Hathaway. (
futurologists) wrote in
epidemiology2018-02-03 12:28 am
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Entry tags:
- ! plot,
- 2b (nier automata),
- 9s (nier automata),
- aleksandra zaryanova (overwatch),
- aloy (horizon zero dawn),
- arya stark (asoiaf),
- daenerys targaryen (asoiaf),
- finn (star wars),
- fiona (borderlands),
- giovanni (dogs: bullets & carnage),
- gorō majima (yakuza),
- inuyasha (inuyasha),
- jason grace (camp half-blood chronicles),
- keith (voltron),
- khada jhin (league of legends),
- kisuke urahara (bleach),
- kylo ren (star wars),
- laphicet (tales of berseria),
- lissa (fire emblem: awakening),
- lucina (fire emblem: awakening),
- odinson (marvel comics),
- rey (star wars),
- rhys (borderlands),
- scott summers (marvel comics),
- shouta aizawa (my hero academia),
- simon jarrett (soma),
- stiles stilinski (teen wolf),
- vaughn (borderlands),
- veronica lodge (riverdale),
- wylan van eck (grishaverse),
- yusuke urameshi (yu yu hakusho)
EVENT ▸ EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE
EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE ![]() The royalty of Guild Ophelia has managed to hold an audience with Empress Nama of the Celestial Mountains, urging her to meet with the Empress of the Crashing Wave in the interest of finding an accord between their clans. In return, Nama requests that Ophelia take two letters to the Crashing Wave's court, where, as foreigners, they should be received better than any of her own people. The Empire of the Crashing Wave is a week's travel by foot from the Land of Celestial Mountains, through the forests and farms of the Flowerlands. There is no visible indication that this universe was once two, with even the road leading through the Flowerlands heading seamlessly toward the sea. The farms and villages in the outskirts of the Empire of the Crashing Wave are decorated in seashells and motifs of the sea, and the closer one gets to the city, the stronger the scent of the ocean becomes. Once the city proper is reached, Ophelia's magitek projects words in front of their eyes that only they can see: Location reached:The city is built right on the ocean's edge, with some parts of it even jutting out into the sea on bridges and piers. The castle, Peaceful Tide, is built high above the rest; guards will stop anyone at the gates and, if shown the correspondence from Empress Nama, will deliver the letters directly to Empress Youmi. Attempts to seek an audience with Youmi will be rebuffed for the time being, so you may as well take in the sights... ▸ A PROMISING DEVELOPMENT ![]() Closer to the Beach, there is a boardwalk where young couples stroll alongside grandparents chasing after their grandchildren, electric lamps bathing the wooden planks in a warm glow at night. Fishermen haul in their daily catch in buckets and nets, trailed by a gaggle of hopeful cats. Beachcombers and pearl divers populate the beach as well, making it a clear place for work instead of play. A few days after Ophelia's arrival in sea clan territory, a bell rings loudly in the late afternoon, drawing citizens toward the castle. Guards stop anyone from getting too close, though the populace seems to know what to expect -- soon, a beautiful woman in an elaborate blue kimono appears in an upper balcony. When viewing the woman, Ophelia's magitek will tell them: » EMPRESS YOUMIThe crowd cheers at Youmi's arrival, only quieting once she raises her hand. She speaks clearly and confidently, her voice carrying easily across the assembly. "I have received a letter from Her Imperial Majesty Nama of the Land of Celestial Mountains. She informs me that their spring festival was interrupted by an attack from our own people, working without my knowledge or consent," Youmi begins, holding her hand up again when a displeased rumble begins to ripple through the crowd. It's unclear if they're perturbed by the ambush or by Nama herself. Once all is silent again, she continues. "She has detained the criminals, for that is what they are, and assures me she will not bring this to the battlefield. I will send her an agreement to the terms, but hear this: any who escalate this further will be slain by my order. I have spoken. The spirits of the sea watch over us all." Youmi then retreats back into the castle. While some citizens cheer their empress's decree, others mutter unhappily amongst themselves as they disperse and go about their business. ▸ BUT TROUBLE CONTINUES ![]() As the sun sinks down, finding a place to sleep might be a good idea. There are hotels in the city, but for those who are trying to be a little more frugal, the Flowerlands is a good place to set up camp for free. Doro, the Lord of the Flowerlands, has heard of Ophelia's efforts in starting communication between the empresses as well, and offers rooms in his castle in thanks; if war were to start between the two, his land would suffer for it. During the night, those who accept Doro's invitation will hear a commotion very nearby, steel clashing against steel. Doro and his daughters rush out, weapons drawn, and straight