Jade Curtiss (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fonomena) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
come_sailaway2022-07-07 11:07 am
fonomena) wrote in come_sailaway2022-07-07 11:07 am
[open] hydration is out, perpetual thirst is in
Who: Jade Curtiss and you!!
What: The water is cursed, it's great! Here, some condensed reactions to this over the month...
When: Throughout July
Where: Pretty much anywhere and everywhere about the ship!
Warnings: None off the bat, though depending on the nature of potential truths/lies this could change! Will update with warnings or place CWs where needed.
Notes: (I've started out with brackets, but feel free to use prose! I'll match whichever style you prefer)
[So, the month's been shaping up into something...odd.
After the whole camping affair there's been a persistent and distinct sense of waiting for another shoe to drop anyhow, of course, for all that the immediately following weeks proceeded to go by almost infuriatingly quietly. Eventually, though, something finally seems to start happening...even if it seems to be taking the form of that other shoe not so much "dropping" as "gingerly being lowered to the ground by hand", so to speak. The subtlety of it all is quite the sharp contrast against the stark bluntness of the battle royale, after all...
But that doesn't mean it isn't still thoroughly unsettling. Jade first discovers the general presence of the curse in the most disorienting sort of way, but even after that whole fiasco is eventually cleared up...he still comes away with far more questions than answers. Like how in the world that had even happened in the first place--and why it had quit happening after the fact, at least temporarily--and whether the risk still remains...or happens to be affecting anyone else on the ship?
He'd rather like to find out sooner than later, needless to say.]
A; within the first week
[After the incident in 109, Jade starts going about his daily routines aboard the ship with more of an eye out for passing fellow passengers. Whether it's in the buffet, or about the sports deck, along the outer rails overlooking the sea or down along the Promenade...familiar faces and strangers alike are greeted with a pleasantly polite smile, before being briefly accosted with a question or two.
i.) If the conversation happens to be indoors:] By the way, how is the weather today? [Ironically an easy enough test, before the first weekend of rain actually hits, considering how extremely consistently sunny and temperate the weather has been surrounding the ship for as long as Jade himself has been here thus far...well, Pirate Jenny's temper aside the one time, anyway. This day, of course, just so happens to be as full of sunshine as all the others.
ii.) If the conversation happens to be outdoors, though:] What would you say is the color of the sea, over there? [You know, as if he couldn't turn and look directly at the sea literally right now right there......]
B; the first weekend rain
[And then, of course, the weather has to go and actually change. Which sure isn't suspicious at all, in the least!
i.) It's an odd discovery, waking to find a paler sort of light filtering through the porthole in his cabin one morning--the water spatters upon it, and gray clouds beyond it, this time without any rumor of thunder or lightning to accompany it whatsoever. Similarly unlike the Jenny incident, no strange or angry elemental energy hangs about the air this time either. And when Jade does step out of his cabin at length...well, at least the walk down the hall has some overhead cover. But then he comes upon the part of the deck that opens up and out to free air and an unimpeded view of the sea, the horizon beyond smeared ashen with the misting drizzle overhead...and Jade pauses just shy of actually stepping out into it, glancing sidelong to find somebody else similarly hovering nearby.]
Well, it doesn't look like acid rain from here, does it? Though one has to wonder... [Jade arches his eyebrows, with a humored sort of smile.] I don't suppose you'd be willing to stick a hand out into it first, for science?
[ii.) Eventually, of course, determinations are made that the rain doesn't seem to be acidic or otherwise hazardous in any (obvious) way. Save for the fact that it makes crossing to certain parts of the ship rather damper than they need to be, at times...and Jade is no better at evading getting a bit soaked on occasion than anyone else, on that sort of front. Sighing and brushing accumulated water out of his bangs after a bit of a speedwalk across the sports deck, an idle remark is made to the nearest person passing by, whether they're headed back inside as well or getting ready to go out there for themselves:]
It's refreshing enough that it's some sort of change out here...but really, I think it'd be much better if this were snow instead of rain.
[Incidentally, this is rather more honest than he means to be.]
