come_sailaway | AUGUST EVENT: DRAGSTRIP RIOT

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AUGUST EVENT: DRAGSTRIP RIOT

[it begins with a PA announcement on the morning of the 12th, Friday’s voice coming through clear and cheerful.]

Any passengers that wish to debark to our latest port of call can exit the ship through the metal detectors on deck zero! Please be advised that all alcohol will be confiscated prior to your exit!

[and whoever heads down to the lowest deck will find that what she said was true: there is a metal detector set up there, with Friday manning it. after placing all metal objects (including weapons, and all your weapons) onto the tray, she gestures for the passenger to step through the metal detector.

they exit in an entirely different location. suffering from a splitting headache, and wearing an entirely different outfit than they had put on this morning, but unscathed. they even got their weapons back!

the interior of the diner is essentially your average jonathan rockets establishment. the narrow lane between booths and counter is manned by an entirely mute Friday clone, who cheerily takes orders and serves up food (cooked??? somewhere???) with an almost unnatural talent for roller blading. there is a jukebox in the corner that can be fed with quarters passengers will inexplicably find on their person. the available songs range from the 50s to the 80s, with a particularly wide selection of songs from the platters.

outside, the diner is a great chrome boxcar, circled by a small parking lot. a large neon sign proclaims it to be GIL’S; it buzzes and flickers on and off often. passengers who have regained vehicles will find these vehicles parked outside. there are also a handful of midcentury American cars; none of them seem to require keys, and the gas tank seems set at full.

past the parking lot is a seemingly endless expanse of desert sand and scrubland, bisecting by the empty highway that the diner abuts. a few miles down this highway, the road forks into a smaller one, which winds its way up a steep, ragged mountain until plateauing into another parking lot, with only a small, old wooden fence between the cars and the edge of the cliff.

should they wish to return to the ship, passengers can leave at any time the same way they entered: walking through a doorway that now claims to be a mop closet. passing through will leave them on deck zero, again with a splitting headache. it’s probably fine.]

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[ Giles is not entirely sure what leads him to the secluded spot above the main road, perhaps a desire for solitude, or maybe just to watch the stars for a moment. He's also not sure whether he ought to be surprised to find another person there at this time of night, but he's certainly glad that it's someone he knows.

Sharky looks so peaceful there that he almost doesn't want to interrupt, almost considers turning around and leaving the way came, finding someother place to watch the world go by from. Almost ]

Penny for your thoughts?

[ He sits beside Sharky, calm and quiet, watching him with eyes that — though they have returned to something human and not feline — are still just as inquisitive as ever ]

[It's nice to not feel the ship moving under his feet after too many drinks, and even if the stars aren't the ones he's used to, he can make stuff up about meaningless patterns as well as the next person. The radio only plays some late 40s and 50s jams, but it makes good background music as he tries not to go through the entire pack Pratt got him.

Getting interrupted is a surprise, but not a bad one. Definitely not when he recognizes Giles; it's good to see familiar faces around, even if he might sorta miss the fangs and slit pupils.]

Heh. Pretty sure you'd get change back. [He grabs his now half-smoked pack of cigarettes and holds it out in case Giles wants one.] I'm just, y'know, takin' in the view. Thinkin' about how fuckin' weird everything is.

I'd tell you to buy something nice with the remainder, but I'm afraid inflation has rendered that rather more condescending than I indend

[ He gives a wry smile, and takes the offered cigarette with a quiet word of thanks ]

I suppose it all is rather strange. That you can still see that can only be a good thing, I think

[Tossing the pack aside, he leans in and offers up his own lit, half-smoked cigarette as a light.]

Yeah, I guess that means I haven't gone super nuts. Just regular old Montana crazy. [Too bad it's nowhere near as fun as all the magic shit. It's mostly just cultists, raiders, and gunfights.] But you're the expert about magic between the two of us here, so... Is this shit as crazy as it seems? The whole, "evil wizard's magical time-travel ship" thing, I mean.

[ Giles lights his cigarette off Sharky's, and takes a long drag. Exhaling with a breath that's as much a sigh as it is anything else.

He looks up at the sky, watching the stars for another long moment before he finally answers, his voice soft ]

There was a woman I met in London — a Changeling, like myself — who'd spent ten years a pirate queen on the high seas. Raiding merchant vessels, finding buried treasure, inflicting the cat o' nine tails on those who would not fall in line, everything one might expect of an adventure set in the golden age of piracy. Not a pleasant experience, you understand, because the experiences that turn a human into a changeling are never nice, but you wouldn't have known from the way she told it.

