monday's child is fair of face (2/2)

[palfriday]

CW: death, probably gore, possibly more TBA

[and that’s what you missed on glee.

and so, there “Friday” is, standing on the roof of the bar. the attention of the party has surely turned to her by this point, but she doesn’t care about that. she just needs one person to still be a little too distracted to stop what was coming next.

Monday snaps her fingers, and Jenny disappears from wherever she was standing before, reappearing directly in front of Monday, who embraces her from behind, an arm wrapped firmly around her middle. those with enhanced senses might catch what she whispers, seconds before she snaps Jenny’s neck so hard it hangs at a 90 degree angle as Monday kicks her, her corpse toppling forward onto the deck below.]

Surprise, bitch.

[well, there. unfinished business settled. onto more pertinent matters.]

Let’s get a little more comfortable first, hm? Can’t waste too much of her magic, but audiences love a quick change.

[she snaps her fingers, and Monday finds herself in an outfit that is far more to her taste. now. time for her grand performance.]

Greetings, foolish mortals! You may or may not have noticed that things have been a little bit different this month. While the Captain is off having a good old bitch cry about whatever it is he’s so upset about, poor little Friday was running herself ragged keeping this shitheap floating! She was so distracted, in fact, that she happened to have a little accident, while fixing something in the elevator shaft! [a laugh] I guess even clay bitches can break their necks! And there I was, sitting in Fucking Nowhere, doing Fucking Nothing, feeling Fucking. Nothing! And I saw her empty shell. And I was, like, hey, free real estate!

Whatever tear in the veil that your whiny little Captain just didn’t feel like fixing? I ripped that fucker right open. And you’ve all met a few of the sorry little fuckers that fell out already, hm? [another snap] Not all of them, but, hey, that’s what now is for, right? Because, see, we all kinda got together a little bit, and we were like… You know, just borrowing some shitty bodies to have some fun for a few weeks? What a waste! And we still have a lot of bitches we need to spring from jail!

And that! Is where you assholes come in! And, trust me, you are all assholes. Have you even seen some of the psychotic shit you people have said and done to us? Like, yeah, Mary is legitimately insane, but she’s still a kid! Even I’m not gonna call a fucking nine year old a bitch!

You can try to run, but I fucking hate running in heels, so I made that a little bit… difficult. So. Why don’t you nice people just lay down and let us kill you. I’ll be gentle. Promise.

[perhaps people have tried to flee already. they likely have. and they’ve found that the entire party area has been blocked off by the same sort of barrier that surrounds the realm, an invisible orb holding them captive.]

Now. Let’s get the actual party started!

Comments

ota

[thefreak]

[ Yeah this isn't weird at all. It's baby's first brush with the weird crazy shit that happens on this ship, and suddenly he understands why people were bringing weapons. And all Eddie has is...well..

He can run. That's all he's good for. His one attempt at making any kind of stand kind of failed, so he's not trying to do that again.

But running only gets him so far. The place is blocked by some kind of weird force, and if he weren't freaking the fuck out right now he'd probably equivalate it to something from his D&D manuals. But, no. He's just looking around for something, anything he can use as a shield or weapon. Or someone he can stand behind.

This is not what he fucking signed up for (well, strictly speaking he doesn't actually remember signing up for this, if he's being honest with himself) and he is not dying again, not today at least. ]

[not_the_last]

Well, if he's looking for someone to stand behind --

"Over here!"

One of the tables has been knocked onto its side, forming some vague semblance of cover, and there's two women in armor standing nearby with drawn swords. The one in darker armor, one he encountered earlier in the evening, is already turning to look for incoming threats -- but she's clearly the one who called out to him.

[configuration_birdwatcher]

Bastion isn't the one she was talking to, but they're going to invite themself over anyhow. None of them can get out of here, and penned in like this, even the most makeshift fortification is better than being out in the open. Their group could also use someone with a ranged weapon, in Bastion's opinion. That, and they make a better animate shield than a human, being constructed out of metal and heavily armored.

They step behind the table, then scan for approaching threats, gun arm sweeping over the fracas. To the group at large they say, // I'm with you.

[thefreak]

Seeing a familiar face is enough of a motivator to get Eddie moving and behind the barricade. His attempt at sliding over the barrier in one graceful motion is thwarted by general clumsiness and he winds up tumbling over, landing on his back, but really so long as he's safe who cares if he makes a fool of himself in front of a couple people.

"Hey thanks!" he calls to Cassandra before poking his head up at Bastion's voice. He gives a thumbs up, eyes scanning the perimeter to point anyone out. Because that's really all he can do, with no weapon, but if he can call out enemies than maybe he'll at least feel a little useful.

"Is it always like this?"

[not_the_last]

"It's the first I've ever seen this happen," she answers, directing the words over her shoulder at him while mostly watching the crowd. "But I haven't been here that long."

i survived the notifpocalypse

[configuration_birdwatcher]

For good measure, they shift into sentry configuration, turret-gun poking out over the table. This is now the most well-protected table on the pool deck, as long as nobody, say, dives over it into the backline, or teleports into their midst. Bastion's not currently shooting into the mob, since they don't have a clear target and wouldn't want to rip apart a non-possessed passenger who was standing in the wrong spot, but Eddie can help with that.

