[Jade has visited the bridge exactly once, in the time he's spent aboard the Serena Eterna before now. It was part of a thorough canvass of the entire ship, in that first week or so of utter disorientation; the hall leading up to the bridge was examined, and the handle on the door was idly tested, but nothing was found and nothing was yielded, and he was hardly inclined towards making much racket at that time.
...Not once has he attempted to directly visit it since. If anything, truth be entirely told, any desire to do so has only diminished over the passage of time, with the more he learns about the shape of the entity on the other side.
But that's changing today! ...Oh, not the reluctance, necessarily--but the counter of visits is now finally ticking up to "two", for a variety of reasons, as Jade draws to a halt before the door and spends a moment or so peering speculatively at it. No move is being made to try the handle or attempt so much as a knock, this time; instead he stands with his right hand tucked idly in a pocket, and the left holding...an item of some pretty high recommendation.
It's six pens taped together lengthwise, though. To take up a concept and further improve its potential, you know!]
...I wonder how many times you have people knocking upon this door, in a given day. Is the frequency fairly uniform, or something that comes in bursts?
It used to be quite infrequent. [hi, just standing about a foot away from him, peering owlishly at his hand.] Mostly when they first arrive, to yell, or challenge me. I miss it. It was quieter.
[Wow. Yeah. One moment there's absolutely nobody else here and the next moment this guy's just there now, a foot away to boot...which is a feat of materialization Jade's certainly never witnessed this closely before. Thanks he hates this, actually--]
[But alright, okay, not getting tripped up on that right now. The idly neutral pokerface is still intact, no thanks to plenty of life practice...! And so Jade is at least unflinching on the outside, simply turning his head a bit to properly appraise and address the captain when he appears. Vague amusement even accordingly touches upon his features, at the answer.]
Ah, a bunch of racket all at once and then quiet when the novelty wears off...probably much more ideal for quiet work in a room, yes. [Seeing as the captain seems to spend the majority of his time holed up in the bridge here, anyway...when he isn't holding atrocious dinner parties, or signing pirate contracts on a whim, or forcing people into deadly races off cliffsides.] But no longer, hm? Sounds like this spot has been rather popular lately, now. I wonder what's changed...
[Jade could take a guess or two, considering a recent conversation. --Not that the owlish peering goes unmissed though, naturally. Tilting his head a bit, Jade holds up the hand in possession of the six-pen amalgamation accordingly, which might afford the captain a better look, but...doesn't quite bring it within grabbing range yet, either. He smiles.] For that matter, entirely unrelated--might this be of interest to you, by any chance?
[.....Good heavens, it's actually working. He actually...really wants this thing, doesn't he??]
Oh, just a handful of answers to a handful of questions, really--which would surely be of equivalent worth to this assortment of pens, I think!
[Truth be told, the pen sword was more for insurance in regards to getting an audience at all to begin with; goodness knows Jade's heard plenty of how certain other passengers would have difficulty just with getting the captain to emerge from the bridge in general. (Not looking at you, Clarke, but...well, okay, definitely looking at you a bit--) He...honestly half-expected the pen sword to fail on principle, all that considered. The fact the captain's here to start with somewhat exceeds expectations already...and the way he's now staring at this stupid thing hard enough to potentially combust it--while expecting to trade something for it upfront? Well, it's pretty surprising altogether, to say the very least.
Darcy's ridiculous teen intuition really was on point after all....
Alright, but anyway though. Anyway. Processing the true extent of the captain's bizarrely childish interests can come later. Poker face is still intact! This is fine, this is normal, and we're going to proceed as such:] Skulduggery Pleasant has received a mission of sorts from you--and he's recruited a few others to aid him, myself included. From what he's told me, though, you were quite sparse on the details...not exactly in the habit of handing out these sorts of tasks, are you?
I prefer to handle things myself. I very rarely find situations where that is impossible... [cocks head] I truly don't know what to expect from that reality. I can't see it.
