theclipper_tlv | Recent Entries

[sent via Dracula's communication rings, and otherwise inaudible]

These things working? I think I've 'ad a message from the Barge. An SOS.

[open spam]

She can't change shape any more, but Iris walks the boundaries of the Clipper like a wolf, and when non-barge people try to talk to her, she mostly just growls, deep and rough and menacing. Fuck this ship.

Soundtrack

just7seconds

[Well... isn't this great? What a kind and generous being this fake nurse is! Cloud looks thrilled (no, he doesn't - just the opposite).]

She'd rather kill us than try to work out any kind of deal. Could that be because she doesn't actually care as much as she claimed she did? Or maybe she's simply at a loss for ideas!

... Not that I expect most of you to care what I think, but here it is anyway:

She doesn't like that her "precious dollies" won't stay put. Being unable to keep a firm grip on them has her... in a panic or... maybe a quiet temper tantrum?

Figure out what you really want. I already know what my decision is. I've known since the first day.

SPAM

[Or maybe they'll run into him, out in a hallway, or something. Or they're Sephiroth, who's basically never left his side!

Cloud's taken to spending a lot of time around Zack, ever since the latter went into a coma. This is most likely a good chunk of his reason for being so... this, lately.]

thenurse_tlv

[Starting sometime on the 29th and throughout the 31st, changes begin on each of the volunteer barges that have taken on new passengers.

On the Clipper, the following effects are observed:

The shattered top of the tree starts putting out small shoots and leaves.

The damage to the Sick Ward starts repairing itself when no one is looking, supplies re-stocking and equipment turning shiny and new.

The wearables no longer backfire, although the effects may still wear off unreliably quickly.

Patient power suppression is restored.

The hole in the top of the ship is smaller, causing the plastic sheet taped over it to dip with extra slack.

Additionally, the Nurse breaks their usual silence.]

Some have you have mentioned you would, ahem - and I only say this because I'm quoting - "rather die." I am, at the moment, renegotiating some of my agreements to make that possible! You have until then to decide if you were serious. Do behave in the meantime, or I'll put you right back in time out without bothering any of my hard-working assistants.

[After this, anyone who tries to harm the tree is simply teleported to a bed in the restored Sick Ward, and any Assistant who tries to release a patient will be demoted and strapped down in the bed right next to them. Although no one is being drugged, this time around - they're free to think and talk and wriggle and yell as much as they like.]

citizendetective

Taylor! Four, three, two, one, zero - I assume!

[This coded message from a just-demoted Patient is actually completely innocuous, as far as the ship as a whole goes, but feel free to assume it's a countdown to a bomb or something.]

wildguardian

Audio

Friends, comrades, shipmates! While I appreciate the frustration of our situation -- believe me, I get it -- I think we have reached a point in time where we need to work together for the good of our overall situation.

Point the first! Assistants, I think it's past time you stopped acting like we're all troublesome kids and started dealing with our legitimate complaints. The Sick Ward's in no shape to lock people up and drug 'em into submission, but I think we're gonna have some nasty scalds, if what I almost had happen washing my hands this morning is any guide. Why don't you come down here and start working on making sure our actual injured can get meaningful treatments? I'll even help you rip up some sheets for bandages.

Point the second! Love the skylight, amazing view. Let's not blow any more holes in our own darn ship without knowing what we're doing it for. Talk to me if you've got grievances. I'm willing to put together a list of demands. Raylan, where the fork are you, my friend?

See you soon. Second bed from the left, sick ward.

Spam

Zhao Yunlan has almost entirely stopped spending time in his room. His arm's in bad shape, he's keeping it patched up with a combination of gauze and the same ripped-up sheet bandaging he's offering to others, and he does not like the idea of being alone and injured around Bonesaw. Not after the way she'd looked at Taylor. He's got company down in the Sick Ward most of the time, and it's considerably nicer with those padded rooms largely shredded.

