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Doors Verse ([info]doorsverse) wrote in [info]doorslogs,
@ 2013-10-18 21:51:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:plot: halloween

Who: Everyone!
What: The Halloween plot
Where: Passages → The RMS Mauretania
Notes: This is a group log, so anything goes as far as adult content. Please provide locations and warnings, whenever appropriate, in subject lines. Characters may only be in one place at a time, not in multiple threads simultaneously, and you must post using the “doorsween” anon account. This post is anonymous; no names, accents, or defining fonts, please. Lastly, comment with "dibs" on threads you intend to hit, and feel free to exit your characters from threads at any time.



The Mauritania is a ghost ship.

Launched in 1938, it's been decades since she sailed the oceans, and yet the doors of Passages open onto the night-darkened deck of a ship that is barely afloat. She tilts, she lurches, and she is cobweb-lined from her deserted bridge to her silent deck. There is no land to be sighted from any railing, and no light save that from the stars overhead. The promenade winds around the upper level in ominous silence, and haunting music can be heard beyond the doors that lead into the ship's interior.

Promenade; Elevator: It's a curious thing, this ghost ship's elevator. Opulent and splendid, it takes up the entire center of the grand entrance, and it is meant to carry passengers down into the belly of the ship. But it doesn't work just right. Sometimes, the elevator drops impossible lengths. Sometimes, the elevator stops altogether for hours at a time. Yet somehow it's always empty and awaiting new passengers.

First Class; Baths: The upper-level, with its height and distance from the ocean, feels safe and bright. Classical music can be heard in these halls, though there is no orchestra and the ballroom is ominously dark. Laughter leads passengers to the one mostly-lit area in first class, where a swimming bath leads to smaller, more private Turkish bath. The lights here are quiet, flickering and barely there, and shadows dance elusively in the depths of the pool, while ghostly laughter can be heard in the private bath stalls.

Second Class; Theater: Down a level, the second-class floor is louder than the elite first-class floor. Here the air is thick with cigar smoke, and glasses can be heard clinking from the open doors to the smoking room. But it's the theater that draws passengers on this floor. It is cramped and entirely dark, save for the monochrome film on the screen, hauntingly devoid of sound, where a collection of terrifying collages and darkly sexual imagery fill the screen.

Third Class; Dining: Claustrophobic stairs lead down to the narrow passages of the cramped third-class rooms, where the air is heavy and thick, and where the lights flicker and cast the hall into windowless darkness. Here, the ghostly gears of the engine room can be heard sputtering dangerously, and the sensation of the ship's tilting is most pronounced. At the end of the hall, the dining area gives the illusion of windows where none exist. Chairs are pushed aside to allow for dancing to soulful and intimate music, while ocean water teases shoes and heels.



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Re: Third class, away from the dining room
[info]doorsween
2013-10-20 06:55 am UTC (link)
He grinned at her wink, all wide smile and laughter in his eyes, but he didn't look again, cause while he might not be a gentleman, he wasn't a complete fuck either. As she bent to repair her ankle, he kept a look out, only infrequently glancing down to see if she'd managed to do it. Wands were apparently no good at all, but fairy dust (goddamn fairy dust) worked like magic.

Shit. He didn't even believe in magic. Not to say that he believed in science much more, but there it was, dancing ankles restored. Time to leave. She could dance later, dance until she no longer wished to be in motion as soon as they got somewhere other than this narrow hallway where the lights refused to stay on and the signs of decay were everywhere.

"C'mon Blue," he said, easy smile as he started back down the hallway again, body moving slower than he was used to within his suit. "Stay close, all right?" Monsters came from unexpected places (the sea not the sky) and if they were going to be in a fight, whatever came at them was going to have to deal with him first. 'Cause maybe she could fight and maybe she couldn't, and maybe she could throw dust on someone and turn them into a sweet little kitty cat, but he didn't want to find out the messy way. "Stay behind me."

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Re: Third class, away from the dining room
[info]doorsween
2013-10-20 05:53 pm UTC (link)
This entire ship was creepy as hell, just like he said, and now that she had the wings under control, and spared herself some pain with fairy dust, she started looking around. The fairy wanted to be back where she belonged, small and safely hidden within a tulip. Or somewhere else, where the other part of her longed to pull blankets over her head and forget about everything. There were monsters and darkness in the world, and she was perfectly fine with staying away from it. Now that wasn't an option.

