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

thomas shelby | peaky blinders

[soldiersminute]

i. storms.

[While Tommy is quite used to gray skies and a significant amount of rain, storms have a life of their own out on the open water. It seems just as quickly as they come, they pass again. At least that's true when they're over. When in the middle of a storm, it seems like it'll never end while trying to stay a half-step ahead of the next way the storm intends to jerk the ship about. Tommy makes himself as useful as possible during the rougher storms, when the small crew seems to be struggling to keep everything in hand. On the smaller ones though, he simply waits the storm out. (They may not be ideal conditions, but they're preferable to being below deck.) But this time, he happens to notice someone with Hathaway struggling with keeping their balance on the deck.]

[He can't judge considering how much slower he is moving about compared to the rest of the crew during rougher seas, but even in a lighter storm like this, there's always the danger of being knocked overboard. That wouldn't do anyone any good. Tommy crosses the short distance from where he's standing, putting a hand on their shoulder to steady them. He has to shout to be heard over the winds, but says,]

Let's get you back down below deck, eh?

ii. view.

[Not every day or night on the water is filled with storms though. There seem to be plenty of days where the sea is completely calm. Some might call the view breathtaking, but Tommy doesn't look at it with any particular wonder whenever he's taking the time to look at it. He takes a swig of the rum bottle he's taken for himself as he leans on the railing, watching the roll of the waves with... well, nothing really. He doesn't even look bored or disinterested. It's like he doesn't even see what's in front of him, which means he's not likely all that aware of any company.]

[It's the way Tommy prefers to be before a battle. Although he can't predict how long it will be until the Red Scream makes her appearance, the battle is coming and it's better to enter with a mind that isn't distracted and weighed down by anything. It's better to have nothing.]

iii. treasure.

[Tommy stands at the edge of the crater, staring down into its depths. He has a pensive look on his face as he lights a cigarette, but then again, he almost always looks like that. Which might explain why he generally tends to be a bit quieter than some of the others with Hathaway. He's too focused for task at hand to make much with small talk. Even now, there's a prolonged silence before he finally breaks it with a question.]

Don't suppose you have any idea of how to get down there and back.

[He doesn't look up from the hole in the earth. Partly because he's not all that keen on being in a hole in the earth anytime soon if he can avoid it and also because it seems far too dangerous to take the direct, straight down approach.]

iv. wildcard.

[If none of these tickle your fancy, feel free to make something else up. You can find me at maledictions or pming this journal if you wanna run it by me beforehand or have any questions!]

(iii)

[signifies]

[ Clark has a way of getting up and down the shaft quickly. He's been here even if he looks really out of place just hanging around and waiting for other team members. There's no other way down (he looked) so Air Superman will have to do.

He smiles a little at Tommy. ]

Depends on how you feel about flying.

[soldiersminute]

[Tommy looks up from the hole at the mention of flying, not returning the smile. (That last part is nothing personal; it's rare for Tommy to crack even a hint of a smile these days except maybe around his son.) His expression might be a little hard to tell, but from the way he's looking Clark over, Clark can probably correctly guess that Tommy's a little skeptical. It's just likely harder to pin down if it's disbelief in flight being as simple as that given the lack of machinery available or if it's skepticism towards that being the best idea possible.]

[Tommy takes a drag from his cigarette, gaze turning back down to the crater for just a brief second before looking at Clark again.]

You're serious, aren't you?

[signifies]

[ Clark's best friend isn't known for smiling either, and very few people would say Lois was cheerful. So it doesn't really bother him, he's just curious about what Tommy's really skeptical about.

He answers the question honestly and seriously. ]

Absolutely. I've already made a few trips.

[ There's not a scratch on him. That doesn't mean much since he's a Kryptonian, but hopefully it's convincing. ]

sorry for the delay! been out of town + holidays

[soldiersminute]

[He does seem to be in one piece, which is absolutely preferable to the alternative when one is suggesting something as seemingly impossible as a simple flight down without the usual aids required. Tommy does exhale sharply in light amusement though at "a few trips." Tommy doesn't know for sure where Clark is from, but judging from accent alone, it seems he's got a pretty typical American attitude.]

