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_sailaway2022-10-22 10:25 pm
fonomena) wrote in come_sailaway2022-10-22 10:25 pm
[CLOSED] black out days
Who: Jade Curtiss and "Tear Grants"
What: Well...! Don't know who this is gonna be referring to yet but we're sure gonna find out now aren't we!!
When: Late at night, sometime after Rita Mordio is resurrected but before the Halloween party
Where: Spirit Halloween, as it turns out smh
Warnings: Mind control, bloody character death
[A note is posted upon Jade's door one evening.
It's not subtle, to be sure, and easily spotted as soon as Jade draws up to the entrance to cabin 109 a few hours later. ...Plucking it off to read it...well, but are the contents really so surprising? In a way he's been waiting for something like this, honestly, ever since the discovery of Rita's body several days before. There had been a card left at that scene as well--half-torn, but handwriting still visible upon it. There was lettering clearly cut out and pasted from the pages of books, as well...and much the same is found, on this note here. Now isn't that a coincidence?
...Ever since that time, a suspicion has been forming--growing ever larger--and now...
Jade hasn't tried to directly contact Tear since Rita's death, really. Oh, there might have been a nod if they'd spotted each other in the hall, or a brief and detached word exchanged...but he's been keeping his distance, and perhaps that's noticeable in its own way. Up to this point, Tear has made no move to change this. ...But now it's Jade who does, as he tucks the calling card into an inner pocket of his coat...and ends up not entering 109 at all, in the end. Instead making his way further down the hall, to cabin 106--standing and staring quietly at the door, for a long moment--before he raises a hand to knock, short and concise. His general habit, in past occasions visiting.
Of course, there's always a possibility there won't be any response at all, but...]
...Tear, are you there? I'd like a word...
What: Well...! Don't know who this is gonna be referring to yet but we're sure gonna find out now aren't we!!
When: Late at night, sometime after Rita Mordio is resurrected but before the Halloween party
Where: Spirit Halloween, as it turns out smh
Warnings: Mind control, bloody character death
[A note is posted upon Jade's door one evening.
It's not subtle, to be sure, and easily spotted as soon as Jade draws up to the entrance to cabin 109 a few hours later. ...Plucking it off to read it...well, but are the contents really so surprising? In a way he's been waiting for something like this, honestly, ever since the discovery of Rita's body several days before. There had been a card left at that scene as well--half-torn, but handwriting still visible upon it. There was lettering clearly cut out and pasted from the pages of books, as well...and much the same is found, on this note here. Now isn't that a coincidence?
...Ever since that time, a suspicion has been forming--growing ever larger--and now...
Jade hasn't tried to directly contact Tear since Rita's death, really. Oh, there might have been a nod if they'd spotted each other in the hall, or a brief and detached word exchanged...but he's been keeping his distance, and perhaps that's noticeable in its own way. Up to this point, Tear has made no move to change this. ...But now it's Jade who does, as he tucks the calling card into an inner pocket of his coat...and ends up not entering 109 at all, in the end. Instead making his way further down the hall, to cabin 106--standing and staring quietly at the door, for a long moment--before he raises a hand to knock, short and concise. His general habit, in past occasions visiting.
Of course, there's always a possibility there won't be any response at all, but...]
...Tear, are you there? I'd like a word...
no subject
cabin door, torn has noticed. not like it's unexpected, really, with
how new to the ship her host is --
but it certainly helps narrow things down the moment she does
hear that knocking, knowing full-well who it might be already, well
before she opens the door. ]
Yes? What is it...?
[ she does her best to regard him coolly, as evenly as she
thinks tear might have. she's gone back to wearing her host's
usual attire since that night, having painstakingly cleaned it
in the washroom rather than in the laundry room.
she feels now that that must have been a stroke of genius, or perhaps
her woman's intuition giving her a leg up here, as her dress
had clearly driven suspicion towards her earlier this same week.
there was something about the way jade looks at her though that has
her wondering if she's still a suspect, however: if she and notsuno
had been unable to take the heat off of her and onto clarke.
but... well, she's bound to find out now, isn't she? ]
no subject
[Jade returns the even coolness of her glance with an entirely neutral expression of his own, when the door opens; he's seemingly at ease enough, hands tucked in his uniform coat pockets in that habitual way of his.]
But I've been--ah, you're aware enough, of recent events. I've some thoughts I'd like to share, I think, if you're amenable to listening. On a bit of a walk, perhaps? [Here, a slight and wry smile, settling upon his features; self-awareness of the oddity of the request, it seems.] Naturally, we both know this isn't particularly usual of me, so I'm sure hearing this may be a bit of a surprise...
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she peers up at him from beneath furrowed brows, searching his expression for a clue about his thoughts.
part of her wonders if he knows how ridiculous he sounds, and her lips part to give voice to that thought, to call him out, but her words die before they can roll off her tongue —-
so easily said by the man himself.
but wasn’t that even more suspicious? ]
Colonel…
[ she shifts her weight slightly, from one foot to the other, as she mulls over what she wants to say.
