come_sailaway | And everything I stir into my tea, comes back to conquer me

Entry tags:

And everything I stir into my tea, comes back to conquer me

Who: Ava and whoever

When: Early June

Where: Various

Summary: More Cute! More Fun! Pre-camping ponderings. Possibly some thievery!

Warnings: Currently none

i. NOT TOO BAD - (closed to Ed)
Ava narrows her eyes suspiciously as she reads over the changed details of the new yet shamelessly the same sign up sheet. Is it really that simple? Or is it just a false sense of security to lure more people in, fall for the same trick twice. It's got to be different, right? Somebody's been texting that annoying call for unity letter around, and she doubts they'd be given much a chance to attempt pulling it off.

She traces her finger over where she'd written her name before, now covered in a scribble, and ponders whether she ought to put her name back on the list.

"What do you think?" she asks, aware of the presence of somebody nearby, turning her glance and, oh, it's Blackbeard. She smiles.

ii. DOOM SCROLLING - (ota)
Since the new sign up sheet went out, Ava periodically checks back to see who else has added their name, how many more are willing to chance the excursion. If it's anyone she knows, what their plans might be to prepare.

"Are you worried?" she asks, either to somebody that's just signed up, or somebody that's instead turned away.

iii. INTO THE WOODS?
Back in the library, Ava is flipping through books that might take place in a forest, involves camping. Mostly she's going by covers, as much as she knows the old saying not to judge a book by one. A lot of them seem to be horror stories, but there's plenty of fairy tales that take place in the woods as well.

This really isn't getting her anywhere at all, and she gives a frustrated sigh at her growing pile, resigning herself to the fact they'll be eaten by bears or sacrificed in some weird ritual and there's nothing she can really do to prepare. The book in her hands gives her a confused pause though.

"You ever go on vacation?" she asks whoever else in the library.

iv. FINDERS KEEPERS? - (ota)
Other passengers seem to keep getting all sorts of neat stuff, and Ava has no idea why all she's gotten so far is some giant Hello Kitty. Is she doing something wrong? Is she supposed to want things a bit harder? Does whoever summon those gifts simply not like her? ~~Is her player just too lazy?~~

Whatever, Ava knows one whole way to get what she wants. Stealing. She'll lurk about in common areas and the hallways, invisible, watching to see if anyone's got anything neat worth taking. Better not turn your attention, or she's going for it.

Alternatively, she might find another reason to spy on your character. Are they looking suspicious? Up to anything odd? Having a hushed conversation? (Feel free to even link to another thread that she's welcome to come spy on!)

v. KNOCK KNOCK - (open to cr or their roommates?)
It's the middle of the night, which is when Ava tends to be most active, most bored, and most likely to seek out somebody to talk to. She knocks quietly at a cabin door, dressed in pajamas and fuzzy slippers and holding a mug of tea.

vi. STEWING - (ota)
There's an uncomfortable awareness that the population of the ship is growing. Which has made the use of the hot tub a bit more competitive, and other areas of the ship far more busy as well. There's less and less place to simply be alone and undisturbed. But she catches the hot tub empty at some point and slips in, a piña colada in one hand and one of those Baby-Sitters Club books in another. Yes, the pages are a bit damp. No, she doesn't care.

If anyone choosing to join her is somebody she knows, Ava will give a small "hey" in welcome. If it's somebody she doesn't, she'll simply glare over the top of the book.

vii. WILDCARD - (ota) HIT ME UP!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"There are more more passengers aboard now to sign up, ones that weren't even here to witness the last, so that does help sway things in the favor of his claim. But yes, it was a sizable portion. I think some just want to prove they're capable of doing better than us failures, and want to partake in that whole peaceful protest. Or they're less afraid, with the knowledge that we simply, more or less, come back. Or the not too bad is all the reassurance they need."

She puzzles for a moment. "One of the women I killed, she's gone now. I worked up the courage to confront her, and she's simply no longer here."

That's not a particularly reassuring thing to learn, now is it? Skulduggery's own cabin had seemed lived in but empty when he'd arrived, before Lucius; and Max himself had never seen his cabinmate before. Likely, they both disappeared for similar reasons.

"Subsumed by the ship, maybe," he says unhappy at the thought. "It's unlikely they managed to escape back to their realities, but that's certainly an option..." Not a very likely one, unfortunately.

"Right, it just seems a kinder way to phrase it. And dead doesn't quite have the right note of finality anymore, does it?"

She feels overly flushed from the warmth of the water and the drink, and reaches for her folded towel. "So if you get in, would you turn the whole thing into a broth?" Ava asks.

"We don't know that the shades can't be restored," Skulduggery points out. His tone indicates he thinks that is a wildly unlikely probability, though. Also, "I don't have any marrow, so it would make for a particularly weak soup." Hehe. "Besides, I tend to float."

