epidemiology | EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

RETURN TO HQ

After a tough mission, it's time to return to Headquarters for a well-earned rest. Hathaway's medics and healers are there to patch up any lingering injuries (as are any teammates with healing abilities!), everyone's room is tidied up for them, and the entirety of Hathaway HQ is ripe for exploring. Take your time -- you earned it.

Also sharing downtime at HQ are Guilds Horatio, Montague, and Watchman, composed of humanoids of various shapes and sizes. Temporary pop-up shops down in the promenade include a spa where one can get a manicure, pedicure, or other beautifying procedures; a yoga studio; and an imported salt cave for meditation.

After a few days of silent relaxation, members of Guild Ophelia will all receive a text message on their magitek from Imogen -- their Guild Master, if they don't remember. Imogen, while not directly involved in any world-saving affairs, has a rather sizable amount of inheritance that she puts towards the Hathaway cause. Specifically, she uses it to finance Ophelia's endeavors. This sort of makes her in charge, or as much in charge of this rag-tag team as any one person can be.

Hello, Ophelia!

Once again, allow me to congratulate you on your successful mission in Hanabira. I hear the wedding went smashingly. Hathaway's analysts should rift down someone to check in on your success in several years, but the mathematicians are confident your solution has brought peace to the region.

One should never rest on their laurels, however. From what I've seen in magitek messages, this guild is sorely lacking in the ability to work together and trust all guildmates, regardless of who they are. I've spotted more than a few barbs exchanged. Hanabira will be only an exception if you continue to behave this way.

We'll be conducting guild bonding exercises today. While they are not mandatory, I assure you I've procured incentive for you all to participate. It isn't cheap to finance your exploits, and I won't spend my resources on a group of ruffians slinging insults at each other.

Meet by the memorial fountain in one hour, and do try to bring a positive attitude.

Your Guild Master,
Imogen

Those who choose to participate will find Imogen, a very prim and graceful elf dressed in elaborately embroidered robes, standing near the fountain. She greets everyone by name -- "nice to see you" and "glad you could make it" -- before directing them to the training rooms on the upper deck.

The training rooms include run-of-the-mill exercise equipment and the training simulation room, both of which are free to use by participants and non-participants alike. A tall, strong-looking man whom some may recognize as their recruiter is making use of the equipment. His name is Khalef, and he is happy to answer questions about the training facilities or anything else about Hathaway.

Between exercises, Imogen is available at the memorial fountain to chat but she's otherwise busy with paperwork.

▸ SECRETS

Two partners sit in a room furnished only with two (very comfy, if it matters) chairs and a table between them. On the table sits -- floats, really -- a colorful orb, softly glowing. It is comfortably warm to the touch.

The instructions automatically flash across the participants' magitek, thanking them for participating and asking them both to answer the following questions with complete honesty to gain the most from this exercise. Then, the first question pops up: What is something you like about your exercise partner?

It seems simple enough. If a participant tells the truth, they will notice the orb's glow brightening, almost as if it is starting to flame. If a participant lies, they will notice the orb's glow dimming. Otherwise, there is no penalty for lying.

The questions slowly get more personal, with the aim of getting the two partners to open up to each other:

If a crystal ball could tell you the future, what would you want to know?

What’s the one thing you would like to change about yourself?

What are you most proud of accomplishing?

What do you think existed before the universe was created?

What do you think is the worst crime a human could commit?

Do you think jealousy has value in driving people to improve themselves, or is it a purely negative emotion?

If you could start your life over, what would you do differently?

If you were given only one week to live, how would you spend it?

Who had the greatest impact on your life? What was it?

What’s the difference between justice and revenge?

Is it possible to live a normal life and not ever tell a lie?

Do the ends justify the means?

Are some people’s lives worth more than others? Why or why not?

Complete this sentence: "I wish I had someone with whom I could share..."

If a loved one died, but someone created a perfect copy, would they be the same person and would you love them just as much?

If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know.