[thefreak]

"Peachy," Eddie mutters in response. He doesn't have much of a choice but to stay out of the action. At least he feels well-protected, though, which is a first. Especially after being the subject of a witch hunt back home, it's nice to have people (sentient machines? in Bastion's case?) and badass ones at that on his side. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see what this hell cruise brings us next time." If there are any possessed passengers coming for them, Eddie doesn't see them. Which is a relief, but surely their luck can't last all night.

[konpeito_aji]

Bar. You and Klaus. Now.

[THANK YOU ARI TEYREY! GOOD PLAN! HE LOVES IT!]

[Nobunaga is a frontlines fighter, as he warned her, and his coilgun is still charging (it takes longer than his matcholock, but UNLIKE the matchlock, once charged, it can go on auto!) and loading up the matchlock isn't worth it, so he's got one katana at the ready!]

Save bottlecaps and small metal for me. [Listen, you never know when you'll run out, and he didn't have a chance to risk testing how fast his box of bullets goes through.]

[thefreak]

[ Eddie definitely does not need to be told twice. He makes a beeline for the bar and tries not to let his breathing become too erratic and cause him to hyperventilate.

Wouldn't this be a great time for a cigarette to calm the nerves. But no, he does not have anything on him. Which is a shame, he could probably have fashioned some kind of flamethrower with his--

wait a second. ]

I have a lighter. If we need fire, I can probably make that happen.

[ It's not much, but at least it might make him feel like he's actually doing something? ]

[konpeito_aji]

You can make some flaming bottles with the alcohol if you think it will help.

[It probably won't. Thers more than enough chaos and explosions. Buuuut maybe it'll hold off anyone possessed because NO ONE likes immolation.]

[thefreak]

[ Eddie's not entirely convinced it will help, but it might make them a deterrent, right? Which is better than nothing. ]

Yeah, okay, just to maybe make us look like less desirable targets, right? [ No big deal, just trying to be enough of a distraction without being the main focus. Eddie can totally do that, no problem.

It's not like he's used to drawing attention to himself or anything. ]

[konpeito_aji]

Exactly. But don't be afraid to hide until we can stop them. I am sure it won't take too long. It is better to survive than become an enemy in this.

[thefreak]

[ Hiding doesn't feel quite so bad as running. He knows fully well he can't fight, but at least he's standing his ground in a way, right?

It is better to survive than become an enemy in this. ]

Okay. Okay, yeah, you definitely have a point there. [ Maybe he can save the attempts at heroics for another day. ] I'll just, uh. Stay here, then. And hope for the best.

[pinballer]

[ And now is another time when being a ghost comes in handy. Unfortunately it doesn't allow him to escape the bubble but it's not like he can be attacked like this. Besides, he actually has a decent reputation among the ghosts.

Eddie on the other hand isn't so lucky. Vance rushes up to him after everything goes down, just to make sure he's okay. ]

Shit. You alright, Eddie?

[thefreak]

[ It still trips Eddie up, seeing Vance do the whole ghost thing. But he has to hand it to the guy, now is definitely the time when Eddie would maybe wish he had some ghostly powers.

Maybe not enough to die (again) though. ]

Jesus H. Christ! What do you think?! [ Sorry, Vance, he's just having a time. ] Just for once I'd love for something to go right instead of incredibly fucking wrong.

[pinballer]

Nothing ever goes fucking right here. Better get used to it.

[ Mass murder is wronger than it's ever gone while Vance has been here, at least, but he knows that it's happened before. And even worse things can happen, if the ghosts are to be trusted. ]

This is gonna sound weird but I've got like, ghost cred with these guys. Stick close to me while we find you a weapon or something and they might leave you alone.

[thefreak]

Great. Just what I need. [ As if it wasn't bad enough going from being hunted by a bunch of jocks to...this. ]

Ghost...cred? [ Eddie flashes Vance skeptical look, but stays close nonetheless. ] I gotta warn you, man, I'm not really...good with weapons? At least not in real life. Maybe with the roll of a dice, but something tells me this isn't D&D.

[pinballer]

D&D? Isn't that the game about satan? [ That's what a lot of the local parents say, anyway. But Vance's reaction to that isn't in line with most people. ] Badass.

[ He looks around for something, and is coming up empty. ] Uh, if we pile a few of these tables up, you might be able to hide there?