into a skirmish between sea and mountain clan ronin. The warriors are fighting to kill, and in their fervor, someone's fire arrow alights a farmhouse on Doro's property. The farmers need to be rescued and the fire put out, and while the warriors will likely kill each other, they could also be subdued to prevent further damage. Please let the mods know with a link to the thread if your character is killing or capturing any of the ronin. After the skirmish, Doro must be brought back inside his castle, having been wounded during the battle. He pleads with Ophelia to continue to help, as it looks like a tentative truce by the empresses is not enough to calm the citizens. Since they were so successful in receiving an audience with Nama, he believes they can propose a way the two empires can live in harmony. Throughout the next two weeks, skirmishes between the clans are peppered throughout the Flowerlands, some leaving bodies behind and some leaving damage to farms and forest. It looks like Ophelia's peacekeeping mission just became a lot more hands-on: keep the skirmishes from getting out of control while still working toward a way to end the conflict once and for all. ▸ OOC NOTES This log will last for two IC weeks: the first three days will be free exploration, and day four is Youmi's proclamation and the skirmish in the Flowerlands. Your characters are free to explore for the next ten days, during which further skirmishes will occur. If you have questions about this log or the overall mission, please ask them on the dossier. Questions about Futurology in general should be directed to the FAQ. ▸ Coming next log: Peace proposals! Get your brainstorming started now. ▸ Activity Check is due on 5 February 23:59 UTC. We do not accept late submissions, so make sure you fill it out! ▸ Uniform Design Contest is open! Submissions are due 28 February 23:59 UTC. Gamewide voting will be in March. ▸ Bounty Board ▸ Items Page ▸ Exploration Group Planning ▸ General Plotting ▸ February Calendar |
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But no. He still doesn't get it. Its not a malicious reply, because he makes a point to meet his eyes with that same confused expression when he says it.]
Friends aren't going to get you your incentive. Finishing this is.
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[ god, would he ever be able to understand that? she had to believe that he could, if he was ever going to come back. and she does have hope for that. she does. ]
You already gave me that. [ and tbh it was disappointing and unfulfilling like most things kylo ren gives people yoooooooo. no but she's actually quite despondent when she mentions her parents. err, indirectly. but she works through it. she shakes her head. ] I thought finding them would give me something that I needed. Something that I've been missing, but … It didn't.
They never had anything to offer me. But Hathaway does.
[ as long as he stays, finn is safe from snoke. and in the interim, she can turn kylo ren's heart back to the light. and … and keith. and urahara. these people that she cares so much about, that she can't let go of. it hurts her to admit it because she feels like a coward, somehow. but that's not her war. thrawn is right. it's never been her war. she just stumbled upon it one day and threw in with the side that had the most to offer her.
and … she will go back. one day. she knows that. because finn and poe will go back, and they'll need her, and they'll need ben, and maybe by that time keith will be ready to leave too, and —
but now? right now? she's here because she wants to be. not for any stupid incentive. the belonging she's been looking for, she's found. if she can just hold it together — if anything, it's been the effort of denying that fact which has been causing her the most grief. trying to chase the end goal, the over-the-rainbow destination of their own galaxy. ]
I already have everything I want here. But if I don't follow him now, I might lose it.
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[Once again, he totally misses every point she's trying to make for him. His brow only knits further in confusion as he tries to piece out what she's saying to him, as well as the various emotional feedback he suddenly feels coming from the other end of the bond. The sense of purpose, the fear, the need to leave -- not Hathaway, but here.
His jaw goes stiff, like he has something further to add to his rebuttal he can't force out of his mouth. It never finishes forming in his head.
Frustrated, he looks away from her. It almost seems like an agreement to a dismissal, but he offers her one more question pertinent to the information he'd sought in the first place.]
Did you even get inside?
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what does it matter why he thinks she's here? ]
No. Empress Youmi has kept her territory closed off, probably from fear of invasion. [ the mountain clan is more militarized, after all. and if she can give him that, hopefully he can give her — ] Keith knows something's wrong. I have to tell him something.
