WEEK 8

[bathymetric]

Good morning, passengers. Happy Sunday. Happy New Year.

Your numbers have officially dropped to single digits. One of you managed to kill the first of the major living obstacles to your collective freedom. A ghost or demon or something nearly killed you. It was a weird week.

The cruise continues on, roller coaster back up and running as ever, arcade free and clear of coins. The last free floor of the ship is open, as well as part of the top deck with... well, something you might expect to see way more on a cruise ship than anything else here. One way or another, you get a feeling you can't shake - things are going to end soon.

No rain yet, but the clouds are closing in fast above you. A cold wind blows during the night, sending the ship gently rocking. Around midnight or so, if you head to the deck, you can hear thunder in the distance.



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to week 8, everyone! Remember to turn in AC here and coins for regains over here! If you wish to get in contact with the npcs, Davy Jones is over here, and "The Captain" is over here! And as requested, profiles are accessible here. ]

Comments

[cethflayn]

[Flayn dreams she's back at Garreg Mach. She's at the pond, sitting on the pier, holding a fishing rod. Lalli's sitting next to her. Kissa's in her lap. They don't need to say anything. It's just a comfortable, peaceful silence. They can fish, and there will be more friends over for dinner in the dining hall, her classmates from the Black Eagles mingling with her companions from the SS Swift. Everyone is okay, and happy, and alive-

She wakes up, and Kissa's curled up in her lap. Emily is tucked into the bed she made from the Ikea shelf and various soft things from the vending machine. Jimmy Bear sits in her desk chair, staring out into the middle distance with his button eyes. It's the 31st of the Ethereal Moon again, and she's alone.

Flayn doesn't really come out from her room until around lunch time (that you're aware of - she may pop out very early to see if Davy Jones is alive, but that's not anyone else's business). You'll see her in the garden for some time, glancing up warily at the stormy sky as she gathers flowers - not lots of different types like last week, just two. Just white roses and forget-me-nots, which she brings into the party zone and lays out carefully on a table. For a while, she works, cutting the stems and thorns with her vending machine knife and quietly weaving a garland. Forget-me-nots aren't traditional for a Harpstring Moon Garland, but maybe she wants to make one that's special. By evening, you'll find it hanging on the door to Room 8. Lalli's room.

She also spends time in the kitchen boiling the crap out of pieces of salmon, lots of salmon, putting most of it away in a fridge and taking an appropriate portion back up to the Jimmy Buffet so Kissa can have dinner with her. The salmon's bland and dry, but it's safe for cats to eat, and that's what's important, while Flayn quietly eats a sad and depressing mix of vegetables. Looks like turnips, chickpeas, pickles...and a little side bowl of tuna salad. It's a kind of depression meal.]

...What sort of facilities have been revealed today? I have not gone to see them.

[Oh, is she talking to you? She sounds so...not-Flayn.]

Buffet

[ahelpingpaw]

[Ooooh that's one tone he didn't think he'd ever hear from Flayn. The kind of tone that makes him to immediately look at her with concern]

N-Nothing...nothing important. You don't have to be in a hurry to go take a look at them.

[...]

Flayn, you sound--you sound pretty bad there.

[cethflayn]

...I am depressed.

[There's really no reason to lie. She cuts a piece of turnip in half with her fork, contemplates it.]

Among many feelings.

[ahelpingpaw]

...I see.

[...]

Wait here. Give me twenty minutes.

[Which isn't really that much, but he can't just walk away and do nothing!

Took fifteen minutes instead of twenty for Filbo to return. There he is, bringing a hot dish of fresh pasta. It's not really anything too hard to make -- soft pasta, with ketchup on it, maybe a little too much ketchup because it's hard to measure that from the buds his silly ketchup plant gives around. It looks all so creamy, so...

...so average, really. But it's decent food. Filbo places it on the table in front of Flayn and drags a chair to sit nearby]

...I think it still is a little, uh, bland sometimes? I thought it wasn't good enough, but at this point maybe it's better than nothing.

[...]

Wanna talk? About...what you feel?

1/2

[cethflayn]

Okay...?

[She waits, and probably would have waited longer than twenty minutes anyway, but-





Oh.

She'd forgotten about Filbo's pasta, what with everything. The sharp smell of the ketchup is unusual, for sure, but she doesn't seem dissuaded by it.]

...You made it for me? [A pause. She pulls the plate closer, sticks her fork in, takes a decent forkful, and takes a bite. Chew, chew...nod, swallow.] It is good. Nice and chewy. Thank you.

2/2

[cethflayn]

[Flayn reaches up to wipe at one of her eyes, just in case. There's no tears, but the gold ribbon she'd taken off of her dress is still wrapped around her wrist and palm. Seteth's going to be cross with her, ripping up her clothes like she did.]

I...have never experienced this. Not really. But it is as if, out of all that has happened, my heart feels it has been stepped upon, again and again. And...someone is still doing it, but now it is crushed to pieces, so the act is done out of spite. A-And I feel the most foolish that I have in my entire life, not being able to realize things until the last moment. I feel as if the world has lied to me about how things ought to be.

[A slow breath in.]

And I am shocked it has been so long, in such a place, and I have not yet been slain. Especially with how much I just...do as I please.

