Test Flight Meme

[lucetimods]

the luceti test flight meme

Reserves are open and apps are right around the corner. But are you still on the fence about any of your would-be characters? Well -- here is your chance to take them out for a spin!

▣ TAG IN or reply to others with characters you would like to test flight for Luceti.
▣ ONLY add top-level comments for characters who are not yet in the game. You're free to reply to others with Luceti characters (because that's half the fun) but remember that the whole point of this meme is for potential characters.
▣ PLEASE do not post duplicates of characters already in Luceti.
▣ GO AHEAD and give us a brief description of your character in the top-level comment, along with one or two possible ways to run into your test-driven character around town.
▣ YOU MAY use these threads for your first person samples on your app -- just make sure that you link threads of a goodly length (i.e., threads with at least ten comments from your character).

Need a little help getting started? Remember, you needn't post here as though your character is still brand-spankin' new. It'll probably be more fun for all involved if this isn't a simple dress rehearsal for showing up. Here are a few scenario ideas:

o1. The grocery store is out of food. What do you do?
o2. Wing injury! Call for help or stagger your way to one of our fine clinics.
o3. It's a busy evening at Good Spirits, one of Luceti's local bars. Do you dare try the drink specials?
o4. Have a talent for music? Try playing DJ at HQ, the new nightclub! Don't have one? Just dance your butt off.
o5. Beach party? Snow party? Leaf-raking party? Gardening party? YOU DECIDE.

Okay. So my examples are pretty non-exciting. But they're really just suggestions. I'm POSITIVE you kids can come up with more creative things.

Above all? HAVE FUN. Oh. And don't forget to RESERVE your characters.

Comments

[corps]

[ Erwin's at the bar. It's the middle of the afternoon, which clearly isn't the prime time for it considering that the establishment is mostly empty. But he isn't there to mingle, or to drink, though there is a drink to his left which has gone mostly untouched. There are several papers and one open book arranged on the gleaming countertop in front of him, a pen in his hand scrawling across the nearest of these pages. From afar it may look like he's writing an important missive, but closer inspection will show that he is merely working on his penmanship.

The loss of one's dominant hand makes relearning legible writing an unfortunate necessity. He practices often. Writing is a large part of what he does (or used to do) daily, and even effectively using the journals here depends on it. It's a skill he can't afford to be without no matter where he finds himself, and he gets to feel as though he's doing something at least moderately productive with his time, though he knows full well--from experience, now--that he will remember none of this when (not if, but when) he returns home. ]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[He may not be there to mingle, but he'll have company anyway. Ginia's there for business; with two places serving alcohol there's a lot of trading and borrowing. She sets down a box full of assorted bottles behind the counter then drops into the seat next to Erwin. A quick glance shows what he's doing and it's not bad.

Ginia takes her phone out and begins to type, letting the phone read the message aloud when she's done. She could sign at him, but this way he can continue practicing.]

You're showing improvement from line to line.

[corps]

[ He isn't surprised in the least to see her, and offers a smile when she takes the seat next to him. Ginia has been just as valuable his second time in Luceti as his first--perhaps even moreso--though he's come to see her these days as more of a friend than he had before. He himself isn't nearly so useful to her now as he had been then, and yet she still helps him, more than he'd ever expected. He's appreciative, and he does what he can to convey that. ]

Thank you. It's a slow process.

[ And often frustrating, but he doesn't need to say that for her to know it. ]

But I am glad that others apart from myself are able to see some progress.

[ The use of the voice function doesn't escape his notice. Before, he might have signed with her, something he'd quite enjoyed doing--but he's now also a great deal less effective at that. Another setback. ]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[As loathe as she was to admit it, she had missed Erwin and Levi and knew it was selfish to glad to have them back in the village. They were good allies, maybe even friends when she wasn't so stubborn. And as much as him missing an arm worried her, she didn't treat him any differently either. He had things to adjust to, she'd help.]

All things take time. You're still more legible than some people writing with their dominant hand. But you have time. Don't rush things.

[corps]

[ It's selfish, but in most cases, permissibly selfish to want to see people you've missed. If Ginia were to ever express such a sentiment--not likely--Erwin would understand it. But as it is, he's grateful that they've been able to fall into step with one another again as though time had hardly passed at all. ]

I have little choice but to take my time if I want to continue improving.

[ To demonstrate he continues to write, moving his hand slowly and carefully to form the letters and symbols that make up a single simple word in the written language of his home world--though to Ginia it must seem like something recognizable to her. He wonders now more than ever how that works here; the translation of written text. ]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[Ginia leans slightly to watch him write, studying the letters making words, the words making sentences. With all the different languages in Luceti and the variety of books in the library, Ginia's picked up an old hobby of studying languages. It's hard when you can translate things automatically, but it's not impossible.]

It never ceases to amaze me how easily we can understand each other in this place.

[corps]

[ It's not long before he sets his pen down, flexing his fingers to work out an ache in his hand. But he meets her eyes when he looks up, a bemused quirk to his lips. ]

I was just thinking the same. There are so many things about Luceti that continue to fascinate me. I may as well spend my time here attempting to figure them out.

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[With him looking up, Ginia sets her phone down and switches over to sign language. A mystery of the auto-translator and how it applies only to written and spoken languages, but nothing signed.]

