ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏɴɢ 18ᴛʜ ᴍᴏᴅs (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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brethrencourt2017-04-29 11:17 am
pyracy) wrote in brethrencourt2017-04-29 11:17 am
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TEST DRIVE 001b
Try on those ridiculous clothes, sample the catering, and run through your lines. It's time for the Long 18th Test Drive.
ARRIVAL: Characters come to in a dark, tropical forest in a huddle. There are the sounds of strange birds, animals, and insects all around, some of them perhaps worryingly close. With a closer inspection, arrivals realize they're on an incline: Going up will prove fruitless, no matter who they are. The ground there starts to grow rocky the further they climb, and they may find themselves slipping back down to their arrival point, even if they're expert mountain climbers. The ground sloping downward will eventually level out leading toward light, music, and noise. But for the moment, they're simply a group of lost people (or monsters/bipedal animals/robots/etc) with no idea where they are or how they got here. Now's probably a good time to ask, "Who the hell are you? Where am I?" Time to use the buddy system.
TORTUGA: There's a town off the coast of Hispaniola that never sleeps, and that town is Tortuga. It's swapped hands more times than anyone can count, but for now, the French have it. And they do like the extra money the pirates that frequent it bring in; they like it so much that they imported over 1600 prostitutes from Europe to keep them happy. So you might as well relax while you're here, as much as you can with random gunshots and fist fights, anyway. Drop in for a drink at the Faithful Bride, check out the wares for sale (provided to you tax-free thanks to piracy) near the dock front. Visit the warehouse where those ill-gotten goods are stored and distributed. Maybe you're looking for work on a ship? The captains can usually be found - frazzled and busy - in the taverns and at the shipwrights and everywhere in between (just look for the hats), and if they're in a good mood, they might be willing. But the key point of Tortuga is this: Have fun. Some examples might include: A barfight! Wandering into a brothel (maybe by mistake)! Getting duped into joining a crew! There's no end of trouble to get into.
MIRROR POST: When they arrived, every person found, in a pocket or a bag or tucked away somewhere on their person, a little compact mirror. It's nothing fancy: Square, with hinges and a latch that keep it closed, the outer casing carved from seashell, the inner mirror a little spotted with age. But if it's played around with enough, it quickly becomes apparent it works as a communication device. Here you have access to all of the marked folks, no matter how far and wide they might spread. Need to have a heart to heart with a buddy in Singapore? Want to send out a general ad to everyone at large? Looking for answers to questions? This is the quickest way to get all of that.
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: The world is open, and it's full of pearls that are just waiting for you to take them. Maybe you want to have some quiet time to scrub clean in a bathhouse in Singapore. Perhaps you're visiting the fabled pirate city of Libertalia in Madagascar. Maybe you've found yourself lost in Mayan ruins or stranded on an island. Or you were shipwrecked in a hurricane. Or you've decided to relocate to Port Royal or one of the American colonies for a quieter sort of life. Either way, this is your story, might as well make it a good one.
no subject
The whys always matter. That's how you find out the "how." [Adults. You gotta teach them everything.]
no subject
See, you're right. They do. Not to you right now, maybe never, but they do. But right now the whys are taking a backseat to the whats. We're gonna use the scientific method because I'm not buying the magical time travel theory.
no subject
[He says that so plainly, like it's just a fact of life and magic is completely normal, but with a weight that says he's tried anyway.]
So "what" matters?
no subject
It's just getting a big enough data set.
[Which probably makes absolutely no sense to this kid whatsoever, but congrats, Kubo, you're a living sounding board at the moment.]
Besides, all "magic"- [And yes, that is a one-handed finger quote.] -is is science we don't understand yet. Gimme some time, I'll figure it out. [It sounds good, right? Really sure of himself. Here's hoping it actually works.]
no subject
The image shakes a tad as Kubo sets it down for a better view, pulls out his shamisen, and strums once. The sail draws itself up the mast, ropes lashing it up neat and tidy, all on their own. The ship pulls slightly to port, completely devoid of the groaning of wood.
His ship is literally made of leaves, controlled by his music.
NGL, Kubo looks a little smug]
I think you might need to open your mind a little.
no subject
That's impressive. But see, that just proves my point. I'm willing to bet it's got something to do with molecular excitement with sound as the catalyst and I would actually kill to be home right now to actually pick that apart.
Point being. I met a couple of Norse gods a while back. Turns out they're aliens. So yeah, magic is just science we can't explain, and I'm betting that's no different.
WHOOPS sorry for the late
. . . You're no fun.
[Well, knocking him down a few can be for later. For now, Kubo's expression shifts to curiousity and frustration.]
Why can't you just take things as they are? Why do you always have to take them apart?