( Mod note: the above are just ideas! You can pick and choose, or come up with your own. Whatever is most fun for you! )

If the two partners truthfully answer their questions, the orb will eventually catch fire, although it will curiously still remain only pleasantly warm if anyone attempts to touch it. It will blaze until it burns out, leaving two small marble replicas in its place. When one of the partners grasps it in their hand, they will be able to see through the other partner's eyes for one minute (although they will not be aware of their own surroundings, so you might want to be in a safe area). The other partner will be aware of this and able to sever the link by removing the marble from their person. These items are bound to their owners and cannot be used by others.

If one or both partners lie, the orb will eventually fizzle out entirely, and the magitek will inform them that the exercise was failed due to deceit.

▸ RIFTING

Next, guild members are directed to the rifting pad located on the upper deck. Technicians scurry about in the rifting area, spinning dials and taking readings, as volunteers are directed to stand on the rifting pad and wait. It's just like rifting to a different universe for a mission -- the world goes bright and then, in a flash, you're standing somewhere else -- except the technicians emphatically explain this is not a mission. It's still part of the training exercise, you see!

Participants have been rifted to an unpopulated garden planet, in the middle of a forest clearing. The grass is tall -- nearly 150 cm in height -- and is surrounded on all sides by forest. A notice pops up on your magitek that informs you there is no aggressive local wildlife, but there are aggressive plants: including, unfortunately, your goal for this part of the exercise.

Spread throughout the forest are aggressive willow trees, sentient flora that will lash out with sharp, clawlike branches at anyone who comes too close. The branches have incredible reach, but the trees have no other defense, and are rooted to the spot so they are also unable to maneuver. The goal of the exercise is to gather as many willow seeds as possible, ostensibly without hurting the trees themselves. Willow seeds are around the size of a small marble and have a fluffy attachment that will allow them to blow away on the wind; you can scour the forest in search of them, of course, but the highest concentration is below the willows themselves.

Once participants feel they have gathered enough seeds -- or if they simply want to give up -- they need only speak to the rift technicians via magitek and they will return back to Headquarters immediately.

The participants will each receive a pot of soil and a seed to plant within it. The plant that sprouts from it will be no ordinary plant; it will require no water to sustain itself, but it will require something else: friendship. As the relationship between the two participants strengthens, the plant will grow, its appearance representing how the other participant feels about the plant owner -- pink and red blooms may represent romantic love, whereas bright, multi-colored petals may simply represent a strong friendship or budding blooms may represent... well, a budding friendship. (Of course, there's no "flower guide", so it's up to them to decide how to interpret this.) As the relationship weakens, the plant will wilt and, if the relationship turns sour enough, die. So take care of your relationship and take care of your plant!

▸ COMPOSURE

This exercise completed, participants are free to return to the first deck and go about their business. But on the elevator back down from the rifting pad, the elevator suddenly jerks violently and then stalls. You're stuck! The emergency button doesn't seem to be working, no matter how many times you press it. And for that matter, no messages seem to be going through the magitek, either. You're effectively trapped in here with whomever you stepped aboard -- a friend, an acquaintance, or even a stranger.

But don't panic -- surely Hathaway hired you for your ingenuity and not just your pretty face, right?

The elevator can be broken out of in a number of ways:

If you brute strength the doors open, you'll find that the elevator is stuck halfway between floors. This means that you must either climb up or down to escape the narrow opening, and, if your partner isn't the athletic type, help them out as well.
If you hack the elevator's control panel (prying the panel door off first, obviously), you may be able to guide it up and down the shaft. Depending on your expertise in this sort of thing, the ride may be jerky and uncomfortable, and there's always a risk of the elevator plummeting down to the bottom if you lose control -- although strangely, there's never any impact if this happens, only the elevator springing back up the shaft after the fall. Either way, you should be able to figure out how to get the doors open.
If you open the access hatch at the top of the elevator, you'll be granted access to the elevator shaft. It's a dimly lit tunnel of cables and wires, and unless you're lucky enough to find a service ladder in the midst of all of it, you'll have to use the cables to climb. It's dangerous -- you could lose your footing at any moment and slam back down onto the elevator below -- but you should be able to find a door eventually. And then it's only a matter of figuring out how to get it open.
Or you could try a combination of these, or something entirely different!

