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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

None taken. The overall reaction from many regarding what I am has been more than fair.

[wait what]

What... accent?

[ Lance gestures emphatically, even as he's leading the way into the costume store. In fact, he picks up the vampire cape as a prop. ]

You know, the trans...transylvian? Transylvanian? Yeah that's it. Accent. I vhant to suck your blahd! [ He sure just did the cape swoosh. ] Like that.

[ He looks so hopeful. Surely you don't want to crush a young man's dreams, would you Alucard? ]

[He follows Lance, watching his theatrical display with the cape with a horrendous accent. The entire thing just earns a low laugh from Alucard.]

I don't know any vampire that ever spoke like that, accent and all.

[As they enter, Alucard gingerly picks up an alien mask, holding it up curiously.]

And what's this supposed to be?

Whaaat, you're ruining it for me, man. [ He doesn't sound like his life's being ruined, for what it's worth. He trots along to look at the mask, grinning. ]

That's an alien--I think people [ by which he means 'humans' ] call 'em "Greys", but I met one once and didn't really think to ask what planet they're from. They've visited Earth before, though we always thought it was fake. Anyway, that guy, [ he points to the Grey mask as if it's now a stand-in for the entire species ] he was selling Earth souvenirs out of a mall shop like, two galaxies over. Crazy, right?

[ He says that like you'd tell the story of That Time Your Mom Swapped Flour For Sugar At Christmas. ]

[Though he's heard of beings from the stars (and he supposes that they all count in that category now) he finds it initially unlikely that they would look like this.

Then Lance just... explains it all away, like it isn't any issue.]

You've commonly traveled the cosmos, then?

[pause]

Earth souvenirs.

Yeah! I'm a pilot of Voltron, one of the leaders in the Voltron Coalition--I've visited hundreds of planets. [ And because that sounds a lot more hoity-toity than he feels it is: ] It's not that great out there, trust me. As for that guy--[ he means the Grey ]--apparently our stuff is 'exclusive' and valuable out there, who knew? We bought a game console and got a free cow with purchase, like, my life reached a new level of weird that day.

[ BUT ENOUGH ABOUT HIM. ]

Not much of a traveller, huh?

[Though he isn't familiar with the term Voltron, he does comprehend that this young man has visited more planets than he ever has, which has been just three tops so far.

Alucard smiles wryly, then shakes his head.]

Not nearly so much as you. I thought myself well traveled in comparison to many until I joined HATHAWAY -- especially in comparison to you, it seems.

Traveling to many parts of Earth seemed enough. Terribly naive of me, I realize now.

[ Lance feels a little proud but a little self-conscious at the same time, like he's never really had to consider how exceptional his situation is...especially not to a real-life vampire.

What the heck. ]

What? No, it's just--just different. I haven't been to most of Earth, actually, just Cuba and the States. [ Which is ironic, when you put it that way. ] What's the coolest place you've ever been?

[Alas, he doesn't know what the States is in reference to, but he expects that perhaps it's simply a place to be formed or a difference in universes.

At the question, he considers a moment, picking up one of the rubbery bat decors, pinching at the wings as if he marvels at how squishy it is.]

The ruins in Palmyra, constructed by the Romans originally. I spent days painting, just to capture the moment. I only wish I could spend more time in the sun, but I realize that it's luxurious enough as far as vampires go.

[ Hearing Alucard describe it, Lance is stunned. Palmyra is--barely even a ruin, by his reckoning. He's not much of a history buff, but to see that Alucard experienced it at what was probably the height of its archaeological splendor is--humbling. ]

Huh. So that stuff's tue, then? You can't go out in the sun at all?

[ He takes a fluffy neon-purple feather boa and giant star-shaped sunglasses and puts them on. ] Would you say you're... [ He strikes a pose. ] ...uncomfortable in the spotlight?

[ ayyyy ]

I can to some degree, but I can some form of protection. At worse, I'll burn slightly and have a migraine. I won't perish or suffer like most creatures of the night--

[In the middle of his explanation, there goes Lance with the incredibly boa and sunglasses and the rather ridiculous pun.

Alucard just stops for a moment.]

[Then, a smile blossoms onto his face, and he laughs lightly.]

Something like that.

[ Something goes off in Lance's brain, a spark, a realization. The interaction feels flirtatious in a way it never would have--before.

And he's suddenly self-conscious and terribly aware of Alucard, his long golden hair, how broad-shouldered and handsome he is. The subtle, dangerous glint of his smile when he looks at Lance.

Lance goes from zero to beet red abruptly, and turns sharply to hide it. He's very happy for the glasses. ]

Th-that's interesting! What about garlic? [ CHANGE THE SUBJECT NOTHING HAPPENED EVERYTHING'S NORMAL ] Is that like, a thing or do you enjoy garlic knots like the rest of us?

[The reaction is odd, if a little endearing; Alucard doesn't call him out on it and gives him the luxury of switching the topic.]

It's no bother to me. I've enjoyed roasted garlic from time to time. It would certainly make visiting Italy difficult.

[Alucard picks up a strange cane with a giant plastic gem on top. He taps the plastic curiously, then gives the cane a slight twirl, as if thinking.]

Silver does not bother me, but holy water burns slightly.

[ Thank goodness for small mercies. ]

Here-- [ He offers Alucard a top hat, to match his ~~pimp~~ magician's cane. ] Gotta finish the outfit. Why does holy water burn? I didn't think that praying was like, magic.

[The top hat earns a curious arch of an elegant brow before Alucard humors Lance and puts on the hat. Another cane twirl is given.]

It's not just praying. A properly ordained priest who has pure belief is capable of creating holy water. A self-proclaimed priest in God's House simply for money or power only has the ability to drive a crowd, not empower through true belief and faith.

Most creatures of the night at not well looked upon by others. Considering their inherent nature, I don't entirely blame people for that.

[ Alucard gets a thumbs-up for his efforts. Swag. ]

When you say 'creatures of the night', what does that...imply?

[ There's a set of devil horns on a hairband that Lance snatches up, sliding them onto his head where they rest, surprisingly seamlessly. ]

Like, demons?

[sick]

Demons, werewolves, succubi...

[Alucard finds a pair of sunglasses and definitely puts them on.]

There are many to name. Most of them, my father rules over and commands.

[ What a power move tbh. A Lewk. Lance can't help but crack a grin. ]

I thought vampires had to be bitten. Your dad some kinda big-shot vampire?

[Alucard turns to look at Lance, and pulls the sunglasses down just enough to look at him over the top of them. Slick.]

My father is Vlad Dracula Ţepeş. If there is a more powerful vampire than he, I do not know who that is.

[ what the cheese, quit giving him the dokis??? s w e a t s ]

Uh.

--wait. You mean the Vlad Dracula? From the stories and everything?

[ DOUBLE WAIT. ]

Does that mean you really can do the bat thing?!

[sorry lance, there is no off switch for those dokis]

The very same.

[Alucard slides the glasses back up the bridge of his nose and sighs.]

You mean transforming into a bat?

Y-yeah!

[ That sigh wasn't promising, though. ]

You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, though...?

EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)