[ the searching expression she wears doesn't give a damn about permission, but rather seems lost in how to approach that. what could she tell him to explain? the complete truth seems to bizarre to put to words, still. ]
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Tell him, what? He will not understand something we barely understand ourselves.
[Even though his logic is sound, he really just doesn’t want to have to explain it talk about it himself, and the second one person knew meant that it would spread. And worse, it would give Rey control of the narrative.]
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however there's something in there that she wants to pursue — 'something we barely understand ourselves.' they've both been trying to understand it better, digging into it. but he's … here. like they'd agreed to try. did that mean he had succeeded? was he here deliberately?
she packs that way for later, deeming it less important than the matter at hand, and shakes her head. sadly, though, in a manner which clarifies that she is not asking his opinion whether or not she should at all. ]
I have to try. [ that's non-negotiable. ] I might not know what it's going to look like yet, but if I don't say something, I will lose him. [ that outcome is unacceptable to her, and not because of the silent 'too' hanging at the end of her sentence. keith means a whole lot more to her than poe "i knew him for a week" dameron. so this is what ben is allowed to weigh in on: how she tries to tell him, and how much. ]
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This is something he doesn’t have answers for. If she told the wrong person, they might attempt to manipulate one of them through the other. Or, they would withhold information, on fear of it passing between the bond.]
I cannot tell you how. Or what.
[Because he believes nothing at all should be said, aside from their shared ignorance. Would he even believe her? Would he turn on her? That might work in his favor.]
But I suggest not giving more than is absolutely necessary.
[There is something bitter in his voice, a churn of resentment that has no real direction or target — it had always been an inevitability, but that didn't mean he liked it.]
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Alright.
[ she can do that. she gets ready to start after keith but stops. curiosity gets the better of her and she turns to look at ben again, studying him. you might think that after her big speech like 'friendship is magic' that keith was more important than curiosity, but — ]
The fact that you're here, now … Is it you doing this?
[ or is it the force? she studies him. they had determined to try, but honestly a part of her had hovered in uncertainty over whether he'd actually bother making an attempt. ben isn't exactly the quiet yearning type, as far as she's concerned, and so sitting around thinking of her, trying to reach out, was …
hard to imagine. but if he had managed to take some control over the bond — actually, that's really yikes. as demonstrated by the consequences of this exact moment. it literally only occurs to rey now that maybe working to increase their power over this link between them could also be … abused …
/faceinhands.
anyway. she's not worried about that because ben is Good Now and they just made eyes at each other like last week on his bed and it's fine. : ) packing away that sudden awareness ("i have a bad feeling about this") in favor of figuring out if maybe this is a win towards having more control over their lives. yes. that's better. happy thoughts. ]
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[Actually, he wasn’t really sure — but he had definitely wanted an answer only Rey could give him, so it was impossible to tell if he had subconsciously reached out, or if it was just coincidental timing. But he is happy to take credit for the milestone. The potential for the bond to be abused by Rey occurs to him, but not with any great concern. Even though she had proven her power twice over, he cannot see her thinking to use it to her advanatge.
Not in any way that would cause him trouble, anyway. It would simply chase her to the dark, which was fine by him.]
What will you do, when he tells others?
[He glances back down at her this time to watch for her reaction.]
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in fact, he changes the subject. ]
I don't know.
[ she shrugs her shoulders simply. really, she's out on a limb here. but she's not backing off of it because she's afraid and uncertain of what will happen next. she knows that it's necessary. and whatever happens, she'll deal with it. ]
I think I'll start by trusting him, and hope I'm not proven wrong. [ there's a meaningful bite in her expression. like maybe keith isn't the only one she's trusting not to prove her wrong. or ... maybe like someone else could stand to start trusting. maybe a little of both. ] He hasn't let me down yet.
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[Does that answer your unasked trust question, Rey? Its clear he's not at all comfortable about this, but he'd already tried once to compel her through the bond, and he knows its not strong enough yet to try again -- so he isn't about to break what little trust she does seem to have in him by making the attempt.]
The rest of the guild will not be far behind. Whatever you must do, I suggest doing it quickly.
[Before someone ELSE eavesdrops on this nonsense that's happening.]