He'll occasionally venture up to the common room or wander around to find friends and fellow mutinous Patients, but can mostly be found playing endless games of cards with Wu Xie or obsessively checking his communicator.

delusionincarnate

[Those who have been on the Clipper for a while wouldn't be blamed if they forget that Michael exists. He rarely posts anything and generally tends to stick with his own projects. But this - this is too much to ignore. He speaks in a lazy drawl, amusement clear behind his words.]

What. A. Mess you have all made. I suppose it can't be helped. There isn't anything to be done for those who cannot escape. Their. Nature.

Ah.

It was bound to happen. Happiness, I've found is. Elusive. It stains, it cuts, it feels wrong, somehow. As if the entire world is -

- Against you.

To be faced with the prospect of happiness here. Well.

We can't be too - disappointed.

[Spam]

[Contrary to what others might think, Michael loves getting close to the top. The stars are delightful, a wonderful way for him to get absolutely lost. A little bordering on another's territory, perhaps, but they're so random that he can't help but sit.

Otherwise, he doesn't mind bothering random people. Appearing out of nowhere. Out of the corner of their eye. Seeming a little - taller than normal. Maybe his face a little too wide. Twisting flowers into spirals with fingers that are too sharp. And his laugh that induces just the absolute worst migraines.

And when his powers fail, when he is simply human and nothing else, he retreats to his room. It's the only time he feels ill.]

abrightboy

After his talk with the Nurse, Malcolm goes to the smoldering remains of the tree house, his expression crumpling slightly when he sees it. The sheer level of destruction, of rage, of damage to a living thing... it's a place of healing, not of war. Not a prison.

The Nurse said to protect what's left of the tree and to continue to try to talk the patients down. He'll do what he can.

scarsolderthanyou

Stone's ability to shapeshift has come and gone since the hole got blown in the tree, and he is, frankly, reveling in them whenever he gets the chance. He hasn't been able to take his winged form in over a year, and every chance he gets now, he's taking it.

Of course, there are only a handful of places he fits, in his winged form: the kitchen's seating area, the medical floor, and the common space where the tree used to be. He's about as big as Kethel, his wingspan maybe eighty feet across and his hands capable of picking up anyone else on the ship with ease, only his face is more humanoid, and he has a mane of long flexible spines rather than a crest, and his feathers scales are so faded a black that he's almost gray, rather than the flat matte black of Kethel's plates.

Find him sprawled between the tables in the kitchen with his tail curling and uncurling, wings tucked in tight, surveying everyone working with a content, almost smug expression.

Find him curled up snoozing in the remains of the medical floor, coincidentally blocking the entrances to all the padded rooms so nobody can get locked away until his power reverts.

Find him clinging to the edges of the residential floors with one hand and his foot-claws while he cranes his neck towards that hole in the ship, or even climbing up (he can't fly; there simply isn't room to properly flap his wings even in the common area) to poke his head out the hole. If anyone else wants a look, he's happy to lift them up, or let them cling to the ridges of scales at his collarbone while he climbs. Raksura, being aerial predators, are immune to altitude sickness... so that's nice.

And he's actually happy, if just for a little while, finally having a little choice in at least what shape he can wear.

Of course, the fits of shapeshifting don't last forever, so you might instead find him clinging to the edge of that hole looking surly, before he manages to start climbing his way down, or suddenly disappearing from the eating area in a cloud of dark smoke and returning sprawled on his belly on the floor. "Ugh. Too good to be true," he mutters to himself.

whippersnapped

[Marsh has somehow, with the inveterate climbing talents of a proper street urchin who has hidden from a lot of angry adults on roofs, gotten up to the hole in the top of the ship. He has a roll of duct tape and a plastic shower curtain tucked under one arm, but he isn't fixing it. He's just sitting on the edge, feet dangling inside the ship, staring out at the night.

