[party post] come sail away with me

[varymydays]

You've come through a door, and you are on a boat. Specifically, you're on a cruise ship in the middle of some giant body of water. You've come through the door behind you which is attached to nothing and may now be locked. It's relatively empty as giant as it appears to be. The only other passengers that are here appear to also have come through the door for the most part and it is not nearly enough to fill up this entire cruise ship.

Also, who knows who the hell is driving this thing since all of the employees appear to be either ghosts or holograms...

Is this your first time here or your hundredth time here? Do you want a drink or a dip in the pool? Is it day or night? Do you stumble on your room or some other situation either fun or painful within its many rooms, shops, and facilities? Do you run into someone you know or a complete stranger?

The possibilities are unlimited!

Comments

[eluding]

Ethan thought the first time he ended up on the cruise ship that it was clearly a sign that he'd fallen into one of those rabbit holes that people were talking about in Chicago, a rift thing. Except now he is far away from Chicago which was destroyed, he's somehow ended up on the very same creepy, ghost cruise ship, he really doesn't understand anymore where he is or why.

He winces sympathetically when he sees the woman gripping to the railing like that. The first time he was on this ship, he was not a big fan of the being on a ship in the middle of the sea feeling. "I'd ask if you were okay, but that seems like an incredibly stupid question to ask so instead I'll ask, can I get you anything?"

[gotbottle]

She grips the rail anew, using her hold on it to pull herself upright, clinging to it to keep from toppling.

"...I guess it's too late for a bucket? So how about an alibi, in case I actually spewed on someone down there?"

She sounds as miserable as she feels.

"I had no idea I even got seasick."

[eluding]

When Ethan sees she needs to cling to the rail to keep from toppling, he moves forward, reaching an arm-- er-- he stands near for now, arm poised around her in case she loses her grip.

"I don't want to touch you if you don't want to be touched, but I can help you get to a place where you're sitting if you want. I really don't want you to topple over the side," he says, and she does sound really, really miserable. Maybe there's a medical room here somewhere, not that he'd know where it is. "Not a fun thing to find out for the first time when you're forced on a ship with no apparent way off."

And no idea where pills might be to help with the sea sickness.

[gotbottle]

His offer not to touch her puts her at ease. It's nice for a man not to assume, for once, to actually put some thought into what she might or might not want or be comfortable with.

"It's fine. Thank you." She reaches out for his arm, closing her hand gently around his wrist. "Sitting down might be best. This is all just a bit much right now." Being sick, being on a cruise ship, being forced on.

[eluding]

Ethan nods as soon as she says it is fine, and he smiles gently, sympathetically when she reaches for his arm and her hand rests against his wrist. Last time he was here he didn't run into anyone at all beyond the holographic or ghost employees. It was much creepier then.

"I can't even imagine. It's a bit too much for me, and I'm not even suffering from sea sickness," he says, and then moves closer to her, wrapping an arm around her back to help keep her upright. "You can lean on me. As much as you need."

[gotbottle]

"Thank you. You're so kind." She leans into him a little, grateful as much for his help as she is to just not be alone with all the not-quite-people she's seen so far, the crew.

"What's your name? I'm Rachel."

[eluding]

"Couldn't abandon you to the railing. Didn't look like it was very good company," Ethan says with a tiny smirk, and he turns them in the other direction, away from the railing. He catches sight of some lounge chairs ahead, which can be adjusted as much as needed so she can sit up more or lie down or anywhere in between. He's headed that way.

"Ethan Hale. Where are you from originally, Rachel? Since I'm assuming you weren't born on this strange, ghost ship."

[gotbottle]

"It wasn't a great conversationalist, no," she says with a tiny smile. She lets herself be led away, steered toward the deck chairs.

"Los Angeles. I grew up and went to school in other parts of the state but I was just in Los Angeles before I was here. You?"

[eluding]

Ethan smiles sideways at her, stopping just in front of the deck chairs which he helps her to sit down in one, not really letting go of her until he can see she is steady in her seat. Then he pulls back slowly.

"Well, I moved around quite a bit when I was a kid which is where the British accent comes from, but I considered Chicago to be my home once my family moved there." Which was then destroyed and he isn't entirely sure where he ended up after that. He was with his brothers trying to figure that out when... sudden cruise ship.

[gotbottle]

"Chicago's a great city-- thank you." That's for helping her settle onto the chair. She closes her eyes a few long moments, steadying herself.

Waiting, quite honestly, to make sure she's not about to throw up again.

"My dad grew up there. I've never been. Never been on a cruise ship before either. You?"

[eluding]

Ethan nods with a tiny smile at the thank you. He is just glad that she is not gripping to the railing of the ship anymore, looking like she might fall over the side at any moment.

He glances down before he looks back up at her with a tiny smile.

"I have... been on this ship before honestly, but I didn't think I'd come back to it, and I didn't stay very long the first time that I was here," he says. "The first time I mostly stared at the door until it let me go back to where I came from."

[gotbottle]

"...Wait, wait." She tries to sit up, but winces and thinks better of it. Rachel takes a deep, steadying breath, holding up a hand.