No matter what method you choose, once you find your way onto solid ground, your magitek will light up:

Congratulations! You passed the final exercise. Rest assured, you were never in any real danger, I promise!

Your Guild Master,
Imogen

Indeed, if you found yourself falling too far down the shaft, you would have found yourself instantly buffeted by invisible winds to keep your landing soft -- and if you found yourself unable to find a way to escape within two hours, the elevator would automatically start up again.

Those who succeed will receive a flashlight that does not seem to work at first; however, it is capable of taking and storing light from its immediate surroundings, which it can then release into similar light sources or, in the absence of those, floating orbs of light. It is incapable of taking light out of an entire building, for an example, but can darken a room.

▸ OOC NOTES

If you have questions about this log, please direct them to this comment on the plotting post. Questions about the game in general can be directed to the FAQ.

▸ Up now:

Hanabira Bounty Board is still open! Bounties must be turned in by the start of the next mission on 15 April.
Congratulations, Guild Ophelia now has an official uniform! The uniforms may be modified in any way characters like. The FAQ and Headquarters pages have been updated to include the uniform information.

▸ Coming next:

25 March: Mandatory How's My Driving meme. Participation is required to pass March AC.
28 March: April calendar, including news about apps.
01 April: March AC begins, ending on 5 April 23:59 UTC.

▸ Plotting ▸ Hathaway Headquarters ▸ Hanabira Bounty Board ▸ March Calendar

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sorry, Thrawn. It's Inuyasha.

His eyes narrow at the answer given, but more in confusion about occupancy rather than the sass intended. He's a moron. The voice says, What is the best thing about you? and Inuyasha wonders if it's good to just scratch the thing off the table.]

I'm strong.

[On his end, it's not a lie. The orb glows.]

[The indication is given a 'tch' under his breath of acknowledgement, but he's still too unruly to even ofer an addendum of thanks.

Still, his method of fighting changes for the better: instead of offensive tactics, he leaps into the air with defensive strategies, feeling all the worse for it.] This is ridiculous! [Jumping from one waggling length of branch to another, or dropping out of the way of a swipe.]

Are you done yet? I'm tired of trying-- [He startles in surprise. Maybe the tree wasn't as stupid as he believed, not when it realizes it can try to pester both of them. Enough branches to go around.] No you don't! Not on my watch. [Shooting off the branch he's on, he hits the ground and leaps again.]

Watch it! [He races the pointed end to Alucard, sweeping up Tessaiga; the sword glows before transforming into the fanged falchion. He uses the flat side to block the branch, digging his bare feet into the ground to shove it out of the way.] Get out of here!

So first of all... who the heck are ya? And are you even allowed to eat in here?

[ Were you breaking the rules Laphicet...... ]

[Allura rubs her face as Rey strips off her sash, the cuts on her cheek still stinging a bit. As she takes the belt from Rey, she gives her a bit of a concerned look.]

Are you certain of this? I can easily distract the tree if you wish to collect the seeds.

[Because she's a paladin and this is a bit. Ridiculous.]

[The two mice raise their tiny mousey hackles in fear at the dog-like creature, running back into the safety of Allura's billowy hair.

Allura is too caught up in her inner panic of being stuck on an elevator to notice the strange, morbid appearance of her fellow elevator hostage's animal companion. Instead, she's pouting.]

Not one that I can see. [And then, muttering.] If only Pidge were here...

[Because if anyone were to be able to find a reset button, it would be her.]

You are the ruler of a country. You have called upon your people to gather en masse for a game. Among those who attend, one is extraordinarily tall. What would you do? Exclude the person for the sake of fairness? Accept that one's height is merely a part of their individuality and include this person?

[ After the last question, this one seemed... pretty simple? ]

Huh? 'Course they can't help bein' tall, what kinda question's that? You gotta put him in!

