counting down to night life (OPEN!!)

[HEATHER NOELLE MICHAELS]

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Heather sighed heavily as she left the staff room, rubbing her eyes gently as she looked around, looking for signs pointing towards the pool. She had just taken her lunch break and right about now the cruise ship was starting to wake up after last night’s alcohol fueled evening. Although last night was indeed no exception as every night aboard the Poseidon was alcohol fueled but Heather herself had joined in on this occasion on account of not having a night shift. She had coped well in the morning when starting her shift in the bar but now the distinctive pain of sleep deprivation was having a go at her head. At least she was on the top deck for the next few hours with the cool sea breeze to hopefully dull down the pain. Not to mention the painkillers she’d just taken in the staff room which still hadn’t taken effect. She headed for the stairs which went all the way to the top of the ship.

Heather had been relieved to find out that the uniform regulations for the ships security guards were relatively relaxed. She wore the standard issue shirt with the ships logo on her chest with the words ‘security officer’ tailored underneath it. She also carried the standard array of policing equipment including a radio, security id, handcuffs and a pistol. Thankfully she hadn’t had to use any of it yet and hopefully it would stay that way for the rest of the cruise. The rest of her outfit was all her own. The dark combat shorts and belt matched the shirt nicely with a few jewellery accessories her supervisor was yet to complain about. Her favorite pair of converse trainers also blended in somewhat with her overall appearance. As she reached the top floor she pulled out a pair of sunglasses and slipped them on before walking out to the poolside where many holiday makers were already splashing about in the pool or getting a tan on the sun loungers surrounding it.

Heather walked to the edge of the ship and peered out over the edge. The vast expanse of ocean took up the view with soothing sounds of the waves bashing against the side of the ship often drowned out by screams from the pool. She’d flown over the Atlantic ocean once before, and the Bahamas too as part of her final training for the RAF. She missed flying, she’d love nothing more than to get back in the sky but she was grounded for quite some time. Might as well make the most of it by getting a job for a while and what a job she’d found.

The cruise itself was specifically designed for ages eighteen to twenty five and the company had seen fit to try to keep the staff of the ship within that age range too (within reason). They seemed thrilled to hear that an under twenty five had firearms training and basic hand to hand combat skill to boot. Thus, she found herself halfway across the earth with good working hours and a killer place of work. The money wasn’t fantastic but it wasn’t supposed to be, she convinced herself that a percentage of her funds got deducted to pay for all the fantastic facilities she had access to in her hours off duty.

She turned back to face the pool whilst resting against the railing. She pulled out her phone to find that it was a Friday and couldn’t help but grin. She had a relatively short shift today, leaving her plenty of time to get ready for any evening activities that might take her fancy. She always tried to grab morning shifts but wasn’t always successful. Heather was glad her luck had changed; maybe she’d meet some more people to spend time with out and about. She made her way over to the bar and sat at one of the many empty tables and stretched her arms skywards letting out a brief yawn before letting her arms relax on her legs. There was a good reason for her lingering around the bar. It’s the place most likely to face trouble on this deck. It’s not her fault that by keeping a close eye on it she was prone to chatting to the people coming and going with copious amounts of alcohol!

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Outfit: HERE
Notes: Open to all and whoop! First post on site! :3

[TRISTAN WILLIAM MURRAY]

and i swim out as far as i can

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AND FLOAT ON MY BACK, JUST WAITING FOR NOTHING. I HOPE THEY NEVER
COME BACK TO THIS HOUSE. IT'S A LOT MORE FUN ALONE. I CAN DO ANYTHING.[/center]

» Although he'd only been on the ship for a week, Tristan could honestly say he was immensely enjoying his time on Poseidon's Star. The ship had only been opened for boarding that very day, but there had been staff orientation beforehand and although Tristan hadn't made any lasting friends on board yet, he was sure most of the crew were friendly people. Now that he had more free time to enjoy the ship (staff orientation hours were long and tiring), Tristan was taking full advantage of that time. Since he was one of the ship's entertainers, his job didn't really get busy until the late afternoon and nighttime. He hadn't yet performed (except for his employers) and his first live performance for the vacationers was scheduled that very night. To say he was nervous about it was a great understatement. While confident in his music-making abilities, Tristan had never really gotten paid or employed to perform for others. He was part of the Romance department, which meant his performance was pretty important and he was going to have to be as charismatic as ever. He needed to set the loving atmosphere for the couples (or the singles) that came to his show. It was quite the amount of pressure for little Tristan.

» Tristan tried telling himself that he'd worry about his performance later and for the most part, pushing the thought out of his mind worked. There were so many other things on the ship that he could occupy his time with; dwelling on his upcoming shift was not an option. Tristan, who had initially been dreading this cruise, was now having the time of his life. Of course, he'd never admit that to Kieran, his little brother who had somehow coerced him into signing up to be a part of Poseidon's crew. Kieran had heard about the cruise months before from one of his friends and insisted that it would be just the social situation that Tristan needed. Tristan didn't quite understand what that meant, but his parents also supported Kieran's claims and when you have your whole family pressuring you to do something, it doesn't take much before you fold. Well, at least not in Tristan's case.

