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]

Why did you need to go into an active volcano in the first place?

[He's genuinely curious and NOT just trying to buy time. It's probably not a good sign when you have to actually think about a dumb action you have taken. Not because he didn't have one, but because he was pretty sure most of his life was a series of them. Still, he lands on one that he feels was the dumbest idea but also the one that had the biggest pay off.]

Okay, so, I didn't always know I could use the air to fly. In fact, about a year ago a goddess sealed away all of my memories so for awhile I didn't even know I was a demigod. But, during a field trip to the Grand Canyon, a friend of mine was pushed over the edge. I jumped off after her out of instinct, thinking we were both about to die.

Thankfully it worked out.

[theseuschip]

[ There are those names again. She always says them like it’s no big deal, too. But it’s never been a good time to bring them up. Veronica is once again talking about stuff that sounds... bizarre and exhausting like it’s nothing at all. ]

Christ. So, being a time-traveling astronaut diplomat is actually—

[ the next question flashes:

How replaceable are you?

Simon falters, trying to remember what he was just saying, tapping a forefinger on the table but stiff like he’s ready to bolt — not that he can, they’re almost done, they must be. ]

—is- is- practically a vacation.

[refashioned]

[The leftovers can go in the fridge. Veronica is not opposed to having daily mimosas if needed.

As it is, she begins to stride on ahead to lead them to the level with the park.]

For the record, a view isn't the goal. Privacy is. It's not like there's a risk of too much sunlight.

[Which makes this a shoddy picnic, but they'll make do.]

[refashioned]

I would give a lot to have what you have. At least some of it. [Having superpowers and a god as a parent? It definitely could beat the whole "Hiram Lodge" problem.

Then again, it could be an evil god.

It would be an evil god.]

I just definitely don't have the whole picture.

[refashioned]

We're almost done. [Veronica says what he's thinking without knowing it's crossed his mind. She disregards the whole remark about the vacation because she can guess what's going through his mind right now. If she had died and woken up in that body ... well, things would be the same. She would just be a mind, right? Displaced. Filled with dysphoria. Pretty messed up.]

But even though we are, we can pass on finishing this. It's up to you.

[evenslimmer]

[ It's easier if she just makes the suggestions that Scott himself would prefer. He feels less paranoid about it. Logically— who would want to listen in? But it'll be easier if that possibility is reduced. He's got some strong misgivings about how this might shake out. ]

I wish there were. I like space, don't get me wrong, but after about a week I learned I start missing actual sky.

[ Anyway there's gotta be some available tree with drooping branches or convenient sheltered hollow among some bushes or something. ]

[theseuschip]

No, it’s fine. I don’t want to throw away our progress, let’s just...

[ He can’t just walk out on it, even though this is literally Simon’s least favorite thing to think about. Well, one of them. It’s up against some stiff competition, but he glances back down at the words anyway. ] Uh, very. No. I don’t know. I don’t feel like a very good replacement.

[ It’s not the greatest increment by which the orb has brightened in response to one of their answers, but the exercise is looking for honesty, not objective truth, so apparently Simon’s fierce but amorphous blob of dysphoria is, you know, adequate. And by now, the thing’s pretty damn bright. ] Okay, great.

[evenslimmer]

[ It's...the fact that for her, that's a positive thing. Scott doesn't see his mutation in a positive light. He didn't want it. He's still carrying wounds not fully mourned for the possibilities closed to him now. ]

A bit like that, yeah. [ Except there's no destiny, really, no grander force. Every mutant, unique and alone. ] Something that's always in you, but you don't know it yet.

[evenslimmer]

[ He's not Rey, he doesn't react on gut alone. And to be fair, he knows that his story provokes a lot of questions. Questions Scott's dreading answering, some he doesn't even have answers to yet. He knows his life doesn't really seem to make sense. It doesn't even make sense to him some days.

But in fact, Scott was never really here because of the incentive. Not really. It'd just been about trying to find space to find those answers. Trying to do what Jason said— make up for what's lacking. ]

It's something like that, yeah.

[tolight]

I am ... familiar with both, as well. [ As much as she'd like to believe otherwise. This is, surprisingly, a more difficult question than the one before — just for completely different reasons. She needs to take a moment and gather her thoughts, before — ]

I believe that humans are innately good. Regardless of our potential to do both, when there are no outside forces affecting it — we will create, rather than destroy. [ An overwhelmingly optimistic answer that's not at all based on science. But that's the kind of person she is.

The answer seems to be enough for the orb, and as one final question— What are you most proud of accomplishing? ]

[bestaround]

Oh, come on.

[ If 9S sounds tired, well. You'd be right, he is. ]

What're you going to do when you need your own repairs? [ That's a when, not if. No one 9S ever knew went too long before needing some serious work, and, obviously, this includes himself. ] You might end up with worse than a broken hand eventually.