[ Said like a tall person. ]

[Allura's eyes widen as the wind reverses, the one seed she had been holding and a few others returning to her and landing in her open palms. A few others float down to her feet.

She looks to her partner, and then to the amulet's jewel.]

How did you do that?

[ There's a single moment of breath where Rey pauses, struck by what Jason says, but it's packed away for another time. She can't get wrapped up in that when she's caught up in the moment of trying not to wind up in medical today. She can feel the branch swinging for her, and she's ready to dodge it—

Before it even descends? It takes her a moment to figure out it's because Jason has slowed it down. She doesn't waste time marveling over it as she had during the ambush. She pivots and darts back towards the boundary. When she reaches him, she grabs him by the arm and pulls him out of the way of another branch that's descending towards them, and then she takes him with her as she dives into the grass that's safely beyond the tree's reach.

The handful of seeds she has collected spills out of her grip as she does, and she rolls over onto her back, puffing out labored breaths. ]

[Close enough! She certainly considers herself to be an adult, but... she is acutely aware that most other cultures and worlds certainly don't see things that way. So she apparently has a lot of time to spare.

She'll put them to use on less important things than science and magic that still managed to have purpose. Like cooking?]

I am sure we will have quite a reasonable amount of time here on the ship before the next mission, and I have only three experiments running at the moment, so surely-

[As if suddenly remembering that she's the host of this party, Sieglinde shakes her head quickly and gestures to her desk, where liquors and drinks are assembled.]

Ah, excuse my excitement... may I interest you in a sparkling refreshment... ?

[ She looks down at her hand and realizes only then that she's no closer to anything substantial than she was previously. She frowns at it. Maybe it's bad luck, but maybe she could have done something better with it if she hadn't been trying to analyze him, and instead had been focused on herself.

The point is made. Quiet. Focus. All things that people keep telling her that she needs, that she used to have until her mind made room for other people. She gets what Keith has been poking at now — she has changed. She's learning how hard it is to balance her calm reserve with the tumult of actual human relationships. ]

And to create pain and fear and vulnerability in those that you are playing with?

[It would be a fascinating object on its own, charming in construction with the colorful sea glass fixture she gently runs her fingers over before turning it to examine the clockwork. A sound at a pitch only beasts could hear.

Wolves could hear.

She knows what that means, in both senses of the word, and it brings her gaze up just in time to meet his. Just in time to smile, bittersweetly pleased. He remembered. (Not that Urahara have a keen memory was surprising, but.)

Still.

She smiles, and lowers her gaze just a moment to think of a proper reply to such a thing, her finger curiously ticking the clockwork slightly-]

[Until her familiar, gnawing on a bone under the table, suddenly raises its head with a confused whine and starts pawing at... well, where it's ears would be if its face wasn't mostly skull.

Alarmed, Sieglinde turns with a near comical gasp, quickly taking her fingers off the clockwork]

Isengrim, I am sorry- !

Y-yeah!

[ Ok, crisis averted, but just by a hair. Lance lets the feelings come back down and plows ahead into the store. Around them are a plethora of high-tech vidscreens showing off clips of films and series in a hundred thousand different languages, species and timeframes. ]

You much of a movie buff?

I'd rather not see you hurt.

[ More. Her eyes go to the cut on Allura's cheek. It's not patronizing, exactly. It's what Rey would do for anyone in this situation simply because she knows her own skills well enough to dig her heels in properly. ]

Trust me, I got whacked by this thing earlier with Jason.

I believe you! [ More earnestly this time. ] We keep a cow in the Castle and I take care of her. Not--[ ADDED SUPER HASTILY ]--that you and her have anything in common, she has cloven hooves anyway, but. [ Wow, disaster. Back up. ] What I'm trying to say is, if you're stuck for a farrier while we're on a mission, I'm volunteering. As for the tea--ooh, that feels nice!

[ The attendant smiles, using gloved hands to smear honey paste down Lance's legs. He wiggles his toes in anticipation. ]

As for the tea...do you know what antioxidants are?

