TEST DRIVE MEME.

[futurologists]

A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME Welcome to the Viridian Sea, a rolling body of water populated by a small number of islands and an even greater number of pirates and merchant ships. Sailing, rum, and high-seas adventure is the name of the game for this mission: after the freshly-recruited volunteers (that's you!) are welcomed into Hathaway, they are sent via controlled interdimensional rift to deal with a certain pirate ship that has been causing a certain amount of trouble. The crew of Red Scream, a murderous band of Mako pirates, has been reaving a path of destruction through the sea, scuttling ships of merchants, civilians, and other pirate bands alike. They have also kidnapped a governor's daughter, asking an exorbitant ransom to return her at all, let alone alive. If this wasn't enough of a reason for Hathaway to intervene, Red Scream's current goal is firmly pointed at a legendary treasure buried in a crater somewhere in the Viridian Sea. Hathaway analysts have studied the crater and found that it was definitely caused by a temporal shard cast off from the Merging. And if Red Scream gets its hands on the shard, it'll be bad news. The crew of Little Squid has reached out to Hathaway for help reaching the treasure. The ship and crew are both small, but they are an optimistic and hardworking bunch, and are willing to equally split the treasure with Hathaway as a reward -- they just have to reach it first. ▸ PROMPTS Your mission is simple: reach the treasure before the Mako pirates. If you have the time, you can try and save the governor's daughter -- it's not why Hathaway has been hired, but her father will likely be grateful enough to grant a reward. ONE ▸ GOING ROGUE. High-seas adventure not your cup of tea? The tropical islands dotting the Viridian Sea are flush with distractions, including pirate havens replete with gambling, food, and liquor. It's a hedonist's paradise -- if you can avoid displeasing the heavily-armed locals. TWO ▸ LITTLE SQUID. Ever been on a brig before? The crew of Little Squid are happy to show you the ropes -- literally -- and teach you how to be a master seafarer in no time. The only food on board unfortunately consists of salted meat and hard bread, but there's plenty of rum to go around. Life on the seas is tough, especially during rough weather; unfortunately, they have no cure for seasickness, so if you're afflicted, you might want to head below decks and wait it out. But the view during calm waters is unlike anything else. THREE ▸ RED SCREAM. It was bound to happen: Little Squid runs smack dab into Red Scream on the race to the treasure. Board the enemy ship or wait for them to come to you, but either way, you'd better be ready for some close-quarters combat. The Mako pirates of Red Scream are humanoid sharks with teeth to match, so in addition to their cutlasses and blunderbusses, you'll want to avoid being bitten. If fighting isn't your specialty, you could always hide below decks of Little Squid and hope you don't get noticed. Or, if you're feeling bold, you can board Red Scream and look for the governor's daughter, who is being kept in the captain's quarters -- she's about six years old and ready to fight, so get ready to have your hands full. FOUR ▸ THE TREASURE. Finally, Little Squid reaches the island where the treasure is. There are caves throughout the island where more standard pirate treasure is found -- gold doubloons in rotted old chests and the like -- but there's also a massive crater formed where the temporal shard plummeted to the surface. The crater is a wide hole with sheer walls, so you'd better find someone who can fly or brush up on your spelunking skills. The further down you go into the crater, the darker it gets, but somewhere on the bottom an eerie blue light is glowing. The source is the temporal shard: make your way through a winding tunnel system to find it and retrieve it. But beware -- the shard has attracted temporal insects, ravenous, time-eating bugs that can slow or hasten the flow of time just due to their appetite. Find yourself in their presence and you'll be moving in slow motion or you'll suddenly be aged 50 years. The only way to stop the effects are to kill the bugs and retrieve the shard. FIVE ▸ CHIT-CHAT. It's your standard network option. Maybe you've got a little downtime and you're bored. Or maybe you got lost in the caves and you think you saw a g-g-ghost pirate. Maybe you're just trying to figure out how the hell this magical jewelry thing works! No matter what, you get one username to identify you and one only -- if you don't enter one, it will default to your real name (for example, Voldemort's would be tomriddle.) Choose wisely... or make it assfarts69, if that's your thing. More information on the jewelcomms can be found on the devices guide. SIX ▸ WILDCARD. Do whatever the heck you want! Explore the jungles and waterfalls of the islands, have a party on the beach, try to befriend a dolphin. The world is your oyster. ▸ OOC NOTES Welcome to the first test drive meme of Futurology Season 2! Because the season hasn't started yet, this test drive is meant to be a mini-mission, similar in feel to the missions we have in-game but on a much smaller scale. Since no characters currently have official specializations, we also have no specialized prompts, but plan to in the future. However, feel free to play as if your character is level 1 of whichever specialization you would like to choose. Please be aware this test drive is game canon. Questions about the game can be directed to the FAQ. If you've been with us before, you might notice things look a little different around here. Make sure you check out the welcome page for the basic rundown of how your character joined up with Hathaway. For further information about the game, the full navigation has all the links you'll need. Apps will reopen to the public on 6 January, with early apps for returning characters opening on 4 January. Apps will close when we reach our 60-player cap or on 15 January, whichever happens first. We hope to see you then!

