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

THURSDAY

[bathymetric]

CW: The Hallucination Motive

[ahelpingpaw]

[It's one thing to be the one that says you're not as good as you should be, or that you have failed others, or that everyone hates you. It's another altogether when it's the voices of the people you know. And they're saying such things unbearably often. On Tuesday it was a murmur every few hours, stuff he could brush off. On Wednesday voices would come one after another in bursts. Today it's almost constant, as if there was an entire crowd of people jeering him. Doesn't help he didn't sleep much the last two nights. By now Filbo looks tense, sometimes pausing and staring at the floor with a hurt expression.

That morning he is walking around the ship during the breaks from sewing bags, holding a camera from the photo lab. Filbo is taking so many photos of everything! Every room gets three or four photos, showing everything he can find. The minigolf gets special attention because he takes pictures of the courses, trying to capture those little pieces of everybody else's worlds. He even takes photos of the clouds]

You know, I'm glad there's a camera. I have a journal, but photos will make everything easier to remember!

[Both the good and the bad. He's going to take so, so many photos he'll need one of his bags to carry them all, hah.

Still, it's not all perfect because the motive. At some point while he's fooling around with the camera he just...stands still. The voices have been cruel -- and it doesn't help that half of them are memories. 'You're truly are as useful as a beaker without a bottom'. 'I knew Filbo wouldn't be able to handle any of this'. 'Shouldn't have given 'im a chance'. Things he imagined his friends would say because he had gone missing when his mayoral term had barely gotten started. Stuff he was ready to face, really.

Then came one he didn't expect to ever hear so clearly:

'As it stands I intend to kill everyone on this entire godforsaken boat'

Filbo gasps loudly and steps back, slamming his back against the wall and looking around. That was one hell of a bitter memory, even though he had already tried to leave it behind. Still, he knew what it meant:

He was starting to hear voices belonging to his friends on the ship mingled with those from home. They were loved ones, after all. Would he hear repudiation from the friends that were still alive? He really didn't want to find out, but it probably was matter of time.

For now there he is, leaning against the wall, eyes wide open, clutching the camera as if he feared it was going to vanish in thin air]

cw: hallucinations

[scythegun]

[Yeager's been doing his best to seem unaffected by the motive, but Thursday's definitely not a good day. He hasn't managed to do anything productive since the motive, and today's another day spent restlessly wandering the ship like maybe he'll find something different to do today to take his mind off of it.

He hears something and turns a corner to find Filbo looking like he's seen a ghost.]

...Are you alright, Filbo?

[Probably a stupid question given everything this motive's decided to be, but hopefully Filbo's physically okay??]

[ahelpingpaw]

[It takes him a moment to register Yeager's simple question. Was that an insult? No, it wasn't. Therefore it probably was real. Most likely. Taking a moment to notice he was once again hearing people from home instead of anyone on the ship, he shook his head]

...I'm...well, uh...I think I'm not okay.

[If he has to evaluate from now on if what he hears was true or not then he probably isn't 'okay', he thinks. But at least he steps away from the wall and seems able to function. That's as good as he can ask of himself, really]

Sorry, sorry, I just--I guess I wasn't prepared for any of what's happening right now due to the motive.

The nice Camera prompt

[cethflayn]

Oh! That is a different camera!

[In between Flayn's own bouts with the motive, she's snapped up one of the cameras that spits out pictures right away, looking for people to capture in an image like Constantine showed her. She holds hers up.]

Filbo, may we take a portrait together?

[ahelpingpaw]

[Filbo immediately lights up at the question]

Yes! Definitely yes. Wow, it's been ages since I saw a camera like that one.

[He looks so happy about the idea of taking a picture together, heh]

motive

[ltcommandroid]

[Ah. Well. It seems illogical to ask when Data clearly already knows what is wrong.]

Remember that they are not real. I understand that it does not... [help? but data isn't upset] ...stop them, but it is the truth.

[ahelpingpaw]

They're not--they're not real...

[Filbo takes a shaky breath. They're not real, they're just stuff the Captain is saying through the voices of loved ones, they're...

...it's so hard to keep that in mind when you're listening to almost constant jeering, good grief. There he is, repeating that to himself over and over in his head]

This is maddening! I-I know this isn't real but it's so...it hurts.

Investigation + cw: auditory hallucinations

[cethflayn]

[Tuesday, after the "Captain" called them together, it was just her name. Her father's voice, the barest of whispers on the wind. Wednesday, it was her father, her mother, her uncles and aunt. They were calling out to her. Begging her to help them. Begging her to hide again, asking why she did not help them.

Today it's uselessworthlesschild worse.

But it is still a day, and she cannot hide in her room the entire time. Not when youletthemdie she has to take care of herself, and Kissa. She spends the morning in the kitchen, boiling more salmon, some for now and some for an airtight container to stow in her go bag. Thankfully the only horrible thing she can do to unseasoned fish is overboil it, and it's still edible like that. But she's oddly focused on the task. I wonder whycan'tyoufindanythinguseful why?