"I don't ordinarily want to be the girl who hides behind the hero, but I'm leaning toward yes please I'll be back here." Blue followed him and then she heard a laugh right behind her. She swung around, her back to his, and shined the light that way. Nothing. Yes. Never going on a boat again. She turned back around to touch his back, and was distracted by the strange armor that seemed to be on him. "This is strange." She knocked her knuckles against it. "Not metal? Are you a knight or ... something equivalent?"

Blue was holding the wand with both hands as if it was a club. She was clearly either inexperienced or out of place. "If I hear one more creepy giggle I'm throwing a bunch of fairy dust and running." Like magic (ha), that giggle came immediately after she said it. She made an undignified face. "After that one." Who was she exactly threatening? She really had no idea, but right now it gave her a sense of safety to keep talking.

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Re: Third class, away from the dining room
[info]doorsween
2013-10-20 11:09 pm UTC (link)
It was less about being the hero and more, "Experience before beauty," he said with another grin, after seeing the way she was holding her wand in front of her. The giggling didn't alarm him like it did her, eeriness aside, because it was meant to be frightening. Things that were didn't have to try so hard to prove it. "Don't let it scare you. It's just somebody that thinks they're funny."

It was easy to slip into that hyper-aware pre-fight state, where he heard the creak of the boat, differentiated between his steps on the floor boards and hers. Anything that came at them was going to make noise, either with the flap of wings or the slap of feet and if they were going to come from the rear -- he reached back for her hand, his own warm and dry. "Change of plans. Walk next to me." On the hull side, in case giggler got the idea to come down the hallways to his side, she'd be safe.

"Something equiv--" He grinned at her again. Anything this weird-ass ship could come up with he could deal with. He'd dealt with worse in his reality. "Ranger, with the Pan Pacific Defense Corps. I'm a Jaeger pilot. I fight monsters." Knights had dragons and ladies, steeds and favors tied around their lances. He had Kaiju and the drift, the status of a rock star and a Jaeger to kick ass in. Sans Jaeger? He still knew how to lay someone -- or something -- out.

"You got friends around, Blue?"

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Re: Third class, away from the dining room
[info]doorsween
2013-10-22 06:18 pm UTC (link)
She laughed and shook her head. "Compliments in the creepiest of circumstances, you must be quite the charmer." She was not out in the world enough to be jaded to the unusual. The giggles and bobbing lights were doing their work on her. "You think someone's doing this as a joke?" It wasn't outside the realm of possibilities, but whoever it was would end up spelled. She'd figure out exactly what type of spell she could use, and good riddance to them. Fairies didn't kill or necessarily harm, but she could be creative. Uncomfortable could be bad too.

She took his hand and moved next to him, hesitant at first but then understanding the logic of it. Less space for someone to jump out at them from or slip around. She kept looking over her shoulder and pointing the bright wand that way, just in case. At least she met up with a person who was in the same situation. Otherwise she might have found herself cornered by whatever was down here, and the fairy dust and swinging wand/weapon would only last so long.

"Jaeger," she tested the word, not recognizing it in the slightest. "Ranger with the Defense Corps." All of them sounded outside of her realm of experience, although it sounded knight-like. He certainly carried himself with the confidence of someone who knew what he was doing. If only he had a sword too, that would be extra helpful. "You fight monsters. Well thank whatever powers that be for having me stumble into this hallway. Because I haven't fought anyone. We're not much for fighting. Fairies help people find their dreams, it's a strictly non-violence profession."

She shook her head again. "I don't feel any of my sisters here, so no. What about you?"

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Re: Third class, away from the dining room
[info]doorsween
2013-10-23 12:43 am UTC (link)
For her, another grin. If they were both afraid, it was only going to increase the possibility of him getting an eye gouged out on that wand of hers. On the other hand, acting as if it was no big deal would either draw out whatever was giggling where he could fight it. Or else they'd realize that they weren't going to be frightened of whatever it was and leave them alone. "That's exactly what I think it is. We used to do this kind of shit to new recruits all the time. See what they were made of. Make sure they could handle it." If they couldn't handle something like this -- they'd be out before the first round of cuts.

