[open] come on, make a joyful sound

[light_mischief]

Who: Skulduggery Pleasant & anyone who wants to deal with him
What: you'd think after an announcement like that one, he'd be making himself scarce, but nope!
When: July, up until the excursion.
Where: Around the ship, by the pool, and also the Chatterbox, obviously. but NOT at Bobby B's. nope!!!!
Warnings: None at the moment, other than potential being-a-dickness from Skuls
Notes: with the Bobby B's prompt, if your character can see through magic invisibility, let me know :)


[AROUND THE SHIP] if you will believe in your heart
[Skulduggery can be found wandering the ship at any point during the day or night. to the untrained eye, it may look like he's pacing, but you couldn't be more wrong. this is simply idle exercise for an old man who is definitely not churning over a lot of thoughts about what his plans are for the future.

he won't stop to talk unless a familiar friend waves him down, but he's more than willing to Aaron Sorkin this shit if somebody decides to pull a walk-and-talk with him.]

[CHATTERBOX] and confess with your lips
[alternatively, Skulduggery can be found in the Chatterbox after midnight for his own private hour-long karaoke session. it isn't quite the same, now that the karaoke machine isn't inhabited by any ghosts that may or may not have ever existed in the first place, but he seems to be making the most of it.

actually, he's having a little too much fun. anyone who tries to have a conversation with him here may find themselves subjected to a musical response in lieu of a real one, and woe to anyone who tries to take the microphone out of his hand before his hour's up.]

[POOL] surely you will be saved one day
[and finally, Skulduggery can occasionally be found lounging on a deck chair with a book during the afternoons and early evenings. he's even dressed down on these occasions, with his shoes tucked under the chair and his jacket folded neatly over the back. he can't seem to stop humming the same few bars of Time after Time... that song is such an earworm!

if someone is looking to corner him, this is liable to be the best time, because he isn't inclined to start a fight in the middle of the day.]

[BOBBY B'S] don't see what the point is in even trying to fight
[there's no skeleton detective to be seen, which would make this a pretty terrible prompt for a roleplaying game. luckily, there is one thing that seems curiously out of place inside Bobby B's: an unattended ship-branded pad of paper and a pen, resting next to an ashtray with a half-smoked cigar stubbed out in it. written across the top of the page are the words: SKULLDUGGERY PLEASANT. underneath that is a list, written in seemingly several different fonts:

- can remove & replace limbs (head too?)
- senses movement thru air, flies
- latent necromancy?
- always armed (2 guns)
- charming (talks way out of problems)
- irrational & mentally unstable
- easy to anger? (no)
- death by car crash
- death by spike pit??? HOW

and then, at the bottom, hastily scrawled and underlined: how do u kill a skeleton?

huh. that sure is weird. it looks like mutliple people have added to this list with the same left-over pen. maybe somebody else has something to add?? or maybe they're trying to figure out why there's one less bar stool at the bar...]

[closed to Darcy] getting into knives
[the cloaking sphere isn't the only thing that Skulduggery picked up from the sundries shop. alongside two relics that would make extremely fitting gifts for a newlywed couple, he's also been given a deceptively simple item that he thinks is just perfect for Darcy. their birthday was... some time ago, which makes this rather belated, but he figures that there are enough extenuating circumstances to keep him from feeling too guilty about that.

he texts Darcy to meet up at Sand Dollars for a surprise (conveniently on his way to Bobby B's for a spot of enemy-watching), and even though he doesn't need to, he invites them to bring any of their million+ swords along. might as well ensure the gift works the way he suspects it will!]

[wildcard] look for the bigger picture when I close my eyes real tight

(Throw something up at random, or throw me a line on Discord to plan something!)

Comments

[light_mischief]

I need to ask about Malin. I mentioned that I brought it up to the Captain, [in a yet-unwritten text message...] but he didn't remember anything in particular. And since he doesn't remember, he doesn't think it's important.

[his tone is just neutral enough that he doesn't actively imply that he thinks the Captain is being dumb...]

And you should be careful not to finish it by yourself. If it's cursed with wings or some sort of animal form, you might as well share it.

[decohere]

Hm, interesting that Sparkles might have insight into deals that the Captain may not... [given his tendency to cut out his memories.] If we don't have much luck with communicating... perhaps we can go through somebody who does. [obviously not Fio though, she wouldn't use her friendship in such a way to exploit it even for well meaning gain.] Helena had proved capable enough of getting whatever info Jenny was willing to spare. But I'm not sure how willing Lieutenant Tayrey would be to cooperate with us.

[a huff as she idly rolls the sphere around, trying to pick up any familiar energy from it. she can usually detect certain wavelengths, given her sensitivity to the atomic atmosphere. but she doesn't pick up anything from this, and passes it back.

of course she's thought of such a side effect, there's been a lot of that going around lately. but also Max's newly gained ability to sleep, and 6's recent bout of the flu... or it could really be nothing at all.] If it's a curse, it's one intended for me. Why would I share such a thing?

[light_mischief]

It was adamantly reminding me during our chess game that it was the one who remembers everything. Likely because the Captain gave up those memories after binding Sparkles.

[whether that's still true remains to be seen. but Skulduggery has a feeling that even if Sparkles doesn't remember all of the details, it will remember more than enough to fill in some of the blanks left behind.]

