Love Does not Discriminate

[redlightgreenlight]

Who: Valdis and Open with Some Closed
What: Valdis does stuff around the Serena Eterna, feel free to join her
When: February
Where: All Over
Warnings: In Starters




It takes and it takes and it takes | Erin | CW: Nightmares

She’d be lying if she said she hasn’t been avoiding Erin a little, despite their conversation at her hollow. But the woman is important to her, even if just as friends. Sometimes she thinks Erin is trying too hard to be something else, but Valdis isn’t anywhere near ready to move forward in that manner, and Erin has implied very strongly that she is willing and happy to wait. But Valdis can’t stop thinking about what Erin told her back when they first met, about her ability to enter dreams, and there’s something just outside of her reach within the nightmares that plague her every night. If Erin can help her go that extra step, then it’s worth a try, even if the intimacy of it may be uncomfortable for them both. She knocks gently on Erin’s door. It’s a little late for visits, but she can’t go another night in those hallways without knowing what lies at the end of them.

“Erin?”

And we keep loving anyway | Max Maximum | Stellar | CW: None

It’s their first actual date, and of course it’s also Valentine’s Day, which, for the first time in a long time she’s not going to spend alone. The short, tight, sequined black dress with a plunging neckline leaves just enough for the imagination that she knows he’ll be delighted to remove it later. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before, but she loves how he marvels every single time, like he can’t believe he has her.

For once, she’s early instead of exactly on time, feeling like a schoolgirl on a date with her first crush. Childish perhaps, but the next step beyond just friends with benefits. She may never have his whole heart, but she is happy enough with just a piece of it. The memory of how he felt when he learned she returned his affections was pure magic. The one time that being able to feel what others feel is more of a blessing than a curse. Who else has the power to feel love so incredibly deeply from both sides, especially when one side is your own?

We laugh and we cry and we break | Reading Around The Ship | Open

The Library is the best refuge she has these days and she’s reading romance novels this month. The spicy kind that she’s actually hiding behind a larger book. When she’s not reading romance, she’s rereading the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, or Pride and Prejudice, or some other less spicy book. Occasionally she’s reading out by the pool, lounging in an almost sheer wrap in the sun, she is wearing a bikini underneath so not too much can be seen. You may also find her reading in the lounge or in Sanddollars.

And we make our mistakes | Just Around the Ship | Open

From trying different foods at the various restaurants around the Serena Eterna, to Sundries and the sports deck, Valdis is all over the ship. She meditates every morning on the top deck, practices sword maneuvers or works out in the gym later in the day. In one instance she is lugging a beautiful red ball grown across the ship, grumbling about how Friday needs to stop giving her dresses she’s never going to wear. In another she’s watching Aladdin on the TV at Sanddollars (she borrowed it from Klaus), and sketching cartoon versions of the passengers she’s met on the ship. When they aren’t cartoon versions, they are detailed sketches of flowers, places and people she doesn’t really want to talk about, but ask the right questions and she might be willing to tell people a bit more.

And if there's a reason I'm still alive | Palamedes | CW: Rolled a 5, so there is blood

Sleep doesn’t come easily these days, especially since opening the box with the three feathers from Friday. It’s restless, filled with images and twisted memories. Dreams. But she’s mostly able to cope without causing any issues for her roommate. Until the dreams burn into reality with a searing, stabbing pain in her side. The massive amounts of death energy seeping into the room are suddenly banished by a flash of light and soul energy. The pain increases, followed by something wet streaming down her stomach and back. Blood.

She tears off the sheets and races into the shower fully clothed, almost breaking the handle as she turns on the cold water to fight the burning pain. The pink water swirls down down around her feet. Palamedes is likely awake, that light is still so bright it might as well be daylight inside their room.

“Crap.” At least the bleeding has already stopped.

I'm willing to wait for it | Wildcard

Choose your own adventure! Valdis can often be found in the library, on the sports deck, or wandering around the ship, so anywhere you wish to encounter her works.

Comments

And we make our mistakes

[busball]

Klaus’ eyes hone in on the red ballgown before they hone in on who is carrying it. It’s just so bright and so pretty and they are drawn like a moth to a flame, looking up as they get closer. “You got another dress!” He sounds very excited about it. Today’s a mixture of aesthetics. They’ve got black lace up pants with the hot pink Boss Babe velour crop top. It’s a look for sure.

“Did you just get this?”

