APRIL OPEN LOG: PIRATE JENNY

[sailmods]

[early risers with odd-numbered rooms might notice that the morning sun doesn't quite come through the curtains as much as it usually does; they can peer out the portholes to see their views blocked by black-painted wood. everyone else won't realize something's off until the morning announcements. there's the chime, and Friday speaks, but...]

Passengers, I'd like for you all to join me in the atrium at your earliest possible convenience! We have a… situation!

[there is no bind on their legs; going is their choice. but, who wouldn't? something interesting is happening, at least. for once.

when they arrive, they will find Friday, and find that she is not alone. a woman - tall, dark, with a flowing coat and a lit cigar hanging from the side of her mouth like an old movie gangster - is standing on the raised area by the stairs; they are having a conversation that's too quiet to hear, and the woman's face is nearly as inscrutable. when enough have gathered, Friday steps forward, her empty hands clasped together in front of her, as the woman puts out the cigar on the heel of her boot and tosses it thoughtlessly to the ground.]

Good morning, everyone! I.. I'd like, I'd like to, well, I'd -

[the woman places a firm hand on Friday's shoulder - spins her, grabs her, dips her low to the ground, and kisses her soundly. at the first touch, Friday freezes; but, at the dip, she squeaks, and throws her arms up to hold herself up. the woman returns her to a normal position, and grins widely.]

Let me handle this, Dajutia. Hm? [Friday nods, and the woman turns to face the passengers.] Tau, everyone! My name is Jenny Storm, but all my friends call me Pirate Jenny! And I'd like to think we're all friends, sí? You could call me an... alumnus of the Serena Eterna; I spent a good five years being a thorn in the side of our good Captain! So, when I heard that he was getting up to his old tricks again, I decided to come around and see the fresh meat! And maybe have a bit of a vacation myself!

[she looks at each of them in turn. her grin widens, showing sharp canines.]

Now, I am sure you are thinking, "Señora Storm? You are a pirate! Are you here to rob us of our valuables?" [she barks out a laugh, then shakes her head.] No, no. First off, we're friends; it's Pirate Jenny! And Pirate Jenny is not interested in such things. In fact, I have valuables for you!

[she makes a quick movement: she sticks her pointer finger in her mouth, and then immediately uses that same finger to make some sort of sketch on her palm. seconds later, that same palm closes around a single white rose, which she extends to Friday. she pauses... then takes it, careful, holding it gentle as a bird.]

I may not be the Captain, but I happen to have a little bit of magic of my own! And, for a very, very low price, I can grant you a few small wishes! Trifles from home, maybe - do you like rocket launchers? I am getting very good at rocket launchers!

Jenny...

Okay, okay, no rocket launchers... Machine guns are as big as I'll go, promise!

[Friday just audibly sighs and shakes her head, but there's a clear sort of fondness in it, and Jenny laughs again.]

So, be sure to chat me up, sí? After breakfast! I may not miss much about this damned ship, but I do miss those little omelets!

[she salutes the audience, and then immediately leaves, taking the stairs down three at a time and needlessly pushing her way through the small crowd on her way to the elevators. Friday merely watches her go; her fingers have worried the rose to shreds that fall at her feet.

the rest of the month, until the 13th, is very much the same, with one exception: Jenny's ship remains at the Serena Eterna's side, a sailing ship somehow keeping pace with a modern engine craft. and Jenny doesn't seem to be keeping an especially close eye on it.]

Comments

[mooninthewater]

Oh, good idea!!

[ There's a few taps on his screen as he opens the video recorder and begins showing off the few hands that grab onto their ankles and such. Not that they're super easy to see between only the light of the flashlight and the ash in the air, but he does his best. The voices are definitely not loud enough to be picked up by the phone's microphone, but he'll do his best to move closer to the sound anyway, while attempting to get a clear recording of the sigils.

A handful of his curious inky black monstrosities will worm their way closer to the brazier, trying (and failing) to avoid the light of the flame while simultaneously reaching for a couple of the sticks. He manages to grasp one of the sticks of chalk away and plops it into Natsuno's free hand. Fresh delivery: chalk and goo! ]

Ehehe, it's like I'm filming a shaky cam horror movie! Oh, the quality on a phone camera is probably not that good, though, huh?? Shame...

[sailmods]

[the hands actually don't show up at all! just looks like empty, dusty air. but, they can certainly feel them, though they're starting to lose the energy for it, or the will, and the feeling starts to die off.

the voices, though, will be picked up. they repeat very much the same. spare me, no, please, weren't we friends, stop. stuff like that. very boring.

also that is a human humerus bone, enjoy, natsuno!]

[neverleave]

[Alas, Natsuno died from 1994 and thus forever missed the rise of shaky cam horror movies.]

You're enjoying this way too much.

[He says as he unzips his hoodie and just. Tucks the bone inside. He's gonna give that to Pal, okay, it's grave desecration for SCIENCE.]

I think this might be the ship's engine.

[mooninthewater]

I think I'm enjoying this the right amount! Isn't it so spooky in here? That's so cool! Imagine all the mysteries we can unravel!!

[ He's picking up this whole conversation on video, too, which might not be his best idea ever... ]

Ohh, you think? That would explain the whispers of the damned. [ ...Well, okay, maybe not in a normal context, but in Jenny's context-...

Since the hands aren't as aggressive, Mizuki starts to tuck away most of his tentacles, leave one or two swatting around in the darkness juuuuust incase. ]

...Should we mess with it? I kind of want to mess with it. What do you think those marks do??? Do they move the ship??

