* / 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑 𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚎

welcome aboard, daphne “duckie” pham, student #28. we are excited to set sail with you !  has anyone told you that you look like lana condor? according to our records, you hail from newcastle, australia, prefer she/her, are a cis woman, and are here to study sculpture film. we also see you received a spot on the ss university because of your online lottery win — we won’t tell anyone. during your first few weeks here, other students said you were + adventurous, + animated, but also - directionless. it sounds like you spend most of your time at the arcade. upon checking your luggage, we noticed you packed an old, sticker-covered acoustic guitar. hopefully your roommates don’t steal it!

hi there! my name is maeby and i’m so stoked to be here ♡ i’m in the pst (west coast best coast?) and use she/they pronouns. after taking some time away from rp, i’m bringing you my sweetest char, duckie! she’s a sunshiny dork who can’t take anything seriously. she’s still pretty fresh and new, so i’m way excited to plot & dig a little deeper into her character!

one of the constants in duckie’s life that had carried over from her life in newcastle to the ship was her unwavering love of dance dance revolution. the arcade on the ship would never rival the one in her hometown, but it came damn close. she had just finished a nearly-perfect game, whooping and hollering as it gave her her score, when she hopped off of the machine and nearly ran into someone. “oh, god, sorry,” she apologized, putting out her hand to stop herself from tripping. “i, uh-” she bumbled, a little frozen when her brain registered who was in front of her. “ary,” she said instinctively, kicking herself mentally for the familiarity. but he was familiar, he’d always be familiar. “what brings you here?” she asked, looking around them and what had, once upon a time, been their spot.

on boring days that offered little more than schoolwork and studying (blech), duckie would do just about anything for a little entertainment. the ship had far too few places to skate, but she still managed to sail down the deck of the ship on her board. maybe a little too fast, considering she hit an errant rock and fell face first into the nearest person, one jackson seo. “we’ve gotta stop meeting like this,” she joked as she caught her breath, laughing at herself a little sheepishly from having fallen in front of the pro.

the familiar snap of a disposable camera alerted duckie’s impending arrival before she said a thing, the girl smiling like crazy as she put the camera down and walked up to her subject. “stop it, i cannot possibly take how cute you are,” she insisted, taking one more photo with the film camera before dropping down to sit next to mia. “i swear to god, it’s a crime for us to be so adorable and not doing something fun! i have had it with homework.”

“make way, coming through!” duckie shouted impatiently through a cluster of students in her way, making them part like the red sea. “incoming, captain lozano!” she yelled, leagues more excited, before positively launching herself at the object of her affections and wrapping her arms around cam.

“i would ask you to be honest with me, but i take comfort in knowing that hell will freeze over before you’re anything but honest with me,” duckie mused, turning around to reveal her full outfit to her friend. she huffed out a breath, a strand of her hair flying right back into her face. “does this outfit say ‘yes, cute girl at the coffee café, i would happily give you my number’?”

“am i crazy or does that look crazy?” duckie asked, looking up at the facial expression of her latest art project, a life sized sculpture of the greek goddess artemis made of plastic bottles she’d found (and disinfected) around the ship. now that she had switched out of the majority of her art classes, she’d found so much more inspiration and motivation to create again. “why do i always think litter is a good idea for materials?”

asher: idk i'm open to both options... or being eccentric hermits. however, if so, gotta adopt some wild teens in our earlier mid life years in order to pass on the generational joy and chaos

asher: we've created a new brand, the way to save blockbuster once and for all..... a smoking, movie cafe for hipsters and weird ppl like me

asher: damn, i think we just put the world right... just found the answer to world peace!

duckie: i would love to be adopted by a pair of eccentric hermits who spend their fortunes on our wild dreams and unhinged art projects, so i am def down for that

duckie: at least i hope those are the kinds of teens we take in

duckie: that honestly sounds like the DREAM and i hereby dedicate my life to it. to the hipsters and weirdos!

duckie: our world peace is the fuckin' coolest world peace on offer, no doubt about it ✌️

asher: i'm here to make u laugh, make u cry, roomies together until the day we DIE... yes that means we have to be roomies for the REST OF OUR LIVES i'm up for it

asher: can i be the guy who always suggests that we split up and look for clues ????? pls i'm begging

asher: more edibles, an mtv cribs mansion... bringing blockbuster back?

duckie: this is officially my favorite song, omg

duckie: if we're roomies until we die, do WE get married or do we live together in a big house with both of our families?

duckie: OR do we grey gardens this bitch and both commit to a life of being eccentric hermits?

duckie: oh, sweetheart... you're gonna get eaten by the haunted cabin so fast !!!

