driftfleet | the white noise is deafening silence

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the white noise is deafening silence

[In the very early hours of January 20th, as the Marsiva and her captives drift nonchalantly through the depths of the universe, there is a call. Every single personal communicator and console springs to life, spitting out a stream of indecipherable static and showing only gray snow on screen. It continues like this for a few seconds longer, going black and then going staticky, and then the signal switches to the encrypted channel generally used for speaking to the Interceptors when something big goes down.

This is a little more successful. The voice may be familiar to some, at least through the static.]

Zhade here! I trust I ███ your attention? I'm having some ██▓▓ble ██tting through. Some of the ░▓██▓█ are missing. I can't ░▓▓▓ read on their loc█████ns. [A particularly long burst of static.] ███stening. I'll s█▓▓█ more inf██▓▓▓▓▓█ I get it.

Stay sharp! [There's the sound of someone actually doing the fingerguns wink noise, and then static.

Any messages sent back won't get through, and Zhade isn't there to answer.]

[ A blip of lost time passes right after those words, before every passenger mysteriously wakes alone in their own unfamiliar room. The style of decor resembles that of the Marsiva's Hospitality Deck, if any passengers should remember what that's like. It sounds and smells the same as the host ship as well, all clean and chrome.

Welcome back to the Marsiva, dear passengers. It's time for round three of calibrations. ]

[ This mingle will cover all non-calibration room interactions. Please continue to come back to it for the duration of the plot! You are, of course, free to post any other mingles/posts/etc. that you'd like. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If I know you're doing it, it's the same thing, dingus!

[He sighs dramatically, but perks up when he sees her copying the spell and notices people looking toward the control panel. The second iteration of the song is just coming to that ending point that most people can recognize.

How little they realize.]

Mmmaybe. Or maybe I won't do it, and you'll never know either way. It's fantasy Schrodinger's cat.

More like Schrodinger's insult, but sure, whatever. The possibility existing makes me want to douse your communicator in water.

These things waterproof or what?

Y'know, I'm not sure I've ever checked. Did we have them on our big whaleventure? I feel like I'd have left it on the beach but hell if I can remember in retrospect.

[His would be fine, presumably, since he'd polymorphed, but hers... who even knows.]

I was a whale, do I think I paid any attention?

[Because he hadn't. Either he'd left his gear on the beach or it'd been morphed with him, so Taako hadn't really looked to see if her stuff was safe or not. Not the highest priority to a whale, after all.

Taako smirks as the song starts up again and people start fidgeting, the earworm digging its way in.]

My biggest thoughts were "oh is that a fish? can I eat it?" and "holy shit I hope that monster doesn't eat us."

[She laughs.]

Okay, fair. It doesn't really matter so long as you don't try to wreck my shit. And I think we both know I can wreck your shit twice as hard.

[She means in regards to his actual possessions but... y'know. Also him. If she wanted.]

Ooh so are we into the casual threats part of our relationship because that?

[He motions absently to all of Lup.]

Not a great way to build on our trust circle or whatever.

It's not a threat!

[At best an affectionate promise, judging by her tone.]

I'm just saying, only dish out what you're willing to take.

[As long as it isn't a real threat, Taako relaxes a little again, leaning up against the wall of the alcove. The song is in full swing now, blaring it's simple crooning message about cats over and over again.]

Fair enough. But don't gossip about me behind my back. Taako prefers to hear all the praise that I deserve straight to my face, mmmkay?

[She exhales a huff out her nose, resisting the urge to hum along; the song's surprisingly catchy, which is good, because otherwise she might get annoyed by it before the onlookers do.

If Taako remembered, she could threaten the way they used to without it being taken too seriously... but now, she still has to play it safe.]

Fine, fine. I'll be sure to only praise your goofy face when you're around to hear it.

[He scoffs.]

If my face is goofy, then so is yours, doofus. We share a face.

[She sets a hand to her chest, over her heart, feigning shock.]

No... oh, no! It can't be! Are you saying I'm not a unique and beautiful snowflake!?

Beautiful sure. I mean, look at me, of course you're beautiful.

[But unique? Well, in other ways, definitely, but in the face?]