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[ she rolls her eyes a little as she says it like, yes, good thing you said to hurry because I was going to take my time following after my upset friend. she steps around him to head off after keith and tries to wall her mind off from the bond itself.
she descends into the wooded area, swatting foliage out of the way, and takes to … shouting like a big dumbass. ]
Keith! KEITH!
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But in returning, albeit briefly, Keith heard her talking to someone. And she sure wasn't talking to the magitek, because he knows the difference.
He only really returns when she shouts for him, though. Keith's sitting down against a tree, arms crossed.]
I'm over here! [he calls back. Because he's sulking, and she has to come to him. So there!]
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approaching, she crouches down beside him — not sitting, as she hasn't been invited, but resting her chin on her bent knees all the same with her feet still under her. ]
People keep running off on me lately. [ she says it with only a fraction of the self pity she feels. ] I'm sorry that I upset you.
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And don't try to use that I didn't tell you something against me. I didn't like it the first time.
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[ she insists upon that first, looking altogether despondent and … scolded? yeah let's go with that. ]
I'm not trying to shut you out. [ but she realizes that she's doing a pretty good job of it all the same, so … ] A lot changed when I went home. More than just Luke.
[ she nods to the spot next to him. ]
Can I sit?
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Does she realize that?]
Luke's here, you know. He came back again. ["Again," making it clear that they spoke long enough for Keith to learn about the previous time.]
You're not gonna make his future into a bad thing for him now, are you?
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but then she reflects it inward, internalizes it, and decides it hurts her only because she's put keith in a position where he thinks the worst of her. after all, she's been behaving the worst lately. how's he supposed to know better? this is her fault. ]
Of course not.
[ she sets her own conflicted feelings about luke being here aside. about the fact that keith dropped that news on her like that, knowing what luke represents to her, aside. these aren't the point.
this is happening because she's held herself at a distance from him. and she values him enough to try to own that and bridge it instead of making it worse, so she's going to … skip over the hurt. ]
Nothing would make me happier than Luke going back and choosing to be better than he was. I would never set him up to expect darkness and regret. That's never helped anybody.
[ it's certainly not helping her lmao. ]
But no matter what, they aren't his mistakes yet. It wouldn't be fair. And even if they were his mistakes, I'm not interested in ... in punishing him for them. I just wish he would be willing to try to make it right.
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Emphasis on was.]
Look, you told me that because Luke failed, you'd go ahead and do what he couldn't do. But when we first met, when we started talking, you ... believed in people. You believed in me. It doesn't seem like you're doing a lot of that anymore. I just want to know why.
[It's not his way of saying "there's something wrong with you." Keith doesn't think that's it. He's just worried about whatever's driving her toward this reckless mindset, where she's acting this way.
He just doesn't really get that it can be interpreted as "there's something wrong with you," so whoops.]
here's the plot of the last jedi i'm sorry
but he wouldn't say it if he didn't think she needed to hear it. if he didn't think she cared enough to hear it. so rey draws glances away, lets the emotional reaction come, and swallows it.
it's hard not to be defensive and reactive. not to just erupt with all of it. but it's not just keith she needs to do right by here; she's trying to do right by ben, too. it's pretty evident now that ben isn't just protecting her by withholding information about what's going on between them, but rather that he doesn't want people to know more than they have to either.
it's not entirely hers to say. that's the hardest part. even if she had the language for it, she doesn't feel like she owns the narrative.
so she tries to focus on the part that she does own: her intentions. her experience with luke. maybe she just hadn't explained it well enough, in enough depth, the first time. she draws a deep breath before she starts. this is going to be a Story. ]
I went to Luke believing that he was the key to winning the war that's waging in our galaxy. I believed that he could help the Resistance defeat Kylo Ren and the First Order. Luke was a war hero, a legend, who brought his father back from the Dark Side. He's the last Jedi. Our only hope.
But he refused. [ that seems to be the crux of it, judging by the way she looks down and away. the disappointment is … immeasurable. she had invested so much into the myth of luke skywalker. dreamed so hard. he had been her proof that there was always light in the galaxy. ] Not only that, I found out he was the one responsible for what became of Ben in the first place.