           THE TOUCH TO HIS shoulder made him pause for a moment, a quiet comfort from the information he let out even if he hadn’t said much, and he offered duckie a small smile. he’d come to terms with his mother’s passing, she was sick and suffering and that was alright, she was in a much better place after all. and, on top of that, he’d done all he could to make her proud of him and he was at peace with that. the skills she taught him throughout her time here, he kept close to him, and cooking was one of those things. “really? that’s cool, i feel like if i tried to surf it would be an utter nightmare…i had no idea.” daxton admitted with a look over to the girl, she never ceased to amaze him. taking their plates to the table, he sat down to unfold the napkin in his lap, her question casting his gaze upwards, “uh, no too much to be honest. was attending a university in colorado when i applied for the scholarship here, i was top of the class so it was…pretty much given i would get on here, i was actually supposed to be here a year earlier but stuff…came up.” the stuff being his mother’s illness, but he didn’t want to somber the mood, “nothing nearly as cool as you.”

though it was a rare sight when it came to duckie, she allowed the quiet moment between them to be just that; quiet, respectful, deliberate. she eased her way back into the conversation seamlessly, laughing lightly at the thought of dax on a surfboard. “you know what this means, right? i’m gonna have to teach you how to surf. it’s gonna take three destinations before i trust you to go anywhere near the water,” she joked, opening the bottle of fresh-pressed juice and smiling up at him over the lip of it. “were you still studying... - chemical engineering, right? - back in colorado?” she asked, having to search her brain for his major and hoping she’d remembered it correctly from their introductions in the class they’d shared. “people keep telling me that science isn’t as cool as surfing, you’re the second this week, and that’s not true! first of all, i look like a fuckin’ dork when i have to bail. and most importantly, surfing doesn’t do nearly as much good in the world. a lot of good, yeah, but in a more abstract way,” she rambled, only shutting up to take her first bite of their dinner. “dax... come on. this is ridiculously good!” she praised, surprised by how it had turned out. not that she didn’t trust him, but he had always been... a little clumsy.

daniel found himself loving it here in honolulu. he almost felt right at home. island vibes and all that. he wasn’t on planning on running into anyone he knew from back home so when he saw a girl who resembled his first love, duckie, his face lit up. daniel wasn’t one to forget his first love so when he saw her running in his direction he picked her body in his arms. he loved how tiny she was compared to him. “duckie!!” he exclaimed as he put her back down. “yeah i’ve been here for a couple weeks now. i’m surprised that you are here too. what brings you here?” he smiled at the girl. he had truly missed her. he was still madly in love with her. 

part of duckie was still convinced it wasn’t him, that she was seeing things after having gone too long without spending good time in newcastle, but there was no doubt it was danny ricci when he picked her up. muscle memory took over and she held him close, her smile never leaving her features for a moment. there were plenty of reasons to not be so glad to see him after losing touch, but her heart couldn’t let her. not while they were in one of her favorite places on earth. “i’m here with school! i am... actually in college,” she admitted, disbelief in even her own words. she wasn’t exactly the school type when they knew each other, but the s.s. uni was different. “we’re here for the week with the s.s. university, how long are you here?” she asked, searching his eyes as if to keep convincing herself it was the real danny ricci.

“Yes! He was also on Suicide Squad 2 for a hot second… it really took me off guard when I was at the theater”, James confirmed with a small chuckle, missing Duckie’s obvious sarcastic question. He was probably too invested on gathering more sand for their castle right now. But Duckie’s reaction to his comment about idolizing someone caused him to stop for a bit to look in her direction, small frown on his face: James knew the pair were going through similar things, as they usually did… definitely platonic soulmates, James was sure of. They had already talked about it before, and this wasn’t the place to revisit that: they were sharing a happy moment. Thankfully, the song ended and 7 rings started blasting through the speakers, causing James to start making a happy dance as he vibed to the beat. Perfect distraction to lighten the mood… Miss Ari always saving him. “Oh, this one! You definitely know this one! The last three songs are singles that I’m sure you’ve jammed to, we thriving”, he excitedly said as he danced some more, when he attempted to get his attention back to the castle making: Duckie’s next words had him giggling. “I mean… I’m never one to pass up on an opportunity to recreate a scene from my favorite movie, you know this!”, he playfully protested, now lying down for real, as if he was indicating he was ready for it. “My camera… is over there”, he pointed at his blue bag laying near them. “I’m ready for my close up, future Oscar winner Duckie Pham”, he stroke a dramatic pose for a second. “I do trust you… you even know my phone password, imagine the level of trust”, he giggled. “sweetener is the next album I’ll be teaching you about, perfect soundtrack for this mission if you ask me”  

