text; get this child out of his comfort zone

[huaaaaagh]

Who: Kazuto Kirigaya and [insert your name here]
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: Today / Sept 4


[Waking up in unfamiliar surroundings is not new for Kazuto, but in the past it's been quite a different experience. It's not an MMO this time, which is what catches him off guard the most. He can tell immediately, even with a simple glance around- the world is too real, too detailed. (Just in case, he tests a few menu-summoning gestures, but no dice.)

Waking up in a hospital-eque area makes him think that something went wrong with his last MMO dive, but that isn't right. He clearly remembers being safe and healthy the night before- they'd checked him out at the hospital before he'd gone to Sinon's. So... what? A kidnapping? Some kind of experiment? Something about this place doesn't feel right, and there's information slowly filtering into his head that doesn't make much sense.

And then he goes and looks out a window. Yikes.

He spends some time wandering, quietly observing, though there isn't really anyone to observe- computers, broadcasts, machines, yes, but people? The place is pretty deserted. It's eerie and uncomfortable, and he gets totally lost before long. Finally, though, he puts to use the knowledge of the broadcast system that is inexplicably in his head now, typing out a message.]

Is anyone out there available to answer some questions? I don't understand what's happened to me.

[Yep, that sure is a message. Which... is probably gibberish to anyone who doesn't read Japanese. Someone should probably let him know about the auto-translate not working on text.]

Comments

text

[deshabille]

[What the heckie.]

[She squints at her communicator for a moment before typing back a message, more to prove a point than to actually communicate. It comes through in Borogravian, which reads more or less like Romanian written in a Cyrillic-esque alphabet. In other words: definitely not Japanese.]

Stop being stupid.

text

[huaaaaagh]

[....

Well, crap, there's a language barrier. He studies the text, brows furrowed, trying to decipher what the other language even is, nevermind what it says. It's sort of- Russian? No- more runic- ugh, he has no idea.

At a loss, he switches to English, which he figures is more universal. He's not even close to fluent but he can get basic sentences through.]

sorry don't understand

text ➥ video

[deshabille]

[She smirks, switches to Morporkian, which is in essence the same as English with minor dialectical differences:]

Much better.

[And then to video, which reveals a wide smile and too-sharp teeth and a very smug expression overall.]

You'll have to repeat yourself, I don't speak squiggly line.

Text;

[notkittenaround]

[ She stares at the text, but only for a moment. Marhi understands it well enough on second glance to respond in kind, though she knows not what language she spells out. The meaning of all words, laid plain through Hydaelyn's gifts, means her response is in fluent Japanese. ]

What answers do you seek?

Text;

[huaaaaagh]

[Oh thank goodness, someone understands.]

I just woke up here, and I don't know where "here" is. Except that I'm in space, apparently. Can you tell me what's going on?

audio;

[stefanged]

[He was squinting at his communication device too... that sure was his first encounter with an unfamiliar language, and he's trilingual!]

I'm not sure what you're trying to ask. Any chance you could say it, instead?

audio;

[huaaaaagh]

I could, but-

[Well, speaking Japanese is often easier than reading it, for foreigners. He'd tried to use simple characters, but you never know how well it comes across.]

...Okay. I wanted to ask some questions about what's happened to me. I just woke up on some kind of- ship?

[It sounds even crazier when you say it out loud...]

text;

[geonomy]

[... Uh.]

sorry? english??

text;

[huaaaaagh]

[Crap, English? Uh. Uhhhh. What he'd give for his dictionary right about now.]

not good english

text

[curiositykilledthecats]

[Similarly to Marhi, the power of the Echo grants her fluency in a language she doesn't understand. She doesn't even question it anymore- From kobolds to Ascians to dragons, she's become used to just understanding everything said. Though given her speech patterns, even through the Echo, her words likely sound a little archaic.]

You have been abducted across worlds for the entertainment of a being or beings called 'Atroma'. The knowledge is granted to you by your implant already, should you think on it.

text

[huaaaaagh]

[Ah. Is that what that headache is from.

