HangYourSecrets

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

@februari Sounds good, I'll PM you in a bit :)

@Simple Unicycle No worries. I know people have lives. I don't plan on asking people about post stuff unless they disappear for a week or more.

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

Awesome! Feel free to talk to anyone.

And again, if anyone's feeling busy over the next few days, please feel free to send your character to bed. Otherwise, the Night'll keep on going. :)

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

It's no problem, that's why the system's in place :)

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

DUSTIN

The music in the background droned onto a more calming, acoustic track than the sadder once that preceded it, Dustin smelled the familiar scent of hash enter the room. And, unless one of his newly-acquainted friends was already growing very comfortable, Dustin figured it had to be tattoo-ed girl.
Sure enough, Dustin felt the woman almost brush past him as she walked around with a cue.
There was something about her confidence. It reminded him of a person long past. A person who looked nothing like her.
It reminded him of crimson blood stains on porcelain, perfect white.
It was best not to think of such things. Not anymore. Not on here.
Her lips opened and a thick cloud of smoke enveloped him. Dustin could almost feel his body react to the drug as it’s smoke poured into his nostrils.
On one hand, it seemed a bit early to be getting high, but on the other? He was sure most people wouldn’t approve of how many packs he put down a day. Not even counting the liquor.
The woman gave off this odd air of complete comfort—almost sensuality—that drew him in. The feeling seemed almost mutual, as she was the first to come up to the smoking room. But perhaps it was something else entirely.
Or perhaps it was just because this was the fucking smoking room.
Regardless, Dustin figured it’d be a good way to at least get a name out of her by engaging her in the “wager”
“I don’t make wagers with strangers,” he said, hoping this could get something out of her. “Especially if I don’t know how good they are at billiards.”
Dustin motioned his hand slightly to the open table. Five solids and seven stripes remained.

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

@februari So many questions, so little answers. :)
I'll be responding tomorrow, by the way.

@Zamokra41 No worries about the closeness, but I understand if you'd like to wait.

I'm hoping the whole Day/Night thing lets people have their own conversations simultaneously with other players' conversations, so that each person can post at their own frequency without feeling like they're being left behind of the greater story. I just hate having post-orders so I'm hoping the free-form thing works.

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

Hey all!

I'm not quite dead yet!

It's been a crazy weekend, but I'm glad to be back.

We're now in Night One, which is totally free-form. Gonna be busy this week? Send your character to bed? Not? Feel free to stay up with Dustin and everyone else. There are no rules! Mostly.

We'll move out of this mode once everyone sleeps (or this idea crashes and burns), but feel no need to rush if you and some other people are having a good convo.

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

MADDOX

Maddox locked eyes with each guest individually. In their eyes, he could sense each person.
Dustin’s eyes showed a great pain; a pain he may not have yet overcome.
Rathe’s showed a mystery…a closed book of forgotten, soon-to-be revenant secrets.
Gabanre’s showed confidence; a strength, a willpower and drive to survive.
Emma’s showed knowledge and intelligence, but with it, naivety.
Christopher’s showed stoicism, escapism, and just a hint of grey.
Tiffany’s showed innocence, paranoia, and superstition.
Richard’s showed pride, hope, and intrigue.
Elvira’s showed an analytical mind behind indecision and instability.
And yet each and every one showed promise.

My name,” he started, “is Christopher Maddox. I see someone else in the room shares my name.”
Maddox gestured to the other Chris in the room.
“I’m sure you’ll all just getting to know each other, so I’ll keep it brief. On the Crescenzo, there are a few rules you must know.
Rule number one: on this boat, there is but one Captain, and that is me. I sail the ship. I pick the destinations. I make the rules. So please, don’t do anything that would make me need to remind you of this rule.
Rule number two: An unlocked door means come on in. A locked door means do not enter. A word of advice; if you feel like you shouldn’t be somewhere, odds are you’re right.
Rule number three: this space around here, is your living space. Not mine. I only supply the materials. Your staterooms, your living room, your food, your pool. So please, keep your space nice. There is no one here to clean for you. Food, drinks, and supplies will be re-stocked once-per-week. Same with smokes—if you use them.”
Maddox gave a sharp glare to Dustin, Rathe, and Christopher; the three smokers in the room.
“And finally: you own a ticket on Crescenzo. Which means, you live here. I could care less about your reasonings, your plans, or your ideas. As long as you remain on this ship, you’re safe. If you leave, you forfeit your ticket. If you die, you forfeit your ticket. If you sell your ticket, you sell it back to me, and you get the hell off my ship. And if you think you can break my rules, ignore my heeds, and attempt something you shouldn’t? Well—”
Maddox opened his jacket pocket to reveal to his new passengers perhaps the most important lesson of the day:
Inside was a silver pistol.
“—If you ever make me…I will take my ticket back.”
Maddox let out a small smile, instantly transitioning back to lighter matters.
“You’ll be seeing me around. As well as my two crew members. John and Doe. If you’re wondering, John’s the smaller, more talkative one, and Doe’s the strong silent type—but you’d do good to leave them their space.
They’ll be announcements every morning over the intercom about the day’s events, and who knows? Maybe I’ll join you for dinner sometime.”
Maddox turned on his heel and called out over his shoulder as he left the room:
“Enjoy your stay!”

---

NIGHT ONE

---




DUSTIN

Holy. Shit.

Dustin had figured the man willing to sell tickets like this with no questions asked was crazy. But maybe not this crazy.
He could only wonder what other secrets awaited him, but now was not the time.
Now was the time to make his leave.
“Well,” Dustin said as he stood up. “If you’ll be needing me, I’ll be upstairs.”
Dustin quickly exited the room as soon as he could, making his way past the dining room, his room, the bathroom and laundry, up the stairs, and into the smoking room.

