Ryan Akagi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chickenchoicejudy) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
come_sailaway2022-08-04 07:15 pm
chickenchoicejudy) wrote in come_sailaway2022-08-04 07:15 pm
I think I'm taking on water
Who: Ryan Akagi (chickenchoicejudy) and you! (OTA)
What: Arrival and getting used to being a passenger again
When: First week of August-ish, pre-event stuff.
Where: All over the place
Warnings: None ATM, will change as needed.
A. AFTER THE MUSTER DRILL (For Min)
There was been a lot of screaming this morning. Ryan isn't the biggest fan of waking up in an unusual place he doesn't remember, especially when he realizes he's alone, but there's only so much he can do in his...room? Cabin?
He stubbornly tried to go literally anywhere but the muster drill, but eventually he's too tired to fight it. Fine, fine, whatever, he'll go!
This is where he finds Min-Gi, and the relief is overwhelming. Ryan spends the entire muster drill by his side, most likely having to be shushed by anyone nearby trying to pay even the smallest amount of attention. Hopefully Min was listening with his whole brain, because Ryan retained absolutely nothing.
The moment they're permitted to leave the drill, they immediately go looking for the first empty deck space they can find, somewhere where they can regroup alone. Ryan leans hard against the railing, head down and looking out at the water. Passerby might mistake it for seasickness, but that isn't really the problem.
"So. First there was a Wormhole Judgement Line," he says. "...Now there's a Wormhole Judgement Cruise. Seriously?"
He's so fucking tired. Out of old habit he looks down at his right palm, but there's nothing there. No glowing green numbers. Nothing.
"Min-Gi, pleeeeeease tell me you know more about what's going on?"
He knows Min probably doesn't, but it's worth a shot.
B. LATER ON ARRIVAL DAY (OTA, mostly the first few decks)
It's a pretty big ship, and so far there isn't anything immediately dangerous. There don't seem to be any puzzles to solve either, so Min-Gi and Ryan agree to split up to cover more ground. Ryan's determined to pay attention and find useful information, but...eh.
He doesn't spend much time on deck zero. There's an infirmary and that's cool, but there is a morgue and Ryan doesn't want to think about that any more than he absolutely has to. The Atrium and Lounge are pretty sweet, but going to guest services gets him absolutely nothing, no matter how much he wiggles his eyebrows and shamelessly flirts with whoever is currently there. There's a ton of cabins like the one he turned up in, and people coming and going. If he gets caught people-watching, he will laugh it off and try to chat the person up as though he's always been on the ship.
"Soooo, been here long?" he'll ask, with a charming smile.
He can't tell when he's actually supposed to go get food (since there's a smudge on that information) so he just sort of pops in whenever he's actually hungry. That's probably what he's supposed to do, right? Maybe?
C. MALL RAT (OTA, FIFTH DECK)
There's a huge mall in the middle of this boat.
Truthfully, Ryan's never been on a cruise ship. His parents never could have afforded that with five kids, so it was just never in the cards. They took the ferry to Vancouver now and then, but it was nothing like this. There's some bars, some food, and even this...one really strange storefront.
He tilts his head a little and squints at it.
"...Who's Tommy Bahama?"
It turns out that time is split into two eras - before Tommy Bahama and after Tommy Bahama. The main difference is that after Tommy Bahama he is dressed like the most aggressively bisexual Jimmy Buffet fan to ever exist. And honestly? He's not mad about it.
D. WALLOWING (OTA, POOL)
Objectively, things could be worse than bad Hawaiian shirts and free food and a bed to sleep in. But that's not going to stop Ryan from laying around feeling sorry for himself that he's been stolen away by yet another outdated form of transportation. Every time he starts to think about it, he just gets pissed off at himself. Was he fucking up his life again? He thought that he and Min were doing pretty good now!
On the bright side, he can mope poolside with a pair of sunglasses and a margarita in hand. Stupid Wormhole Judgement Line never comped them any drinks.
He's never been one for sitting still for too long though, so eventually he sits criss-cross in the pool chair and pulls out his guitar. It's unplugged, since he wasn't carrying his amp when he arrived, but that's never stopped him from practicing before. He seems to be working on something new, but to be honest it keeps accidentally turning into the chords for Margaritaville because it's stuck in his head now, UGH. Every time he realizes it's dipped into Buffet territory he groans, aggressively strums it to try and unstick the song from his brain, and starts again at the more original thought.
He can't help it though - hell, it could be his fault.
chickenchoicejudy) and you! (OTA)What: Arrival and getting used to being a passenger again
When: First week of August-ish, pre-event stuff.
