gargleblasted app
Jan. 31st, 2012 07:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
long_twinOOC:
Name: Karakael
Are you over 16?: Yes
Personal DW:karakael
Email: missing.momeg@gmail.com
Timezone: EST
Other contact: AIM: thinkhive
Characters already in the game: Renee Cardiff Shishio and Yakushi Kabuto
How did you find us?: already in the game~
IC:
Character name(s): Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei Lee Long
Fandom: Time Enough For Love and The Number of the Beast by Robert Heinlein
Timeline: Post canon
Age: ~250
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths:
The girls are both very well trained in combat and weaponry, but have no supernatural powers. However they do have a dimensional-jumping ship called The Gay Deceiver. Also, they are both “Howards”; human beings with genetically extended lives. The girls can live up to 300 years without needed ‘rejuvenation’, a process which extends their lives even further. So they’ve amassed quite a bit of knowledge in their two hundred and fifty years worth of experience.
They also have a very limited kind of telepathy; when together they can read each other’s minds and often finish each other’s sentences. Conversations with them can be quite confusing at times as a result, but the ability has never grown beyond the sibling-bond. They cannot read others minds or guess at others intentions, but often they act as one mind controlling two bodies. Though never fully explained in canon, I assume much of this telepathy is subconscious, so the girls often don’t realize it’s going on; what one learns is instantly or near-instantly transmitted to the other upon the next meeting, creating a joint-memory. The more time they spend apart the more their personalities diverge, and the more time they spend together the more similar they seem.
How would they use their abilities?:
One word: Profit
Their world has been destroyed? The Gay is busted so they can’t go back in time? Everyone they’ve ever known is probably dead? Pssh. So what? The Thor offers the one thing that any Long needs to be happy: a new Market. So expect 200% of their considerable energy to be put into relieving the poor, innocent passengers of the Thor from all their worldly possessions. And its all perfectly legal, of course.
Appearance:
The twins are short enough to be considered “petite” by most standards and are slim and well muscled, though not conventionally attractive. Their features are soft but not exaggerated; a round face with a large mouth and nose as well as a small chest that fits well with their rather subtle feminine features. Of course, what is most striking about them is their bright red hair, which they keep cropped to the shoulders. They might not be beauties, but they know how to use their “cuteness” factor to their own advantage. Beware the dangers of their pout!
It should also be noted that they are both very loose when it comes to clothing. On their home planet, Tertius, nudity is considered the norm, but on the Thor they’ll happily adapt to wearing their favorite garments; matching kilts worn in the traditional way. If pressed, they’ll even wear bras, though convincing them to wear much more clothing will be an uphill battle.
Background/Personality:
Lorelei Lee and her twin sister Lapis Lazuli are clones of the oldest living human in their galaxy: Lazarus “The Senior” Long. They were created to bring some interest back into the Senior’s life to prevent him from committing suicide out of boredom. The twins are just like their father/brother in many ways: short, red-headed hell raisers with a talent for mischief only a bit larger than their talent for not getting caught. They are both merchants par-excellence and there is nothing they find more amusing than wringing every last cent from an unwilling customer. When finishing a conversation with a Long, it is a good idea to check ones wallet and then ones sanity. Never let one convince you to enter in on a game of chance – poker’s the worst – as one can be sure that they will cheat. These two are no exception.
The twins are both experts at fighting, both hand-to-hand and with weaponry, but they will have little experience with the less traditional weaponry appearing on the Thor as the laws of science govern their world more strictly than others; huge swords and giant guns are far less practical than a well aimed pistol or dagger, in their experience. They fight dirty and fast, and will kill with efficiency should it seem necessary. Their personal brand of morality says that self defense – whether of body or property – is a reasonable excuse for killing intent, but that doesn’t make it nice, and it loses customers. People who kill for fun are clearly crazy, and should be dealt with by the appropriate (though mistrusted) authorities…though the twins are both completely willing to take things into their own hands.
So they stay true to their very strong libertarian ideals. The twins respect the free market and love making money, but rules are only as good as their potential advantage. Canonically they state their dream profession to be “space pirates”…though space privateers might be a better term. Helping them with this dream is their craft, the Gay Deceiver, a trusty little ship with a heart of gold and a dimension jumping gyroscope for a brain.
The Gay is the flagship of the Long family merchant empire. By trading tech through the different dimensions – and time – their extended family has made a fortune. Of course that fortune has also made enemies, and their space base has been destroyed before. The idea that Tertius, their home world, could also be destroyed wouldn’t come as a shock. Of course when your fleet can time-travel, a calamity of that scale takes on a different meaning. Maybe rescuing every person on a planet will take a lot of ‘time’…but that’s the kind of time a Howard has, as long as their ship can still ferry passengers and time-travel.
A pity the Gay has lost the ability to dimension-hop. And neither of them have the life-sustaining training of a Rejuvenator. Better hope they’re not on the Thor for more than a few hundred years. But no worries. Somehow they’ll figure everything out, rescue everyone, and make a killer profit in reward money.
So the twins are two very driven young (looking) women, with a good practical education in just about everything from doctoring to farming. They have freedom in their blood along with immortality and a passion for adventure (and profit). Their home life was…strange, but loving. The twins were born from two different mothers and raised in a polyamorous clan family that grows bigger every year. They themselves have two ‘primary’ husbands; a pair of twins named Castor and Pollux from an alternate Earth dimension. They won them in a game of cards. (No joke)
Tertius was a warm, dry world with few dangers and lots of open space. The culture was based on Rome, nudity was the norm, and sexual taboo’s were almost completely eliminated. Due to advanced gene sequencing and other medical innovations reproduction was primarily the business of a woman and her geneticist, separating copulation from reproduction in the minds of the citizens. As a result, the twins are very loose when it comes to anything dealing with relationships, body modesty, and sexuality. After all, they come from a family of over a hundred adults, all who happily share each other’s beds and spouses. Of course, they are used to dealing with people from ‘backward times’ where this looseness is not the norm, and can hide it when necessary (like when making a sale to a prude).
The Differences
The twins are very, very close, but after two hundred and fifty years, there are some distinctions between the two. I would like to point out that these distinctions are purely fan made, based on spur of the moment back-story invention on other role-plays they’ve been in, and not relating to the original source material. Within the books themselves the twins are never seen apart, never seen speaking in sentences that the other doesn’t finish, and show no indication of any real hardship in their lives.
But part of the joy of time travel is the ability to learn about the past. Did Nero really fiddle while Rome fell? Could you go back and meet your great-grandfather? What was WWII like? Be a savvy time-traveler – part of the agency the Howards set up upon discovering the technology – and you can answer these questions for posterity. It’s a fascinating, and sometimes very dangerous, hobby. Lazarus nearly got killed in the trenches of WWI on his first trip back, and it was only some slick time-maneuvering by his family that saved his life. Both of the Long twins are trained to be time explorers as well as dimension hoppers and look up to their father/brother for his greater life-experience and self-preservation instinct given the knowledge they’ve gained of the past.
So it wasn’t really a surprise when Lapis Lazuli volunteered for a historical mission involving the early colonizing of new worlds. Both Lapis and Lorelei had grown up hearing stories of their frontiersman father/brother. And since they could hardly send two identical girls back in time, Lorelei remained behind. They had done flipped a coin to see who would go…and Lorelei still regrets she didn’t cheat more.
The mission was a disaster. Well – not a complete one. Shortly after arriving on the planet’s surface an anomaly shut down all communication between Lapis and the observation station. They couldn’t re-establish a link to the colony world until fifty years from the point at which they lost contact. Thankfully Lapis was still alive, but the colony hadn’t fared well. A period of intense weather had wracked the planet for the first ten years of the settlement and decimated the population. The next twenty years were little better, as the planet shifted from a temperate climate to a desert. The last twenty were stable, but the climate inhospitable to farming. When they finally re-established contact few of the settlers remained alive, and those that did were contemplating abandoning the world. It wasn’t re-colonized until terriforming was invented three centuries later.
But just like her father/brother, Lapis had not spent her time on the planet in despair. Far from it! She married, raised a family, and forged a homestead that was the longest lasting and most sustainable, even in the changing climate. She lost children and her husband over the fifty years she stayed on the planet, but never once did she stop recording data for the time-research.
Normally, when a Long dies, even a Long only partially adopted into the family, as Lapis’s husband would have been, a rescue effort would have been mounted. But the anomaly halted any hope of returning to that gap in time. Lapis’s husband and her children remained dead.
(Lorelei Lee)
But the lasting effect of the calamity was not on Lapis, but on her sister. To Lorelei one day separated her from seeing her sister wave good-bye, and seeing her again, aged and shell-shocked, a victim of a tragic experience that Lorelei had not shared. The idea was horrifying. She should have been there. It didn’t matter that there was nothing she could have done, or that her presence would have made things worse. It didn’t matter that she learned of all of Lapis’s exploits and sorrows more intimately than anyone else ever could have – with a mind-to-mind link – or that Lapis would have experienced the same feelings for her, had their places been switched. Her twin had experienced something – suffering – that she had not. She should have been there.