Blue wouldn't have made it, but it didn't sound like it was something she wanted either. "Yeah. I started off fighting everyone I could." Bar fights, bar brawls, teenage hormone filled fights at school over girls, over the way some guy looked at him, insults offered to his family. He'd been an angry teenager, too full of a need to prove himself. Didn't matter to who, or what, just as long as he found himself at the top of the fight.

"Came in handy later." And now. His grip on her hand was loose, in case she needed to drop it. Not that there was anything out there but a bunch of jokers who thought they were funny, but if he needed her to duck or if he needed to use his helmet as a weapon, he still needed that freedom to move. "You like it? The dream finding?" It wasn't a job for him, but he could see how she might like it. Be good at it. "What was the best one you've found?"

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Re: Third class, away from the dining room
[info]doorsween
2013-10-24 06:33 pm UTC (link)
It was working. The more confident and at ease he seemed, the less fearful she felt. In fact Blue was relaxing now, and instead leaning toward what she was going to do to the person who decided to tease her. "I'm not certain why anyone would treat a fairy and a Jaeger like rookies." She wondered why it was so easy to trust him, but perhaps it was friendship in the face of adversity. She was calming down and the next time a giggle was heard, she nearly giggled with it. "My wonder is if they're using this to see if we can handle it ... what exactly is it."

Her eyes went to his face while he spoke, and it was as if she could see the anger and violence in him. "You must have had a lot to fight for," she said softly. Now this was exactly the type of person she could help, except she doubted he came from a world where they had fairies. And her own sisters were hesitant. It was strange, the people they should help were occasionally the ones they were all warned to stay away from. "I'm sorry, I can't give you much of a fight, I think the worst I've done is kick someone."

Blue smiled at him, her expression lighting up at the question, and almost on cue her wings fluttered again behind her. "I do, I love it. I was born to do it." She gentled her own death grip on his hand, not thinking about an attack. "There was a puppet who dreamed of being a human boy. He was sweet, although not very good at listening. I had to warn him so many times about bad behavior, but boys will be boys." She had a true fondness for him, because it was a pet project, and one none of her sisters thought of.

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Re: Third class, away from the dining room
[info]doorsween
2013-10-24 07:12 pm UTC (link)
"Teasing. The unknown. See if you have a sense of humor." The 'it' could be anything, but it could also be a test to see if they had enough balls to handle keep going or if they'd fold and wash out like old laundry on the tide. "If you can take the hazing and laugh about it."

His grin dropped a little as she mentioned what he had to fight for. "Not so much in the beginning," he admitted. Even the smallest things could have set him off, brought his fists out until the anger abated long enough for him to feel something else. He'd been a handful as a teenager, but now he was a little less prone to getting into fights. A little. And now they were less about every little insult and more about the things that mattered. "But now it's about saving people from the monsters they can't fight against."

The first Kaiju attacks had been so devastating because they didn't have anything that could take them down that easily. And then it hadn't been a choice when the program opened up -- he had to go. Had to fight for the world he called home.

The corners of his mouth came up again as she mentioned about her ability to fight. "When we get somewhere safer, I'll show you a couple things. Like how to use that wand of yours." Not for magic, but in a fight that little pointy stick could do some damage if she knew how to use it. "Even if you only know enough so you can get away from someone, you should know." Monsters walked in all types of skins, from the scaly to the furred, from the frozen to the thick-hided and if nothing else, he wanted to make sure that should she find herself alone, she knew something.

He gave her hand a squeeze as the passage opened up for an elevator and another hallway to go down the opposite side of the ship. "What do you think? Elevator? Or another round?" His thumb skipped over her knuckles. "Did you give him what he wanted?"

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Re: Third class, away from the dining room
[info]doorsween
2013-10-24 07:39 pm UTC (link)
"I have a sense of humor. I'll be laughing along with them while plotting something devious. Turning their hair rainbow, for example." Clearly she was not up to the level of pranking this ship was, but she had time to think of more. And Blue still doubted it was a prank or a hazing, since they were from different places entirely and it was extremely elaborate.

When he talked about his reasons for becoming a Jaeger, she stopped being distracted by paranoia and watched him carefully. "You are a knight," she teased. "A knight by any other name, would still be as noble." Blue grinned at him and patted a hand on his shoulder, still unfamiliar with the plastic armor he had on. She would have to think of a reward for him once this was done. Perhaps she could conjure gold, if he would have that. "I hope no monsters show up here. Even with you by my side, I think we can do without them. I'm leaning more toward getting off the ship and drinking a big glass of nectar." The whispers and giggles and lights, she was getting better at handling that.

