As Zouichi had mentioned earlier, the cherry trees behind the Inn had begun, as of the past few days, to bear fruit. Whatever oddity of the 'seasons' here had encouraged them to bloom before, apparently it had convinced them that now was prime cherry season.

He reached up into the branches of one of the trees, plucking the ripened fruit and leaving the rest for later. He'd promised some to Alendian, of course, but truth be told, he was setting aside the sweetest, choicest fruits for someone else. A larger proportion of fruit to pit, not too soft or too firm, with the most attractive colors...

It was normally a fairly mindless task, but he was engrossed enough in picking and sorting today that he might be caught unawares.

[The thread with Alendian and Ildraniath is closed, otherwise the post is open]

The next few hours when on without much problems for the ship. Life went on, and in fact, seem to be going for the best. Of course, the saying goes, if it's too good to be true....That's probably because it is.

Late at night IT finally made it's presence known and spoke.

( And speak it did... )

[[OOC - Planning post! :3c.]]

Jr. didn't use too much imagination for his trip to the Sensoriums today - at least in terms of landscape and specific places. He settled on an empty field and a blue, cloudless sky, because his focus was more on setting up things in his immediate area. He knew Howard would probably be starting on basic things, and if anybody else dropped by who was more practiced in the art of shooting, things should at least be set up in advance. And with a little organization.

A closet appeared next to the red-head, doors opened and showing off an assortment of different firearms. Old and new, bullets and lasers, handguns and rifles and machine guns and tons of other things to choose from. Their ammunition was in a box sitting on the floor next to the closet. Nearby, Jr. set up your very basic shooting range; un-moving, paper targets with markers slowly making their ways further away from them. Next to that, more or less the same thing, only the targets moved slowly, and there were less standing markers. Slowly the difficultly level made its way up as you walked along, markers disappearing completely and targets getting smaller and faster, moving even off the ground and into the air at the later levels. Some of the targets buzzed and hummed, and blindfolds could be noticed hanging from hooks by them.

And then props and environmental changes made their way in as you moved even further along, the practice ranges getting bigger as a result. There were rocks and trees and things to duck and hide behind, things to climb and leap off of and hidden traps in the ground that tried to make you lose your footing and concentration. And finally over toward the end were targets that fired back (though the bullets they fired were physically harmless and only there as indicators to whether or not you got hit) and looked more like some crazy obstacle course with optional moving (and flying) vehicles to ride in or give chase to. There were strange machines, too, with hidden points of vulnerability that a gunslinger had to find themselves, and quickly. Dummies hung from ropes, some of which swung back and forth and required a keen eye and great accuracy to shoot down. Basically, there were tons of things from action movies but also different scenarios that could very well come into play during a multiversal war. Jr. was looking to cover all of the bases if more than just Howard decided to drop by.


[ooc: open not just to characters who want to learn how to shoot, but anyone and everyone who wants to have some target practice fun or just pop in to say hi and marvel at the setup!]

||Attention all crewmen, shore leave is now in progress, attention crewmen, shore leave is now in progress...||

Stacy's voiced called the entire crew, until all of them were gathered at the Obs Deck. Then, a dossier appeared on the screens, along with the image of a rotating planet.

Planet Designation: Geartopia
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-sentient life: Extensive flora and fauna.
Semi-Sentient Life: Yes.
Sentient Life: Homo Sapiens, Homo Animalia, Machina Erectus.
Water: 20.6% of the planet's surface.
Climate: Earth-like, Arid desert
Landscape: 70% Desert..
Air: Normoxic concentration.
Air Pressure: 101.3 kPa (kilopascals) = 14.7 psi (pounds per square inch)
Sky: Blue
Sun: A class G2V, yellow star.
Warnings: Wildlife, humanoids and plant-life can be hazardous.
Nomalanga has given us a map with which areas to avoid.
Mission: Shore leave, and preparing for an attack in a few days, planet's time. Nomalanga has promised food, clothing and animals in exchange for your cooperation in aiding her.

