MARCH OPEN LOG

[sailmods]

[a soft chime of unplaceable music at 7 AM sharp. Friday's voice going over the daily weather (it never changes) and the daily schedule (it barely varies, though Friday does mention a "welcome party" set for later in the month with increasing amounts of poorly restrained glee. the mic is passed so that the captain can make his usual announcement. after a minute, it is passed back, so that Friday can wish everyone a fun and fulfilling day.

it's easy to fall into routine, on the serena eterna.

the spirits, or whatever they are, seem to have calmed down. they are still there, of course, but the plates are carried to tables instead of thrown, and any movement of the furniture is the kind that comes from normal use. wonder what they were so upset about. maybe someone talked to them.

an unfamiliar face in the hall balks at how their legs stop working suddenly. new passengers seem to arrive every other day or so, and it's always the same exact process. did you keep your lei?

the sun is shining. the air is warm. the sea is placid as a lake. you never meant to end up here. you certainly don't want to be here.

but, you can try to make the best of it.]

[ooc note: if any character decides to do some more than casual investigation of a location, be sure to ping the mod! there may be hidden treats! or hidden tricks! or maybe nothing! the best kind of prize is a SUR-PRISE!]

Comments

Ava Starr | MCU

[decohere]

1. EXPLORATION

Bill's talking to her about the upcoming end of the semester, the possibility of plans now that she's safe and able... and then there's dust in the air, either she's disintegrating or he is, but all she can recall is his look of horror reflecting her own before she wakes up with a terrified shout in an unfamiliar yet comfortable bed. Each night after the same nightmare, or had it been real? It's the last thing she can recall before waking up here. Nothing makes sense, and Ava is used to particularly strange phenomena. She is one.

But she's initially more concerned with trying to locate Bill than understanding what's going on, figures out the general layout of the ship as she frantically rushes through it and its endless collection of entertainment spaces. Shouting for Bill across each deck, hoping he can hear her, that he's not hostage or in any danger. She catches glimpses of others who are decidedly not Bill, nobody she knows nor wants to, disappearing the moment anyone glances her way too long.

She becomes aware there are other ghosts in the ship, real ones(?) unlike her, and she's not above using their presence to blend in. But she leaves behind a strange static in the air, that others paying attention may notice. And the glowing red eyes of her mask aren't the most inviting, the only color to her otherwise white suit.

The last thing she expects is anyone trying to speak with her. She hesitates, flickering in uncertainty. "What do you want?" Her voice crackles through the modulation to disguise it, stance poised to either fight or flee.

2. HOT TUB SANS TIME MACHINE

Bill is nowhere to be found, not Janet nor Lang or Hope... even Dr. Pym in her desperation to find an ally. Ava slowly accepts by the end of the first week nobody she knows is onboard and maybe that's for the best. But she is, with no way off but the obviously bad one. She could be mad about it, except Ava is Tired and has burnt through the remainder of her energy. She's been living (and dying) on edge for far too long, the stress fraying at her nerves. And in the absence of the pain she's recently been freed from, Ava faces the tempting opportunity to simply... relax and enjoy herself as the setting openly invites her to do so.

It feels like a trap, to lull her into lowering her guard for a purpose she can't yet settle on. But she pokes a toe into the empty hot tub, wearing the leggings and light shirt normally under her Ghost suit she's finally stripped out of. Not as paranoid at being seen in public after catching a moment of less activity in the middle of the night. As preoccupied as she's been, Ava hasn't bathed in the last week, and it shows. Her pigtails lopsided and tangled, and she sighs in relief as she fully slips into the hot water to rinse away the sweat and stress.

Eyes close despite her usual vigilance as exhaustion melts away, and it's already too late when she realizes she's no longer alone by the sound of steps against the wet pool deck.

"Take one more step and I'll rip your throat out," she threatens without even opening an eye, but there's no real energy behind it. She's probably bluffing.

3. WILDCARD

[you know the drill~]

Hot Tub

[businessorlibation]

"Is that really necessary?" But Johnny does stop. He wasn't planning on getting into the hot tub fully, just maybe soaking his feet. After all, the only shoes he brought with him here were dress shoes. But he was hardly going to strip and get close to a complete stranger.

[decohere]

"That's entirely up to you, I suppose," Ava turns her head just enough to get a view of the intruder of her peace. Sizes him up the way she would any opponent, and determines he's probably no immediate threat to her. Though she knows better than to completely dismiss the potential.