[...Hmm. Unlikely to be a lie, this; it's an admission to a limitation, after all, and limitations do seem to be a bit of a rarity where the captain's concerned. Which makes this tidbit all the more rather surprising...]
You mean to say you can't actually observe what transpires in that reality at all, from this ship? ...When we do set out there on your task--will this still be the case? [Jade tilts his head a bit in turn.] Either way, if that is so...how do you know that the item you seek is actually present there in the first place?
[Echoed with utmost flatness. An awkward beat of silence falls between them. Does Jade even know what a 'vibe' is actually supposed to entail, in this context? Is he going to ask even if he doesn't?? Well...]
...Well, I suppose I've still risked life and limb for more ridiculous things, before... [Maybe. Probably. Speaking of--] That still doesn't answer my first question, by the way. [Or even the second, really, but...trying to choose the battles he can actually win here....] I'm trying to gauge whether you'll actually be aware of our collective untimely demises over there, should things turn out for the worst. Or will you simply wait until a certain amount of time has passed? Assuming we'll be needing to work within a time limit in general...
You all dying would actually be the most convenient method. [beat] Of returning, mind. Not succeeding. I suspect that there will be some sort of physical object that needs moving, and corpses are very bad at carrying things.
True, the lack of muscle tension in death tends to make carrying things very difficult. [A sardonic dryness, to this. Still, at least it sounds like they won't have to die just to retrieve this thing, which is...something. Of course, death being a side effect of the attempt is still on the table too, probably...] I see you've a rough guess that the object is physical, at least. Any other ideas as to its properties? Whether it's a single piece, whether it'll need a container or multiple hands to be carried...
[raises hand] I only assume it's an object. Mostly because I can't imagine how one hides away an abstract concept, but... Stranger things have been done.
[The captain, of all people, ought to have such horizons accordingly very broad. After all, he's seemingly cobbled together feats in the very existence of this reality that Jade couldn't have begun to imagine within the limitations of Auldrant. Why couldn't an abstract concept be given form to hide, really? (For some reason, for a very brief moment, Jade also finds himself thinking about that time back home when they'd spent months looking for the Jewel of Lorelei, only to realize by accident that Luke actually had it stored in his own body the entire time...)
That aside, though--hm. Isn't there something a bit interesting, in that response? Jade arches his eyebrows slightly, at the hand raised.]
But this thing is hidden away, is it? Or so you believe, it seems. ...By who?
[Well considering the reasonability bar for feral teenagers who are clingy about their cool knives is like, on the floor--]
Hmmm, I wonder! Not immediately "disqualifying", perhaps. Though it is a pretty disappointing answer...if it's the truth. ["If" being the qualifying word, of course, although...] I hear tell you supposedly don't tend to lie unless it's funny, at any rate--is that right?
[A pleasant enough smile accompanies the easy acceptance aloud, but...yeah there might be a slightly sardonic tint there too. How do you quantify that extended Hiram bit you pulled with the pirate crew, sir?? Half-truths and lies by omission still count as dishonesty too, as far as Jade's concerned...!
Still, arguing that point isn't going to get this conversation anywhere productive, and Jade's aware enough of this already. For the meantime--]
At any rate. To recap, then, to my understanding--do correct me if I'm wrong! As you cannot directly view or enter this reality yourself, you're opting to send a handful of passengers there instead. To retrieve an item of some importance to you...though we only know it's there by "vibes", and can only barely assume it's even physical enough to carry. You have no idea what we should expect to encounter in this unknown place. We also have no idea what the item you want looks like, or what size it is. We do know that it's hidden, though we don't know who hid it...and I'd guess you don't know why either. To cap it off, it'll be easier to return via dying than it will the conventional way, probably...though dying is unlikely to lead to actual success, either.
[A beat of silence, to just kind of...let all that sit there, for a moment. And then, very dryly:] Not asking for much, are you?