‘I’m not going anywhere on your terms’ was far too aggressive. ]
To be honest, I wanted to come and find you before you knocked. I think I may have found another clue about what happened to Rita.
no subject
Ah, then it seems our thoughts have somewhat aligned. Perhaps this hour of night is a rather good one for seeking out hard conversations after all. [Faint humor, there. (Even as thought certainly does take up that mention of Rita's death, rather the same sort of way a tired cleaner scoops up more flotsam from a beachside. Oh, you would have found another clue about now, wouldn't you?) --But emotions in general are detached, at the moment--his own means of bracing himself, before he'd knocked on her door--and so this thought certainly never makes it to visibility on his face, either. Instead Jade presses out a slight sigh, after a monent, expression sobering.] ...I'd certainly like to hear about this clue; we need all the details we can get. Even if she's convinced of the culprit herself...there are still many questions, surrounding that incident.
Shall we head to the deck, perhaps? Not far from here...you could tell me more about this news on the way. We'd have some air outdoors, too, for these grim topics. It is a peaceful spot at this hour.
[A casual enough request. Surely quite reasonable. Wouldn't Tear be making things odd at this point, to refuse such a benign suggestion? Considering she hadn't necessarily turned down the idea of a walk earlier, either...]
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[ she steps out of the cabin and lets the door close behind her, easily falling into step with jade as they make their way up.
it’s difficult to find a way to break the ice with him at the moment, and she can feel something of a tense awkwardness between them — although it might only be in her head, since jade seems to be calm.
but there’s something about this situation right now that feels almost as though she were swimming with a shark in the water: an unseen, but very real concern.
eventually she looks at him directly. ]
You know, you’ve… been acting strange this whole week, Colonel.
I’m a little concerned.
[ she opens the door to the deck, gesturing to let him through first ]
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Jade does genuinely like walking out here sometimes, on more restless nights. He always had frequent late night walks back home, too, on their travels...sometimes not returning to shared inn quarters until well past midnight.
...He rarely ever goes out like this with others, though, does he? Not even friends...]
Have I been? ...I suppose so. I know we haven't really spoken in awhile, since that night. [Jade doesn't necessarily return the look Tear levels his way this time yet, instead drifting out and over to one of the rails. An echo, incidentally, of the same habit he'd shown that very first day of Tear's arrival, and them meeting, and discussing the situation here.] Believe it or not, even I have my preoccupations on occasion. I've been feeling...hm. Things have been concerning, of late. All these possessions going around...not exactly something I've ever dealt with before. I've been rather at a loss as to how to address it.
[And there's honesty here, which makes the words lay out quite naturally enough. Punctuated with a bit of slow hesitancy, maybe--because it's not the sort of thing Jade usually says out loud. But this is conferring with a friend, one of his closest allies here. Isn't it?
Hands settling upon the rail before him, he looks over sidelong at Tear properly now.]
...But you did mention you found another clue? In regards to Rita's murderer?
1/2
the way he leans against the railing, this time shrouded by darkness,
the pale curve of his face etched out by the moonlight. it was a very
different scene, but still as somber as the first time she'd seen it,
back when tear had arrived.
back then, after their talk, he had taken tear to the buffet.
but something tells her this night probably won't end with the pair of them
sitting around a table, gorging themselves on sweets and pastries as she
might have liked. ]
Yes... They have been. To be honest, although I didn't know Rita too well,
everything that happened with her left me kind of shaken...
[ it was a truth, in this case -- for both of those things. even right
down to this moment, torn had never intended to have to actually kill rita.
it had been a cruel twist of fate, or something, that rita had decided to open
that door: or, more likely, her own lack of careful planning.
she pauses with an 'oh, that's right', and reaches into her pocket ... ]
2/2
I got this tonight. I wanted to show you it, before I had to go
and meet with this ghost of ours. It mentions that if I don't,
a friend could end up just like Rita ...
[ she holds it out for him to take. ]
I don't want that to happen, but I think it would be unwise to go alone.
1/3
Well now, look at that.
Either he's been mistaken about positively everything...or this ghost really is putting her absolute best effort forward in all this, now isn't she?]
2/3
This person isn't the only one here with a last-ditch test to pull out their sleeve, though. Even if the time for it still...isn't...yet--)]
3/3
[Reaching into his own inner pocket, Jade's pulling out the calling card of earlier; he offers it to Tear in turn, grim humor tinging his words.]
More of a warning than an invitation upon mine, however. The Spirit Halloween store... [Really...] Odd idea of a meeting place, if our messenger's trying to be menacing about it. But the threats certainly quite clear in this message...I agree, you shouldn't go alone. I ought to accompany you--if you plan to go tonight?
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she wonders if he felt bad when he read it, if any of what she’d written had struck a nerve. she knows well that jade curtiss could be blamed for a lot of what happened on tear’s world.
both it’s struggles as well as its salvation.
the ‘father of fomicry’…
Or did he just pay no mind to any of it, seeing it as an empty sort of threat?
Either way, it was disgusting that someone like him got to live while so many innocent people couldn’t. That she and her friends couldn’t. ]
I wonder if there’s a specific reason that it’s that store… This might be a long shot, but the fact that it’s named Spirit made me wonder.
[ this sounds like the kind of useless, smart-person thing jade might consider. maybe. ]
Or, more likely… I wonder if they know I —- that I’m not exactly a fan of a lot of the things in there. Your card says that they’re watching… and they mention a lot of personal details. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
[ which is why it made sense for it to be clarke, right? ]
I do plan on heading there at some point. I’d like it if you could accompany me.
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The words on that card are certainly personal.
There's even a grain of truth, to be found there.
(But it'd be bold to assume he's never heard such sentiments spoken to him before already. That his own mind does not constantly remind him much the same anyhow, every day, even here...)]
