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

aah nice!! Abyss is my top Tales even though I play from ToV...an oldie but forever a goody 💕

[myagic]

Too busy checking yourself out, huh...?

[That...sounds suspiciously suspicious, so Rita's reply comes in a flat, skeptical tone before she shrugs.]

I'm fine, but you really should watched where you're going. Who knows what could be--gaaaah?!

[And then it's Rita's turn to shriek as she hazards a glance at the mirror, only to see the wispy tendrils slithering from its surface, still seeking Tear.]

AAAA i'm sorry about the delay :,( something happened irl that took me away from my computer njdkfns

[qliphoths]

Ch-checking...?

[ tear is notably flustered by the accusation, much too shy to have ever been doing something like that -- but her words die on her tongue as the other girl continues. it's unlike tear to be the one on the receiving end of a scolding, and she feels ashamed for a bit; however, these feelings are short-lived, cut through by the way rita suddenly shouts.

tear doesn't need to think, turning towards the source of her companion's fear purely through instinct, fingers searching along her thigh for a knife. ]

They're back?! [ she blanches, stilling for a moment from the sight of the wispy tendrils curling towards them. they weren't any less scary than they'd been before... ] These are what I saw earlier, in the mirror.

[ she steps in front of rita, an arm held out to keep the younger girl back, and tosses her knife. it doesn't appear to harm the tendrils, and simply passes through them -- colliding against the mirror's surface and causing a small fracture to sprout. the damage to the mirror causes the tendrils to writhe and twist towards them faster, as if the fracture angered whatever they grew from. ]

I don't have many knives on me ... [ she glances at the other girl, as she reaches for a second knife. ] And I don't know what these are, so if we can't figure it out then we're going to have to run.

[ how far could it's reach really be? ]

no worries!!

[myagic]

Back?!

[Oh, so that's why she was screaming, Rita realizes in the back of her mind as the other girl damages the mirror. Not that Rita's afraid of them or anything, either...of course...even if their writhing is decidedly creepy.]

It...has to be a trick! If they come from the mirror--just bust it up!

[Is that a suggestion to Tear, or a panicked shout without much thought put into it? Maybe a little of both...but also neither, as Rita takes it upon herself to start casting a spell. Tear might want to get out of the way...]

O flickering blaze, burn...Fireball!

[...As she sends a trio of fireballs at the offending mirror--which is probably overkill, since it shatters on the first hit, with the second hits only serving to make an even bigger mess of exploding glass shards.]

i love rita sm omg. sorry this is kind of rushed aaa njdkfdns QQ

[qliphoths]

[ she recognizes the familiar glow of an arte, the stretch of a glyph beneath the girl's feet. tear hadn't been expecting for her to be able to use any sort of ability like this and leaps out of the way, watching with widened eyes as the fire balls soar past them.

unfortunately the glass is able to reach her from where she'd leapt, a sizable piece slicing the exposed curve of her shoulder. tear doesn't notice it though, too busy concerning herself with rita. ]

... I wasn't expecting for you to be able to use artes.

[ there's a note of approval to her voice as she walks back over to the other girl's side. a part of her is a little glad to see a shred of familiarity here. ]

I made the mistake of assuming you were just a civilian. Thank you, for taking care of that monster.

not at all, it's great!! these two scaredy-cats lmao...

[myagic]

[Rita's a bit more prepared (and maybe a bit too used to fireballing the scenery), shielding her own face with an arm when the mirror shatters. Ha, take that, stupid gho--mirror monster. But when she looks at Tear, she falters a little at the blood trickling down the other girl's shoulder. She's opening her mouth to say something--

--And then stops short, because artes?]

You're familiar with artes?

[That means--she must be from Terca Lumireis, or else...Jade's world, providing there aren't any other weirdly-similar worlds out there. Her surprise is brief, though, since it isn't like they know each other. Ultimately, whether or not they're from the same world, then, isn't really that important.]

I am a civilian, but I'm a mage, too. Rita Mordio.

[And then...she looks at the injury on Tear's shoulder again. She doesn't feel...too guilty, not when the alternative was getting attacked by that thing. But maybe she is, just a little...and it's not like she can just ignore it.]