» The good news was that he was having fun. There were still some oddities... For instance, he was rooming with two girls. Maybe that was the kind of situation that Kieran would've loved to be in, but Tristan was practically his brother's polar opposite. As much as Tristan loved girls, he preferred to approach them outside of the bedroom. Actually sharing a room and sleeping in the same quarters as not just one, but two other women? That was a little too much for Tristan to handle. He didn't request a room change though because he figured it'd be too much of a hassle and he didn't want to insult the women he was rooming with. They both seemed like perfectly nice young girls. Tristan was trying to make friends on this cruise, not enemies.

» That afternoon, a bright and beautiful Friday afternoon in Florida, Tristan decided to venture out of his bedchamber and head for the pool. It felt like a nice day for a swim. So Tristan dressed up (or rather, dressed down) in some print swim trunks and simple flip-flops. He had his dog tags on, of course, and wore his favorite pair of reflective aviator sunglasses. Quite honestly, he looked pretty badass, but the look only went so far. To a stranger, Tristan would look like some kind of confident, handsome hunk of a guy. However, to anyone who actually knew him, they'd understand that it was quite the opposite. Tristan just happened to have the fashion sense and demeanor of a cool guy. Once you got to talking to him, you'd realize he was more of a soft teddy-bear than your traditional James Dean type of cool. Tristan was also more attractive that he seemed to understand. While he knew his family wasn't lacking in the aesthetic department, he never let his looks quite get to his head (unlike his brother). He was actually surprisingly humble.

» Tristan passed a stand of white, red and blue towels and also passed the poolside bar without even glancing at it. Alcohol was simply not his thing. Been there a couple of times, way done with that. He wouldn't judge--or at least, he tried not to--but he was perfectly capable of having a good time and staying above the influence. Tristan was a bit like a walking public service announcement that way. His excuse these days was that he was underage, which, funnily enough, he always got an odd look for. The look was as if to say, "Well, when has that ever stopped someone before?" And that was a valid point. For a while there, it hadn't stopped Tristan either, but then one night things just got too out of control. He wasn't ready for a substance like that.

» Anyway, the first thing Tristan did was dive into the deep end of the pool. There weren't many people in the pool--most of them were just hanging out around the pool--and so Tristan did a couple of laps up and down the length of the pool. Being in the water felt so good. He loved the rush of the water in his ears and it reminded Tristan a lot of his childhood and all the community pools he and his brother would go to. They'd spend hours practicing those mermaid-like flips underwater. Tristan always managed to do them better, something Kieran would always deny. Tristan smiled to himself before coming up for air.

» He spent a little more time in the water (more than half of it on his back, floating), before he finally got out of the pool. His brown hair, now dripping wet, flopped around in front of his eyes and he could barely see anyway. He'd never swam with goggles, but he'd forgotten about how the chlorine in pool water could sometimes sting your eyes. Tristan half-blindly headed for the towel rack and grabbed a white towel. Once he was considerably drier, he looked around the pool and was pleasantly surprised to see a face he vaguely recognized. It was the woman sitting at the poolside bar--she looked like one of the girls from staff orientation. If he remembered correctly, she was a staff member who was also new to the crew. Tristan was a little intimidated by the seasoned staff members even though they'd only been on the ship for the year before. They still had much more experience on a cruise line than he did.

» Tristan thought it'd be good for him to make at least acquaintances with this woman. They were both new and he could use a friend. Even if she was sitting at the bar, he thought. He sat on one of the free bar stools next to her, with his towel wrapped around his neck, and extended his hand. "Hey,"

[/color] he greeted her, smiling widely, "I'm Tristan."[/color] Tristan then noticed that his hand was still clammy and wet and he quickly retracted it to wipe it on his towel before laughing at his silliness. "And I'm also dripping wet; sorry."[/color][/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

» tagged;; heather noelle michaels ! » outfit;; here.
» lyrics;; i'm totally not down with rob's alien -- minus the bear.
» music;; northshore -- tegan and sara.
» words;; 1,220. » notes;; ohai. :3
» credit;; template is all mine, bby!

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[HEATHER NOELLE MICHAELS]

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Heather found herself looking out around the pool, checking for trouble mostly but also having a good look at who the early birds were. Well, early by the standards of eighteen to twenty five year olds! Most were still in bed, trying to sleep off their hangovers in anticipation of more partying tonight. Heather was surprised at the amount of people who had dragged themselves out of bed to hit the pool and good for them. Heather would more than happily join them but was unfortunately stuck on duty for the next few hours. She mused at the prospect of hitting the pool when her shift was up, she was after all wearing her swim suit underneath her uniform but that idea was instantly killed off by the fact that she couldn’t leave her gear unattended by the side of the pool.