There would be something of an irony in a place for "spirit" trivialities being the site of a ghostly confrontation, wouldn't there? ...Hmm, but a prod at your own discomforts might not be out of the question either. This person certainly seems privy to quite a few personal details about the both of us indeed.
[Same as that entity who had left those blood messages on the door. Truly, ever since, he's been wondering.
Perhaps a possessed Clarke Griffin really has been watching them very closely for quite some time now. Or perhaps...]
Either way--that is well. I appreciate you're not arguing on that point. So very many youths these days always seem to want to confront dangers all on their own, anymore... [(Let's not look too closely at how that may or may not be exactly what Jade happens to be doing right now, depending on how you tilt your head and squint at it--)] We can certainly check on things together. If you'd like to head there now...?
[Jade shifts his weight off the railing, hands slipping back into his pockets as he straightens. He turns towards Tear expectantly, and then tilts his head towards the direction of the entrance back into the ship interior. The promenade is a few decks up, from this level, but still--if they start now, it shouldn't take too long to get there...]
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[ she raises a brow, a little apprehensive for a second. if only because —- ]
I thought you had something you wanted to discuss? Well, I guess we can talk about it on the way. It’s probably best to confront the ghost as quickly as possible.
[ or that’s probably what he thinks right? either way, she does join him, easily falling into step alongside of him.
she’s sure the suspicion isn’t entirely off of her yet though, and she wonders if he’ll bring it up at all. ]
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[So, yes, that is what he thinks--or so he says, as he starts back into the ship and Tear joins at his side. His own attention is now directed ahead, as they navigate their way to the elevator at the far end of the hall, but...]
You're also correct, however, that I had something I wanted to discuss. The card I gave you was part of it. It's all in the same topic...and we may as well talk as we go. [Drawing up before the glass-cased transport, Jade absently hits the button to summon the elevator down as he speaks, before continuing.] ...A great source of my unease lately, I'm finding, is that it seems quite highly difficult--to reliably identify who might be possessed, and who might not. From the information I've gathered so far, they seem to have access to the memories of their host...which means that the more conventional means of identifying imposters grow quite narrow indeed. There's also no way to be certain as to when the possessions have occurred--whether they all transpired at the same time, or whether there are yet more ghosts newly-acquiring bodies even now. ...I've been trying to think of other ways, that we might be able to check for something wrong...
For example, if I were possessed--what would you do, to try confirming my identity?
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grateful that this time their walk is accompanied by some actual conversation.
it wasn't much, but it was at least something -- better than the
uncomfortable silence they'd had prior.
she listens to his theory with little surprise, having guessed he may have
known that about the memories. it wouldn't take a genius, with how everything
had gone so smoothly in the beginning. ]
I was thinking the same thing.
[ because surely tear, having been an intelligence agent (basically
something like a spy), would know something like that, right? she thinks
makoto would, at least, even if it was something that might go over
torn's own head. ]
Um... If it was you? It would probably be easy to tell if there was an imposter.
[ not many people could replicate the mannerisms of a super genius, you know?
is what she wants to say, but doesn't. ]
I guess I would do something like, see what the ghost picks out while at the buffet?
I doubt they'd be able to keep to your preferences for long -- they'd probably want
to just eat what they want, after a while. If it was something with pork in it,
then I would know.
[ she, herself, had kind of done that. tear seemed to like food, and would
sample a lot of different things -- but torn had always left room for some
favourite desserts. it seemed pretty normal, to her, though. tear wasn't very
picky aside from a babyish dislike of carrots.
but jade seemed more health-conscious, if she remembers correctly and there's not
many people that can constantly stick to rabbit food or whatever. ]
Are you ... asking that as a way of trying to tell me something? You almost sound
as if you're alluding to being possessed yourself.
[ an uno reverse! how about that, old man?
she glances sideways at him, wondering how he'll take her comment. ]
no subject
Oh, you truly do think anyone trying would have a hard time emulating me? I suppose that's flattering in one sense... [Vague amusement, here; the elevator doors open, and Jade steps inside, waiting for Tear to follow after him before prompting the doors closed and setting the destination to deck five.] ...That's an interesting point--could very well extend that past simple food preferences, hm? Perhaps the key is to keep an eye out for indulgences being made in general, that the host would not normally follow. Even trying to lay low, I suppose few ghosts could truly resist a few temptations to their own interests here and there...
[Not to mention how the food angle wouldn't work well in Tear's case, it's true, as wide as her palate tends to be with a few very niche exceptions on that front. But other things...hm. Looking back, there may very well have been signs...
It also explains the cards and messages and games, that began permeating the ship a few weeks into the month. Some ghosts evidently just couldn't resist a chance to take up their own past-times in such ways, even at the potential risk of blowing cover. Apparently Rita had received several mocking letters herself, before the murder that had occurred--
But then Tear's making that comment, after a moment, and Jade's glancing sideways over to her in turn. Though subdued, the amusement of earlier renews, in the face of this.]
Some sort of subliminal message, you mean? Seems like a rather convoluted route! To not even get into the foolishness of alluding to being possessed...ah, unless it were a reverse-psychology sort of angle, you mean? Dropping hints so obviously that, surely, it couldn't actually be the case...
[With a chime, the elevator halts, and the doors slide open; the promenade opens up in front of them, quiet and thin of inhabitants at this time of night. Jade steps out, already casting a glance down the walkway to the--well, where the Tommy Bahama used to be, a little ways in. The garish Spirit Halloween sign is visible even from here.]