But sadly, you pinched Taako's brand, so nope, not so unique. I should've sued you for infringement, but I don't have a lawyer up here in space. [He smirks, throwing his hands in the air.] It's a travesty!

You'd also have a hard time making a case for me stealing your brand, considering you don't know who I am. For all you know, I came first!

[Or at the very least they could both make a compelling argument for it. Some things never change.]

[Taako wags a finer at her.]

Uh-uh, if there is one thing that I know, deep in my soul, it's that I came first. You can't make perfection like this twice.

Except that someone did.

[She waggles her own finger from him to herself and back again. Case in point- thanks, Mom and Dad. Which... he'll know, eventually.]

I'm still not completely convinced that you didn't catch my show sometime and decide that this was one hell of a bangin' look and just had to copy it. Wouldn't blame you, Taako's hot as hell.

[He shrugs, ignoring her pointed look despite him making the exact same motion and argument earlier in a different context.]

[She snorts.]

Wouldn't that be convenient. But sorry, no- I never saw that show of yours, and I was born with this face.

[Or close to it, anyway. If she had the same face she was born with they'd be even more identical, so it's true enough.]

Your loss - it was great.

[Up until it wasn't.

Up until Glamour Springs.

The thought of it floods back unbidden and Taako shivers a little, turning the motion into a yawn, stretching up into the air to dismiss the bad thoughts as quickly as they came.]

Well, whatever you say there, Stalkerlicious. Either we have the weirdest serendipity on the planet or one of us- [He makes a pointed look at her, the Red Robe.] -is tellin' a little fibby-fib. Doesn't matter either way.

Can't sue you here, remember?

Nope. And I keep spending all my money on pointless escape tactics, apparently, so you'd never get anything out of me if you did win.

[She lifts her hands in a casual shrug.]

Buuuut if we ever manage to collect the whole Horny Boy trio, you're welcome to Zone of Truth me for it.

[She'd suggest bringing it up with Magnus, but things are probably still... awkward, there, particularly when it comes to memories. And she doesn't want to cause any rifts between Taako and the people he actually does trust.]

I don't need money here - maybe I'd sue for that hella nice skirt.

[He's not serious about it though, because if he was, he'd just steal the skirt. But he knows how much she likes it so it's a good teasing threat.

As for Merle showing up here?]

Also? Please don't wish Merle on us. Mags and I are already in a fierce debate over who is going to have to stop him from trying to fuck all the alien plants.

Oof, you'd be in for one hell of a custody battle for that baby.

[He has enough cute clothes as it is! He has to let her have this.]

Anyway, why stop him? Knowing our collective luck, one of 'em will try to eat him and he'll learn his lesson eventually.

[....Well, maybe he wouldn't learn. That might've already happened during the century he forgot.]

It isn't a good court battle unless you have a nasty custody war over something important, right?

[Like the custody war of "not it" that would ensue over whoever would pull the short straw on taking care of Merle. He might be the oldest of them, but gods be damned if he wasn't the one Taako worried would beef it the most after himself.

And if Kravitz was to be believed? Merle had died waaaaaaaay more than any of them for whatever reason.]

But Merle never learns. The old man's died a billion times and is still getting himself into trouble. Fuck, Mags had to cut his arm off because the idiot listened to "Pan" and decided to touch the crystal we were literally told not to touch.

[She giggles behind a hand, leaning back into the plush of the couch and kicking her feet up. She's abandoning the spell for the moment, she just can't focus on it.]

Fuuuuckin' Highchurch. So inconveniently pious at the most random of times.

[She can't really help the subtle affection that she feels thinking about it, though. He can be a dumbass and a little shit as much as the rest of them, but that doesn't mean he isn't family, too. He just happens to be like that weird uncle you have to learn when to steer clear of and when to get close to.]

And then he'll turn around and suggest we murder some train dude for no reason.

[Even Taako hadn't been behind telling Tom Bodett to go throw himself in front of a train while Charmed. It'd been hilarious, don't get him wrong, but sometimes the two knuckleheads got a little too kill-happy at the weirdest times.]

But I guess it goes with his whole weird... [He waves a hand absently in the air, as if he's gesturing to Merle.] ...thing. How we haven't died with him in our party is beyooond me. Probably because Maggie's built like a brick shithouse and can take a beating.

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