EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

[futurologists]

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

Comments

[notthatjason]

If that's the case I'm not sure this is going to be our best way forward. If there's a way to over-ride the controls I'm not even sure they keep that kind of thing IN the elevator and not in some control room somewhere else.

[Jason points to a section of the panel.]

It might help if we open it up though. We can at least see what we're dealing with. If it looks completely foreign to both of us we can try to think of a different solution. One that doesn't involve us accidentally sending the elevator crashing down.

[notthatjason]

[Jason wasn't so sure about the 'easy' part. He may have been pretty open, but that hadn't meant it was easy to talk about. He blinks when he realizes that despite the number of times he has referenced his past with Lance he's never actually spelled it out for him.]

Oh. Yeah, I guess I've always been pretty vague about all of that. It's...pretty crazy, but I guess in a place like this it isn't too far fetched. [There's a pause. On the one hand this whole session had been pretty intense, but on the other hand he knows he'll feel bad if he doesn't at least tell Lance something before they part ways. But he smiles at Lance's offer. He wonders if he picked up on the fact that Jason had been curious to ask more questions about space adventures.]

Deal. I'd love to hear more about it. [Jason reaches over to claim his marble as well.]

[tolight]

[ A nod, then— ] Thank you.

[ Maybe a few months ago, she wouldn't have been so cautious. But circumstances change ( individuals with no recollections of what's about to happen join the team once more, and Lucina's not about to make the same mistake twice ). ]

Shall we continue?

[evenslimmer]

[ Maybe Scott should have been the one collecting booze.

But actually, once he gets started, it's not too difficult to come up with ideas. He's no Warren, he doesn't have the kind of pretentious palate that comes with money, but still he doesn't just eat hamburgers every day. Or soup. Despite what everyone would consider his poor fashion sense, he even thinks he might have done okay on the picnic basket front.

Hopefully Veronica will be satisfied with blts, texas potato salad, blueberry brownies and chocolate-filled strawberries. Oh, and water, because Scott's Scott, and if they're going to be drinking...well. He suspects Veronica's got a lot more experience than he does, but god only knows how long this will take and how much they might imbibe. ]

[evenslimmer]

Okay then.

[ He's a little huffy externally, but internally he's trying to make that space for her to grab onto again. And drag up old memories— not of Anchorage, the city, because he can't remember the way it looked against the mountains, only that the mountains were there, towering, and it made him feel impossibly small and impossibly strong to think about climbing them one day and tasting cold air from the summit. There's that impression, still viscerally felt, even though it's been ten years since he's seen home.

But there was a trip, maybe two trips, outside the city that they took as a family, and he remembers the lake like a mirror on their journey into the park, and how you could stand from a height and see the glacier spill out from between the mountains, forever frozen in a race down to the valley. How vividly cold it was to just be next to the glacier, how smooth the water was, the boat barely rocking beneath his feet as he watched his breath in the air.

Warm memories, despite the chill of the place. Probably some of the happiest, calmest memories Scott has. ]

[forcevisions]

[ This time it comes easier. Rey is a quick study, and it shows. There's no psychic discomfort this time when she enters his mind — she only skims the surface, what he's readily offering.

It's a cold place, but bright. Full of life. The images are limited to memory; she's not really there. Just like Chandrila. The lapping waves at the edge of the New Republic's first capital come back to her mind, Ben's gift. A place she herself had never seen, devoid of the real emotion of memory. It bleeds through, but only slightly. Only in the sense that she has done this before — borrowed distant, beautiful places from people.

In that way, it's nothing like this place. Scott feels warm here, even beside the wall of ice which seems like a black hole for heat, instead somehow emanating cold. ]

I've never seen anything like this before. [ Her eyes are closed. ]

[healstaffs]

[ Her initial excitement fades as Sieglinde's list grows. Blood pudding? Beets?? And what the heck even is spargel? (She doesn't know but it sounds disgusting, and her nose wrinkles appropriately in distaste.) ]

Blood pudding? That sounds disgusting! Did anyone actually eat it?

[ Who are these heathens. ]

[dailydouble]

[ He's going to roll his eyes here. ]

It's none of their business. There is no one way to raise a child.

[notthatjason]

[Jason peers at his own message. It's honestly not surprising, all things considered. Although even if Imogen hadn't been testing him part of him felt like Urahara had been testing him in some ways as well. Although for what purpose, Jason couldn't be sure. He does glance at Urahara, but since he isn't sure what to even accuse him of he just holds his tongue for the moment.]

It wouldn't be much of a test if there wasn't some risk. [Spoken from someone with experience.] But, you're right, it could have been a lot worse...and considering they're probably monitoring us to send this message so soon after we got off I'd rather not give them ideas for the future.

[He nods his head.] You're welcome. Though I'm sure you could have managed something if I wasn't there. [He gives you a look.]

[evenslimmer]

There aren't many places like it.