No, I'd hope my ghost were a little more clever about it than that, if they're going to the trouble. Besides, I'd expect that you'd have confronted me quite early on, if you had suspicions--after all, you're surely not the type to string such matters along. [A thin smile is cast in Tear's direction, as they walk.] Or am I wrong?
no subject
of the information sessions but the fact she'd never gone does seem to be
lucky here. she got to play ignorant to the facts which, fortunately, was a lot
easier for her.
she wonders if jade is actually surprised by what she says, like if it's some sort
of new information to him, or if he'd already guessed as much. ]
Yes, exactly like that. My other thought is that your ghost may not be able to
use fonic artes...
[ this was something she knew the ghosts could do, though. they had access
to every single ability their host has, more or less. but does he know that?
she can't help but smile at the way he sort of turns things back onto her.
because of the nature of her host's relationship with him, yeah, she supposes
tear probably would have confronted him: she likely would have said something
outright, the second she'd noticed something was up.
though she can't say the same of him, clearly. ]
No, you're right. If I thought you were behaving strangely, and the situation
was as dangerous as this one, I'd have said something. There's no use beating
around the bush.
[ she starts off towards the bright orange storefront, walking slowly,
softly, so that the heels of her shoes don't click against the floor. tear
made it look so easy, walking as silently as a cat pawing along the ground
despite the relatively poor choice of footwear.
she crosses into the doorway of the store with jade in tow, drawing a breath
to steady herself. ]
Here we go...
[ she doesn't draw a weapon, just yet, leaving the knives untouched on
her thighs. instead, as they step forwards, passing by a few racks and displays,
she nods to him and begins to sing her first hymn ...
it would be safer to 'incapacitate' her ghostly target this way, right?
stunning them, almost like for some kind of ambush. ]
no subject
But in the end, as it turns out, he doesn't even need to actually initiate that test himself--
At length they're entering the Spirit Halloween, at the tail end of this talk...and what was he expecting to find, in the Spirit Halloween? Well, there are only a handful of possibilities in the end. The chances of some form of trap feel high, whether Tear had actually penned that threatening card to herself or not...and so it's a mild surprise, if anything, that they manage to enter without actual incident, and even make it further inside a moderate way in quiet. Jade makes no move to draw a weapon of his own yet either, though his right hand does exit a pocket to hang by his side at the ready; side by side, they walk some ways in, and as he scans their surroundings Tear is kept at the corner of sight.
...She nods to him, after a few moments, drawing a breath. In that certain way she does sometimes, when she's preparing a hymn for an unknowing enemy--and it's such a seemingly familiar and standard gesture that, for the very briefest of moments, Jade almost hopes he really has been mistaken all along. That, naturally, she's about to sing a hymn to incapacitate the ghost at hand within the store, and together they'll track it down, a familiar tactic--
But then the singing actually begins--the first fonic hymn--and...
Ah. Ah, this particular sort of palpable weight, that settles upon limbs and wraps about one's head--it is familiar, too, but far less so. Because Tear has always been able to distinguish allies from enemies, in the targeting of her hymns, and--
She keeps walking along down the aisle, of course, even as Jade's own steps slow. He exhales sharply, any further expression on his features promptly fading to something blank and grim all at once; the breath is drawn back in similarly deeply, and with it he's bracing against the effect upon his fon slots. As Tear ought to know. His resistance, as an experienced fonist, is bound to be considerable...]
Tear. [Jade draws to a halt, though he remains on his feet, eyes affixed upon her back up ahead. A single word, flat and sharp all at once, the warning in tone quite clear.
With a crackle of reassembling fonons, his spear's materializing in his hand.]
no subject
the melody of her hymn slowly dying away. the silence between them resounds
far more than her voice ever could.
she speaks eventually, her voice playful, almost cloying in its sudden sweetness. ]
Ooh no... Colonel, what are you doing? Don't you know how scary this store is?
I thought you were supposed to be helping me?
[ she turns, the folds of her dress swaying, long hair bouncing from the
spring in her step: the motion is entirely far too cheerful for the situation that they're in.
she isn't surprised at all to see his spear is out, although she'd
been hoping they'd have more time to chat before that thing made an appearance.
oh well.
before the residual effects of her hymn can fade, she reaches into one of
the hidden pockets of her dress and produces ... a gun.
that very same gun the colonel himself had won for 'tear' from the crane
game, for her protection -- ironically being used only for the protection of
tear's body, now.
she cocks the handgun and then lifts it, keeping it trained right around the height
of his head, smiling at him from behind the length of her arm.
with a weapon out, she feels more confident now. ]
Listen, let's not get too hasty here. You're always so quick to react ...
What's up with that? I thought we didn't want more people to have to take a
nap.
[ she sounds a little bitter and truly, she is, about things having to
constantly take this turn with the people on this ship. why can't they ever
be easy? why did they have to be so nosy? ]
no subject
So why, then, does even that cloying tone in Tear's voice wrench at something ugly and painfully jagged in his chest all the same?