She shrugged to get rid of the pointless line of thought. She’d have to head back to her room if she wanted to socialize after her shift but she knew that if she even saw her bed she would most likely pass out due to exhaustion. She was still on a caffeine high now which would easily last until the end of her shift so she wasn’t yawning just yet. This was the only down side to her morning shifts, the fact that she had to get up early, usually with alcohol still in her system and head out onto patrol. If she did that back home she’d have been court marshaled faster than you can say ‘vodka martini.’

Heather stopped the bartender and asked for a bottle of water. When she reached into her pockets for some money the bartender waved the fee, mentioning it would be put on the company tab. Heather thanked him but was already contemplating how much alcohol could be put on the tab but she knew full well that it couldn’t be used for that. Was this how boring her shift had turned into? Thinking about how she was going to spend her free time the second she got off and going as for to plan where to get the alcohol from. She wasn’t usually that much of a heavy drinking, she agreed that one or two drinks could add to a night out but she didn’t see the point in getting completely wasted, too often.

Heather contemplated texting a few friends back home but knew that with continental charges and time zone differences it was ultimately not worth the hassle and she didn’t have any friends on the ship yet which she could text at a cheaper cost. It had been a frustrating task making friends on the ship. Being a security guard, she wasn’t working with many other people when on duty unlike bar tenders and receptionists who were surrounded by co-workers. At the staff orientation meeting she had met some friendly people but hadn’t had the chance to follow up on friendly introductions. Something she’d have to change if she was going to better enjoy the cruise.

It seemingly didn’t take as long as she expected. She had initially spotted the guy who had just gotten out of the pool a few moments before when he walked onto the deck. She recognized him from somewhere, possibly the staff orientation meeting a week ago but she wasn’t willing to go out on a limb to say he was indeed staff. He sat down next to her at the bar and offered his hand in greeting. Heather was about to take it before he quickly pulled it back to dry it off. Heather chuckled as she accepted his now dry-ish hand in greeting. ”Don’t worry about it.” She began, before adding; ”I’m Heather.” She was surprised that someone had approached her. Normally people would try to stay away from a security guard, mainly because of the nature of the job but also because she was armed. Something that she didn’t like about her new job but it was part of the contract.

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Outfit: HERE
Notes: Hai :3

[TRISTAN WILLIAM MURRAY]

where is my mind? way out in the water

[/i][/b][/color][/font]
SEE IT SWIMMING. I WAS SWIMMING IN THE CARRIBEAN. ANIMALS WERE HIDING BEHIND THE ROCKS.
EXCEPT THE LITTLE FISH, BUT THEY TOLD ME, HE SWEARS, TRYING TO TALK TO ME, TO ME, TO ME[/center]

» It was quite the abrupt introduction and the girl--Heather, as she'd introduced herself--seemed pretty surprised to see Tristan plop himself down next to her, but her reception of him had seemed warm enough. In any case, Tristan didn't feel unwanted or bothersome. Sitting up close to Heather, he could tell that she was most definitely a staff member. She was wearing a uniform--one that proudly displayed that she was one of the security officers on the ship--and he hadn't noticed these details when he'd been over at the towel rack. He'd just recognized her face. Tristan felt quite proud of himself for being correct about her. It would've been slightly awkward if he'd accidentally introduced himself to one of the vacationers or--god forbid--a celebrity on board! Tristan still didn't know how he was supposed to mingle with the paying customers. That was one thing that had just been glossed over in their staff orientation. Anybody with common sense would guess that the staff was meant to leave the celebrities alone for the most part and treat them like any other customer (except when they made those strange, extravagant requests that only celebrities could get away with), but Tristan wasn't sure what treating them like any other customer meant. He knew if he were a vacationer on board, he'd want to talk to the staff, but he couldn't speak for the actual vacationers, so.

» Anyway, back to Heather. Tristan shook her hand with a grin. He hadn't taken in all of her uniform and thus hadn't noticed her pistol or the handcuffs hanging off her belt. To be honest, that probably wouldn't have prevented him from approaching her anyway. Tristan understood all too well that sometimes you just had to wear your work uniform proudly and that was that. After being the mascot (or, that one time, the sandwich board guy) for several restaurants and kids' centers back in Yonkers, Tristan had grown used to having to wear stuffy, hot and heavy uniforms in order to get his paycheck. The uniforms just came with the jobs. Luckily, his uniform on Poseidon was really not bad at all. They gave him three shirts and two pairs of slacks--the shirts were grey, red and navy blue and the slacks were black and navy blue, to match the ship's decor. Tristan had already tried on one of the combinations and he thought he looked quite dapper in it, if he could say so himself.