Her eyebrows went up. "Why yes, Sir Knight, I'd love to get better use out of my wand." She couldn't stare at the wand too long because of how bright it was, but she was certain once her mind cleared she could do better with it. He was talking about something else, obviously, considering he had no magic to speak of. "Usually I just shrink down and fly away. I'm a little ... out of sorts. Do you feel out of sorts? Outside of the obvious." The farther they went from the scary area, the more at ease she felt.

Wide eyes looked between the two options, and she leaned toward the elevator. It didn't look terribly sturdy. On the other hand, more passages on the same floor didn't seem smart. "I think going up. Up is the best option." Blue called for the elevator and pulled him with her, a little color coming to her cheeks with the question. Why, no idea, truly, it was an innocent enough one. "I gave him exactly what he wanted. After he earned it. People have to earn their happy endings. Even fairies."

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Re: Third class, away from the dining room -> Elevator
[info]doorsween
2013-10-25 10:04 pm UTC (link)
That didn't sound horribly devious to him, but coming from her, it fit. Spite wasn't part of who she was and that was a good thing. "It wasn't always about nobility," he stated honestly. "We're treated like rock stars. That had a lot of appeal when I was younger." Now it was more saving people's lives, making sure that there was a future for as many people as he could. It wasn't about the reward and if she'd told him that she was thinking of a reward for him, he'd tell her to keep it. His reward was when the world would be a safer place.

"I hope they don't show up either," the pilot agreed. If a Kaiju showed up here, him without his Jaeger, he wouldn't be much help of anyone. Threats that were a little more human? He could deal with those. Not a problem.

"Nothing more than the obvious." The obvious being the boat and the fact that there seemed to be more that he just couldn't recall. It slipped away from him, like an eel in water. He had a feeling that chasing it would only leave him with a headache, so he'd wait, until he knew and everything came back to him.

He followed her in, the inside just as eerie as the rest of the floor. One closed fist smacked at the wall above the circuit board to see if it would rattle things just enough to keep the light from flickering, but no, no dice. "Damn," he said under his breath, and turned his attention back to her. "Yeah?" The pilot wasn't sure about happy endings, had a feeling that his own story wouldn't end happily, but as long as he got to go out kicking ass and saving people, he was okay with that.

"What's your happy ending, Blue? What's the one you want?"

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Re: Third class, now in elevator
[info]doorsween
2013-10-25 11:06 pm UTC (link)
"You're in a rush to try and bring yourself down. Everyone has motivations for what they do. It doesn't make you less of a good person if you got some rewards in the process." Blue shook her head at him, although doing that meant a few curls fell in her face, and she pushed them back. Looking pretty and elegant was important to make a good impression when she came to a wisher, but at the moment it was getting in the way.

"What I mean is ... I'm scared. I was from the moment I showed up here. But I keep feeling like I shouldn't be. There's something in the air ... I can't call it magic." She felt like she would know if it was magic. Then again she was terrible with a wand and only knew how to fling dust in the air. Blue frowned and the more she let her guard down, it settled in more. Relax, it said. Enjoy yourself. How she would enjoy a ghost ship was beyond her.

Oh good, the elevator was not as reassuring as she hoped. Blue glanced up as he smacked the wall, and she rolled her eyes at him. She tapped the wand against the back of his armor, carefully since it was sharp and could hurt him, and it glowed brighter. The lights around them were flickering, but her own wasn't going to go out any time soon. "I have no idea what we'll do once we get to the top. We're not about to jump into the ocean."

She wanted to rest against the elevator wall, glad to have something there, but her wings made that impossible. She leaned an arm to do it instead. His question caused her to look up at him, pensively. "To give everyone their happy ending. I'll be doing this for centuries. There's always a fairy here and there who want to be more like you humans, get married and make endings of their own. It is appealing, but long term, I do more good this way." She never thought to share her heart with a complete stranger, but there were a lot of strange things happening. "What about you?"

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Re: Third class, now in elevator
[info]doorsween
2013-10-26 11:11 am UTC (link)
"Naw, just don't want you think I'm something I'm not," he said with crooked schoolboy grin. "I just want to know that people are safe. Not that I don't like rewards, but it's about more than what I'm going to get out of it." There'd been a time when he'd enjoyed as much as any young single man in the Corps could whenever they got leave.