...I guess...I should show you where the infirmary is.

i forgot about that!! scardy cat + cat enjoyers gang B)

[qliphoths]

I see. It's nice to meet you, Rita. My name is Tear Grants. I'm sorry for misjudging you, earlier. [ she smiles just a bit, her expression touched with a shade of fondness. a young mage ... it reminded her so very much of anise, and of jade. it was always nice to know there were capable people around, too.
before she can supply more information, to tell rita about her background as a soldier or of her own ability with fonic artes, she finds her companion's gaze wandering -- and follows it to the wound on her own arm. ]

Oh! I didn't notice before... How careless of me.

[ she lifts a hand, palm hovering over the cut: after a moment a soft glow begins to emanate from beneath the tips of her fingers, and the cut gradually mends itself.
if it were any bigger, she'd definitely needed to have cast an arte on herself. ]

I don't think I'd need to go to an infirmary for something this small... but I'm glad that we have one on this ship.
If you can, I'd like for you to take me there anyway. I'm a healer, and a melodist... so if there's somewhere where I can offer my services, then I'd like to make myself useful.

YESSS what a pair ♥

[myagic]

Misjudging...? Well, it's not like you can gauge someone's abilities the moment you run into them.

[Rita shrugs casually. Tear seems like the overly serious type, but at least it seems she won't be underestimating Rita Mordio anytime soon. More importantly, the injury--

Rita blinks, finding it a little incredulous that Tear didn't notice, but subsequently...her eyes are glued to the small magic feat the other girl performs. On the one hand, they really could use a healer around here, but also--that's definitely not the same magic from Terca Lumireis, and it's distinct from Estelle's healing magic too. And from something so small, she can't tell if it's similar to Jade's magic, either...

Tear's request about going to the infirmary thus gets...completely ignored! As Rita proceeds to pester her over the more interesting topic here. And also, maybe reach out to grab Tear's hand because let her see-!]

Hey, that magic--what type is it? You don't use regular artes, do you?

pls let her sing for u rita

[qliphoths]

[ tear's caught off-guard by rita's enthusiasm, surprised into silence as the girl takes her hand. it takes her a moment to find her voice -- ]

... I'm a Seventh Fonist. [ she assumes rita can only utilize the first through sixth fonons, or only a few of those -- otherwise why would the girl be surprised? a person who could use the element of sound was pretty rare, after all even though half the people in her party can do so. ]

You're right, I suppose I don't use regular artes. The Seventh Fonon is entirely different from the rest, and I'm primarily a melodist. Although the Seventh Fonon can uniquely do things that the rest can't... Are you familiar with what I'm talking about?

[ because if she isn't then that leads to a whole bunch of other questions ]

oh no she would...probably like that //// tear has a nice voice-!!

[myagic]

A--Seventh Fonist? Really?

[Rita's surprised, and she recognizes the term, of course--since she and Jade have been nerding out discussing and comparing their magic on several occasions, she's already heard about the seventh fonon.]

That must mean... Then you're from...

[Yeah, she is...half addressing Tear, half muttering to herself?? It's fine. She's also still holding Tear's hand, since she sort of forgot to let go! That's also fine.]

You're from Jade's world! What was it again? Al...dent?

[Look, the planet name was never as important as fonons, clearly.]

I’m going to go with Tear meeting jade first on the ship and then rita 😎🤙🏼 Is that ok?

[qliphoths]

U-uhm… yes.

[ she takes something of a half-step back, faltering just a bit from the other girl’s enthusiasm —- and mention of jade. she makes no attempt to pull her hand from rita’s grasp just yet, though.

It’s Auldrant … and how do you know the Colonel? [ a small pause because whoops: what a stupid question. ]
Well, I suppose you must have met him here. The ship isn’t all that large.

I assume he must have told you about the seventh fonon, given your reaction. Do you not have healers, wherever you’re from? Or do they use it too?

[ since it can’t possibly be aldent too right? ]

fine by me! that way she had the status report from someone trusted

[myagic]

Yeah, that's the one.

[Auldrant. Maybe she'll remember it this time, in case it might be relevant later, and Rita lets go of Tear's hand without really thinking about it. Wait-]

Hang on--you know that big old softy, too?!

["Big old softy" is totally a Very Normal Description where Jade Curtiss is concerned, right?? That's how Rita sees him, anyway... Still, what are the odds of two people coming here who already know each other--actually...then again, Yuri and Flynn were both here before, so...it's certainly not out of the question.]

