pleased to meet you

[sailmods]

CW: murder

[it is the morning of the 17th when the usual morning announcement is replaced with the sort of tentative, nervous tone that Friday takes on immediately before something insane happens.]

Good morning, passengers! It's, um... Well, I sure hope everyone had an interesting time on their shore excursion! The Captain sure did! In fact, he had such a good time, he's asked me to inform you all that, tonight, he's going to be hosting his usual captain's formal in the main dining room, but with a twist! This time, it's going to be a, um... victory party! For Natsuno! Because he won! [small laugh] And also to celebrate the opening of a new shop on the Promenade! Gosh, and that really is something to celebrate; I haven't seen that happen since he--

[LOUD STATIC NOISES]

-- Yes, well! The dress code will be cruise formal; everyone can find a new set of clothes in their cabin to celebrate the occasion! I-- Oh, right, we'll see you all tonight! 8PM sharp!

[the connection cuts off. today, for the first time that anyone can remember, Friday can't be found in the atrium. or any other room. smoke 'em if you got 'em.

at 8PM sharp, the door to the dining room swings open. it is mostly empty: the only tables left are a dozen or so under the main chandelier. there are name cards at each table setting, written in Friday's neat script; the seatings seem mostly random, except for everyone who was on the island, who will find themselves at a table with their killer and/or victim(s). except Natsuno, of course, whose name is displayed proudly at the head table, next to an unnamed place. once they are inside, all of them find themselves under the same sort of compulsion that they felt during the muster drill, and their legs will stop working until they have gone to their assigned seats.

Friday enters the room first, dressed up nicely, but with hunched shoulders and her hands clasped firmly in front of her. the door shuts behind her. she says nothing, and acknowledges no one, not even Natsuno, as she takes her spot behind the chair.

a few fashionable minutes pass. it starts as smoke pouring out from under the door, moving towards the table as it slowly solidifies into the form of... a rather normal-looking man. he sits, cross-legged, in the chair that Friday pulls out for him. he looks over the assembled crowd, visibly considering something... there is a flash of silver in the light, and the knife he'd had in his sleeve is across Friday's throat quicker than she can react, and she falls bonelessly to the ground, a spray of arterial blood across the table setting.]

There, perfect.

[he looks out at them again. and he smiles. the knife is placed back in his sleeve, and he holds his hands out, palms up.]

Well. Here's your chance. [he waves a hand lazily, and the compulsion keeping them seated fades like pins and needles.] Try not to embarrass yourselves.

Comments

[selenokinesis]

That makes sense, however unfortunate it is.

[Which... hm, is frustrating, because the more information he can gather, the more he can jot down in his little notebook, the more he can work on a plan to get out of here. At least send him home, some of the rest of you can stay and die... Jinx can go home if she wants, if Ebalon had a choice she'd be one of his few picks for "people he doesn't hate and therefore can go home". Though, if he finds out about the Mizuki thing, that might change.

As if he has the power to get them all out of here in the first place. A laughable thought.]

I do wish he would freely give up information. At the very least, I would like to know why we're all here. Ah, but that's rather beside the point at the moment — how is the chaos of the party treating you?

[fonomena]

There's probably some kind of connection to make, here--between the fact that only mortal men should be able to experience something like boredom, and the simultaneous fact that the captain's certainly wielding enough power over this particular space to easily count as something thoroughly eldritch in and of himself. The individual pieces seem incompatible, and yet--one has to wonder if there's some sort of intersection between the two happening here, all the same...?

Well, but that tangent's going to have to wait until another time, now isn't it? No chance of digging much deeper into that while Clarke Griffin's over there trying to dig those lobster crackers even deeper into the captain's skull, all but climbing back into his lap in the process. Jade's tensing nearly on sync with Skulduggery around this point, both their minds promptly leaping to the same thing--the fact that, surely, some kind of retaliation's well on the way. Yet...

"An actual surprise attack, perhaps?" Alas, Jade's not quite so inclined towards taking Yulia Jue's name in vain as some would be whilst beholding a similar scene--but the sentiment's sure in the air about now, and Skulduggery's expressing it quite well enough for the both of them. In turn, Jade's own question is directed more to the air than at anyone in particular, a vent of his own low-key astonishment at this particular moment; the urge to move forward (get a closer look) is a strong thing, but it's resisted in favor of some squinting instead, and... "...Oh, he's smiling. I'm sure that can only bode well. I don't--do you see any blood, over there? What's...?"

Goodness, Clarke's really going for it--credit must be placed where it's due. She yanks out the lobster cracker only to drive it back in again, in the process revealing...hm? Even across the room, the angled glimpse at the side of the captain's head they're both afforded reveals something--dark. Dark beyond an empty hole, even.

"...First fonons...?" More an utterly perplexed mutter on Jade's part, around this point; the guess immediately doesn't feel correct, honestly, though it's the first thing to leap to mind. What is that?