[theseuschip]

[ tired??? Around Simon??? What could possibly be the reason for this anomaly??? ]

I thought I’d just get somebody to do it magically.

[ Why does he have to let somebody physically mess with his stuff.... he doesn’t even like thinking about his stuff, he really prefers the Schrödinger’s Cyborg setup and would like to just do that forever please. ]

[bestaround]

[ There's a pause, and a pinch in what's visible of 9S' expression, as if this were both the stupidest suggestion that could have possibly been mentioned and also a possibility he hadn't ever considered. ]

What—for real? [ He hardly knows what to say to this. ] That... can't be something magic could do.

[ ... RIGHT??? ]

[theseuschip]

I mean, why not? I thought magic and technology were incompatible, but everything here runs on both at the same time.

[ 9S has now experienced 10% of what being Catherine is like. Except that Simon doesn’t have to do the ‘how do you do, fellow synthetics’ thing with her, since they made that gruesome discovery together. ]

[bestaround]

Well, yeah...

[ He wants to refute this, he truly does, but 9S' own knowledge of magic is too minimal to make much of an argument. Besides, what if it could work? ... How would that work? He kind of wants to see this in action now. ]

I never really thought about it. Then again, I've never needed to.

[predomination]

[Urahara slips a paper fan out of his sleeve and snaps it open, hiding half his face behind it as if embarrassed.]

You give me far too much credit, Jason-san. [He could probably argue the point further, but he doesn't want to. Instead, his eyes fall on a table nearby where two flashlights are resting- a nice distraction, surely.] Ah~ It looks like we have gifts for our troubles.

[forcevisions]

Something remarkable.

[ She says this decisively. She can feel his anxiety. She'd felt it too. After Starkiller, she'd been so afraid. So alone. It's strange to her that she can sense that Scott, in many ways, mirrors some of that because he had a community, didn't he? ]

[refashioned]

No matter what comes of our future missions, I believe our glorious HQ will always motivate us to look forward to the experience. [Hanabira felt like a reward, and she suspects that it's the type of reward that'll stand out more down the line.]

Barring that, I may need to consider Vitamin D supplements. We all may need to, the ... less human members of our group excepted.

[refashioned]

Right, well ...

[Time to not have a cripplingly low self-esteem. Veronica doesn't like who she was in the past, but she doesn't know she'd be the person she is today without them. Simon helped remind her of that. A reminder is all she needed.]

I'm not someone who's replaceable. I think people assume I'm a certain way until they get to know me. Once they do—well, I'm definitely one of a kind. Especially these days.

[And off the orb goes with glowing brightly, indicating that the exercise is over.]

[refashioned]

[At least that's the easy one. Lucina never seems to pry, or wonder if Veronica has kept secrets. It's odd for her to acknowledge, but there is little she can do about it.]

Becoming the person I am now. It happened when I moved to Riverdale. And I think ... it's still an evolving process, but I'm getting there. And above all else, it hasn't been easy.

[There's the truth. The orb burns, but needs one more answer—]

[hackedhistory]

That also could probably be true.

[She gives a small shrug.]

This is all kind of theoretical anyway. Imogen filled in some of the gaps about how things work around here, but not all of them. So it's part what I know, part how I would run things if it were me.

[notthatjason]

[Jason can understand that, but he thinks Veronica is only seeing the powers and abilities, not the responsibility and destiny that comes with that. Let alone the gods, oh the gods. It isn't even really that one is more evil than another, they all have their poor traits, but they definitely see mortals as things to use. He leaves it for now though, it feels like it would be hollow to tell her not to wish for something like that. As for the 'whole picture.']

Do any of us?

[It's meant as a general statement about their circumstances, but he realizes it also applies to them as individuals. The way he says it isn't accusatory, more of an off the cuff observation.]

[notthatjason]

[Jason offers a slight smile. He feels encouraged now that he hasn't messed up with another friend.]

Well...then I guess we need to get to work then.

[notthatjason]

[He holds the look for a beat, but decides he's not going to press it. After all, he doesn't necessarily have proof to confront Urahara with...at least nothing the man couldn't probably dismiss easily.

His gaze turns to the table.]

I guess it really is like the other exercises then. They came with rewards too.

[Jason steps over and picks up the flashlight.] Wonder what this will do...

[evenslimmer]

[ Scott was a weapon and a soldier long before Hathaway. It's just a question of how much he thinks of himself in those terms. Weapon, yes. Soldier? He was certainly on his way. ]

Are they? [ His weight shifts slightly, uncomfortable for a moment with where his thoughts want to go. ] I guess they are. It doesn't feel much like fighting, though.