Yeah, we've talked quite a lot about magic. My world doesn't have fonons, though, so our magic works differently.

[Even if they're still bizarrely similar.]

tell her all the hot gossip rita.

[qliphoths]

[ hold on —-

‘ big old softie ‘……… ]

There may be more than one Jade here. I don’t know if we’re talking about the same one, hearing that. [ She’s joking, a bit — although she’s so serious it may be difficult to tell. ]

We were comrades back home. The Colonel and I travelled together as part of a group, and he’s someone I trust a lot.

I imagine his skills and knowledge have been just as useful for you here, as they’d been to me.

[ she’s praising him! ]

aw yeah everyone loves the jade gossip

[myagic]

There's just the one, as far as I know. [And he is a colonel.] Glasses, obnoxious, but a great big worrywart--that has to be the same one, right?

[By this point, she pretty much uses obnoxious almost fondly. He's become a good friend to her too, so she isn't surprised to hear that Tear trusts him.]

Yeah, I guess you could say he's been pretty useful--when he stops running his mouth too much.

[This is also praise!! It's just...too hard to say it outright.]

Oh, but you should've seen how stupid he looked in one of the outfits we were put in-!

[...Okay yeah actually maybe it is just slander. But fondly.]

omg no i thought i replied to this!!!

[qliphoths]

Yes ... That sounds more like him. [ just from the description alone, tear can tell that the two mages must be quite close. the realization makes her feel a little more warmly towards rita: tear trusts jade's taste in people, after all. ]

Outfits? What kind of outfit? Before we came here there were a few were wore that were ... questionable. [ so it isn't hard to imagine the colonel in a few ridiculous things already. ]

There was even a time we had to fight in swimsuits, if you'll believe that.

aah, it happens! no worries!

[myagic]

Thought so! Did you have to put up with all his lecturing, too?

[What with his need to be a fretful dad busybody and all! Rita digs her smartphone out of her pocket with a mischievous grin as Tear continues.]

Questionable? Now I need to know--wait, swimsuits? [Not that fighting in whatever they're wearing is weird in itself, but you know what, she doesn't really want to hear about Jade in a swimsuit, actually.]

Well, never mind the swimsuits--just get a load of this! [And she's going to play back a video that Natsuno sent to her: Rita and Jade, with the former casting a spell and the latter watching, and both dressed in camp T-shirts and short shorts; Jade even has a scrunchie tying his hair back.] It practically screams weirdo, doesn't it?

oh man if abyss had phones her camera roll would be filled with mieu 😔

[qliphoths]

No, I didn't. To be honest, I wasn't usually the one on the receiving end of the Colonel's lectures.

[ she was The Responsible One, after all!!
and its not like jade's never been scolded either, himself -- a certain princess grabbing him by the collar comes to mind...

she wonders, briefly, just how much jade has told rita about auldrant and the relationships he's formed there -- about his journey, what they accomplished together.
one day, she'll have to ask the other girl about it. ]

Wh -- what is that outfit ... [ tear can't help but grimace at the video. rita looked adorable in it!! but jade ... ]
It's awful. Do we have to wear these sorts of things a lot? At least it looks easy to move around in...

[ she frowns ]

Wait ... Was this taken on the ship?

[ she can't tell if it's some obscure area on board, or somewhere on land. ]

ohh it really would...so many cheagle pics, and some tokunagas too ♥

[myagic]

Hm...really?

[But she doesn't look very old...and Jade seems to lecture basically everyone around her age?! Clearly it has nothing to do with their levels of recklessness or responsibility...of course not...

Oh, well--more importantly, Tear now gets to share this cursed memory of Jade in short shorts, and Rita's all too delighted that the other girl agrees he looks abysmal, even if her glee fades when Tear asks about the location.]

It was--hm, the actual location isn't really... [Hmm...how to explain this...] It was in another dimension or something, separate from the ship. We go to those now and then, and it always forces weird outfits on us...

[Nailed it!!]

[qliphoths]

I'm not sure what's more disturbing: knowing that we'll be going to different dimensions from time to time,
or knowing I might have to see the Colonel in more outfits like that one ...