[neverleave]

I'm taking it plenty easy.

[He's having fun. Actual, consequence-free fun, a relic from a time when his biggest concern was getting into a good university -

No, he shouldn't reminisce. Focus on the here and now.]

You'll do better next round. Or you can choose another game, if you want.

[prodigalmess]

"They are." Malcolm nods. "There are good people here. We've all been put in a shitty situation. It will be hard to try to find a way out alone."

If this was a run of the mill serial killer situation, Malcolm might have no problem taking it on by himself. There's magic at play here though, and that's a whole can of worms that Malcolm is still getting used to. He knows that he's going to have to rely on others' expertise.

[lightconductor]

"Oh, I certainly have," Watson says, as casual as he can be. "I was a soldier, once. Wounded in action. I have plenty of experience at not dying when I should have. I suppose I was overdue to fail at it sooner or later."

[pineapplesalmon]

That subject is dropped, sorry, because now he's dealing with rising panic.

"Our relationship. The three of us." Quickly, barely glancing at Max. "I have to go."

[weirdone]

"No, I wouldn't be, either."

She understands that, maybe more than most people would realize.

"I don't like feeling trapped."

She'd decimate this damn boat if she could, but she finds certain aspects of her powers mute, inaccessible. She could pick this whole damn thing up and beach it -- but there's something stopping her, just beyond the bring of her understanding.

It's infuriating. And terrifying.

[skaikru]

You hit me into the water —

( there's no room to reminisce and get sappy here, clarke's had a taste of technicolor blood and wants more. )

No. ( the sudden and immediate decision as their player avatars slot across the screen accompanied by their scores, ranging from winner to loser with clarke pronouncedly on the bottom. and really, he should have expected that response — natsuno'd seen her go up against immovable, dangerous, mysterious dangers so far, did he really expect her to walk away from a challenge with a blinking yellow start button attached to it. )

No, we're going again.

( and two things are true about this next round: clarke manages to only hit half as many walls as the first time, and still kicks out at his bike once she spots he's a few feet from the finish line. she's so focused on the game for a few moments here that the whole room melts away, and clarke outright forgets to hold her features in their stony, unflappable mask.

her tongue pokes out the side of her lips at one point. )

[light_mischief]

Jade's commentary mirrors the one going through Skulduggery's head as the pair of them watch the borehole in the captain's head expand, a fantastic, ugly darkness exposed through what he'd presumed was skin and bone. The captain's smiling, and Skulduggery wants the teenager currently bashing in his skull to take a swing at that smug face.

He can't help but voice the question they both seem to be sharing, confusion overtaking him as he asks, "What in the world is that?"

Curiosity might kill the cat, but it certainly only entices and emboldens the skeletal detective. "Do you think -- I can't see from here, is it solid?"

Is the captain the good kind of Easter bunny, or the bad, hollow kind? Who's to say?

[gummyhabits]

She smiles as she talks but then quickly falters- and for good reason.

"Right now, I volunteer at the cafeteria, but I also help with um... okay, so there's kind of a history to Rhodes Island? Back home, there's a disease called Oripathy. It's very dangerous, so people who have it are treated really badly because of prejudice- Rhodes Island is trying to find a cure for Oripathy, as well as treatments to keep it at bay for as long as we can... but because of the violence towards the infected, we also have to step in and save refugees and stop riots... or insurrection. And only the infected are good at dealing with other infected- which most of Rhodes Island is, since it's a safe haven for them- I also work on the front lines, getting provisions to people."

Watson may notice she says 'them' and not 'us'- she's safe from the disease, but it's not the best life, least of all for a girl her age. But it's what she does, and she does it well.

[the_infant_death]

Claudia presses her lips together, a scornful moue. She has already stated what they may gain from this, and she does not wish to repeat herself. "Nothing, of course," she answers, waspishly, and turns away in a swirl of lace and ruffles.

Grasping Friday's wrist, she begins to pull her along towards the doors, a difficult prospect given her full skirts, but not impossible for her size and strength. Perhaps someone more helpful and more keen in the ways of politics might assist her, since Max will not.

[neverleave]

[Is he rolling his eyes at her? He's rolling his eyes at her.]

Then hit me back.

[It's... honestly kind of endearing to see how seriously she takes it. Completely unsurprising, but endearing. He grins internally when her stony mask drops, but then she kicks him before he can cross the finish line and screw this this is clearly WAR and friendship is dead.]

I meant hit me in the game!

[You know what? Fine. Natsuno leans in Clarke's direction, grabs her bike's handle and hits the brakes.]

[makesomedeals]

"Okay?" He watches him go, completely perplexed. But sure, go get nearly shot by your boyfriend. That's clearly way better.

Max is just going to go check on Ava's lobster eating contest instead.