» "Nice to meet you, Heather. I thought I recognized you,"

[/color] Tristan explained to Heather, "from staff orientation, you know? I work with the Events board, as one of the entertainers. I'm guessing you're a security guard?"[/color] Tristan asked, gesturing to Heather's uniform. It was then that he spotted the gun in her holster, as well as her other uniform equipment. His eyes widened slightly. "A very well-equipped security guard, I see. Have you had to use those yet?"[/color] he joked. Tristan laughed to himself; he very much doubted that Heather would ever have to use her handcuffs, but especially not her gun. He knew how crazy kids his age (and even the older adults) could get, but what could they possibly do that would require restraint or violent force from an officer? Tristan could think of a couple of parties getting out of hand, but not that badly so... Anyway, it wasn't as if he had need to worry. He wouldn't be partaking in such activities.

» Then again, what else was there to do on this ship? "I just wanted to hop on over and say hi. You can never make too many friends, especially not on a huge ship like this,"[/color] Tristan said, nodding a little. "Have you ever worked on a cruise ship before? Or any ship, really... It's a totally new experience for me, personally. I kind of feel like I need somebody to hold my hand through it."[/color] Tristan laughed again and hoped that he wasn't coming off as weird for laughing at his own (not really all that funny) jokes. It was kind of a habit he'd picked up in high school. He then realized that he'd been talking a lot and asking Heather quite a few questions.

» "You don't have to answer all my questions--or any of them, really! And if you think I'm talking too much, just tell me,"[/color] Tristan laughed, albeit a little nervously this time. "I kind of have an unstoppable mouth."[/color] Tristan mentally facepalmed himself at that last statement. How surprisingly inappropriate did that sound? Gosh, so much for making a good first impression, dude,[/color] Tristan thought. He was one smooth operator.[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

» tagged;; heather noelle michaels ! » outfit;; here.
» lyrics;; where is my mind? -- pixies.
» music;; bat country -- avenged sevenfold.
» words;; 783. » notes;; he's a talkative little nut.
» credit;; template is all mine, bby!

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[HEATHER NOELLE MICHAELS]

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The guy who had joined Heather seemed nice enough. She was still unsure as to whether he was a holiday maker or a staff member aboard the ship but that would shortly get cleared up in casual conversation. If he was indeed a holiday maker that would make getting to know him a little on the awkward side as she wasn’t fully sure of what the rules were on interacting with the ships guests. Heather herself would most likely ignore the staff rules if they were as idiotic as don’t form personal relationships with the ships passengers, it was one of the main reasons she was here in the first place. Maybe not the biggest reason of all, but it was defiantly her intention to try to form a few friendships that would hopefully last a lifetime.

”I thought you looked familiar!” Heather exclaimed almost gleefully as indeed her initial instincts were correct. ”An entertainer eh? What’s your show?” Heather asked politely out of curiosity. It would be a good indication as to what this guy’s personality if she knew what he was passionate about. Heathers attention was then turned to herself as Tristan then guessed her current occupation then commented on her equipment. Heather lightly chuckled as she glanced down at her left thigh, to which her pistol was strapped to. She waved her hand dismissively as she said: ”All standard issue gear. Luckily we’ve had no trouble yet though.” It was unlikely the cruise would remain as uneventful as it had been thus far. A cruise filled with young adults with a seemingly limitless supply of alcohol. That spelled a time bomb just waiting to go off, if the conditions were right which Heather seriously doubted. ”I don’t like carrying this to be honest” Heather admitted, indicating to the pistol again before adding: ”But better safe than sorry. Eh?” She had never been a fan of her weapons training. Sure, she was a good marksman, maybe a tad above average but she had always wanted to put her skills towards something more rewarding in her eyes.

Tristan then began to discuss why he had introduced himself and Heather couldn’t agree more with his reasoning behind it. Heather agreed that you could never make too many friends and more so in such an isolated location, more so for her maybe than anyone else on the ship. ”Yeah. It’s good to meet a fellow staff member.” Heather said enthusiastically as she took another sip of water. ”At least I’ll have someone to sit with in the staff room on breaks!” She said jokingly, smiling as she took off her sunglasses and tucked one of the arms down her shirt.

Tristan then asked if Heather had been on a cruise ship before to which she quickly replied: ”Not a cruise ship, no.” But he immediately followed up with the generalization of any ship at all. Heather had indeed be on a few aircraft carriers during her time spent with the RAF. ”Only two others. The Ark Royal and HMS Invincible.” She openly admitted, wondering if Tristan would recognize them as military vessels or dismiss them as other ships such as cargo or private liner. Heather lightly chuckled as Tristan mentioned he felt like he needed his hand holding. ”I can assure you, that sensation goes quickly.” Heather began before making a gesture with her right hand as she added: ”But If you do need a hand to hold…” That’s all she needed to say as the gesture finished her sentence off. Her hand hadn’t moved anywhere dramatic, it wasn’t even outstretched; it was merely a reassuring action for Tristan to take onboard.