Her sigh is drawn out, and she's too comfortable to leave and too worn out to chase anyone off territory that's not worth defending. "Just keep your hands to yourself, and so will I." Feels like a fair enough compromise.

[businessorlibation]

One thing she might note, when doing that assessment, is that there's almost certainly some sort of weapon in a hidden pocket on the inside of his jacket. But he isn't reaching for it, instead sitting at the edge of the other side of the hot tub, taking the shoes and socks off, rolling up the hem of his pants so he can just dip his feet in without soaking his clothes.

"You're not my type, even if I were looking for someone on this hellship."

[decohere]

Her brows draw together in a moment of confusion, and realizes her comment about hands was interpreted quite differently than how she meant. She flexes her fingers under the water, decides not to clarify.

"Doubt I'm much anyone's type," Ava mumbles, doesn't take it personally. There's never been room for such a thing in her life. "Think this is hell, then?" she follows up to change the subject, remembers some small bits about mythology including boats in the afterlife.

[businessorlibation]

“Literally? I’m not sure. But being stuck here’s a hell of its own, even if we’re not dead. Friday told me she’s never been alive at all. And then told me she’s a Pisces, which seems contradictory.”

He shakes his head, frowning. “Hell or not, I don’t particularly like it.”

[decohere]

"There's probably worse places to be stuck," not that she's a fan of having the option taken away from her. Doubts much of anyone aboard is, though hasn't talked to anyone to confirm their feelings on the matter. Until now. She's not particularly sure what to do about it other than nod.

"That sounds like something a Pisces would say." Ava has no idea what a Pisces really is beyond the vaguest concept, honestly.

Hot tub!

[selenokinesis]

"My, how crass of you."

Despite the threat and despite Ebalon's choice of vocabulary, his voice carries a light-but-amused lilt to it. He doesn't look like he's dressed for a dip, simply wandering around barefoot on the deck with his pants rolled up to his knees and a blue button-down loosely done-up. In fact, there's a book tucked under one arm, and anyone with a shred of logic in their brain knows that books and water are a bad mix.

Attention piqued, though, Ebalon doesn't keep walking. He does, in fact, stand there and debate sitting opposite Ava to read passive-aggressively.

"I assure you, I mean you no harm."

[decohere]

She doesn't question the attire upon scrutiny of the man who apparently doesn't take her threat seriously enough to leave. If there's a place to acquire more than what they arrived in Ava is unaware, she hasn't changed at all. And prefers that to the alternative of skinny dipping, for both herself and her unwelcome guest.

What she does question is the book, a squint to try catching the title but it's obscured in his hold.

A wrinkle of her nose as it's clear he's in no hurry to leave her be, and she's not willing to be the one to retreat. "A lot of harm is through neglect than intended," Ava says just to be contrary. "For example, I'm more concerned about your book there than myself."

[selenokinesis]

If Ava is observant, she can catch Ebalon shifting his arm slightly to readjust his hold on the book, but there's no title on the spine nor on the front cover. It's a nice-looking book, though, emblazoned with a gold crest on the cover and nothing too defining otherwise.

He regales her with a smile, polite but curious, walking forward a few paces so that they're further within talking distance and not so awkwardly speaking across from each other. Well, a little less awkwardly, anyway.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it." He crouches, not quite with the intent of sitting down on the deck or dipping his legs into the water, but simply to more easily look her in the eye. "I wasn't entirely intending to sit down for a spell, though. Let's just say the threat caught my interest — do you normally threaten perfect strangers?"

...he says that first bit like he didn't just invite himself to do so.

[decohere]

She is observant, catching a glimmer of the gold but no other markings, but her curiosity is outweighed by her preference for keeping this conversation short and impersonal. It's no business of hers, taking him at his word not to worry about it. Besides, poking only invites questions in turn.

Her pale eyes narrow sharply as he lowers more to her level, a shift in her posture as she squares her shoulders and tries to look bigger than she is while half-submerged in the water. Not that she's ever relied on physical strength nor size. But body language is instinctual and hopefully gets the point across more than her words had.

"I'm sure you have your flaws, perfect stranger," Ava flips one of her dampened pigtails as it curls annoyingly in front of her on the water's surface. "Like bothering imperfect individuals that clearly rather be left alone. But you don't seem the considerate type." Neither does she, but she's not prancing about inflicting her presence on anyone either. So she feels somewhat less hypocritical.