The act falls away all at once after that, at least. The bounce in her step, the sardonic cheer in her demeanor, utterly unlike Tear in every possible way; it's almost hard to believe he'd ever had any doubts, seeing her like this now. But there's some sort of tension finally snapped, at least, in being concretely sure about this at last. A sort of restraint that's finally crumbling away. ...There had been hopes, yes, that it wouldn't come to this. That for once, just once in his life, he might be wrong about a terrible thing--
But Tear--the thing wearing Tear--is pulling a familiar gun out into the open, cocking it and training right at his head, and...well, there's his answer. Now isn't it?
The weight on his limbs might fade, as the hymn does. But naturally Jade doesn't move, spear in a rigid grip at his side, as his glance studies the muzzle of the gun pointed his way for a long moment...and then shifts, to directly return "Tear's" gaze instead.
(Solid rounds, in that gun--they will be slightly slower, than the standard fonic rounds back home, in the deftly-swift grasp of Legretta the Quick. But such calculations are saved for when movement becomes necessary...and, it seems, this ghost isn't about to pull the trigger just yet.)
A talk, is it?]
Interesting, that you would say we. You almost make that sound as if the murder of Rita Mordio was perhaps an accident. [The tone in Jade's own voice remains entirely even, absent of any particular emotional inflection. Save a dry sort of flatness, perhaps. (Disconnected, for now, from the terrible burning thing already starting to gather in his heart, in the back of his head--)] It must be refreshing, in that case, to take matters properly into your own hands for once.
[Rita's murder had been messy. Sloppy. She'd even needed a change of clothes afterwards. Will this attempt be the same? ...Jade will ensure it is not.]
...What is your name, I wonder? Can you even recall it, at this point? Or have you already bandied about Tear's for far too long?
no subject
this.
[ it's clear to her that he must think the ghosts just want to murder
everyone all the time, or something -- which isn't far from the truth for
some of them. but if he knew what they'd all had to go through,
if he'd been there alongside of them, she's sure he'd be doing the exact
same things. he really doesn't understand any of it.
torn's expression slips into one of displeasure as he (in her mind), taunts
her about her name. it was such a stupid tactic, she thinks: why not just ask her
outright? what point was there in trying to piss her off? ]
... Of course I remember my own name. For such a smart guy you sound like
an idiot right now. What good would it do for you to know what it is, anyway?
[ it probably has something to do with tear, she's sure.
now that the secret is out about this whole possession, it probably bothers
him to have to call her by her host's name.
but she wants for him to say it. to cut the shit and be direct, for once.
something he couldn't even do in front of her actual host. ]
no subject
Still, at the very least, it does seem as if he's struck a nerve. Jade is seemingly unmoved by the displeasure that falls upon the ghosts face, merely narrows his eyes in turn.]
Is it truly so strange to you, for someone to want to know who they're having their life threatened by? I'd have thought, now you've dropped your charade, that you'd want credit under your own name.
[Alongside, of course, the fact that she's not Tear--that the very notion of continuing to call this person that name turns his stomach. But surely that ought to go without saying.
Even now, it seems, directness cannot be forced upon him. And while she still seems to be withholding from shooting--]
You were a shade from a batch of previous passengers, weren't you? A ghost that became a drone for this ship. How were you able to break free, and why did you choose that body? The messages you've been leaving certainly seem to imply that you've longer-term plans here as well...what are those?
i hope this makes him mad LMFAO
[ her expression contorts with displeasure, mouth twisting
into a grimace. so this is how that guy thinks? that everything
is about her ego?
she knows that he's used to interrogating big bad villains or whatever,
so maybe it's just because he isn't used to talking with normal
teenaged girls, but she wished he could at least come at her from a
different angle.
she huffs as he continues to talk, shaking her head at him. ]
Okay boomer, hold up a second! That's a lot of questions coming from
someone on the other end of a gun.
[ she waves it for emphasis with an 'uhh, hellooo?'. ]
Are you forgetting your situation here?? Rgh, hold-ups are so much easier
when you have a team...
[ they were all valid questions, of course, but in reality she didn't
have to answer them. and now that they're talking, she isn't sure that she
can make her way out of this one with just a conversation alone.
it just doesn't seem possible to turn the tables back to friendship after pulling
a gun out on somebody -- at least if you aren't joker, that is. ]
First thing's first, my name is Ann. Okay? I'll at least tell you that much.
And I wasn't really picky about the body, so long as it was a cute girl around
my age. I didn't wanna get stuck inside some weirdo old man.
[ she gestures at him with the gun for emphasis. ]
Though, I didn't know she'd be so boring when I got into her. Like seriously,
that whole shy ex-soldier thing is such a let-down. She's almost like
some kind of robot, I almost feel bad for her. Did you know she couldn't even
tell the boy she likes how she feels?
wow ann u really just wanting to speedrun this huh
[It's a flicker of grim humor about as dry as a desert, at the complaints being leveled his way where his misconceptions and questions might be concerned. Perhaps it is being presumptuous, of someone at the other end of a gun--but even if "Tear"--Ann--were to surpass expectations here and now, and kill him right this moment on the spot after all...Jade's well aware that resurrection is likely to happen eventually, so long as the captain still has his tenuous say on the matter. The information he gathers here will not become worthless in death, so long as those expectations are met.
(Unknowing, indeed, of the brainwashing abilities of a certain someone lurking in the wings here, that do actually happen to sit outside those expectations...)But then Ann is continuing--with a name, and the very rough outline of a purpose. As if the selection of body was a moderately conscious choice, but...
Ah.
