unknownseas | (too late) you're at the party

(too late) you're at the party

[Well, it's safe to say that trial fucking sucked. Therefore, some sort of afterparty is in order. Constantine is admittedly not good at throwing parties without some sort of liquor or other drug involved, but that's where Data and Sylvando guide him.

First order of business--invites. Upon returning to your rooms, crumpled pieces of paper have been taped to the doors. Written in poor handwriting is the following:]

meet at the lounge
bring whatever you want
[Simple, but effective. The lounge itself has been livened up a bit with Sylvando's help. Some nicely patterned fabric has been draped around on the tables to liven up the place a little, and snacks from the café and vending machines have been placed out for people to peruse.

A few supplies from the first aid room have been gathered, as well, for those who may need it. But perhaps the help is unnecessary, as tomorrow will likely bring another New Years Eve. And with it, another week of despair and frustration.

But for now, they can forget about that and pretend that all that matters is the present.]

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[Constantine is in the middle of lighting one of his cigarettes when he hears Plumeria speak. He freezes, having been caught off guard and hoping that he could've just avoided her attention. With a light scowl, he flicks the lit match into the pool and sticks the cigarette between his teeth.]

Somethin' like that.

[He rubs the back of his neck, averting his eyes from Plumeria.]

I'm not here to berate or insult you, if that's what you're thinking.

[Ohhh, there's someone she's been avoiding for a while. Maybe she should have picked a different spot, but...ugh, no, she's not going to let him ruin this for her. Plumeria's just going to avert her gaze too, a small tch escaping her.]

Don't let me stop you. I don't own this place, despite how often I'm here. And I would greatly prefer if you avoided that, thanks.

[That's said with the same haughty tone as ever, but...well.]

...I'm not either, for what little I imagine it's worth. Don't make an issue, and I won't in kind. Is that fair enough?

[...plum...]

[Constantine nods, a grim expression on his face.]

More than fair, love.

[It'd be easy enough to say sorry. Make amends if he can. But frankly, the prospect of admitting fault so openly makes his stomach twist, and any sort of apology would be nothing more than another one of his fantastic lies.

He stands some distance away from her, as if putting that barrier between them might put her more at ease. He takes a drag from his cigarette, eyes flitting towards the horizon. It'd be pointless to speak to her on the trial, especially since practically everyone is miserable right now. So instead....]

Have you spoken at all to the Captain or Davy Jones during this wretched affair?

I try not to keep in contact with the Captain at all on principle; after some of the things he's done, I feel like that's a good decision. But I have spoken to Mr. Jones once, at least.

When I obtained a cat from the vending machine, I went to him to verify that this was...well, something that could happen, and to get some supplies for her. [She turned out to be someone else's, though.] I did learn some interesting things about the machine in the process; that apparently, it's...simply always been there, and does what it wants. The Captain and Mr. Jones himself have no control over it, and really, Mr. Jones seems less than inclined to mess with it at all.

That's it, though. [Plumeria will look over at Constantine at that.] I imagine you've had better luck speaking to him? Or...the Captain, if you have tried to speak to him.

Huh.

[Constantine raises an eyebrow, internalizing this information. He rubs a thumb against his chin, casting a glance towards the horizon.]

Not particularly, no. Man seems bound to some sort of duty--same as I figure his crew is. Not inclined to talk about it, though the Captain does seem to have some sort of leverage on him. Perhaps the crew, itself. I'm planning on talking to him again, win him over with my Liverpudlian charm.

[He shrugs. It's clearly a joke.]

As for the Captain--only time I reached out to him was earlier this week, about the...time anomaly shit. He's not in control of that, either, but he's aware of it. [He grimaces.] Don't particularly want him to feel like I owe him anything, so I avoided making any sort of grand requests. But it seems like he's less in control than we thought he was.

[A good plan, if nothing else at least. Plumeria nods her head at that first bit; it's good to note at least, but...

That second bit gets Plumeria to pause, though. She'd honestly figured that this was just...]

