[open] at least the month couldn't get any worse, right?

[fonomena]

Who: Jade Curtiss and YOU!!
When: Several days after That Party but before the start of next month
Where: Various places! Mainly the Promenade / some random hall with a supply closet / in front of the menacingly new Tommy Bahama...
What: Mostly some processing of a few Neat and Fun gifts from sundries! .....But also like, what is up with that Tommy Bahama place though--
Warnings: Nothing too pressing! Some talk of earlier events in the month and all the murder/party stabbing therein may arise, though, considering...well. Gestures at the last few weeks.....
Notes: (I've started out with brackets, but feel free to use prose! I'll match whichever style you prefer)

A; hawaiian shirt hell persists...with a twist??
[It's a bit of a belated sort of takeaway, from the one part of Friday's last announcement before the party that had seemed entirely innocuous in the grand scheme of...everything else. A new shop being opened in the Promenade, apparently--because that's just, a thing that can happen on a ship like this, apparently. Granted, the evening following that announcement had been quite the mess in and of itself--and such small things were promptly forgotten for a few days afterwards.

But eventually, Jade finds the new storefront standing out in a passing sweep of the Promenade one day, its wide display windows now taking up a space that had most certainly not existed between Sand Dollars and John's a few weeks prior. --From that point it's only natural to investigate, isn't it? i.) Perhaps you're investigating it too, and might find Jade rather further inside, staring hard at an assorted setup of polo shirts in various distinctly...tropical color gradients with a thoroughly exasperated sort of frown on his face. One would think it's at the expense of the casual gaudiness of it all--which, to be fair, it sort of is. But........he also feels like he's walked by this display a couple times already. He's been moving in a straight line this entire time. Yet the back wall sure hasn't...actually gotten any closer, for a good few minutes now--??)

...Or maybe ii.) you find Jade outside the Tommy Bahama, after the fact, hovering in front of the entrance once more with a moderately-filled matching shopping bag now on his elbow but...a frown still on his face, too, this one a great deal more perplexed.

If you're passing by, or happen to be looking even vaguely interested in checking it out:] You know, I think you might want to exercise some caution, if you're headed in there...

(closed to Natsuno) Room 109; awkward unboxing session
[Early one morning there's a card slipped under the door; familiar to Natsuno, perhaps, but actually addressed to Jade for once. Several packages waiting for him in the sundries shop, apparently--and so Jade had set out to pick them up promptly enough, probably making some airily sarcastic remark about the impressiveness of the nonexistent postal system apparently afoot here on his way out. It's a half hour or so before he returns...

Though it's not immediately obvious, because it's not like he actually comes back into the room off the bat. No, instead, Natsuno might find Jade's return instead heralded by...well, it's not quite a knock, is it? More of a weirdly muffled thump--and then another one, for emphasis--like somebody's mildly kicking the foot of the door or something?

That's exactly what it is, actually; Natsuno would open the door to find Jade on the other side, sure enough, arms full between a couple boxes stacked in the crook of an elbow and, propped in another hand...something longer than he's tall? Very narrow, shaped vaguely like a pole, with some sort of horizontal piece attached to the top of it...? Not much else to go off but the shape, though, considering it's wrapped in matching nautical wrapping paper as well. --Jade shrugs, insomuch as he's able.] Ah, thank you. Might want to step aside a moment, yes? Let's see--

[--Well, alright, initially trying to move through the door has the pole-thing promptly rapping against the top of the doorframe. Hm, time to attempt awkwardly angling it through instead...]

B; that feel when you get the useful item drop only after the nasty boss fight...
[It's an hour or so after he's processed the "gifts" in his room; at length, Jade opts to take one of the boxes in question someplace else for a closer look, if only mostly out of a discretion for Natsuno's reactions to well over half the contents. Jade can thus once again be found seated at one of the many Promenade tables--this one near a window, in the full light of the sunshine streaming through--considering the contents in said box as it now sits open on the tabletop. Slowly, one at a time, he's pulling a series of pocket-sized glass bottles from it; each one is critically examined, before evidently being considered cleared to be set upright in a growing line on the table proper. A couple of the bottles are an eggshell white, with a very vague but distinct sort of luster; a few other bottles are black, and seem to reflect rather less daylight than glass ought to; and two of them are a deep brown, oddly-shaped in a more rounded sort of way.