[makesomedeals]

"Suit yourself."

He shrugs, no matter to him. If Claudia wants to waste her time lugging the corpse of a drone down to the morgue thats her prerogative. Max isn't gonna do anything without some sort of short term gain. They don't have the luxury of playing the long con here.

So he'll just watch her drag the corpse away for a few minutes before leaving. Another day of not getting blood on his suit, he'll take the victories where he can.

[luminessense]

[ Audible exclamation mark sounds at Natsuno when he arrives. ]

I- [ "wasn't going to accept his apology", but she figures that Natsuno's probably picked up on that much already. It's not like she wants to even consider listening to Ebalon. Especially not after covering the both of them in lacerations before playing games with them. That was a whole load of bullshit, and it's going to take Lumine a while to get over it herself, not to mention forgive her killer. She's not a huge fan of dying, thanks! However, avoiding him entirely on the ship is going to be hard and, perhaps, Lumine is far too much of an anime protagonist to not at least hear someone out. ]

... I acknowledge your attempt. And, [ Mostly to Natsuno. ] I am at least vaguely aware that the game the Captain had us playing was intended to put rifts between the people here. But... [ And back to Ebalon. ] I am not so naïve to believe words over actions.

[sictransitgloriamundi]

Do I look like Pinocchio?

[sictransitgloriamundi]

Don't worry about it.

[skaikru]

You didn't specify —

( a sliver of that snarky, i'm going to win pride slips through in the four seconds before natsuno retaliates by lunging the distance and slamming on her brakes. then the most undignified squawk (that might have started as a laugh in the back of her throat) is escaping clarke's mouth. so unexpected that it's gonna take her a while longer to realize it'd come from her — like that's even a priority when she's gotta grapple to pry his fingers off the brake lever.

a valiant effort is put forth to do so, clarke manages to worm her fingers under his palm, but — yet again — her avatar ultimately returns to its watery grave. rude.

very deadpan. the irony of her own tactics not at all lost, but still putting on a stern show. )

That's cheating and you should feel really bad about it.

[neverleave]

I'm devastated.

[He respawns and accelerates, trying to reclaim the first place. If Clarke tries to kick him again, he will kick back just to stop her from rattling his bike again.]

But since we're both cheaters, I might as well be the winning one.

[skaikru]

( ah hell. no!

sure enough, clarke tries to kick him again, but all she gets for her troubles is their feet tangling and natsuno is not effectively slowed down. boo, but might as well figure out an alternative so —

...somewhere in the back of her mind, has she registered natsuno doesn't seem to enjoy being touched? absolutely. even in moments where all clarke wants to do is reach out and squeeze his shoulder or draw him into a comforting side hug, has she generally tried to restrain herself out of respect? yup, that too.

and does that stiff, repressed, battle field pragmatism style of thinking go right out the window in this moment? yup, because in a last ditch effort to — not win, but at least sabotage — clarke's abandoning her bike. slides into what little space is behind natsuno on his own mount, and just regressing to, like, the age of eight as she brings up both hands to cover his eyes. )

[luminessense]

[ On the contrary, she is very worried about it! But she said "one more question" like that was her last and she really doesn't want to be here anymore, so?? Hey! At least she's not trying to stab him. Look at her, learning from other people's mistakes!! She will walk away, not seething, definitely not. ]

[neverleave]

[This is hella rude and super effective

Natsuno yelps, his entire body stiffening in utter shock before he raises one hand to pry Clarke's hands off. And the other hand? He's just gonna elbow her in the stomach.]

HEY - what are you, five?!

[His avatar crushes into a wall, forgotten. Now they're just shoving each other like idiots.]

[skaikru]

( five? )

Out of five, maybe.

( most victories in times of war aren't won by playing honorably, and decidedly video games were a new instrument of war. clarke does that super annoying thing where she lets him pry one hand off, then when he goes for the other that first hand returns to block his view. she gets in maybe one or two alterations before that elbow connects with her ribs. )

Oopf, ( comes the gentle exhale in response to contact. but, highlight being gentle. she knows natsuno can hit much harder than that, and the second after that thought registers, it's a free for all.

absolutely lawless grappling for a few moments. clarke even tries to wiggle under one of his arms and shove him off the bike proper. and the trash talk just intensifies. )

What happened, Natsuno? I thought you were supposed to be the one winning here.

[neverleave]

[Is she grappling him? She's fucking grappling him. Clarke Griffin is a terrifying enemy, not to be crossed even in the arcade.

Well then. Time to kick his own spiteful pettiness up a notch.]

And I think you're changing the game because you're a sore loser.

[Natsuno grips the bike tighter with his legs and throws it right hard, trying to shove her.

The bike tilts. Somewhere, metal groans. Is it even built to lean that far?]

[pineapplesalmon]

BYE. Oops. Yup. Totally almost got shot. WELP.