Unabashed, Duckie burst out into laughter at the thought of Pete Davidson getting blown up immediately in the second Suicide Squad. “Fuck! How could I forget about that?” she asked, completely honest with wide eyes. Celebrities and movies were a happy common ground for her and James, and she would gladly live there for a moment. It was an excellent distraction from her previous thoughts, which were not very money of her brain to bring up. Honolulu had been one big diversion from her feelings and she vowed right then and there that if either of them ever broke off an engagement or got divorced, she would fly them to Honolulu and relive the memories they were making to push away the bad ones. If only Duckie recognized more Ariana. “Is this the one-” she started just before they reached I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it, which finally completed the connection in her head. “Shit, I was so sure I was about to be disowned,” she admitted with a joking little smile as she vibed with James. That fact that she only listened to the music James liked because he liked it rather than for her own enjoyment was her little secret she kept tucked away. sweetener, however, was one album she didn’t have to pretend to love. “I know that one! I know that one!” she blurted, the titular song already playing in her head. Did she know it well? Absolutely not. But there were a good three songs that she had put on half of all of her playlists after they’d gone through the spiritual experience of Coachella in 2019 together. Even at the time, she’d felt a little bit like an outside visiting her friend’s church, but she had just been happy to be accepted by the congregation. For such a godawful year, that had been one of the best weekends of her entire life. At the mention of her future Oscars, she clutched her chest and pretended to hold a little Academy Award in her other hand. “You like me, you really like me! I’d like to thank the Academy, of course, and James Bae, who singlehandedly gave me the motivation and inspired to make this happen today,” she teased, looking out into the distance as she gave her acceptance speech. “Now hold still!” she laughed, digging under James’ legs so she could build another castle tower on top of him. “I should’ve found a little leaf flag before I started covering you in sand, but that’s a big oh well.”

            if  question  marks  could  float  over  sujin’s  head  ,  they  absolutely  would  in  this  current  moment  .  the  chances  of  her  getting  along  with  duckie  were  slim  to  none  (  and  she’d  even  go  as  far  to  admit  that  she  doesn’t  want  to  get  along  with  her  …  ever  )  .  sujin  nods  along  as  if  she’s  listening  ,  instead  more  interested  in  changing  the  current  artist  playing  from  doja  cat  to  taeyeon  .  ‘  well  ,  let  me  be  the  first  .  you’re  about  as  memorable  as  a  box  of  rocks  .  ’  her  brows  furrow  as  she  pretends  to  think  for  an  incredibly  short  amount  of  time  ,  gently  sinking  her  teeth  into  the  tip  of  her  tongue  .  ‘  oh  ,  are  you  talking  about  when  you  threw  a  drink  in  my  face  for  no  good  reason  other  than  the  fact  that  i  told  you  truth  ?  ’  a  lie  .  ‘  if  that  was  supposed  to  embarrass  me  then  you’re  gonna  have  to  try  a  whole  lot  harder  than  that  .  ’

duckie’s chest shook with laughter, even as she held her tongue and forced herself not to let it out. “alright, so you do remember me!” she said with a grin, despite the memory of that day on the sun deck being one of her very worst on the ship. she’d gone through heartbreak, burnout and a total loss of passion for her 3d art major, and even a couple of minor injuries, but sujin’s jabs somehow hurt worse. so far, laughing it off today was doing wonders for her anger. “you looked thirsty, princess,” she joked, tilting her head slightly. “that seemed like a pretty good reason to me.” she paused, a little bit of a glint in her eye. “of course, i could always still try harder to embarrass you, if you’d like.”