C: subsequent weekends
[Another week passes, maybe two; somewhere in the interim, Jade receives another package from the sundries shop, and among the contents he actually finds an umbrella--which is so remarkably convenient, for once, that its arrival must almost certainly be the purest of coincidences. Still, Jade isn't about to start getting too picky about this tiny bit of decent fortune...especially with how he's starting to develop a growing suspicion about the rain's correlation to the increasingly widespread bouts of verbal disconnect everyone on board seems to be experiencing lately.
The winter coat is far too warm for the temperate climate that persists even alongside the rain, of course, and so it stays folded away in his cabin for some future use. But Jade's definitely setting out with his new umbrella at every occasion it's convenient to use! Though if he happens to spot you looking pretty hesitant about going out into the rain yourself, in passing, Jade does pause and change his trajectory to make a polite enough sort of offer.] There is room for one other, under here; anywhere in particular you're wanting to go?
D: general latter half of the month
[Hm, but it's not just the rain either--couldn't be, when this had all started well before that first bout of it to begin with. By some means or another, correlations with water are eventually made...and that starts leading into a whole slew of new questions, really, as the latter end of the month becomes a more drawn out affair of how to avoid getting cursed as opposed to wondering why it's happening.
At some point or another, Jade can be found frowning speculatively at the selection of drinks to be found in one of the cafés along the Promenade. Regular water being an obvious catalyst, sure, but...]
Not exactly as if I'm much of a juice-making hobbyist...how much of a water ratio do you suppose fruit juices have, generally? It probably varies by the flavor...to say nothing of what might be in those, for that matter. [A slight and exasperated gesture is made in the direction of the sodas.] Hm, you have to wonder if coffee is affected too...my, hydration without repercussion is a difficult thing these days.
[Folding his arms, Jade looks over to you properly with a wry sort smile.]
You know, ironically, alcohol would likely be one of the safest bets of late...but that just leads to a whole other branch of potential risks where one's personal filter might be concerned, doesn't it?
E: wildcard!!
[ Feel free to throw in a prompt of your own! Or hit me up by message/plurk at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
rainbell if you've got ideas you'd like to run by me! This log can also serve as a general catch-all for the month, so have at :) ]
What: The water is cursed, it's great! Here, some condensed reactions to this over the month...
When: Throughout July
Where: Pretty much anywhere and everywhere about the ship!
Warnings: None off the bat, though depending on the nature of potential truths/lies this could change! Will update with warnings or place CWs where needed.
Notes: (I've started out with brackets, but feel free to use prose! I'll match whichever style you prefer)
[So, the month's been shaping up into something...odd.
After the whole camping affair there's been a persistent and distinct sense of waiting for another shoe to drop anyhow, of course, for all that the immediately following weeks proceeded to go by almost infuriatingly quietly. Eventually, though, something finally seems to start happening...even if it seems to be taking the form of that other shoe not so much "dropping" as "gingerly being lowered to the ground by hand", so to speak. The subtlety of it all is quite the sharp contrast against the stark bluntness of the battle royale, after all...
But that doesn't mean it isn't still thoroughly unsettling. Jade first discovers the general presence of the curse in the most disorienting sort of way, but even after that whole fiasco is eventually cleared up...he still comes away with far more questions than answers. Like how in the world that had even happened in the first place--and why it had quit happening after the fact, at least temporarily--and whether the risk still remains...or happens to be affecting anyone else on the ship?
He'd rather like to find out sooner than later, needless to say.]
A; within the first week
[After the incident in 109, Jade starts going about his daily routines aboard the ship with more of an eye out for passing fellow passengers. Whether it's in the buffet, or about the sports deck, along the outer rails overlooking the sea or down along the Promenade...familiar faces and strangers alike are greeted with a pleasantly polite smile, before being briefly accosted with a question or two.
i.) If the conversation happens to be indoors:] By the way, how is the weather today? [Ironically an easy enough test, before the first weekend of rain actually hits, considering how extremely consistently sunny and temperate the weather has been surrounding the ship for as long as Jade himself has been here thus far...well, Pirate Jenny's temper aside the one time, anyway. This day, of course, just so happens to be as full of sunshine as all the others.
ii.) If the conversation happens to be outdoors, though:] What would you say is the color of the sea, over there? [You know, as if he couldn't turn and look directly at the sea literally right now right there......]