In many ways this one event – something that took up barely a fifth of Lapis’s life and an infinitesimal part of Lorelei’s – completely altered their relationship. For the first time there was a real difference between the two, a difference that could not be amended with shared memories or a week alone together. Lorelei could not sit back and accept that she might lose her sister. While their obvious relationship hasn’t changed; they still complete each other’s sentences and are constantly together when not on a mission; Lorelei is subtly more observant, resigned, and cautious than her sister. She is also a bit clingier.
(Lapis Lazuli)
Lapis is the complete opposite. Rather than giving her a morose outlook on life, the harsh colony experience strengthened her in the long run and gave her a healthy appreciation for life. To her, now is what matters. The love you have now means all the more because someday you might lose it. And unlike her father/brother after his relationship with a short-lifer, she made her peace with her husband and children’s death. Occasionally there is a hunted look in her eye when something reminds her of Paul or Andy…but it’s replaced quickly as she resolves once again to love the world all the more. She is just as affectionate with her sister as always, and finds comfort in Lorelei’s clinging, but she has the ability and drive to be more independent on occasion. Of the two she is generally the more forceful, open, and enthusiastic.
But the differences between the two are subtle, and almost impossible to detect when they are together. Instead, the distinctions are more obvious when they are apart. For example, for the prompts I’ve presumed that they have a jointly owned business venture of a pawn-shop and brothel called the Old Overcoat. (This is a call back to the song their father/brother sings throughout the books about such an establishment where ‘he likes to hang his overcoat’.) Lapis would happily man the brothel, enjoying talking to customers and making them feel happy, while Lorelei haggles over prices in the pawn shop and tinkers with parts for fixing the dimension-hopper. At the same time, most customers wouldn’t notice if they switched places, and fewer still would prefer one to the other. Both girls are polite (social graces are a must on a world where everyone carries a blaster even when they don’t wear pants) very enthusiastic, and shrewd about business. (Heck, they’d be considered ‘fair’ if it wasn’t for the fact that they’ll happily rob anyone richer than them blind if they think they’ll get away with it. But they don’t steal from the poor. They’ve both been there before.)
Have you read up on how the game works?: Yes. Flaming Ferret, and they can earn money from monthly missions, permanent jobs, or mooching off of other people. (But the latter is just lame)
Due to the nature of the character interactions, I figured it might be best if I offered examples of how they would act together, as well as how they would act separately. Sorry for the long, long app!
1st person sample: (joined) [Audio]
Dear, wonderful citizens of the good ship Thor,
We, the captain’s of the Gay Deceiver,
have taken note of your terrible
– atrocious! –
troubles and have granted your desires.
For one week only,
we will voluntarily open our doors to any –
and all! - who are interested in piloting!
Yes indeed, this is a one-time-only offer to teach,
train,
and certify anyone who wants to be a pilot.
The starting price for this offer is 1,000 credits
– with some small caveats, of course –
and a guarantee of total competence
– and survival! –
or your money back~
Now, say something for us, Gay-dear.
Tell these nice people how excited you are to see them!
Voice command confirmed. Generating random numbers. Reply: Oh goody, I can’t wait!
1st person sample: (Lapis Lazuli)
Alright you land-lubbers! Batten down the hatches and listen here! We at the Old Overcoat have been noticing some unfortunate conduct aboard this vessel. And in our infinite kindness and wisdom, we thought it might do this ship well to have a good reminder of the realities of space-travel.
Firstly, always know where your space suit is. Just because this place is the size of a city doesn’t mean you can forget you’re in space! Always remember that oxygen is a privilege not a right.
Second, take care of your gear. I’m ashamed to see so many dirty towels around this place! And the Guides are worse. Remember, your equipment can save your life. Treat it well!
Finally, be polite! This may seem simple, but the little courtesies are what keep society functioning in a closed environment. Danger lurks at every turn, and that alien you bumped earlier today could be your engineer tomorrow.
And that’s all for this reminder. Thanks for listening! And if you so happen to be in need of a space-suit (though who wouldn’t have one already?), the Old Overcoat is happy to supply your every need, and at a reasonable price!
- Lapis Lazuli Long
1st person sample: (Lorelei Lee)
Alright, you scaly-wags! You’d best sharpen your ears and listen up. We here at the Old Overcoat have noticed some unfortunate habits forming on this ship!. Of course we couldn’t have you good citizens in danger, so we’ve made up a little list of space-safety tips.
One: Always know where your space-suit is. Remember that oxygen is a privilege in the middle of a vacuum, not a right, especially in a place where not everyone breaths the same air as us humans. Speaking of which,
Two: Take care of your gear! The Guides are our tickets around this place and virtually indestructible, but that isn’t a challenge! Take care of your equipment, and it will take care of you, especially in an emergency.
Three: Be polite. It doesn’t seem much, but saying ‘thank you’ makes a world of difference in keeping people happy when they’re rubbing elbows. And it makes it much less likely for the giant space flies to find an excuse to squash you.
Just a few things to think about. If you’re looking for any more advice – or need to pick up a spare space-suit – feel free to stop by the Old Overcoat any time. We’re always open.
- Lorelei Lee Long
3rd person sample: (joined)
The real question wasn’t how the twins had managed to buy a three-ton mammoth on the last planet, or even how they managed to get it on the ship. It was why. They couldn’t possibly have a use for it.
Yet here they were, gaily leading the enormous creature through the halls as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The creature shambled forward, one twin leading it by the tusk, the other sitting primly on the saddle, doing her best to look regal and failing miserably. She couldn’t conceal the grin that was spreading over her face as she watched the chaos the beast caused; aliens looking appalled, refugees looking shocked, and even a few robots chattering to themselves in horror at the monstrous animal. The twin by the tusk looked just as amused, and seemed content to merely lead the beast on, a small bucket by her side, with an even smaller sign reading “10p for avoidance”. Already it jingled with the weight of scared shop owners ‘donations’ to the cause.
Satisfied that they had caused enough chaos, Lorelei turned to her sister, waved once, then ducked to catch the end of the banner that unrolled down the beast’s side.
“Mammoth Protection!” it declared, to widespread groans. “
Name: Karakael
Are you over 16?: Yes
Personal DW:
karakaelEmail: missing.momeg@gmail.com
Timezone: EST
Other contact: AIM: thinkhive
Characters already in the game: Renee Cardiff Shishio and Yakushi Kabuto
How did you find us?: already in the game~
IC:
Character name(s): Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei Lee Long
Fandom: Time Enough For Love and The Number of the Beast by Robert Heinlein
Timeline: Post canon
Age: ~250
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths:
The girls are both very well trained in combat and weaponry, but have no supernatural powers. However they do have a dimensional-jumping ship called The Gay Deceiver. Also, they are both “Howards”; human beings with genetically extended lives. The girls can live up to 300 years without needed ‘rejuvenation’, a process which extends their lives even further. So they’ve amassed quite a bit of knowledge in their two hundred and fifty years worth of experience.
They also have a very limited kind of telepathy; when together they can read each other’s minds and often finish each other’s sentences. Conversations with them can be quite confusing at times as a result, but the ability has never grown beyond the sibling-bond. They cannot read others minds or guess at others intentions, but often they act as one mind controlling two bodies. Though never fully explained in canon, I assume much of this telepathy is subconscious, so the girls often don’t realize it’s going on; what one learns is instantly or near-instantly transmitted to the other upon the next meeting, creating a joint-memory. The more time they spend apart the more their personalities diverge, and the more time they spend together the more similar they seem.
How would they use their abilities?:
One word: Profit
Their world has been destroyed? The Gay is busted so they can’t go back in time? Everyone they’ve ever known is probably dead? Pssh. So what? The Thor offers the one thing that any Long needs to be happy: a new Market. So expect 200% of their considerable energy to be put into relieving the poor, innocent passengers of the Thor from all their worldly possessions. And its all perfectly legal, of course.
Appearance:
The twins are short enough to be considered “petite” by most standards and are slim and well muscled, though not conventionally attractive. Their features are soft but not exaggerated; a round face with a large mouth and nose as well as a small chest that fits well with their rather subtle feminine features. Of course, what is most striking about them is their bright red hair, which they keep cropped to the shoulders. They might not be beauties, but they know how to use their “cuteness” factor to their own advantage. Beware the dangers of their pout!
It should also be noted that they are both very loose when it comes to clothing. On their home planet, Tertius, nudity is considered the norm, but on the Thor they’ll happily adapt to wearing their favorite garments; matching kilts worn in the traditional way. If pressed, they’ll even wear bras, though convincing them to wear much more clothing will be an uphill battle.
