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[qliphoths]

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VOICE | VIDEO | TEXT | ACTION

"This is Tear Grants. Please leave a message,
I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

CODE

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dont mind me breaking in this inbox in the rudest way possible 🎉

[fonomena]

[It's a message that arrives a little after 10pm, on the evening of the excursion to the beach. The last tender will have already made its way back to the ship.

Jade was not on it.]

To notify you accordingly; if you've need to seek me out for the next few hours, I'm afraid I shall be unavailable to contact for most of this evening. I'll let you know when this changes, ideally sooner rather than later. Or, alternatively, I'll likely be found in my cabin of residence around 6:00 the next morning.

Either way, you'll have my report when I return. I apologize.

10/2; continues harassing ur inbox with more depressing things apparently smh

[fonomena]

[Clarke Griffin had visited Jade's quarters this morning--about half an hour ago, more precisely. In the end, too, it was an entirely different affair compared to the last confrontation they'd collectively had in that same room. That conversation is over now, but the contents had been....

Hm.

--At least it's impossible for anyone else to know just how many times Jade typed and retyped this message, on the verge of not sending anything at all. But finally...]

Natsuno Yuuki. Are you somewhat acquainted with him, Tear?

rip :( her inbox is cursed. also i cant believe this is her default face HAHA she looks so mad

[qliphoths]

I am.

I can't say I know him well, though.

[ but he'd seemed like a nice boy, and his regenerative abilities had been
something of a curiosity to her. ]

Why do you ask?

one day somebody else will finally cleanse this inbox...maybe....also LMAO resting grumpy face

[fonomena]

[The answer is about in line with what Jade had expected, with the rough context he's collected so far. He hasn't been constantly stalking Tear's interactions with others on the ship or anything, just a glance from afar on occasion here and there, but the crowd of teens that had rightfully all but assaulted him upon his return from the mission last month had evidently all been notified by Tear in some form, and Natsuno was among them. Only very casual acquaintances, then...

In some ways that makes this easier. ...And in other ways it's simultaneously also a bit more difficult, like this. Which is a weird feeling all around, though feelings in general are something Jade's trying not to pursue at the moment.]

As I'm sure you've noted by this point, he and I share living quarters presently. [Since Natsuno was likely right there watching impassively in the backdrop, upon accompanying Jade back to the room, as Clarke and Tear had immediately set upon Jade with fury as well that one night in 109--] However, there has been no sign of him since yesterday. We accompanied each other to the information meeting held in the library, that morning...but afterwards we parted ways, and that was the last I saw of him.

I don't suppose you've run into him at any point in the last several hours yourself, have you?

the teens unionized against u jade

[qliphoths]

[ her first thought is to wonder if natsuno is simply avoiding the colonel,
perhaps due to lingering resentment -- but the notion is quelled quickly. he didn't
seem the type to play those kinds of games, or to hold a grudge like that. especially
if they'd gone to an information meeting together.

so it likely isn't due to an emotional response, nor perhaps anything related to jade.
from the way the colonel's messages read, it seems as though such behaviour is definitely
out of place. ]

I haven't.

Where does he usually spend his time when not in the cabin?

[ the colonel has probably checked them already ,but ... ]

I'll keep an eye out for him, and will report back if I see him.

amazed the teens in canon didn't do it first tbqh, they need to take notes from these boat teens

[fonomena]

A good question. I don't exactly tend to follow him about noting his haunts most days. I believe he goes to that arcade place fairly often, though...and he's always bringing books back with him to our room, from the library.

He's generally quite taciturn, probably prefers hanging about in places with lesser amounts of foot traffic as well. So he can keep to himself.

A report would be appreciated, if you do. I'll be searching as well soon, I think. Although

[Hm. Hmmm. It still...felt odd, writing that whole first bit. Seeing Tear's response, too. Conducting themselves, as if there's still a possibility that either of them will find anything. That Natsuno isn't most likely to be...

...

There's a bit of a delay, before:]

On occasion, disappearances do occur among the passengers on this ship.

It shouldn't be discounted, I suppose, that this may very well be another of those cases...

just wait til we get a full abyss cast one day : (

[qliphoths]

Yes.

I recall being told about this once before.

[ about how people would just disappear from the ship, and that it wasn't a mistake
nor a successful escape attempt. if she recalls correctly, it had been explained to her at
length by mister summer. ]

Does he normally come back to the cabin every single night?