He's not getting a headache or anything. The thin air feels weirdly familiar; the people of Scadriel have been genetically adjusted by their secret gods to survive on a low oxygen planet for centuries.]

why_me

May I say, the new skylight really brings the ship together? I've never been one for stars as a design, but I think it works here. What does everyone else think?

[ spam; for Elias ]

[ During the times when Garion's powers are returned to him, he's taken to being productive. Oh, he's not about to make himself the size of a mountain and start tearing the ship apart; he's too Sendarian for that, and without a plan on what to do for all the kids around here, further damage is entirely out the window.

But that doesn't mean he isn't taking advantage.

Hence why one might see a shadow moving oddly along the edges of the hallways or against the sections of burned out ship that hide its darkness. It's headed for one very specific place, and one very specific man. He should have plenty of time to get this done. ]

[ spam; for Taylor ]

[ While things are still very touchy, Garion's an incredibly sneaky man despite his size.

...probably something to do with being partially raised by a Drasnian spy prince. That, or the fact that he occasionally turns into a tiny, easy to miss, bunny.

Which is how he gets to Taylor, a smile on his face as he holds up a small, loose-woven cage full of butterflies the likes of which even Taylor has never seen. Their wings are a beautiful gray that shimmers blue and green and pink like a pastel oil slick depending on the shift of light. ]

I made you something. Or some things. If you'd like to see.

[ spam; for Jason and/or Iris ]

[ Jason might be busy, but hopefully he's not too busy to run a little when a big blue white wolf happens to trot up to him, tongue and tail wagging. Look! Look, they can run together a little!

If he sees Iris, he'll make the same offer. Hopefully, she'll be unstuck at the same time he is.]

[spam]
[ Garion's around like he's always around, with a priority on making sure none of the kids get hurt even if there's a few of them he can't stand. But any Assistant who tries to handle him might find the idea ill-fated, even if power caps are working properly. He's had to do things sneakily before. And he's better at it than that farmboy face would lead you to believe. ]

thenurse_tlv

[After Dracula self-detonates in the treehouse, the damage is clear and immediate: both the treehouse itself, as well as the entire canopy and the top 15 feet of the trunk, are all gone, leaving nothing but heaps of charred wood and unidentifiable rubble (is that a melted binocular?) in their wake. What's more, a good chunk of the ceiling has been blown out, leaving a gaping 20-foot hole through which characters can see the void of space.

Anyone standing too close to the hole will begin to suffer the effects of altitude sickness, and anyone who lingers for too long - regardless of their intentions - runs the risk of suffering random, inexplicable bouts of paralyzation. As the Clipper has no proper deck, anyone interested in getting up there to explore will not only have to push past these obstacles, but will have to get creative as well, fashioning ropes or makeshift ladders to throw up from the damaged trunk or the topmost level in-ship. Should anyone manage to reach the exterior of the ship, they'll find that it has the rough shape of a submarine. Careful not to slide off the edge! Or stay too long, come to think of it, because that altitude sickness isn't just going to go away on its own.

The following effect will set in ship-wide, starting immediately and continuing indefinitely:

Power caps will begin to fluctuate unpredictably. For anywhere from thirty seconds to five minutes at a time, Assistants may lose their powers completely, and Patients may regain their powers in full.

Water in sinks and tubs will sometimes suddenly go ice cold or boiling hot. (The Sick Ward, as ever, does not contain supplies to treat anything more substantial than minor cuts and bruises.)

Assistants who attempt to use their wearables to paralyze a Patient will run the chance of having the effect backfire, paralyzing themselves instead.]

quixotically

[After helping Norton carry cleaning supplies and salt over to the tree, Elle retreats away from the fire and smoke in the common room to a hallway, where it's easier to see and breathe. She thumbs the button on her bracelet to pull up the holographic menu.]

Uh, I know this sounds weird to everyone else, with everything going on, but -- Hey, Raylan, can we talk? I've been looking for you, [no she hasn't, she knows exactly where he went] but with the chaos, I can't find you.

