Audio; un: Naruhodo (not long after the mission file drop)

[locumstudentesquire]

[A young man's voice comes in over the network; his words are bright and clear, but there's a bit of an undercurrent of discomfort to them too... A nervous energy, if you will.]

Hello everyone! This is Naruhodo speaking. Um... Well! I've been going over the mission file that just went out, and I'm seeing that we're each supposed to be responsible for coming up with our own aliases and cover stories ahead of time. And I have to admit... I'm at a bit of a loss as to where to start with all this!

So I was thinking... Would anyone out there perhaps be up for swapping some ideas? Brainstorming together, that is. General advice from those more experienced with undercover missions like this would be appreciated as well... Like, details to make sure to include, things to avoid, and all the like. I'm sure I'm not the only person on the crew who could benefit from such a thing.

Um... That's all, really. And, thank you all very much in advance for any contributions you might make!

Comments

action/audio???

[softshoes]

[At the tail end of the post, Yujin's distantly audible, as he's calling from... the other end of the room...]

Mr. Naruhodo, let's pay close attention to what everyone's chosen! We should aim for a balance of skills.

[He pauses, skimming the dossier for the nth time as Ryunosuke hangs up.] Hrm. This is very detailed, isn't it.

Action;

[locumstudentesquire]

R... Right! A balance would be ideal for mission success...

[He sounds almost sheepish about it. He has definitely been viewing this from the angle of what would be The Coolest rather than the most practical?? Which feels a bit silly knowing how dangerous these missions can apparently be, but, look. SOMETIMES YOU GET CAUGHT UP IN THE MOMENT...]

[softshoes]

Do you have something in mind yet? If not, perhaps I could help?

[Yujin hums in agreement-- then licks his fingertip, using it to quickly flip through the pages of notes he's already taken about the upcoming mission. It looks a little familiar, maybe.]

If only to help narrow your options down.

[deaddrop]

This mission does seem a little different in some regards, especially with the skills and spells. That's new.

At least to me.

[She's not entirely sure what she thinks of that, aside from that she'll make it work.]

I think it can be helpful to find people to team up with, create your story together. Parents, siblings, friends—fake marriage, if that's your thing? It gives you somewhere to build from.

[locumstudentesquire]

[That's incredibly helpful actually, and he's quietly nodding along on his end... Until the fake marriage thing.]

Fake marriage...!? Ha, no, definitely not for me...!

That is intriguing, though, to know that other missions haven't featured the same extent of... Ability boosting, I suppose. But you have had past missions where you've had to come up with these cover stories, then...?

[deaddrop]

Yeah, that part isn't new. That's more common than not—missions where we don't have to have some kind of cover story or other to blend in are more common than the other kind.

[Did she mention the marriage just poke a little? It's very possible.]

Though the stories can vary a great deal depending on circumstances. My first mission was just a train ride—less developed story than something like this where we'll be expected to integrate for a while.

voice; un: fullmetal

[chrysology]

Swapping ideas, figuring collaborating on the stories is a good idea. I guess. I'm usually more the type to wing it but if we have time and a chance to kinda prepare with this. I guess we should. I haven't thought too much on my cover story yet.

[locumstudentesquire]

Yes, that's the part I'm finding I'm hung up on as well... I can think of a few directions to go, but I'm not exactly sure what would be most practical. You know?

[chrysology]

I guess if you can't think of anything or are worried about sticking to the story just....go with something similar to your real background? We don't usually need to have a cover and all like this for most missions.

[It isn't usually a thing that comes up often that they have to wing it with a cover story like this at least. For most missions. Just every so often.]

Audio, un: Ambus

[legalcy]

Choose something similar to your original background. If you can use your existing knowledge to back up your alias, it becomes more believable. I'm considering a figure who studied law and decided to become a- [Minimus struggles to come up with a savory term for what they'll be doing.] vigilante.

[No, that still sounds so wrong.]

That requires less scrutiny than claiming I come from a minor noble house.

[locumstudentesquire]

[Hey, that's good advice! Very reasonable.