Jade's expression outwardly does not...change, from its stony set. At first. But his eyes do narrow, as she continues on...and on....and, at his side, his grip upon his spear is perhaps tightening rather a lot more. Something--the thing that's been building, in his head, in his chest, forcibly restricted to a simmer in confronting this situation but now inexorably welling up once more--it's flaring up in thought now, frigid enough to burn. As this shade stands there, and mocks the very body she puppeteers, as if she knows anything at all.
--He doesn't even realize he's laughing until the sound's already out of his throat; it's a short and terrible thing, utterly bereft of any humor at all. The smile that falls upon his face, similarly, is only barely felt or noticed--there's no humor in this, either. Expressions that break through entirely of their own volition...]
My my. It's truly remarkable. Your access to her very memories seems unfettered, and yet somehow you still manage to understand nothing about her. It's really quite impressive! [He tilts his head, his own red glance boring into hers with a sudden and sharp intensity.] I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. If you had any regard for her at all--if you'd ever even tried, to acknowledge your host--you wouldn't be standing here chattering like this in the first place. ...But if you must ask. We all knew how she felt, for quite some time. That pain is Tear's alone to bear.
[And this thing has no right, to speak of it aloud like this, with Tear's voice and Tear's face. As if it were some bit of passing gossip. As if it were a pitiful thing. As if none of them had known.
His smile is still widening, of its own volition, but that's alright. It's not a face that most see, and it's really for the best; this is truly an incandescent sort of anger, and Jade's not even entirely sure he's ever felt it quite like this before. It really is...something of a perfect storm, here, so many fragments of varied insult condensing all at once...
Slowly but almost casually, without even a hint of hesitation, Jade's lifting his left arm at an idle angle, as if he were taking an aim of his own directly at Ann. As if the gun in her hand may as well not exist.]
Actually, this quite simplifies things! You've narrowed down the rest of my questions considerably; there's only one remaining. ...If you've not already condemned Tear to oblivion...I wonder, what would it take, to persuade you to leave her body? A simple word of request won't be enough, I'm sure. In fact, I'm almost certain. Or am I wrong?
1/10 gun rng lets goooo
That doesn’t sound like you were being a very good friend to me.
[ she watches as jade’s expression cracks with the slow curve of a smile, gradually growing across his face: it was a joyless thing, displaced, and something about that grin raises a sprawl of gooseflesh along her arms. ]
H-hey! Hold on a second here…!
[ she scrambles for any further insults, but can find nothing to say once he raises his spear, his bubbling laughter slowly fading.
she wonders for a moment if her companion is near by, her unfortunate partner in crime that’s had to clean up after her. ann’s eyes rove the empty racks, searching, just in case before returning her full attention to the colonel — to finishing this —!
ann can hear her borrowed heart beat faster, loudly in her ears, pounding even over the sound of when she pulls the trigger.
the motion of the gun in her hand becomes a blur: a dark, engulfing shadow as pain erupts across her cheek, the force of it turning her head. ]
Wh—!!
[ she had flinched at the last second as the gun jumped back towards her, sliding out from the loose grip of her fingers and into her face — having leapt away from the bullet it had spit due to recoil.
ann scrambles to get ahold of the gun again, properly, or what she thinks is proper, shooting again in a hurry. she doesn’t really focus on aim or anything, just shooting forwards, ahead of her, towards jade, the bullets different from the familiar spray of the guns she was used to — single droplets instead of a rainfall.
she hears the vague click of metal when the bullets ricochets off of the tile by jade’s feet, off of the walls and ceiling, and off down an aisle, the tinny laughter of animatronics triggering from the movement.
vaguely she’s aware that it’s the clowns, roving and waving their long, blackened fingernails as though taunting her, giggling in chorus with one another.
she’d better not die here to that. ]
me with my 10/10 followup rng like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ man........
(--But not before glancing about for a second's beat, as if searching for something among the store shelves...as if anything in this store would be enough to help her now--)
--Jade's lunging to one side at about the same time she fires off a round, though in the end...it would seem he didn't actually need to move after all, now did he? The recoil quite clearly has her striking herself in the face, while the bullet flies woefully wide, pinging and whistling off a cluster of animatronics a good distance behind. The tinny laughter is a backdrop to the other shots she tries to fire, as they glance off the floor where his feet had been; more animatronics are struck, and packets of costumes as well, shredded bits of fabric flying. Even a nearby skeleton display is knocked over, bones scattering all over the floor--multiple things at once, all combining together into a scattering of distracting noise. Ann herself seems to scramble just to make proper use of the gun. ...Truly a poor showing. Yet another insult to Tear, who surely would have been trained in firearms by Legretta to do far less atrociously than this.
But Jade wouldn't be above taking full advantage of an opening like this on a good day, much less when every thought in his head has turned in one viscerally pointed direction: to incapacitate this imposter, and drive her out of that body, even if he has to kill Tear to do it--
It's the most basic fonic arte in his repertoire, and for this particular purpose he doesn't even need a chant, just a breath drawn in and a sharp movement of his free arm as quick steps bring him back and aside from his original position:] Energy Blast!
[Fonons crackle to life about Ann's wrists; a second's warning, before they're detonating in a small burst of energy. Hardly enough to deal substantial damage, but surely enough to blast the gun right out of her tenuous grasp.