B; the first weekend rain
[And then, of course, the weather has to go and actually change. Which sure isn't suspicious at all, in the least!
i.) It's an odd discovery, waking to find a paler sort of light filtering through the porthole in his cabin one morning--the water spatters upon it, and gray clouds beyond it, this time without any rumor of thunder or lightning to accompany it whatsoever. Similarly unlike the Jenny incident, no strange or angry elemental energy hangs about the air this time either. And when Jade does step out of his cabin at length...well, at least the walk down the hall has some overhead cover. But then he comes upon the part of the deck that opens up and out to free air and an unimpeded view of the sea, the horizon beyond smeared ashen with the misting drizzle overhead...and Jade pauses just shy of actually stepping out into it, glancing sidelong to find somebody else similarly hovering nearby.]
Well, it doesn't look like acid rain from here, does it? Though one has to wonder... [Jade arches his eyebrows, with a humored sort of smile.] I don't suppose you'd be willing to stick a hand out into it first, for science?
[ii.) Eventually, of course, determinations are made that the rain doesn't seem to be acidic or otherwise hazardous in any (obvious) way. Save for the fact that it makes crossing to certain parts of the ship rather damper than they need to be, at times...and Jade is no better at evading getting a bit soaked on occasion than anyone else, on that sort of front. Sighing and brushing accumulated water out of his bangs after a bit of a speedwalk across the sports deck, an idle remark is made to the nearest person passing by, whether they're headed back inside as well or getting ready to go out there for themselves:]
It's refreshing enough that it's some sort of change out here...but really, I think it'd be much better if this were snow instead of rain.
[Incidentally, this is rather more honest than he means to be.]
C: subsequent weekends
[Another week passes, maybe two; somewhere in the interim, Jade receives another package from the sundries shop, and among the contents he actually finds an umbrella--which is so remarkably convenient, for once, that its arrival must almost certainly be the purest of coincidences. Still, Jade isn't about to start getting too picky about this tiny bit of decent fortune...especially with how he's starting to develop a growing suspicion about the rain's correlation to the increasingly widespread bouts of verbal disconnect everyone on board seems to be experiencing lately.
The winter coat is far too warm for the temperate climate that persists even alongside the rain, of course, and so it stays folded away in his cabin for some future use. But Jade's definitely setting out with his new umbrella at every occasion it's convenient to use! Though if he happens to spot you looking pretty hesitant about going out into the rain yourself, in passing, Jade does pause and change his trajectory to make a polite enough sort of offer.] There is room for one other, under here; anywhere in particular you're wanting to go?
D: general latter half of the month
[Hm, but it's not just the rain either--couldn't be, when this had all started well before that first bout of it to begin with. By some means or another, correlations with water are eventually made...and that starts leading into a whole slew of new questions, really, as the latter end of the month becomes a more drawn out affair of how to avoid getting cursed as opposed to wondering why it's happening.
At some point or another, Jade can be found frowning speculatively at the selection of drinks to be found in one of the cafés along the Promenade. Regular water being an obvious catalyst, sure, but...]
Not exactly as if I'm much of a juice-making hobbyist...how much of a water ratio do you suppose fruit juices have, generally? It probably varies by the flavor...to say nothing of what might be in those, for that matter. [A slight and exasperated gesture is made in the direction of the sodas.] Hm, you have to wonder if coffee is affected too...my, hydration without repercussion is a difficult thing these days.
[Folding his arms, Jade looks over to you properly with a wry sort smile.]
You know, ironically, alcohol would likely be one of the safest bets of late...but that just leads to a whole other branch of potential risks where one's personal filter might be concerned, doesn't it?
E: wildcard!!
[ Feel free to throw in a prompt of your own! Or hit me up by message/plurk at
B2
Snow will eventually turn to slush and we'd have people sliding all over the place. But I do agree that at least it would be, well, prettier I suppose.