[ ben hadn't been happy that she had told keith this the first time. again, she can't blame him. beyond this much, it's not her story to tell. he had confided it in her, that night on ahch-to. it's not her narrative. it never has been, so she doesn't expound on it further now. but … the rest, it is hers. ]
I tried to convince him to come back and make it right, that he could bring Ben back to the Light, as he had with his father. [ the belief is there, clear and bright and — god, she feels like a fool for that even now. ] He wouldn't.
I'm not the one who stopped believing in people, Keith. Luke stopped believing in himself. He stopped believing in the Resistance, and he wouldn't believe in me. He gave up on Ben, on all of us. [ she looks back at keith then. ] But I haven't. Luke won't help Ben return from the Dark, but I still can. I know there's Light in him. I've felt it.
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I think you were right to decide to try to save Ben when he wouldn't. I don't think it's a good idea to do it because he won't. You can't make a decision based on what someone else can't or won't do. I think—Loki would say you're tying them down and yourself down. You can't do that to yourself. It's hurting you.
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how does she just shrug that responsibility off?
more to the point, why doesn't responsibility feel like the right word? rey frowns a little, looking down at her hands. no, keith's right. or he's close enough to right to make her think. there's something in there that …
ah. she's been so conflicted, split down the middle, feeling like she has competing loyalties to her friends and to ben. like she needs to justify that what she's doing is just the mission she was sent on. tying to that, in a way, is feeding her own conflict about it. so — ]
I'm not just doing it because Luke wouldn't. [ admitting that makes her chest feel a little bit lighter. and she feels heartened that keith is obviously just trying to talk it through with her, help her, not judge her, like poe had. ] I asked Luke to teach me. These abilities that I have, I don't understand them. He refused. He told me that there should be no more Jedi.
I'm alone, Keith. [ when she meets his gaze again, the tears in her eyes are more pronounced. that's the part that scares her. that, and the awareness that keith might just hold this against her most of all. it's terribly selfish, and it puts a lot of expectations on ben. ] But I don't have to be.
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In the end, Keith figured out a part of himself in the process, even if he didn't get the full picture.]
I almost sacrificed my entire mission to figure out who I was. I know what it's like to need that. [Of course, there's a difference: Keith had turned his back on those answers because being a Voltron paladin and fighting with the Blade had proved to be more important. He doesn't regret it. He just also knows he can't push Rey in that direction.
It's weird, to have made peace with something that she's still figuring out.]
I'd tell you that you're not alone, but it's not the same. I know that. [Keith does know that.] I just don't get why you're acting the way that you are. You're lashing out at people around you. Is it because you feel bad because he's the enemy? Or because you're afraid that you're going to become exactly the person you were in that future we both experienced?
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except that's not how keith is saying it at all. it's not about sides. it's about what she's willing to forgive, and he's not asking to judge, but to understand. in fact, seeing keith ask in this way, even with the keen accuracy he has, throws into total relief why she had felt so devastated by poe and so open now.
so she looks down at her hands, thinking it over. then she starts digging her fingers into the dirt of the forest floor, feeling it grind beneath her nails. it's life. it's light. it's … her lungs expand and she shuts her eyes. peace. ]
Both.
[ it comes to her when she closes her eyes, the memory of the person that she became. ]
I saw a vision of the future, of Ben and I fighting side-by-side. But … [ she shakes her head. ] I'm not sure which side we're on.
Finn tells me he's heading to the First Order's flagship, as am I. If I can help Ben return to the Light, we can save him. But if I'm not there in time, or if I can't turn Ben, and something happens to Finn, that future the insects showed us could mean I'm the one who turns.
[ she opens her eyes again and looks at him. getting it off of her chest has a calming effect on her. it's less scary, now that it's out in the open. ]
And … even if it works, and we save Finn, Ben hurt all of us terribly. I believe in the Light inside of him, but I don't think they'd ever be able to understand how I feel about him. That's what Poe was talking about, you know. It had nothing to do with the mission at all. He was talking about Ben.
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Rey, that future isn't going to happen. Not unless you push everyone away. That's what we both did, remember? [Both Rey and Keith thought they knew better than their friends and allies at the time. They thought they needed to go it alone.]
I don't really know Finn or Poe. [Bad impressions aside of the latter.] But if you're really good friends, you have to tell them the truth. Ben won't be able to do any good if everyone treats him like an enemy. And he wants to do good, right?
[Keith is assuming as much on that last part. Otherwise, why would Rey be trying?]
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