[What she doesn't know is that Raylan is not available at the moment. So after waiting a few minutes, Elle repeats with increasing urgency.]

Raylan? You're okay, right? Raylan...! Hey, has anybody seen him?

[Spam option is available, too, for anyone who wants to talk to her in person. She'll be on her way towards the treehouse to try to get eyes on what's going on, but she can be encountered anywhere along the way -- or overheard making this call in the halls.]

whippersnapped

[He can't summon a smile. He has hot red burns along his face and arms where he dove into fighting the fire with nothing but whatever blankets he could grab; his hair is singed short on one side. His voice starts off flat and calm.]

We haven't had storytime for a little while. So here's a story. It's a little bit scary, but somehow I think you can handle it.

Once there was a boy who lived in a dark world, where ash fell from the red sky, and there were no flowers or fruit, and all his people were slaves, had been slaves for a thousand years. And he was half-Noble, which was even worse than being Skaa, because mixing was the most forbidden thing of all. So when he was small and his brother was even smaller, monsters with steel spikes in their eyes came he never saw his parents again. But he took his little brother and he ran and he hid and he ran and he hid, and he lied and stole and fought with dogs for scraps and when he went back to wherever they were hiding, he'd smile and tell stories and play games and do anything to keep his little brother from wandering out where the spike-eyes could get him.

And then he came to a place that could fix it. Get rid of the Emperor and the spike-eyes and their system, forever. It still wouldn't be a world with blue skies, or flowers, but people would be free. And he thought it would be horrible, right? Something like that, there's got to be a price. Maybe he's got to do something bad to someone else's little brother. Maybe -

But it isn't. It's warm, every day, and there's food, every day, and there's ways to stop anyone from attacking anyone weaker. But it just doesn't let people do anything they want all the time.

All of you grown-ups who hate it here could leave. If you had enough self-control to deal with not getting to hurt anyone for three lousy months. But you're so self-centered and prideful you'd rather destroy something that saves lives and offers miracles. You'd rather set the place you live on fire.

[Bitterly.]

How very Noble of you all.

thenurse_tlv

[After Norton attempts to poison the tree, the following effect will set in ship-wide, starting immediately and continuing indefinitely:

When an Assistant uses their wearable to paralyze a Patient, the paralyzation will wear off much more quickly than usual.

ragsnbone

voice;
There are a lot of ways to tell what kind of tree you have in any given circumstances. Sometimes it's just the leaves and how they're shaped. Other times you have to look at the roots and how they are growing into the ground. Do they rise up a little to form a small cave? Do they move out from the central trunk like a fan? Do they go straight down, digging like spears? Trees are also classified by the kind of wood they'd make. Like soft wood is obviously wood that's too soft for a lot of applications. Hard wood is better for more sturdier projects, and can even be used for some instruments.

But the weirdest kind of tree I've seen was the devil bronze tree. And it wasn't just a sculpture of a tree or anything it was alive, and it was taller than anything I've ever seen. Even a skyscraper wasn't as tall as it.

Though it was almost not big enough for the cyclops snake living on the sacrifices the local tribe hung from its branches.

So anyone else have any weird stories about trees? I'd love to hear them.

[ spam ]
He decided - after all the rioting and burning and stuff - that he was still sick. Which meant that he was going to camp out in the Sick Ward wrapped in his security blanket and fake coughing at anyone that tries to move him. He does try to clean up the place enough so it's not a disaster, but otherwise, he's camping out there. So anyone walking into the room will find him, a lot of pillows, blankets that are now taking over a large section of the room being used like tents, and some board games that have been stripped of their cards, dice and play money.

"So," he will say to anyone being dragged into the Sick Ward. "Fancy a game of cards?"

