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TEST DRIVE MEME #5
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.]
no subject
He closes his eyes again and breathes in through his nose, focusing. Zeroing in on this guy's feelings, giving him an anchor, a specific point to hold onto. It doesn't block out everything, but it helps a little.
"I'm alright, really," he says, opening his eyes to look over again. It's at least a bit more convincing now that he doesn't seem to be in obvious pain.
no subject
"You uh.. just get here? I'm Deputy Pratt, of the Hope County, Sheriff's department." A pause, "I gotta stop saying that last part because half the people here don't know what Montana is and it's super awkward."
no subject
"It's okay, I know Montana," he answers, though by his accent Dave's definitely not from anywhere near it.
He's not sure whether this guy being law enforcement is a good think or not in this context. He does seem genuinely intent on helping, so there's that. Dave clings to that particular emotion.
no subject
He questions his sanity on a daily basis, but that one had been particularly distressing.
"You need anything? I can show you where the buffet is if you want some food? Or like.. the laundry room and library are both pretty good if you want a nice quiet place to have a breakdown."
no subject
He appreciates the offer - especially the quiet place to have a breakdown. He's probably going to need that. He needs the empath equivalent of a sensory deprivation chamber.
Slightly hesitant, he gets to his feet again. Beyond the overwhelming stress of everything, there's nothing wrong with him. And having a specific presence to latch onto helps a little bit.
"I appreciate that, but..." he says, glancing around. It's not actually evident, beyond an expression of concentration and effort, but he's trying very hard to take a step in the opposite direction. "I don't seem to be able to go anywhere except for this way."
no subject
"You gotta go to the drill and listen to Friday tell you about how life jackets work. It's all pretty obvious shit but.. guess they're safety conscious on the magic death boat." He shrugs, picking up one of the pieces of garlic bread and taking a bite. Time for a snack.
"Warning though, she's super freaky looking."