Background/Personality:
Lorelei Lee and her twin sister Lapis Lazuli are clones of the oldest living human in their galaxy: Lazarus “The Senior” Long. They were created to bring some interest back into the Senior’s life to prevent him from committing suicide out of boredom. The twins are just like their father/brother in many ways: short, red-headed hell raisers with a talent for mischief only a bit larger than their talent for not getting caught. They are both merchants par-excellence and there is nothing they find more amusing than wringing every last cent from an unwilling customer. When finishing a conversation with a Long, it is a good idea to check ones wallet and then ones sanity. Never let one convince you to enter in on a game of chance – poker’s the worst – as one can be sure that they will cheat. These two are no exception.
The twins are both experts at fighting, both hand-to-hand and with weaponry, but they will have little experience with the less traditional weaponry appearing on the Thor as the laws of science govern their world more strictly than others; huge swords and giant guns are far less practical than a well aimed pistol or dagger, in their experience. They fight dirty and fast, and will kill with efficiency should it seem necessary. Their personal brand of morality says that self defense – whether of body or property – is a reasonable excuse for killing intent, but that doesn’t make it nice, and it loses customers. People who kill for fun are clearly crazy, and should be dealt with by the appropriate (though mistrusted) authorities…though the twins are both completely willing to take things into their own hands.
So they stay true to their very strong libertarian ideals. The twins respect the free market and love making money, but rules are only as good as their potential advantage. Canonically they state their dream profession to be “space pirates”…though space privateers might be a better term. Helping them with this dream is their craft, the Gay Deceiver, a trusty little ship with a heart of gold and a dimension jumping gyroscope for a brain.
The Gay is the flagship of the Long family merchant empire. By trading tech through the different dimensions – and time – their extended family has made a fortune. Of course that fortune has also made enemies, and their space base has been destroyed before. The idea that Tertius, their home world, could also be destroyed wouldn’t come as a shock. Of course when your fleet can time-travel, a calamity of that scale takes on a different meaning. Maybe rescuing every person on a planet will take a lot of ‘time’…but that’s the kind of time a Howard has, as long as their ship can still ferry passengers and time-travel.
A pity the Gay has lost the ability to dimension-hop. And neither of them have the life-sustaining training of a Rejuvenator. Better hope they’re not on the Thor for more than a few hundred years. But no worries. Somehow they’ll figure everything out, rescue everyone, and make a killer profit in reward money.
So the twins are two very driven young (looking) women, with a good practical education in just about everything from doctoring to farming. They have freedom in their blood along with immortality and a passion for adventure (and profit). Their home life was…strange, but loving. The twins were born from two different mothers and raised in a polyamorous clan family that grows bigger every year. They themselves have two ‘primary’ husbands; a pair of twins named Castor and Pollux from an alternate Earth dimension. They won them in a game of cards. (No joke)
Tertius was a warm, dry world with few dangers and lots of open space. The culture was based on Rome, nudity was the norm, and sexual taboo’s were almost completely eliminated. Due to advanced gene sequencing and other medical innovations reproduction was primarily the business of a woman and her geneticist, separating copulation from reproduction in the minds of the citizens. As a result, the twins are very loose when it comes to anything dealing with relationships, body modesty, and sexuality. After all, they come from a family of over a hundred adults, all who happily share each other’s beds and spouses. Of course, they are used to dealing with people from ‘backward times’ where this looseness is not the norm, and can hide it when necessary (like when making a sale to a prude).
The Differences
The twins are very, very close, but after two hundred and fifty years, there are some distinctions between the two. I would like to point out that these distinctions are purely fan made, based on spur of the moment back-story invention on other role-plays they’ve been in, and not relating to the original source material. Within the books themselves the twins are never seen apart, never seen speaking in sentences that the other doesn’t finish, and show no indication of any real hardship in their lives.
But part of the joy of time travel is the ability to learn about the past. Did Nero really fiddle while Rome fell? Could you go back and meet your great-grandfather? What was WWII like? Be a savvy time-traveler – part of the agency the Howards set up upon discovering the technology – and you can answer these questions for posterity. It’s a fascinating, and sometimes very dangerous, hobby. Lazarus nearly got killed in the trenches of WWI on his first trip back, and it was only some slick time-maneuvering by his family that saved his life. Both of the Long twins are trained to be time explorers as well as dimension hoppers and look up to their father/brother for his greater life-experience and self-preservation instinct given the knowledge they’ve gained of the past.
So it wasn’t really a surprise when Lapis Lazuli volunteered for a historical mission involving the early colonizing of new worlds. Both Lapis and Lorelei had grown up hearing stories of their frontiersman father/brother. And since they could hardly send two identical girls back in time, Lorelei remained behind. They had done flipped a coin to see who would go…and Lorelei still regrets she didn’t cheat more.
The mission was a disaster. Well – not a complete one. Shortly after arriving on the planet’s surface an anomaly shut down all communication between Lapis and the observation station. They couldn’t re-establish a link to the colony world until fifty years from the point at which they lost contact. Thankfully Lapis was still alive, but the colony hadn’t fared well. A period of intense weather had wracked the planet for the first ten years of the settlement and decimated the population. The next twenty years were little better, as the planet shifted from a temperate climate to a desert. The last twenty were stable, but the climate inhospitable to farming. When they finally re-established contact few of the settlers remained alive, and those that did were contemplating abandoning the world. It wasn’t re-colonized until terriforming was invented three centuries later.
But just like her father/brother, Lapis had not spent her time on the planet in despair. Far from it! She married, raised a family, and forged a homestead that was the longest lasting and most sustainable, even in the changing climate. She lost children and her husband over the fifty years she stayed on the planet, but never once did she stop recording data for the time-research.
Normally, when a Long dies, even a Long only partially adopted into the family, as Lapis’s husband would have been, a rescue effort would have been mounted. But the anomaly halted any hope of returning to that gap in time. Lapis’s husband and her children remained dead.
(Lorelei Lee)
But the lasting effect of the calamity was not on Lapis, but on her sister. To Lorelei one day separated her from seeing her sister wave good-bye, and seeing her again, aged and shell-shocked, a victim of a tragic experience that Lorelei had not shared. The idea was horrifying. She should have been there. It didn’t matter that there was nothing she could have done, or that her presence would have made things worse. It didn’t matter that she learned of all of Lapis’s exploits and sorrows more intimately than anyone else ever could have – with a mind-to-mind link – or that Lapis would have experienced the same feelings for her, had their places been switched. Her twin had experienced something – suffering – that she had not. She should have been there.
In many ways this one event – something that took up barely a fifth of Lapis’s life and an infinitesimal part of Lorelei’s – completely altered their relationship. For the first time there was a real difference between the two, a difference that could not be amended with shared memories or a week alone together. Lorelei could not sit back and accept that she might lose her sister. While their obvious relationship hasn’t changed; they still complete each other’s sentences and are constantly together when not on a mission; Lorelei is subtly more observant, resigned, and cautious than her sister. She is also a bit clingier.
(Lapis Lazuli)
Lapis is the complete opposite. Rather than giving her a morose outlook on life, the harsh colony experience strengthened her in the long run and gave her a healthy appreciation for life. To her, now is what matters. The love you have now means all the more because someday you might lose it. And unlike her father/brother after his relationship with a short-lifer, she made her peace with her husband and children’s death. Occasionally there is a hunted look in her eye when something reminds her of Paul or Andy…but it’s replaced quickly as she resolves once again to love the world all the more. She is just as affectionate with her sister as always, and finds comfort in Lorelei’s clinging, but she has the ability and drive to be more independent on occasion. Of the two she is generally the more forceful, open, and enthusiastic.
But the differences between the two are subtle, and almost impossible to detect when they are together. Instead, the distinctions are more obvious when they are apart. For example, for the prompts I’ve presumed that they have a jointly owned business venture of a pawn-shop and brothel called the Old Overcoat. (This is a call back to the song their father/brother sings throughout the books about such an establishment where ‘he likes to hang his overcoat’.) Lapis would happily man the brothel, enjoying talking to customers and making them feel happy, while Lorelei haggles over prices in the pawn shop and tinkers with parts for fixing the dimension-hopper. At the same time, most customers wouldn’t notice if they switched places, and fewer still would prefer one to the other. Both girls are polite (social graces are a must on a world where everyone carries a blaster even when they don’t wear pants) very enthusiastic, and shrewd about business. (Heck, they’d be considered ‘fair’ if it wasn’t for the fact that they’ll happily rob anyone richer than them blind if they think they’ll get away with it. But they don’t steal from the poor. They’ve both been there before.)
Have you read up on how the game works?: Yes. Flaming Ferret, and they can earn money from monthly missions, permanent jobs, or mooching off of other people. (But the latter is just lame)
Due to the nature of the character interactions, I figured it might be best if I offered examples of how they would act together, as well as how they would act separately. Sorry for the long, long app!