[selenokinesis]

"My, my, I'm merely wondering why, when I passed you by, your first thought was to threaten me. Is that so wrong of me?"

If he's affronted by the jab, he doesn't say anything, nor does he manage to look upset. He's wearing a smile, polite but measured, friendly enough but something more akin to a retail persona. There aren't quite vibes of "I'm going to cut you" in it as is the case with most retail workers, yet. Yet being the operative term; he's pretty lanky, though, and would probably be easy to toss overboard. It's unlikely that he'll start something physical.

So, for now, he's just going to be an annoying gnat.

[decohere]

"No, it's what's wrong with me. Obviously," she's far less relaxed now, one hand grasping at the ledge behind her to brace for balance as she fully stands. Drenched and flickering in irritation, Ava doesn't look particularly dignified nor ready to follow through with the fight she's threatening.

He's not even doing that much to provoke it, but his demeanor is not exactly calming her suspicious inclinations. With no evidence at all, Ava decides he's the type that's hiding something behind that smile, that it's more at her expense than friendly. Maybe there's no intentions here, toward her, but Ava doesn't care much. She hasn't survived this long by buddying up toward strangers.

3

[prodigalmess]

If you asked him about it, Malcolm would probably tell you that he's looking for ways to pass the time. What he's really doing is trying to let out some frustration and maybe a bit of anger at being stuck on a cruise ship against his will. He's spent most of his time here trying to figure out how to get out of here, but even Malcolm Bright can't investigate all the time.

That's why he heads down to the arcade on the ship, expecting to play some pinball or skee-ball. What he finds, to his shock and delight, is a knife-throwing range. Is this here just for him? Who knows? He doesn't want to think about the implications of that right now. Instead, he's happy to focus on throwing sharp blades at a target for a while.

It takes him a little while to get into a groove, and then he's sinking knives into the bullseye over and over again. It's satisfying to hear the dull thud as the knife sinks into the cork. At least, maybe, he has control over this. It's the one tiny thing that he can control right now.

In annoyance, one of his knives goes off course and sticks in the wall next to the target. Malcolm hadn't realized that he'd thrown it hard enough to go through dry-wall. Maybe he doesn't have as much control over this as he thinks.

"Whoops," he mutters aloud, then goes to retrieve the wayward knife.

[decohere]

She's used to being pent up and restless, and with so much available to do Ava doesn't have much excuse to actually be bored. Except she's avoiding spaces where anyone else is working out their own boredom, which seems to limit the options at any given time of day. Though she's not certain how many people are actually aboard, it's enough.

The arcade appears to be thankfully empty when she peeks in, full of flashing lights from various games inviting her to come play. Ava's always liked the idea of video games, a good way to pass the time for somebody that spends so much time inside alone. Except the few she's attempted in the past had ended in frustration at her fingers slipping through the buttons at crucial moments, causing her to lose. Game over, over and over.

Ava flexes her fingers and stares at them in hesitation, they're far more reliable now. And there's a cute game with a yellow pie shaped guy and colorful ghosts that seems simple enough for a beginner that she gravitates toward. Pac-Man takes up a better portion of the hour without her realizing how much time has gone by. There's some periodic thumping sound that causes her to glance up, but she's unable to quite identify the source of amongst all the other sounds filling the area. Her little pie man gets cornered by a ghost in her distraction, right as something sharp pokes through the other side of the wall. A knife blade?

Ava blinks, hadn't even realized there was another side of the wall. Maybe it's the ship ghosts acting up again, and she hesitates before stepping away from her game. She's out of lives anyway.

There's been a few areas that Ava has since discovered in her exploration that are mysteriously proofed against her phasing abilities, and so she knows better now than to just go head first into any wall that she might smack into instead. Pressing her palms against it first, Ava reaches her hand through to grab the handle of the knife, right as somebody else seems to be reaching for it from the other side. She yelps, startled.

[prodigalmess]

If Ava is startled, imagine how someone must feel if they notice a hand coming through the wall at them.

"Woah!" Malcolm's hand grazes hers and he jumps back, stunned. At first he wonders if he hallucinated it. So far, he thinks that most of the stuff he's seen here isn't imagined. Plus, he touched it. Tactile hallucinations are something that he's never experienced.

