TEST DRIVE MEME #5

[sailmods]

1. not subtle revealings

[you wake up.

it doesn't matter where you were before. going to bed? dying? opening the door to face a great evil? same result. you wake up in a soft bed with starched sheets in a cool, darkened room, sunlight peeking out from behind thick curtains. maybe you're alone; maybe you aren't. maybe you immediately notice the folded paper on the bedside table near your head. if you don't, you better fix that real quick: you won't be able to even open the door before you read it.

the note itself is written in a neat hand on white card stock; there is a stylized logo of a ship with the words SERENA ETERNA printed underneath. the note reads as follows:

Dear Passenger(s),

As your cruise director, it is my great honor to welcome you aboard the Serena Eterna, your destination for fun and adventure! We know you could have chosen any cruise line for your vacation, and we're very grateful you chose ours! On behalf of the Captain, I would like to assure each and every passenger that will we do whatever it takes to fulfill all your needs and desires during your journey with us.

At your earliest possible convenience, please attend the mandatory lifeboat drill by the end of the day. I'm sure everyone is very eager to get started on all the fun and sun, but safety always comes first! You can find your life jacket in your cabin's closet; carry it to your assigned muster station on deck one, where I will take you through the drill. If you can't find me in the crowd, just look for the gal with the winning smile!

See You Real Soon!

Sincerely,
Gal Friday

you walk to deck one. you have no other choice: every time you try to step in a direction some unseen being considers "not towards deck one," you find your legs no longer move, staying stock still, frozen. whether compelled quickly by curiosity, or delayed by pure stubbornness, the result is the same, and you are left milling around with other similarly curious or stubborn people.

you see someone in uniform near the front of the crowd. she seems to be a gal, but is missing the winning smile, along with most of her other features. she seems to see you, though, rushing to your side and placing a lei around your neck with great formality. a voice, cheery but artificial, sees to come from nowhere and everywhere.]

Welcome! I'm very glad to have you aboard!

[you touch the lei. rooster feathers, lotus seeds, and a carved circle of something white and hard, linked onto a silk string.

after the drill is completed, you are seemingly free to go. or, well, your legs work, now. and maybe that's as good as it's gonna get.]

2. a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling

[the reflections are missing. all of them. in mirrors. in television screens. on the backs of spoons. nothing looks back at you.

then, figures do show up. not your own, like you'd expect. thin, wispy apparitions, people with pleading eyes and hands, reaching out to place their palms against the surface, from their own end. faces familiar and not, beckoning, mouthing words you just can't quite make out. help me, it might be. get me out, perhaps. just until you're close enough, until your skin warms the surface of whatever it is you're peering into. and then, those same hands wrap, all too real, burning-cold against your flesh, and pull, trying to drag you through the surface, making up for their lack of strength with desperation. any flesh unlucky enough to enter the reflection comes back bone-white and cold, all sensation dead, though it will fade within a few hours.

in retrospect, it looks a bit more like they were saying something different. something more like, better you than me. or maybe it's not even words at all. they look a bit more like they're laughing.]

3. complex mementos

[but, hey. sometimes changes are good! like, today, in Playback, there's a brand-new game available for all the children to play! it's an old-fashioned sort of claw machine, the type that's so large, a particularly dedicated kindergartner could wriggle their way inside. the prizes vary, and sit loose: bags of candy, stuffed toys, firearms, painfully early-00s electronics, actually that one just looks like a dead iguana, tiny ship-branded knickknacks... like all the other games in the arcade, the game starts up automatically upon being touched; lack of quarters shouldn't keep you from having fun! pro tip: they are loaded, and they will go off if you suck at claw games and let it fall.]

Comments

[dokkans]

[ Aw, he got lost on his way to the old folks home. Bonnie's expression doesn't change much as she turns to see him, watching the bullet ricochet off of a shield (!!) and go sailing through the ceiling. That's probably fine.

But of course, she didn't pull the trigger, so of course she didn't do it! ]

Thank you, Mister! I'm okay, not a single wound on me!

[ She shows off her cute outfit and truly, not a bit of blood on her! ]

[dokkans]

[ Sometimes it'd be better to go with your gut, considering how little she wants to do this herself. There was nothing in it for her, and more importantly... looks like the end result found her!

Bonnie decides, it might be better to play up the naivety a bit more though. ]

Oh no, what happened? You look like you got hurt, mister.

[dokkans]

[ For certain. Between the woman with no face and this girl with the ears and that... door? This was looking to be a more interesting boat ride than she thought! ]

Oh, aren't you a cutie? I'm not worried at all... should I be?

[makesomedeals]

Don't you bwip at him. Just let the very expensive, well-dressed Omnic guide you to safety.

"Well I should hope you weren't reaching into a mirror of your own accord." The white diodes of his eyes flick over Bastion, it's been a long time since he's seen one, especially not in this configuration where he's not about to rain turret-based death.