"You know. Perhaps," Ava sounds just as doubtful. "Or maybe there's some way to... I don't know, have them fight back somehow." Ava does like the thought of revolution. But still doubtful.

"Mm, so you're truly bone dry, huh?"

She pauses. "I hope you don't mind my curiosity. I know sometimes I get sick of people poking around too much in my business, but you're always welcome to ask questions in return."

"Are you kidding? I love to talk about myself." Boastful but still managing to be self-aware of it: that's Skulduggery's whole deal. "Although sometimes I think you might be teasing me, instead of indulging in my enormous ego."

The only thing he loves more than himself is a good mystery, and he can't resist picking at the ghosts. "Even if they couldn't fight back, having some way to communicate with them would help. Who knows what they might be able to tell us?"

"It's my job to keep you humble," Ava decides, right then and there. "And probably Max's to make you second guess your choices in life, yeah?" she jokes.

Ava hums, trying to think of ways to communicate with ghosts. "Are seances a real thing? Or maybe a ouija board." They're the sorts of thing that even she's heard of, even though she has no experience with either. It feels dumb suggesting it, because she's sure the magic sorts have already tried all sorts of ways of communicating with the spirits.

"Max's job is to be irritatingly obtuse about magic." He is fondly annoyed about that, as opposed to just regular annoyed. Max is special, he gets to be obtuse.

Ava's following questions indicate she might also need that special treatment. "Mediums are a thing in my reality, but ghosts are not something I deal with on a day-to-day basis." More like a monthly/bi-monthly basis. "I... know Darcy is more familiar with them." But they're currently not on speaking terms, which doesn't bode well for immediate ghost-related conversation.

"In Max's defense, magic is dumb," Ava explains, to her magical skeleton friend. She climbs out of the hot tub, letting most of the water phase off of her with a flicker of motion, before wrapping the towel around her waist to sit next to him. "We wouldn't be in this whole dumb mess if our Captain stuck to something else, like... crocheting."

She hums in thought, trying to think if anyone else really has that strong of a connection with ghosts. Despite her name, she knows very little of them. Can't seem to interact with them more than anyone else. "Oh. Hm. Wonder what she's already tried."

"Point taken, but magic is hardly dumb." What Ava just did would be considered magic in his own reality, but he decides not to bring that up. No need to get into what is and isn't magic when they're just chilling by the hot tub!

"I wish I could remember exactly what she said, but I do remember her trying to communicate with them. See if they needed something to move on, like a regular ghost. But no luck there." He tilts his head. "I... could ask her to try again, maybe, now that we know more about the situation. That is, if we're ever on speaking terms again." Said in a voice that is extremely reminiscent of a dad dealing with the latest in a long line of teenage tantrums, despite the fact that it's actually his bad.

It's science, don't you dare say otherwise. "I just mean this is my only experience with magic, and it's... fine, it's neat in theory. But it's still a bunch of smoke and mirrors nonsense. Literally." You're not going to convince her that this is more than some sort of illusionary trapped-in-a-simulation mindfuckery. Because nothing makes sense in any way that satisfies her.

She listens curiously, because she's not sure what more could be attempted than methods an expert has already tried. "Blink once for yes and twice for no...?" Ava muses, unhelpfully. And then frowns. "Wait, something happened? Did you insult Daft Punk?"

"If I were a magician, I would agree with you." But he's not. He's a sorcerer, and all of his magic is totally real and logical!

"And no, although I wish it had been so simple. I got... tetchy with her for looking through my belongings." Wow, understatement of the century, there. He knows it, too, because he reluctantly supplies Darcy with a defense. "It was for a good cause, and she didn't mean any harm, but I still didn't take it well."

"Well what's the damn difference? Wizard, magician, sorcerer, warlock... all sounds like the same thing to me." She literally knows nothing!

Ava looks rather affronted at the idea, on Skulduggery's behalf. "Snooping through your things? Of course you'd be mad. It's hard enough to get any privacy around here already. Good cause or not, you don't touch other people's stuff without asking." Oh yes there's a whole lot of hypocrisy right here, coming from a thief. But stealing and betraying your friend's trust is entirely different!

"It's entirely relative between realities, which is the really annoying part." He's had several conversations now with Jade about this very topic, but he bets Ava wouldn't be interested in the curious way magical systems seem to coexist here on the ship. "Suffice it to say, the captain is a magician, and I am a sorcerer." She'll let her decide which one is the better one based on that information alone.

She is a thief, and a spy, which makes her interest in privacy a bit funny. Skulduggery can't help but chuckle. "To be fair to her, she hadn't any reason to assume I would be upset with it. I... received a package from the sundries shop, one I didn't intend to show anyone. Unfortunately, I only had one place to hide it, and..." He lifts a hand in a vague "what can you do" sort of wave. "She found it."

