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So the “Tulpar” is one of those airships that use the HexGates for long distance travel and whatever. The ship has the same purpose, it’s a shipment carrier. Just, Arcane-ified/Even more Steampunked.
Curly grew up in Piltover for most of his life, but for a short amount of time (think, like, when he was ~17 y/o) his family fell upon hard times and had to move to a not-so-great house in the city, closer to that bridge to Zaun. He later graduates high school and vows to be successful so he can help his family back to normalcy. He starts studying to be an airship pilot as they get paid well and he can support his family while away at the same time. While in training, he meets Jimmy. They become close, and Jimmy tells Curly something like his life story. Curly, not really being in a position to judge his origins, is like, “Cool whatever” and helps Jimmy through training. Curly is significantly better than him though, and so is offered better job opportunities. He’s quickly able to get his family back on their feet and see signs of success for himself. After a couple years, he sees Jimmy struggling to get by and decides to pull some strings to get Jimmy on his ship/assignments. Curly’s crew assembles quickly: Swansea, the old soul mechanic, Anya, the compassionate nurse, and his good friend and co-pilot Jimmy. He grows to love all of them & enjoys his career for a while. Eventually, when the HexGates revolutionize their industry, Curly is guaranteed Captaincy of one of the ships using the Gates and so requests the rest of his crew follow him. His request is heeded, but due to the newness of it all, his company – Pony Express – assigns another mechanic on board: Daisuke. This causes a bit of upset, but Curly takes the last-minute addition in stride and welcomes the intern with open arms. He’s optimistic about what this opportunity means for everyone.
Swansea was raised in Zaun. His family has been struggling there for as long as he can remember. As a kid he was fascinated with the engineering scraps left from Piltover and continued to foster that interest long into his college age. He ended up winning several underground competitions (think drift vehicles, “best invention,” etc.) during his teen-hood and used the money to help his parents and apply to a decent technical school on the outskirts of Piltover. He breezed through and graduated with a couple job offers all around town. He takes a couple and funds his parents into a small house in downtown Piltover and makes his life there. He meets his wife and has two lovely daughters with her. He later applies for and gets accepted as an airship mechanic on Captain Curly’s crew. His trips are long and often though, and his wife soon gets tired of the push and pull and divorces him. He eventually grows to appreciate his crew members, especially Anya, who reminds him of his eldest daughter. When the HexGates are institutionalized, he gets notice that he will be joining Curly aboard a much grander ship. On to bigger and better things. Hopefully. What, with this new intern assigned under his supervision, it may not be so great.
Anya lived in Zaun most of her life. Her father left the family when she was around six years old, and her older brother had to take up the mantle. Unfortunately, he got mixed up with the wrong people and came home fatally injured after a gang fight. After her brother’s passing, Anya became obsessed with the idea of saving people & medicine and fascinated with the studies and technologies that allowed people to commit to such a craft. She studied in her own time with what little resources she had up until about sophomore year, in which her mother became horribly ill, and Anya had to leave school to take care of her full time. She took up odd jobs – ranging from waitress to phlebotomist intern -- to keep the lights on and meager food on the table, while trying to study any time she could. She applied to many colleges and programs in Piltover, but she couldn’t get into med-school due to her not graduating (despite technically having the necessary knowledge and experience). She continued to apply for jobs in Piltover, hoping for more opportunities. Eventually, Pony Express hired her as the ship’s nurse. She was elated at the news and vowed to use her funds to go to school and support her mom. Though the pay wasn’t superb, she’s able to submit her mother to a nursing home so she can be taken care of better while she’s away. She grew fond of her crewmates aboard Captain Curly’s ship – though Jimmy always perturbed her – and even began to see a father figure in grumpy old Swansea. She was elated to hear the news of them being promoted to a better ship that utilizes the HexGates. She hopes this will be a big turning point in her career – heck, their skeleton crew expanded a bit, with the sunshine-y intern Daisuke!
Daisuke grew up in Piltover all his life, and it shows. He kinda takes his parents’ wealth & success for granted and isn’t super ambitious in the career aspect of life. He’d much rather pursue hobbies and experiences, as everything else has been pretty much taken care of his whole life. He isn’t flippant about things, just very content and sweet hearted. (Also, a bit of a party animal.) He does decently in school (his mom wouldn’t let him fail) and he graduates with no real path in front of him. His mother, seeing the kind of technological advancements being made in the city, wants him to take advantage of the scrambling job market. She (pulling a few strings) signs him up for an internship aboard one of the ships chartered far away using the HexGates. He sort of begrudgingly accepts it – he doesn’t want to be super far away from what he knows, but excited about the adventure – and is soon on his way as a last-minute addition on Captain Curly’s ship.
Jimmy grew up in the absolute slums of Zaun. He, like many others, detested the “Piltigoons” and their abuse of power over the Zaunites since he was little. His mother passed away due to Shimmer – more specifically, in a fight with other addicts over scraps they found. His father was abusive when he was present, but most of the time he was either drunk or worked in the mines. Jimmy ended up messing around all over the underground, committing petty theft and picking up small jobs. He was in and out of school until college, where he wistfully applied to a flight school in hopes of escaping his struggling life. He completed internships and scholarships to ensure his admission, and he soon started renting a crappy one-bedroom on the outskirts of Piltover while he attended. He quickly made friends with Curly, despite their differences, namely due to Curly’s ability to listen, empathize, and not belittle or underestimate him. He didn’t do as well as Curly though and ultimately fell through the cracks after barely passing graduation. He kept himself afloat in assistant jobs for a while, festering in the irony of him constantly being stuck under those who were from Piltover. Later, Curly reached out to him with a job offer for being his co-pilot, and Jimmy couldn’t say no. Eventually they became settled into a regular crew, whom he tolerated at most, and they carried on with half-decent careers. When the HexGates came into play, Curly ensured his position on the old-but-repurposed freighter Tulpar, which would utilize the Gates. Jimmy ultimately hoped that this would ensure better pay and future advancement for his career and success.
(I’ll be so real I wasn’t really trying with Jampon)