"You came here before? And it let you go back?" This makes no sense. Well. Not that any of this makes sense but this isn't helping.

"What did you have to do to get back?"

[eluding]

Ethan winces sympathetically when he sees her need to take that deep, steadying breath. He nods in answer to her first two questions even if he looks as confused as she sounds.

"Nothing. It was locked for a long time, and then... one time I tried it and it wasn't," he says, because it doesn't make any sense at all. He doesn't understand why this ship takes people out for a brief period of time and then throws them back into their lives. It's like it wants to give them a vacation, but he isn't really in the habit of trusting something that doesn't give people choice. "I wish there was something you could do. It'd make it much easier. The good news is time didn't... seem to change back home for me. I was here for days, but I came back to the same moment I left."

[gotbottle]

Rachel sighs. She settles back comfortably, head resting against the chair, turning only her face toward Ethan so as not to start her stomach roiling all over again.

"None of this makes any sense," she says, frowning. "I don't see the point. If you have all this power, why do something like this?" She knows the world frequently isn't a logical or sensible place, but this is really beyond the pale.

"Though I guess it's a comfort knowing you can go back. And that you aren't missed. I mean, can you imagine? If you just vanished and people were worried about you?"

[eluding]

Ethan shakes his head. "I have... absolutely no idea. It doesn't make any sense to me either. None of this does," he says, sliding his hand behind his neck as he stands up a bit straighter. He could barely understand the Rifts, and they were such an integral part of his world. This feels like it is-- like it is something else altogether.

He smiles softly in agreement. It is very comforting. "People used to fall into my world all the time. Fall is sadly incredibly accurate terminology. Rifts would open up in midair and just... drop them off from their own worlds and times. No return trips. I imagine for them, they did just vanish in thin air and no one would know. I could never imagine what that would be like. I'm grateful my parents won't have to worry."

[gotbottle]

Rachel's eyebrows go up, a slight frown turning her lips. That's as beyond the boundary of normal, to her, as winding up on a cruise ship. "At least you have some experience?" she offers, with a wan smile. "There's nothing like that-- or like this-- where I'm from."

Superpowers fueled by genetic mutation is about as weird as it gets in her world. But that's not something she talks about much.

[eluding]

"I'm really grateful that I do have the experience. It made... this somewhat easier even if it never happened to me, falling... through a Rift," Ethan says softly, shaking his head, but he can't imagine ending up on this ship without ever having heard of anything like this happening before, alternate universes, and the like. "Now that you're seated I was going to ask if you wanted any water, also. I think I know where I can find some, and I wouldn't want you to get dehydrated."

It would only make her feel worse, and he's not sure if there is any medical help here if she did get too dehydrated. He'd like to do what he can to help.

[gotbottle]

She nods gingerly--it's not lack of agreement, just a try at not making herself queasy all over again. "Yeah. At least you can get your head around the possibility. You aren't coming into this completely blind and confused by it."

She smiles, grateful for the offer. "And some water would be great. Thank you."

[eluding]

"I'll be right back," Ethan says with a tiny smile, and true to his word, he is back in not very long at all. He remembers his way around from the last time he stepped through the door. While there's been a few changes, this is not one of them, and he opens up the bottle of water for her (in case all the queasiness makes it difficult) and then holds it out to her. "The good thing about this place is there is a bar nearly everywhere, and the bars carry water as well as the... usual suspects."

He smirks lightly with a bit of a shrug. Ethan didn't really drink much last time because he was too busy freaking out, but he might change his mind this go around.

[gotbottle]

"I may have to acquaint myself with the other suspects later," she says, taking the water with murmured thanks and a faint smile. "Once I'm sure I can keep it down."

She takes a few small sips from the bottle. "...Which begs the question. What do you do when you're here? Where do you stay?"

[eluding]

Ethan smirks softly at what she says. "That sounds like a very good idea. They have good liquor. Might as well take advantage of it," he says, glancing over toward the bars.

He looks back at her, shaking his head a bit as he smiles and sinks into the chair next to hers. "Everyone has a room. It's weird, but for some reason, you'll find you have a room on the ship with a bed and everything. As for what to do? There's honestly not a limit. You'll find rooms filled with... any manner of thing. There are pools, night clubs, dance clubs. I haven't seen it all yet."

[gotbottle]

"Really?" She sighs. She can't help it; this is all so ridiculous.

"It sounds like a really great, fun-packed vacation. Except for the part where we didn't ask to come and we can't go back when we want to."

[eluding]

Ethan smirks lightly, sympathetically at her reaction as he nods.

"That's about it in a nutshell. Also, the rooms and stores can change from what I've seen so that's an adventure in itself," he says, shaking his head, because he doesn't-- that might be one of the more unsettling things about this place. It's always changing but never changes at the same time.

[gotbottle]

"Wait." She sits up a little, gingerly, just in case her stomach has other ideas. "So you're saying the second you get used to where everything is, it changes up on you?" That sounds like someone's idea of a bad joke.

"And what do you do? Like while you're stuck here? Do you have a room?"