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

[sabigoe]

It's a common concern when most people aboard the ship first see her. She doesn't realize it at the moment that he's looking around to check if she has a guardian nearby. She at least knows quite a number of adults to contact, in the case she ever does need help.

Fio shakes her head, "We didn't have anything like this, where I'm from."

While she may not be a frequent visitor of the arcade, she's aware of how the machines work. No money required, just like everything else on the cruise.

"It should just turn on if you just touch it. Nothing needs money on this ship."

[formersurgeon]

"You never know. I didn't expect either of my career changes. They both kind of came out of the blue. I never would have thought I'd be a detective."

She doesn't think Viggo is likely to want to be anything different, considering the reason he went into law enforcement in the first place. Still, things happen.

[millay]

"I trust nothing, but I've been in stranger places." And she'd been given the lei by a strange creature. She remembers it still. A vague but unusual memory. She was so taken aback by the situation that she didn't question it.

"There's quite a lot of things and people on this ship. Some are friendlier than others." She understands wanting to be aware of one's surroundings. She trusts few here and it is likely unwise to trust anyone fully. "So that is wise."

She lets out a breath at the question. "The purpose? As far as I know, we are here to fuel something the Captain is doing. I don't know what that is or how. But the consensus is something similar to that."

[munstar]

"Oh. Where are you from?"

It's none of his business, but since she's brought it up, Eddie can't pretend he isn't curious. Even Hawkins has an arcade. Not that Eddie's been there in many, many years. Spending money on dumb shit was out of the question when he's trying to save up to leave one day.

He's back to eyeing the machine again soon enough, as though trying to work out why a cruise ship would even have a claw machine. Not that he knows much of anything about cruise ships, either.

"Wait- really? That's a little weird."

[millay]

"No. Not that I'm aware of," she says quietly. She studies him closely for a moment. She feels for him when he makes a distressed noise. She knows what it means to leave something behind - someone. She still misses her daughter and the chance to find her.

She gives him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. I wish I had something else to tell you. Perhaps it will change?"

[cheerleader]

[It's a promise she's not sure he can keep. It doesn't feel right to say so. Not when his arm is around her and he's trying to comfort her. A shuddering breath is the only warning he gets before an arm slowly wraps around him in return. If someone had told her a couple of weeks ago that she'd be standing like this with Eddie Munson, she wouldn't have believed them.

She had always thought he'd be mean and scary. There's nothing but an abundance of guilt that she had ever assumed he might be terrifying. But she knows better now, and also knows that maybe he finds her terrifying in return. That thought makes her think back to their conversation in the forest outside of school and it gives her the strength to smile. Even if it's just a little, it's enough.]

Yeah. It feels real to me too.

[Probably the realest anything has felt in years, actually.]

So I'm not going anywhere either, okay? We'll figure this out together.

[dontcomeback]

"Well, doesn't look like I'll be doing much detective work anytime soon," he says, gesturing vaguely at their surroundings.

He sighs, looking in the direction of the counter. He is getting hungry, and a coffee would taste amazing. "Screw it, I'm gonna brave it," he says, getting to his feet. "You want anything?"

[munstar]

"Over three thousand hours... Right." Eddie's not even going to bother trying to do the math in his head. It's a long time, and that's enough for him. "I mean. Thanks for your honesty, man."

The response is just the latest in a long list of weird things he's had to tolerate this week, so it's not even that big a deal. "So uh... what else can you tell me about this fun little vacation spot?"

[lightconductor]

Look, if you can't flirt harmlessly a little with with your alternate universe genderswapped version of yourself, who can you flirt with?

"He isn't in yours?" Watson is startled, then shakes his head. "But perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, now that I've met you. I'm sure between the two of us we can work this out. The what, at least, if not the why."

[formersurgeon]

"I don't know about that. There are definitely a lot of mysteries about this place."

She smiles at him as he stands, and glances over to the counter, thinking.

"Coffee would be good. Maybe something small to eat."

[sabigoe]

"A really small village." She keeps it vague. And she doesn't really like talking about her home life much. Also no canon name...

To her, anything on the cruise ship is something that would belong to people of the upper class. She once felt that she was undeserving of any of the amenities, often on her toes in case someone chided her for it. Those worries are all in the past now, a few months ago when she first arrived. Clearly she's more comfortable in indulging herself and a little more used to some of the technology.

"I thought it was weird at first too! This entire boat feels like it's for Nobles."

[formersurgeon]

That is true, and the flirting is nice. Comfortable, even. They'll doubtlessly get back to it at some point, once they're over being shocked about the differences between their worlds. But she shares his confidence that together they can figure this out. It just might take some time.

"She's a woman in my world. And obsessed with Sherlock. Before Sherlock and I met, Moriarty pretended to be a woman named Irene Adler to get close to him. He fell in love with her. She then faked her own death, letting Sherlock believe she had been murdered by a killer he was tracking. It almost destroyed him."

[dontcomeback]

He'll concede that. Whether he's equipped to deal with the mysteries of this place is another matter. Though he'll try anyway. What else are they supposed to do?

