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

wildcard

[kisha]

[Hayame knew who had laid those sea eagle feathers at her door. The only other people she had told about her brother's arrows were her lord, who had returned to his world when ALASTAIR disbanded, and Odinson... who had vanished from Hathaway's ranks when they returned from Hanabira.

So it had to be Majima.

She waits until the red dot that is him on the accursed magitech is away from his room to leave her own. The first time she has left in days for anything but food, a small bundle in her hand that she plans to leave at his door in turn.

But she probably should have checked that his dot wasn't coming back.]

[justbeingknife]

Hayame-han?

[ Too late -- Majima had doubled back once he'd realized he was heading in the wrong direction if he wanted to go to the promenade. The similarity of the layout here was throwing him, so different was it from either of the cities he'd become accustomed to.

In both Sotenbori and Kamurocho, the streets were packed with gaudy signs, character, people milling about on their daily business. Here, everything was a little too clean and uniform.

With her equine half in the way, he didn't see the bundle at first, though it didn't escape him that it was his door that she was in front of. ]

[kisha]

[Too clean, too same, too cold, too metal, too in space. Even just going to another one of the private quarters makes her uncomfortable, in ways she will never admit as weakness to another- but Hayame also did not like leaving her debts unpaid.

So she's here, muscles tightening up in surprise to hear her name, and his voice. He wasn't supposed to be here-]

Majima.

[She forces herself to turn, tries not to frown in displeasure.]

I did not expect you.

[His gift had been left anonymously. It would look garish for her now to have her name so attached to the return...]

[justbeingknife]

[ If only he'd known what problems his (barely) anonymous gift would cause! But it wasn't hard to guess what she was here for if she was standing outside of his quarters and apparently not expecting him to be there. ]

Yeah, well. I was actually gonna get something to eat, but I can still barely find my way around this place. All the hallways look the same.

Want to come along?

[ He'd leave it up to her if she wanted to give up the ghost now or play it cool re: the bundle. Right now, lunch was at stake. ]

[kisha]

... I did not come here to eat.

[Being able to play it cool feels like a distant memory to Hayame. A memory from her own world, when she'd actually known how to speak and interact with others, when she'd actually properly known her place in the world- no matter how painful a place it had been.

She would have said yes if it were Hanabira. If they were still on the ground. If she had not come back here to find one of the few people she allowed into her world gone.]

I am here to deliver this.

[She cannot skulk away now, and so she offers up the small wrapped bundle. Inside... a small glass vial half full of colorless sugar konpeito.

... to her, a priceless delicacy from across the sea favored by the great conqueror himself.]

[justbeingknife]

[ Wow, adorable. It didn't at all hold the same connotations to Majima, at least not at first. But even he knew konpeito had once been a much rarer commodity than it was now. Hell, the Imperial family even gave it away for official gifts.

His expression softened as he regarded the little vial, and he bowed in appreciation. ]

Thank you, Hayame-han. I'll take good care of it.

[ He wouldn't eat it -- not unless there was an emergency, not that there was no longer any way to get any more until their mission was finished. But he'd absolutely keep it as a small, bottled reminder of home. ]

[kisha]

[The bow is returned... and Hayame stays there, too long, struggling with the words as her long black hair slips over her shoulder and her fingers curl uselessly against her equine chest.]

You must allow me to thank you.

[For the feathers.]

[justbeingknife]

I thought it was the least I could do.

[ Majima shook his head, but the gesture was more to himself than aimed at her. He seemed more muted in general, as he always did when Taiga was on his mind. ]

Figured I stirred up some bad memories along with the good ones. It's funny -- I thought this far from Japan, I'd be thinkin' less about the past.

[ Instead, the exercises had forced him to reconsider the past few years. He still wasn't sure how to feel about it. ]

[kisha]

...

[The least he could do, he says.

When they had returned to Headquarters, she had been down one more arrow of her brother's make than when she and Majima had spoken, a crack in the shaft grown beyond repair. Odinson had been no where to be found, and checking the messages Hathaway sent out revealed his name upon the list of transfers.

And then there had been sea eagle feathers at her door, forcing out the aching sobs she had been fighting to keep at bay. And it was the least he could do.]

We are never free of our pasts or our worlds. To think otherwise... they are fools.

[Majima might not quite be one... yet she's met a lot of fools here.]

[justbeingknife]

[ Awwwwwkward timing. And Hayame seemed to be acting even stiffer than usual, which made him wonder exactly what had gone down between now and the last time they'd talked.

She hadn't denied the part about the bad memories, either -- so it seemed as though intentionally or not, this was partially his fault...??

Should he ask about it? Frankly, he didn't think she'd cop to it even if she was completely gutted; some people were good at expressing how they felt and others felt like it was being weak and Hayame struck him as strictly from the Column B school of thought. So in the end: ]

Would ya like to come in and have some tea? Figure you'd be one of the few people here who'd appreciate it.

[kisha]

[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.]

[justbeingknife]

[ 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. ]

[kisha]

[What else can she say? She has no words to explain what she feels, nor desire to betray her weakness so clearly as to explain why she even feels it. What has happened. What has changed.

Instead, she bows once more.]

... you are welcome.

[And takes her leave before she can regret it. Regret staying, or going.

Leaves, to return to the quarters she had never asked for and the mattress she'd never had, to rip her magitech off and pretend she was anywhere else.]