Jade's attention lingers rather longer on the odd-shaped ones than the others. In fact, he even opens one of them, and seems to try peering inside before testing the scent of the contents as well. Whether he's actually happy about whatever he finds is difficult to say, though, a rather inscrutable sort of expression on his face as he recaps the bottle and sits back in his chair...though a deep sigh follows the movement, too, and his tone is very dry as he speaks--more to himself than anyone in particular, but perhaps audible all the same if you happen to be nearby.]

Well, this certainly would have been rather useful about a week ago. Seems practical jokes take many forms, around here...

C; obligatory deck-cleaning happens only after burning away to ghostly nothing ok
[The question, though, the real question...is what to do with the most exasperating gift of the bunch.

Should you happen to be passing through one of the smaller and quieter halls connecting one part of a deck level to another, you might end up bumping into Jade lingering in one of them. In front of one of the more basic janitorial supply closets found throughout the ship, specifically? The closet doors are opened, anyway, and there sure are some very boring cleaning supplies in there...though Jade's still hovering and staring inside in a weirdly intent sort of way, for some reason.

Then again, difficult to miss is the fact that he's also got a deck brush with green bristles propped over one shoulder. Did he...just take it out of the closet? Or--?]

Hm, what do you think? [Oh, he's looking over to address you now, noticing your presence and acknowledging it with a cheery sort of smile, as if this is now a totally normal conversation in totally normal surroundings happening here.] If I put this inside, do you suppose it would stay put? I'd almost bet it doesn't, if I were a betting sort of man... [...Jade this doesn't actually offer anything in the way of any context here, though--]

D; wildcard!
[This log can also serve as a catch-all for any other interactions that might arise before the end of this month! Jade can generally be found in most any of the more-trafficked areas of the ship, as he does like to check around all the more common facilities at least once every few days. Feel free to have your character bump into him for whatever reason! As always, if you have something more specific in mind you'd like to thread here and want to hash it out beforehand, feel free to hit me up by message or on plurk at rainbell!]

Comments

[more_magic]

"God, those collars," Darlington says with a shake of his head. "I stayed on the ship for that, but I don't envy those of you who woke up with them. Not in the least." It's clear the other man doesn't want to dwell on it, and likely for better reasons; when the conversation moves on, it feels like a relief to them both. When he calls Darlington's experience with the Orozcerio a hobby, he has to smile.

"One or two was more a description of focus over variety," he admits. "And it was my first attempt that got me...hired is a good enough word for it. Selected might be more apt." Sandow's visit to his hospital bed had felt like a new chance, like being saved the way so many other lost children had been saved in stories. He'd have drunk poison ten times over for the chance at something that glorious. "The elixir I made most often was called Orozcerio, or the Golden Bullet. It's gone by different names at different times, but regardless of what you call it, it endows the user with the ability to see ghosts. Temporarily, of course, but a brief glimpse behind the Veil is all most people care to have."

He studies the gold-brown light of the panacea bottle, the carefully measured dose within reminiscent of the small vials he'd carried to ritual nights. In the sun, it looks more like the Bullet than he expected, and the familiarity aches just a little.

[fonomena]

To be sure, talk of elixirs is a far more pleasant topic than talk of the royale--something they can both readily agree about, it seems. Jade doesn't begrudge Darlington's admission to being aboard the ship while the chaos on the island unfolded, considering that having to powerlessly watch the footage of it all was hardly an enviable thing either...

No, definitely no need to talk about that further. Jade's interest is far more visibly piqued when an elaboration is made, as far as Darlington's particular elixir-making endeavors might be concerned.

"Ah, so it was more a focus on perfecting just one--and it sounds like you did succeed in that, at the very least. Perhaps 'hobby' was a less fitting word, in that case...my apologies!" Sometimes you get really fixated on one particular project and just ending up getting really invested in it; Jade can certainly relate to that sort of thing, even if he was cobbling together a rather different sort of formula altogether in his own case. Still...the description of the actual elixir earns a slight intrigued tilt of his head, to be sure.