I've seen people sleeping in the library sometimes, or in other places.

[qouththeraven]

[Written in blood on the cabin's door:]

[qliphoths]

[ to a passerby it would seem as though tear stood frozen, just staring at her door.
it would probably seem out of place, until they saw the letters written there: blood still
slightly fresh, glistening.

of course whoever did this would go and mention luke...

she inhales shakily as she reaches in her pocket for her device, snapping a picture of the words
to send over to jade. she'll definitely have to talk to him about this. he'd been
here longer than she had, after all: so he'd probably be a better judge about whether
this was a prank or something done by some a ghost -- perhaps even by the captain.

once done, she opens her cabin door and searches for a rag.
there's no point in leaving the message there for long, is there?

aside from the general creepiness, it was just gross. ]

[fonomena]

Lately, yes. In the past we had more disagreements, so he wouldn't be present as often...but we found a few compromises since, and he seems to generally prefer using the bed. Granted, it's always possible that something I've done has set off his ire again. I confess I cannot think of anything that might have changed, however. Something learned in the meeting, perhaps? Hard to say.

[Very hard to say. Natsuno tends to take any form of terrible news in a grim sort of stride, he's noticed; and besides, the tidbit that had distressed most other passengers was something Natsuno had been aware of for quite awhile already. He and Rita had been the first to acquire actual confirmation from the captain, that their existences on this ship are merely some sort of offshoot, from a presence that still continues to exist back home....

Speaking of their existences being offshoots--]

How much were you told, about the disappearances? In my experience, there's never been any sort of warning or sign that it might happen to someone, and the process is a very abrupt thing. One day they are present, and the next they are simply...not.

Allegedly, the entirety of their essence essentially becomes more fuel for this ship.

Action || God I Pity The Violins

[crushed_pearls]

Things have been going fucking insane. Absolutely batshit goddamn insane. Erin has clung to the bits of her routine that she can because if she can't maintain some sense of normalcy she's going to lose it. The standing appointment in the morning with SecUnit. Fight club on Tuesdays. Dreaming with Ruby now (left in Erin's cabin with a pleasant dream going, safe from herself; Erin's heart flutters with pride at her good work there).

Music, with Tear.

Erin is, as is the custom, the first one to arrive. She drags out the binders of sheet music (Tear's had to write these, as Erin can neither write nor read them; she learns songs by ear), sets out the tea she's brought for their throats (along with an obscene amount of honey, for Erin's hummingbird-ass metabolism), and paces the stage in long, easy strides. It's hard not to feel excited, hard not to feel so very ready. Tear and April were the first two people Erin opened up to about music and their reactions, though both positive, were both so...so different.

She really needs to -

(What are we trying to realize here, Peters? We're in our head)

"Shut up," Erin mutters to herself. She really needs to ask Tear if it would be okay for Erin to learn her hymns. The youngblood hadn't seemed too put off by having them mimicked back at her, but Erin's never quite worked that in since...

Without really thinking about it, Erin starts singing the snatches of Tear's hymns she'd heard that first night.

[qliphoths]

so far, so good. this month had been hectic, and it was getting tiring
having to constantly pretend to be someone as drab and dreary as tear.
as far as 'torn' was concerned, the girl was a total grandma: gloomy
and overly-modest, traditional and quiet. it was so strange to have to
try and act like this.

although a dear friend of hers was somewhat similar.

just as she'd been doing since the moment she'd possessed tear, torn
has to follow through with the other girl's motions: following her schedule,
seeing all of tear's friends like a good little ghost.

it just so happens that this was a meeting the ghost has been dreading.

singing wasn't really her forte.

she draws a breath to steady herself when she hears those snatches of music
come drifting down the hall, and she pushes the door open with a little hesitance.
in the emptiness of the theatre, the hymns sound kind of creepy to her.

" Hi, Erin! " she tries to sound cheerful as she makes her way towards the
stage.

" I can see you've been practicing. You sound great! How have you been this week? "

[crushed_pearls]

Erin turns her head when she hears Tear and blushes faintly; she hadn't meant to be overheard. God she sounds - cheerful? That's new.

"Worse than yours from the sound of it," Erin admits. "A friend's husband got possessed and he's been..." she shies away from the correct word. "...Being, with people, under false pretenses. And I'm not sure what'll happen to me if I'm the one to hunt him down for it. I want him dead but maybe...I dunno. Maybe that's someone else's hunt."