/If you learn anything new, let me know./

[She pauses and sighs.]

/The start of a new cycle is next month. Eight years. I've almost been here for a year./

[corps]

A year is a long time.

[ Erwin settles back a little in his chair, glancing away for a moment as though chasing a thought--but his eyes are back on Ginia before long. ]

Do you wish you'd done anything differently here?

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[A year is a long time, even longer when you shouldn't be alive. It's a cutting question and Ginia leans a bit on the countertop as she thinks. A year in Luceti. A year living, a year to make things right, to have another chance.

And even looking over the year, it felt like she'd wasted so much. Maybe she should have done more, maybe she should have done less. Maybe, maybe, maybe. A continuation in the usual story of her life.

Ginia nods. A few months ago, she would have left it that. Could have as it answered his question. Now, she pushes herself off the counter and lets her mask slip. Her smile fades and for the moment she's tired, but honest.]

/You know my background. You know my skills. You know I don't trust people, took forever to trust you./

[Ginia pauses, lowers her eyes as she tries to find her words again.]

/I wish I had been more honest with people. And I wish I had let people know how important they were before they were gone./

[reviling]

[Much of his time back, thus far, has been working his way around looking for old contacts - seeing who is still around, who is gone, what new information there might be. Several things have changed, it seems, both in Luceti and outside it.

Perhaps it's because they've been separated for a while in his memory, or perhaps it's because of what's happened recently in their homeland, but Levi finds himself not willing to go without at least checking on Erwin every few hours or so, as though he's not sure he can trust Luceti to not change its mind again about them being there. They'd apparently arrived together and left together, and arrived together again. But a pattern was no guarantee.

He circles around to Ginia's bar eventually, figuring that's as good of a place as any to look for either one of them, and slips onto a stool next to Erwin. His eyes trace over the practiced letters, still awkward to look at, but getting marginally better. Knowing Erwin, he'll keep doggedly practicing until no one could tell the difference.]

...you're getting better.

[corps]

[ Whether it can be trusted or not, it's a pattern Erwin's glad for. Having Levi's assistance is invaluable, now more than ever. Levi has been more...attentive than ever before, however; Erwin can barely go a few hours without seeing him, it seems. He supposes it makes sense, with what is happening--will be happening--to him back in their own world. He's no stranger to Levi's carefully-concealed protective nature. ]

I would hope so. With this much practice there should be some improvement.

[ It's meant as something of a joke, and there's a quirk of his lips, but it's a grim attempt at humor at best. ]

[reviling]

Doesn't seem like you'll have much else to do around here for the time being anyway.

[Things certainly seemed quieter, somehow, although that may simply be because he's been living essentially as a fugitive for quite a while at this point. Not having to hide from society at large leaves him with extra, almost restless energy. As a result he's been making regular visits to the battle dome, and then to the forest, but it never seems to quite alleviate it enough.

At least for Erwin it could be a chance to rest.]

[corps]

No, it doesn't seem like it.

[ He continues to write, the movements of his pen still slow and stilted and unfamiliar. ]

This place is still so idyllic.

[ Despite remembering the horrific events of the draft just before they were spirited back to their own world, the peace of Luceti is still a jarring contrast to both of their recent situations. ]

[reviling]

[Levi watches Erwin move with uncharacteristic discomfort. Unconsciously he shifts, rolling his shoulders as though his body is trying to shake off an uncomfortable sensation. A moment passes, and he presses his lips together before speaking.]

At least the place we come from doesn't hide its ugliness. Here they try to convince you it's some kind of comfortable paradise up until they experiment on you or drag you into a war against your will.

If it's hell, it should look like hell.

[corps]

If only the world were so transparent.

[ He sets his pen down in order to place his full attention on Levi, arm resting on the countertop. ]

Did you have a reason for tracking me down?

[reviling]

[He holds down a strange urge to flinch, as though Erwin has seen through him and was expecting the real answer. His fingers curl slightly as his gaze follows along the length of Erwin's arm, allowing silence to pass between them until it reaches his eyes.]

I've finished tracking down my contacts that are still here. There aren't many left.

[corps]

[ Levi's results don't come as much of a surprise; Erwin's already done his own reaching out, didn't find most of the people he was hoping to. But there is always potential. ]

It seems we'll have to make some new acquaintances.

[ He looks pointedly at Levi even when Levi's gaze strays down to his remaining arm. It's as though he feels guilty about something. Erwin can make an educated guess, of course, but those are feelings he doesn't want to encourage. Levi shouldn't feel guilty. Not about that, at least--nor about the consequences of personal choices that Erwin himself has made. ]

We are, at least, a great deal more knowledgeable than the first time we arrived here.

[reviling]

[It's less guilt and more frustration - if he'd come out of the previous expedition uninjured, he could have helped with the subsequent two. Being absent from the effort to retrieve Eren (again) had cost Erwin his arm and the lives of several others, more than probably would have died had he been there.

The excess of loss frustrates him greatly. Erwin probably wouldn't have lost his arm.

Probably.

But there's no telling what will happen outside the wall, and that's really the only comfort Levi has. Erwin could just have easily have been bitten in half, after all. Yet now there's no way he can fight again. Not with the gear.]

...yeah.

[except that Levi doesn't really feel that much more informed than before. He had come from a time at least several weeks past Erwin's memory the first time, after all.]

So what now?