[ Scott peeks a little, not that anyone could tell behind his glasses. Just to make sure she seems really focused. ]

And winter gets cold and dark and it lasts a long time, and maybe that sounds terrible, but...

[ Another memory, this one he has to dig a little deeper for. One of the old, rare moments he had with his father back in those days, and he'd been so thrilled he thought he'd burst just to get to see him, let alone get to be with him without Alex tagging along...and then they'd driven out of the city to see the stars...and the lights. ]

I guess the thinking is it's worth a little inconvenience to live someplace like that.

[evenslimmer]

[ Scott tries to think of a way to explain what's happened to his life coherently. He hasn't managed it yet. Not to Veronica, not to Rey, not to anyone. At first he'd just avoided talking about it because he thought it sounded too fantastical, too weird. Or maybe he was just making excuses, so he didn't have to think about shame. ]

I was field commander. [ He drugs his fingers on the simulator controls for a second, thinking it all through. ] I know where that was going to take me. "The Mutant General". We were fighting for survival, fighting not to be attacked just for existing, but...we were supposed to be fighting for acceptance. Somewhere along the way, I don't know, the person I was supposed to become wasn't...enough, and he lost sight of something. He made a mistake he couldn't see, took a step off the path in the wrong direction, and it all just broke down from there.

[ He catches himself clenching his other hand, nails digging hard into his palm. Scott stares at it, as though he can't quite comprehend how it got that way. ]

I don't really have all the answers for why it happened. But I know that as much as I love my team, as much as I know they love me, they've been covering for me. I make the plans and give the orders and let somebody else do the talking when it has to get done. When I can't get the words out, when I can't explain myself, Jean'll read my mind and mediate. But they can't— we can't keep doing that forever. It's not helping any of us. And the way I am right now, I can see what they're struggling with, where they're falling apart...and it kills me that I can't help them like I want to.

[ He shrugs a little, his lips quirking in a not smile as he looks back at Jason. ]

Just telling you all that was kind of like pulling teeth for me. But what good is having a pile of plans and seeing all the moves if you can't hold everyone together? I think I've spent a lot of time already on just figuring out how to keep everyone alive. It's time to start figuring out everything else.

[undeserved]

[ It's fine. Frankly, a lot of humans have asked her questions like this since she arrived. At first, it was something of an honor, to have her creators so curious about her feelings and wanting to speak to her as an equal; at this point, she wonders if it isn't a little patronizing. (2B does her best to quash that wonder as soon as it rears its head.) ]

They're employing both of us to fight for them, aren't they?

[ if he's here, training that laser blast, she assumes he must use it as a weapon. ]

[forcevisions]

Scott ...

[ She opens her eyes to come out of the memory of the lights, and her smile fades incrementally. ]

Your lenses are red. [ She tilts her head somewhat. These memories aren't red-tinted. He didn't have them on, but nothing was blowing up. ]

[dbag]

[ Fiona's cool girl elevator routine, timed down to the second. He snatches up her hand immediately, pathetic little Fionaphile that he is; he loves to hold her dumb hand, it's so dumb. ]

If you kill me, I'm pretty sure they'll kick you out of Hathaway. That seems like a thing. Not killing your coworkers. [ It wasn't at Hyperion, obviously, but APPARENTLY that's not normal!!! ]

[refashioned]

[Look at these teenagers spend all of their money on useless things.

As it is, Veronica returns with a basket of her own, only it's less cute because of the thermal nature of it all. The champagne and orange juice should be chilled. Otherwise, it won't be very enjoyable. Therefore, the basket is just simple black, but it's large enough to hold a couple bottles of champagne and a couple bottles of orange juice.

It does the trick.]

Very cute basket. I approve. Now, shall we?

[refashioned]

I'm inclined to agree. I suppose I'm fortunate in that the only team I had before this was a dance squad and a cheerleading squad. Very different scenario, all in all. [That also means that she has more of a tendency to stomp all over anyone else's concerns or worries, all to put herself first. Veronica doesn't say that, though. This isn't one of those exercises.]

Unfortunate in other ways ... [Like a complete lack of experience on missions.] But I believe we've covered them. Are you telling me that you're secretly neurotic, Jason?

[refashioned]

Yes, I believe it's time. [And just like that, the next question arrives: Are humans better at creation or destruction?

Veronica tilts her head to the side while breathing out a long, slow sigh, indicating her true feelings about the matter. What a question. What a question.]

I'd plead the fifth, but you wouldn't even know what that is. US constitution wouldn't apply here.

[And so:]

I know what I want to believe. Whether I actually believe it is another thing altogether. So, I'd prefer to think we can create far more than what we destroy, but any given day, I feel differently. I think of my father and I ... I feel differently. Hiram Lodge is great at destruction.

[evenslimmer]

[ Oh, right. He forgot to explain this. So much for that happy moment. ]

Most mutants don't have their powers at birth. [ His expression thins again, putting everything back in its proper boxes and burying it in the ocean trench of emotional repression. ] They manifest later. I didn't...it didn't happen to me until I was 15.