"Yes, but what's the difference?" Ava insists again, kicking at the water. And honestly she's more interested than you give her credit for, Skully, because she had a similar discussion with Ebalon IN THIS VERY HOT TUB when they first arrived about somehow these different magic and science systems all managing to work here despite operating by seemingly different laws and principles. It truly is why she thinks this place is a dirty trick. "The type of rabbit-pulling hat and robe you wear? If you wave a wand around or have to say silly words?" She knows it's none of those things, but she is fishing for actual answers.

Her interest in her own personal privacy is because she absolutely had none of her own at SHIELD. And you know, paranoid tendencies. But like she can do what she wants and who can stop her.

Listening, Ava can't help but wonder what it is that Darcy found. If it was something mundane, he probably wouldn't have gone into not-speaking territory over it. But if it was something he didn't want anyone else to find... Still, she tries to imagine how she'd react if Undine went through her stuff. Probably not all that well, and she doesn't even have anything to hide.

"Even if she didn't mean harm by it, it's still disrespectful. Was it your porno mag?" Ava jokes, and then quickly shakes her head. Sorry, she knows this is meant to be a more serious topic. "You don't have to tell me."

Skulduggery says his first, "Oh my God," when Ava kicks her feet in the water like a child. "Alright, alright! In my reality, not everyone's, just mine, sorcerers are what you call most magic users. Warlocks are... sort of a subset of necromancers," not gonna get into it, it's a whole thing, "And magicians are the sort you hire for a birthday party, who use smoke and mirrors. Of course, the captain calls himself a magician the way I call myself a sorcerer." Because he's dumb and wrong.

He's very close to launching into more of an explanation when the second, "Oh my God," hits, a lot louder and more shocked than the first. Cut him some slack, nobody has ever asked him if he was hiding skin mags in his bedroom before! "Ava, seriously," he chokes out, followed by a surprised bit of laughter.

"Maybe this is somebody's birthday party," Ava suggests.

And then covers her mouth with both her hands, practically cackling behind them at Skulduggery's dramatic reaction. Just what she was hoping for, honestly she enjoys provoking the people she likes. "WELL! I couldn't think of what else you'd be afraid of a teenager finding in your secret stash."

The shock subsides quickly, but then comes the mental comparison of his evil gauntlets to pornography. That sends him right back into another, mildly hysterical giggle-fit, which he takes a second or two longer to calm down from than is probably expected.

He can't help it; he's been strung up with tension ever since the captain's party and he's been due for a mild mental breakdown for a while now. (That makes him think of Max, mentally checked out in a godawful shirt, which almost gets him going all over again.)

......

"Can you imagine? A skeleton collecting skin magazines!"

Now THAT is funny.

Ava giggles. Manages to stop.

Continues giggling because it's far too contagious.

Finally manages to get out: "Nothing But Skin and Bones."

Skulduggery snickers, unable to help himself. "When they say they bare all, they really mean it."

Because this is a reasonable and understandable conversation. Thankfully, he's not having nearly as big a mental breakdown as he had with Max; just a little one. You know, as a treat!

Sometimes things get a bit too serious, and then you remember you're just some glitchy loser in a hot tub in the middle of some nautically themed pocket dimension or whatever talking with your sorcerer skeleton buddy about what gets his bones off.

Ava leans against Skulduggery, trying to take back control her breathing and wiping at the damp corners of her eyes.

She could try gently prodding again at what Darcy might have found that concerns him so much. Or... no, he'd have told her if he wanted her to know and she has to respect that. So she sighs. "I think I like somebody. But I don't know what to do about it."

See, this is why Ava is a good friend. He mentions something is private and that's that. Or, well, she wildly assumes he's got dirty magazines, but that's still better than snooping. Maybe in time, he'll be able to tell her, but as it stands, it's something so deeply personal that he hasn't even brought it up to his closest friends at home.

The change in subject draws a mild laugh out of him. "Maybe you ought to do whatever Mary Anne would do." He's pretty sure that's the girl who ran over to the boy's side for some arbitrary, likely romantic reason. Because obviously, he's not in any position to be doling out relationship advice.

"Write an embarrassing love note for the other girls to find to prove that my boyfriend actually exists? Signed Love-Bunny?" Ava makes a slightly grossed out face just putting those words out into the air.

She sulks slightly. "I'm not a feeb."

"Oh. No, you shouldn't do that. Is that really what that book is about?" What the hell kind of storyline is that? Love-Bunny??? "And... whatever that is, I'm sure you're not." Because he has no idea what a "feeb" is and he's not going to learn now. "Unless it means shy. Then I think you might be."

"It's about all sorts of things and nothing at all, featuring far too many narrators," Ava couldn't be all that surprised, given the reading level. "I don't know, it's a term I learned in the book. Along with oreo. I think it's short for feeble. And I'm not shy," Ava insists. "Just. Perfectly reasonable amounts of cautious given the circumstances."

And everything I stir into my tea, comes back to conquer me

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