[ahelpingpaw]

[Looks like the trial and, well...everything involving Lalli has hit Flayn hard now that it's a new day and the shock of everything diminished. It was difficult not to notice Flayn and Lalli were staying together and talking after Lalli found out he was going to...yeah]

Th-Those are...a lot of complicated feelings. Too many at once, if I may say that. I'm almost surprised you actually feel like being out here while you're carrying that much with you.

[...]

Nothing about this ship and everything happening here is how anything should be. Don't blame yourself for what this place's doing to us and all the pain it's bringing...blame the ship...

[Is that even something that can be done? Well, really, blaming anything except yourself may be a start anyway. It's just a small part of everything Flayn is feeling, but with something so complex there's really no easy way to dealing with it]

[cethflayn]

I...do not have trouble with continuing onward, if I must.

[War makes that necessary.]

And to be honest, I do blame this ship. Its rules, its...very awful captains. But I feel as if there must have been something I could have done, limited as I am...even if it was one thing.

buffet

[scouserer]

[Constantine is here, picking listlessly at a kebab. A slightly smoldering cigarette has been stubbed out in a nearby glass. He glances up when Flayn speaks, and...oh.]

Uh, a pub of some sort. Photo lab. A water park on the top deck and various other amusements.

[He falls silent for a moment, studying her carefully. The ship is much more quiet, now that their numbers are dwindling to the single digits.]

How are you feeling, Flayn?

[He feels he already knows the answer, but....]

[cethflayn]

...I am depressed.

[Looks at a pickle on her plate. Decides...yeah, let's cut it in half and hollow out the halves and put the tuna salad in there. Weird sad times.]

What is a water park?

[scouserer]

Who could blame you?

[She didn't have to tell him for him to know that, but he bites his tongue. Now's not the time to be a smart-ass, now's the time to support Flayn. He leans forward, resting his chin against his hand. The kebab is abandoned for now.]

It's like an amusement park, 'cept with water. Things like slides, lazy rivers, that kind of thing. Mostly a way for people to spend loads of money to swim in tepid water.

[He shrugs.]

Never went to any as a kid. S'not like I could.

[cethflayn]

[See, she doesn't think he's being sarcastic? She's just answering his question honestly.]

...It looks like it could begin raining, though. Why bother to give us such a place when the weather could turn?

[scouserer]

[Oh, Flayn.....]

Not sure. Maybe he's hoping that someone idiot'll get up on the slides and get themselves murdered.

[A pause.]

Also, s'not like weather ever stopped anyone from going to water parks. There's always those people who insist on going places despite thunderstorms and the like.

[cethflayn]

I think I will not go there to play in the water for now.

[If they suddenly get a sunny day, maybe. But...she's really not feeling it.]

And, what is a Photo Lab?

jimmy buffet

[ltcommandroid]

There is a water park and a billiards room.

[Data is not particularly invested in any of it, tbh. But he's got Spot and Parker with him, both quite ready for their own dinner, and this sure seems like it could be an extremely cute cat dinner time. Is what he would think if he had feelings about cute cats.]

Would this be a good time for Kissa to meet Spot? They have not yet encountered each other, nor has she spent much time with Parker.

oh my god everyone is coming to her when she's depressed ;A;

[cethflayn]

[Parker would probably love the water park, let's be real.

Flayn looks up, and so does Kissa, because hey, that's her name!]

Oh. Um...yes, it must be as good a time as any.

[Kissa has no idea what's going on, but there are cat friends? Cats? She takes a particularly large piece of salmon into her mouth to carry it over and hop down from the table, presenting it as an offering of friendship. It's. Very dry, but safe to eat!]

[ltcommandroid]

[Data will deposit Parker and Spot on the ground. Spot wants the salmon! Give Spot salmon!]

Are you alright, Flayn? You seem subdued.

[cethflayn]

[Kissa is sharing! Hold on she can get more, this person made lots and there's more in the kitchen fridge so no worries!]

I - I am depressed. Very much so.

[ltcommandroid]

[oh, shit, emotional problems]

I am sorry to hear that. Would you like to talk about it?

[cethflayn]

...Yes. If you are willing to listen.

[If Data doesn't feel like it she isn't going to make him.]

kitchen

[guffawsungraciously]

[....goddess. She's a good kid(?????), he's not really good at this whole comforting people thing, but...

...

WELL, IT WORKED FOR SOMEONE ELSE, KIND OF.]

Ah, there are a few things. There is a room dedicated to the little machines that capture images, with a back room that lets you... develop them, I suppose.

...

Anyway, do you want me to talk about monsters from my world. People seem to like them.

[cethflayn]

The ones that leave gold behind?

[Sure, why not. tell her about the Slimes, Jasper, and if you want she can tell you about Demonic Beasts.]

[guffawsungraciously]

...well, yes.

[...why did he make that the introduction to them that’s so morbid—]

But, ah, they are really quite varied outside of that particular quality, and many of them are quite charming, such as khalamari kids.

[They’re not fish, but like, they’re aquatic, and they’re adorable?]

[cethflayn]

Khalamari kids...are they squids?

[you're a kid now you're a squid now you're a kid you're a squid you're a kid you're a squid-]

[guffawsungraciously]

Something of the sort, at least. We do have squids that are simply animals, as well, but khalamari kids are capable of things like doodling with sticks, coming up on shore for a short time, and speech.

[none of them are friendly npcs in canon so you can't say they don't say WOOMY.]