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis almost flushes as red as the dress, but her fair skin clears quickly.

"Friday practically threw it at me, it's not the only one either, she gave me one yesterday too." She laughs, "I don't even know where I would wear it? It's not suitable for your wedding, and it's not like we have balls around here."

She looks him up and down, not quite sure how she feels about his outfit, but happy that he is feeling confident enough to pull it off.

"I like your outfit."

[busball]

"Threw it at you?" Klaus laughs in disbelief at this exact description. But who knows? Maybe Friday does just throw dresses at people. "I'm hoping she throws one at me one day. I'm sad that this will almost certainly not fit me. It's so pretty." Klaus looks up. "Why isn't it suitable for our wedding? We're candy! There's plenty of bright red candy!" A beat. "We could have a ball?"

They turn around at the compliment to their outfit. "I'm super hot. It's true. You can touch my shirt if you want to. It's very soft. I got it from my collection of Sundries presents. Ava and I got matching tracksuits." There's a brief pause and there's a hint of an amused look on their face. "Also I want to see if Nobunaga's brain short circuits when he sees it later." Which is easy, but...whatever.

It takes and it takes and it takes | Erin | CW: Nightmares

[crushed_pearls]

"Moment, 'll step out." Erin's voice through the door is a little surprised, a little tired; this is gossip hour with Helena, and she's not used to being interrupted during it.

Thus it is that Valdis learns that Erin's PJs these days are silk shorts and one of the backless tank tops made to accommodate her wings early on. She steps out of the room and into the hall, shutting the door behind her with her phone in her pocket.

"'cha need, Valdis? And is this a hallway talk or nah?"

[redlightgreenlight]

It's so awkward to be here right now. Valdis knows Helena is in the room and it's not exactly the best time of the evening for visits. But this can't wait.

"It's an 'I've been having dreams for about a month' talk."

If Erin remembers, dreaming is not something that Hellhounds can normally do.

"I know it's late."

[crushed_pearls]

"...You're the second person close to me to start dreaming. This is definitely an in-private kinda talk...let's slip into the Hollow, Valdis. If you're okay with that?"

Privacy, safety, a change of setting.

Also not parading around the ship in jammies, a concern that is much lower than Valdis's comfort but not like, nonexistent.

Date Night

[maximumcake]

Max shows up to their date night looking especially well-groomed, his lengthening hair carefully slicked down with hair gel and his chin actually fully shaved for once. He's wearing his best black suit with a deep red silk tie. He's also come bearing gifts.

In one hand is a bouquet of cloth flowers that Nobunaga wanted him to deliver to her. In the other is a loaf of freshly baked bread wrapped in butcher paper to keep it from going stale. There's a cute little paper heart taped to it to dress the wrapping. It says "I loaf you" on it because Max could never resist a good pun.

"Valdis," he says, mouth dropping open when he gets an eyeful of her in that dress. "You look stunning."

[redlightgreenlight]

She's tempted to tease and say she knows she looks amazing, but the sight of the flowers and the bread shift everything, filling her with both joy and a small amount of sorrow. Yet she offers him a dazzling smile.

"You look great too," she replies, "Are those for me?"

It's such a stupid question, because she knows they are for her, but part of her still can't believe she's actually doing this. Opening herself up to pain again in the name of happiness, however brief it might be.

[maximumcake]

"They are. Someone tipped me off that you might enjoy them, so, here. For you. I um... also made you this." He sets the flowers and bread down beside her place at the table and pulls an envelope from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

It's a valentine made on pink craft paper that's been cut into the shape of a heart. The outside is glittery and covered with little heart stickers. The inside, however, has only a handwritten note in lovely flowing cursive:

Valdis,

From the first moment we met, you have been guiding and protecting me. At first, I couldn't believe someone like me could be worth your time and affection, but as I've gotten to know you, I've seen how lonely you are too. You're so strong and brave; I admire that, but what I admire most is how you're willing to be soft and vulnerable with me. There are a lot of things I don't know, but there is one thing I do: meeting you has changed my life for the better. I love you, Valdis. I always will.

Sincerely,
Max

Max fiddles with his hands in front of him nervously while he waits for her to read it. He hopes this isn't all too much, too fast. But, recently with all those people going missing, he's started to feel like he needs to take every chance he can to tell the people he cares about just how much he loves them. And she deserves it most of all.

"I hope it's okay..."