So you've seen the bottom, have you?

[Tommy isn't above taking risks, but he prefers calculated ones when he can get them.]

welcome back!

[signifies]

I have. There's a long tunnel, so you'll need a torch.

[ He's just very confident he can get Tommy down there safely. ]

thank you!

[soldiersminute]

[A tunnel. Fuck. Tommy shows no reaction, but inside there's a part that's now working to steel himself for this. To push down any anxiety that might creep up and deal with it some other time that isn't now or going to get in the way. He has a job and he knows how to be a soldier. Anything else is irrelevant right now.]

Is that all?

[Maybe that is all one would need, but it seems highly unlikely.]

[signifies]

[ He picks up on an increased heart rate. Probably claustrophobia. ]

That's all.

[ He can't hear or see anything else down there. ]

Should we see it through as a team? [ Just the two of them. ]

( Please lmk if you'd prefer this changed! )

[soldiersminute]

[Tommy takes the last few puffs of his cigarette before tossing it aside.]

No sense in waiting for anyone else.

(You're good! No worries. :) )

iii

[diamondhack]

Oh I do. It's just not for the faint of heart.

[Not that she would necessarily and immediately condone rappelling down a massive black hole without gear, but sometimes, it was fun to take a stupid risk she knows she could surpass.

For all of Tommy's quiet, Isha is decidedly verbose. Why use five words when ten can confuse and complicate to her advantage?]

Unless you feel positively about rock climbing, I have nothing else to offer, besides possibly building something.

[Which would take too long. Better to just fling yourself into the depths.]

[soldiersminute]

[Tommy hums in a mixture of acknowledgement as well as agreement. There really isn't much else that can be done that wouldn't take more time than they can likely afford.]

Volunteering then, are you?

[Despite his tone, Tommy's actually joking. He knows very, very few who would seriously volunteer for something like this without more incentive or convincing than that and would like to think she's not going to add to that number.]

[diamondhack]

[She smirks at him, as if it were second nature to behave as if everything were a joke. No, she couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but it didn't matter to her.]

What, and ruin this beautiful face if I misstep?

[As if she would.]

Nothing down there is worth enough of my efforts, really. I deal in tangibles that are attainable.

sorry for the delay! been out of town + holidays :)

[soldiersminute]

[Tommy hums in agreement as he takes a drag of his cigarette, a non-verbal it would be a shame to her first remark.]

I think by being part of this organization, we don't get to decide completely what we deal in anymore.

[If Tommy were younger by a couple of decades, it's likely this sort of thing would have appealed to him out of altruism, but now? If there's nothing to be gained directly, the risk isn't worth it. The offer on the table though is enough for Tommy to shift his values just enough to see this being worth it.]

no worries! same here haha

[diamondhack]

Hm. How true that is.

[INTERPOL had given her a very long leash to operate.

It was still a leash.

Isha had yet to decide if any of this was worth it at all.]

Do you have another of those?

[Not that she smoked often, but it was a small luxury in her variety luxuries she kept closer to her heart than to flaunt. Best to not reveal the sort of person she once was more or less ten years ago.]

[soldiersminute]

[Tommy reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cigarette case and lighter. He passes the case to her, but holds onto his lighter. He'll light her cigarette for her, but not solely for the sake of being a gentleman. It's still a luxury item where he's from after all. He'd be far more willing to risk her making off with the case (and the remaining cigarettes) than his lighter if she felt so inclined to pinch something from him.]

[He thinks he might struck a slight nerve. It seems unlikely that the acknowledgement of the truth in his words and her request for a cigarette are completely divorced from one another anyway. But that's the sort of thing most likely best left without any sort of comment. Tommy leaves it be.]

So, you suppose we should wait then? For others?

