A Shadow in the Wings [OTA]

[blacksludgeaffair]

Who: Venom and you
What: January catch-all
When: January, before and after Ari's announcement
Where: Promenade, pool, Sand Dollars

1. Don't feed after midnight

It's a late night as you make your way through the Promenade. Quiet. Quiet enough to hear something shuffling, somewhere, close to the ground. All of a sudden, a voice, behind you. "Grreetings..."

And then you see it. The strangest, scariest teddy bear in the world.

2. Dark shapes in the water

There appears to be a vantablack jellyfish in the pool, swimming laps. It's much faster than a jellyfish should be, and much more willing to climb up the side out of the water. On one of these occasions, on the edge of the pool, it returns to being a puddle, grows a mouth.

"Iiit is testing... if it can swim..."

3. Hunger strike

Emotions have been heightened since the one that called herself Lieutenant broadcast her announcement. Adrenaline courses through the passengers. Prime Klyntari hunting ground. But no, it does not want to hunt. Foolish choice. Make enemies, lose potential hosts, possibly lose current hosts.

The solution is simple. It is too agitated to make sure it will be effective. A message, in ketchup, on the back wall of Sand Dollars. Danger. Underneath, a cocoon of Hawaiian shirts.

Comments

1, prior to launch

[saltwaterlungs]

Darcy's poked at the teddy bear set-up a couple of times solely and purely to see if there's anything Fio would like and nothing for herself fuck you for even considering it. As she pokes around it today, she looks down and.

"... Goop?" she asks, and then 100% picks up the teddy bear because what the fuck this is the cutest thing.

"Oh this is not a good texture- how is this both wet and sticky?"

[blacksludgeaffair]

"Darrrcy..." It wiggles aimlessly in her hands. It feels like it should keep moving, but it isn't sure how.

"Iiit is not used to... bonding to a thing..."

[saltwaterlungs]

"You probably shouldn't, this is like... nightmare fuel. If I saw this at 2am you'd be getting punted off the ship."

She reaches a hand out, "you want a better offer?"

[blacksludgeaffair]

It climbs off of- and, distressingly, out of- the teddy bear, forming itself into a spiked armband around her wrist. The bear stays, plain cream brown, but feels like it's filled with beanbag beans.

It thought the other passengers might be less afraid if it had a solid form.

[saltwaterlungs]

Just kinda squishes the teddy bear. Hers now.

"What, are people afraid of you?" she asks, holding her wrist up to look over the armband, "but you're adorable? Who's been giving you shit- you're my little buddy and I won't let them talk shit about you."

[blacksludgeaffair]

It scared another passenger soon after it arrived. Thought they were from its world.

There's a sense of... Guilt? Shame? It feels bad about what happened. It doesn't like feeling like this.

It bonded forcefully. Went through their memory. Saw things it shouldn't have.

[saltwaterlungs]

An uncomfortable feeling spreads through Darcy's gut.

"Okay yeah that's- that's not great, goop. Did you... apologise?"

Is she going to have to teach an alien symbiote how to apologise.

Dark Shapes In The Water

[freedomsuitsme]

"Oh, well, that's a relief. For a moment, I thought They'd found Their way here through the pool filtration system somehow."

He removes a glove and reaches a jet-stained hand into the water, offering context through contact.

[blacksludgeaffair]

It slithers up his hand, forms itself into a glove.

It wanted to be prepared in case it needed to go below the ship.

[freedomsuitsme]

It's met with visions of other shadowy things swimming in other pools of water. The most distinctive of those is some sort of long-necked creature, moving silently through a vast and foggy sea.

"Is there something that makes you anticipate needing to do that?"

[blacksludgeaffair]

Nothing particular. There is simply a lot of water.

Breathing is not necessary to the symbiote, though it doesn't process oxygen well on its own.

Does Maxwell find this practice unnecessary?

[freedomsuitsme]

"No, I'm confident you could find use in being more proficient with your swimming. I was just thinking that perhaps there was a specific event motivating it. It seems there's a lot going on here as of late."

[blacksludgeaffair]

No specific incident. It hears the latest excursion was especially taxing. It wants to be prepared for them to get worse in the future.

[freedomsuitsme]

"Not a bad idea. Are you able to swim with someone else bonded to you?"

2

[knotawolf]

Crouching down at the side of the pool with his face inches from the water watching this weird black puddle go back and forth. He suddenly darts his hand into the goop, ready to straight up eat this weird oil, when it speaks.

He blinks at his hand, "Liquid and different liquid, float on top. Have seen in river."

[blacksludgeaffair]

It slithers around his arm as it grabs him, surprised.

It is not oil.

The voice floats into his mind.

It is a symbiote. It does look like oil, though.

[knotawolf]

[Oh it's telepathic sludge. He tries to think HELLO really really loud. Can probably see his face scrunch up while he concentrates.]

[blacksludgeaffair]

Oh, loud. Now that he isn't so intent on grabbing it, it settles into a simple armband.

It hears fine. He does not have to try so hard. What is his name?

[knotawolf]

His name is Yufei. Is my name now.

[He holds his arm up, twisting it around in different angles to look at it.]

Have never seen creature like this before. What are you?