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

[sololoquy]

[He pauses to blink at her.]

Help yourself.

[There isn’t much there, of course. A mixture of herbal teas and a large selection of quick prep meals — nothing that requires actual engagement or thought on his part. With that communicated, he disappears and closes the door behind him.

Goodbye forever.]

[forcevisions]

[ Brief as ever. She stares at the door for a moment like she's waiting for something more, but … no, that's pretty much it. Her shoulders drop a little bit. The ghost of his warmth around her feels at odds with the perfunctory and evasive escape he'd made to the 'fresher. A little like whiplash. That part of the Ben Solo package apparently isn't going away.

She realizes she's still staring at the door to the 'fresher. Then she realizes he's probably undressing behind the door to the 'fresher, and she turns quickly back to the kitchen, ignoring the way the heat climbs up into her cheeks and even her ears while she starts going through his fridge and cabinets.

They've never shared a meal together either. She doesn't know what to expect. Surely, the relationship that they have, the intimacy they have shared, she should know what he eats. She doesn't. It's another jarring, dissonant note that becomes painfully obvious as she settles on something she can shove in the microwave. It's a convenience meal, but it's still worlds better than anything she ate on Jakku. She'll replace it later, if he gives her the chance.

While it heats, she straightens up the rest of his fit. Tucks sheets back in. Moves his calligraphy set so there's room for her to eat on the table. That sort of thing. She'd always lived in a cramped space; she knew all the ways to make it seem larger. And … she'd gone without, so she knew all the ways to take care of what little she did have. She's not trying to invite herself to his space. Just direct nervous energy somewhere while she thinks it over.

He probably has mouthwash or something. Stuff for the 'fresher. A towel — maybe not spare, but she could use his. Maybe an extra shirt so she doesn't have to sleep in this one, and no one would look twice at her wearing the same outfit two days in a row when she left in the morning anyway. That's just … Rey. So she doesn't strictly have to go back to her room, as long as he's willing to share that too.

The beeping of her food draws her back into the kitchen, and she settles down to eat it. And then, surveying his space as she takes stock of where he'd probably have a spare shirt, she finds herself staring at the bed. The one bed. She moves to the other chair so that her back is to it and to the 'fresher door, thank you very much. She's not going to overthink this.

Has he been in there a while? Around when she finishes eating, it starts feeling like he's been in there a while. ]

[sololoquy]

[The water starts running almost immediately, and keeps running for most of the time Kylo Ren is hidden behind that door. There are occassional interruptions of flow as he makes use of it (to brush his teeth, to wash his face — several times, to get the red out of it and to try and curb the nausea). Somewhere in the middle of it, he hears the microwave beep to confirm that she is still in the room.

He doesn’t think that she will leave, percisely, but now that he has gained some distance, he quickly realizes that he is way out of his depth. His outburst had likely been fueledby Rey’s compassionate heart, so close to his space. The Force Bond was rapidly looping back around to being an inconvenience.

Teeth brushed, face washed, tunic removed and pants replaced; he has no real reason to stay in the refresher any longer. But he spends some time listening to Rey shift around in his room, reaching with the Force for a clearer picture. She is nervous — that is almost a comfort, as much as it makes his nausea worse.

He opens the door and steps out, vaguely aware of the fact that his bare chest will probably elicit a reaction as it usually does. But this was how he slept — and he doesnt really possess any clothing comfortable enough to wear to bed, so he tries not to think too hard about it.

He pauses to glance at Rey at the table, and then slowly moves for the...one bed in the room. Granted, its a very large bed. Kylo Ren was tall, and spent too much of his time in here not to have a large bed. But he has no appetite to eat thanks to all the nervous energy in the room.

He sits on its edge and watches her, back straight, one hand on each knee. He’d imagined it might be easier to relax, now that they’ve passed this strange wall between them but — it isn’t.]

[forcevisions]

[ The sound of the door opening is accompanied by a jump in her pulse. Rey sits up straighter, glancing back over her shoulder and—

Nope.

Not yet. She takes the opportunity to clean up after eating to find her inner peace. Something about Jedi calm. And then she turns to look back at him, feeling like she's ready, and he's just sitting there on the bed staring at her.

The calm lapses. A lump rises in her throat. She makes a sort of croaking noise that tries to be a word, but she hasn't figured out what word it's going to be yet, so it never really had hope of becoming a real sentence anyway.

She should have run while he was in the 'fresher. ]

I'm gonna — [ She gestures to the still-steamy refresher. And then without waiting or asking, she just beelines for it. She had this great plan where she had manners and asked to borrow his shampoo and stuff, but no. ]

[sololoquy]

[She disappears behind the door, and — that’s actually fine. It gives him the opportunity to settle in like he normally does, as if she weren’t there at all. He scoots backwards and turns his back to the door—

But he knows that she is in there. He’d asked her to stay for a reason, after all. So after only a moment, he flips himself over to face the door to wait and see what would happen next. Kylo Ren’s arms have wrapped themselves around a pillow which cushions his head and threatens to pull him into slumber.

Or it might have, if he wasnt so aware of another person in the room, sharing his space and his possessions — he frowns a little, at that. He was never much in the business of sharing, but until he gave it serious thought, the concept hadn’t nevessarily bothered him. Why was that?

Stress level: circular thinking about mundane self discovery.]

[forcevisions]

[ This is the coldest shower Rey has ever taken.

She feels keenly aware of the fact that she is disrupting his space at this point, so she's careful to pile her clothes somewhere unobtrusive and to put everything back in the exact way she'd found it as she goes through the motions of rinsing off the sweat and grime of the day.