This is supposed to be music time though, isn't it?

(We're really in our head, Peters)

Why does she call herself that when Erin asks everyone else not to?

"I've been trying to - okay, please don't be upset if I've misunderstood the significance here." Erin spreads her hands in the traditional gesture of Making Peace (See All The Weapons I'm Not Holding). "But...ever since that first night I've been really curious about your hymns, and I was wondering if maybe I could learn them. I don't expect to be able to use them like you do, Tear, to work magic and wonder. But...they're beautiful."

[qliphoths]

" Uh... wait, hold on -- there's people here who are married? "

everything erin says is such new information to her -- well, almost everything.
she's completely blown away by some of it, like:

" Are you saying the guy was cheating on her? How awful ... Possessed or not,
that's disgusting. I don't blame you for wanting to go after him. "

one thing torn can't stand is men being super skeevy or gross: it was a total pet
peeve of hers, as someone who'd constantly been on the receiving end of perverted
behaviour. all people cared about were her looks, back when she'd been in her own
body.

but then again, it's not like the person possessing the body was her friend's actual
husband, right?

she listens to erin's explanation with a growing sense of anxiety. she reeeaally wants
to do this, huh...?

" Oh, well... I don't mind talking about it. They're in an entirely different language,
though. I know the Ship kind of makes it so we can communicate, but the lyrics still
have to be the same. "

that was true, at least. she almost breathes a sigh of relief, but she knows that
erin will probably still want more information.

[crushed_pearls]

"I..."

Oh god. The girl is just sixteen but...

Erin blows out a long breath. "No, the person possessing his husband was seducing people while faking his identity. Taking away their ability to consent, to...it was a violation."

Her hand goes to her moving tattoos. Should she have said it? Is this one of the true and awful things people actually need to know? Bash's words about the corpse of the past race through her head.

(She said something else too, Peters)

"You stay out of this," Erin mutters to herself. She paces away, just trying to get some space. "I...yeah, I don't wanna just...they seemed holy," she says at last. "And I know what it can mean, to get something holy wrong. I don't wanna do that, not just because they're important to you but...you know."

(Have we ever seen Tear show this much open emotion?)

"I told you to stay out of it!" Erin realizes she said that out loud. "...Sorry. That was. To myself."

[qliphoths]

" Wait, what?! For real?? "

she's honestly floored to hear that and recoils at the information, covering her
mouth with her hands. it takes only a second for the shock to be replaced by anger,
though. torn had always been a passionate person.

" What a scumbag... Just who is this guy, anyway? I know I'm new here, so I probably
might not know him, but ... "

she'd want to give him a piece of her mind too, if what erin says is true. like, listen.
murdering and whatever? at least that's straight up and kind of ends things. something like
a "violation" has lasting consequences though.

she knows that all too well.

" Hey, are you okay...? "

her brow furrows as she watches erin talk to herself. she isn't scared of it or anything,
but can't help being a little concerned. she can't remember erin doing this in front of
tear before, so maybe it's something of a stress response?

she'll talk about the music later, of course, but erin is a bit more priority right now.

[crushed_pearls]

Erin tries to wave it off and then sighs. "I'm...I keep my head organized by thinking about my own thoughts a lot. It's supposed to help me sort hallucinations from magical perception but it also means that my thoughts sometimes sound like...people to talk to, in my head, and not like, me thinking. I know it's me thinking, I'm crazy not stupid, but - anyway. The victim of the possessor is Giles, Ossie's husband. And if Giles ever comes back he's going to be horrified that his body was used like this. Like...like fucking meat. I know it's not the ghosts' fault they're here but...there's a fucking line."

She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

(Peters, something isn't right)

"I'm sorry, Tear, I know this is supposed to be our time to get away but it's been...it's been an onslaught of a fucking month. I can quit bitching, I swear."

[qliphoths]

oh ... so it was like some kind of coping mechanism, then.
to be honest torn has never needed to go to that extent herself or anything -- but she
can sympathize. the important part was that erin could tell the difference between the
thoughts and reality anyway, so she isn't really bothered by any of that.

" Yeah, I can't say I know anyone named Giles ... "
who was possessing him, anyway? she'd have to go and find out sometime later, after this
if she can, and give the sicko a piece of her mind herself.

" It's okay, don't worry about it. The reason we're here is one thing, but if you're
stressed about something I have no problem talking about it too. We don't have to do
only music, you know? "

girl talk was one of her favourite things, and something she was sort-of good at.

