melodiesofkupo | [Video]

...Excellent! My Lady, it's ready!

[The interior of a sparsely-decorated room flickers to life over the feed, and it's immediately apparent that the room belonged to one of the newcomers pulled fresh from the Dream Width, and someone is playing some sort of music. But as someone hoists up the slate and swings it to the right, the figure seated in the chair is currently occupied.

Ring-covered fingers are strumming the strings of something guitar-like, and the figure is rather lost in it, singing nothing in particular. This goes on for about ten seconds.]

Ahem... Lady Madhuri?

[The figure sits up a little taller with a start, eyes fluttering open. The music resumed as she continued to strum, but the smile was sheepish as her eyes turned to the screen.]

Oh. Oh! Yes, thank you. I'm sorry, my instruments seem to have been left behind in the last jump. Makes a bard's fingers itchy. This loaner suits me nicely until I pay this world's bard college a visit.

[With a flourish, she raised a hand and wiggled her fingers in greeting.]

Good afternoon. I am Madhuri, a bard and a dancer by trade. I found myself curious, so I had to cut the ribbon on this little network as it were and pose a question:

Where are you from? What's your tale? ...Of what you're comfortable sharing, of course. Perhaps this can grant the opportunity to build a little bit of a... a... ohh, what's the word- rapport! Yes. A rapport.

Tell me tales of adventure, of victories and defeats, of loves won and loves lost! Perhaps I'll create a song out of a few, and it will be a little gift. Free, of course. Unless of course you're willing to tip.

[She pulled her feathered cap from atop her head and gave it a tip.]

That's all from me. Enjoy your day. For those of you still panicking about your situation? Breathe, dear. In and out. It'll be alright. Find friends and hold them dear.

Bye-bye~

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[ The video feed blips on, and Hunk is sitting on a couch, awkwardly shifting the slate to get the best angle. But then a faint bobbing motion grabs the frame, and- ]

Bal, just stand on the table.

[ He laughs, and the moogle lets out a dejected "kupo" before plopping on a firm surface. No more shifting and shaking. ]

Sorry about that! Wanna hear the story about how me and my friends successfully inspired a slave revolt?

[Her eyes brightened.]

Do dragons gobble gold? Please, indulge me!

D-do dragons gobble gold? I've never... seen a dragon.

[ He looks little spooked, because dragons sure seem scary. But he takes a deep breath, partially to cover a lot of ground with this story. ]

So our castleship got attacked by the Galra Empire, who was trying to kill us. We couldn't get anything up and running, so our buddy Coran, an ancient alien space elf butler, took us in a shuttle to a Balmera, which is a living, conscious planet. We had to get a crystal from it, and use it to power the castleship.

[ Hunk looks excited at this part of the story, and he's even grinning just a bit. ]

So wormhole over there but our shuttle takes some damage and we crash in a mining tunnel. Except we find this native rock-girl Shay, and she and her brother help hide the shuttle and take us to the rest of their family. They tell us that the Galra have kept them as slaves for as long as anyone has known, and that they all live to mine every possible resource from the Balmera, bringing it closer and closer to death.

[ And by this point Hunk looks sad, depressed, and even a little frustrated. ]

We got the crystal, but Shay's brother ratted us out to the Galra, because he couldn't comprehend a life without their oppression. Shay seemed on board with it, with being able to see the sky for the first time. So she spoke to the Balmera and distracted the Galra, giving Coran and I enough time to get the shuttle back to the castleship.

[ By this point, Hunk just looks exhausted. That's a lot of talking in a pretty short amount of time, and he's catching his breath. ]

So... what do you think so far? The story's not done, I just need to... catch my breath!

That's very interesting so far! To think, someone so far gone in spirit by their oppressors that they feel the need to somehow vouch for them. It's rather tragic...

Oh, and while you're catching your breath, a dragon eats its entire hoard when it feels it's about to die, and then flies off to perish in a realm littered with the bones of their ancestors.

Wow! Dragons are crazy, I'm glad I've never met one. Who eats their treasures?