--Not that Jade's waiting and watching for the result. No, he's already taking off in a proper sprint as soon as that's cast--and he doesn't move towards Ann. But away instead, right around the corner of the end of the aisle they'd both been standing rather close to. Ducking back behind a makeshift barrier of more racks of hanging costumes. Witch and wizard robes, long and flowing, numerous enough to render his profile more difficult to track an arte to...though his voice still rings out, with a proper chant this time, accompanied by a reverb of gathering fonons that's louder still.]
O sword of conviction, loose the might of your brilliant colors--
[Ann's position is held in mind. Should she still be there, by the time he reaches an opening gap for a line of sight in the clothing racks beside her--the arte is partially cast, and six immense crystals of condensed sixth fonons materialize to drop from the air and smash upon the floor tiles, forming a circle all about her. Shining and singing with sound, as more sixth fonons pour forth to follow them, reflecting off those crystals and forming a gate of searing light that surrounds with no immediate means of escape. Not a fully realized Prism Sword--for lack of time, no blade of crystallized sixth fonons drops down atop Ann's head as soon as she's gated, a small incidental mercy. But the main intention is to trap her, in the handful of seconds that the arte has manifested.
While Jade emerges back through the costumes, properly taking up the spear at his side and advancing towards her with swift strides...]
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her wrist: it does indeed knock the gun from her grasp, sending it clattering
and sliding across the store's pale, tiled flooring.
she doesn't watch to see where it goes, instead frantically searching for jade's
current location. it's out of instinct that her hand flies down to the belt on
tear's thigh, pulling a knife so as not to leave herself entirely defenseless.
the swish and sway of robes catches her attention, and she pulls her arm back,
ready to throw when she hears his voice again -- ]
For real!? Come on!!
[ her voice lilts almost into a whine as she tries to run out of the area
his arte might effect, but she only makes it to the very edge of the circle before
the crystals begin to fall.
they rain down: large, jagged pieces of light that sear the air around them.
she jumps away from them so as not to cut herself, back towards the centre of the
circle, face tipping up.
she remembers this arte of his, has seen it so many times in tear's distant
memories -- and she's thankful, for the space of a breath, that the sword
typically lingering above is no longer there. so he was trying to trap her, huh?
this was so like being a phantom thief. there were so many times they'd been trapped
in various ways, helped along by joker's skills -- by each other, as comrades and
friends. but this time she doesn't see joker here, or skull, or anyone to help bust
her out.
just where the hell was 'notsuno', anyway?
ann doesn't wait to see which direction jade is coming from: she can hear his footsteps
hurry across the tile. she sings, the notes loud in the emptiness of the spirit
halloween, and hopes that her song is enough to stop jade or at the very least slow him down. ]
Tue rei zue croa riu tue zue ...
[ this was the last place she wanted to die. ]
cw: mind control
She starts with some poorly-acted deception, followed by a dramatic reveal and a gun. The villainous speech is a nice touch - shame that the old fart doesn't appreciate it. Then Ann-chan finally pulls the trigger -
And messes things up again. Ugh. He waits another moment to see if she can regain control of the situation, but there are crystals falling down (he was able to do it as well, a lifetime ago. He misses his partner so much) and Mikazuki realizes he must interfere right now.
He breaks into a supernaturally fast dash, positioning himself to intercept Jade from the side. The kid's hearing and smell are so very helpful. Mikazuki smirks when he hears Ann singing, followed by the sound of Jade's footsteps slowing down. Right... there.
Mikazuki barrels into Jade in a side tackle, making sure to keep the spear on the opposite side. Every bit of Natsuno's inhuman strength is used to slam the older man on the ground, ideally to get him to land on the spear and hopefully break something. Once on the floor, he straddles Jade, pinning his arm in a steel grip and sinks his fangs into his neck.
With Rita, he only needed the venom that made shiki's victims numb and suggestible. Jade is much more dangerous, though, and Mikazuki feeds to make sure he's properly weakened.
It doesn't take long. Shiki are rather modest in their feeding habits. Their victims take three consecutive nights to die, and even their bites look more like bug bites.]
And stay down.
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But of course, that isn't what ends up happening here. Instead--
The burst of movement at the edge of periphery is entirely a surprise, to say nothing of its unnatural speed. Jade barely has enough time to start turning his head, the momentum of his trajectory towards Ann faltering a moment; there's no chance at all to react further, in the end. One moment he's on his feet, and the next moment he's not, the compact weight of someone shorter than himself outright body-slamming into his side with an inhuman amount of force. Spear completely knocked out of his grasp and pinned underneath him as he's flattened on his back, yes--glasses even knocked from his face entirely, in the force of the impact, to clatter several floor tiles away--and at least two ribs breaking in short order, tearing a sharp cry from Jade's throat as the pain promptly bursts to life.
Even then, yes, combat reflex tries to move his dominant right arm, to re-summon his spear or at least attempt a blow on this new attacker. But it's already being pinned, in a grip with a truly supernatural amount of strength that's impossible to so much as budge, and the best Jade can manage is sinking fingertips into a coat sleeve with a vice clutch of his own as he tries to shove past the pain anyhow, entire frame tensing in an effort to throw off this person that's--
--No, but he knows this coat. This hair, this face. Even the flash of red eyes is familiar, in times of shared conflicts past.]
You--
[No chance to say anything else. Natsuno's already ducking close, and there's a new stabbing pain as fangs sink into his neck, and the rest of that sentence is entirely lost in a ragged gasp of breath.