Join him, he's making a whole new game up on the spur of the moment, and there is going to be so much gambling. Though when asked, he will call it 'trading in all good fun'.

rockulikeahurricane

[PUBLIC -- video ]

[ Since the rebellion, Billy has been in particularly high spirits, and even less inclined to behave himself than usual. Sure, his involvement was largely general rabblerousing and stoking the metaphorical fires for others, but sometimes a little encouragement is better than knocking skulls in. Consequently, in the aftermath he's mostly just enjoying the chaos the whole place has been dumped into no matter how everything shook out. ]

Well that was sure as heck something. Warms my heart, seeing everybody pulling together. 'Bout darn time somebody did something to shake things up. I'd throw you guys a kegger to celebrate, but, well. Nurse Killjoy would probably have a fit and we can't have that.

[ SPAM ]

[ Otherwise, Billy can be found going about what passes for his usual routine; meals when he's hungry, a lot of working out using whatever he can find, the bare minimum he can at his assigned job as part of the cleaning crew, and generally "harassing" his favorite people. If you would like yours to be one of said people let me know, I'm happy to assume CR for this!

if you want to plot or just ramble at me about stuff, feel free to add me on plurk at orderfromka0s! ]

punched_hitler

Who: Steve Rogers and anyone who wants to get in on his Sick Ward-wrecking shenanigans (or stop them)
What: Steve's using the distraction caused by a few other Patients to get into Sick Ward and do as much damage as possible.
Where: Sick Ward on the Clipper
When: Shortly after Raylan's adventures in the Treehouse start.
Warnings: None yet, please add if needed!

( When the breaking waves arrive )

[OOC: Please feel free to have your Patient join in or your Assistant realize what's up and come to stop them! This is open to absolutely everybody. Obviously they know they can't get far and their supplies/options are limited. Steve will make sure everyone's clear that they will probably be punished, though he will absolutely try to take as much of the blame as possible. The idea is to send a message while also making it that much harder to put Patients in mandatory time out for a while. It may or may not work.]

pharadyne

[Running around trying to paralyze people one-by-one isn't Norton's style. Emotional manipulation is both less risky to him personally, and also potentially more effective if he can convince enough people. And he doesn't even have to lie to do it, not really. This ship isn't trying to change him (much). His usual strategies work perfectly here (aside from the occasional murder, but he can abstain). And, yes, being paired with Envy is an unfortunate setback, but one he thinks he can work past. The point is, he's basically, finally a Warden and suddenly all these people are trying to ruin things, and Norton does not like that one bit.

And so he puts on an expression of large woeful eyes and furrowed brow of disappointment as he gets on the network.]

I'd expect this sort of thing from former Inmates. Some people just live to destroy things. But to the former Wardens participating in this anarchic rebellion, you've certainly pulled away the mask and shown that you don't really give a fig about others. This isn't the bargain you signed up for so you're going to burn it all down, never mind that this ship might work very well for some people not yourselves. Funny I never saw any of this revolutionary furor on the Barge on behalf of Inmates, when you were in control, when you got to choose to be there. Only when the shoe's on the other foot do you seem to care.

This ship is the best chance I've had in years to save my life but you supposedly good people seem not to have thought or cared about that, only about yourselves.

[Can he make a sad and angry tear happen? Yes, there they are, a few drops of tears gathering in his eyes and making them shine.]

[Later]

[When appeals to guilt thoroughly fail, Norton reluctantly gets more directly involved. He can't murder. (Murder is bad.) But if he can work out a way to stop the mutiny in another way, maybe amplify the paralytic effect of the Assistant wristband somehow so that everyone but himself is paralyzed, he can sort things out from there. And so he leaves his cabin to seek out more wristbands.]

thenurse_tlv

[After the riot kicks off and Raylan barricades himself in the Treehouse, a loud, insistent alarm sounds throughout the entire ship, alerting everyone to the trouble at hand. PCs and NPCs who attempt to quell the rebellion and/or retake the Treehouse will find it a more difficult task than usual: they need line of sight to paralyze Patients, after all, and that's a much harder thing to get when you don't have immediate access to your panopticon and its binoculars. Good luck!]