( You are then given more information, from what you know... )

[OKAY ALL DONE GO FOR IT. You are also free to create additional places, to post your own private logs involving the town! Contact me if you need extra information about Geartopia either via PM to things_go_boom's account or by AIM, I'll be happy to answer. NPC goons if you want to do a bunch of bar fights, just think typical cowboy stuff. Shore leave will last until the 31st and players can go to and from the ship to the city each day, so you can have your characters stay for a day or two and then come back.

People in the miniplots, the mini plots will start up in a few days! There will also be a general fight for anyone who wants to join in on the 29th. Thank you and enjoy yourselves!]

Artificial night fell on the City, and Goliath and Bronx both awoke with their usual roars. The gargoyles bursting out of their stone skin were a familiar sound at sunset, and their roars carried over the darkening City.

Goliath dropped from his turret and glided towards the wall that surrounded the castle, landing before the gate that would open it to the rest of the crew. Elisa must have still been asleep or otherwise occupying herself in the castle, because the gate was closed. Goliath considered the gates, and the high, newly repaired wall that kept most visitors out of the castle. His instincts to keep the castle fortified against entry during his sleep were still strong, but he considered them as objectively as possible while examining the gate.

In times of conflict, this castle COULD still be used as a fortress. But if he was to open it to the crew formally, perhaps it was time to leave them open, and trust to the crew that he sought to protect.

Or perhaps that was still a step that could wait until he had met more of the crew, and trusted them a little better.

[ooc: a few players have expressed an interest in having their characters sneak into the castle to explore while Goliath is asleep during the day. If you have a character who would snoop around an old castle uninvited, feel free to tag in!]

Following the instructions given to him by crew members here and there, Cedric stepped through a green archway tucked on a corner of the fifth floor and entered a grey void. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the sort of place that would be perfect for a day of flying. He imagined a bright grassy plain, a large lake, and a forest off to the side. Vague memories turned into vivid images surrounding him, so thoroughly convincing that he really believed he'd been taken from the ship and placed on a field back on Earth. It was quite a convincing illusion
.
All it needed now was the key piece: a group of brooms. He thought for a moment on which brooms to provide them with. Firebolts were the world standard, but he'd never known one well enough to be able to picture it accurately. The school brooms, Shooting Stars, were nice and safe for new riders but not quite reliable. In the end, he knew his own broom best: a sleek Nimbus 2001, gifted by his father. As long as he instructed the fliers to go slowly, they should be safe on those brooms.

Visitors would find Cedric side-mounted on a broom in his black and yellow Quidditch robes, gliding just slightly over the grass. As soon as he spotted them, he'd greet them enthusiastically and move to touch down. "Hi!"

((ooc: wide open for everyone to join in! We'll be doing some group exercises too, so thread around! Fly as a group when you're ready!))

Deep from the dank, dark bowels of the Media Library... IT CAME! FROM THE CELLULOID!

Five terrible movies guaranteed to give you CHILLS! THRILLS! Or maybe just, I dunno, a vague sense that the universe has wronged you somehow and you want several hours of your life back.

Today, anyone walking into this particular Sensorium would be greeted by the sight of a late 20th century darkened movie theatre, playing a quintuple-feature consisting of old Earth movies that were honestly not very good. At the bottom of the seating area was some dude giving out free popcorn, candy, and drinks.

Howard, Zouichi, Allenby, and Jr. were around, and anyone else was welcome to walk in and join in.

[each of the movies is listed below, just tag in wherever you want. I put a small link in each movie's post so you can have some idea of what the movie is about, although honestly I would say that the movies themselves often do not actually know what they are about. All threads are open unless labeled 'closed'.

P.S. I'M SO SORRY I SHOULD HAVE PUT THIS UP EARLIER]

Most of the recently-awakened people had probably heard of the Drunken Dragon tavern within a few days of getting accustomed to the ship. Some had already visited it, and a few had probably even become regulars already.

As usual, the door was open, and Kang and his helpers were there, refilling drinks and being sociable.

The stage was free for anyone that wanted to share a story, sing a song, or play an instrument, and it was more than welcomed, for what's a tavern without some form of entertainment?