"You look better than expected for having been offline for decades, unless you haven't been. Where have you been hiding yourself?" And how did they avoid getting obliterated when the humans smashed all the military Omnics at the end of the war?

That very white arm is rather... concerning though. He makes a grab for that gun arm, because personal space is only for Max. "Are your sensors offline?"

[configuration_birdwatcher]

They've been fairly recently repainted! But not so recently that they haven't managed to get dirt stuck to their new beige-brick-and-olive color scheme, most prominently a water stain under their main optic. They scoff quietly at the mirror comment.

// Mostly rural Germany. Wherever humans least want to spend their time. It's not the most up-to-date description of their pre-ship whereabouts but random strangers don't need to know they've been squatting in a not-so-abandoned Overwatch installation helping them do illegal Overwatch things.

Bastion doesn't try to stop him grabbing it, but they do peer as dubiously down at him as their unarticulated face plate allows. // Yes. It's not responding to diagnostics.

[configuration_birdwatcher]

// I was near the sea. My location has lots of large metal boats but no wizards, Bastion informs her. If she has experience with going to other planes of existence that explains a lot about this conversation. The fact that their geolocation system has been giving them a no-signal error for the last twenty-eight minutes is further evidence for her theory, though maybe it's just being jammed.

That sounds less sanitary than punching the wizard but she does appear to be in excellent dental health. Unsure how else to respond, they give Ylva's plan a thumbs-up with their manipulator arm.

[woocas]

"Honestly I'd be more shocked if I didn't stumble into something," A haggard chuckle accompanies his comment, along with a shake of his head. Even he has to admit to being a trouble magnet back home.

"If you ever want some help with the technology stuff, I'd like to return the favor. I'll need to get your room number, because that's what I was told the phones use."

Lucas then grins, "Can't help you too much with the magic, that's not really my department. Ghosts, though...I expect I'll be busy around here."

[woocas]

"Huh, so...you can stockpile stuff?" The gears in his head are already turning, surprisingly along the same lines as César's.

"If you think that might happen then it's not a bad idea. Doesn't seem like this place is very organized." He casts a skeptical look to the other man, "Is it?"

[be_seeing_you]

"Are you wont to go running into danger?" Lucas does look like the type.

"I'll remember the offer, though I'm sure I'll manage well enough. How complicated could it be?" he asks, like a boomer.

For a long couple of seconds, it looks like he might not give Lucas his room number, but then he finally relents. "Room 113. Just be sure you knock if you ever come to pay a visit." The 'or else' is implied, but it's there.

"If ghosts are you preview, then yes I suspect you will. What exactly is it that you do?"

[actuallyawolf]

"I don't think I'd be much better at it," Ylva admits. "I don't know how this thing works. But there's a hole right there, so why fool around?"

She leans down to look at the little trapdoor where you grab your prizes, and experimentally pushes it to see how it works. Getting back out again might be tricky, but if someone else was here... "If I climbed into the machine for you, would you open the door for me afterwards?" She grins, all teeth. "Just since it looks hard to open from the inside, but I can get your prize out for you."

[actuallyawolf]

"See, that's the other thing. You don't have wizards, I don't have big metal ships, there's both here. Obviously some other plane where people have been brought."

Ylva mimics his thumbs-up, though, still grinning. "We'll figure it out, don't you worry. You can shoot him, if you want. If the biting doesn't convince him."

[woocas]

Lucas scoffs, puffing out his cheeks at the mild and true accusation. "Me? No sir, not ever running into danger."

Just ignore how his chest aches at the thought and move on. Lucas gives Peter a suspicious glance, "Well, offer will stand for however long I'm here."

And then, silence. Long enough that the back of his neck prickles with uneasy anticipation. Why would that question give the man reason to pause? The ship can't be that large! It's so strange that he wonders if maybe, just maybe, that advice Sou gave him had something to it. Don't trust people too much here.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll knock," He remarks, before crossing his arms and huffing. Lucas settles on a compromise, of sorts. Giving Peter the benefit of the doubt. "Only if you tell me what you do, too."

[opheliac]

No, no. Not an actual scarecrow, silly! It's just a name I picked out for him 'cuz he was skinny and ugly-lookin'.

(and finally, jinx hops down from the rafters -- her boot making a loud THUD when they meet the floorboards with her hands on her hips.)

It was fun shooting him into bits. Too bad I can't do it all over again.

[saltwaterlungs]

Darcy does what she can to stop Dimitri throwing himself onto broken glass. To stop him hurling himself towards whatever it is he sees in the mirror. There's a real temptation to just slap him, to try and find some resolution for the boiling anger that's sprung up- angry mostly at him for putting himself in harm's way, for the recklessness that she knows is mirrored in herself. If she weren't already familiar with ghosts, it could very well have been her, throwing herself at the reflection of Avery that whispers in the shades of broken glass around them.

