march event log

[hohnkai]

Who: Everyone
When: March 17th and on
Where: The Moira and Ceta; various locations
What: Communication, mercenaries, and scraplets
Warnings: Please label accordingly!

E V E N T

communicate & protect "The best way to protect something is to set it free." Since the Moira has arrived on Ceta, things have been (mostly) quiet considering their usual stay on planets before it. The only cruelty about this one is the fact they hunt for both sport and gain, and the creatures of Ceta do not have a voice—or intelligence to defend themselves. However, as the crew of the ship will come to learn, this is an elaborate lie. With the previous problem of the MID malfunctioning, and causing a bit of a miscommunication fiasco, finally solved, it is apparent that whatever had been wrong with this technology had slowly begun to affect the crew prior to exploring Ceta. Only in subtle, unnoticed ways. With everything beginning to run a little more smoothly, a shift in the air overtakes both the Moira and Ceta in the days following. ☄ A LESSON IN MID COMMUNICATION ( 03.17 - 03.22 ) As the translator technology has recently been fixed, the crew will notice that their MID devices now come with an extra feature: a brief explanation of the extra capabilities of the translation technology. Each MID records all language that is spoken near it, stores information on phonetics and linguistics in order to keep each language as current as possible. In the event that an unknown language is encountered, all known languages are applied until the meanings of each sound or word are decoded. In some instances, it’s a long process, and in others, it spans the time of a few weeks. There is a small addendum that states that no conversations are recorded and stored in their entirety in order to protect privacy. Crew may ask themselves why this is there, but all they have to do is get close enough to one of the flying, whale-like creatures to find out. Communication is still not quite perfect, and this is where the translator technology needs the crew’s help. The more two beings interact using speech, the further the database will expand. Attempting communication might be futile at first, but eventually, the low peaceful songs filling the misty air of Ceta are broken with words: a cry for help When the creatures have come close to the temporaries before, it was not out of curiosity; it was an attempt to destroy them and save themselves. But remember, even if you want to help, these creatures are skittish around sudden light and it takes time for them to trust, time the Moira might not have. ☄ TRADE FOR RESOLUTION ( 03.22 - 03.25 ) It’s common knowledge that this universe runs on a system of trade for either goods or services. If you can provide either of those to another, then you can have anything you want. This includes protection. The closest neighboring planet, like so many others, has a variety of groups that can be hired out to perform a number of duties. In an effort to offer the crew peaceful resolution for something that they’ve learned is discomfiting to many Moirans, the hunting and killing of innocent creatures on Ceta, the captains suggest something a little different this time. Contact and an initial payment has been made to a team of soldiers to travel to Ceta to meet with the crew. Essentially, if enough valuable resources are offered to this group, they will do whatever is necessary to rid Ceta of the hunters and declare that Ceta is a protected planet. This means that they will protect these giant creatures from future harm as long as a yearly sum is delivered to them. The captains agree to continue payment as long as the rest of the crew can gather enough for the first year. ☄ FEEDING FRENZY ( 03.25 - 03.31 ) With everything finally coming to a peaceful close, the Moira and the crew’s routine begin to return to normal. The process for leaving Ceta is spread ship-wide. However, as they leave Ceta’s atmosphere and enter space once more, some odd things appear to have flooded the ship. An infestation of scraplets have led to minor complications that soon start to escalate. Feeding exclusively on metal, they make a mangled mess of the ship's systems, causing them to glitch and stop working altogether as they chew their way through its internal workings. You may notice your door will no longer open or close, or maybe the temperature has gotten unusually warm. Is that a leak? How did that get there? Maybe you happen to be made of metal yourself, or have metallic prosthetics - "living" metal is actually preferred over the walls of the ship. The infestation will start to threaten critical systems if left unchecked and will need to be taken care of as quickly as possible. It is the crew’s responsibility to band together and figure out a way to stop these scraplets from devouring the entirety of the ship and leaving them stranded or worse.

( OOC: Please label any material with content warnings. For questions, go here! )

Comments

J

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

CLOSED TO SANS

[J's almost ready with fixing her eye brows. She plucks out the few extra stray hairs and adds few strokes of the pen and brush to set the shape right. After she's done with that she starts spreading concealer and the foundation on her face, finishing the base make up. Before continuing to do rest of her face, she stands up and walks to her bed where she has laid out two different dresses, tapping her chin thoughtfully she tries to decide which one to pick. he wants, (no she needs,) to look sexy enough so that no one will be able to ignore her tonight. But of course, it'll do no good to look like a some cheap call girl as she aims to break men's hearts and make women cry. So, it's also important to remain certain kind of elegance as well.