Comments

[followhim]

That's not a very truce-like question. [ he has the audacity to wag a finger. ] It doesn't matter. You can't hurt them, either. And no more questions like that. Let's keep it light. Seen any good holos lately?

[sololoquy]

Just because you feel threatened by me does not make it a less-appropriate question to ask.

[He's not giving up that glass until you tell him, Dameron.]

No. I've been a little busy.

[You know, chasing y'all into a corner.]

[followhim]

[it was joke ok omg. whatever, poe thought he was funny. even if his face doesn't show it. he had a warm chuckle inside.]

Nobody else is here that you need to worry about.

[sololoquy]

I will be the judge of that. You dodge ventral canon-fire far better than requests for information.

[He spins the glass in his hand impatiently, dampening his leather gloves with whiskey.]

Truce-like behavior is asking for information, instead of simply taking it.

[That's your last warning, pal.]

[followhim]

I'll take that as a compliment.

[a beat passes, and he relents. ~for the truce.~ ]

Two.

[sololoquy]

My question was who, not how many.

[He lets go of the glass, but he does not push it back toward him. Its like leading a dog to food with your foot. You're so close, Dameron.]

[followhim]

[uh yeah fam he was being obtuse on purpose. he doesn't reach for the drink, because he's too busy being annoyed/annoying. ]

Why? You have some friends in the Resistance you want to check up on? I thought we were all just scum to you.

[sololoquy]

[Yeah, ok, that's enough.

His hand rises from the glass, his calm expression cracking like glass into barely-restrained fury. With the Force as his weapon, he aggressively seeks to dig through Poe's mind for the information he wants.]

Who. Is. Here. With. You?

[followhim]

[ he grits his teeth, trying to choke down a scream that desperately wants to get out. kylo ren was in his head, in his head again, ripping, prying through and it was just wrong wrong wrong. it wasn't even information that needed to be so heavily guarded, not like the map had been. it was just finn and rey, who kylo was probably going to run into sooner or later anyway. that actually made it worse, somehow. that he would make him relive one of the worst experiences of his life over something so petty. ]

[sololoquy]

[Fortunately, it doesn't last long, because the information is so easy to retrieve. He drops the attack almost as soon as it starts and slowly closes his fist.

Rey was there. Of course she was. Just the thought of her makes the slash on his face sting. He isn't even going to acknowledge her out loud.

Instead:]

Finn. Is that what you call him, now?

[followhim]

[so ANGRY because he is protective of finn the precious beautiful amazing tropical fish]

Yeah, because that's his name.

[sololoquy]

[Names are important. Normally, Kylo Ren might needle him more about it, but he's gotten the information he wanted -- and the name struggle might be one he's fought before.

So, silently, he sets the glass between them, waiting for Poe to slap it away or throw it back at him.]

I will keep that in mind.

[followhim]

[poe was so ready to go to bat for finn and defend his personhood, he's taken aback when kylo ... just accepts it?

maybe... h...e's ... not so bad after all???????????

no, he's still awful. that doesn't cancel out violating poe's mind for practically nothing and everything else he's ever done. but it's sort of something. he guesses.

he reaches for the glass and downs it all in one go. mostly so he can escape this hell. but also because he kind of needs a drink at this point.]

Good.