[diamondhack]

[A nerve, indeed. But it's not one she'll admit, or acknowledge. There are days she pretends she's still unbreakable, unreadable. That she's only some self-serving, superficial woman that could might as well pass off for someone who was born with riches and does nothing but insult.

Playing parts has always come easily for Isha.

She takes out a single cigarette and lights it before passing off the case. It's a nerve, but it's to mask her uselessness. There's no time to build, no time to plan. There aren't any failsafes to put in place, because the urgency is now. She's not willing to risk herself to rappel into the oblivion of time.

So a cigarette is something to do, at the very best.]

I'd be willing to throw others into the mess if I knew exactly what was there besides the obvious. [She takes a drag exhales smoke through her nose.] Been a while since anyone offered to light my cigarette.

[soldiersminute]

[Tommy arches an eyebrow as he pockets both lighter and case once more.]

That seems hard to believe.

[He'd think a woman like her would have men lining up for the opportunity to light a cigarette for her whether it was for her looks or for her money. Either or both can be incredibly motivating to most men, and it seems unlikely that she wouldn't take advantage of that.]

[But first impressions aren't always correct. There's always room for error.]

i.

[grunehexe]

[Sieglinde can't seem to ever arrive in a world with an ocean without ending up on a boat in a storm. At least, she's two for two now, with Nalawi and now this... but she hadn't been able to help herself anyway, wanting to see the sea she'd never had a chance to see in her own world.

That she perhaps would never see. At least, not for some time, now that she has contracted with Hathaway.

But another storm had blown up to ruin her view, and though she'd unbound her feet over a year ago, she still had trouble with balance and the now rocking ship was not helping. Neither was the wind whipping her long hair into her face and blowing up her heavy skirts.

She starts at the touch of hand on shoulder, but... she's actually quite grateful for the offer, and latches on to his wrist for support more than quickly. For a tiny thing, her grip, at least, is quite tight.]

Thank you, good sir!

[Half shouted back, but. At least some of these new people were gentlemen???]

sorry for the delay! been out of town + holidays

[soldiersminute]

[Tommy is in equal measure both surprised and not at all surprised by her grip on his wrist. It was expected that she would grab onto him the moment he touched her, but he hadn't expected someone as small as her to have a grip that tight. Then again, adrenaline can do some surprising things.]

[He doesn't visibly react to being called good sir, but internally, he knows he's far from someone who'd normally be called good sir despite his wealth and growing political standing in his own world.]

This way, [he says at a much lower volume, potentially impossible to hear over the winds and rain.]

[But his words don't need to be heard to communicate what he said. Tommy brings her hand to his arm, making it seem almost as though they are taking a stroll rather than trying to navigate the deck of a ship in the middle of a storm. Tommy is steadier than her as he guides her, but on more violent rocks of the ship that threaten to topple someone over, Tommy has to right the two of them before pressing on.]

[Like a gentleman, he opens the door for her, allowing her to use his arm (which he extends) as a guide until she makes it over the threshold inside.]

No prob! Welcome back!

[grunehexe]

[His words are lost in the whip of rising winds, but Sieglinde is looking up at his face, and with the combination of the movement of his lips and the way he moves her hand to his arm in a more proper position, the meaning is more than clear enough. She nods eagerly in turn, small fingers tight for balance on his sleeve. Once she had been carried everywhere in the crook of her manservant's arm, perched as if simply sitting there to give the illusion of control despite her three inch-long heels and the tight bindings beneath, but she's used to being escorted this way now that she's unbound her feet.

Unbinding then had given her the use of toes and a larger sole, a more properlike shape, but it hadn't brought back the sensation in damaged nerves and abused tendons that still arched and betrayed, or the aching prone to delicate bones broken twice over. She walks with the cautious gait of someone who must actually pay attention to where she puts her feet, gaze down but for the moments when she has to brush her hair from her face- practically from his face on occasion, its long enough that in strong gusts it whips about like a gorgon's, long ripped from the more restrained style she tended to wear it in.