This room was much more pleasant.
Darker, dimmer lights shone around, with the pool table illuminating the red fabric on the tables.
The windows shone out to the now-black skies. The floors vibrated with the roar of the engine many decks below.
Content, happy, and alone, Dustin’s buzz kept him from going to the bar, but he made sure to put out his cigarette on the ashtray that was alongside it. He pulled out another cigarette, and lit it, before turning and looking around the room.
Another turntable, like the one the long-haired man had used in the living room. Go figure.
Smiling, Dustin put on an old record, enjoying the calm mood music.
Moving to one of the two pool tables in the room, Dustin set up the balls within the billiard triangle, and made sure to line up his cue ball just right. Striking it with the cue stick, Dustin managed to send the balls flying with a sickening crack, sinking two solid balls.
He still was good at some things, he thought to himself.

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

@Redstring That's perfectly fine, thanks so much for letting us know. We'll be sure to work with it. I'm sure there'll be weeks or days that I can only post a few times, or not at all. I make the (rather long) drive back to University tomorrow, for instance.

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

@Zamokra41 You easily have some of the longest, most-detailed posts so far! I can understand timing and life, trust me.

Everyone's actually been more active than I originally thought, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

Open Waters (Slots Open!)

DUSTIN

Soon enough, everyone was here, and it wasn’t quiet at all. Dustin made a mental note to find that smoking room as soon as they had finished whatever business they had been called for in here.
As he took the drink from tattooed girl, he could help but notice something in her eyes as she passed the drink. He wasn’t sure what it was. Recognition? Sadness?
She looked away before Dustin could figure it out, and it soon passed his mind. The living room felt much smaller when it was this occupied. He tried listening in on the transference of names, but it soon became too much.
Another girl with tattoos came in; this one with shorter hair. She introduced herself as Elvira. Or was it Olivia? Wait, black haired girl was Emily. No, Emma? And the military guy was Gabe? Or Gabanre?
Shit.
The one doll-faced girl marched her way over to the bar with the other women. Made perfect sense. Dustin figured she’d say her name but she was too far out of earshot to really hear it.
By the time the British man had walked in (Dustin got his name clearly: Richard. Easy enough with an accent like his), Dustin was about done with the name-questioning. He took the opportunity to scoot near the empty void where doll-face was sitting in order to gain some breathing room from long-hair and military-man.
“It’s Dustin,” he said, short.
At least he’s comfortable, he thought.
A part of him wanted to march over to the bar and get another drink. Both the buzz in his head and a drink in his hand gave him a vague reminder that he might be overdoing it. Regardless, he took another drag from the Marlboro and waited it out. Now that all eight passengers had made it aboard, it was only a matter of time before this Christopher Maddox finally revealed himself. And the sooner he did, the sooner Dustin could leave this room.

JOHN

Watching through one of the many secret openings within the ship, John watched the passengers arrive one-by-one.
Each had been easily memorized by John in the days before. A host of information and photos are taken of each passenger weeks before they ever step foot on the ship. Part of it is safety. Part of it is protocol. Part of it is wanting to know what people you’re sharing space with.
This crop was especially interesting. Many social extremes. Straight-edges. Outcasts. Not like before. Before there was less diversity; more normality. It made for easy sailing, usually. Sometimes, however, it didn’t. Provided this crop doesn’t decide to off each other, it shouldn’t be too hard.
It was too bad about last time though. The blood took weeks to clean up.
“Get Doe,” Maddox said to John’s right, looking through a separate peephole. “Haddock’s arrived. That’s the last of them.”
Nodding, John moved out, climbing up a set of stairs to the upper floors, where Doe had been waiting. John could see his massive figure from half of the ship’s length, reading and waiting.
“Hoist anchor,” John said to his brother. “I’ll get the engines running.”
Doe nodded, and immediately began the process of turning on the crank and lifting the multi-ton anchor from the ground.
John, however, marched off, making his way around Deck Two’s promenade and walking off the boat. He undid the ship’s rope ties and walked back on board, making sure to lift the walkway. They were officially separated from land. Flipping a switch alongside the deck, the Crescenzo slowly began it’s journey.
Looking down into the sea, John could see the swirling clouds of dust and foam as the side-propellers slowly pulled the boat from shore. Satisfied, he made his way around and up, climbing the passenger staircases to Deck Four, opening the door and taking control of the ship. After a moment, Doe came up as well, wordlessly taking the co-captain’s chair.
“I hate missing orientation,” John said aloud to his brother. “I like seeing the looks on their faces when it dawns on them.”
Doe gave a look to John. What dawns on them? The face asked without moving.
“What they signed up for,” he responded to the look. “That the only thing they’ll be seeing for years is nothing but open waters.”

MADDOX

The vibration of the ship’s hull was indication enough that departure had gone as schedule. Making sure to exit via a door out of view, Maddox left the inner workings of the ship and came out somewhere near Deck One’s bathroom. Closing and locking the false door behind him, Maddox marched his way through the stateroom hallways, through the dining room, and into the living room, where his eight passengers were waiting.
This might just be my favorite moment, Maddox thought to himself, seeing eyes across the room lock onto his.
Sure, the voyage is tough. The destinations are as wild and secretive as my passengers themselves. But this moment; looking across the room at eight strangers, not knowing what is to come of them. Not knowing who’ll fight who, and who’ll fuck who. Not knowing friend from enemy. Only knowing names and information. This moment, with infinite possibilities and nothing but time? This is my favorite moment.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Maddox called out, standing in the space near the bar and the couches with arms wide open, in plain view of all within the room. His standard, BBC-style received pronunciation echoed through the walls of this ship.
“Welcome to the Crescenzo! If you’ll just take a moment to get comfortable, I have a few words for you all.”