She's in the Teen Zone later, sitting slumped in a bean bag chair as the tiny TV is turned up as loud as the volume can go. It's just Emily with her this time, sitting in another chair pushed close to Flayn as she holds the doll's hand, and they both ishouldhaveneversavedyou stare into the middle distance.]

...Ugh, this does not help.

[The last place she can be found is the Purple Room - after the meeting yesterday, she is keen to do some of her own personal investigating. She counts the doors, goes through the profiles and counts every name...hm. Hers would be #10. That would make Sara's #20, Lorna's #15, and Lalli's #14. She's going to check her own first, then Sara's and Lorna's to compare the differences and see if she can make out any of those magic runes Yeager mentioned, whisper some words of comfort to them, and then...well. She'd like to take the noonecouldloveathinglikeyou Lallidoll out and look at it, sit with it, maybe talk to it for a little while.]

...Unsure if you can tell I am here, if your spirit is somewhere else. I certainly would not want to harm you on accident. [There's a pause as she betteroffarelicandacrest winces, pressing a hand to her ear, and she turns sharply to glare at the empty air.] Will you not leave me in peace? I expect you to all be screaming at me throughout the night!

[She's going to be squirreling away some dinner before locking herself in Room 2 once she's done, so make sure to wish Flayn a good night before she does!]

purple room; cw: auditory hallucinations for this whole thread probably

[scouserer]

[It seems that Constantine has decided to make a visit to this strange place, himself--though, today, there isn't that familiar overconfidence that exudes from him. No matter how much one may be used to the constant, incessant harassment of those that have died from your mistakes, those that you could have saved, three days of this is enough to wrack Constantine with a sort of deep exhaustion that seeps through his nerves.

He has to focus, for the sake of everyone else on this ship. He has to remember that no matter what they throw at him, it isn't real. It's what he'd say to himself, not so much what those people might say to him.

Perhaps that's what makes it so much worse when he sees Flayn's outburst. He stops in the doorframe, and for a moment, he wants to turn away. It's not his problem.

No. He should help.]

Ah. You and I had the same idea to check on this...morgue that isn't a morgue.

[A pause.]

Do you want me to leave? I could leave, if you'd like.

\o/

[cethflayn]

[Flayn just. Stills. She's got the Lalli doll with her, she's just holding it while she talks to it, it's not anything too whataweirdo weird, but. It feels like she's been caught doing something wrong. Her face goes red.]

Oh...no. Maybe...maybe it is better not to be alone, right now. [tootrustingthisishowicaughtyou] So please, do not go.

[Just going to put Lalli's doll back in its little, uh, container thing...carefully. Even if she can't snuff the candles or smudge the runes, she would like to take care with them.]

investigation

[bathymetric]

[ The runes seem to be about the same! A few of the symbols are different here and there, but broadly speaking they're formatted the same way. ]

[cethflayn]

[Hm, makes sense. Different symbols for different people might be needed to do...whatever the runes are doing. Do any of them look familiar to Flayn? Magic in Fodlan does have symbols that pop up while casting, not to mention Crests. Always important to look out for Crests.]

cw: hallucinations, self-medication (it's just melatonin but still!)

[magycks]

[ It's getting worse.

No surprise there, since it's getting worse for everyone, but for someone who's been so very blasé about motives that were just as personalized Magica seems to be actually feeling this one. It doesn't look like she's gotten much sleep when she comes shuffling out of her room, Tiffany following at her heels, and heads into the vending machine room. Her eyes are sunken and about as red as yellow can get, her hair in disarray, and she feeds her ridiculous amount of coins into the vending machine with a dull, automatic sort of motion, keeping and tossing the results aside as she sees fit. And after it's all out, and the final token redeemed?

... she just kind of sits with her back against the wall and eats the pizza and donut. Breakfast of champions, baby. Through a mouthful of raspberry jelly, she grumbles at any newcomers: ]

What are you looking at?

[ Afterwards, she grabs a coffee, then lures Tiffany into the casino with her amulet before letting her go hog wild on the Jackbucks and scattering some of the building blocks onto the floor of the elevator to Jack's office. As the money shark roams around, dive-bombing the odd slot machine, Magica watches and mainlines the caffeine. It's not as much of a distraction as she'd hoped, and she's making to leave when something inaudible makes her go rigid with fury. ]

Shut your craven, mimicking mouth before I do it permanently, you pathetic excuse for a curse!

[ She swings her new mace into the slot machine directly behind her, realizes there's someone else here, and glowers while still breathing heavily.

After her explosion, she fully abandons Tiffany in the casino and returns to room 5, where she remains for the rest of the day with one exception. In the late afternoon, she goes to the first aid room and starts trying the lids of sleeping pill bottles, just to be sure none of them have been tampered with, before grabbing whatever's got the weakest dose possible. If anyone else is hanging around: ]

Don't get any big ideas. I'm barricading the door just in case our new friend's been handing out skeleton keys.

Vending Machine

[ahelpingpaw]

[...what's one even supposed to say to this? Wow, someone looks like she didn't get much sleep either. Filbo at least can make himself look presentable to hide the signs of exhaustion because hey, a probably former mayor has to look good for the public, but wow Magica certainly couldn't]

...uh...I never thought I'd see you like this.