"An ability to see ghosts--very interesting. There are certainly no bottles with that sort of property where I'm from, despite the fair variety to be had..." Jade's glance follows the position of the panacea bottle in the light, but without really seeing it particularly--slightly lost in thought over the implications being introduced now, himself. "What sorts of things does a temporary glimpse behind the...'Veil' impart, I wonder? It sounds like a highly valued sort of ability--can the ghosts be communicated with in such a timeframe, as well?"

cw just to be safe: mention of blood, vague reference to eye trauma

[more_magic]

Even though his focus is on the bottle, Darlington doesn't miss the familiar way Jade perks up when the conversation shifts. It's the same kind of interest that comes off of him and Pal in nearly-visible waves whenever the two of them start talking about their respective abilities, about the rules that define magic use in each of their worlds. They are interested because it's important, because it's fascinating and may yet hold the key to finding a way out of here--but it's important because it's interesting, too. What a relief to realize he's found someone else who feels the same way.

"No need to apologize," he assures him. "I did succeed, though not without some missteps along the way. Just like learning anything else, really." No other part of his education had resulted in him passed out in the drive and bleeding from the eyes, to be fair, but the principle still held. Jade asks more probing questions about the Bullet, about the Veil and the spirits that cross through, and Darlington's appreciation for the other man only grows.

"It's important for the work I did," he says. "Greys--what most people call ghosts--are drawn to many things in the living world, but most especially to the use of magic. Their interference can cause anything from a temporary electrical blackout to an exceptionally violent death for the person or persons attempting the ritual that drew them in the first place. And while Greys can be spoken to, even if they lack the ability to speak back, it's best avoided. The more connections you forge with a spirit, the harder it is to send them back through the Veil."

my man here do be goin through it for a ghost elixir omg......

[fonomena]

The sheer variety of different systems represented across realities here--if Jade were forced to list off any particularly good aspects of being trapped aboard this ship, he'd name that particular factor at the very least, because circumstances aside it still can't be denied that it continues to be a remarkably fascinating thing. To say nothing of how every new magic system he's encountered so far continues to have its own completely unique spin...why, the implications of the variety alone would already enough to sate any theorist's thirst for plenty of time...

Of course, that being said, not everyone appreciates getting needled about these sorts of things off the cuff--ironically, Jade tends to be somewhat allergic to more thorough explanations on fonic artes himself sometimes, even if his tolerance for the process has increased by obligation after the amount of time he's spent in this place thus far. Still, it's pleasant to be audience to anyone more happy to exchange information than not, in these sorts of ways...and Darlington certainly doesn't seem very put off by the questions at all, if his visible approval of the inquiry is anything to go by.

"Then...I suppose your work must involve the spotting and warding away of these 'Greys', if I understand the implications directly? Wherein an elixir of the type you speak of would doubtless help quite a bit." Hmm, to be so actively engaged with ghosts in such a way on the whole...this is also unheard of where Jade's from, in general, though the ship's also broadened his horizons on this sort of front. He wonders, very briefly, if effort could be applied to drawing forth specific Greys where Darlington's from--deceased that you've recently known in life, perhaps--but in the end Jade sets aside that thought well before it can reach spoken word. It treads on a path that he'd still...really rather not look at too hard at all, to be honest, especially with how recently the battle royale (and the mass resurrections that had resulted from it) had torn certain long-buried interests right back open. No, this is a civil conversation with an interesting stranger, and he'd quite prefer to keep it that way--

"Threat of violent death doubtless makes it a more dangerous affair at times...your nerves must be quite exceptional, no doubt!" A humored smile accompanies the remark, but it's not an unkind sort; the compliment is fairly genuine. "--Hm, for that matter...does this mean you would call yourself a 'necromancer', where you're from?"

There really do...seem to be a moderate but surprising number, of necromancer or necromancy-adjacent persons on this ship...

[more_magic]

"Exactly so," says Darlington, unsurprised but pleased at how quickly Jade deduced the purpose of the Bullet. "The society I'm part of at home, Lethe, monitors the way the other eight magical societies at Yale use magic. Since magic draws Greys, keeping them from interfering is most of what we do on a given ritual night." The memory is less amusing now than it had been, but he smiles briefly. "I've compared it a few times to working as a bouncer. Guard the entrance, make sure no one gets in that you don't want there."

Jade asks--unsurprisingly, given some of the other people on the ship and their abilities--if he's a necromancer, and to that Darlington actually does laugh. "God, no," he says. "Lethe works with spell and object-based magic. The elixirs and wards, plus the society's collection of other magical artifacts. Necromancy is the work of a different society. Book and Snake, they're..."

He frowns a little. While The Life of Lethe had gotten it right, saying there was 'an element of the unsavory' to what the Lettermen could do, that distaste only half lay within their ability to raise the dead. "They use the dead for information," he says. "Intelligence gathering."