At times like these, she really wishes she had been roomed with people who she could ask opinion about these things. But no. She really had the worst luck with roommates, as none of the men she shared her space with no eyes for fashion.

But eventually she picks up the dress, the one that had more place shade of gold, from the bed and presses it against her body, turning to look herself from the mirror. 'Yes, this is good. She smiles at her reflection and spins around a little before putting the dress back down on the bed and moving back to her makeup table.]

[skelepun]

Have you been eating a lot of carets lately, 'cuz you look like a million bucks.

[Despite not being there a mere five seconds before, Sans is in his bunk right on schedule. The long walk from the Ingress to their room isn't one he usually bothers himself with, opting instead for a few well met shortcuts.

That said, J was usually out and about this time of evening. Seeing her still in the throes of making herself up peaks Sans' curiosity.]

Got a hot date?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[J is mostly used to Sans' annoying habit to teleport inside of their room instead of using the door like a normal person, but right now she's so focused on doing her make up and preparing herself for the upcoming evening that she completely misses Sans appearing to back to their room. So, the sudden voice manages to startle J and make her jump a little on her chair, almost causing her to poke her eye with the mascara.

She glares at him quickly through the mirror, feeling angry that her flow had been interrupted all of sudden, but then she takes the deep breath, relaxing her shoulders and neutralizing her facial expression.]

You could say that. [She answers, voice flat and uncaring.]

Although I hope to fill that hot-part.

[skelepun]

You always do, kiddo, right down to that temper.

[Sans gets up, puttering around the room to find one one of his many caches of hidden snacks. Up to now, nothing about the encounter should feel particularly off. J putting her face on for the night is practically ritual at this point.

Which doesn't explain the nagging tug at the corner of Sans' soul, but that could be anything.]

Peter?

[It's a testing question. They were on the rocks, last he remembered. It would certainly explain the tension he feels, at any rate.]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

Hm. You really need to learn how to talk to a lady.

[She snorts and continues to add the mascara to her left eye, finishing the make up. But just as she's about to start to do the right eye she hears his question and spins around on the chair to look at him. Just how did the come up with that? J never talks about her relationships with others and she can't Sans ever being around when she was with him. So, Peter must've told him about her. It makes her wonder just how much did he know.]

Peter? Hah, don't make laugh. [She rolls her eyes and laughs mockingly.]

Like that kid will ever have enough balls to ask me out.

[She turns around to look at her image from mirror and begins to add eye shadow.]

[skelepun]

[Fortunately, or unfortunately, Sans merely shrugs enigmatically in response. Tonight is not the night he's going to be giving his secrets away.]

Fair 'nuff. [Falling back on his bed with a creak of springs, Sans watches her idly while he eats.] So who did?

[As if to preempt her inevitable question about minding his own business, Sans tosses out the ol' shrug and grin combo.] I'm bored.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

CLOSED TO WANDA

[ J really stands out from the rest of the crew as she walks through the hallways. She's dressed to to the nines, wearing a stunning outfit and with her curly, blond hair combed and styled down beautifully. She carries herself with a calm and confident manner, back straight and head hold up, winking flirtatiously at anyone who she catches looking at her direction.

But in inside, under all the smiles and cool demeanor, J's hiding a quite whirlpool of emotions.

J had nearly thrown up when the truth about the whales had been revealed to them. It's been already several days and the sick feeling had only grown worse as the remorse and guilt kept eating her from the inside. Of course, she hadn't exactly enjoyed from the whaling experience when she had thought them to be just dumb and helpless animals, but it hadn't either caused her to have nightmares. But now, knowing that they were intelligent, sentient-- closest thing to native beings on this planet, changed everything-- making her no better than a murderer. She had really messed up big time and she couldn't help but keep remembering what happened to her parents and her own involvement in that tragedy.

She wanted to fix things, make it better again.]

[seeingscarlet]

[It really is a beautiful dress and is much too stunning for a place like Ceta. The stones wink in the light and catch Wanda's attention first, but the beginnings of a smile quickly turn slack when she notices it. It's a sickly feeling, something acidic on the edges of Wanda's awareness.

This is a feeling she knows all too well.

Maybe normally Wanda wouldn't say anything about the ambient emotions of a near stranger, but there's something almost destructive in the swirling feelings that changes her mind. There are times she can "be polite" and walk away. This is not one of them.]

Are you all right?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[When J sees Wanda and the way how she's looking at her dress, the smug smile on her face widens as her confidence only grows. She really succeeded at dressing to impress-- and depress apparently, or at least according to the astonished look on Wanda's face.

So the question really comes out of nowhere, making J to stop on her tracks and turn to look at Wanda. For a second there's a glimpse of panicked confusion on J's face. She was sure that she had been able to keep herself together, not letting any of her distress to show outsiders-- so why did Wanda know to ask her that?