[cachemoney]

[He's very predictable, but it's sweet; she loves when he follows her like a lovesick little puppy, it's a big part of why she likes him so much. WORSHIP HER.

Squeezing his hand, she glances back over her shoulder.] I didn't say I'll kill you. I might just hurt you a little. [u know. smexily.] They can't fire me for that.

[forcevisions]

[ She doesn't need the Force to pick up on how hard that must be. To look back and be able to feel like a different person, to have your life so radically changed. She knows a little about that, but ... she never had the good happy memories to mourn. That break was positive, for her. ]

The Force has always been guiding me. [ She offers. This is something she's still wrestling with. Seeing visions of the island, of Kylo, before she'd ever come across them in the real world. Something had been drawing her towards him, towards Luke, towards the Jedi. ] But I was nineteen before I recognized it, before I learned to reach for it.

[evenslimmer]

[ Okay, water turned out to be a good idea. He didn't expect her to get that much alcohol. Conflicting feelings wage for a minute— he's a bit surprised at the flare of warmth at her approval (it's not like he's helpless and bumbling and can't handle a picnic). That feeling wins; strong enough to drown out the nasty voice that wonders if that much alcohol for this story is some tacit judgment. ]

Ladies first. [ And Scott's not quite good at charming, but he does his best/smoothest after you gesture. ] You should pick the spot. You're the one who can judge the view.

[rhinostagros]

So you've done something worse than that. [ He grins. ] Okay. I'll answer for myself.

[ The past ten years of Laphicet's life was sealed off, so he can't remember much of his time while under the service of the Abbey. Sneaking away to read books and getting scolded is a memory he vaguely remembers, although it's not one he'd call the "dumbest"...

He places a hand on his chin, pondering for a moment. He'd considered more of his past actions as "reckless" than dumb. But then again, being reckless is pretty dumb too. ]

Venturing into an active volcano, I guess? I told my friends that if it erupts, we'll just deal with it.

[notthatjason]

[You have to go pretty far for something to be truly weird for Jason. When your life story starts with 'I was left in the forest by my mom because a goddess told her to and then I was raised by wolves' nothing really phases you much. He's not sure what he expects to hear from Scott, but after his exercise with Rey he makes an active decision NOT to say anything until he's certain of what Scott means to tell him or wants his opinion or thoughts on.

Which is hard, because listening to Scott's story makes Jason come up with SO many questions. However, when Scott admits that even telling him that much was tough, he realizes that actually asking even half his questions is going to prove difficult.

Where to start then? He's hesitant, he doesn't want to cause Scott to shutdown the same way he'd caused Rey to.]

I understand what some of that is like. At one point I was the praetor of the whole twelfth legion. Being the designated leader is...[he trails off, because 'hard' doesn't quite capture it. Not the burden of expectation, the need to keep so many people unified and acting as one while also remembering that their individuals and (at least in his case) teenagers.] it's not something that most can manage for long periods of time and still do it well. If you can get one aspect of it right, there's usually another part that you can't pull off.

[He falls silent again, thinking over what he's said and wanting to convey the next part carefully (or at least try). Jason felt he was good at relating to people, to establishing trust, but his ability to conform to what others wanted him to do was not something he was good at. From what he gathered from Scott, he was great at planning and tactics but perhaps the people skills required to be a leader that people will automatically listen to without question or dissent was weak. He sighs.]

I can't speak for you of course, but maybe that's another reason we both agreed to join this group. Incentives aside. Maybe this is a way for us to improve on where we're lacking so we can go home to be the people our respective teams need us to be.

You can tell me if I'm wrong, but maybe we can help each other with that.

[notthatjason]

[Experience is easy to make up for though. Sure, she won't have years of it like some people in the guild, but surely she isn't the only one among them who isn't used to combat. Jason bites back a chuckle, raising his eyebrows at Veronica in a 'I can't believe you just asked that' expression.]

Honestly? I think if you make it to a certain point as a demigod you can't NOT have some sort of neuroses.

[Anxiety, paranoia, and obsession being a few he could think of off the top of his head. Not to mention a rather morbid sense of humor at times.]

[theseuschip]

[ Being a weenie is a human survival tool that androids just wouldn’t understand. In fact, if you think about it, the ability to run tirelessly from danger that the combat androids could probably take out with two fingers is a totally cool skill that Simon’s noodly human ass could only have dreamed of.

At the question, he glances at him. ]

Figured I should get more familiar with what’s down here.

[ Wow 9S it’s like you’ve never taken your friend’s brain for a walk before. That said, Simon wouldn’t know how to use most of this stuff and even if he could, he doesn’t have a lot of applications for them... that he can do on himself.... and also he’s a weenie. ]

Well, I mean, I’m familiar with wire cutters and stuff, but I’d rather avoid those.