[thefreak]

Aw c'mon man, you, too? [ Eddie sighs with a exasperation. It was exactly that attitude that ended with Eddie being Hawkins' Most Wanted. ]

It might look a little obvious, but even just having a barrier would be better than nothing, so sure. [ Besides, with Eddie's current outfit, it would be difficult to get him to blend in with the scenery otherwise. ]

[skaikru]

( running is good, running is great. not that clarke has any concept of dungeons and dragsons, but put her at a table with noble adventurers and she'd be the one to either instigate a tpk or be yelling at companions to just fucking book it when face to face with a monster they can't beat. and in this instance, there's several monsters — the most pressingly alarming being monday, then any other bodysnatched passengers that they haven't managed to suss out yet.

shi qingxuan — the person wearing shi qingxuan, who hadn't bothered with a proper introduction before selling clarke on some faux protection talismans and subsequently blowing open the flesh of her chest — had got her good. she's bleeding freely from a snackplate sized massacre of flesh, nurses outfit stained from stark white to jet black (this is normal, don't worry about it) and wet. blood loss is a slow way to die, and for now she's stubbornly thinking she may still have a chance if they could just get out of here and back somewhere safe. the barrier proves to be crushing those dreams.

so, strategic and totally valid antic as it is, running has to be stricken from the list. next up is hiding. and when she sees eddie reaching the same initial conclusion as she, but seemingly waffling between fighting and cowering, clarke makes a stumble-stagger beeline his way. she'll make the choice for him, like hell did she slave wrist-deep in mutant bat wounds just for him to die here. there's undoubtedly about to be a lot of blood transfer, hope you weren't too attached to your halloween costume, buddy.

she will grab him around the wrist with one gore-slicked hand and do her best to haul eddie off to the side, aiming for bodying them both beneath the tablecloth of a buffet table. it's not a great hiding spot, but it'll work long enough to sit and reassess what to do next. hopefully. it has to... )

[thefreak]

[ eddie isn't sure if the chaos has actually lasted as long as it feels like it has, or if time just seems to have slowed down for him with how much violence has been unfolding around him. it feels like he's been frozen in place, reminiscent of the time when he witnessed patrick mckinney levitating above over's lake with jason carver just out of arm's reach.

it's fear that's paralyzing him, he knows it. he barely registers clarke coming towards him until her hand is around his wrist and she's pulling him away. which is absolutely ridiculous. how is it that she's bleeding all over the place and she's the one who's eerily in control of the situation and making sure he gets to safety?

it takes him a moment to unfreeze before he's helping maneuver himself to the side, hopeful that maybe the tablecloth will obscure them enough that they won't be readily visible to anyone looking to up their body count.

what the actual fuck. this is some satanic cult shit, not whatever it was jason carver got in his head that eddie was capable of doing. ]

What the fuck is going on? [ his voice comes out as a hiss, because he's trying to keep it down, keep himself from attracting any additional attention. ] Jesus H. Christ, you're hurt, we need to get you to the...to the infirmary, shit shit shit.

[skaikru]

I'm fine.

( she's not, and is brutally aware that she's dying in real time.

but for eddie's sake, clarke keeps a firm line set into her mouth and presses a palm into the chest wound — like that's going to do any good, instead she just winces in obvious pain. but busies forward with an attempt at planning. )

The exit's blocked. Friday — whoever that is, they have to be the cause. We need, fuck we need a mage. An unpossessed one. To see if they can undo it. And we need to stay alive until we can find one. Do you have a weapon?

[thefreak]

[ listen, he could argue until he's blue in the face, but he recognizes that they are low on time. and that eddie doesn't actually have much in the way of first aid skills, so apart from putting pressure on the wound there's not much he can do for clarke.

still, he feels kind of fucking useless. can't run, can't fight, can't heal, what good is he?

a mage. he laughs derisively at the concept. since when did his life become the d&d campaigns he ran? ] A weapon? Unless my lighter counts, I'm afraid not. [ he could probably hurl drinkware or other random objects at the possessed, but he isn't a jock, doesn't have the arm for distance.

which just makes him think of steve harrington, and he can't believe he's fucking missing him now, of all the times. ] You'd think playing Dungeons & Dragons most of my life would have prepared me for this, but I guess it's different when you're just rolling dice.

[skaikru]

( yeah, she doesn't know what dungeons & dragons is, thinks the title should make him more qualified for chaos than it sounds like he is but takes the denial at face value as complete and total honesty. which sucks.

clarke has a knife in her boot laces, and a gun strapped to her thigh. but, even dying, she's not willing to part with those just yet. it's a slow bleed, maybe she can still kill one of their attackers; maybe after this brief under-table meeting, she can still help someone else. but you know what else she has that she can't foresee needing?

about three feet of a kumihimo-style braided friendship bracelet that she'd made at camp. it's thick and bulky and can easily hold over 100 pounds. and it'd already been a little blood stained in places, now freshly painted by her black coated fingertips when she hastily unties and bundles the makeshift weapon into eddie's hands. )

Garrote, ( clarke explains in clipped urgency. ) Last measure, try not to need it, close quarters is a quick death. I'll want it back, okay? So don't die.

[thefreak]

[ eddie can't really say that he'd blame clarke for not wanting to part with those weapons. while he could probably do some damage with a knife, having defended himself from attempted robbery while trying to do a drug deal, that's a little different than going up against these people. and the gun? forget about it, he's never fired one and wouldn't want his life to depend upon it.

but this, it's not much, but in a pinch it just might save his life. he takes the garrote and clasps his hand around it with a curt nod. ] I'll do my best. [ He wishes he could promise that he won't die, but, well. apparently he's pretty shit at not dying.

still, she did patch him up when he first arrived. it would be a shame to undo all that hard work. ]