[OOC: If your character wants to speak to a tavern person in particular (Kang, Kaylee, Nima or Kali), just make a note of it in your tag. Threads here can pretty much cover any time from the most recent podpop to just after Happy Happy Fun World; backtagging is our friend in T9. :D

Newbies, please make sure to read the tavern link! It's got all the info on the setting, available drinks, etc.]

||Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention, all personnel...||

Stacy's voiced called the entire crew, until all of them were gathered at the Obs Deck. Then, a dossier appeared on the screens, along with the image of a rotating planet.

Planet Designation: Happy Happy Fun World
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-sentient life: Medium flora and fauna. Primarily domestic.
Semi-Sentient Life: Yes.
Sentient Life: A significant number of species of intelligent life.
Water: 25% of the planet's surface.

Climate: Climate varies by region.
Landscape: Landscape has been significantly terraformed and is highly varied.
Air: Normoxic concentration: 29% oxygen, 60% nitrogen, 3% xenon, 6% trace gases, such as hydrogen, krypton, and argon.

Air Pressure: 14.352 pounds per square inch.
Sky: Pink with white clouds.
Sun: A class D4K, yellow star.

Warnings: Crew should be cautious when consuming the popcorn.

Mission: None. Shore leave is now initiated.

Hey, what's not to like about a planet called 'Happy Happy Fun World'?

[[ooc: Time for Shore Leave! Post reactions to the announcement here]]

In an island area of the park is the sometimes staid, sometimes festive Yamato Sector (which seemed strangely familiar to some of the crew, no doubt). Souvenir swords? Okonomiyaki? Sunset beaches filled with the SPRINGTIME OF OUR YOUTH? Medieval warlords drinking wine from human (shaped) skulls? They're all here!
[Set up your own locations as you wish or tag into one already existing!]

Rin's arrival unto Stacy had been well received for the most part. He easily overlooked things, didn't notice others, and his usual naive/oblivious demeanor kept him unfocused and uninterested as far as the details of their current predicament were. To him, this just seemed like a weird, new themed attraction, then he learned that they were in some war with another group of people who needed help. To someone like Rin, all he needed was the basest of information and he'd do what needs to be done...

( Closed! )


( Open! )




[[OOC Note: The first cut is locked to Yukio; once Rin goes out into the City it's open to anyone. Keep in mind that Yukio will be following his brother, so feel free to approach either of them. Chances are, you'll be getting tagged by both, especially if you approach Rin since Yukio still doesn't trust the crew around him. Everyone and all CR is welcomed though!]]

When Howard was younger, before the FAYZ, he and Orc would occasionally hang out at the edge of the cliffs, throwing things off the edge. It was typical teenage destructivity, layered on top of the thrill of doing something their parents had warned them against. "Those cliffs are unstable! The edge could crumble off right under your feet!" And of course, all the teenagers knew that the edge of the cliffs were fine, and that the rumors of rockslides were horror stories based less in fact than in scare tactics.

Howard sits on the edge of one of the cliffs, dangling his feet over the edge, flicking his pocketknife open and closed. It's weird that here on Stacy, the cliffs overlook the City, rather than the ocean. It makes everything look wrong.

He gathered an armful of small stones before taking a seat here. They sit next to him now, and between clicks of the knife, he occasionally tosses one over the edge. It's far enough down that he can see, but not hear, the impact when each rock hits the bottom.

He's not alone from the FAYZ anymore. That should make him glad, that there are other refugees besides him and Albert. And that's what they are, really. Not Stacy's abducted crew, but practically unintentional stowaways, freeloaders running away from the nightmare of their home. But he can't find it in himself to be happy about it. Instead he just feels frustrated and tired, like there's a cloud between his brain and his face, holding him back from really experiencing anything.

He just misses Orc, he tells himself, before flinging another rock in the City's general direction. It falls short, just like all the others.

Zouchi stood by the blue-green waters of Faron Spring, eyes tracing the old, intricate patterns that covered the surfaces of the rocks nearby. The weather in this part of the City was a little cooler than usual, but he felt no discomfort; it was still well within his operational tolerances.