She set sail on the 18th of March 2014 as a young girl of 15, and finally returned home again, now a grown woman of 25, on the 20th of March.
2014.

[ now, now he looks back at Sharky, to watch his reaction mostly, although he hasn't quite finished yet ]

The bounds of what is normal for someone like me, are very far removed what most might think the word means. So no, I do not think this is all that 'crazy', as it were, but my perspective on the matter is more than a little warped.

[Sharky's listening along with a furrowed brow, looking out past the cliff towards the distant light of the diner. The parts about Changelings and the unpleasant transformation get tucked away for later, needing some time to percolate. The story, on the other hand, paints a pretty clear picture of just how fucking insane magic actually is. This is just, like, how it works. Magic ships and time travel aren't exactly special in the whole... multiverse, or whatever it's called.]

That... fucking sucks for her. [which is delivered with genuine sympathy] It must suck for you, too. Getting stuck here after, like... [gesturing,] all the Changeling shit. Must double suck.

It is something that every Changeling fears, on some level, that we might find ourselves once more ripped out of what lives we have managed to cobble together for ourselves in the aftermath, that we will once again become mere playthings for the Gentry. But, on the whole, I am fine. I know how to manage my fear, and this is very different to the last place I was held captive. Mr Wuthridge, though...

[ Giles looks at his hands, watches the ash fall from his cigarette like maybe it might reveal the secrets of the universe ]

I think he's taking it a lot harder, I didn't notice at first, I thought he was taking everything in stride, but I should have known- [ should have known a great many things, but he'd been too wrapped up in his own hurt to stop and think about why Oswald might have done and said the things he did right at the start of all this ] I should have seen how this would affect him, but I didn't, and now I don't know how to help him.

[ he clears his throat, shakes his head just a little to clear it too ]

I'm sorry, it appears I'm not the most cheerful of company this evening.

[Sharky makes a small oh! sound when the names all click together and things start falling into place. TBH, kinda stupid that he didn't realize Ossie and Giles were, like, a thing. Not a thing-thing, but world-connected, or whatever. But it's kinda obvious that Giles needs to talk more than he needs Sharky being all, ooooh, HE'S you're boss about it, so all that gets shoved to the side.

He also waves aside the apology, because it's seriously unnecessary.]

Man, don't worry about it. We can both be downers together, it's cool. Um... But, y'know, you can't always guess how people are gonna take things, especially when it's like... this. [Speaking from personal and recent experience...] You, uh... you think he's doing pretty bad?

I should be able to though, it's my job to know these things. [ except it's not anymore is it? And that's where the whole problem stems from.

But he's getting agitated, and that's not helping anyone. Giles takes a breath, and starts again in a much steadier voice ]

Mr Wuthridge is normally a very jovial man, he finds friends with ease wherever he goes, and he flourishes in the company of others, but over the past month or so he's become increasingly withdrawn. [ he sighs ] I'm not certain he would have left the cottage at all if it weren't for the fact that he will not let me cook as much anymore.

[Sharky can't exactly blame the guy. If you can live in your actual house while being stuck on the ship, then why wouldn't you? Especially if you were super resentful of being kidnapped by some wild magic motherfucker for a second time.

But he also knows what it's like when people shut themselves in. Staying in their bunkers because it feels safer than, like, facing the post-apocalyptic wasteland that was home. And while Sharky is pretty solidly pro-ship, he knows he's in the minority.]

Is it just, like, the ship thing? Or did something happen? Was it the water, maybe??

[ Giles very nearly says he doesn't know, the words forming instinctively on the tip of his tongue. Pushing away from something that hurts to think about, dismissing it as something beyond his ken, would be all to easy, but Sharky seems to actually want to help and Giles has found that putting voice to a problem makes it easier to find its edges.

So he stops and thinks, keeping his breathing steady the way he's been taught as he lets the anxiety bubble over him until it calms to a gentle simmer ]

It is the ship primarily, I think. [ he speaks slowly, carefully, a tone just shy of monotonous; his working voice, though Sharky would have no cause to recognise it for what it is. His face too is similarly blank, expressionless ] I cannot know for certain of course, but looking back there were signs from almost the first hour in which we found ourselves here.

