thirstology | TEST DRIVE MEME.

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i. some don't like it cold [ little squid ]

[Once the weather gets rough, most start heading below deck, either to ease their seasickness or avoid the rain, or otherwise take shelter from the cold.

These things aren't really concerns for Todoroki, but he heads below deck with the rest of them, anyway, where he can be seen wandering around, when he's not sitting off by himself. He cuts a striking figure, what with the dichotomous colors of his hair and eyes, the scar on the left side of his face--but with some observation, it can be seen that he's rather quiet and soft-spoken.

Maybe you're visibly wet from the storm, or otherwise seem to be cold--he might approach you, then.]

Excuse me.

I noticed you were shivering. If you would like to warm up -- [A small flame ignites itself on his left arm] you could sit by me for awhile.

[He can't yet finely control temperature with his left side, yet, so it's not safe for him to directly try to warm someone else up, but he can offer this much.]

ii. i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream (on the red scream)

[Now this is more Todoroki's speed. Once the ships get close enough, he makes himself a nice little ice bridge and heads on aboard as if he owns the fuckin' place. The first Mako pirate that thinks it can make an easy snack of him is in for a nasty surprise as they get frozen all the way up to their neck in an instant.]

Where is the governor's daughter?

[Sure, their main objective is supposed to be getting to the treasure first, but he's still trying to be a Hero, and protecting people's lives take priority. Todoroki's voice is harsh, dripping with venom and contempt.]

You're going to want to answer me before the frostbite sets in.

iii. treasure time

[WOW that sure is a giant crater, huh. Climbing down that thing seems like it's going to be a huge pain in the ass. Sure would be nice if there were an easier way dow--

Hey look, there's a guy making an ice slide down.....follow him? Flag him down for a ride? Better hurry and get his attention quick, before you're stuck spelunking.]

iv. speaking of time ........

[he would've APPRECIATED a WARNING about these bugs, hathaway!!!!

Todoroki finds himself struggling the farther he gets into the tunnels, the insects having slowly eaten away at his time, leaving him feeling like he's trying to wade through molasses. There's a trail of them scattered behind him, wings frozen and unable to cause anyone else trouble, but there's only so much he can do. Still, it can't be that much further to the shard, right? He just has to grit his teeth and bear it a little longer.

Only, a temporal insect he hadn't noticed before comes right at him, and his mental reaction time far outpaces his physical at the moment.]

Damn....

[His Quirk isn't responding. These bugs have eaten too much of his time.]

Edited 2018-02-22 03:29 (UTC)

[A striking figure he might cut, but Jolyne's not paying attention to anybody right now. No, because here's the thing: Jolyne fucking hates the ocean. She did anyway, before, one might say she's got kind of a grudge, but now--]

[Well, whatever. She hates it. She always gets seasick and hates the damp and just wants to put her stupid feet on some stupid dirt. This is stupid. So she's not in the best mood anyway, obviously, but when some guy points fire in her face, she just sort of squints at him grumpily.]

What, [she opines,] the fuck.

[So articulate. A born speaker.]

[Being classmates with Bakugo "I'll fucking kill you" Katsuki, the language doesn't exactly faze Todoroki. He simply repeats:]

If you're cold, I can help.

[Ah, Bakugo. Well, she's not as blisteringly rude as Bakugo, even if on the same scale.]

[Pointing accusingly at his arm:]

You're on fucking fire. [Jolyne you knew a guy who could turn people into snails......]

[He blinks. There's about a three-second pause, as if he's waiting for her to finish the sentence, but no more comes.]

...It's my Quirk.

[Man, but it is Weird to get a reaction like this. For his fire to be unusual rather than an obvious consequence of being Endeavor's son.]

[It's probably very hard to tell right now, but Jolyne is not actually an idiot. She just really doesn't want to be here and is therefore being as willfully obtuse as possible. But the word Quirk does trigger some kind of recognition in her--not of the word, but of the concept.]

[Quirk in this context obviously is some kind of unusual or freaky thing people can do. The way he says it is the way her dad talks about Stands. But on the other hand, he doesn't seem surprised that she can see it, like most Stand users would be. So, like a Stand and normal to him, but not a Stand really.]

[Her shoulders relax just a bit.]

It's a shitty power to have on a wooden boat. You show that to just anybody?

[Meanwhile, he's used to just about everyone having something unusual or freaky they can do, to the point where nothing is unusual or freaky anymore....except maybe being Quirkless, ironically enough.]

Don't worry. I'm not likely to have any accidents, but if I did, I can put them out, too.

[The flame on his left arm goes out, and suddenly -- ice crystals appear on his right arm, instead, before they too disappear]

Anyway, everyone back home already knows what I can do.

[He's Todoroki Shouto, after all. It's not like he ever had the luxury of anonymity.]

[Oh. Okay, nifty. She wraps her arms around her knees and leans forward to look at him curiously.]

You're not famous here, though. You could keep it a secret if you wanted.

[Not that she cares, really, it's just odd. She's used to being the least private person in a very private, very dysfunctional family. It's kind of nice not to have to worry about that here.]

Why?

[He's not going to be much use to Hathaway without his Quirk, honestly ........ and while having an unknown Quirk can have its advantages, it's something that he can't realistically keep secret. He sees no need to, anyway; pro Heroes have to disclose their Quirks to operate, so this isn't that different.]

[Again, she shrugs.]

People have lots of different reasons for doing different things. I'm not saying you should, I'm just saying you could.

[She still hasn't decided whether or not she wants to, personally. There doesn't seem to be immediate danger regardless, but there's a weird finality in sharing it, too.]

That would rather limit my functionality to this team.

[He went so long refusing to even use his left side, to reject his father. But the idea of avoiding using his Quirk entirely feels a little like suggesting he could go without using his limbs. Possible, but absurd.]

Edited 2018-02-22 05:13 (UTC)

[Jolyne snorts.]

Oh yeah? Your only skill is fire and ice?

[Something about gaining power late in life, instead of always having it: it makes her fiercely committed to the few other things she can do well. Like stealing stuff. Uh, carjacking. Stuff like that.]

[And incidentally.] Are you gonna toast me or what.

[Meanwhile, Todoroki was more or less conceived for the express purpose of creating a powerful child, someone who would be able to surpass the great All Might. He's grown up relying on his power--perhaps too much, honestly. It was not for no reason that his opponent in the final exams was chosen to be Aizawa.

But she's probably not interested in hearing about his family history.]

Oh, right. Sorry.

[His arm ignites itself again, burning at a careful distance so it doesn't catch her clothes or hair.]

TEST DRIVE MEME.

Shouto Todoroki | My Hero Academia

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ugh i need more icons, weeps

yeah my paid ran out so i now have like 3 expressions )'8

the struggle is real......