"Coming right up. Hopefully."

He heads up to the counter, and for a moment he thinks he sees a shape of something, then it's gone. He hesitates for a moment - it's deeply unsettling.

"Two coffees and two ham and cheese sandwiches, please," he says. He watches as the coffee pours itself, and the sandwiches get put on plates. He looks around as he waits, and then--

He sees her, standing just outside the cafe. Watching him.

He screws his eyes shut and rubs at the bridge of his nose, leaning against the counter as he tries to block out the pain. When he looks back up, she's gone, and his order is on a tray in front of him.

"Thank you," he says, picking up the tray and carrying it over to their table.

1

[busball]

Klaus looks over at the man that walks up to him, staring for a moment. He's been mostly confused, trying to find a place to drink. Surely a cruise ship has alcohol, right? So when someone asks if he can ask him a question...well, he's attractive.

He puts on his best and most charming smile. "You can ask me anything you like," he says. "What's on your mind?"

[formersurgeon]

Joan is watching the food moving by itself when her attention is drawn by Viggo leaning against the counter. She sees his face, eyes squeezed shut, clearly in pain. She begins to rise from her chair to go over and help him, but he recovers and she sits back down, still watching him in case he needs help.

[munstar]

[Eddie's not generally in the habit of making promises, particularly when he knows he might not be able to keep them. Getting someone's hopes up and then shattering them has never been his thing. It's just easier to avoid putting himself in that situation.

So when he says he's not going to leave, he's actually surprised by the realization that he means it. He hadn't actually said the words, but they're just a formality at this point. There's still the question of whether or not this is all some big elaborate hallucination or something, but until that turns out to be true, he can at least make an effort to stick around for as long as she wants him to.]

That's a good sign, right?

[Or maybe it's just wishful thinking. Eddie's lost count of the number of times he'd wished for the chance to see her again.]

Okay... But I should tell you- If I wake up some morning and realize you're gone again, I'm gonna be in such a bad mood.

[It's an admittedly terrible joke, mostly meant to lighten the mood a little.]

I love you, Klaus

[dontcomeback]

Viggo pauses just for a second at that smile, narrowing his eyes a little. He doesn't return it. The guy's either sucking up to him or flirting, and he's not interested in either at the moment.

"Have you been here long? On the ship?" he asks matter-of-factly.

[dontcomeback]

"Let's hope it doesn't have ghost residue on it," he quips as he sets the tray down, acting like nothing happened and sitting down. He picks up the cup of coffee and gently blows on it.

he loves you, too!

[busball]

Someone's playing hard to get. That's fine. Klaus doesn't mind. He's in a weird vacation that feels a bit strange, but hey! Who is he to complain about a free vacation on a cruise ship anyway? Five would have wanted it this way. Only probably Five's vacation came with him on the vacation.

He shrugs. "Just got here. Pretty sure these things come with drinks, though. And I am going to need one. Unless I've been lied to this whole time. Are you new, too?"

[formersurgeon]

"There are probably worse things," she says lightly. She watches him for a moment as he blows on his coffee, and decides it's probably best to ask.

"Are you okay?" Her voice is gentle, her concern clearly genuine.

[munstar]

"Nobles?"

Eddie blinks. It's not so much the phrasing that gets him as the realization that there are probably kids in similar circumstances in other places. Now that he's got a free minute to really think about it, this place does seem like something normally reserved for Hawkins' elite. Certainly not for the likes of him.

"I get it, kid. I'm pretty sure this place could hold like... ten of my trailers."

More, maybe. He has yet to see all there is to see.

[dontcomeback]

"I'm fine," he answers, the dismissal coming completely automatically. "I get headaches sometimes. Migraines," he explains, since she'd clearly noticed. And she's a doctor, so it's not like he can dismiss it completely.

1

[busball]

"Judy and the Pacific Princess?" He glances over. "That sounds like a pretty great movie title. Is it a book? I hope it's a movie." Cause books took effort and Klaus really wasn't in the mood to read. He's never in the mood to read if he's being honest. And he's pretty much always honest about his lack of interest in reading. Why read when you can just watch the movie?

"Is it like a lesbian romance or one of those weird 'someone comes to save a princess from supposed lack of culture because reasons'? Cause I'm hoping for lesbian romance honestly."

[dontcomeback]

Viggo's watching the guy closely, and he's talking about drinks, but he doesn't seem to be entirely sober even now, judging by the body language. He also seems far too calm for just having arrived here, which indicates intoxication. At least if he woke up the same way Viggo did, with zero explanation.

He gives a single nod at the question. "Can you tell me how you got here, and what happened between then and now?"

[formersurgeon]

She recognizes that automatic assurance. She uses it herself when she doesn't want people to worry about her, which is most of the time. But she can't really challenge it...they've only just met. Besides, his explanation is...plausible. She thinks there's something else, that deeper thing she can't put her finger on, that sorrow in his eyes, but he could also just be having migraines.

"I'm sorry. Migraines are terrible. Hopefully the ship has pain killers somewhere."