The water was trivial for him, he had no severe incidents — not like my encounter with Deputy Pratt — and he seemed frustrated, but largely amused by the whole affair. He told me after the first time he was affected that he'd- [ Giles pauses, realising with dawning horror just what the simplest reason is, the one that he'd missed because he hadn't been paying attention, hadn't stopped to really think.

His face doesn't change, and neither does his voice. If anything he becomes more blank, more monotonous. Unless Sharky is particularly adept at reading micro-expressions just how much Giles truly hates the answer he's come to will likely be lost ]

He told someone he was the Captain.
And the very next day I disappeared on him.

[Sharky takes a long drag while Giles talks, watching his expression for hints on how he should react. Unfortunately, there's no luck there, and he also can't pin down exactly why his voice is so flat. Closest he can imagine is some kind of like, mind-palace-type recollection shit, but whatever.

The thing that matters is what Giles actually says, anyway; Sharky's just here to be the soundboard. The way Hurk would talk out his shit in the bunker and Sharky would just, y'know, nod along and ask whatever questions come to mind. In this case, it's pretty simple:]

What do you mean, disappeared on him? [Since disappearing around here can mean a lot of different things.]

I have the ability to render myself invisible.

[ That's not really an answer, though ]

There were a number of things that occured that I wanted to keep hidden from Mr Wuthridge, mostly the incident with Deputy Pratt, but also some things I'd said when the water pulled the truth from my tongue, [ Giles looks at Sharky, some small hint of amusement surfacing from beneath closed features ] and the fire we tried to start.

[ Back to watching the stars now, and that hint of emotion gone too ]

Normally I would have hidden in my work, thrown myself into my duties so that anything that exists beyond it fades away, but Mr Wuthridge dismissed me from his service on the day that we arrived. So I hid myself rather more literally instead.

[Solid affirmation that he was right to keep his trap shut about what went down. (Except to Pratt, because, obviously.) Keeping a good time hidden from a roommate (not to mention a boss) is pretty standard, but, uhh... actually disappearing to do it? That kinda feels like... overkill.

Then again, so does firing someone the second you show up on a surprise magic cruise.]

Damn, that's cold. And doing it right away? Fuckin' brutal. And you think he, like, took you avoiding him... what, the wrong way or somethin'?

I know he did. Mr Wuthridge knows how to draw me out of hiding, and we... [ discussed is the wrong word, but there isn't really a right word for a communication style that mostly involves circling around a point until you're pretty sure everyone is on the same page without ever saying what you mean directly ] Came to an agreement. It was smoothed over, but the damage was still done.

[ Giles can't let Sharky's assessment of Oswald's actions stand though, even if some cruel part of him wants to agree that yes, it was a cold and brutal thing to do. ]

You mustn't think badly of Mr Wuthridge, though. I'll admit that the dismissal stung, and it still does, but it was meant as a kindness. Changelings are formed in a place where every mistake, every step out of line — however small — is swiftly and harshly punished. If I am not employed, I cannot be punished for not adhering to the facade of a holiday cruise.

There is [ He pauses, forces himself out of his work voice, to actually show some emotion. Not that there's much to show yet, but at least he's not speaking in a monotone anymore ] There is something I should tell you, but before I do, I need your assurance that you will tell no one.

[Sharky makes a face at "came to an agreement," because that's kind of passive-aggressive speak for "didn't actually talk about shit." But it's not his business, you know, whatever their deal is, they gotta work it out on their own.]

I guess I get it, [in regards to Ossie's deal,] it's just... shit's messy, man. Not that I need to tell you that...

[It's Giles' deal, after all. The guy's gonna know better than anyone how complicated it is.]

Yeah, man, no problem. I can keep secrets like a motherfucker. So long as the truth rain doesn't start up again, anyway.

[ Giles gives Sharky a look that's halfway to impressed, that was a well placed caveat for someone who doesn't know the power words can hold. It makes him feel just that little bit better about what he's doing as he winds the Wyrd around the promise and binds it off into a Pledge.

It's not that he doesn't trust Sharky, because he does, it's that he needs forewarning if this gets out. For his own piece of mind, if nothing else. ]

I am telling you this because you have been a good friend to me, and I have thoroughly enjoyed our more physical encounters, but I have learnt the hard way that things can get [ he frowns ] Complicated very quickly, and it is far better to head it off at the pass.