But the shock fades away from her face just as quickly as it had appeared, and J's lips curve back to the satisfied smile.]

Why, of course I am, darling.

[seeingscarlet]

[Quietly:] No, you aren't. You're almost sick with it.

[J can cover it up with all the pretty clothes and makeup she wants, but she can't hide the truth from someone like Wanda. Tilting her head, she mentally reaches out and listens. It can't be too far from the surface...]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

Pardon? [J asks as she didn't quite catch what she said.

Word sick is actually good one to describe just what Wanda's going to find when looking into J's mind. After getting past the confusion, the first thing she'll come across is a deep loathing-- aimed towards no one else but her own person. When she reaches further, just little past the surface she'll find that the ugly and twisted feeling is currently fuelled by the haunting memory not from too long time ago, a week tops, in which she's on a boat with another crewman and hunting one of the whales. The unpleasant, but semi-harmless, memory of a hunting trip has now been turned into a memory of manslaughter.

The guilt that comes with the memory is almost too much for her to bear and right behind it are the memories of all the hurt she's caused to others. And oh, there's so much of it. There's the most recent ones, the toxic that happened between her and Miles, the fight with Peter, negativity with Sans, the cruel and hurtful words she said to Bel. Then there's what happened at New York, the way how she had selfishly used another woman's feelings for her as a tool for petty revenge. But all of that leads to even bigger shadow, one that's been permanently cast over her mind: her parents and the way how she had destroyed them.

She had done so much bad. But while she can't do a thing for her family anymore, she could at least try to do something for the whales.. And even if not well. At least she'll get what she deserves, right?]

[seeingscarlet]

[It would be perfectly fair to call Wanda unsettling now. She doesn't answer at first, just narrows her eyes almost imperceptibly as she looks deeper.]

...you killed one, before you knew.

[But the thread leads onwards and of course Wanda's going to follow it through everything that's happened on the ship. She stops when the scenery shifts to New York; that's already more than enough to be causing that emotional sickness and the rest of it isn't going anywhere.]

cw: mentions of past abuse

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

CLOSED TO DANNY

[When J finally arrives to the Cargo Bay she can feel her confident smile crack a little, showing glimpses of the nervousness that's raging through her mind. Annoyed by her lack of self-restraint, she bites down on her lower lip, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

Calm down, there's no reason for you to be like this. J thinks to herself as she moves forward. This is hardly the first time she's been in this situation, hell, this used to be her job back at home. Sure, it's been nearly three months since the last time and back at home she had known her 'customers', or at least been able to check out them. Here, she didn't know a thing about the mercenaries, not even whether they were human-like or not.

But you've never been too bothered by appearances before, so why would you care now? True, and hey-- didn't Marilyn sing that the worth of gentleman isn't measured by their looks but by the size of their wallet?

There's still other people who've come to make their own trade with the mercenaries around. So, J stops and waits for them to be gone. She wants to be the last one to talk with them, as her business would certainly take more time than theirs. While waiting for her turn, J leans against the wall, takes out her cigarette case from her small purse and lights herself one last smoke.]

[wedealwithit]

[Danny works in the Cargo Bay, spends quite a bit of time there trying to make sure the inventory list is kept updated. It's not the most exciting work but it's familiar and he likes the other crew that work down here with him.

With the mercenaries showing up, everything is tense and strange, but Danny continues to work, watching people as they come and go. He's curious what they're trading, what everyone will offer, and while Danny has nothing valuable of his own, he supports what they're doing.

When J comes in, he smiles at her, though she doesn't see it, and then he frowns at the way she's holding herself. Nerves, her body tense, so he decides to take a break.]

This is the part where I tell you that you shouldn't smoke in here.

[His mouth is curved, teasing as he pulls out a cigarette of his own.]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[For the first time ever J isn't happy to see Danny. She really hoped that she could've gone through the rest of the evening without having to see anyone who she knew or having to part to any unnecessary intercourses.

But she still offers him a wide and warm smile as he approaches her.]

Hello, stranger. [She greets, voice soft and sweet. ]

Well, I won't tell if you don't.

[wedealwithit]

[He leans in to kiss her cheek, tucking her hair back behind her ear. Danny's feeling particularly affectionate, pleased to see someone that he considers the best friend he's ever had.]

There's no one to tell, anyways.

[Danny lights his cigarette then.]

What brings you down this way?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[J turns her head a little and leans in to meet his kiss]

Really? Your boss man sounds great. I know few people who'd throw a fit if they'd see us now.

[She teases, shifting her weight from foot to another-- trying to appear as casual as possible. She really hopes that he'll be distracted by the playful tone in her voice and sweet smile.]

I heard that there were strangers down here and I got curious. What about you? Working late?