1st person sample: (joined) [Audio]
Dear, wonderful citizens of the good ship Thor,
We, the captain’s of the Gay Deceiver,
have taken note of your terrible
– atrocious! –
troubles and have granted your desires.
For one week only,
we will voluntarily open our doors to any –
and all! - who are interested in piloting!
Yes indeed, this is a one-time-only offer to teach,
train,
and certify anyone who wants to be a pilot.
The starting price for this offer is 1,000 credits
– with some small caveats, of course –
and a guarantee of total competence
– and survival! –
or your money back~
Now, say something for us, Gay-dear.
Tell these nice people how excited you are to see them!
Voice command confirmed. Generating random numbers. Reply: Oh goody, I can’t wait!
1st person sample: (Lapis Lazuli)
Alright you land-lubbers! Batten down the hatches and listen here! We at the Old Overcoat have been noticing some unfortunate conduct aboard this vessel. And in our infinite kindness and wisdom, we thought it might do this ship well to have a good reminder of the realities of space-travel.
Firstly, always know where your space suit is. Just because this place is the size of a city doesn’t mean you can forget you’re in space! Always remember that oxygen is a privilege not a right.
Second, take care of your gear. I’m ashamed to see so many dirty towels around this place! And the Guides are worse. Remember, your equipment can save your life. Treat it well!
Finally, be polite! This may seem simple, but the little courtesies are what keep society functioning in a closed environment. Danger lurks at every turn, and that alien you bumped earlier today could be your engineer tomorrow.
And that’s all for this reminder. Thanks for listening! And if you so happen to be in need of a space-suit (though who wouldn’t have one already?), the Old Overcoat is happy to supply your every need, and at a reasonable price!
- Lapis Lazuli Long
1st person sample: (Lorelei Lee)
Alright, you scaly-wags! You’d best sharpen your ears and listen up. We here at the Old Overcoat have noticed some unfortunate habits forming on this ship!. Of course we couldn’t have you good citizens in danger, so we’ve made up a little list of space-safety tips.
One: Always know where your space-suit is. Remember that oxygen is a privilege in the middle of a vacuum, not a right, especially in a place where not everyone breaths the same air as us humans. Speaking of which,
Two: Take care of your gear! The Guides are our tickets around this place and virtually indestructible, but that isn’t a challenge! Take care of your equipment, and it will take care of you, especially in an emergency.
Three: Be polite. It doesn’t seem much, but saying ‘thank you’ makes a world of difference in keeping people happy when they’re rubbing elbows. And it makes it much less likely for the giant space flies to find an excuse to squash you.
Just a few things to think about. If you’re looking for any more advice – or need to pick up a spare space-suit – feel free to stop by the Old Overcoat any time. We’re always open.
- Lorelei Lee Long
3rd person sample: (joined)
The real question wasn’t how the twins had managed to buy a three-ton mammoth on the last planet, or even how they managed to get it on the ship. It was why. They couldn’t possibly have a use for it.
Yet here they were, gaily leading the enormous creature through the halls as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The creature shambled forward, one twin leading it by the tusk, the other sitting primly on the saddle, doing her best to look regal and failing miserably. She couldn’t conceal the grin that was spreading over her face as she watched the chaos the beast caused; aliens looking appalled, refugees looking shocked, and even a few robots chattering to themselves in horror at the monstrous animal. The twin by the tusk looked just as amused, and seemed content to merely lead the beast on, a small bucket by her side, with an even smaller sign reading “10p for avoidance”. Already it jingled with the weight of scared shop owners ‘donations’ to the cause.
Satisfied that they had caused enough chaos, Lorelei turned to her sister, waved once, then ducked to catch the end of the banner that unrolled down the beast’s side.
“Mammoth Protection!” it declared, to widespread groans. “
[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<font [...] investment!</font>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]
<font size="3"><u>OOC:</u></font>
<b>Name:</b> Karakael
<b>Are you over 16?:</b> Yes
<b>Personal DW:</b> <user name="karakael">
<b>Email:</b> missing.momeg@gmail.com
<b>Timezone:</b> EST
<b>Other contact:</b> AIM: thinkhive
<b>Characters already in the game:</b> Renee Cardiff Shishio and Yakushi Kabuto
<b>How did you find us?:</b> already in the game~
<lj-cut text="hark! an app!"><font size="3"><u>IC:</u></font>
<b>Character name(s):</b> Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei Lee Long
<b>Fandom:</b> <i>Time Enough For Love</i> and <i>The Number of the Beast</i> by Robert Heinlein
<b>Timeline:</b> Post canon
<b>Age:</b> ~250
<b>~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths:</b>
The girls are both <i>very</i> well trained in combat and weaponry, but have no supernatural powers. However they do have a dimensional-jumping ship called <i>The Gay Deceiver</i>. Also, they are both “Howards”; human beings with genetically extended lives. The girls can live up to 300 years without needed ‘rejuvenation’, a process which extends their lives even further. So they’ve amassed quite a bit of knowledge in their two hundred and fifty years worth of experience.
They also have a very limited kind of telepathy; when together they can read each other’s minds and often finish each other’s sentences. Conversations with them can be quite confusing at times as a result, but the ability has never grown beyond the sibling-bond. They cannot read others minds or guess at others intentions, but often they act as one mind controlling two bodies. Though never fully explained in canon, I assume much of this telepathy is subconscious, so the girls often don’t realize it’s going on; what one learns is instantly or near-instantly transmitted to the other upon the next meeting, creating a joint-memory. The more time they spend apart the more their personalities diverge, and the more time they spend together the more similar they seem.
<b>How would they use their abilities?:</b>
One word: <i>Profit</i>
Their world has been destroyed? The <i>Gay</i> is busted so they can’t go back in time? Everyone they’ve ever known is probably dead? Pssh. So what? The <i>Thor</i> offers the one thing that any Long needs to be happy: a new <i>Market</i>. So expect 200% of their considerable energy to be put into relieving the poor, innocent passengers of the <i>Thor</i> from all their worldly possessions. And its all perfectly legal, of course.
<b>Appearance:</b>
The twins are short enough to be considered “petite” by most standards and are slim and well muscled, though not conventionally attractive. Their features are soft but not exaggerated; a round face with a large mouth and nose as well as a small chest that fits well with their rather subtle feminine features. Of course, what is most striking about them is their bright red hair, which they keep cropped to the shoulders. They might not be beauties, but they know how to use their “cuteness” factor to their own advantage. Beware the dangers of their pout!
It should also be noted that they are both very loose when it comes to clothing. On their home planet, Tertius, nudity is considered the norm, but on the <i>Thor</i> they’ll happily adapt to wearing their favorite garments; matching kilts worn in the traditional way. If pressed, they’ll even wear <i>bras</i>, though convincing them to wear much more clothing will be an uphill battle.
<b>Background/Personality:</b>
Lorelei Lee and her twin sister Lapis Lazuli are clones of the oldest living human in their galaxy: Lazarus “The Senior” Long. They were created to bring some interest back into the Senior’s life to prevent him from committing suicide out of boredom. The twins are just like their father/brother in many ways: short, red-headed hell raisers with a talent for mischief only a bit larger than their talent for not getting caught. They are both merchants par-excellence and there is nothing they find more amusing than wringing every last cent from an unwilling customer. When finishing a conversation with a Long, it is a good idea to check ones wallet and then ones sanity. Never let one convince you to enter in on a game of chance – poker’s the worst – as one can be sure that they will cheat. These two are no exception.
The twins are both experts at fighting, both hand-to-hand and with weaponry, but they will have little experience with the less traditional weaponry appearing on the <i>Thor</i> as the laws of science govern their world more strictly than others; huge swords and giant guns are far less practical than a well aimed pistol or dagger, in their experience. They fight dirty and fast, and will kill with efficiency should it seem necessary. Their personal brand of morality says that self defense – whether of body or property – is a reasonable excuse for killing intent, but that doesn’t make it <i>nice</i>, and it loses customers. People who kill for fun are clearly crazy, and should be dealt with by the appropriate (though mistrusted) authorities…though the twins are both completely willing to take things into their own hands.
So they stay true to their very strong libertarian ideals. The twins respect the free market and love making money, but rules are only as good as their potential advantage. Canonically they state their dream profession to be “space pirates”…though space privateers might be a better term. Helping them with this dream is their craft, the <i>Gay Deceiver</i>, a trusty little ship with a heart of gold and a dimension jumping gyroscope for a brain.
The <i>Gay</i> is the flagship of the Long family merchant empire. By trading tech through the different dimensions – and time – their extended family has made a fortune. Of course that fortune has also made enemies, and their space base has been destroyed before. The idea that <i>Tertius</i>, their home world, could also be destroyed wouldn’t come as a shock. Of course when your fleet can time-travel, a calamity of that scale takes on a different meaning. Maybe rescuing every person on a planet will take a lot of ‘time’…but that’s the kind of time a Howard has, as long as their ship can still ferry passengers and time-travel.