Heather then smiled politely as Tristan began to ramble about how chatty he could be and allowing Heather to shut him up at her will. ”It would be rude to tell someone to shut up if they’re merely talking.” Heather began, her British accent coming out stronger than ever before adding: ”And don’t worry about being too chatty. I have a friend who could talk for England, and the some!” Hoping that the light humor would diffuse the somewhat awkward statements Tristan had made. Heather had no doubt that he was now beating himself up about what he had just said, it’s what she would be doing. She was merely trying to get him into a more comfortable mood, the last thing she wanted to do was alienate her first friend of the cruise.

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Outfit: HERE
Notes: Don’t worry, it fantastic xD

[TRISTAN WILLIAM MURRAY]

is your favorite color blue? and do you

[/i][/b][/color][/font]
ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH? DO YOU BELIEVE IN OUTER SPACE? I'M LEARNING YOU. IS YOUR SKIN
AS TAN AS MINE? DOES YOUR HAIR FLOW SIDEWAYS? DID SOMEONE TAKE A PORTION OF YOU?[/center]

» Tristan smiled at Heather as he ran his hand through his slick, wet hair. He was happy that he'd gotten some recognition as well. At least he wasn't as much of a wallflower as he used to be! Kieran would be so proud of him--standing out, actively engaging in conversation--he was a regular socialite! Tristan laughed to himself at the thought of him being a socialite, and quickly tuned back in to what Heather was saying. He was surprised that she asked about his show. Not that he'd had this conversation with many other people, but he didn't think other staff members would really be interested in what he did specifically. "Oh, well. I haven't actually performed yet, but I know some nights, like tonight, I'm supposed to be playing love songs on my guitar."

[/color] Tristan smiled; it was really the perfect job for him. "I'm work in the romance events department. I help coordinate the events, but most of the time, I think I'm going to playing guitar and singing, you know?"[/color] To say that Tristan was excited (despite being nervous) about his job was an understatement. He was always trying to play Cupid in real life and always trying to make girls see how beautiful they were. Now he was getting paid to be that same romancer.

» Tristan made a face when Heather waved her hand dismissively when he commented on her pistol. He was just irrationally worried that she'd have to whip it out and use it or something. Tristan hated any kind of violence and seeing a weapon like that so up close just made him nervous. It wasn't Heather that he thought was dangerous; it was the gun itself. "Standard issue, huh?"[/color] he barely managed to choke out. "That's some standard. "[/color] But Tristan understood, on some level, why the pistols were necessary. You don't have a boat full of young adults and expect nothing to happen. Even the oldest among them--the twenty-five year olds--even they got a little crazy. These were the ages when people threatened to jump because their longtime girlfriend dumped them or they plotted murder because some bitch backstabbed them and ruined their life. There was bound to be craziness. The security was just here to stop that. Tristan hoped the guns would be used more as intimidation models than for actual active weapons though. He didn't want to see or hear about anyone getting hurt aboard the Poseidon.

» "I don't like carrying this to be honest," Heather admitted and Tristan found himself being surprised again. He hadn't judged her for having the gun--it was part of her job--but he had assumed that, as an armed officer, she would've been comfortable with bearing arms. Perhaps it was more complicated than that. "But better safe than sorry. Eh?" Tristan nodded in agreement. One never knew what could happen, especially out on the sea. Still, it was weird to know someone in real life who could shoot a gun. Growing up in the suburbs had given Tristan a bit of a sheltered life and his personality didn't really help any, but there'd been rumors that the old man at the end of their block used to hunt animals for no reason other than just to shoot them. Everyone had avoided that man. Tristan shivered a little bit, knowing that Heather could probably shoot like those guys in the video games his brother used to play. Tristan felt it would be too rude to ask, so he just let the topic drop.

» Tristan laughed along with Heather when she brought up how they could hang out in the staff lounge together. He would definitely be down for that. He'd only been in the lounge twice already and kind of avoided the place because it felt like one of those cool-kid hangouts. Like, you didn't go in there unless you knew someone who was in there or unless you were familiar with a lot of the staff. Otherwise, Tristan suspected, it would just be awkward. But there was a flat screen TV with cable there and there were video games and DVDs and it seemed like a really great place to be. Maybe now that he had someone to hang out with, he wouldn't be so scared.

» Tristan was impressed that Heather had been on ships before (although that wasn't entirely too uncommon), and he had never heard of the ships before. That wasn't unusual either. "What was the occasion then, if you weren't on a cruise?"[/color] Tristan asked, genuinely curious as to what else one would do on a ship. Maybe it was a museum of a ship, kind of like the Intrepid in New York City. Maybe she'd been on them for weddings or some such. The ships sounded very formal and official though, so Tristan doubted they were rented out for some ordinary event. They sounded like naval ships or something, not that Tristan knew anything on that subject. History and the like had never been one of his strong subjects, sadly. "I can assure you, that sensation goes quickly," Heather said, commenting on how new being on a boat felt. "What? That sucks,"[/color] Tristan said, grinning. He liked being so excited and seeing the wide open sea--or were they in the ocean? They had yet to move from their boarding area in the Florida Keys and Tristan knew the boarding process wouldn't be finished until Monday.