[The grey clouds and puddles leave something to be desired.]
no subject
[Max does manage to convey a pretty irate atmosphere over there, impressively so with the metal contours of his face and general person considered--not particularly hard to guess why there's a dip in mood either, though, and so Jade certainly doesn't begrudge him it. Here underneath the awning leading from the sports deck to the spa, Jade pauses beside Max in lieu of ducking further inside for a towel just yet; his person might be a bit damp, but not enough so that he can't indulge a bit of polite conversation first, you know?]
The average temperature in my hometown was always below freezing in some form, more often than not--when it did rain it would be more like sleet, which meant everything getting positively coated in ice directly afterwards. At least you can walk on fresh snow...and it is prettier, yes. [...Not that he's aware as to just how much of that thought tangent actually becomes spoken word, in this way. But you know, whatever, this is fine. Just some harmless trivia from a town sitting on a fantasy arctic circle! Moving on breezily from this miniature ramble as if it hadn't even occurred, Jade casts an idly speculative sort of look in Max's direction.] ...Actually, out of curiosity--how do you tend to manage in snow, I wonder? Or rain like this in general, for that matter...
no subject
[He'd become a very large, irate, curling stone he means. And take out anything in his path.]
Rain, I simply dislike. But I'm not waterproof, so should it be a torrential downpour that could cause problems for me.
[And explains why Max can absolutely never be found anywhere near the pool. But moving on from his water-based dislikes.]
I had meant to find you earlier but was distracted. [By kidnapping and interrogating Skulduggery.] There's not much of value to be found in exploring the Tommy Bahama. I walked straight back for slightly over an hour and nothing new presented itself. Clothing and aisles generated themselves but in no discernable pattern. And the back wall never seemed to get closer.
While leaving, the entrance did get closer with every step I took, so perhaps whatever law of physics that structure is breaking only happens when walking into it, not out.
no subject
But Jade's nodding thoughtfully alongside Max's explanation, tidbits to file away with some genuine interest. Naturally, there's a low-key knee-jerk part of him habitually marking down the element of water as a definite physical weakness for this particular individual--you know, Just In Case--but unfortunate practicality aside, it's legitimately a bit fascinating on a general sort of level too. Guy or Dist would be deriving far more appreciation from the overall novelty of Max's distinctly machine-like exist, no doubt, but even Jade can appreciate that he's interacting with a pretty sophisticated piece of...no, not likely fontech specifically, but--technology for a fact, either way. One that seems to have a pretty firmly established sense of self...
And also one that actually follows up on agreements, as it turns out. Max brings up the Tommy Bahama, and--actually, that particular conversation was just long ago enough that the tangent catches Jade a bit by surprise. A more pleasant surprise than not, though, at least?]
Is that so? ...I suppose that's about as conclusive as it gets, then, with an hour of walking straight. It really is just endless clothing and endless space, hm...? It is rather interesting that the entrance at least remained reachable in a more spatially consistent way, though--I think you may be right, about the strangeness only applying to the one side...although, the forest during the camp excursion seemed to loop back to the campground from any given direction of travel. Firm proof that this sort of thing can selectively applied, I daresay.
[Which might not do much in the way of answering anything about how the captain manages these feats, but...well, weighing the extent of them is still just as interesting. Jade tilts his head a bit, and--while his expression doesn't particularly give off any rueful impression whatsoever, his next few words end up being rueful anyway. Probably because he's meaning to say something else entirely, but in the end:]
You know, I wasn't sure if you'd actually end up taking on the challenge in that terribly tacky place, but I quite appreciate that you did. It must have been a thoroughly unpleasant experience. [Well, maybe that first bit about the vague doubt over Max's commitment was unnecessary, but the appreciation is a genuine sentiment? So there's that!] Part of me is quite fascinated by the idea of applying your unique talents to all manner of other investigations, into areas that might not be so suitable for humans. But another part of me is also quite sure you'd really rather not be a guinea pig in this sort of way...and I ought to respect that...
no subject
[Which begs the question of if the Captain was showing off, or merely practicing some higher level creation tactics.]
I wasn't going to, but I have nothing but time and it seemed like something to occupy myself. It's rather boring to walk the decks eternally.