A pity the <i>Gay</i> has lost the ability to dimension-hop. And neither of them have the life-sustaining training of a Rejuvenator. Better hope they’re not on the <i>Thor</i> for more than a few hundred years. But no worries. <i>Somehow</i> they’ll figure everything out, rescue everyone, and make a <i>killer</i> profit in reward money.
So the twins are two very driven young (looking) women, with a good practical education in just about everything from doctoring to farming. They have freedom in their blood along with immortality and a passion for adventure (and profit). Their home life was…strange, but loving. The twins were born from two different mothers and raised in a polyamorous clan family that grows bigger every year. They themselves have two ‘primary’ husbands; a pair of twins named Castor and Pollux from an alternate Earth dimension. They won them in a game of cards. (No joke)
Tertius was a warm, dry world with few dangers and lots of open space. The culture was based on Rome, nudity was the norm, and sexual taboo’s were almost completely eliminated. Due to advanced gene sequencing and other medical innovations reproduction was primarily the business of a woman and her geneticist, separating copulation from reproduction in the minds of the citizens. As a result, the twins are <i>very</i> loose when it comes to anything dealing with relationships, body modesty, and sexuality. After all, they come from a family of over a hundred adults, all who happily share each other’s beds and spouses. Of course, they are used to dealing with people from ‘backward times’ where this looseness is not the norm, and can hide it when necessary (like when making a sale to a prude).
<b>The Differences</b>
The twins are very, very close, but after two hundred and fifty years, there are some distinctions between the two. I would like to point out that these distinctions are purely fan made, based on spur of the moment back-story invention on other role-plays they’ve been in, and not relating to the original source material. Within the books themselves the twins are never seen apart, never seen speaking in sentences that the other doesn’t finish, and show no indication of any real hardship in their lives.
But part of the joy of time travel is the ability to learn about the past. Did Nero <i>really</i> fiddle while Rome fell? Could you go back and meet your great-grandfather? What was WWII like? Be a savvy time-traveler – part of the agency the Howards set up upon discovering the technology – and you can answer these questions for posterity. It’s a fascinating, and sometimes very dangerous, hobby. Lazarus nearly got killed in the trenches of WWI on his first trip back, and it was only some slick time-maneuvering by his family that saved his life. Both of the Long twins are trained to be time explorers as well as dimension hoppers and look up to their father/brother for his greater life-experience and self-preservation instinct given the knowledge they’ve gained of the past.
So it wasn’t really a <i>surprise</i> when Lapis Lazuli volunteered for a historical mission involving the early colonizing of new worlds. Both Lapis and Lorelei had grown up hearing stories of their frontiersman father/brother. And since they could hardly send <i>two</i> identical girls back in time, Lorelei remained behind. They had done flipped a coin to see who would go…and Lorelei still regrets she didn’t cheat <i>more</i>.
The mission was a disaster. Well – not a complete one. Shortly after arriving on the planet’s surface an anomaly shut down all communication between Lapis and the observation station. They couldn’t re-establish a link to the colony world until fifty years from the point at which they lost contact. Thankfully Lapis was still alive, but the colony hadn’t fared well. A period of intense weather had wracked the planet for the first ten years of the settlement and decimated the population. The next twenty years were little better, as the planet shifted from a temperate climate to a desert. The last twenty were stable, but the climate inhospitable to farming. When they finally re-established contact few of the settlers remained alive, and those that did were contemplating abandoning the world. It wasn’t re-colonized until terriforming was invented three centuries later.
But just like her father/brother, Lapis had not spent her time on the planet in despair. Far from it! She married, raised a family, and forged a homestead that was the longest lasting and most sustainable, even in the changing climate. She lost children and her husband over the fifty years she stayed on the planet, but never once did she stop recording data for the time-research.
Normally, when a <i>Long</i> dies, even a Long only partially adopted into the family, as Lapis’s husband would have been, a rescue effort would have been mounted. But the anomaly halted any hope of returning to that gap in time. Lapis’s husband and her children remained dead.
(<i>Lorelei Lee</i>)
But the lasting effect of the calamity was not on Lapis, but on her sister. To Lorelei one day separated her from seeing her sister wave good-bye, and seeing her again, aged and shell-shocked, a victim of a tragic experience that <i>Lorelei had not shared</i>. The idea was horrifying. <i>She should have been there</i>. It didn’t matter that there was nothing she could have done, or that her presence would have made things worse. It didn’t matter that she learned of all of Lapis’s exploits and sorrows more intimately than anyone else ever could have – with a mind-to-mind link – or that Lapis would have experienced the same feelings for her, had their places been switched. Her twin had experienced something – suffering – that she had not. <i>She should have been there</i>.
In many ways this one event – something that took up barely a fifth of Lapis’s life and an infinitesimal part of Lorelei’s – completely altered their relationship. For the first time there was a <i>real</i> difference between the two, a difference that could not be amended with shared memories or a week alone together. Lorelei could not sit back and accept that she might lose her sister. While their obvious relationship hasn’t changed; they still complete each other’s sentences and are constantly together when not on a mission; Lorelei is subtly more observant, resigned, and cautious than her sister. She is also a bit clingier.
(<i>Lapis Lazuli</i>)
Lapis is the complete opposite. Rather than giving her a morose outlook on life, the harsh colony experience strengthened her in the long run and gave her a healthy appreciation for life. To her, <i>now</i> is what matters. The love you have now means all the more because someday you might lose it. And unlike her father/brother after his relationship with a short-lifer, she made her peace with her husband and children’s death. Occasionally there is a hunted look in her eye when something reminds her of Paul or Andy…but it’s replaced quickly as she resolves once again to love the world all the more. She is just as affectionate with her sister as always, and finds comfort in Lorelei’s clinging, but she has the ability and drive to be more independent on occasion. Of the two she is generally the more forceful, open, and enthusiastic.
But the differences between the two are subtle, and almost impossible to detect when they are together. Instead, the distinctions are more obvious when they are apart. For example, for the prompts I’ve presumed that they have a jointly owned business venture of a pawn-shop and brothel called the Old Overcoat. (This is a call back to the song their father/brother sings throughout the books about such an establishment where ‘he likes to hang his overcoat’.) Lapis would happily man the brothel, enjoying talking to customers and making them feel happy, while Lorelei haggles over prices in the pawn shop and tinkers with parts for fixing the dimension-hopper. At the same time, most customers wouldn’t notice if they switched places, and fewer still would prefer one to the other. Both girls are polite (social graces are a must on a world where everyone carries a blaster even when they don’t wear pants) <i>very</i> enthusiastic, and shrewd about business. (Heck, they’d be considered ‘fair’ if it wasn’t for the fact that they’ll happily rob anyone richer than them blind if they think they’ll get away with it. But they don’t steal from the poor. They’ve <i>both</i> been there before.)
<b>Have you read up on how the game works?:</b> Yes. Flaming Ferret, and they can earn money from monthly missions, permanent jobs, or mooching off of other people. (But the latter is just <i>lame</i>)
<i>Due to the nature of the character interactions, I figured it might be best if I offered examples of how they would act together, as well as how they would act separately. Sorry for the long, long app!</i>
<b>1st person sample: (joined)</b> [Audio]
<font color="FF00FF">Dear, <i>wonderful</i> citizens of the good ship <i>Thor</i>,</p>
<font color="F52887">We, the captain’s of the <i>Gay Deceiver</i>, </font>
<font color="FF00FF">have taken note of your terrible </font>
<font color="F52887">– atrocious! – </font>
<font color="FF00FF">troubles and have granted your desires. </font>
<font color="F52887"> For one week only, </font>
<font color="FF00FF"> we will <i>voluntarily</i> open our doors to any – </font>
<font color="F52887"> and all! - who are interested in piloting! </font>
<font color="FF00FF">Yes indeed, this is a one-time-only offer to teach, </font>
<font color="F52887">train, </font>
<font color="FF00FF">and certify <i>anyone</i> who wants to be a pilot. </font>
<font color="F52887">The starting price for this offer is 1,000 credits</font>
<font color="FF00FF">– with some <i>small</i> caveats, of course – </font>
<font color="F52887">and a guarantee of total competence</font>
<font color="FF00FF"> – and survival! – </font>
<font color="F52887">or your money back~</font>
<font color="FF00FF">Now, say something for us, Gay-dear. </font>
<font color="F52887">Tell these nice people how excited you are to see them! </font></font>
Voice command confirmed. Generating random numbers. Reply: <font color="B232B2"><i>Oh goody, I can’t </i>wait!</font>
<b>1st person sample: (Lapis Lazuli)</b>
<font color="F52887">Alright you land-lubbers! Batten down the hatches and listen here! We at the <i>Old Overcoat</i> have been noticing some <i>unfortunate</i> conduct aboard this vessel. And in our <i>infinite</i> kindness and wisdom, we thought it might do this ship well to have a good <i>reminder</i> of the realities of space-travel.