» "But If you do need a hand to hold…” Heather trailed off, moving her hand ever so slightly. Tristan didn't think anything of it and just laughed. "I'll be sure to grab yours!"[/color] Tristan assured her. His dimples showed when he smiled deeply. Tristan went on to ramble a bit and when he was done, Heather told him she wouldn't cut him off if he was just talking. Tristan shrugged and grinned again. "You just remember that, then. If I talk your ear off, you brought it on yourself."[/color] Heather's accent, something Tristan had duly noted earlier, came out a little stronger now. It sounded British and he was tempted to ask her where she came from, but he imagined she got asked that question so often that it probably got tiring. So he didn't bother and just appreciated her accent for what it was. But when Heather brought up her chatty friend who could apparently talk for the whole country of England "and then some," Tristan felt that he almost needed to ask her where she was from. Besides, she'd saved him from a potentially conversation crippling blunder. It was the least he could do.

» "So you are from England, then? I assumed so from the accent, but you never know, right?"[/color] Tristan said, leaning on the bar counter. He rested his chin in his right palm and looked at Heather earnestly. His dog tags clinked against his bare chest as he moved. "You probably get asked this all the time... Were you born there, though?"[/color] Now that they'd passed that awkward introduction threshold, Tristan was interested in learning more about Heather. She was definitely his first new friend aboard Poseidon and it was only right that he learned a little bit about her. She did sound pretty interesting, from what they'd talked about thus far.[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

» tagged;; heather noelle michaels ! » outfit;; here.
» lyrics;; deeper conversation -- yuna.
» music;; the moment -- safetysuit.
» words;; 1,211. » notes;; yay! new friends!~
» credit;; template is all mine, bby!

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[HEATHER NOELLE MICHAELS]

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It was nice to have a positive distraction on her shift. By positive distraction she meant something that was a bit more acceptable than ogling the women in their revealing swimming costumes or actively drinking alcohol on duty. Regardless, if caught out by any of her superiors she’d face a deduction in pay at the very least. When Tristan revealed that he worked in the romance events department, Heather couldn’t help but giggle like a school girl. It seemed humorous that such an event would have its own department; surely everything was just blanketed under ‘events’? But Heather stopped her giggling when she heard Tristan mention he played guitar, now she was intrigued. That’s not to say she hadn’t been intrigued by him before now but it seemed like they had some common ground. Heather was an avid guitarist in her spare time. ”Yeah, how long have you been playing guitar?” She asked, brushing a loose hair back behind her ear.

Heather had taken up the guitar during secondary school, mainly for the intention of joining one of the many bands within the school, in particular the one with the cute emo bass chick with short hair and nice legs. But alas, she never got to join any bands in particular, occasionally filling in for missing members or playing pickup lines in the background but she was cool with that, solo artistry was just her thing. Now though, she merely uses her guitar when off duty at the various RAF bases she gets stationed at. Breaking out the guitar gets the evening’s festivities into swing, regardless of how much alcohol is available.

Heather’s attention soon turned to her mention of what standard equipment is as Tristan commented on it again. This caused Heather to respond with slight use of her whit. ”Would you rather I walk around unarmed?” She began, tapping her pistol which was still safely stored in its holster before adding: ”What happens when a gun crazed lunatic starts running around the ship?” She asked coldly. Heather knew she was perfectly right, she carried weapons to ensure the safety of the people on the cruise. It was defiantly a mentality of better safe than sorry but heck, if she went a shift without using any of the equipment on her belt, that classed as a good shift.

It seemed that Tristan didn’t know the designation of navy vessels as he was still questioning Heathers previous experiences with ships. It was sort of understandable, the HMS Queen Elizabeth 2 was a cruise liner so the term HMS wasn’t always slapped on military vessels, but it was the most common place to find it. ”RAF stuff. I can get stationed on ships just off the coast of combat zones.” Heather stated casually, not letting the somewhat serious conversation drag the mood down. Heather wasn’t necessarily scared of talking about her real job back home but it wasn’t usually a good topic of conversation these days. Heather merely proceeded to grin as Tristan expressed dismay about how the experience of being on water would soon disappear and be replaced with being as comfortable here was she assumed he was back on dry land.

Heathers grin then turned into a laugh as comments turned to hand holding. As Tristan mentioned how he could talk her ear off. ”Noted.” She managed to say through her chuckles as she took another swig of her water. The laughs soon died away was Tristan made the correct assumption that she was British. Heather couldn’t help but nod slightly as she settled back into her seat a little more as Tristan asked where she was born. Heather smiled politely as she replied: ”Yeah, born in Manchester.” She began, placing the bottle of water on the table. ”Spent some time in Japan, mum side of the family an all. But pretty much lived in the UK all my life” She added, the help answer any other questions still on his mind. ”What about you Tristan? The American accent is all the same to me.” Heather asked, hoping he wouldn’t take offence but more take the hint and explain where he was from.