tinstar

Who: Raylan, a small Revolution and you!
What: Vive la révolution - This is a free for all Log! Make your own top levels or tag into the chaos! (or both, whatever makes you happy)
When: Night of the 17th
CW: Violence but no strong language :3

Preamble

Something had changed. Raylan couldn't put his finger on why it felt like his stomach was eating itself, or why he couldn't stop having nightmares about James dying, but it felt like something Bad had Happened, and it made Raylan anxious and antsy in a way that, maybe, wasn't the most graceful for a man his age.

He'd do a whole lot better if he wasn't here.

But it was enough to spur Raylan into moving his plans into their next phase - plan execution.

--

It started later that same night, well after the Evening Song gathering which Raylan had used to catch a few people's eyes and managed to pass a single message. "Tonight." Jacobi, Garion. Oswald and Yunlan and Elle. Cloud and Steve. Maybe even Elias.. They had to wait, until most of the Clipper folk were in bed. Raylan was sure there were going to be a few night-owls, a few lingerers and that was exactly what Raylan wanted.

Folk they could lure into the mess. The goal? Get up the Treehouse, with or without an Assistant hostage and then - Barricading or disabling the Elevator up.

The Start

First thing Raylan made sure everyone knew as they showed up and moved through was that they were going for distraction and Chaos. Want to block a hallway? Go for it. Want to duck tape an assistant to the wall? Great. There were two fires planned and started in short order, one in the kitchens with kitchen rags and towels, one in the common room entrance with books. Yes, he knows- He objects on principle too, but means to an end and all. As soon as it all started, there wasn't going to be any stopping it or the rush of bodies that may come to try and stop them.

The crawl of fire and smoke didn't take long and Raylan just smiled at it all. Of course they might have fire detectors, but as heavily sanitized and flawed as this place was, Raylan was hoping they felt no need for it. That would change, wouldn't it. Despite all the violence on property they were doing, Raylan felt as calm and sure as ever.

Any Assistants that might manage to make their way into the common room was in for a hard time on their own - Raylan was actively hunting for someone to knock out with the table leg he'd snapped off and he'd made the fact that they needed one of the wristbands top priority. It was the key to the next step and he'd steal and lift as many of them as he could. Anything to stop them from taking out anyone who was causing the trouble.

The Hustle

There were a lotta moving pieces. Raylan knew that elsewhere, Steve and Cloud were also creating an equal amount of chaos - Give 'em hell. But he had his key upstairs and that's what he needed. After dragging Malcolm's body into the elevator with him, he held the door for a half second. He would have called for anyone to join him that wanted to, but frankly, he didn't want to have to deal with any more assistants that might try to take him up on the offer.

No, better take this himself, take the rap for it himself too, if he could. He knew this would come with consequences - he felt they were worth it, if they got any traction or got a meeting with the Authority.

Once the elevator is up, Raylan pulls Malcolm into the intersection of door and floor, using the man's body as a hold button as he starts dragging furniture into the elevator door. Soon enough, Malcolm was traded out for another two chairs and a coffee table - not the strongest of barricades, but plenty to throw a wrench in anyone calling it back down.

Now he could focus on calling up the Nurse with Malcolm's wristband.

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The Clipper

Recent Entries

Voices In Your Body Coming Through On The Radio

Right After Nurse's Message

SHIPWIDE EFFECT - Forward-dated to the 29th

network audio [OTA]; backdated a day or two

005. audio/spam

Audio

Protect The Tree [OTA]

Actual Bit of Joy [OTA]

out of words

Codex 2

SHIPWIDE EFFECT

still during the revolt; network & spam

After the Revolt

SHIPWIDE EFFECT

000 notes on trees

001 - going off the rails on a crazy train

Do you feel alive

During the Revolution

SHIPWIDE EFFECT

Rage is a quiet thing..

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August 2022

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