Where: All over the place
Warnings: None ATM, will change as needed.
A. AFTER THE MUSTER DRILL (For Min)
There was been a lot of screaming this morning. Ryan isn't the biggest fan of waking up in an unusual place he doesn't remember, especially when he realizes he's alone, but there's only so much he can do in his...room? Cabin?
He stubbornly tried to go literally anywhere but the muster drill, but eventually he's too tired to fight it. Fine, fine, whatever, he'll go!
This is where he finds Min-Gi, and the relief is overwhelming. Ryan spends the entire muster drill by his side, most likely having to be shushed by anyone nearby trying to pay even the smallest amount of attention. Hopefully Min was listening with his whole brain, because Ryan retained absolutely nothing.
The moment they're permitted to leave the drill, they immediately go looking for the first empty deck space they can find, somewhere where they can regroup alone. Ryan leans hard against the railing, head down and looking out at the water. Passerby might mistake it for seasickness, but that isn't really the problem.
"So. First there was a Wormhole Judgement Line," he says. "...Now there's a Wormhole Judgement Cruise. Seriously?"
He's so fucking tired. Out of old habit he looks down at his right palm, but there's nothing there. No glowing green numbers. Nothing.
"Min-Gi, pleeeeeease tell me you know more about what's going on?"
He knows Min probably doesn't, but it's worth a shot.
B. LATER ON ARRIVAL DAY (OTA, mostly the first few decks)
It's a pretty big ship, and so far there isn't anything immediately dangerous. There don't seem to be any puzzles to solve either, so Min-Gi and Ryan agree to split up to cover more ground. Ryan's determined to pay attention and find useful information, but...eh.
He doesn't spend much time on deck zero. There's an infirmary and that's cool, but there is a morgue and Ryan doesn't want to think about that any more than he absolutely has to. The Atrium and Lounge are pretty sweet, but going to guest services gets him absolutely nothing, no matter how much he wiggles his eyebrows and shamelessly flirts with whoever is currently there. There's a ton of cabins like the one he turned up in, and people coming and going. If he gets caught people-watching, he will laugh it off and try to chat the person up as though he's always been on the ship.
"Soooo, been here long?" he'll ask, with a charming smile.
He can't tell when he's actually supposed to go get food (since there's a smudge on that information) so he just sort of pops in whenever he's actually hungry. That's probably what he's supposed to do, right? Maybe?
C. MALL RAT (OTA, FIFTH DECK)
There's a huge mall in the middle of this boat.
Truthfully, Ryan's never been on a cruise ship. His parents never could have afforded that with five kids, so it was just never in the cards. They took the ferry to Vancouver now and then, but it was nothing like this. There's some bars, some food, and even this...one really strange storefront.
He tilts his head a little and squints at it.
"...Who's Tommy Bahama?"
It turns out that time is split into two eras - before Tommy Bahama and after Tommy Bahama. The main difference is that after Tommy Bahama he is dressed like the most aggressively bisexual Jimmy Buffet fan to ever exist. And honestly? He's not mad about it.
D. WALLOWING (OTA, POOL)
Objectively, things could be worse than bad Hawaiian shirts and free food and a bed to sleep in. But that's not going to stop Ryan from laying around feeling sorry for himself that he's been stolen away by yet another outdated form of transportation. Every time he starts to think about it, he just gets pissed off at himself. Was he fucking up his life again? He thought that he and Min were doing pretty good now!
On the bright side, he can mope poolside with a pair of sunglasses and a margarita in hand. Stupid Wormhole Judgement Line never comped them any drinks.
He's never been one for sitting still for too long though, so eventually he sits criss-cross in the pool chair and pulls out his guitar. It's unplugged, since he wasn't carrying his amp when he arrived, but that's never stopped him from practicing before. He seems to be working on something new, but to be honest it keeps accidentally turning into the chords for Margaritaville because it's stuck in his head now, UGH. Every time he realizes it's dipped into Buffet territory he groans, aggressively strums it to try and unstick the song from his brain, and starts again at the more original thought.
He can't help it though - hell, it could be his fault.
no subject
"Hey, Serena!"
He's met with silence, and he shrugs back at Min.
"Pretty heavy sleeper," he says, like this is the normal conclusion to make here.
They wander around a little from there. There's a lounge area, and a guest services area that they think for a half a second might be helpful until they spot the no face lady behind the counter and beeline past the desk toward the shops.
"Kind of weird that there's like...stores and commerce and stuff, right?" He looks to Min. "You almost went to school for finance - isn't this too normal for whatever weird bullshit is going on?"