[........Jade sighs, a (half-)mock put-upon thing. In the process, he's also resisting the sudden and very powerful urge to just turn around and leave and take this ridiculous bar of pens with him--]
Of course you'd answer like that. [In immediate retrospect: probably shouldn't have expected anything else...] Surely you do realize how it all sounds, though. With a vagueness like this, one has to wonder if this entire affair isn't actually some kind of elaborate trap after all...
[Trailing off at that point, for a beat, Jade peers speculatively at the captain's features for a long moment.]
Why did you choose Skulduggery to take up this task for you?
[Oh yeah that's totally how it works, a foolproof tactic.....except Jade has been hearing just enough--from Skulduggery himself, mind you--that an admission like that is notable in itself, even despite the joke framing.
The speculative look remains on Jade's features. He's also letting another slight pause fall, just to really let that not-joke fall limp, before speaking once more.]
That would track, wouldn't it? It's a rather surprising concept, though. I hadn't thought you a sort of person capable of liking much of anything, particularly.
[Much less another person. Much less a passenger. And yet, and yet...]
Have you ever let any other passenger into the bridge, before? I've been wondering if Skulduggery's actually the first...
Not so unusual, and yet you're only willing to cite Friday... [Sure is literally not the question asked at all, no!! Which, in some ways, is even more telling than some sort of limited admission could have been. A slight smirk falling upon his features, Jade tilts his head slightly to one side.] So Skulduggery is the first passenger you've ever permitted into the bridge, isn't he?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
points to eyes points to the captain
...Not once has he attempted to directly visit it since. If anything, truth be entirely told, any desire to do so has only diminished over the passage of time, with the more he learns about the shape of the entity on the other side.
But that's changing today! ...Oh, not the reluctance, necessarily--but the counter of visits is now finally ticking up to "two", for a variety of reasons, as Jade draws to a halt before the door and spends a moment or so peering speculatively at it. No move is being made to try the handle or attempt so much as a knock, this time; instead he stands with his right hand tucked idly in a pocket, and the left holding...an item of some pretty high recommendation.
It's six pens taped together lengthwise, though. To take up a concept and further improve its potential, you know!]
...I wonder how many times you have people knocking upon this door, in a given day. Is the frequency fairly uniform, or something that comes in bursts?
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Ah, a bunch of racket all at once and then quiet when the novelty wears off...probably much more ideal for quiet work in a room, yes. [Seeing as the captain seems to spend the majority of his time holed up in the bridge here, anyway...when he isn't holding atrocious dinner parties, or signing pirate contracts on a whim, or forcing people into deadly races off cliffsides.] But no longer, hm? Sounds like this spot has been rather popular lately, now. I wonder what's changed...
[Jade could take a guess or two, considering a recent conversation. --Not that the owlish peering goes unmissed though, naturally. Tilting his head a bit, Jade holds up the hand in possession of the six-pen amalgamation accordingly, which might afford the captain a better look, but...doesn't quite bring it within grabbing range yet, either. He smiles.] For that matter, entirely unrelated--might this be of interest to you, by any chance?
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Oh, just a handful of answers to a handful of questions, really--which would surely be of equivalent worth to this assortment of pens, I think!
[Truth be told, the pen sword was more for insurance in regards to getting an audience at all to begin with; goodness knows Jade's heard plenty of how certain other passengers would have difficulty just with getting the captain to emerge from the bridge in general. (Not looking at you, Clarke, but...well, okay, definitely looking at you a bit--) He...honestly half-expected the pen sword to fail on principle, all that considered. The fact the captain's here to start with somewhat exceeds expectations already...and the way he's now staring at this stupid thing hard enough to potentially combust it--while expecting to trade something for it upfront? Well, it's pretty surprising altogether, to say the very least.
Darcy's ridiculous teen intuition really was on point after all....
Alright, but anyway though. Anyway. Processing the true extent of the captain's bizarrely childish interests can come later. Poker face is still intact! This is fine, this is normal, and we're going to proceed as such:] Skulduggery Pleasant has received a mission of sorts from you--and he's recruited a few others to aid him, myself included. From what he's told me, though, you were quite sparse on the details...not exactly in the habit of handing out these sorts of tasks, are you?