Not Natsuno. Not Natsuno. He'd wondered as much--for days on end--but to have it confirmed in this way...it's a certain sort of nauseous realization that twists through insides even before the shiki venom settles, a cloying weight on every nerve ending. He should have done something sooner, said something--Clarke, will she know to use the Holy Bottle? Rita, she'd already agreed to room in 109. Palamedes...he should have given a more specific warning...and Natsuno, the real Natsuno, does this mean he's now gone forever too? Overtaken by yet another ghost...who's using his body to...
Tear's, too, will be...
...Getting difficult to think about anything at all...
The seconds of tension pass; Jade's clutch on Mikazuki's arm weakens, as his entire frame gradually slackens, adrenaline bleeding away at much the same rate he's rather literally being bled at the moment. The venom combines readily enough with the blood loss to draw a numbing fog down over perception of surroundings, and awareness dissolves alongside it no matter how hard Jade tries to internally cling to it. Until...he's not quite sure why he was trying to cling to it in the first place. When it's so much easier, and less painful, to slip fully into the swimming haze. To simply listen to the voice, when it tells him to stay down.
The crystals surrounding Ann shatter, returning to shards of sixth fonons that fade and evaporate into nothing. The spear, too, vanishes in a flicker of dissolved fonic components, dismissed now that there's no need for it. Jade eases against the floor as Mikazuki finishes feeding, struggling ceased, breaths shallow against the fire in his torso but otherwise entirely acquiescent.]
no subject
as close combat goes -- although she can't say she's surprised that a vampire would
be so quick and powerful.
she almost feels like she's watching a shadow attacking a human, or some kind of animal.
it was entirely an unfair fight, an unrealistic advantage ...
but that's what was needed to against someone like jade anyway, right? he was
such a freak that way, ever since he was a kid. like seriously, who just invents
cloning magic at the age of like 7? and didn't he rip monsters apart for fun or
something?
it's harder to feel bad for him though, knowing all of this. ]
... Thanks for that.
[ she walks over as soon as the crystals dissipate, feeling more than a
little ashamed of herself. with jade down like this she addresses mikazuki in
full, perfectly fine to let the colonel just stay down for a bit. ]
I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting him to resist her songs like that, you know?
[ she's still holding tear's knife in hand, clutched tightly. ]
Did you want me to finish him off? Or did you just want to drink up all his blood
or something? I have nooo idea how it works for your host, but wouldn't his blood
be useful because of all the magic?
[ is that stereotypical? was she being vampire-cist? ]
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You know I've got your back but seriously, Ann-chan, that's the SECOND time I have to clean up your mess! Now I gotta maintain his hypnosis too.
[Sabotage is such a pain. He wants to fight, not pull strings from the shadows like a creep.]
Anyway, I drank all I can for today. I dunno how useful his blood is, but it's like soda and it's freaking weird.
[He looks down at Jade's prone form, wondering how much of this conversation he's getting. Not that it'll matters when he revives in three days, but still... he sure looks pathetic right now.]
You called dibs, right? So finish him off. Just make it quick, killing someone when you wear their friend's face is unclassy.
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(The memory of all this may in fact be retained sometime well after the fact, though, albeit in the most foggily nightmarish way possible. If the hypnosis is ever broken before this collective plot of the ghosts' comes to fruition or something, anyway. Probably nothing to worry about, though, right...!)]
TW blood/death
[ she glances back at jade, a mixture of disgust and disappointment on her face. ]
I really hate carbonated drinks. Why does his blood have to be like that? What’s wrong with him? Though I guess a better question might be what’s right with him at this point.
[ she sighs as she walks over to jade and drops down onto him, sitting heavily on his chest just as she’d done to rita. ann mumbles something about ‘unclassiness’ as she adjusts the knife in her hands.
as far as she was concerned, it was the lasting memories that made the kills far worse. like a fate worse than JUST death alone. ]
Do you think Tear’s blood would taste the same as his?
[ there’s a casualness to her tone as she presses the knife into jade’s throat, slicing through it with a lot more ease than rita’s —- mostly due to the lack of resistance. she doesn’t care that he’ll have to bleed out either, that he’ll probably see and hear them for a little while longer. instead, she’s more concerned with the way blood flows from his wound and the way it spurts onto tear’s gloves and her uniform. ]
This way of killing someone is so messy… But at least it gives me an excuse to get a new outfit while we’re here! Mikazuki-kun, will you help me find something suuuper cute?
[ she can’t walk around all gross and bloody on the ship right? she’ll clean tear’s uniform later. ]
icon keywords never more relevant tbh
...Simple weak reflex more than anything in the end, though. No resistance in the least, since that would mean not staying down, and so. There's Tear's face, leaning close, utter nonchalance in her eyes and tone alike, as she idly muses on the flavor of her own blood and--a new blaze of pain, across his throat, closing off breath completely in a flood of hot copper on his tongue--
Yes, these last few images and sounds and feelings will persist as well, intrusive memories to emerge from a fog when Jade tries to reach back for them again someday. In that time, too, the recollection of the utter absence of any thoughts he might have had in this process will ring most unsettling of all in retrospect. No, he'll slowly bleed out, choking upon his own blood, and stay obediently laid prone on the floor the entire time it's happening, Tear and Natsuno's silhouettes growing blurrier and blurrier overhead as cheery chatter of cute new outfits gradually fades to white noise...and he won't think anything about it at all, even well before suffocating unconsciousness finally takes hold.
At least in the battle royale he'd still held his own will, to that bitter end.]