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“We’ll I’m not a cruise expert or anything but I mean…even the ferry to Vancouver Island sells coffee. It makes sense that a regular cruise would have stores and stuff. Why wouldn’t an evil cruise?”
Or haunted cruise. Or whatever it is they’re deciding to brand this experience. Nothing like, super evil had happened but also nothing not evil has happened either. It’s very sus. He is very sus.
Min-Gi surveys the stores. Clothing, convenience, luxury jewellery, a gift shop. There’s all kinds here. And while a passenger or two can be seen milling about looking for specific items, there doesn’t seem to be anyone working at any of the places. Just the quick, occasional, silvery outline of a form out of the corner of your eye. Probably just seeing things.
“Do you have any money?” He asks and turns out his pockets. He’s got his wallet with 83 American dollars and a handful of Canadian change.
no subject
He pats his pockets like he's looking for something, but the only things he has on him are the keys to their van and a guitar pick he misplaced the night before. His guitar is safe in his cabin, but that's the only other item that showed up with him.
"...Nope. Looks like I'm broke."
He should probably be way more concerned about that but honestly? They have bigger problems right now than not having money.
Dont judge my icons im replying from email
“Great.”
A heavy pause.
“I hope we don’t have to get jobs.”
how dare you. tsk tsk
"Probably not? Is that what happens when you're on a cruise with no money?"
...It occurs to him that whatever actually happens is probably more like indentured servitude, but you know what? Now is not the time to stress Min-Gi out about that!
"Min, Min. It'll be fine. We'll figure it out!" He slings an arm over Min's shoulder, attempting to be comforting. "Besides, if Serena wanted money that bad, maybe she should've kidnapped someone who actually has cash to spend. There's probably free stuff somewhere, right?"
no subject
He does not guess but what can he do. They’ve just got to..nnngh. Figure it out as they go along.
Great. Hate that. But lesson learned.
Min takes a breath and lets it out slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Okay. So. What next then? There’s a million doors all over the place and no one’s told us what to do.”
Not train logic Min, sorry. Doesn’t work that way.
“Let’s just keep going.”
Going where he has no idea but they’ll scour the entire ship if they have to.
no subject
So unlike the train, they'll hit a point where they've seen most things...probably. At least it's more likely than on the train?
Ryan tugs Min along until the reach the end of the boat, where the stairs and elevator are. He's learned his share of lessons too though so instead of rushing ahead impulsively, he looks to Min.
"So...up or down?"
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“Down,” he decides and presses the button for the elevator.
“It can only go down so far, right?”
A beat while they wait.
“I’m really glad you’re here, man. When I woke up alone.. I was scared you were gone.”
no subject
He doesn't get to finish that sentence. The doors open with a distracting 'ding' to a seemingly normal elevator, and Ryan gets on. Min's instinct is right - there's only one level below the one they're on now, so Ryan pushes the button for it.
"...I can't tell if it's weird that the boat has an elevator or if I just don't know enough about boats," he says, looking around the tiny space.
no subject
Min drops the subject, it’s not like there’s anything really important they need to talk about, right? They’re fine. They’re together. They aren’t alone after all.
“At this point man, I don’t think anything could surprise me anymore.”
Like. It could but also. You know what he means.
“Kinda waiting for the buttons to grow faces or something.”
A snort.
He waits an extra beat just in case they do.
Nope, still buttons. The ride is short and the doors open with another ding, letting them out into the white, sterile basement.
Well this isn’t creepy at all.
Min-Gi folds his arms over his chest by reflex. Yeah, this is definitely where the zombie hoard would be.
no subject
"Don't jinx it, man! They might try and bite us or something."
He doesn't look all that worried about it though, because the buttons are just buttons for now. The thing that does worry him is this off white hallway. It's absolutely where zombies would hang out.
A shiver goes down his spine, but he pastes on a forced smile and takes Min by the arm. He acts like he has to tug Min along, but truthfully he just wants to hang off him in this spooky place.
"Soooo. Not much down here, huh? Think there's anything down the hall?"
no subject
They should be brave though, right? They’ve handled worse than a creepy boat hall.
“Maybe,” he murmurs but pulls them forward. If anything, they can track the hall and bounce. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite go like that.
Under the buzzing fluorescent lights, they begin down the way, and two things happen in quick succession.
1, they reach a sign simply labelled MORGUE.
And like hell they’re hanging around to investigate that!
“Nope,” Min says and moves to quickly pull past at which point-
2, they reach Dr. Watson’s office. And like some kind of shadow show his silhouette is cast against the glass. He probably doing something completely innocent but in the moment it just looks like a monster stretching across the glass.
no subject
There's an actual morgue on the ship.