The cold makes her hasty, but if she rushes then she's just back out there to shirtless Kylo Ren sitting on his bed sooner. She tries to strike a balance there, but that means she's grappling with shivering when she does finally get out of the fresher. Good times.

At least the cold keeps her from thinking about … anything much else. That's a small miracle.

Anyway, the worst is when she's dried off and realizes she's gotta decide what she's sleeping in. It's probably not a big deal. He's obviously not adjusting anything to account for her presence or he'd not have showed up without his shirt. She settles on resisting that overthinking too and just leaves her pants and wraps and boots with her belt in the corner of the refresher.

The last time he'd surprised her in this state of undress, she'd scrambled to cover up. What a stark departure, to now be coming out to join him in his bed.

And she does, hair damp and soaking through the shoulders of her tunic. Naturally, when she emerges, he's — well, staring. Had he been glaring at the refresher like that the whole time? That seems tiring. He's good at sustained quiet fury, though. Lots of practice. This line of thinking, she thinks, makes it easier to approach him, as does the pillow he clutches like it's his lifeline.

Did he always do that? She'd noticed the last time, but took it for stress and insomnia. Maybe that's just what people do with pillows.

Somehow, when she comes to the edge of the bed, it feels like she ought to say something. She lingers to that effect, searching for something, but ultimately comes up empty. So she settles on just climbing under the covers beside him.

It bears mention that her skin is still cold, given that there's a good amount of it exposed. ]

[sololoquy]

[He notices a few things right off the bat — one, that she’s left her hair wet after exiting the refresher. Two, she has no pants on. He gets hung up on two for a while, accompanied with the feeling that he’s made a terrible mistake. They skipped up the scale of intimacy far faster than he had meant to.

Really, it was just the thought that she would leave the room and that he’d have to remember that she’d left him after promsiing she wouldn’t. That’s next a level unhealthy coping mechanism, but there it is — self reflection. He’d asked her to stay not because he’d wanted more intimate interactions, he’d asked her to stay to keep what they’d suddenly established between them alive. Now that he thinks about it more deeply, the Force probably would have done it for them.

The lingering doesn’t help. He struggles to find something to say to her now. In the absence of things to say, she climbs under the covers and instantly he feels the cold that comes with her. Did people from desert backwaters only take cold showers? That almost makes sensw. It causes him to grip the pillow tighter in an effort to hold onto his warmth while he considers her presence in his sleeping space.

He is probably not sleeping tonight. This was definitely a mistake.]

There’s a hair dryer. Under the sink.

[Smoothly half-mumbled into the pillow.]

[forcevisions]

[ He withdraws in on himself as she gets under the covers with him and — It's hard not to feel a little rejected by the way he pulls the pillow protectively against himself. But she's trying to remember that they're both pretty high key. Their shared anxiety is like electricity crackling in the air, warning of a coming storm. It bites at her skin.

One hand goes up to touch the wet whip of her hair and— ]

A what?

[ Like the function is right there on the label but

I'm sorry if you thought Rey had ever used a hair dryer in her life? Like, let's be honest. Anyway she's trying to parse if that was an emphatic suggestion or a genuine impartial offer. The way he's recoiling from her, she guesses it's the former.

At least the uncertainty as her propped up on her elbows to look at him so she's only barely getting his sheets wet. ]

[sololoquy]

[Rey please be less of an animal child.

Kylo Ren squints suspiciously, as if she's fucking with him -- but no, that makes sense, why would you ever need a hair dryer in the desert?

He props himself up on one arm as well before sighing out his noise and moving to the edge of the bed so that he can lift himself and retrieve it out of the refresher. Its cordless, because its the future.

He stands at the side of the bed and flicks the switch briefly so that it blasts one short puff of hot air at her head in demonstration.]

Hair dryer.

[Self explanatory. He hopes.]

[forcevisions]

[ She sputters her alarm when he just BLOWS HOT AIR AT HER HEAD and half-flinches and throws her hands up like she plans to swat … the air … away. Obviously it's not very effective, and it's short-lived anyway, but dammit she put up a fight after he ruthlessly atTACKED HER with the blow dryer.

Unbelievable, honestly. She came over here to have a good time (not that good of a time, stop thinking about the fact that they're half naked), and she's honestly feeling so attacked. A sour look sets on her face as she regards the Weapon. ]

And you want me to— [ Dry. Her hair. Obviously. It's there in the name. And he went to go get it, so this is definitely an emphatic suggestion. She gives a sort of reluctant nod, segueing into a defensive arch of her eyebrows as she says, ] Alright. [ She reaches out to take it from his hand and gets to her feet.

And given her reasonable proficiency with technology and a lifetime of air-drying hair with the sandy winds of Jakku, she can turn it on and figure out the principle and start drying her hair all on her own. Rest assured. She even floofs it from the bottom a little to get more airflow.

Now it's her turn to be like you might be wondering how I got here (pantsless drying her hair in Kylo Ren's bedroom). ]

[sololoquy]

[He senses that she isn't entirely happy with him over this -- but he doesn't care all that much. She'll get over it, and likely thank him for the experience of not sleeping with a wet head.

While she does that, he moves back to his spot on the bed, fluffing his own hair out of his eyes and propping himself up using the pile of pillows behind him. This time, he refrains from holding onto one -- as if suddenly aware of the fact that it had been noticed.

He's not really aware of his sudden change in habit -- he's too focused on watching Rey's learning process. Honestly, maybe she should consider asking "a what" when the device is explained in its own name -- then maybe he wouldn't need to provide such literal demonstrations.]