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

[essentiallyharmless]

Is he... not used to being around people or something? That was a confusing reaction.

She does pick up on the cadence of a joke, but it's not particularly funny. Presumably she's lacking some context. It sounds like the sort of thing ghosts would do though. Stuck on their past and all that.

"Lucy," she answers. "I take it you're new?"

[obeyseventually]

Thank god, she doesn't make a face or run off or take a swing at him. Already doing better than the majority of conversations he had before waking up on this ship.

"Yep." Jack says, and takes a sip of his drink--

Which sure is strong, just like he asked for. Not the worst thing he's tasted, though, given the number of times he accidentally drank from a molotov while working his way through Olympus Heights. So he doesn't choke on it, just swallows like it's nothing and sets his glass down.

"Just got here today. How about you?" he asks.

[essentiallyharmless]

He should be glad he didn't meet her a year ago, because she could've easily done any of the above. She has a bit more self-control now.

"Quite recent, yes," she answers, without giving specifics. He sounds... Midwestern? She's not too good at American accents, but it's very quite different from her posh upper-class English one.

Shi Qingxuan | Heaven Official's Blessing

[winepouring]

[ A | not subtle revealings ]

[ He could nearly hear his older brother's voice now...

Qingxuan, I told you to be careful! Going out in that form and drinking all night, now something has taken advantage of you!

Except, only nearly, because whatever had taken him and wherever he was now, the ability to contact him was suppressed, so Shi Qingxuan could only preemptively imagine the earful he was going to receive. Though, for a kidnapping, he was in pretty good shape! A kidnapper that didn't even steal his jewelry and hadn't done more than leave him a bit disheveled? He had done worse to himself while awake, sober, and in complete control of his situation!

It was these sorts of thoughts Shi Qingxuan used to bolster himself up before he made his way to muster. By the time he got there (for however long it took while testing his inability not to walk there), he really did look rather at ease - like he was on a vacation! - fanning himself and listening attentively, even if his face had only dropped one shade paler when that lei was placed around his shoulders. It was like he wasn't standing there and following a drill delivered by someone who doesn't have a mouth to speak, and he was only a bit out of place because he looked overdressed and awkward in his billowy, white and brocade ensemble with a puffy, neon life jacket pulled over top of it. (How the wide and billowy sleeves managed to fit in the holes of the vest, Shi Qingxuan hopes no-one was watching him and witnessed that struggle.)

By the time it was over, Shi Qingxuan gave a small gesture of courtesy to Gal, and then stepped away. This thing around his neck...

He fingered the strange, white material strung on the cord. It wasn't a good idea to keep something like this on or to take it off in front of the one who gave it to him. Well...

He leans over to another person on deck conspiratorially: ]

What did you get? Can I see it?


[ B | complex mementos ]

[ Shi Qingxuan watches the new claw machine eagerly.

He is not, by any means, a child, but there is a childlike light of excitement in his eyes as he watches the game, watches as the claw descends, and feels a shared disappointment as it brushes the edge of a prize and then rises without it.

Not able to stand it anymore, he finally steps forward, rolling up his sleeves as he goes.
]

Wait, wait, wait. Let me try it.

[ He isn't rude enough to edge the other person away from the controls, though, and stands at the side. ]

One of us has to win it, don't you think? I'll try my luck and catch it for you.


[ ooc: prose or brackets both okay!! ]

[obeyseventually]

She answers, no specifics. Is that a sign to drop it? Should he...

... Fuck it, Jack's here to drink and now's as good as time as any to keep working on being a normal goddamn person again.

Jack nods. He guesses from the accent that she's, uh, from England? Hey, that might make for good conversational material later.

"How're you finding it here?" he asks.

Because yeah, the ship and amenities are nice, if unsettling sometimes, but nobody seems to be a fan of the 'can't go home' part of the deal and being honest, Jack's on the fence about that too.

[dokkans]

Yay, yay!

[ She really just wanted to get a good feel for how well it's put together, lightly running her palm against Fishbones' "head". ]

Gosh, you two must have so much fun together.

[dokkans]

I get it... no one'll fight for you but you sometimes. That's just life, isn't it?

[ Siiigh. She doesn't seem quite unhappy about it, though. ]

Oh, I'm Bonnie! Or, I'm referred to as "Baby Bonnie" by my peers. I don't mind either one, you can even shorten that to B.B. if you want! ♥

BB~

[myagic]

[It's not like Rita's that interested in playing games. She just...happened to be in Playback, and happened to be checking out the claw machine. And happened to notice a kitty hairpin inside a capsule, among some of the...questionable prizes.

...Okay, maybe she wants the kitty hairpin.

But she's also getting increasingly annoyed, as the claw either misses, or the capsule slips out of its grip for the umpteenth time, and she's seriously starting to consider blasting the thing open--

--Huh. Where'd this guy come from? Rita gives him a dubious look, both because he seems unfamiliar and because he looks really out of place, before huffing and waving at the machine.]