She perks up at the sight of the door, though, and carefully using his arm almost like a safety railing, she manages to make it inside with a grateful sigh, transferring her hold to an actual rail in the ship before she scuttles to the side to make room for him to enter as well.]

How fiercely and quickly gales at sea can overtake a ship...

[soldiersminute]

[Tommy doesn't notice much about her gait on the way to the door. He chalks most of her unsteadiness to a lack of sea legs and trying to stand on her own as much as possible even with the boat rocking about rather than a possible physical cause. In any case, most of his attention was trained on keeping them moving toward relative safety. But unlike her gait going without much notice, it's entirely possible she'll notice his hesitation before following her inside. Although he does follow her, Tommy pauses longer than merely being polite enough to let her cross the threshold first.]

[He hates being below deck. The darkness broken only by light from lanterns, the dampness in the air and the occasional creaking of wooden beams all feel all too familiar. But he swallows whatever...discomfort it inspires and steps inside behind her, taking a moment to pull against the winds and shut the door.]

Fortunately that means it will likely be over just as quickly, [he says only once it's securely latched.] That might be a better time for you to explore the deck, eh?

[grunehexe]

[Sieglinde has grown up in the dark, nearly alone in a candle-lit manor of creaking wood and groaning stone, and so the belowdeck is at least familiar in that sense- though the cramped feeling and toss of the ship itself is hardly welcome. She clasps the wooden railing tightly to keep herself standing, squares her stance and locks her knees beneath her damp, heavy skirts, shivering slightly despite herself.]

I should certainly hope so!

[The wind still howls outside, but at least the door is shut and bolted, which she breaths a sigh of relief for.]

I must apologize, sir. It was not my intent to inconvenience anyone else, merely to observe the sea...

[soldiersminute]

[If it weren't already soaked, Tommy would be at least a mild form of gentleman and offer her his coat to warm up. But it would just be adding more cold rainwater in the end, so he makes no move towards offering it to her. At least he says,]

No. [He removes his flat cap. It managed to keep his head mostly dry, but he still pushes some of his bangs back out of his face and back into some semblance of order.] No, it wasn't any trouble at all.

[Tommy puts his hat in his coat pocket. He reaches into another pocket for his cigarette case and lighter. He hasn't thought much about his lighter since he purchased it (there had been a small amount of pride that day), but he's grateful it in place of the matches he's used for the majority of his life. No doubt they'd be useless by now.]

You'll probably wont to change into something dryer.

[Tommy nods down the hallway as he pulls out a cigarette.]

[grunehexe]

[Well, that was a relief, at least, however small. Rebreaking her feet had been something Sieglinde once hoped would make her less of a burden, less in need of help... but that had been naive of her, she knew that now. Even if the job she'd done of resetting had been better, if she'd used magic to heal them... she was still small, still physically weak compared to... most everyone in ALASTAIR, now in Hathaway, and she hadn't ever really stopped being a burden in some ways, because their missions had not stopped involving violence in some form.

But at least he said it was no trouble.]

Ah, of course-

[And points out something rational, which she can't help but agree with, but still, it seems rude to not even introduce herself, or thank him in turn, though it also seems ridiculous to stay and do so dripping on the floor, so her emerald gaze flicks between the hall down where her bunk was and back to him, falling to the cigarette with a flash of an idea.]

Will you be... here? I mean, could you wait here? Or return here?

[Anxious to perform socially, she trips over her words, still a bit awkward with new meetings.]

[soldiersminute]

Can't very well have a smoke out there right now, can I?

[His tone isn't severe, but it also doesn't particularly match that he means the question more as a joke than anything else either. It sounds more statement of fact instead, but that's par for the course these days with Tommy. He adopts a lighter tone when speaking to his son, but anyone else? Not so much. And even with Charlie, it's not all that sincere.]

[He puts the cigarette between his lips and lights it, lighter disappearing back into his pocket as he take the cigarette out again and blows the smoke away from her slightly.]

Go on. I'll still be here when you get back.