But she doesn't slap him. Somehow.

Instead she says "they're not real. And if they were, whoever they are, you can't help them by getting yourself fucking hurt. They're beyond help."

She indicates to his mostly-numbed leg, "do you think you can walk?"

[gummyhabits]

( oh-!! why yes she is cute. gummy beams for a moment, before her mood drops just a tad. )

It can get pretty messed up here. When I first got here, there was a battle royale- like the old Earth book? But death isn't permanent, so it just made everyone mad at each other.

( that sure is a lot to just drop on another girl! but beating around the bush won't do anyone any favors. )

'M Gummy.

[makesomedeals]

The fancy Omnic on the inner council of Talon probably shouldn't be informed of anything Overwatch is up to anyway.

"How curious." His voice soft as he tilts the appendage this way and that to get a better view. "I'm not sure what precisely was done, especially the bleaching, but it may be some sort of targeted EMP or perhaps a type of Faraday cage that exists on the mirror itself."

None of which really gets them closer to making his arm actually work again. But Max lets go of it and steps back, thinking.

"Does it hurt?"

2. (DUBBIE!!)

[sabeltann]

"Get back, demons!"

A very growly man seems to have spotted her approaching the mirror even before she had a chance to touch it, because he's there in a flash, grabbing her other arm and pulling her back, while brandishing a sword at the mirror.

He might be slightly reminiscent of Vlad the Impaler - at least with the long hair and mustache, pale face and silly hat. Though in this case, the hat is very obviously a pirate captain's hat.

[cheerleader]

[Chrissy goes a little quiet as she thinks all that over, biting at the inside of her cheek. There's something she wants to tell him, but she worries that explaining it to him might seem weird. Or make him worry, which she doesn't want to do after...well, everything.]

When I was first on deck, I met a girl. She showed me where the arcade was, and it's just about the only thing I know how to find. But she also took me by one of the stores. And we didn't actually use money to get anything. She got a lot of junk food and just ran it across the scanner. I did the same thing for my bottle of pills, and we were able to take it. I don't think we need money here.

[So maybe they don't need actual money to get anything to eat, she's hinting at. It almost feels like a silly point to make, since he's said he'll walk her back to her room. She cancels the fifth floor and presses the floor her room is on instead.]

[cheerleader]

[There's a question on the tip of her tongue that she can't bring herself to ask. Why make weapons, she almost asks. But then she remembers there being mention of fighting or something violent back when they first spoke. So that's probably exactly why Jinx made herself weapons. The fact that she named them though, well, that makes her smile a little.

The spread that's laid out before her makes her hesitant, though. It's a lot of junk food, and it's been a while since she's helped herself to any of it. The only reason she reaches out to take more chocolate is because she doesn't want to be rude. That, and it is pretty delicious. She's missed chocolate, she realizes. ]

Oh yeah? Well, what kind of weapons are they?

[She can guess what Pow-Pow is. Maybe some kind of gun. But Fishbones is a mystery to her.]

[formersurgeon]

[Joan has never found it easy to walk away from someone who needs help. Perhaps that's what her subconscious is trying to tell her...that she needs to be more careful when reaching out. Although she'll never refuse Sherlock her help, just like he'd never refuse her. So Sherlock has to be symbolic here...maybe a warning that...

Then the girl asks her name, breaking her train of thought.]

Hmm? Oh...my name's Joan. What's yours?

[cheerleader]

[It's in that moment that Chrissy stops walking, and looks all kinds of anxious.]

But what?

[She's half expecting him to come out and say she's a ghost and he's here to Ghostbust her or something. Or help her move on, maybe. But what she can't put her finger on is why she'd be here of all places. She's never been on a cruise before. Doesn't really have a thing for boats. It doesn't make any sense.]

[saltwaterlungs]

Darcy. Are you... sure you're okay? Most people freak out a lot more. Like- 'aaah ghosts' or 'oh no where am I' or. You know.

[ It's weird seeing someone so... calm about it. Even she had at least a day of freaking out when she first arrived. Especially since she can't see anything immediately weird about this lady. ]

We haven't gotten lucky and gotten another ghost-hunter, ehn?

[woocas]

[After a few steps Lucas stops too. He sweeps his arms out, gesturing to the boat around them.]

I mean, we're both here aren't we? As far as I know this is real. That's all I have to go on.

[He pauses, eyeing her curiously.] Sorry, like...I feel like this is upsetting you somehow. I can think of somethin' else to talk about?

[formersurgeon]

[Joan hadn't noticed the stuffed shark, but there it is. Interesting. That would definitely suggest that this man isn't merely a reflection of herself. She looks over at him in alarm when he mentions the gun is probably loaded.]

Seriously?

[businessorlibation]

The captain doesn’t seem to hold safety in high regard, I’m afraid.

[He steps forward, offering a hand to shake.]

You’re a new face about decks. I’m Johnny Summer.