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Outfit: HERE
Notes: Sorry, was ill :[

[TRISTAN WILLIAM MURRAY]

and if you don't mind, can you tell me

[/i][/b][/color][/font]
ALL YOUR HOPES AND FEARS AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU BELIEVE IN? WOULD YOU MAKE A
DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD? I'D LOVE FOR YOU TO TAKE ME TO A DEEPER CONVERSATION.[/center]

» The gradient of reactions to his department on the ship was always amusing to Tristan. A lot of the girls he told would coo at him or give him some sly smile, as if to say, "Really?" It didn't really mean anything though, Tristan knew. People seemed to automatically think he was some kind of sleaze or womanizer when he first mentioned his job, but as they grew to know him, these people just realized Tristan was some kind of matchmaker and hopeless romantic. There was nothing really that cool about his job--at least, to anybody who wasn't him. Tristan doubted anyone on the ship loved their position as much as he did and he hadn't even done his first performance yet! But if there was anything Tristan was happy to do, it was to bring people together in the name of love. Oh god, he sounded like such a hippie or some religious leader or something when he said such things. But it was true and very honest. If Tristan was anything, he was true and honest.

» Heather's reaction was pretty good too. She just giggled, which Tristan wasn't quite sure how to take. He didn't know if she was laughing at him or at his department or whatever, but it didn't quite matter, did it? He just smiled and shrugged, as if to say, "Well, what can you do?" However, Heather's follow-up question was one that Tristan particularly liked to answer. ”Yeah, how long have you been playing guitar?” she'd asked him and his expression brightened considerably. Now, you have to understand that Tristan loved his guitar. His brother was convinced he loved guitars more than he loved girls and that if possible, he would marry an acoustic guitar right away. This was almost true. There was something so magical and enticing about the sounds of an acoustic guitar that just got Tristan's heart going and lightened his soul. He thought guitars in general were beautiful and god, did he ever love music--but there was something in particular about acoustic guitars that made him think of the heavens or something divine.

» Tristan leaned on the bar counter and put his fingers to his lips as he looked away in thought. It'd been so long since he started playing guitar, he couldn't remember when he first picked up the instrument. "Well...I've been playing since I was eleven, so that's about...eight years?" Tristan didn't know which part was more unbelievable--the part where he'd been playing guitar for eight years, or the part where he was only nineteen years old! He felt like such a young'un on the ship, but he was just as mature (if not more so) than his shipmates, so nobody really noticed the age difference. He also looked older than he was, or so he'd been told. "Do you play, Heather?" Tristan asked politely, hoping the answer would be a positive one. He loved finding other guitar fans and it made for really great opportunities to play music with others. Tristan had never been in a band (mostly because he preferred to play nice and slow love songs and the bands formed by kids his age weren't really part of that scene), but he still loved to jam with others. He also had a particularly good singing voice, so these jam sessions always turned out pretty well.

» Tristan threw his hands up in the air when Heather defended her right to bear arms (and her apparent need to bear arms aboard the ship). "I didn't mean anything by it!"

[/color] he insisted, hoping he hadn't offended her too much. She did sound a little cold in her response. Tristan mentally kicked himself for putting his foot in his mouth--it seemed to be one of his many talents. "It's your job. You have to do what you have to do,"[/color] Tristan said, trying to show that he understood. "And I, for one, haven't heard about any serious trouble on the ship yet. I guess that's partially thanks to you and the other guards who keep us in check, right?"[/color] Tristan nodded as if to affirm his own statement and he let his hands rest on the bar counter again. "Sorry if I sound like an idiot or something... I'm a bit of a pacifist, is all."[/color] A bit was an understatement. Tristan flinched and worried at the slightest indication of violence. That was mostly why he was so concerned about Heather's work equipment. He wished pistols and handcuffs and such weren't necessary at all--for anyone. He also realized this dream was a little unrealistic and that world peace and the abolition of guns and weapons was a long ways away.

» Tristan blinked when Heather answered his question about the kind of ships she'd been on. He still didn't quite get the reference. "R...AF?"[/color] he repeated slowly, as if saying the acronym at such a speed would help him realize the answer faster. It didn't. But then Heather mentioned something about combat zones and Tristan realized she must've been stationed on some kind of naval unit. He frowned; that still didn't explain what RAF meant... "Were you in the Navy or something?"[/color] he asked, really quite curious. What a change in scenery then! Tristan laughed after realizing how daft he sounded. "I'm sorry,"[/color] he told Heather. "Not all Americans are as ignorant as me, I assure you."[/color] While Tristan wouldn't seriously call himself ignorant, he had been pretty sheltered for most of his life (which was really no one's fault but his own) and so he was pretty out of the loop when it came to such military terms. Or, what he assumed to be military terms.