<b>Firstly</b>, always know where your space suit is. Just because this place is the size of a city doesn’t mean you can forget you’re in space! Always remember that oxygen is a <i>privilege</i> not a right.
<b>Second</b>, take care of your gear. I’m <i>ashamed</i> to see so many dirty towels around this place! And the Guides are worse. Remember, your equipment can save your life. Treat it well!
<b>Finally</b>, be polite! This may seem simple, but the little courtesies are what keep society functioning in a closed environment. Danger lurks at every turn, and that alien you bumped earlier today could be your engineer tomorrow.
And that’s all for <i>this</i> reminder. Thanks for listening! And if you so happen to be in need of a space-suit (though who wouldn’t have one already?), the Old Overcoat is <i>happy</i> to supply your every need, and at a reasonable price!</font>
- Lapis Lazuli Long
<b>1st person sample: (Lorelei Lee)</b>
<font color="FF00FF"> Alright, you scaly-wags! You’d best sharpen your ears and listen up. We here at the Old Overcoat have noticed some <i>unfortunate</i> habits forming on this ship!. Of course we couldn’t have you good citizens in danger, so we’ve made up a little list of space-safety tips.
<i>One</i>: Always know where your space-suit is. Remember that oxygen is a <i>privilege</i> in the middle of a vacuum, not a right, especially in a place where not everyone breaths the same air as us humans. Speaking of which,
<i>Two</i>: Take care of your gear! The Guides are our tickets around this place and virtually indestructible, but that isn’t a <i>challenge</i>! Take care of your equipment, and it will take care of you, <i>especially</i> in an emergency.
<i>Three</i>: Be polite. It doesn’t seem much, but saying ‘thank you’ makes a world of difference in keeping people happy when they’re rubbing elbows. And it makes it much less likely for the giant space flies to find an excuse to squash you.
Just a few things to think about. If you’re looking for any more advice – or need to pick up a spare space-suit – feel free to stop by the Old Overcoat any time. We’re always open.</font>
- Lorelei Lee Long
<b>3rd person sample: (joined)</b>
The real question wasn’t <i>how</i> the twins had managed to buy a three-ton mammoth on the last planet, or even how they managed to get it on the ship. It was <i>why</i>. They couldn’t <i>possibly</i> have a use for it.
Yet here they were, gaily leading the enormous creature through the halls as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The creature shambled forward, one twin leading it by the tusk, the other sitting primly on the saddle, doing her best to look regal and failing miserably. She couldn’t conceal the grin that was spreading over her face as she watched the <i>chaos</i> the beast caused; aliens looking appalled, refugees looking shocked, and even a few robots chattering to themselves in <i>horror</i> at the monstrous animal. The twin by the tusk looked just as amused, and seemed content to merely lead the beast on, a small bucket by her side, with an even smaller sign reading “10p for avoidance”. Already it jingled with the weight of scared shop owners ‘donations’ to the cause.
Satisfied that they had caused enough chaos, Lorelei turned to her sister, waved once, then ducked to catch the end of the banner that unrolled down the beast’s side.
“<font color="F52887">Mammoth Protection!</font>” it declared, to widespread groans. “<font color="F52887"We make stomping crime your investment!</font>”
Grinning with satisfaction, the twins switched positions and started another circuit of the ship.
<b>3rd person sample: (Lorelei Lee)</b>
Lorelei grinned at the camera, giving it her best ‘innocent customer’ smile and leaning forward just enough to highlight her cleavage. She rested one arm on the counter and slowly examined the proffered weapon.
“A recommendation? <i>From me</i>? But I don’t know if I’d be much help, Mr. Slotface. Are you <i>sure</i> I should tell your customers what you said about it?”
The green alien grunted, peeled off another wad of credits, and passed them over. A pout appeared on the small woman’s face. “All right, if you’re absolutely <i>sure</i>. Mr. Camera man. Are you live?”
The two headed alien glanced up from admiring her thighs and chest and nodded. A light flashed once, Lorelei Lee grinned…and disassembled the gun in five seconds.
“As you can see, the MK3300 is a shoddy piece of work, having structural weak points here, here and here, which will lead to eventual damage in the firing mechanism, exacerbated by the fact that the needles are slightly too small for the chamber, allowing them to jam. In most cases this will lead the gun to eventually irrevocably jam, but on rare occasions it can explode. The <i>Old Overcoat</i> refuses to buy this weapon – and for good reason. It is essentially useless, except as a deadly joke.”
Another flicker of her fingers, and the weapon is reassembled and placed back on the counter. The smile returns, looking as if it never left, and the Long girl saunters out of the store followed by three open-mouthed stares – a hundred credits richer and one less useless weapon clogging the streets.
<b>3rd person sample: (Lapis Lazuli) </b>
There is something wonderful about affection. It fills the soul, reminds it that it is cherished, and overflows on to the next recipient. At the moment, Lapis Lazuli is enjoying that sharing of affection, as she smiles warmly out the tasteful windows of her escort service. The glass had been costly, but worth it in the end; the décor, glass and all, gave the building a regal feel. As if one should respect the business transactions that happened within the walls.
Lapis nods to herself. Lorelei had been right; the pawn-shop had proven a useful stepping stone for more lucrative ventures. And now she was sitting back, watching customers and workers mingle as pedestrians stopped and tittered at the sign, secure in the knowledge that not only was this going to be a successful venture, but it also was shaking up the locals a bit. What fun! Let Lor spend the day in the hanger with the <i>Gay</i>, or running the pawn-shop mechanics; this was the perfect job for her. Confusion and embarrassment, coupled with curiosity and desire…all things any good merchant would drool at in a potential customer.
“Tea, Miss Lapis?” a quiet voice whispered, and she turned to find one of her carefully trained robots holding a teacup and saucer.
It looked so proud of itself that Lapis didn’t have the heart to insult the terrible quality of the not-tea drink it offered. Instead she quickly corrected its adress.
“Madam Lapis, if you would, dear. I am <i>certainly</i> not a Miss!” </font>
<b>Questions?:</b> Logistically, it might be easiest to have two journals for the twins; a primary one for joint posts and Lapis Lazuli’s solo posts, and a separate journal for Lorelei. Would that be alright?
Also, if this is accepted, how many posts would be necessary for AC? Do they need two separate posts?
<b>Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject:</b>Yes~</lj-cut>
<b>Name:</b> Karakael
<b>Are you over 16?:</b> Yes
<b>Personal DW:</b> <user name="karakael">
<b>Email:</b> missing.momeg@gmail.com
<b>Timezone:</b> EST
<b>Other contact:</b> AIM: thinkhive
<b>Characters already in the game:</b> Renee Cardiff Shishio and Yakushi Kabuto
<b>How did you find us?:</b> already in the game~
<lj-cut text="hark! an app!"><font size="3"><u>IC:</u></font>
<b>Character name(s):</b> Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei Lee Long
<b>Fandom:</b> <i>Time Enough For Love</i> and <i>The Number of the Beast</i> by Robert Heinlein
<b>Timeline:</b> Post canon
<b>Age:</b> ~250
<b>~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths:</b>
The girls are both <i>very</i> well trained in combat and weaponry, but have no supernatural powers. However they do have a dimensional-jumping ship called <i>The Gay Deceiver</i>. Also, they are both “Howards”; human beings with genetically extended lives. The girls can live up to 300 years without needed ‘rejuvenation’, a process which extends their lives even further. So they’ve amassed quite a bit of knowledge in their two hundred and fifty years worth of experience.
They also have a very limited kind of telepathy; when together they can read each other’s minds and often finish each other’s sentences. Conversations with them can be quite confusing at times as a result, but the ability has never grown beyond the sibling-bond. They cannot read others minds or guess at others intentions, but often they act as one mind controlling two bodies. Though never fully explained in canon, I assume much of this telepathy is subconscious, so the girls often don’t realize it’s going on; what one learns is instantly or near-instantly transmitted to the other upon the next meeting, creating a joint-memory. The more time they spend apart the more their personalities diverge, and the more time they spend together the more similar they seem.
<b>How would they use their abilities?:</b>
One word: <i>Profit</i>
Their world has been destroyed? The <i>Gay</i> is busted so they can’t go back in time? Everyone they’ve ever known is probably dead? Pssh. So what? The <i>Thor</i> offers the one thing that any Long needs to be happy: a new <i>Market</i>. So expect 200% of their considerable energy to be put into relieving the poor, innocent passengers of the <i>Thor</i> from all their worldly possessions. And its all perfectly legal, of course.
<b>Appearance:</b>
The twins are short enough to be considered “petite” by most standards and are slim and well muscled, though not conventionally attractive. Their features are soft but not exaggerated; a round face with a large mouth and nose as well as a small chest that fits well with their rather subtle feminine features. Of course, what is most striking about them is their bright red hair, which they keep cropped to the shoulders. They might not be beauties, but they know how to use their “cuteness” factor to their own advantage. Beware the dangers of their pout!