...I genuinely thought that such a thing was the Captain attempting to disorient us for his own amusement, but that's... [Holy shit?] That explains a lot, to say the least. Though it's certainly troubling for us; we may be able to find a way to deal with the Captain should the opportunity arise, but if the ones in control of him catch wind...

[Ah...no, Plumeria shakes her head. She tries to be realistic, but this is just getting into pure conjecture.]

...It's not something to focus on right now. We need to focus on gathering every bit of information we can to use to our advantage.

Agreed.

[He takes another drag of his cigarette, exhaling smoke from his nostrils.]

He seems to want to use the time anomaly for something, but for what, I have no idea. With more people asking, though, he'll slip at some point or another. The man's full of himself--he shouldn't have even given us a line to him, if he wanted to really keep us in the dark.

[Constantine pauses.]

Anyways. The sooner we get off this goddamn ship, the better.

That's all we can hope for, at this point. That the pompous man digs his own grave enough that we can simply shove him into it when all is said and done. I'm certain it will prove quite cathartic for the lot of us.

[Plumeria does at least nod in agreement, though; objectively, all of this is easy to agree with. And more than anything, Plumeria wants to watch the man fall. And when she and Lady Freyja can make good on dragging him into an eternal nightmare.]

...No disagreement from me. If things keep going the way they currently are, we've likely only scant time left before there's too few of us to stand against him.

[Constantine rubs the back of his neck.]

He can't hold us forever. He won't hold us forever. It's going to end one way or another, and either way, it has to end.

[One clearly more favorable to those trapped on this damn ship. Constantine pauses ever so slightly, glancing away from Plumeria. He'd go on about how the Captain is trying to divide people, but he'd be stupid if he said that considering last week.

After some amount of internal conflict, he lets out a sigh.]

I shouldn't have egged you on last week. It was...a tense situation, especially after that trial.

Yes. And we need to ensure that it ends favorably for us.

[Plumeria looks away after saying that much--she isn't expecting him to speak up again, and when he does, Plumeria...well, she pauses, blinking before turning back to him.]

...What?

[i'm sorry did you just--]

Well--yes, I would have greatly appreciated it if you didn't. I don't appreciate insults to my allegiance to my lady. [...] What's brought this on?

[Plumeria's tone's a little wary, but she's not picking a fight herself?? Progress.]

I dunno. Feel as though I should make amends or something. The Captain wants us to fight and cause further division. Last thing I want to do is play directly into his hands 'cus I was a stubborn, miserable bastard.

[Ugh. Constantine runs a hand through his hair, grimacing.]

I still don't understand it--dedicating yourself so wholly to someone with little to gain from it. But I've made worse decisions, and it'd be stupid for me to criticize.

[And, frankly...though he doesn't want to admit it, he's a little jealous. Being able to completely trust someone like that and have no guilt, no qualms about it.]

...A fair point. I can at least understand wanting to spite the Captain. Truly, any chance we can take to do so is one that we should take.

[Constantine's at least speaking Plumeria's language on that end, because she is nothing if not someone who persists with spite as her guide.

...Of course, that second bit gets her to tense up, and it's really hard not to lash, but. An attempt, she is being made--]

...I don't expect you to. My circumstances with Lady Freyja have always been rather unique. But she has not given me little; she's given me so much more than I could have ever asked for.

I would not expect anyone to understand that.

[Not just humans.]

I can understand that, at least.

[Constantine grunts, still looking away from Plumeria.]

Regardless of how it may seem sometimes, I don't want anyone else to die. An impossibility at this point, but...I feel like it's still worth mentioning. We will give the Captain what he's owed, no matter what.

[Plumeria considers that for a moment, honestly. Constantine is about as sour as she is, but he still consistently tries to help at the trials.]

...I understand and agree. Even if I do agree that it's impossible, at this point. We can't realistically save everyone, but...

[Plumeria pauses, briefly at that. The only thing that matters on this boat is Lady Freyja's life, isn't it? That's what she assumes. And yet, as she thinks about it...

...No, it isn't important.]

...We can at least get the Captain back for those we do lose. A punch for each one of them, and then we send the Captain to his own personal Hel. I'm sure it's what the rest of them would want.

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(too late) you're at the party

top deck

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