An actual morgue means there's a chance they could actually die on this boat. And maybe that was true of the train too - there were definitely times they almost died - but it feels a lot more real now that they know where the bodies go.
Where do they go from here? Do they get dumped out into the ocean and fed to sharks?
Then oh, he's moving. Min's pulling him. Ryan shakes his head, trying to snap himself out of it. Wow he doesn't like that there's a morgue here.
The next door is slightly better, in that it doesn't lead to a morgue, but there's something in there and it could totally be whoever puts people in the morgue. He tugs Min's arm, commanding a stop, and just gestures at the window and tries to keep them out of view.
Whatever's in there, they probably don't want it to know they're lurking around.
no subject
Hhhhhh---- okay. okay okay okay think-
"Time to go?"
no subject
Ryan is already pulling him. They are going; they are going right the fuck now. He doesn't even breathe until they're back in the elevator, mashing the close door button until it shuts.
"Okay. Cool, cool. There's a fucking-- there's a morgue and monsters in the basement." He knots his fingers in the hair at his temple. "Why is everyone so calm about this?!"
no subject
"If that's down there, and there's a no face monster running the ship and this place is also full of freakin ghosts.. what else is hiding around the corner?? We have to get off this ship, man. Like, now."
no subject
They know what the first floor is and the second floor was a bunch of cabins, so Ryan hits the button for the third deck and crosses his fingers there aren't more monsters there.
Somehow, it feels like a much longer ride up.
"So..."
Ryan hesitates, a telltale sign that's he's not only unsure if a joke will land, but unsure if it's really a joke or not.
"...How good of a swimmer are you?"
It's a bad plan for many reasons, but it would technically be the quickest way off the boat.
no subject
"We're in the middle of nowhere, if we try to bail we'll get tired and drown."
But it's a good idea in that it's an...idea? So kinda half way there.
"What about a lifeboat?"
no subject
The one that Ryan definitely, totally paid attention to. He sure did. Yep.
"Does that mean dealing with that No Face Lady again?" he asks. "She might murder us or something if she catches us trying to steal one."
Now that he's seen the morgue, not winding up in it himself is pretty high on his priorities.
no subject
"I uh..." he doesn't know, but he doesn't want to not try to answer. He did pay attention so he should know this kind of stuff, right?
Right.
Except he'd been staring at Friday like, the entire time.
"I think she's like, guest services? Maybe we can sneak around her. It's a big ship, she can't see us everywhere, right?"
no subject
He glances up to the ceiling of the elevator. It feels like jinxing it, somehow - as if by speaking it into existence she will pop up behind them and make them both jump out of their skin.
"Lifeboat's kind of the same problem, isn't it? If there's no sign of land we won't know what way to go, and then we'll get tired and starve and probably have to resort to cannibalism."
Said as though this is a perfectly natural course of events. He waves a hand.
"You definitely don't wanna eat me. I'm all bones and stringy guitar muscles, man."
no subject
He doesn't even want to think about that. Min wouldn't be able to in a million years, anyway. He would literally rather starve and die.
"So the boat is definitely out," moving right along. And wouldn't you know it, that's when the doors open with a cheerful ping. He exits without thinking anything of it and looks around the hall. Same ol' same ol'. Like there aren't monsters in the basement or anything. Like it's just any day on a pleasure cruise.
"We're just.. plain ol' stuck here. Maybe if we just ask the captain really nicely he'll let us off at the next port."
no subject
"Or," Ryan says, following after him. "Maybe we wait for the next port and just sorta...y'know. Make a break for it."
He mimes a little "walking away" gesture with his fingers.
"It's not like they can stop us once we're off the boat, right?
The elevator empties them into a space with two noticeable things immediately. The first is a library which is nice enough - normal even. However, the second is a wall of weird photographs of various passengers.
no subject
"Making a break for it is a good idea," he murmurs, keeping his voice low like they're conspiring. And they are. That is exactly what they're doing.
They don't need to flesh that out right now, though.
"Who do you think these people are? Former passengers? Maybe the original crew..."
That's a dark thought.
no subject
"No clue," he says, automatically. But then, something catches his eye. "Wait. Is that...?"
He reaches out to touch a picture - one that seems to be of them at the muster drill earlier that morning. Ryan looking around at everything except the presentation and Min-Gi trying so hard to pay attention but just fixating on Gal Friday's lack of a face.
"Waaaas there a photographer there?"
He feels like there wasn't, but. Maybe? Hopefully?
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