It should also be noted that they are both very loose when it comes to clothing. On their home planet, Tertius, nudity is considered the norm, but on the <i>Thor</i> they’ll happily adapt to wearing their favorite garments; matching kilts worn in the traditional way. If pressed, they’ll even wear <i>bras</i>, though convincing them to wear much more clothing will be an uphill battle.
<b>Background/Personality:</b>
Lorelei Lee and her twin sister Lapis Lazuli are clones of the oldest living human in their galaxy: Lazarus “The Senior” Long. They were created to bring some interest back into the Senior’s life to prevent him from committing suicide out of boredom. The twins are just like their father/brother in many ways: short, red-headed hell raisers with a talent for mischief only a bit larger than their talent for not getting caught. They are both merchants par-excellence and there is nothing they find more amusing than wringing every last cent from an unwilling customer. When finishing a conversation with a Long, it is a good idea to check ones wallet and then ones sanity. Never let one convince you to enter in on a game of chance – poker’s the worst – as one can be sure that they will cheat. These two are no exception.
The twins are both experts at fighting, both hand-to-hand and with weaponry, but they will have little experience with the less traditional weaponry appearing on the <i>Thor</i> as the laws of science govern their world more strictly than others; huge swords and giant guns are far less practical than a well aimed pistol or dagger, in their experience. They fight dirty and fast, and will kill with efficiency should it seem necessary. Their personal brand of morality says that self defense – whether of body or property – is a reasonable excuse for killing intent, but that doesn’t make it <i>nice</i>, and it loses customers. People who kill for fun are clearly crazy, and should be dealt with by the appropriate (though mistrusted) authorities…though the twins are both completely willing to take things into their own hands.
So they stay true to their very strong libertarian ideals. The twins respect the free market and love making money, but rules are only as good as their potential advantage. Canonically they state their dream profession to be “space pirates”…though space privateers might be a better term. Helping them with this dream is their craft, the <i>Gay Deceiver</i>, a trusty little ship with a heart of gold and a dimension jumping gyroscope for a brain.
The <i>Gay</i> is the flagship of the Long family merchant empire. By trading tech through the different dimensions – and time – their extended family has made a fortune. Of course that fortune has also made enemies, and their space base has been destroyed before. The idea that <i>Tertius</i>, their home world, could also be destroyed wouldn’t come as a shock. Of course when your fleet can time-travel, a calamity of that scale takes on a different meaning. Maybe rescuing every person on a planet will take a lot of ‘time’…but that’s the kind of time a Howard has, as long as their ship can still ferry passengers and time-travel.
A pity the <i>Gay</i> has lost the ability to dimension-hop. And neither of them have the life-sustaining training of a Rejuvenator. Better hope they’re not on the <i>Thor</i> for more than a few hundred years. But no worries. <i>Somehow</i> they’ll figure everything out, rescue everyone, and make a <i>killer</i> profit in reward money.
So the twins are two very driven young (looking) women, with a good practical education in just about everything from doctoring to farming. They have freedom in their blood along with immortality and a passion for adventure (and profit). Their home life was…strange, but loving. The twins were born from two different mothers and raised in a polyamorous clan family that grows bigger every year. They themselves have two ‘primary’ husbands; a pair of twins named Castor and Pollux from an alternate Earth dimension. They won them in a game of cards. (No joke)
Tertius was a warm, dry world with few dangers and lots of open space. The culture was based on Rome, nudity was the norm, and sexual taboo’s were almost completely eliminated. Due to advanced gene sequencing and other medical innovations reproduction was primarily the business of a woman and her geneticist, separating copulation from reproduction in the minds of the citizens. As a result, the twins are <i>very</i> loose when it comes to anything dealing with relationships, body modesty, and sexuality. After all, they come from a family of over a hundred adults, all who happily share each other’s beds and spouses. Of course, they are used to dealing with people from ‘backward times’ where this looseness is not the norm, and can hide it when necessary (like when making a sale to a prude).
<b>The Differences</b>
The twins are very, very close, but after two hundred and fifty years, there are some distinctions between the two. I would like to point out that these distinctions are purely fan made, based on spur of the moment back-story invention on other role-plays they’ve been in, and not relating to the original source material. Within the books themselves the twins are never seen apart, never seen speaking in sentences that the other doesn’t finish, and show no indication of any real hardship in their lives.
But part of the joy of time travel is the ability to learn about the past. Did Nero <i>really</i> fiddle while Rome fell? Could you go back and meet your great-grandfather? What was WWII like? Be a savvy time-traveler – part of the agency the Howards set up upon discovering the technology – and you can answer these questions for posterity. It’s a fascinating, and sometimes very dangerous, hobby. Lazarus nearly got killed in the trenches of WWI on his first trip back, and it was only some slick time-maneuvering by his family that saved his life. Both of the Long twins are trained to be time explorers as well as dimension hoppers and look up to their father/brother for his greater life-experience and self-preservation instinct given the knowledge they’ve gained of the past.
So it wasn’t really a <i>surprise</i> when Lapis Lazuli volunteered for a historical mission involving the early colonizing of new worlds. Both Lapis and Lorelei had grown up hearing stories of their frontiersman father/brother. And since they could hardly send <i>two</i> identical girls back in time, Lorelei remained behind. They had done flipped a coin to see who would go…and Lorelei still regrets she didn’t cheat <i>more</i>.
The mission was a disaster. Well – not a complete one. Shortly after arriving on the planet’s surface an anomaly shut down all communication between Lapis and the observation station. They couldn’t re-establish a link to the colony world until fifty years from the point at which they lost contact. Thankfully Lapis was still alive, but the colony hadn’t fared well. A period of intense weather had wracked the planet for the first ten years of the settlement and decimated the population. The next twenty years were little better, as the planet shifted from a temperate climate to a desert. The last twenty were stable, but the climate inhospitable to farming. When they finally re-established contact few of the settlers remained alive, and those that did were contemplating abandoning the world. It wasn’t re-colonized until terriforming was invented three centuries later.
But just like her father/brother, Lapis had not spent her time on the planet in despair. Far from it! She married, raised a family, and forged a homestead that was the longest lasting and most sustainable, even in the changing climate. She lost children and her husband over the fifty years she stayed on the planet, but never once did she stop recording data for the time-research.
Normally, when a <i>Long</i> dies, even a Long only partially adopted into the family, as Lapis’s husband would have been, a rescue effort would have been mounted. But the anomaly halted any hope of returning to that gap in time. Lapis’s husband and her children remained dead.
(<i>Lorelei Lee</i>)
But the lasting effect of the calamity was not on Lapis, but on her sister. To Lorelei one day separated her from seeing her sister wave good-bye, and seeing her again, aged and shell-shocked, a victim of a tragic experience that <i>Lorelei had not shared</i>. The idea was horrifying. <i>She should have been there</i>. It didn’t matter that there was nothing she could have done, or that her presence would have made things worse. It didn’t matter that she learned of all of Lapis’s exploits and sorrows more intimately than anyone else ever could have – with a mind-to-mind link – or that Lapis would have experienced the same feelings for her, had their places been switched. Her twin had experienced something – suffering – that she had not. <i>She should have been there</i>.
In many ways this one event – something that took up barely a fifth of Lapis’s life and an infinitesimal part of Lorelei’s – completely altered their relationship. For the first time there was a <i>real</i> difference between the two, a difference that could not be amended with shared memories or a week alone together. Lorelei could not sit back and accept that she might lose her sister. While their obvious relationship hasn’t changed; they still complete each other’s sentences and are constantly together when not on a mission; Lorelei is subtly more observant, resigned, and cautious than her sister. She is also a bit clingier.
(<i>Lapis Lazuli</i>)
Lapis is the complete opposite. Rather than giving her a morose outlook on life, the harsh colony experience strengthened her in the long run and gave her a healthy appreciation for life. To her, <i>now</i> is what matters. The love you have now means all the more because someday you might lose it. And unlike her father/brother after his relationship with a short-lifer, she made her peace with her husband and children’s death. Occasionally there is a hunted look in her eye when something reminds her of Paul or Andy…but it’s replaced quickly as she resolves once again to love the world all the more. She is just as affectionate with her sister as always, and finds comfort in Lorelei’s clinging, but she has the ability and drive to be more independent on occasion. Of the two she is generally the more forceful, open, and enthusiastic.
But the differences between the two are subtle, and almost impossible to detect when they are together. Instead, the distinctions are more obvious when they are apart. For example, for the prompts I’ve presumed that they have a jointly owned business venture of a pawn-shop and brothel called the Old Overcoat. (This is a call back to the song their father/brother sings throughout the books about such an establishment where ‘he likes to hang his overcoat’.) Lapis would happily man the brothel, enjoying talking to customers and making them feel happy, while Lorelei haggles over prices in the pawn shop and tinkers with parts for fixing the dimension-hopper. At the same time, most customers wouldn’t notice if they switched places, and fewer still would prefer one to the other. Both girls are polite (social graces are a must on a world where everyone carries a blaster even when they don’t wear pants) <i>very</i> enthusiastic, and shrewd about business. (Heck, they’d be considered ‘fair’ if it wasn’t for the fact that they’ll happily rob anyone richer than them blind if they think they’ll get away with it. But they don’t steal from the poor. They’ve <i>both</i> been there before.)