[ Sorry, Natsuno, you're being dragged over there so Mizuki can get a closer look, going around to get closer with his camera and record them individually. ]

[sailmods]

[lots of runes. some ars goetia shit. real electric mix of magics all working together at once to keep ghosts from killing you in your sleep.]

[neverleave]

No, I don't think we should mess with it. We might get killed or worse.

[Like, "stuck in this ghost ship without being able to share what we found" worse.]

There are people on the Serena Eterna who are better equiped to figure it out. The best we can do is show it to them.

[mooninthewater]

You're no fun.

[ Mizuki stands back up and yoinks up one of the "non-chalk" sticks from the pile? Is it just a stick? Who knows, but whatever it is, that's going in Natsuno's hand, too. You're welcome! ]

[sailmods]

[yeah fam that's just a stick. banyan.]

[neverleave]

[Sorry Mizuki, Natsuno was never fun. Taking one stick and one bone is... hopefully fine? But he's not about to touch the creepy demon sigils or pick up the entire brazier.]

Come on, let's go back. Hope that hatch opens from inside.

[mooninthewater]

If it doesn't, we can just break it, right? I'm sure Jenny won't mind if we leave her an "IOU" sticky note or something.

[ Mizuki wants!!! to explore more!!!! Mysteries! Hands! Spooky atmosphere!!!! But, someone is giving him an order, and he's actually just a sheep in jellyfish clothes, so he is more than happy to walk with Natsuno back to where the hatch was, using the flashlight once again to vaguely figure out where he is. Darkness is so disorienting.

Are they given any trouble on their way back, and is the hatch locked? ]

[sailmods]

[nope! it opens easily. the voices die off when the sun hits the room again.]

[neverleave]

[Creepy. Natsuno blinks, eyes adjusting to sunlight again.

Then he looks around for the magpie. Just in case it's gonna say something.]

[mooninthewater]

[ Mizuki pops himself out of the hatch and closes it behind him with a happy hum, turning the video off and putting his phone back into his waterproof bag. ]

Do you think we're all done here?

[sailmods]

[can a bird look disappointed? man, lost out on two pairs of delicious eyeballs.

he gives them a look of mild disdain before flying off to the top of the mast.]

[neverleave]

[Unfortunately for the bird, Natsuno and his delicious eyeballs has had enough of this ship.]

We're done.

[He looks at the Serena Eterna. He can probably swim back, but that'll wash off the ash he wants Pal to examine. So he looks at Mizuki and grumbles:]

...I need you to throw me again.

[mooninthewater]

[ Mizuki hucks himself to stand on the railing of Jenny's ship, holding his arms out happily to prepare his fall back into the saltwater below. ]

Of course, of course! Hold on to your hats. Oh, and, uh, don't look, okay?

[ No, he's not explaining more. Not that it matters, since the second Mizuki hops off the edge, the same sly tendril slips behind Natsuno to huck him like a ragdoll over to their wonderful cruise ship.

Fortunately, this time around, Mizuki manages to catch his flying friend instead of just letting him slip back onto the boat. He's put down with his fresh coating of gross and he, once again, pulls himself up very gracefully. ]

[neverleave]

[Not falling on his ass is definitely an improvement, but this still humiliating and Natsuno sure hopes no one's around to see it. Fighting the urge to run to the nearest shower right now, he waits for Mizuki to resurface. Now he can finally ask:]

How are you doing this? What are you?

[Look, he's been catching up on horror literature to pass the time, and this is some Lovecraft shit right there.]

[mooninthewater]

[ Mizuki hops down from the railing, tucking some of his hair back and giving a quick little shake to get some of the excess water off. ]

Oh, I’m an Aegir! A cnidarian Aegir. People on board seem to understand it better if I say that I’m a sea jelly.

[neverleave]

...right.

[Sea jelly. Natsuno raises one slime-covered sleeve and makes a face. Yeah, sounds about right. He looks back at Mizuki with a stony expression, eyes narrowed ever so slightly.]

You're not called "Nyarlathotep" or something, are you.

[mooninthewater]

… I can’t even try to pronounce that back to you, let alone be it.

Is that something I should know of?

[neverleave]

Just something out of horror novels. Though I guess you do like horror movies.

[Considering how excited he was back on Jenny's ship...]

[mooninthewater]

Horror video games are more my speed, but I’ve seen a couple scary movies. But, no, I’m not some weird horrible creature from the Fishing Hamlet or something.

[ … He hopes he isn’t anyway. ]

[neverleave]

[Dryly:] Agreed. Those aren't known for their love of video games.

[Maybe those aegir inspired weird stories, just how shiki must've inspired the vampire lore back home. Quite a leap from gaming to mind breaking, but this Lovecraft guy was definitely wrong in the head.

Either way, Natsuno has seen enough weird shit in those six weeks to just roll with it.]

Can you send me the footage? It's Yuuki, room 109. [...] I assume your name isn't just "sea jelly".

[mooninthewater]

Yuu~ki… [ He drags out a sing song of his name as he taps on his phone at the speed of which a tech addict might. ] Sent!

Ah, right! Sorry, how rude of me. We’re even on “flinging to another boat and holding hands in zombie apocalypse brig” territory and I haven’t even said my name. Sorry, sorry!!

I’m Mizuki. Though, I’d respond to sea jelly, too, at this point.

[neverleave]

[Mizuki. Surprisingly mundane for a humanoid sea jelly, yet fitting.]

None of which were asked for, by the way. Do you always fling people you've just met?

[Yeah, he's salty].