...Ryu's going to focus on the exact wrong thing here.]

You studied law!?

[He sounds keenly interested about that. Which may or may not be unusual to Minimus's experience, IDK? Do people often get excited when you basically say 'I'm a lawyer'?]

[legalcy]

[Minimus holds back a gasp.] I did. I studied at the Vosian Legal Academy before I became a soldier, but I continue to review legal codes during my spare time.

text ↪ un: うちは

[blackfire]

I agree with Minimus. If you aren't practiced at subterfuge and infiltration, the closer your story is to your real life the more believable you will make it both by accident and design.

If you change your name, go with something that begins with the first syllable of whichever name you use most commonly. It will train the mind to respond to it more easily.

Do not be tempted to over-embellish your history. Telling someone you don't wish to discuss it is a valid answer, and contingent upon your delivery can imply several different things.

[locumstudentesquire]

This is all extremely helpful, thank you!

I've been wondering about names, actually... I'm not sure how we're supposed to come up with something suitable when we know very little about the cultures and naming conventions of the local people. And I think I'd prefer to simply use my real name, but, what if that makes me stand out even more?

[blackfire]

Look at the names provided to us in our mission dossier. Break them down to their base components, syllables that appear more than once, common groupings of consonants, et cetera. One commonality that three of them — the human, the elf, the tiefling — share is that their surnames are two words. Shortaxe and Roundtree have a distinct adjective+noun structure, and Ironspear could be classified as adjective+noun or noun+noun or verb+noun as well, which may be a cultural nuance we lack insight into. Two of three also involve weapons. Neither the dwarf or the orc have a surname listed. However, the orc's nickname given ('Mat') mirrors the name of the human paladin, 'Jun' in that both have 3 letters, one vowel, and end on a hard consonant.

'Jun' seems to be the name of the only human listed. You could try 'Ryu', but if that draws unwanted attention or seems unusual to anyone you introduce yourself to, you will be forced into a position of saying it's either a diminutive for a native name, or that you are foreign to the region. Something like Ryan or Roy would be safe as well.

Surname will likely depend upon the race you choose. Do you know yet which you would prefer?

audio; un: redgrave

[shishkabob]

Yeah, I got a question. Druids, warlocks, those are the same thing, right?

audio;

[locumstudentesquire]

Erm... It. It doesn't seem like they are?

[He sounds uncertain now. And is also speaking like he's squinting a little harder at the mission file while they talk.]

I mean, I'm hardly an expert, but going off the information we've been given...

audio;

[shishkabob]

Yeah, but they cast magic same as each other, right? Unless there's a difference in how.

text | un: candor

[evasives]

Agreeing with what others have said about familiarity - if you have jobs or hobbies that line up with anything in the dossier, it may be easier for you to stay in character to draw on that.

But the work may not function the same way, so perhaps just look at where your skills may apply.

[locumstudentesquire]

Well.. I suppose I'd say speech is my primary skill out of the things listed here, which lines up best with Bard, but... We're being given skills to fit the part, aren't we? Shouldn't I stretch my horizons a bit?

[evasives]

That depends on how far you want to stretch them and how well you think you personally will be able to adapt to the newness. You want to fit in, not be surprised by what you can do now.

[bindsthedead]

Claiming to be from elsewhere has its uses. That makes it easier to plead ignorance of what might be common knowledge, but that you don't know anything about.

And collaborating with other people to say you're related can reduce the number of questions people ask about why you're spending so much time together.

[locumstudentesquire]

Well, I can certainly draw on past experience for that. Let's just say I'm well-versed in the language of culture shock.

voice - un; Lan er-gongzi

[gusurules]

Many have already given advice. If you would like to meet and discuss the options, I would not be adverse to doing so. I believe the term is 'sounding board'.

My dumb ass accidentally letting these network tags sit for way too long, SORRY...

[locumstudentesquire]

Oh! Well, I certainly wouldn't be opposed!

[It might be easier to discuss ideas face to face, after all.]

Just name the time and place. I'm not exactly on a strict schedule or anything.