He takes a few more steps back, trying to slow his beating heart as he stares at the knife still sticking into the wall. "H-Hello?" he calls. "Is someone there?" There was the beeping of an arcade game that he heard, but he hadn't paid it much attention until now. Was it coming from the other side of the wall?

[decohere]

Maybe it's a good moment to get out of there, pulling her hand back through as if it had been burnt. She stares at it with wide eyes, and there's no sign of harm. Logically she knows that, it hadn't hurt, but the surprise still lingers and her heart's still pounding.

Through the wall she can hear the muffled sound of a man's voice, the beeping and dinging of the arcade drowning out the exact words. Ava presses her ear to the wall, curious who might be throwing knives and... why. Doesn't sound like there's a fight on the other side, and even if there were not knowing the context she's not inclined to interfere.

"Hello?" she calls back, before poking her head through. A glance at the embedded knife, a twist of her body through the wall as she pulls it out, and then a squint at the man standing there observing her. She leans through more, to get a better look at the wall itself, the targets, considers the knife in her hand, and puts all the information together.

"Oh, you have terrible aim," Ava remarks.

[prodigalmess]

In response, Ava gets stunned silence. Perhaps she has no idea what this looks like from his vantage point. A person is halfway through the wall and is acting like it's normal.

Malcolm has been questioning his sanity since he got here and this isn't helping.

"You.. can move through walls," he answers dumbly, gaping at her.

[decohere]

"I can," Ava agrees as she steps the rest of the way through, readjusting the lei around her neck. "And you can make very obvious observations."

She sidesteps over to the target with the other knives sticking out of it, tilts her head to consider for a moment, before gently phasing the one in her hand right into the bullseye. "Hah, I win," she declares, a glance back over her shoulder. "You seem slightly unwell. Seasick?"

WILDCARD: dinner!

[lightconductor]

There is a polite knock at Ava's door as dinner time approaches, delivered with the handle of his walking stick. While appropriate clothing options are woefully difficult to source just at the moment, he's done the best he can with the suit he arrived in.

Dinner together was promised, and he's here to deliver on that. At least, he will if she happens to be free, because he's just sort of shown up on a whim.

"Miss Starr, are you in?"

[decohere]

There was very little chance of Watson missing Ava, as she hasn't left her room much at all since the night of the party. Partially to recover, but there isn't a whole lot she's felt like doing now that the novelty of exploring was beginning to wear off.

Instead she's currently keeping herself occupied by trying to figure out the annoyingly blank television in her room, her hand partially phased into its electronics, attempting to detect some sort of signal at all. The rap at the door startles her, and the tv crashes to the floor as she quickly tries to disconnect herself from it.

She's about to be annoyed, but the voice calling from the other side is one that she recognizes and enjoys, so Ava responds with a quick, "Yes, coming!" And smoothes out her hair in the mirror before opening the door, a dainty smile in greeting. She's wearing a bathrobe tied loosely over a pair of nautical pajamas from the shop, and fuzzy slippers. Not exactly dressed for dinner she wasn't expecting, but she does look rather comfortable.

[lightconductor]

Ah. She seems. Not dressed. Well, if she's not embarrassed, he's going to attempt to also not be embarrassed.

Fortunately there was something falling over to distract him. "What was that crash? Is everything all right?" Watson attempts to look behind her, discreetly. "I, ah, wanted to see if you wished to go for that dinner we spoke of, but if you're engaged, it can always wait."

[decohere]

She's more embarrassed by the fallen television than her pajamas, but opens the door further for Watson's inspection anyway. "No, not busy. The tv fell," she claims, gesturing toward it.

"Oh, it's..." Ava glances around, no watch to check, a bit oblivious to the time. "It's evening already? Hang on, I can get dressed. Come on in. Shouldn't take long."

[lightconductor]

Watson starts to step inside, then stops. "While you're dressing?" he asks, as delicately polite as he can.

Surely not. Surely that's a bridge too far. Yes, people are staggeringly familiar and informal in the future, yes he knows this, he's been working very hard at getting used to this, but surely being in a woman's room while she dresses is too much. "Are you... certain?"

[decohere]

"I'd be... in the bathroom," Ava clarifies, doesn't see anything scandalous about that. "Or does it make a difference, whether it's that door," a nod toward where he stands, "or this one that separates us while I'm changing? Other than you can at least sit on the couch while waiting. But if you rather stay out there..."