[Max doesn't yet know about the water thing, he's just assumed everyone around him is going mildly insane. But so far it doesn't seem odd for Jade to be thinking out loud considering he kinda... does that. ]
I would certainly rather not. I'm not about to crawl through the interior corridors of the ship and ruin my suit to simply see what's there. Additionally I'm quite heavy so that does make some exploration a little more difficult.
What exactly were you thinking?
no subject
[It really could go either way, with these things...omnipotent creation on this scale really isn't Jade's area of work in general, though. Hard to make guesses without a decent frame of reference. ...But it's nice to idly bounce ideas off someone else in this fashion, at least, even when that someone is a mildly ambivalent robot with, as Max admits readily himself, nothing particularly better to do. Max's reply in general earns a slight nod, as Jade at first proceeds on a sort of autopilot that indeed doesn't notice anything amiss either just yet--because he does think out loud in general sometimes, even if not usually to quite this degree--]
Right, I suppose...many of the amenities here don't exactly suit you well, do they? Can't exactly swim--and I assume you don't generally eat and drink as humans do, either. The library's quite paltry for anyone save those who enjoy fiction a great deal, too...yes, that really is quite fair enough.
I take it you're generally opposed to dressing in anything but a suit, though? Not that our options are particularly wonderful otherwise, between the souvenir shops and that Tommy Bahama store. If there are any functional interior corridors on the ship it'd be interesting to see what's on the other end of them, but if that would take too much persuasion...hmm. Walking the ocean floor would be out of the question for you, obviously...but do you think your heat resistance is--
[.......Hold on. Jade's attention had been drifting sidelong out towards the expanse of the sports deck over the course of him speaking, idly watching the rain as it continues to fall, but. The words also trail off, as something of a discrepancy finally sinks in belatedly, and his attention snaps back to Max with a slight frown.]
--Wait. But that's--what did I just say to you, a bit earlier?
no subject
[One of those annoying human tendencies that he himself has so he therefore won't acknowledge.]
I don't eat, nor drink. Though I can consume oil which the whiskey bar has managed to manifest for me, but it's not precisely necessary. And I'm not waterproof, so the majority of what you suggested is out of the question. I would promptly sink to the bottom of the ocean and remain there as a dead husk, but I'd also electrify a good portion of the surrounding water and anything in it. I'm not sure that would assist in any of your research.
As for heat [He's not even sure he should answer because soon Jade will be asking him to walk into a furnace or something.] I could reach into something approximately 550 degrees Celsius for a brief amount of time. But if you're suggesting me walking into something actually on fire, it would be much much less.
[He's not entirely sure because he's never needed to, and he's done a lot of upgrades to be more bulletproof which also makes him have a higher melting point. But that doesn't really protect the delicate internal wiring. He's considering an estimate when Jade asks one hell of a question.]
What did you just say? [Jade please.] Which part?
no subject
The facts that Max goes on to readily provide about himself are also, legitimately pretty fascinating! (Oil as a form of robotic alcohol equivalent, oh Guy would have adored hearing about something like this...) The bit about the utter incompatibility with water is rather unfortunate, though the subsequent bit about electrifying the water in the process is still rather good to know too--whether to avoid or weaponize at some convoluted point in the future, you know. The heat tolerance, on the other hand...
god knows I have no earthly idea what the fuck kind of temperature unit measurement the jrpg fantasyland of Auldrant even uses butthe background translation effect imparts quite the distinct impression of a very high melting point indeed--if only in a brief instance, and apparently sans flame. There are still some niche applications to be had in such a narrow tolerance, perhaps, but...Well, all that aside, though. All that aside. Extremely interesting as this conveyed information is, it still...doesn't change the fact, that--] The part where--that is to say, I'm quite positive I did not actually say anything about you potentially being more of a guinea pig earlier. ...Surely? Not that I don't appreciate your rather surprising receptiveness, to the gist of the proposal, but...
[LOOK SORRY hard to be specific when you're not actually sure on the specifics! (And also talk way too much when you get on an explanation roll, generally--) But hey, at least he's narrowing it down in this sort of way?? ...Not to mention how it feels even stranger now, to try addressing it in this sort of way, when his memory's still quite clearly telling him he said no such thought aloud. Yet, Max's replies considered...