[wedealwithit]

His name is Niko. Have you met him?

[Danny couldn't say much as to his character, but he worked hard and came in when he was supposed to, so his boss didn't really seem to care if Danny stopped once in a while.]

I'm working late.

[He's starting to get unsettled and he's not very good at hiding his emotions.]

Why do you care if there are strangers down here? You should be careful.

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

CLOSED TO PETER.

[Exhausted.

That's the perfect word to describe J's state as she leaves the Cargo Bay with shaky and staggering steps. Her whole body was simply sore. There's annoying and distracting ache pounding her whole back and her legs are wobbly, almost too weak to support her. She's pale, skin almost white as sheet, despite for cheeks that are flushed bright red. Her curly hair is a mess, her make up is almost completely worn off and there's only few black stripes under her eyes and some lipstick left on the corner of her lips. J's beautiful dress is covered by a white fluffy jacket, with collar turned up in attempt to hide the bite marks and such on neck and collar bone. On top of all things, there's this faint smell of dried sweat mixed with a faint odor that can only be described as fishy coming from her.

But despite all of those things, J still attempts to carry herself with a composure and try to keep up the illusion of the dignity as much as possible-- which would definitely be more easier task if there wasn't the emotional weariness added to the physical exhaustion. The day had been so long and taxing. A lot had happened, nothing according to her original plans, and all the events and encounters had left her only disoriented and frail. It took all her remaining energy to focus on keeping herself on her feet and face straight, so that it won't betray and show any of her true feelings.

She's just about to get inside of the elevator when she absent mindedly missteps with her heels, making her to lose her balance and fall down with a surprised yelp.]

[takeitslow]

[He's on his way back inside himself, having spent a day running back and forth between the ship and planet. Peter sees her falling from across the room, and he's catching her by the upper arms before she can crash too harshly into the ground. There's a grin on his face, as he lets her hang by his grip for a second, mouth wide to make some of sarcastic comment about sweeping her off her feet. If as awkward as things have been, J was a perfect distraction from his own head. But Peter takes in her face, the lack of put-together poise he'd come to associate with all things J and the smile drops. He shifts to pull her upright, movements growing gentle.

The grip he has on her loosens, but he doesn't take his hands off of her. He sticks a foot out to keep the elevator doors from shutting, nodding inside to usher her on.]

J? Are you okay?

[It's a little bit of an out, given that she'd nearly fell. But part of Peter hopes she won't just wave it off when she clearly doesn't look okay.]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[Getting grabbed in middle of her fall actually manages to scare her more than the slip. It all happens so fast that it takes her a moment to comprehend it, leaving her to watch Peter with a bewildered eyes. But the shock quickly fades and is replaced with a relieved smile and weak laughter.]

Christ, Peter! You almost scared the shit out of me there. [J continues to laugh and wraps her arms around his neck as she's being pulled back up to her feet, taking support and placing some of her weight on him.]

I'm perfectly fine, thanks to you.

[takeitslow]

Sorry. Better than you breaking something, though. [He doesn't might taking her weight. As tired as she looks, he's not exactly eager to let go anyway. He's trying to smile instead of show that he's worried, letting out a small, fake laugh in response to her own.

Of course she took the easy way. He really shouldn't be surprised, and isn't, really. Maybe just a little disappointed.]

Don't mention it. You're heading up?

[He moves her slightly toward the doors, eye brows raised. At least in the confines of the elevator, she can't walk away when he presses about what's wrong.]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

My hero. [She jokes, casually tucking her hair behind her ear and obediently follows him inside to the elevator.

Peter's still so easy to read and J can see that he's trying to hide the worry and uncertainty behind that half-hearted smile. And as annoying it is she can't exactly blame him for it, J knows that she looks like a wreck. Hell, if she were to see Peter in same kind of state she'd wonder too.

But still, that's not enough to make her let down her act. So, she keeps smiling at him, trying to bring as much calmness and confidence to her demeanor. Who knows, maybe he'll eventually give up.]

That I am. Seems like we're headed same direction, hmm?

[takeitslow]

Call me that when I do something worth it.

[He snorts, trying for a joking tone. Even beyond the worry for her he has right now, the title feels a little wrong. Now that he knows what the other version of himself- Wanda's real Pietro- had died for, hero seemed a heavy expectation to live up to. Something very much not Peter.]

Seems like it.

[He presses the button, waits the agonizingly slow seconds it takes for the doors to close. He takes a deep breath, steels himself for the fight he might have on his hands. He keeps his face forward, not looking at her as though it will make it easier.]

I'm going to ask again. You can lie if you want and I won't keep bothering you about it. Your business. But- [Another deep breath.] Are you okay? Because you don't look okay.