Wait, seriously? Isn't that a plot of some weird sci-fi movie?]

I kind of assumed that was from a crazy dream I'd been having.

[ audio ]

[gleamed]

You're in...outer space.

[ she says this with such a dramatic inflection. but - oops, that wasn't actually answering a question, was it? she just assumes that's something he might be wondering! ]

Hi! Um - this is Rapunzel, by the way - or, um, that's my name! I guess we've never met, probably - I'm talking to you through this communicator thing! I can try to answer any questions you might have!

[ audio ]

[huaaaaagh]

[Ra-pun-zel? Isn't that some kind of Western fairy tale or something? That's cute.]

Yeah, I figured that part when I looked out the window. I'm-

[.......PROBLEM. He's surrounded by strangers, so his alias would be better to use than his real name. But he's here IRL, not online, so using avatar handles is kind of taboo. What to do, what to do...

...Ugh, better play it safe so I don't regret it later. Even so, he stumbles a little over it.]

I'm Kirito. Nice to meet you.

Action

[jamminshield]

[From not too far away on the Marsiva, a kid's voice can be heard exclaiming something excitedly.]

Ooh, ooh! Someone left a message in Japanese. That's so cool! I wonder what it says! [And then the tiny guy strolls cheerily into the area where Kirito is.]

Action

[huaaaaagh]

[Kazuto's busily typing out responses, somewhat lost in what he's doing, but it's hard to miss a voice in the same room he's in, so he turns around in his chair when Steven walks in. It's the very first real person he's met on this big ship, so he's surprised.]

...Are you trapped here too?

text!

[zessica]

You're new, aren't you? Sure, ask what you need to.

text!

[huaaaaagh]

Thanks. I've got a lot of info already, so I guess it's just a matter of filling in the blanks.

What do they expect us to do here? And how much danger am I in?

text;

[ino]

[ Well, at least this one understands the text part. ]

Questions? Are you new?

text;

[huaaaaagh]

[THANK GOODNESS.]

I just woke up here, yeah. Been trying to figure everything out.

[cpt_ressentiment]

[ Hey, look, Japanese! Kind of a sight for sore eyes. Still, the content of the message has him frowning a little. More newbies, huh...?

He responds, also in Japanese. ]

i can try. did you just show up here or are you talking about something else happening to you?

[huaaaaagh]

Just showed up. I'm starting to piece it together, but every little bit helps, you know?

[Plus it's oddly comforting to talk to people through a network like this. Feels almost like home.]

text;

[recopy]

[And here's yet another person to recognize the Japanese! It looks like there's a small bumper crop of them around even in space, at least, even if that's probably kind of weird...but more importantly--]

Oh wow, there's a lot of you guys showing up this month! I don't think I've seen us have this many new people in a little while...

But yes, there's definitely a lot of people available for questions at least! Have you gotten some good answers so far?

text;

[huaaaaagh]

A lot, actually. People have been very helpful.

[It's a bit surreal, to be honest. Refreshing, but... weird.]

It's been good to get varying opinions on this place, though. Everyone has different ideas about how to handle it.

action; hope this is okay!

[merchantprince]

[Seeing a dwarf in an MMO probably isn't news. They're pretty standard as far as RPG races go. But what about a dwarf eating mashed potatoes out of a plastic tupperware-like bowl? That's... well, it's a little anachronistic, really.

He looks at the boy hovering over the comm device, finishes his bite of... he's hoping it's mashed potatoes, anyway... and speaks up.]

Hey, kid. Need any help?

varriiiiiiiiic of course it is <3

[huaaaaagh]

[Yeah, a fantasy dwarf IRL is a totally different story, and Kazuto jumps slightly when Varric speaks up. He turns to face the voice and- wow. So not what he expected to see at all.

Then again, he's conversing with catgirls, why is he even surprised at this point?]

Ah... s-sorry, didn't see you there. I'm just- figuring this place out, I guess?