As he waited there, almost entirely still, a light rain began to fall from the sky. Artificial rain, of course, for an artificial city, but it was cool against his face and good for the plants. Zouichi closed his eyes for a moment; when he reopened them, the rain was still there... but it was accompanied by something else. Silvery numeric annotations swam through his vision, attached to each drop of water, too fast and too numerous for an untrained observer to make sense of. Speed calculations, trajectory and force projections. Each droplet of rain was a variable, a world of controlled chaos.

Some disappeared into the soft grass; others dropped onto the surface of the spring, sending up a cascade of secondary equations as it cast ripples across the surface of the water.

When it was time for battle, these same quicksilver calculations would help guide him in action: they'd show him the best way to destroy, the swiftest way to kill. But for now, there was no need to bend them to that purpose. Instead, he watched as they fell like phantoms through the sky.

"Reducto!"

Cedric had found a spot in the grass of this strange city's park from which to work on his spellcasting, starting with some target practice. He'd pushed back the sleeves of his plantsuit as far as was possible and made long movements with his wand, alternating between creating fast streams of bubbles and shooting them down. The almost childish game of bubble-popping was a simple diversion from the stream of thoughts that was flowng just as fast, one that hadn't stopped since the moment he realized he was alive: I'm about to die. It was hard to comprehend, when it seemed like his life had been going so well just hours ago.

Yet these Ohm had thrown everything off balance. Cedric had gone straight to Stacy to ask for his memories restored, as he'd never rest until he knew the truth of what happened. It had been just as hard to remember as that unicorn princess had predicted. Sure, the curse that was meant to kill him had been thrown off by another attack, but he'd heard awful yells. Harry's. When the sedation had worn off and he'd opened his eyes, he'd had to struggle not to scream.
( Innocence had died for all of them. )

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. They are also told they must read information about their current situation and a survival guide with their new omnicom. New crew-mates might see a tall dragonish guy with wings (but don't call him that) and purple girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

Sumeragi glared at the console, and instructed the computer to bring up the simulation once more. It was a fairly simple one - just dodging an oncoming asteroid field - but she'd run it three times now, and each had ended with her ship as an asteroid bug-splatter not too far in. She could drive a car just fine, but the finer controls of the ship eluded her. She had imported the Ptolemy's basic design and control scheme into the program, so at least it was a ship she was vaguely familiar with.

Nonetheless, ten minutes into this fourth run, a fairly loud stream of curses - in more than one language - could be heard outside the door to the sensorium she was using.

This takes place shortly after this comm post. Info for what this post is for is here.

--

Those who saw Shoutarou when he was on the hunt before for Wakka's ball might note a somewhat similar look in his eyes this time - but a great deal more focused. He's out for information, and is once again combing the ship, but there's a greater urgency in his actions and his words.

In fact, he's skipping introductions for the most part. If he sees you're not too busy, he'll all but grab you - "If you're free, I'd like to ask you some questions."

Zam Tolen hadn't been seen a whole lot around the ship. She had disappeared during Lirath and generally wasn't the most available though she was still hitting her Security patrols.

It was late at what passed for night on the ship, as she went to several places. Special Weapons was one place, where she was...building something. With no plans or references, just from her head.

The hangar was another place, where she was gutting a spaceship of certain pieces, shoulder deep in starship.

[ooc: She can be found at either place, just specify where she is.]

Compared to yesterday where the sensoriums had gotten so much use, Lash was glad that it was mostly quiet as she slipped into a free one. The day had passed relatively quickly thanks to running mazes, but even that hadn't gotten her as joyful as she should be, as strange and exciting as it had been.

The world around her changed as she stood atop a giant mountain overseeing the forest below her. Her army stood closer, as her opponent in the horizon began to prepare to attack her. A typical scenario she liked to play out at least once a week, each time using it to test out new invention ideas and fixes she should make to her existing ones.

But she wasn't there. The spark, the thing that made Lash excited about anything war-related and gave her an almost-worrying macabre yet positive outlook on nearly anything appeared to be extinguished. She'd been thinking a lot. Even now, she didn't raise her arms dramatically as she usually did to get the battle started, but merely an uninterested movement of her fingers as she dismissed it all and sat down, dangling her legs over the edge.

"Good evening Mistress Lash! We await your orders!"

She said nothing.

( So what happens if I'm all alone from my world? )