[It is another thing she might have said "yes" to were it back on Hanabira, though surely she would have hemmed and hawed and balked and made some sort of grumble about entering an unwed man's personal quarters.

... actually she could still use that.]

I have honor to my name yet. ... I will not sully it further with salacious rumors.

[Except that brings her thoughts right back where she hadn't wanted them. To sullying it, (she'd been careful, no one had seen her enter that room that night), to... not being able to sully it again.

She has to refuse. Can't stay here much longer.

Can't be caught being such a woman. Being so weak.]

[As alien as his weapon and his world was to her... Hayame has tried to avoid (tried) making assumptions about it. Maybe it couldn't because Keith did not have... something about himself. Or the other man was more skilled. Or maybe it was something else.]

... patience.

[She hadn't meant to let it come out that way, but.]

Edited 2018-03-23 17:00 (UTC)

[ He sighs out, collecting himself as he lets the warmth of her words wash over him. The reassurance feels good, though he wishes he needed it a little less. He isn't sure which of her two options worries him the most. ]

Thanks, Rey. That means a lot. [ Swallowing the last of his uncertainty, he turns his eyes to the new question--only to wince again. ] You wanna keep going...?

[It's a good thing Lance clarifies that super quickly, because Hayame's face had already been shifting towards Very Offended.

She bites her tongue for the moment, even though she has another comment quite ready about how cloven hooves and her own are also different...

(Why is he having honey smeared on his legs, anyway?)

And judging by her face, still thin-lipped and looking very nonplussed... no, she does not know what antioxidants are.

At least, not by that name.]

[Snacks...]

There's a whole food place if you're hungry. [She says it flatly, meaning to be scathing and sarcastic, but then --] What do you mean, we?

[ Nothing to do in that case but respect her wishes. It didn't seem like Hayame was in much of a mood to talk, and pushing things would probably just make things worse. ]

I understand. Then I won't keep ya.

Thank you again, Hayame-han.

[ He'd simply have to check in on her later, make sure she was all right. ]

[It actually takes Aloy a few long seconds to realize that maybe... he has a point. Not that an elevator stoppage is "just" anything -- most of her experience with elevators has been climbing up the shafts, so the entire concept of a working one is still very novel -- but the way he's looking at her has her reevaluating her reaction.

Usually when she gets trapped, it's an ambush. But there are no Shadow Carja here. (Ostenstibly.)

Slowly, like she's only halfway convinced, she slides her spear onto her back again.]

If that was supposed to be a joke, I don't get it. [A surefire way to get men to shut up: tell them they're not funny.] But fine. If this is normal for you, what do we do now?

[ Honestly being able to feel like a successful friend is Big for Rey right now, so she lingers in that gratitude for a moment before she pulls her hand back, straightening. Right. They have another task. ]

Not really.

[ She admits it with some chagrin, looking down at the question. ]

I don't remember my family.

[ A partial truth seems to restore some kind of pulse to the orb, but it's not fully satisfied with her answer. Maybe Lance will spare her from the rest by … also not wanting to. ]

[While Lance sags against the wall, long-suffering, Aloy -- whose experience with elevators is extremely minimal -- has a minor freakout, whipping her head around like she's expecting something Very Bad to happen.

It doesn't last for long, though, and she tentatively relaxes when she sees how unbothered Lance is.]

This happened to you before? What... do we do?

Yeah, we both need some time. [Whether or not it has to do with making up their minds, that's up in the air. Keith just knows that after such an emotionally trying episode, he needs space. It's one thing to overreact and blow up at people. That's not what he was doing with Rey, though. That would almost be ... simple. Anger is an emotion that he knows all too well, even if he wishes he didn't.]

I'll see you later. Okay?

[Keith doesn't want her to think that he won't see her later. That's not going to happen. He's not going to disappear tomorrow without telling her anything, and she needs to understand that before he goes to take some breathing time for himself.]

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EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

hi again how about iii

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