come_sailaway | My fuck rations are depleted [October catch-all]

Buffet (closed to Palamedes)

[He wakes up.

There's a moment of blind panic at being trapped in a small, dark space, and Natsuno thrashes violently against the metal walls before his brain catches up with his body. He died yesterday and Friday promised to let him revive in the morgue. Now calmer, he pushes himself out of the cabinet, blinking at the harsh fluorescent light. His muscles are cramped, he reeks of stale blood and he's surprised to discover just how hungry he is - the supernatural kind of hunger, ravenous and painful and must be satisfied now.

Still, he has enough self-control to clean up first. Natsuno takes the elevator to deck one, snags spare clothes from bric-a-brac and hurries to the publish showers. From there he heads straight to the buffet to pour himself a cup of fresh blood. He downs it in two large gulps, almost sagging with relief as it pours down his parched throat and calms the empty hunger gnawing at him.

Somewhat recovered, he helps himself to some breakfast to quell the human hunger. Natsuno looks around as he eats, finally noticing the overflowing trash cans, dirty floors and days-old dished. That's... weird. He should look into once he's finished eating, maybe text Clarke or something...]

Cabin 109 (closed to established CR)

[He's so, so fucked.

In retrospect, Natsuno should've known it will be an ugly, painful mess. That's how it went the other times: he let himself die so Tohru wouldn't, and instead he turned into a monster and Tohru kept existing in torment until he was butchered with all the other shiki. He killed himself to bury the shiki's plan for good and finally free, and instead a fragment of him woke up on this hell ship.

He thought this time will be quiet and quick. He took all the precautions, he was only going to be gone for a day and get Jinx off his back. But Natsuno hadn't accounted for the captain deciding to delay revivals, which in hindsight was stupid, because their captor is a capricious, cruel manchild that they can't even kill.

In the end though, none of it matters. He fucked up and upset the people he cares about.

No point in hiding from the consequences. Sometime in the morning, his friends all get a text:]

I'm back. In my cabin. Door's unlocked.

[Natsuno sits on the bed, back against the wall, and waits. Visitors are welcomed with silence and a stoic expression, not a crack in his calm mask.

He knows what's coming.]

October 5th, Sports deck

[Natsuno spent the rest of yesterday in his cabin, after his friends ripped into him - verbally and quite possibly physically, an onslaught of disappointment, anger and tear that made him wish he was still dead. Still, he absorbed every word, because he deserved it for being a fucking idiot.

(It's almost like killing yourself ISN'T the solution to everything, or something)

On the morning of the 5th, he finally ventures outside. The ship looks worse than yesterday - maintenance really has stopped altogether. Natsuno is vaguely aware he should be seriously worried, should come up with some contingency plan, but can't bring himself to feel much of anything right now.

He passes through the promenade, pausing briefly to examine the remains (smells like the Moon Freak, gross) before making his way to the sports deck. The supply closet is still in ruins, full with explosive's residue and stale shiki blood, reddish-brown and still wet. Natsuno stares at it for a while, trying - and failing - to see himself in it. He turns to leave after a while, but exhaustion strikes before he can get very far. It's the same exhaustion he felt after the battle royale, a heavy numbing blanket that has nothing to do with physical condition.

Natsuno lies on his back in the middle of the court, arms spread, eyes closed. It almost looks like he's asleep, but if anyone gets close, his eyes immediately snap open, head turning to see who's coming. He's still lying down expressionless, though. Just another passenger going through an existential crisis, though his isn't related to the information share.]

October 6th, Pool deck

[Some passengers surely have become familiar with Natsuno's occasional movie binges. Maybe they even joined them. This one, however, is different from several reasons: there's no food on nearby chairs, and Natsuno is staying in his seat for 18 hours straight, only getting up to change movies.

He's also avoiding the movies with excessive blood and gore, which renders about half of them unwatchable, so there are a lot of replays. Still, people are welcome to join, and at some point he turns to state blandly:]

I got new ones.

[He's watching Galaxy Quest.]

October 7th, Various bars

[With the ghosts no longer enforcing the drinking age, it's no surprise the youth are taking advantage of it. This particular 16 year old, however, doesn't seem to be engaged in the usual bad, drunk life choices. In fact, Natsuno doesn't drink at all - he simply reads the labels, methodically scanning each and every one. Every so often he grabs a bottle and stuffs it into a large bag.

There's an awful lot of Everclear there.

It's probably fine.]

[The ship's status-quo broke. Revival is delayed, damage lasts, the ghosts are on strike and Friday's not around. The buffet still provides food, but who knows when that will run out of well. Throw in a ship-wide existential crisis in the wake of the information sharing meeting, and Natsuno is certain it's only a matter of time before something truly terrible happens.

He was a fool for taking certain things for granted, and a fool to think he can recklessly disregard his well-being to settle personal grievances without consequence. He has to stay sharp and make sure his friends will survive whatever hell is coming. He needs to be stronger, and he needs more allies.

The Dioscuri's offer is certainly more tempting now.

Natsuno texts Pollux, asking the twins to meet him by the muster stations at night. No one goes there unless there's an excursion. Other than the time and place, the message is short:]

I decided. Accepted.

[They had three day to come up with something to stop Rita from ratting "Tear" out. Since they couldn't just murder her again - a genius mage's body would be prime real estate for some of their friends - the only option was to use Natsuno's powers to take control of the narrative.

Honestly, he's not thrilled about it. It was never his style and using someone's body to taunt their loved ones is underhanded. But this is war, and he'll do whatever it takes to win.

With the door blown off its hinges, it's easy to sneak into the cabin before Rita wakes up. He puts the door back in place - presumably to hide the blood and give the corpse a semblance of privacy - then sits by the bed and waits.]

October 4th (closed)

October 5th-7th (OPEN)