Knock yourself out. You've got a few tries before I just go with Plan B.

[essentiallyharmless]

Shame he's trying to practice on Lucy, since she doesn't necessarily do people any favours in conversations with her. Although maybe she'll take pity on him eventually, if she realises how clueless he is.

"Small. Dull. Confining," she answers, taking a sip of her drink. "Last time I was stuck like this, I had a whole city. Theatre. Bars with actual people in it," she continues. "Multiple people, I mean. Places to go where no one would know you."

[winepouring]

[ The pleased grin the spreads across his face is utterly undaunted in the face of Rita's critical gaze. He palms his knuckles in his palm like he's revving himself up. ]

Don't worry, I've been watching this game for a while, and I think I've learned the trick to making the claw keep hold.

[ So he says, self-assuredly, before stepping in front of the machine. He has been watching it and understands the controls, though this is the first time he's been up close to see the prizes.

There...is certainly an assortment, half of which Shi Qingxuan hasn't seen before, and some of which look too macabre from a young lady to be trying to win. A shiny ball filled with sharped teeth, a stuffed animal that looks a bit too realistic, among other things... Surely she wouldn't be after things like that? Though this place hasn't been normal...

He taps the surface of the machine, glancing back at Rita. ]

Which prize did you want to win?

complex mementos

[munstar]

I have no fucking idea, man.

[But that's hardly the most important thing here. Eddie's been wandering around, trying to wrap his head around all of this, and he's still not any closer to deciding how he feels about this little vacation.

So he turns his back on the crane game for a moment, in favor of turning to stare at Steve.]

How are you even here?

[He's not supposed to be here. Then again, neither is Eddie. And maybe neither is Chrissy. Apparently, this place just doesn't care about that.]

[myagic]

[She steps to the side to watch him...before her dubious look quickly turns to even more dubious--and awkward--sputtering.]

You've been--just how long were you standing there?!

[And why is he so excited...

Oh...she would have to tell him which prize she wants...assuming he can get it. Well...she goes ahead and points to it: it's simple, a stylized, cute black cat face.]

...The hairpin, but...it's not like I wanted it that badly--it was just--I thought someone else might want it!

[A very smooth excuse, right??]

[obeyseventually]

Funny enough, Jack's been stuck in a city with theatres, bars, actual people filling both of them and very few who knew him, and he found the experience not worth repeating.

As soon as that thought crosses his mind, he takes a longer drink from his glass. He'd have to down the whole thing like a shot if he wanted to get tipsy (thanks for nothing, genetic modification), so for now the whole exercise is just to use the bad taste of the drink to wash out the worse one of Rapture.

"Hmm." he says as he swallows, to prove he's still listening, and looks her way again.

"Yeah. It's a lot quieter here than where I left, that's for sure." he agrees. "I almost don't mind it, though."

Mostly agrees, then. He's tempted to ask if she gets stuck in places like this a lot, given her answer, but there's no tactful way to pry into that off the top of his head. Probably was less literal than what they have going on the ship, too, so he lets it lie.

[makemeasong]

"That advice has come about four and a half billion years too late for me," Clara mutters instead of being any kind of put off by Lucy. It's still...weird as far as first-time conversations go, though.

"You never answered the question," she says not in a put-out way, just pointing it out.

[winepouring]

[ Hm, how long... ] Not as long as you've been here?

[ He guesses. It's at this point that he realizes that it sounds like he's been looming over her shoulder this entire time—but just outright denying that sounds much worse!! A bit of embarrassment finally creeps in past his excitement. ]

But, it's because I've seen different people try their hand at this while looking around here that I think I've gotten the pattern.

[ Yep. Now back to the machine! ]

Anyway, let's see...

[ Putting all that behind him, he scans the capsules in the area he saw Rita aiming before... Ah! There it is!

...It's a cute little pin. Is she embarrassed about wanting something cute? Shi Qingxuan could almost be relieved that she's just a normal girl and not trying to win that shriveled, leathery hand there beside it...

Now that he knows, he starts up the machine. ]

It's a beautiful hairpin. I think whoever received it would be very happy to have it— [ Go claw! Ah, not that far to the left... ] —So let's win it before you try your plan B!

[ ...and because she's a normal girl, he also has to take her feelings into consideration here. Pointing out the bad lie would just be bullying... ]

[essentiallyharmless]

Oh no, she was talking extremely literally. Interuniversal kidnapping scheme for seemingly no reason and everything. But there wasn't a lot of people trying to murder her there, so at least there was that.

"Where'd you leave from?" she asks. Partly out of curiously, and partly because she doesn't care to carry the conversation with sharing stuff from her own life.

[myagic]

[Wow, that totally makes it sounds like she was here a long time, rude!! (Even if it's...not entirely untrue...)

Anyway, though...at least he seems to have a little self-awareness (not that she's one to talk), even if it's still a little weird that he's just been watching different people play the game... On the other hand, though, if he really thinks he can get it...]

