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

[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.

[dokkans]

Oh! Gosh, I hope he didn't attack you because you were rude.

[ Bonnie stands her ground, hands behind her back. ]

Are you some kinda merc, miss?

[opheliac]

Rude? HA! He came and bothered me first. But he's dead so who cares?

(may he not rest in peace.)

Guess you can say that! I got all sorts of weapons.

[dokkans]

[ With a fairly exaggerated gasp, that saccharine smile dwindles just a bit, into something a little more manageable. ]

You have them here with you?

[opheliac]

You bet I do! They're safety tucked away 'till it's time to have fun. Which I'm hopin' is soon 'cuz I'm getting crazy bored!

[dokkans]

Aw, that's no good! Being bored on a cruise ship'll just lead you to go mad! ...Oh, I know!

[ And, it's gone, with a more snide tone to her voice. ]

Show me one of 'em.

[opheliac]

Oh, you wanna 'em? Which one? Pow-Pow or Fishbones. If ya wanna meet Fishbones, forewarning: he's a real chatterbox. Get him started and he'll never shut his trap.

(she loves the rocket launcher, truly. but his morals and his wish for her wanting to do good deeds to grow tiring to listen. especially when they've been together for a small while now -- he should know what kind of person she is.)

[dokkans]

Oh, how cute! You have pet names for them. Well... it sounds more fun, so introduce me to Fishbones! ♪

[ Get him started's interesting to hear, this she's gotta see. ]

[opheliac]

It's a long walk. Think you can keep up?

(with your fucking baby legs.)

[dokkans]

On a long walk? Honestly...

What kind of amateur do you take me for? You'll be lucky if I don't beat you to it.

[opheliac]

Eh heh heh! — Wanna make it a race?

(she bends forward to puddles bonnie's level with her hands on her hips; a cheshire cat grin. is jinx literally challenging a child to a game? yes, she is.)

From here to the elevator. Last one there gotta bring dinner to the other's cabin for the rest of the week. Deal?

[dokkans]

Awww, what? You're going to make the newbie carry your dinner? How cruel~! ♥

[ She complains, and yet she decides to reach out to lightly tap her nose. ]

You're on, Braid. Just don't complain when you lose.

[opheliac]

Whose gonna complain? I think you're more likely to cry than I would ever be. You ready?

(she stands up right; rolling her shoulder and then gets in position.)

It's a straight shot so can't be too hard for ya.

[dokkans]

Ready as I'll ever be. On your mark! ♥

[ Straight shot. Should be easy. The only way this girlie's outspeeding her is if she's not what she seems, and there's already a good chance of that!

Win win for her, but she also hates losing, so once the "starting gun" goes off-- she'll zoom right the fuck off. ]

[opheliac]

(oh, oh! well that just makes this race even more interesting. and just like bonnie, zooming off so quickly -- jinx speeds right after her with her body looking blur to others with a long pink streak trailing behind.

and who will win this race? only time will tell in just a few moments.)

(OOC: also i rolled to see if jinx wins or not and SUCK IT.)

[dokkans]

[ fuck the race and fuck ur discord bot!!!!!

It's super clear that this girl's incredibly interesting, and if she's got what she says she has...

This trip may not be so bad. For now, she huffs and puffs... ]

Aw, boo... I lost.

[ She looks like she may cry as a result of this! ]

[opheliac]

(awww, is she winded? sucks to suck because jinx really isn't. jinx spins around to face bonnie with her hands on her hips; grinning proudly.)

Hate to say I told ya so buuuut... I told ya so. My cabin number is one-one-nine, for the record.

(something bonnie will have to memorized for the next week. jinx always hoped to one day to have a servant and she is pretty happy that dream is coming true.)

[dokkans]

[ Her huffing and puffing continues until it starts to turn into laughter, and her righting herself, hands on her hips. ]

One one nine. Got it. Not a bad talent you got there, I'm kinda impressed.

So. You gonna keep hidin' the goods, or what?

[opheliac]

We gotta get to the theater first, Red Hood. — That's where they're sleepin'.

(and once they're both fully inside, jinx presses the button to the level they need to go and away they go. with arms over her head in a stretch, she leans agains the cool glass with her arms folded over her chest.)

You're pretty fast for a kid. I respect that. So I'm guessin' you're a fighter of some kind?

[dokkans]

Fighter? Mm, guess you could say that.

[ With a bright, cute smile, she holds up a peace sign. ]

Special S-Class Darkhunter, Baby Bonnie Hood! Good to meet you, Miss Braid.

[opheliac]

(it's a very coincidence nickname to her since she is also calling someone by "braids". although, she is completely fine for her and venti to be the braids duo. with a grin, she pushes herself off the glass as the elevator comes into a halt -- opening the door.)

Nice to meetcha, too! Don't know what a "darkhunter" is but it sounds deadly and I like deadly!! — It's about time we got someone around here that's not all stuffy.

(thus, she leads the way! it's another straight shot with other stores and what not but do de do, walking.)

[dokkans]

Oh, to put it in layman's terms... I hunt monsters! Pick 'em off, tear off what I need, and cash out. It's a busy job-- so I'm glad to get rewarded for this with a nice little vacation.

[ Not stuffy at all! As she skips a little coming out of the elevator. ]

Don't worry, though. I'm not boring, especially if there's someone around here who's just oh-so willing to talk about violence with a little girl right from the start.

[opheliac]

The way I see it is, kids gotta learn how harsh reality eventually. So why not do it sooner?

And this "vacation" isn't really all what it's cracked out to be. So forewarnin' on that!

[dokkans]

Heh, you're not wrong about that. My grandmother taught me all I needed to know as early as I can remember, so now I'm ready to face the whole world! ♥

[ Though, that little word of warning throws her off a bit. ]

Mm? What's so bad about it?

[opheliac]

Some people might try to kill you. In fact, the Captain will set up games for us be against each other so he can eat our misery.

(she says this so nonchalantly but that's due to the fact she has said it so much and so many times, it's becoming a broken record for her.)