Reading

[konpeito_aji]

"Oh hey! War and Peace! I was going to get started on that, I just wasn't sure how much political context I'd be missing out on with however many centuries in between." Nobunaga assumes it's about the big World War one everyone mentions, with no knowledge of the century's previous Russian wars and so forth.

He showed up like his favorite way of doing, out of nowhere and with no warning. Perfect bratty younger brother practice.

Speaking of which...

"What is that?" The tone is pure judging. "Oh no... tell me you're not reading Viking Vixen..." Ugh his face. It was the book Stede Bonnet was reading during their first ill-fated encounter. "Valdis, no..." his voice drops, pure horror. "That's how it starts."

[redlightgreenlight]

Of course he would show up now. Nothing to do but own it, and own it she will.

"It's the sequel actually, Scandinavian Scallywag." She smirks at him, lifting one brow in extreme amusement. "I finished Viking Vixen two days ago."

He doesn't like romance novels, this much is obvious. Definitely going to poke him about it as any good, older sister should.

[konpeito_aji]

"Euuugh! Why?!"

Pure reaction and total cringe like the childish weirdo he is!

Gym

[walkinggunshow]

Shiranui found that one of the places was the gym. He started to make a routine of going there to stay in shape and up to pace with his martial arts. He wasn't one for using a sword or other weapons outside his gun.

So he found a spot to claim for himself and began a few basic warm ups before going into his stances. He missed fighting...especially having a partner that kept up with you. Every time he found someone that met to his standards they always seemed to pass away. He promised himself this time around he wasn't going to get attached to people here. Eespecially with this being what appeared to a death ship.

He noted the other in the room, but made no real effort to converse. She seemed lost in her own routine.

Re: Gym

[redlightgreenlight]

The 'other' in the room has certainly taken notice of him. Even if he had looked human to her eyes, which he doesn't, she clearly senses a demon. Not like those on her world, more like the ones in books and legends. It's enough to make her wary of him, but since he seems to have not taken much notice of her, he clearly cannot sense what she is right now.

She doesn't really have much need to work out, she's toned and fit by the very basis of her abilities, but it's more something to do. At least she knows she can take him should he turn out to be a danger to her, even without Revelations.

He may notice her glances, because she's not making any effort to hide them, but she's certainly not going to approach first.

[walkinggunshow]

Shiranui noted that she was watching him and didn't seem to pleased by his appearance. He easily sensed the tension in the room even though it was guarded. He wasn't sure what he had done wrong. It was an open area for anyone to walk in. He stopped his rountine and finally approached her. He made sure to show he wasn't going to do anything. Letting her know the gun was visible at his waist, but made no effort to use it. His hands hung loosely at his sides.

"You got a problem with me training in here?" Shiranui questioned going right to the point. He spoke in a gruff manner not caring if his agitation showed through in his tone. He wasn't one to drag it out or be polite about it. He studied her trying to understand what was bothering her.

The sinners and the saints

[hellonspectacles]

Palamedes isn’t a particularly heavy sleeper under the best of circumstances, so it’s no wonder that the explosion of light and make makes him start awake. The thanergy in the room disappears with a whomp that the young necromancer feels more than hears, like the moment when a ship leaves a planet’s thanergenic halo and enters the lifeless, deathless expanse of space. It’s like his ears have popped, but worse, and nothing like that at all.

Still hazy with sleep, Pal feels around for his glasses, only slowly becoming aware of the sound of the shower running. His head feels like it’s being gripped in a vise.

“Valdis? Is everything all right?”

[redlightgreenlight]

Palamede's tired voice cuts through the sound of the water. The pain has faded completely now and the bleeding too, so the answer should be yes. But a lot has happened. She turns off the water, far more gently than she had turned it on, and steps back out of the shower stripping off her wet clothes and wrapping a towel around herself. The white scars on her side and back, burning just moments ago, are now cold as they have been for weeks.

"Just a bad dream," she replies, "I apologize for waking you."