» But they moved on from the topic and Heather revealed that she'd been born in Manchester. The most Tristan had ever heard about Manchester were little tidbits from conversations he'd heard about the football team during World Cup season. Sports were just another thing Tristan didn't really get involved in. He liked swimming and he liked working out, but he wasn't into watching sports or competing in them. Competitions weren't really his style and neither were teams. Tristan fell into a weird little ridge on the social spectrum, didn't he? "That must be cool,"[/color] Tristan said, grinning. "To come from a different country and live here. Do you like it in America? Have you been here long?"[/color] Heather pretty much answered that question when she mentioned that she'd been living in the UK for most of her life. Tristan also found the bit about her spending some time in Japan very interesting. He didn't really have anything cool to say about himself though. "Me?"[/color] Tristan clarified, pointing at himself. He thought for a moment and then shrugged before responding. "Born and raised in Yonkers, New York. Don't worry--hardly anyone knows where that is."[/color] Tristan laughed, but it was true. The rest of New York pretty much got overshadowed by the little big city on the island. "I went to Atlanta for college, but I've never been out of the country. Well, until now,"[/color] Tristan said, smiling again. He was truly very excited to travel from Florida to the Cayman Islands and back. He was sure this was a trip he wasn't going to forget.[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

» tagged;; heather noelle michaels ! » outfit;; here.
» lyrics;; deeper conversation -- yuna.
» music;; sleep -- my chemical romance.
» words;; 1,214. » notes;; meep! this took a while!
» credit;; template is all mine, bby!

[/center][/size]

[HEATHER NOELLE MICHAELS]

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As Heather took another sip of water her radio buzzed with an annoying level of static. Hastily she grabbed it off her belt and turned the volume on it down. Someone on the deck must be getting a text message or something, these low end radios were easily affected by that stuff. She was much more used to using high tech equipment but she knew she would have to make do out here till the cruise was over. Heather had to admit, she’d become complacent in the military, a lot of the technical aspects to flying were done by other people so she had gotten into the habit of having thins work perfectly for her with minimal effort from her. That’s not to say she wasn’t good with technology. She could easily handle setting up a laptop or HDTV but she couldn’t exactly program your microwave to play the national anthem, as one of her friends once did!

Back to the conversation at hand, Tristan explained that he had been playing guitar for eight years, since he was eleven. He must be extremely talented to have secured such a front line performance gig only a few years after leaving school. Heather contemplated how long she had played for. In truth, although she had owned a guitar for about ten years she had only ever given it a lot of attention over around four of those years. More recently now that she had joined the RAF than she had ever before. Heather was asked if she played, she happily responded: ”Yeah, had a guitar for about ten years.” She began, brushing a lose hair out of her view and back behind her ear as she added: ”But I’ve only just started playing it, like, properly in the last few years.” Heather loved her guitar, it was an acoustic electric with a wooden finish with various stickers and drawings all over the back of it. ”I can guarantee, you’re the better guitarist here though!” Heather chuckled as she cast her gaze out across the ocean, catching a fleeting glance of a whale disappearing under the surface of the sea.

Heather then began to feel guilty about the coldness of tone she adopted when they were discussing here equipment. It was easily dragging down the mood of conversation and was an uneasy topic of conversation for the pair of them: ”Forget I mentioned it, its not the best topic of conversation.” It was then that Tristan mentioned he was a pacifist, something Heather could respect but meant that there would likely be some difference of opinion when he found out her occupation. ”Not, I don’t think you’re an idiot!” Heather said reassuringly as she chuckled slightly as she checked the time. She still had a long time to wait before she got of her shit.

Heather was still surprised that Tristan hadn’t caught into what her job was, despite giving him the name of the organization she worked for. Heather knew the names of all the American armed forces, but then again that came with her job. She gave Tristan the benefit of the doubt by explaining a few things. : ”I’m a pilot in the Royal Air Force, for the United Kingdom.” She began, stating things simply as not to confuse Tristan with more complicated information. ”I serve mainly on bases in the UK, once or twice I was stationed in Iraq but I’ve also been on aircraft carriers.” She finished, smiling politely although not fully sure what to expect as a reaction from Tristan. ”My friends call me Sparky, I’m an explosives expert mainly.” She added, merely to break up the seemingly serious chatter she had wanted to get away from but also to show that the people with their fingers on the trigger had a sense of humor.

Getting back to more casual questions, Heather was happy to answer one or two of Tristan’s questions. ”America’s pretty cool, everything’s done a lot bigger over here!” She said jokingly, adding: ”It has been a bit annoying hearing words mispronounced. It’s Aluminium! Not Aluminum!” Heather finished, chuckling slightly. She wasn’t having a go at American English; it had been defined as a separate language to English so it wouldn’t be right of her to start bashing it for no real reason. ”I’ve been here once before, sort of, on an aircraft carrier. I didn’t set foot on land though.” Heather added, to put some context into her experience of American oceans. She politely smiled and nodded as Tristan gave her a little bite-size chunk of his back story, Heather couldn’t help but ask him: ”Nervous?” In response to him never having left the country before, it would be interesting to see his reaction.

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Outfit: HERE
Notes: Sorry, been ill and busy >_<