<b>Have you read up on how the game works?:</b> Yes. Flaming Ferret, and they can earn money from monthly missions, permanent jobs, or mooching off of other people. (But the latter is just <i>lame</i>)
<i>Due to the nature of the character interactions, I figured it might be best if I offered examples of how they would act together, as well as how they would act separately. Sorry for the long, long app!</i>
<b>1st person sample: (joined)</b> [Audio]
<font color="FF00FF">Dear, <i>wonderful</i> citizens of the good ship <i>Thor</i>,</p>
<font color="F52887">We, the captain’s of the <i>Gay Deceiver</i>, </font>
<font color="FF00FF">have taken note of your terrible </font>
<font color="F52887">– atrocious! – </font>
<font color="FF00FF">troubles and have granted your desires. </font>
<font color="F52887"> For one week only, </font>
<font color="FF00FF"> we will <i>voluntarily</i> open our doors to any – </font>
<font color="F52887"> and all! - who are interested in piloting! </font>
<font color="FF00FF">Yes indeed, this is a one-time-only offer to teach, </font>
<font color="F52887">train, </font>
<font color="FF00FF">and certify <i>anyone</i> who wants to be a pilot. </font>
<font color="F52887">The starting price for this offer is 1,000 credits</font>
<font color="FF00FF">– with some <i>small</i> caveats, of course – </font>
<font color="F52887">and a guarantee of total competence</font>
<font color="FF00FF"> – and survival! – </font>
<font color="F52887">or your money back~</font>
<font color="FF00FF">Now, say something for us, Gay-dear. </font>
<font color="F52887">Tell these nice people how excited you are to see them! </font></font>
Voice command confirmed. Generating random numbers. Reply: <font color="B232B2"><i>Oh goody, I can’t </i>wait!</font>
<b>1st person sample: (Lapis Lazuli)</b>
<font color="F52887">Alright you land-lubbers! Batten down the hatches and listen here! We at the <i>Old Overcoat</i> have been noticing some <i>unfortunate</i> conduct aboard this vessel. And in our <i>infinite</i> kindness and wisdom, we thought it might do this ship well to have a good <i>reminder</i> of the realities of space-travel.
<b>Firstly</b>, always know where your space suit is. Just because this place is the size of a city doesn’t mean you can forget you’re in space! Always remember that oxygen is a <i>privilege</i> not a right.
<b>Second</b>, take care of your gear. I’m <i>ashamed</i> to see so many dirty towels around this place! And the Guides are worse. Remember, your equipment can save your life. Treat it well!
<b>Finally</b>, be polite! This may seem simple, but the little courtesies are what keep society functioning in a closed environment. Danger lurks at every turn, and that alien you bumped earlier today could be your engineer tomorrow.
And that’s all for <i>this</i> reminder. Thanks for listening! And if you so happen to be in need of a space-suit (though who wouldn’t have one already?), the Old Overcoat is <i>happy</i> to supply your every need, and at a reasonable price!</font>
- Lapis Lazuli Long
<b>1st person sample: (Lorelei Lee)</b>
<font color="FF00FF"> Alright, you scaly-wags! You’d best sharpen your ears and listen up. We here at the Old Overcoat have noticed some <i>unfortunate</i> habits forming on this ship!. Of course we couldn’t have you good citizens in danger, so we’ve made up a little list of space-safety tips.
<i>One</i>: Always know where your space-suit is. Remember that oxygen is a <i>privilege</i> in the middle of a vacuum, not a right, especially in a place where not everyone breaths the same air as us humans. Speaking of which,
<i>Two</i>: Take care of your gear! The Guides are our tickets around this place and virtually indestructible, but that isn’t a <i>challenge</i>! Take care of your equipment, and it will take care of you, <i>especially</i> in an emergency.
<i>Three</i>: Be polite. It doesn’t seem much, but saying ‘thank you’ makes a world of difference in keeping people happy when they’re rubbing elbows. And it makes it much less likely for the giant space flies to find an excuse to squash you.
Just a few things to think about. If you’re looking for any more advice – or need to pick up a spare space-suit – feel free to stop by the Old Overcoat any time. We’re always open.</font>
- Lorelei Lee Long
<b>3rd person sample: (joined)</b>
The real question wasn’t <i>how</i> the twins had managed to buy a three-ton mammoth on the last planet, or even how they managed to get it on the ship. It was <i>why</i>. They couldn’t <i>possibly</i> have a use for it.
Yet here they were, gaily leading the enormous creature through the halls as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The creature shambled forward, one twin leading it by the tusk, the other sitting primly on the saddle, doing her best to look regal and failing miserably. She couldn’t conceal the grin that was spreading over her face as she watched the <i>chaos</i> the beast caused; aliens looking appalled, refugees looking shocked, and even a few robots chattering to themselves in <i>horror</i> at the monstrous animal. The twin by the tusk looked just as amused, and seemed content to merely lead the beast on, a small bucket by her side, with an even smaller sign reading “10p for avoidance”. Already it jingled with the weight of scared shop owners ‘donations’ to the cause.
Satisfied that they had caused enough chaos, Lorelei turned to her sister, waved once, then ducked to catch the end of the banner that unrolled down the beast’s side.
“<font color="F52887">Mammoth Protection!</font>” it declared, to widespread groans. “<font color="F52887"We make stomping crime your investment!</font>”
Grinning with satisfaction, the twins switched positions and started another circuit of the ship.
<b>3rd person sample: (Lorelei Lee)</b>
Lorelei grinned at the camera, giving it her best ‘innocent customer’ smile and leaning forward just enough to highlight her cleavage. She rested one arm on the counter and slowly examined the proffered weapon.
“A recommendation? <i>From me</i>? But I don’t know if I’d be much help, Mr. Slotface. Are you <i>sure</i> I should tell your customers what you said about it?”
The green alien grunted, peeled off another wad of credits, and passed them over. A pout appeared on the small woman’s face. “All right, if you’re absolutely <i>sure</i>. Mr. Camera man. Are you live?”
The two headed alien glanced up from admiring her thighs and chest and nodded. A light flashed once, Lorelei Lee grinned…and disassembled the gun in five seconds.
“As you can see, the MK3300 is a shoddy piece of work, having structural weak points here, here and here, which will lead to eventual damage in the firing mechanism, exacerbated by the fact that the needles are slightly too small for the chamber, allowing them to jam. In most cases this will lead the gun to eventually irrevocably jam, but on rare occasions it can explode. The <i>Old Overcoat</i> refuses to buy this weapon – and for good reason. It is essentially useless, except as a deadly joke.”
Another flicker of her fingers, and the weapon is reassembled and placed back on the counter. The smile returns, looking as if it never left, and the Long girl saunters out of the store followed by three open-mouthed stares – a hundred credits richer and one less useless weapon clogging the streets.
<b>3rd person sample: (Lapis Lazuli) </b>
There is something wonderful about affection. It fills the soul, reminds it that it is cherished, and overflows on to the next recipient. At the moment, Lapis Lazuli is enjoying that sharing of affection, as she smiles warmly out the tasteful windows of her escort service. The glass had been costly, but worth it in the end; the décor, glass and all, gave the building a regal feel. As if one should respect the business transactions that happened within the walls.
Lapis nods to herself. Lorelei had been right; the pawn-shop had proven a useful stepping stone for more lucrative ventures. And now she was sitting back, watching customers and workers mingle as pedestrians stopped and tittered at the sign, secure in the knowledge that not only was this going to be a successful venture, but it also was shaking up the locals a bit. What fun! Let Lor spend the day in the hanger with the <i>Gay</i>, or running the pawn-shop mechanics; this was the perfect job for her. Confusion and embarrassment, coupled with curiosity and desire…all things any good merchant would drool at in a potential customer.
“Tea, Miss Lapis?” a quiet voice whispered, and she turned to find one of her carefully trained robots holding a teacup and saucer.
It looked so proud of itself that Lapis didn’t have the heart to insult the terrible quality of the not-tea drink it offered. Instead she quickly corrected its adress.
“Madam Lapis, if you would, dear. I am <i>certainly</i> not a Miss!” </font>
<b>Questions?:</b> Logistically, it might be easiest to have two journals for the twins; a primary one for joint posts and Lapis Lazuli’s solo posts, and a separate journal for Lorelei. Would that be alright?
Also, if this is accepted, how many posts would be necessary for AC? Do they need two separate posts?
<b>Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject:</b>Yes~</lj-cut>