Hm...you think so too?

[She is slightly pleased that he totally agrees wholeheartedly, right? Also she's pretending that hand isn't there...even if she may have been horrified by it earlier...]

...So who're you supposed to be, anyway?

[winepouring]

[ Unaware of her thoughts, he thinks this has been totally smoothed over! It's normal to watch people play games in public spaces like this, no reason for her to feel singled out! ]

Mm, it's very pretty, and aren't black cats good luck?

[ Or, they're meant to scare away evil, which is at least a kind of "lucky" here where evil seems to be ever creeping...

Usually, Shi Qingxuan is very good at holding a conversation while doing something else, but after saying that, he actually falls silent. These controls are more sensitive than he had thought... A little push seems to jerk, and making the claw hover where he needs it is challenging.

Eventually, he realizes he hasn't actually answered her question. ]

—Ah, sorry, sorry. My name is Shi Qingxuan. May I ask your name?

[ Hopefully he isn't too distracted by The Claw? ]

[inhairently]

Steve frowns in way that seems to say he's not entirely sure what he would like right now. In fact, ever since finding himself on this ship he's not sure what he'll ever like again. Nothing makes sense, least of all guns in a claw machine.

Besides, he isn't much of a gun guy... and so far nothing here has made him think guns are even something he might need.

His frown deepens.

"I don't know," he says with a shrug, hands still planted firmly on his hips. "Do you think there's a catch?"

[inhairently]

Yeah. [ Steve sighs, dejected — that isn't the answer he was hoping for but this bloody kid kinda takes away any doubts he may have had. He still isn't sure how he died but maybe that's how death works. ] Yeah, it really sucks.

[ There's a certain familiarity about this kid, maybe in that so far Steve hasn't seen anything or anyone who looks like they may have come from his home until now. Hawkins is a small town, though, and even if Steve doesn't know everyone there he's pretty sure he would recognize this kid if he was from there too.

Still, he has to ask —]

Are you from Hawkins?

[myagic]

[It's fine they can both play it smooth. Probably!]

Hmm...Maybe where you're from, but if it was good luck, you'd think it'd be a little easier to catch.

[She is closely watching him handle the controls, caught between satisfaction that he's not picking it up as quickly as he apparently thought he would, and annoyance all over again since it means grabbing that pin is still going to be a pain...]

Rita Mordio. You a noble or something?

[It's an unfamiliar name--she's been here more than long enough to not find that surprising in the least--but judging from his appearance and clothes...]

...Or maybe some kind of performer?

[inhairently]

[ Steve had nearly resigned himself to his fate (to be, what? pulled into a window? transported to yet another mysterious world, this time in the land of reflections and creepy hands? he isn't entirely sure) when this new guy came bounding in like his own personal hero to save the day.

The creepy hands don't seem to have much strength individually, and this extra bit of leverage on Steve's end thanks to Hero Man seems to be just enough. Once the first hand starts to lose its grip the rest follow and Steve goes tumbling back onto the floor. ]

Shit, [ he echoes Hero Man unintentionally, blinking up at him. He's just about to express his gratitude when he notices his arm feels a bit... abnormal, if abnormal means "can't feel it at all." He glances down and sees chalk white flesh, like he suddenly had a corpse's arm attached to his body. The first flicker of panic ignites in his gut and he says, for emphasis this time: ] Shit!

[ And for good measure (and shriller than he would have liked): ]

What the hell, man?

[ He doesn't know what else to do so he starts slapping at the deadened flesh of his arm to try to liven it back up but it doesn't seem to be doing much, nor can he feel it. ]

What do I do?

[inhairently]

I don't know. I think I'm dead, [ Steve says with the nonchalance of someone who has definitely not processed the complicated emotions that come along with, uh, apparently dying. He'd met some bloody, clearly-also-dead kid when he'd first shown up and took that to heart. They're dead. Everyone.

Which is... not great, for the situation back home. To put it lightly. Especially if Eddie is here too, because if he's here then he's also dead. Steve doesn't doubt Nance and Robin's monster slaying skills but god he's not sure if they can do it on their own.

He leans forward and taps the glass of the claw machine like it's an aquarium, then glances back at Eddie. ]

How are you here?

[essentiallyharmless]

"Besides one more person on the ship having access to a gun?" Lucy asks, raising her eyebrows. That is catch enough, really. Although not one she is too worried about. She probably should be, but...

"No. I don't think so. But then I haven't been here very long, so who could say," she adds. She doesn't know too much about the situation here, but it's entirely possible there could be unforeseen drawbacks.

[essentiallyharmless]

She does raise her eyebrows and smiles a little at Clara's quiet comment. So another one with the hots for the Doctor? That's not too uncommon, from what she understands. Personally she doesn't see the appeal.

"Which one?" she asks, because she thinks she's answered all questions about as much as she's intending to.