[Lack of sleep sure wrecks anybody, huh]

[magycks]

[ In lieu of an immediate response, Magica absolutely mcfucking crams the rest of the donut into her mouth, chews less than she should, and swallows. How one gets a smear of donut filling on one's upper lip when that lip is a bill is anyone's guess, but it sure does look like blood for a second before she wipes it off violently with the back of her hand! ]

Gee, thanks.

first aid

[ltcommandroid]

Of course.

[Anyway, let's be real: if Data wanted to break into someone's room and kill them while they slept, he could've easily done it at any time.]

Nonetheless, please make sure that you do not overdose - those pills are designed for use on humans. [who are like, much larger on average]

[magycks]

Well-aware. I'm not my ex-roommate — I know how milligrams work.

cw: hallucinations

[guffawsungraciously]

[Boy, what a fucking time this week has been. Jasper’s kind of glad he already contributed and investigated a thing, because he’s not really in the mood to do much but try and distract himself from the motive.

It’s, admittedly, kind of difficult. Maybe he made some bad choices by hitting the movie theater and trying to marathon this goofy looking Star Wars thing in order. Like, the first one is just kind of nothing, so it doesn’t distract him from all the Confess, scoundrel! Just how cheaply did you sell your soul? and the Jasper, you are a traitor to your kingdom, a servant of evil and a threat to the Servant of Light. I sentence you to death! and the Fool! You have surpassed me in wickedness and naught else!

...but then the whole Palpatine thing turns into a can’t look away trainwreck and he ends up watching through the trilogy to the scene where Obi-Wan yells about how Anakin was like his brother and how he loved him and you know what, he feels like he should have left once Palpatine started talking about the tragedy of Darth Plageius the Wise but this is. He’s kinda done, he thinks! No thanks! He doesn’t want to see how things shake out after Anakin catches on fire! Time to leave, looking all ashen-faced and Done!

You know what. That ate up most of the day. He’s gonna see if he can work out how to make himself some fruit sandwiches in the kitchen. It’s actually kind of a process, because while he can figure out the bread and the strawberries and the mandarin oranges and the kiwis, he’s not sure about how to make the icing, and hearing Mordegon berate him in the king’s voice about how soft he’s gotten and how much of a disappointing liability he’s become has left him seated in front of the ingredients he thinks go in there with his face in his hands.]

kitchen

[cethflayn]

...

[She's really only here to pick up some "already boiled to hell" salmon to suchwretchedcookingyourmotherwouldbeashamed bring Kissa for dinner, but. Poor Jasper, just sitting there like that. All sad. With fruit, even.]

Do you need some help?

[Not, like. In cooking. But if we find a can of ReddiWhip or something we can just go with that, right?]

[guffawsungraciously]

...

[Such a shame. I believed you had so much promise, Jasper. You cannot even rely on yourself?]

Do you know how to make whipped cream.

cw: hallucinations

[ltcommandroid]

[This morning, Data is sitting in the lounge and finishing up his sewing project. He seems as calm as ever. Logically, his hallucinations must be growing worse just like everyone else's, but you wouldn't be able to tell - unless, maybe, you kept a close eye on him. As he works, he pauses occasionally, his head tilting to one side and his eyes darting. It isn't real, of course. And he has no feelings to hurt, so this incentive is largely irrelevant to him. And yet...

Anyway. He finishes his project eventually.

In the afternoon, Data will be walking around the ship with his new backpack! It's pretty large, but Data carries the weight easily enough. There is a sheer, largely transparent section, through which you can see both Spot and Parker peeking out. You can also hear them yelling in impotent fury.]

I am attempting to accustom them to the carrying bag, in case we need to use it quickly later.

[CAT BACKPACK, CAT BACKPACK!

By evening, the cat backpack has been retired. Data is pacing the ship for the start of his patrol, as ever. Here, his distraction is more evident than before - he continues to glance over his shoulder, and occasionally stops to stare off into space for a moment or two. But it's fine. He's fine!]

cw: hallucinations

[sivard]

[It hasn't been a great week, to say the least.

Eizen, Theodora, Edna, even Aifread... yeah. The gang's all hear, still whispering horrible things in his head. Look at you. You couldn't even save me, what do you think you're going to accomplish?

Late afternoon, he can be found in the ice cream parlor not exactly enjoying himself, but... eating, at least. He gives a friendly wave to anyone who joins him, but otherwise seems a bit too... preoccupied to chat right away.

It's later at night on the deck that he seems more in the mood to talk. While looking out into the clouds, listening to the distant thunder, he sighs.]

Tomorrow's probably it. It doesn't give us enough time to plan anything.

deck

[ltcommandroid]

[Data's always out and about at night, of course. Seeing other people...well, it's not exactly suspicion, but he always pays attention when anyone else is around. This seems fine, though.]

I am afraid we do not have enough information to plan effectively, to begin with.

[sivard]

No, we don't.

We didn't figure out his name, and with this.... motive... I have my worries.