Ah. It's like that communication disaster he'd had between two volatile teenagers at the very beginning of the month all over again--
About a second or so after the words trail out, a grimace proceeds to cross Jade's expression--paired with a small and sharp shake of his head, as if perhaps this might rattle things into more of a semblance of clarity in there. (It doesn't.) He raises a hand to mop at the damp fringe of his bangs across his forehead again, pauses, and sighs sharply.]
Actually--pardon me, a moment. Some drying off is also in order, I think...
[They're standing pretty much right next to the entrance to the spa already, so. Don't mind Jade shifting to step properly in there, without much further ado, with this sudden and vaguely harried atmosphere still about him. The goal is to hunt down a dry towel within--which, surely, such a facility has plenty of--so, at least he probably won't be too long. Will Max opt to follow him inside, though, or remain under the awning out here...?]
no subject
[This is actually almost a threat that if he wanted to he could likely repeat this entire conversation back at Jade word for word. Don't test him.]
Ah, yes of course.
[At this point Max doesn't know the water is anything abnormal and doesn't realize that's what's causing this miscommunication. He'll follow Jade instead, as he actually hasn't been in the Spa before. It didn't seem applicable to Omnics, and the sauna further in made the humidity uncomfortable.]
no subject
...Max is also quite clearly reciting something, as he comes in, and as the words sink in Jade's lowering the towel very slowly to affix him with the most dubious sort of stare. Because that's--wow. Weird really doesn't begin to cut it, does it? Though it's certainly one term to describe it...how completely bizarre it is, to hear that in Max's tone. For one thing--]
I have...no recollection whatsoever of saying that. [And he really doesn't? As nowhere near an hour has yet passed, for the curse to unearth itself. Even as he's going back over recent memory, and pinpointing where he probably would have said that...no, so far as Jade can remember, he told Max he appreciated the trouble taken of going through the tacky hell of the Tommy Bahama and that--was all? For all that those words certainly do match his thoughts on the matter. Why does it seem almost as if an entire other sentence got added in there wholesale?? Sure, Max could be fabricating that in entirety, and yet...] But that's--you're reciting verbatim, aren't you? [The way that even the diction of the words was shifted, from Max's own...it's a subtle thing, but just noticeable enough to be simultaneously impressive and kind of--rude? Maybe?? Honestly, unsettling prospects of his own failing verbal recall aside, Jade isn't actually sure how to feel about this burgeoning idea that Max probably could parrot back his entire earlier half of the conversation to the word if he actually felt like it. Talk about a strange and yet weirdly plausible unspoken threat indeed??
Towel briefly forgotten where it's pressed absently against one side of his neck, dubiousness transitions to a slight frown on Jade's features, half amused and half perplexed.]
You haven't mentioned eidetic memory being another of your features! I do hope you're not getting ready to also recite the entirety of our conversation up to this point, are you? Though... [Well, and here, the brief amusement wanes again. Jade's glance drifts to an empty point a bit to the side of Max, thoughts clearly rifling back through recent memory once again.] My my, this isn't even the first time this has happened to me, this month. Saying things I don't realize I'm saying. I'd quite hoped there wouldn't be a repeat....
[Alas, at this particular point in the timeline, Jade isn't yet fully aware that water contact is the cause yet either; being damp with rainwater had just been a generally distracting sort of thing, and he'd been meaning to grab a towel from the spa after ducking out of the open air of the deck to begin with anyhow...]
no subject
[And Jade is pretty much the most level-headed person he's ever met, so if he's experiencing something that's likely really bad.]
Well yes, that's how my memory files work. And it was only a few minutes ago, things that are longer tend to shift away and be slightly distorted, but not in the same way that the human brain preforms memory recall. Or so I've been told, seeing it from only one angle I obviously only know my perspective.
And no, I would much rather not do that. [Meaning that he could. He really really could just recite a transcript of this entire meeting, but he won't because it would be odd and it makes him feel like some sort of sentient recording device.]
Is it happening off and on or are you unable to recall everything as you say it? Though I suppose you wouldn't notice the discrepancy unless someone called it out.