[ she doesn't mean to roast jade specifically, of course: in reality, she wouldn't want to see any man over the age of like, 20 in short shorts, really. ]

Do we have to keep the outfits, or can we throw them away?

[ aka: please tell her he won't rotate those into his daily wear, thank you ]

[myagic]

[Rita snorts in solidarity at that bit of Jade roasting, even as she wonders how best to break the news of the real potentially-disturbing parts of those excursions...]

So far, we're free to change into whatever we want...once we're back on the ship.

[So, yes, Jade was in short shorts for that entire week-long camping trip.]

But you've travelled with him before, so you already knows he always dresses like--what was it? Oh yeah, a boring dad.

[Natsuno's words, and Rita's inclined to agree.]

[qliphoths]

A boring dad? [ that gets a laugh out of her, which she tries (in vain) to conceal behind her hand. ]

I guess that's one way to put it ... Not that my personal tastes are much better.
[ there were a lot of similarities that she and jade shared, aside from their hair style. perhaps it was a soldier thing? ]

There's actually a friend of the Colonel's that would give us ridiculous outfits to wear. Swimsuits included.
I think the worst were the Abyss Man costumes ... they were difficult to see in, so it wasn't ideal for fighting.

[ being able to just chat like this with a girl her age was nice!
she didn't even realize how much she'd missed it. ]

it's such a shame rita's canonpoint means she has hardly any canon costumes to talk about, alas

[myagic]

[The real disturbing aspects of this place aside, it is...kind of fun to chat make fun of Jade with Tear. She seemed like a pretty serious person at first, but clearly that's not all there is to her. (And Rita still misses Estelle, and the others, even after all this time...)]

Oh? Well, if you want something flashier, I can help you choose. That reminds me-- [Irritation crosses her face now.] We went to all the trouble of picking out a few more interesting outfits for that Jade, and I haven't seen him wear a single one. He's so ungrateful!

[RUDE TBH...anyway... This is the first Rita's heard of Jade's costume-loving friend!]

They gave you costumes to fight in? Pretty weird... What's 'Abyss Man', anyway?

!!! i didnt realize she wasn't post-game !!! :o my illiteracy strikes again

[qliphoths]

I'm sure he can be persuaded to wear them sometime.

[ he has worn unpleasant things before! don't lose hope rita!! ]

Yes ... for an Emperor he was very eccentric, but kind.
Abyss Man were characters in a popular hero show, or something like that.
The outfits were a present to us from His Majesty...
To be honest, I felt too bad to say no with how much effort he put into them.

[ she breathes a sigh and chances a glance behind herself, off down the corridor with the broken mirror. ]

If it's alright with you, Rita, could we continue talking about this somewhere else?
I don't know if there might be other monsters here.

[ also she forgot her knife on the floor. whoops. ]

nkansd I hadn't mentioned it at all yet but yes, she's from right before zaude |D

[myagic]

[Jade better be persuaded to wear them one of these days... Everything else that happened that day left so much lingering awkwardness, she'd actually forgotten about the clothes for a while.]

He's friends with the emperor? And one with weird hobbies at that, huh...

[Just imagining Jade in some weird hero outfit (that's probably nothing like the actual Abyss Man) is pretty amusing, though. Ahh, she already has some great material to get under his skin. But--oh yeah, she they've been just standing here for a little while now.]

Oh, right. Hmm...let's go out on deck, then.

[If there are any more g--monsters in the mirrors, they can just go somewhere without mirrors! Which might mean no clothes shopping with Tear until these...whatever-they-are take a hike.]

\o/ we can continue this elsewhere if u want for a september thread?

[qliphoths]

Yes ... the Colonel knows quite a few influential people.

[ of course, she does too. not that she would brag about, or mention, it easily. ]

Sure. To be honest, if I'd known I would find myself here,
I would have brought more knives with me. I feel so unprepared...

[ she goes back to retrieve it, and stops to part the sections of her dress, tucking her weapon back into the holster on her thigh. ]

Will you lead the way? I haven't gotten around to remembering all of the directions yet.

I'm good either way! :>

[myagic]

Does that include you? Or...are you one of his subordinates?

[Since they're both apparently soldiers, and travelled together...

Once Tear returns with her knife, Rita nods and starts to lead her through the corridor towards the elevator.]

It's not like anyone could've expected they'd end up here... You can't be prepared for everything.