[hellonspectacles]

Valdis might have gotten away with that explanation if it weren't for Palamedes' pounding headache. "No need to apologize for waking me up, but please don't lie to me." His voice is mild, only maybe a little tired, despite his words. "Did you cast a spell, something like that? Because the thanergy levels in this room have gone absolutely haywire."

and we make our mistakes ( sand dollars | aladdin viewing )

[skaikru]

Of the few things around the ship Clarke has taken to like a fish to water, it's coffee. Every overworked nineteen year old with a stubborn streak that will inevitably burn them to the end of their wick needs a solid few cups a day to stave off exhaustion and fake at productivity. Coming from relatively nothing, she's plenty content to drink it black, fresh out of the standing jug next to the one that serves blood for the vampires. But asked and honestly answered, she'd say she prefers it with sweetener and dairy. And today is a day where boredom leads her to Sand Dollars instead of Windjammer, willing to wait a few extra minutes for the caffeine fix as her latte is made.

She pauses when spotting the back of Valdis' head in the shop, however; keenly aware the other woman could have already spotted her presence without the need to even turn around a look. They hadn't left on the best of terms last time they'd talked. Clarke had been as raw as the wounds Lord Vile had split across her nose and mouth, salt added when all the rage coiling tight in her chest had no outlet. And now... it's still there, but folded over on itself. Quiet and reformed into an imperfect resolve, like metal remolded. Even the scratches on the siding of this proverbial bottle don't gleam that brightly, her grief over Natsuno is reserved for private spaces.

Past her head, Clarke's attention is secondly drawn to the screen, and she is instantly distracted from ordering at the counter by the Friend Like Me number. She will recover, order, then watch the rest of the musical interlude while waiting for her drink. And, tensions aside, the mention of genie does eventually draw her over with coffee cup in hand.

"What are you watching?"

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis was hoping the Clarke would just leave. The girl's stubbornness had led to some backsliding when she was trying to recover from the events of the trial. But Clarke is at least trying to keep her emotions bottled up and away.

"It's called Aladdin. It's a story about a poor boy who dreams of more, Finds a genie in a lamp, makes some wishes. Screws up big time. Then comes back and saves the day."

Typical heroes tale.

[skaikru]

Typical heroes tale, and now preemptively spoiled for one who's never seen a Disney movie and isn't familiar with the happy-go-lucky, easy endings. But, sucks to suck, sorry Valdis — Clarke isn't so easily swayed away from this engagement by a frosty reception, nor by knowing how the movie ends. In fact, now she's officially hovering by a chair at the table directly next to Valdis, eyes on the screen and contemplating sitting down.

"Are genie usually blue?"

reading.

[decrypter]

The library is one of Helena's haunts, almost an instinct to go there nearly every day. She finds a spot, she clears her mind, she writes. Or well, she tries to. The same maddening block, day after day. It's been weeks since she managed something, and even Theo's tip about words isn't helping. The words are stuck, the ideas are stuck. It's not working, and her frustration can only mount.

But she can't let people know. So instead, with a deep sigh (thinking she's alone), she lets the notebook fall shut with a snap, and turns from her own work to the Agatha Christie again, not wanting to fall behind when the reading nook of two will remeet. This will clear her head.

Or she could be not alone, and entirely obvious because she forgot to check if someone was near before indulging in her tiny theatrics. That could happen.

Re: reading.

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis looks up briefly when Helena enters, but stays silent, eyes drifting back to her book to keep reading. It's not a romance novel this time, but Arabian Nights. The sigh brings her attention back to Helena, the snap of the notebook indicating some level of frustration. The girl hasn't seemed to have noticed her at all.

"Everything alright, Helena?"

sand dollars

[myagic]

Rita would absolutely claim that she's not developing a caffeine addiction after being introduced to things like cafe mochas and caramel lattes. She'd also be absolutely in denial--and now, caffeine addiction compounds her previous sweets addiction to the point that sometimes it's all she can think about until she finally comes over to Sand Dollars and gets that sweet, luscious drink she's been totally not craving (and how mysterious that her headache always seems to disappear once she starts into her drink).

All this is to say that Valdis will probably sense a very strong desire and anticipation as Rita waits for her order. She doesn't really notice Valdis is there, though, too distracted by the--moving pictures on the screen. She understands movies--she's seen a couple of Natsuno's, and regrettably saw some of the Battle Royale footage, too--but cartoons are a complete unknown.

"What...is this?" she asks with utter confusion to nobody in particular, because she likes to think out loud.

[redlightgreenlight]

Rita is the very last person Valdis feels like seeing. The girl is a nutcase. A curious nutcase at the moment, but still a nutcase. Valdis glances back at Rita as she asks the question. It's clearly not directed at her, but she'll answer anyway.

"It's called Aladdin. It's an animated story of a boy who wanted to be a prince and found a magic lamp that granted wishes."