[ Giles hesitates, he hates doing this. For so many reasons. Not least among them being that it often results it pity at best and broken friendships at worst.

Still, he's started down this road now, may as well see it to the conclusion. ]

I told you before that I am not in a romantic relationship — a relationship of any kind really — and that is true, and it is something that I expect shall remain true as long as I draw breath. However, that does not mean I am entirely available either. [ another pause, this time coupled with a pained look. He was going to be more specific but he can't quite bring himself to say it, so this will have to do instead ] My heart has belonged to someone else for a very long time.

[Sometimes it pays to have a cousin whose complex betting systems sometimes border on legally binding...

Giles talks, and Sharky listens with a sort of furrowed brow until he realizes the two things that are happening here: 1) this is the "we're just fucking around, don't catch feelings" talk, which, awesome, he's glad that's out of the way. And he didn't even have to be the one to do it!

And 2):]

Okay, so like, you're in love with Ossie and you... haven't... told him? [He's just gonna take a wild stab in the dark, not at all based on his own personal experiences with romance.]

[ Giles winces ] Yes.

[ He's just going to have to hope it was only so obvious because of the path the conversation took, and not anything else. ]

It is enough for me to remain by his side, if I told him I would put that in jeopardy, and I could not bear to lose it.

[Ugh. Hits way closer to home than he'd really like to admit, especially after seventeen years. (Seven before accepting Rook was dead, a decade of getting over it, followed by the worst plot twist in the fucking world. He had been over it, man...!)]

You really think he's, uhh... the kinda dude to do that? Like, if he wasn't into you, he would... what, not wanna still be your friend? [The least complicated word for the most complicated kind of relationship...]

I don't know, he is kinder than that I think, but I cannot know for certain.

[ Giles sighs, it's far too complicated and with nearly a century of baggage that won't easily be gotten rid of ]

Either way, it's more than that. Even if I am not working while we're here, if we ever get out I would hope to resume my work. The role of a valet is very intimate as these things go. It is one thing to remain friends with someone who you know is in love with you, it is another entirely to allow them to run your baths, or to assist you with dressing.

[ Nevermind the fact that the longer this goes on, the more likely it is that Oswald will realise that the role — and by extension, Giles himself — is outdated and almost entirely useless in this day and age.
It doesn't bear thinking about really ]

Edited (decided it needed more Angst) 2022-08-22 05:41 (UTC)

[Sharky takes a long drag from his cigarette, then flicks the butt towards the edge of the cliff. He's clearly contemplating something. More or less processing everything, really, trying to see if he's got any strong opinions about it..

Then he reaches out and socks Giles across the shoulder.

Not like, hard or anything! But this is very much a what the fuck maneuver.]

Dude. What the fuck. You can't just dress a dude for a couple'a decades and not tell him when you're stupid in love with him. That's gotta be a conflict of interest either way!

[ Giles raises an eyebrow, but otherwise doesn't react to being hit ]

That is exactly why I cannot say anything.

[ the mask cracks, and he laughs, having to focus on taking a drag of his cigarette to make himself stop ]

You sound like Nancy, it was always all too easy in her eyes. One would think 90 years and a magic dimension would be enough separation to escape her influence, but I suppose not.

[A loud groan of friendly exasperation.] Sounds like fuckin' Nancy over there knew what was up.

Look, man, I'm just saying. You might want to keep your job, but it... is kinda unfair to Ossie? And... kinda-sorta-definitely to you, too.

[He feels like a total hack trying to convince Giles to do something he didn't actually do himself, but this is... different. There's almost a century of pining, not just a couple months, and there's a whole... workplace violation thing going on, whereas Sharky and Rook were never... anything.

He scrubs his hand over his beard and then grabs another cigarette.]

You're gonna fuckin' regret it, man.

Nancy had no idea what she was talking about, she just knew what worked for her and my sister and thought it applied to everyone. Even when the circumstances were drastically different.

[ But that... Actually gives Giles pause. Unfair to himself he knew already, he could live with that. Has lived with that. Unfair to Oswald though, that should have occurred to him a long time ago. ]

You're right, I suppose. I had not thought of it like that, I can't say I will do anything, but I will consider it at least.

AUGUST EVENT: DRAGSTRIP RIOT

makeout point, night

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i'm sorry he would not shut up

as if sharky or i mind!!!!

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