[ He laughs, still catching the rest of his breath. The pause lasts a few seconds, where he decides not to talk about Shay's brother. He was about to continue the story, after all. ]

So we get our team recuperated, and start preparing to return to the Balmera. On the way there, we pick up a distress signal. We check it out because that's what Paladins do.

[ He looks off to the side and sneers, in stark contrast to the tone of the rest of his story. ]

They said their ship was damaged, so we agreed to help them out. I'm the team's mechanic, and none of it looked like normal damage. Everything about it was fishy. They ended up working for our enemies, abandoning my friend in space, and trying to steal his ship. We got him and the ship back, and it was... a frustrating time.

[ He sighs, and the disdain fades away. Back to the important story! ]

We reach the Balmera, and split up to chase out the Galra. I went to find Shay, since the Galra captured her when she helped us escape. It was a trap, meant to separate us from the rest of my group, but...

[ Hunk grins, and starts making grand gestures with his hands. ]

Shay communicates with the Balmera and has it open a way out for us. We're able to get her to safety and I can meet up with the rest of my team. But then...

[ His eyes go wide, and he looks scared and uncomfortable. ]

This thing drops out of the sky, and a monster breaks out of it. A giant metal thing with these long arms with eye-things that shot a ton of lasers! Our ancient alien space princess friend did an ancient planet-rejuvenating ritual using her own life force, and at the same time...

[ The wide-eyed discomfort shifts to wide-eyed surprise, with growing confidence. ]

My Lion gives me a bit of a push, telling me to put my Bayard into the holster-thingie. So we form Voltron, I do it, and my targeting systems start locking onto all of the laser cannons! When I pull the trigger, a giant shoulder-mounted cannon appears and takes out all those cannons! Then we punched it and knocked it over, and then the Balmera itself steps in and crystallizes the thing!

[ He takes a few deep breaths, and realizes he's shifted into a bit of a triumphant pose. ]

So that's... that's how we inspired a slave revolt and got out first victory against a millennia-old evil empire.

[She laughed.]

What an adventure! I've only heard of constructs that could traverse through space- they call them spelljammers- but you have me building a desire to see one, to touch one, perhaps safely look at space itself with no fear of its cold and lack of oxygen. How fascinating!

I do wonder what that 'thing' is that birthed the monster you fought. An egg, perhaps...?

I guess it was like a space-safe box, like a package thrown into the planet? [ Honestly, the less Hunk thinks about the robeasts, the happier he is. They're terrifying and remind him of terrifying people. ]

Spelljammers? [ Hunk gives her a quizzical look, because that's a super bizarre name, but he does take note of that magical implication. Why does everyone but him know about magic? ] You can just call it a spaceship, you know. The airship we woke up on in the Dream Width is pretty close...

[ He scoffs, but he's still definitely smiling. ] ...Even if it seems a little primitive. But if you think that's cool, imagine having a suit of armor that lets you go floating out into space!

A spaceship works, but the creators are awfully proud of the moniker, so I intend on respecting that. Plus it rolls off the tongue... Spelljammers.

[Have some jazz hands, Hunk. It helps to say 'spelljammers' while wiggling the ol' fingers.]

Armor that lets you float in space...? Does it cover your face somehow? I wonder how one breathes out there.

Spelljammers.

[ Hunk, a man prone to humor and mirth, mirrors her jazz hands with his own, and an invested grin. ]

It really does roll off the tongue. And my armor has a helmet that's connected to an air supply, so I can use it underwater, too! Plus it has this jetpack that lets me kinda control where I go.

[ His story-gathering new friend may notice that a piece of otherworldly-looking suit of white-and-yellow armor is visible in the video's frame. ]

Ooh, is that it over there? I should hope that you've considered wearing it to a dinner date.

It's a hell of a conversation starter.

[ Hunk blushes at the mention of a dinner date, and his only response for a few seconds is an awkward, sheepish chuckle. ]

I'd, uh... have to get asked first. [ But he shrugs all that off, and after a breath reverts back to his typical demeanor. ]

The closest I've gotten is cooking Earth food for a meeting of alien diplomats. [ And then he looks off-screen. ] Defending the universe was a pretty busy job.

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