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

photo lab

[ltcommandroid]

Oh, an antique photography studio!

[it's EXTREMELY antique by Data's standards, but it's sort of interesting, isn't it?]

I have never seen one of these in person.

[guffawsungraciously]

Ah, so they are even more advanced in your time, then?

[IT'S COOL...]

I know there are still images on our devices, but I find this interesting in its own right. It feels a bit more like alchemy, from what I have seen.

[ltcommandroid]

[Data nods, moving along the row of chemicals to inspect them.]

This is how humans developed photographs in some of the earliest days of the art form. Some artists and hobbyists still consider it a valuable approach - though perhaps only for traditions' sake.

[Hard to say!]

I suppose it is rather like alchemy. You must apply the correct chemicals in the correct way, and avoid light. [He doesn't actually know the process for this off-hand, but he's got the gist?]

[guffawsungraciously]

I can appreciate that, honestly. Even if the newer method is likely far more convenient, I think working through the methodology of the development process would be enjoyable in its own way.

[...]

There are instructions, as well. Do you want to give it a go?

[ltcommandroid]

Alright.

[Hey, it sounds fun!]

Have you taken any pictures yet?

[guffawsungraciously]

Not yet. I have been attempting to ensure I have everything in order before trying it out.

[He's finished with that, though, so he'll pick up a camera and kind of... fiddle with it a bit...]

[ltcommandroid]

[Data nods and picks up a camera himself, examining it for a moment before selecting a film canister and inserting that.]

I have never used a camera like this, either. We can both learn how to do it.

[guffawsungraciously]

Let us begin, then.

[Right, so, he'll pick up the camera he's been working on and work on framing Data the way he likes... let's see... he thinks it looks right? Maybe?

...

Click!]

[ltcommandroid]

[Data blinks.]

Oh. Would you like another with me smiling?

[guffawsungraciously]

Hm. I do not know... I think it is interesting to have the ability to get a spontaneous image rather than something... posed, for lack of a better word, given we only have portraits and such back in my world.

[ltcommandroid]

I see. You prefer candid photography. Many artists consider it to be more honest and emotional than the posed variety.

[Which are, of course, things that always interest Data - he lifts his own camera and snaps a photograph of Jasper in return.]

[guffawsungraciously]

I would not necessarily say it is a preference so much as a novelty. I would need to spend some time examining both methods to see which I prefer, but it is certainly something this medium can accomplish that would be far more difficult to manage with paint and canvas.

[...

he did kind of want to pose himself, though...]

[ltcommandroid]

That is true. Do people commonly sit for portraits in your world?

[guffawsungraciously]

They do, yes. I have had the pleasure of sitting for one or two myself, though not quite as many as several individuals I know.

[ltcommandroid]

It used to be a symbol of wealth and power, on ancient Earth. But photography quickly came to eclipse portraiture - even when a professional was involved, photographs were faster and less expensive to obtain. And, of course, one could capture candid moments. Even in the early days of photography, when the subject would have to hold still for several minutes to be photographed, humans went to lengths to take pictures while smiling or laughing.

[did you want like, an infodump here]

[guffawsungraciously]

[yeah actually, unironically dump all that information on him]

I see... how fascinating. I wonder if we have the same sort of trajectory in store in my own world? We do, of course, have more common works of art than simply the ornate portraiture reserved for the wealthy, such as periodicals of various kinds, though I imagine readily available technology such as this would save time and improve the quality of art forms with less stable financial backing.

[ltcommandroid]

[Data nods.]

Invention often makes things that were previously considered luxuries more accessible to the lower classes. Until, of course, it becomes possible to do away with class inequity altogether.

[do I understand the utopian worldbuilding of star trek? not really, but I'm not gonna be all j.j. abrams about it]

[guffawsungraciously]

Hmm... I do understand how that would happen, truly. At the same time, though, I find it difficult to believe that there will not always be people angling to climb to the top on the backs of others.

[ltcommandroid]

That is a fact of life. In Earth's current society, it simply takes different forms - political power, for example. People will no longer accept their fellow humans dying due to resources being withheld, but there are still structures of leadership and positions of importance.

[guffawsungraciously]

I suppose that is for the better, then, though I will admit that I am surprised human nature managed to get even that far.

[ltcommandroid]

There were several catastrophic wars beforehand. But I do not believe that human nature is inherently bad.

[guffawsungraciously]

I never thought it as a question of good and evil, really. It is more or less the lure of power weighed against everything else.