I don't know; maybe it's the sort of ramification that's best shared! Like any good bottle of liquor.

[decohere]

Does Sparkles only remember up to the separation I wonder, or is that where all the lost memories end up...? [well not all, given the cuff in the temple.]

No, if it's something cool then I want to be exclusive. Since invisibility is apparently a cheap trick now. And if it's something awful, I don't need that guilt.

[light_mischief]

That's the question. I doubt it, but considering my only other alternative is talking to Friday... [he's pretty sure she hates him as much as Sparkles does.] Besides. I owe it a proper game of chess, one without me asking personal questions to upset it.

[LBR it's gonna be a Time Crisis competition]

And there's nothing cheap about a cloaking sphere. They're extremely difficult to get ahold of, since the only people who tend to have them are Sanctuary officials. That's like comparing... I don't know. Air Force One to Aer Lingus.

[decohere]

Chess is so terribly clichéd... [she can only imagine how such a game went.]

Oh yes, pardon me, prime minister. Forgot my manners. Would you like a sip of my rum, then? Maybe it'll put some hair on your chest. [okay that's a disturbing mental image. she opens the bottle, pouring a good amount over ice, and then tops it off with cola and then tosses in a handful of bar garnishes.]

[light_mischief]

Full Seventh Seal, with a black and white sea and a rocky shoreline. I was positive I was going to be forced into the Danse Macabre.

[he laughs and shakes his head.] Don't worry. Me having one would guarantee chaos for any Sanctuary on Earth. I think I'm one of the last people they'd trust with this kind of artifact.

[he tucks the sphere away.]

And I would hate to ruin my suit just for the bit, so alas, I will have to pass.

[decohere]

Seems like everyone but me got an exciting personalized torture adventure courtesy of Sparkles. Not sure if I should be jealous.

[a small snort] Shame none of them are around to bluster about it, then. In their absence, I'll say that you've already proven why you can't be trusted. [flourishes the ways to kill Skulduggery open plotting post.]

More for me, then. Cheers. [a heavy drink from her cup, and a face that reflects how little she actually likes alcohol. not going to stop her, though.]

[light_mischief]

I don't know how personalized it was after that. I went through a door into a room where Natsuno was being used to attack me, and then after that, I fell into a spike pit. I'm not sure anyone other than Aiden and myself actually saw it at all.

And that, [he nods towards the paper,] is a clever investigative tactic. I'm still not sure just how deep the animosity is towards me. Most people seem satisfied to roll their eyes and dismiss me out of hand, which I'm used to. But not many people are openly wishing for my death. And, since I'm not quite sure what will kill me, it seems only appropriate to crowdsource some options.

[decohere]

Maximilien got to speak to the powers behind the curtain, Valdis got beheaded to be the messenger of hope, and Peter slayed a lion. [okay not slayed, but said lion is no longer around to correct the record.] And I just got to sit around and get yelled at and humiliated. Hardly equitable. [she's mostly kidding but like she never gets to do anything fun Skulduggery!!!]

Oh. Around here? The dissatisfaction doesn't seem to amount to much other than complaints. Everyone's social lives are too intertwined to risk. They're too afraid to disrupt the peace they claim to resent. So. Hmm... [she slowly sips from her cup.]

Crashing off the cliff seemed to do the trick. You can live without your skull attached. But what if it's shattered? What if I phase inside you and... no, that'd probably kill me too.

[light_mischief]

At least you learned who was our friend, and who is simply just obnoxious.

[any bad time can be a good investigative moment, if you let it!]

I don't know. I think people have buried their resentment deeper than they're willing to access. But... yes, I think breaking my skull is good. I'm almost positive that the car accident was fatal due either to my skull or my ribcage being crushed. I can't drown, but I'm sure the pressure of ten miles of water would be enough, if I needed to die on the ship. I'm still curious as to whether or not Maximilien could electrocute me, but I don't see him offering to test that anytime soon. Not unless we're up for another Battle Royale.

[or, you know, if they're standing next to each other in a shallow pool of water...]

[decohere]

Eh. Most everyone aligned exactly as predicted. Or did anyone surprise you?

[she munches on a maraschino cherry thoughtfully as he goes through a few ideas, nodding.]

Pressure makes sense. Being dissolved in acid, but I'm not sure anyone has access to the chemicals necessary. Electricity is one of the few things I can't quite phase away from. Disrupting my ability to stay together molecularly. Most energy fields are fine, just specific frequencies.

If you really want to run a few experiments, I am intimately familiar with the scientific method. But maybe we should wait until the excursions so it's more appropriate. [this is a totally normal offer between friends right?]

[light_mischief]

Well, Ari befriending Sparkles was a bit of a late-inning upset...

[but, maybe not as surprising as it seems.]

Yes, I think we should wait until there aren't any penalties for killing each other. After all, as much as the Captain likes me, I doubt he'll be able to resist playing some prank or another on me if I choose to be an idiot.

[decohere]

Makes sense. They have the same stubborn childish hangups. [that she sympathizes with, but unfortunately she doesn't have the benefit of throwing tantrums about how unfair life is anymore.]

Joke is on him for liking us. Because we are idiots. But like in a cute way.