[crushed_pearls]

"No, I -"

(Peters.) The inner voice is so gentle this time. (How often were you told not to ignore yourself? You're the one you have to live with every day. Remember that first night?)

Her head cocks to the side for a moment, birdlike. "...I suppose not, but...I do want to. Could you, maybe, start us off? See if we find the feeling?"

|Explain quickly, me.|

(In what world is the girl who loved her art too much to stop, but was too afraid to share it with others, having a good week when she shows up to get hit with the joy and shame of it at the same time?)

|We don't know that. We barely know Tear!|

(We know she spoke the same words we've spoken when we're lost and lonely)

[qliphoths]

" Oh, uh ... Sure? "

she flounders just a bit, unsure of where to begin. was she supposed to explain
the holiness behind her songs first? did erin expect her to just jump right into
those weird lyrics, in that foreign language.

she racks through tear's memories and when she speaks, it sounds almost as though
she's awkwardly reading from a cue-card.

" The songs are in a language called Ancient Ispanian. They were made by a woman
named Yulia Jue, so they're called Yulian Fonic Hymns. Not all Melodists use Yulia's
hymns though ... It was really just my brother and I. "

god, the terminology from tear's world was always so complicated. fonon this, fonic
that. it was almost like she was from some jrpg or something... torn almost wants to sigh.
this was almost like studying in history class or something.

[crushed_pearls]

"Oh, I just meant - if you wanted to sing first..."

But the head voices are right. Something isn't rhyming here. Erin paces away, tousling her hair violently. Do something or don't? Crabb got caught out by a subtle change in accent, by the misplaced choice of a word, the signs are so small. She doesn't want to insult her new friend -

(Does Tear strike you as someone with a great excess of pride that can be insulted?)

"You have a point," Erin mutters. She takes a steadying breath. And then: "...Is 'Tear' really what I should be calling you?"

[qliphoths]

" Oh, sorry... You'd asked if the songs were holy before, so I thought I
should explain first. "

the next question makes her freeze up -- did she hear that right? it feels
like there's an anvil sitting on her chest, the weight of this accusation.
it feels like it's a little hard to breathe.

" Um... I'm not really sure how to answer that. Tear is what I usually go by? "

in reality, 'tear' was actually a nickname and not her host's actual
name. but erin probably didn't mean that.
so she cuts right to the chase, just like how she'd imagine the real tear would:

" For the sake of clarification: are you ... trying to ask if I'm possessed too? "

[crushed_pearls]

"Yeah," Erin says, frankly. "...I'm tired, youngblood. This month has been a nightmare with no waking and now my last sanctuary from it feels like someone slapped a piece from the wrong puzzle in it. Maybe you were just having a really bad night, that first night. But I don't think so. I know the kind of damage I heard in her voice and her words and you don't shuck that like a badly-fitting coat."

The Lost turns to face Tear. Rests her hand on her saber, not threateningly, but openly. "So. Did I somehow get everything wrong about my friend? Or is there another name I ought to be calling you?"

[qliphoths]

" I can understand that. "

because it's true -- yeah, she has every right to be suspicious, and to be upset that
the singing lesson isn't going the way she wants for it to, but ...

" I don't think you got anything wrong about me... I'm not possessed, I was just
thrown off by what you said earlier -- about that guy, Giles. I ... "

she pauses, hesitating. well ... a little bit of honesty wouldn't hurt here.

" I've been through something like that before, with a former teacher of mine.
Hearing about that was really upsetting ... But I'm not possessed. If I was then
don't you think I'd be attacking you, or going around hurting people, or something?
I wouldn't be coming to see you, or wanting to hear you out in the first place."

ghosts are spooky and all that, right? plus, with what she just said giles did... well.
torn was nothing like that.

[crushed_pearls]

Erin gives that serious consideration. Turns, just a little, to face the front of the stage instead of standing hostile. "...Not all the ghosts have been like that. I'm not gonna talk details, but while Giles' possessor was my first he hasn't been my only. The ones who have been living in harmony with the crew I've...let go. They didn't choose to be here either. They're passengers. One of us. Children of this garden."

(Leave the revelation aside for now Peters. We're too hurt to ask.)

|What if she needs to talk about it?|

(How much talking is she gonna do if we break down sobbing before she can even finish? One crisis at a time. One.)