybe he's a bit of a hypocrite, but he's never taken this many people at once and given them magic powers.

So.

Little testy.]

I'm not a fighter, but I do this sort of thing a lot. Go to other planets, make them better. I'm basically an expert.

[video]

[lonered]

[...Keith will even take it as genuine. Which he appreciates honestly. Because he sure is trying. And he sure is skeptical about this whole thing: Astoria, meddling in other worlds, new magic powers (except flying? actually pretty great).

Though.

That's an odd thing to claim expertise in.]

What do you mean make them better? What kind of line of work is that? I mean... I guess you could say the same for Voltron. But... [If this guy isn't a fighter, probably not the same thing.]

[ Video ]

[moneytwin]

[she's still getting the hang of this spell device; its an upgrade of sorts for her inactive earring of whispers, so not entirely unintuitive.]

If Astoria's one of the Fey, and I'm not entirely certain she's not, you can trust them to be untrustworthy. Or at least fair weather and flighty; we'll want to be ready in case her interest wanes. Also, it's important not to make any deals with them.

[a beat, then:]

Lady Vex'ahlia. Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone, Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt and slayer of the Frigid Doom.

And this is Trinket. [said, as the head of a very large brown bear pokes into view]

[ Video ]

[lonered]

Why no deals? I mean... we're sort of stuck on her terms. And she gave us these powers and expects us to run her errands.

[And Keith at the moment isn't sure what to make of any of that. But that is... quiet a name... title. Thing.]

Uh... nice to meet you... both of y--

[WHOA.] Is that a bear?