He turned when she tapped the back of his armor with her wand. "I know, but it's annoying," he laughed as he glanced back up to the still flickering light. "I," he began. "I didn't. It's odd, it's not where I'm supposed to be, but I'm not scared." There weren't that many things left anymore to scare him anymore. Even the ship he found more of a nuisance than anything else.

"Whatever you want. I can teach you how to use that wand of yours. Or we can walk around the deck -- there has to be a deck, right?" He couldn't remember the last time he'd been on a boat. How long had it been? The pilot felt like he should remember, but it was lost somewhere.

What wasn't lost was what he wanted for the future. With a little hum, he leaned back against the wall of the elevator, hands on the railing that circled the cab. "I want what most people want. The war to end. For my home to be safe again. One day more of a family. Kids, so I can tell them my stories and listen to them groan about it," he said with another laugh. "But, that's not the ending." The ending would be something completely different, that part of the story was only the middle.

"Part of me wants to go quietly, in my sleep, because that means that my home is safe and there are no more monsters." But that wasn't what he truly wanted. He wanted go out swinging, his life spent to protect others. "I want to know that my death means that someone is safe. That they have time to kiss their loved ones goodnight. That's what I want." Strange as it may be to bare his heart with a complete stranger, he wasn't the type to keep secrets, not even the hopes he held most dear.

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Re: Third class, now in elevator
[info]doorsween
2013-10-27 04:55 pm UTC (link)
Blue mirrored his crooked smile. "You save lives, you don't care about getting a reward, you've gone out of your way to keep me safe here. You're right, why would I think you are a knight, honorable and kind, sworn to protect the innocent. That doesn't sound at all like you." If fairies were incapable of violent thoughts, they were capable of a little sass and sarcasm. Blue in particular had plenty of both, given the right inspiration. It wasn't something the head of her sect of fairies encouraged much, but her sisters all looked different, the colors in particularly setting them apart. Their personalities were similarly unique.

"I would hope there is a deck. We'll just go on a jaunt around it, why not? If we're stuck here, I suppose I would like to see what is outside." The way it moved made her think there were waves. Was there a storm outside? The wind could be whipping for all she knew. Blue liked the idea of getting some fresh air, it felt very contained in there, very confined. "I wish I could fly us both away, but I'd have to turn small to go anywhere." And she wasn't going to leave him, not now they went this far together.

She watched him while he talked about his dreams and wants, and her heart went out to him. Perhaps it was the area they were in or the relief of being out of the passages, or that she was a quiet and non-judgmental listener. For whatever reason, he felt free to speak the truth, and she listened. "I think your war will definitely end. I have a good feeling about it." She did, too, in her gut, and her gut was rarely wrong. All right sometimes it was wrong. A lot of times it was wrong. She was optimistic anyway.

Blue moved closer to him and smiled, putting her hand into her pouch and throwing up a whole handful of fairy dust around them. It shimmered blue, just like her wings. In such a dark and perplexing place, it was a stark contrast in beauty. "May your heart's desire come true. I hope you find everything you look for once we get out of this place. If we ever do."

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Re: Third class, now in elevator
[info]doorsween
2013-10-28 08:24 am UTC (link)
Well, when she put it like that. The pilot grinned again, the corners of eyes folding fans with his good humor. "Point taken." He didn't even mind the little sass that came with her words -- she was right and it wasn't the biting sarcasm that left him feeling abraded and raw.

That wasn't here with her. Perhaps some of her kind were mischief makers and devious, but he didn't get that feeling from her. Hadn't since he ran into her in the hallway.

He was still smiling through her optimism. She was right -- all wars did end and so would his, it was only a matter of how and when not if. He was about to tell her so when she threw up a handful of -- fairy dust. Real, honest to God, fairy dust that came down in a blue shower of sparkling light. It startled a laugh out of him, easy and carefree as he stretched out a hand, palm up for some of the dust to settle on. "And may yours come true, Blue." May she have as many people as she could possibly want and work what magic she had to make their dreams come true.

"We will. All roads lead home, even if it takes longer to find them," he told her, confident in ways she wasn't. "Besides, we have to reach somewhere stable if I'm ever going to show you how to use that wand of yours."

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