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You mean to say you can't actually observe what transpires in that reality at all, from this ship? ...When we do set out there on your task--will this still be the case? [Jade tilts his head a bit in turn.] Either way, if that is so...how do you know that the item you seek is actually present there in the first place?
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[with just an expression of utmost seriousness.]
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[Echoed with utmost flatness. An awkward beat of silence falls between them. Does Jade even know what a 'vibe' is actually supposed to entail, in this context? Is he going to ask even if he doesn't?? Well...]
...Well, I suppose I've still risked life and limb for more ridiculous things, before... [Maybe. Probably. Speaking of--] That still doesn't answer my first question, by the way. [Or even the second, really, but...trying to choose the battles he can actually win here....] I'm trying to gauge whether you'll actually be aware of our collective untimely demises over there, should things turn out for the worst. Or will you simply wait until a certain amount of time has passed? Assuming we'll be needing to work within a time limit in general...
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[The captain, of all people, ought to have such horizons accordingly very broad. After all, he's seemingly cobbled together feats in the very existence of this reality that Jade couldn't have begun to imagine within the limitations of Auldrant. Why couldn't an abstract concept be given form to hide, really? (For some reason, for a very brief moment, Jade also finds himself thinking about that time back home when they'd spent months looking for the Jewel of Lorelei, only to realize by accident that Luke actually had it stored in his own body the entire time...)
That aside, though--hm. Isn't there something a bit interesting, in that response? Jade arches his eyebrows slightly, at the hand raised.]
But this thing is hidden away, is it? Or so you believe, it seems. ...By who?
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Is "I don't know" a disqualifying answer? [or is he REASONABLE unlike the goddamn teenagers]
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Hmmm, I wonder! Not immediately "disqualifying", perhaps. Though it is a pretty disappointing answer...if it's the truth. ["If" being the qualifying word, of course, although...] I hear tell you supposedly don't tend to lie unless it's funny, at any rate--is that right?
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[A pleasant enough smile accompanies the easy acceptance aloud, but...yeah there might be a slightly sardonic tint there too. How do you quantify that extended Hiram bit you pulled with the pirate crew, sir?? Half-truths and lies by omission still count as dishonesty too, as far as Jade's concerned...!
Still, arguing that point isn't going to get this conversation anywhere productive, and Jade's aware enough of this already. For the meantime--]
At any rate. To recap, then, to my understanding--do correct me if I'm wrong! As you cannot directly view or enter this reality yourself, you're opting to send a handful of passengers there instead. To retrieve an item of some importance to you...though we only know it's there by "vibes", and can only barely assume it's even physical enough to carry. You have no idea what we should expect to encounter in this unknown place. We also have no idea what the item you want looks like, or what size it is. We do know that it's hidden, though we don't know who hid it...and I'd guess you don't know why either. To cap it off, it'll be easier to return via dying than it will the conventional way, probably...though dying is unlikely to lead to actual success, either.
[A beat of silence, to just kind of...let all that sit there, for a moment. And then, very dryly:] Not asking for much, are you?
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Of course you'd answer like that. [In immediate retrospect: probably shouldn't have expected anything else...] Surely you do realize how it all sounds, though. With a vagueness like this, one has to wonder if this entire affair isn't actually some kind of elaborate trap after all...
[Trailing off at that point, for a beat, Jade peers speculatively at the captain's features for a long moment.]
Why did you choose Skulduggery to take up this task for you?
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[if you say it like it's a joke then it's not true right.]
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The speculative look remains on Jade's features. He's also letting another slight pause fall, just to really let that not-joke fall limp, before speaking once more.]
That would track, wouldn't it? It's a rather surprising concept, though. I hadn't thought you a sort of person capable of liking much of anything, particularly.
[Much less another person. Much less a passenger. And yet, and yet...]
Have you ever let any other passenger into the bridge, before? I've been wondering if Skulduggery's actually the first...
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[which is literally not the question asked at all.]
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