[sololoquy]

[Kylo Ren unfurls his hand, still lightly soaked with whiskey, to be given the glass back and raises an eyebrow. Its a silent offer to pour another drink for him.]

Shall I ask another question? Or would you prefer to ask something yourself?

[followhim]

[he doesn't want to ask him anything. doesn't want to prolong the conversation. BUT, clearly kylo ren doesn't plan on going anywhere. if he tries to leave, who knows what will happen? maybe he'll get mind-raped again. so poe passes the glass back.

and he knows EXACTLY what he wants to ask. it's not the question he should ask, it's not logical or ~what leia would do~, but it's the question he wants to ask. he's controlled way too many of his impulses to do stupid things in the last several minutes, so it just flies out:]

Why? Why do you do any of it?

[sololoquy]

[Well...that's a loaded question.

He takes it and pours the drink without saying anything, and passes it back in silence. After, he puts the bottle back on the bar and places one hand on each knee.]

Do you presume to suggest that I command the First Order?

[Because some piece of him plans to some day, but he doesn't yet. He's just following orders -- you should know all about that.

Oh wait.]

[followhim]

Didn't say that. What's your story? You personally. Why did you join the First Order? What made you say, "this is exactly what I want to be doing?" Don't imagine you're being held there like some kind of slave, like a Stormtrooper. Not big, bad Kylo Ren. So, why? I gotta know.

[sololoquy]

[Huh.

There is a moment where he taps his fingers on his knee, trying to figure out whether or not he wants to answer (or how much of that question he wants to answer). Poe Dameron, a simple foot soldier in Ren's eyes, would not understand the complications of the truth, so he isn't going to waste his time in giving it.

Nevermind that he does not deserve that much honesty, being rebel scum and all.]

How much do you know of the Supreme Leader?

[followhim]

[dismissively:] Not much. Seems like a real piece of work.

[sololoquy]

He is strong with the Force. Stronger than you or anyone else could possibly imagine. And he has knowledge that I require.

[Which is the most basic (yet still true) answer that he could possibly give. Its much more complicated than that, and not even close to being that black-and-white but the Resistance doesn't need to know anything more than that.

And they would probably be happy to believe in a boogeyman that needed to be killed. Being a monster was easy.

And it wasn't like the Jedi had done anything for him.]

[followhim]

[so ... he's just been going around killing and torturing people and destroying ships and planets and shit because

snoke has some information that he wants.

he was trying to keep rey's words in mind. maybe kylo ren wasn't beyond redemption, as impossible as that seemed. he didn't know what would've been the right answer to the question, if there was anything kylo could've said that would've helped poe understand him a little more. that could've changed his already very firmly set prejudices.

it wasn't that answer, though. in fact, if anything, it shows him even more clearly who kylo is (to poe). a straight up sociopath.]

I hope the knowledge's worth it. [there's so much pointedness loaded behind those few words; he clearly does not think anything could be worth it.]

[sololoquy]

[Kylo Ren can feel Poe’s hatred, and it is a welcome balm against everything else that had happened shortly before his arrival. Being a monster was easier when everyone agreed on the notion.]

Thusfar? Most certainly.

[He could go on about how the Resistance disrupted the order they had set in place, but he knows beter than to get political with a commanding officer of their army.]

[followhim]

Glad to hear it's working out for you. [the most insincere sentence to ever be said by anyone, tbh. the intonation is more like, "choke on a dick and die."

he finally takes the drink kylo poured for him before he asked his question and chugs that one, too. he has drank A Lot. but it's fine. everything is totally fine. he has a lot to drink about.]

Anything else, or can I be on my way?

[sololoquy]

[Kylo Ren calls the glass to his hand one last time, but pauses. The rest of his questions were too pointed, and not something he could answer.]

That's enough for today, I think.

[He sets the glass down on the other side of the bar, and twists the cap back on the whiskey. He paid for it, he's keeping it.]

Give my fondest regards to your...friends.

['Fondest regards', of course, is a warning.]

[followhim]

Oh, yeah. I will. [he'll def warn them about your bitch ass. he gets up to leave, but pauses in the doorway for dramatic effect to say:]

May the Force be with you.

[did you know with just the right tone, may the force be with you can sound just like i hate you and i hope you die? well, surprise fam. he also knows how much kylo loves jedi, so. get fucked.]