sail_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #5

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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.]

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[H-huff it's not important whether she liked it or not!! Wait...music?]

Music...? Now that you mention it, I did hear something weird like that. Are you saying your magic was responsible for that, too?

[She isn't missing the way he looks totally immaculate despite all the roaring winds. This guy...is clearly vain about his appearance.]

[ The whole production was put on so you would like it, Rita!! ]

That's right. [ No shame. ] Just breaking chairs isn't very exciting, so I added some music to set the mood a little bit and make it more exciting. It's a shame you couldn't hear it well.

[ He's a beautiful man, ok?? ]

[He tried a little too hard?!]

Wha...what do you mean, you just added some music?! How the hell does that work?

[She can understand elemental magic but there were no instruments there?!]

[ Shi Qingxuan blinks, tilting his head. She wanted to see destructive magic, yet it's this that she's shocked and impressed by?? This little girl...is really too funny, he decides. With open amusement in his smile, he continues: ]

I added music! It's just a little spell, do you want me to cast it again for you? You can make a request! Tell me your favorite type!

You...can just play music with magic...

[YES LOOK THIS KIND OF WEIRD but she can rationalize it... Instead of making a request, she just continues on.]

Is it based on air pressure? I mean, I guess you'd just have to make the right vibrations in the air to generate soundwaves, but the level of precise control it would take to make that into music...

[She's staring at him. This might...actually be really impressive??]

[ Well...maybe? He looks on, rather amused as Rita begins theorizing the finer points of what honestly...doesn't have an exact explanation. Just because he knows how to do something doesn't mean he knows the entire theory behind it...

But, she seems to relish in that sort of thing! It's endearing to finally see her so interested in something! The mystery is probably half the fun here for her. Like when ordinary people stare in awe at a cultivator's magic, the unexplained is always more interesting than the known, so why take that away from her? ]

You're such a talented mage, if you study it more, you're sure to figure out the ways and reasons of this bit spiritual magic. Isn't it more rewarding to discover secrets on your own?

[ His voice is happy and encouraging, until he adds, teasingly: ] Unless Young Miss Rita would like me as a teacher?

[Excuse you magic is a science and should make sense!! Ugh she hates the magic systems that don't work that way!! It's so much more fascinating to know the precise mechanisms behind something...

And, sure, she does like investigating these things herself...but it's rather difficult to do here, especially when talking about an entirely different magic system! So he's getting a skeptical, narrowed look.]

Are you any good at explaining?

[He seems like the type to ramble... (no, this is nothing to do with pots and kettles!!)]

[ ...wait does she actually want him as a teacher?

His smile freezes awkwardly, not expecting anyone in a thousand years would ever want him as a teacher.

He coughs and raises his fan to his face, hair floating behind him as he fans himself. ]

...If you actually want me as a teacher, there's much more involved in it than just explaining clearly...

[ He doesn't mention she would be getting a late start, too. ]

[Even if he obviously wasn't that serious about the suggestion, Rita would still like to know the details... It's a little funny to see him freeze when she takes it seriously, though.

Still...Rita ends up shrugging.]

People in my world can't use magic on their own. [Except for Estelle, of course.] That's why we use blastia in the first place. Even if I wanted to, that's how it is.

[She's met enough people with the natural ability to use magic that the slight pang of envy is long-forgotten. Sure, it'd be nice, but there's little point dwelling on it!]

[ Oh... Hearing that, Shi Qingxuan's smile turns sympathetic. ]

It's not unlike that in my own world. Even creating small spells isn't guaranteed no matter how young one begins cultivating. There's a degree of natural ability to it. That's why things like miracle medicines and treasures are sought after; they help people without natural abilities improve their skills.

[ That's a lot of words to get to: ]

But that doesn't mean you can't try cultivating. If you're serious, then we can test your natural abilities and I can do my best to teach you?

[Theoretically, anyone can use magic as long as they have a bodhi blastia--but such blastia aren't actually that commonplace, and there's certainly far more people in the world who don't have one.

Well, anyway...hm. She supposes there's no harm in trying, if he's offering. She doesn't plan to get her hopes up, though.]

If you're serious, then... What does this "cultivating" entail?

[ Wow... She's actually interested!! Maybe it isn't so surprising; she comes from a place where no-one can use magic on their own, and now he's offering an option to make that possible. (Does this mean she doesn't see him as a conman anymore?!) ]

It involves cultivating spiritual power. [ It seems obvious that, with such a vague term, she wouldn't understand, so he clarifies the most important part first! ] It's not just about being able to create spells; it's also to improve your health and longevity. So, you would also practice meditation and martial arts, building your base and learning to control the flow of spiritual power, and then start learning how to create spells. Spells actually comes much later. Forcing yourself to go too fast is bad for your health.

[ He nods in a rather exaggerated manner, as though he has never personally encountered this issue but still knows to take it very seriously. ]

[The...the question of whether or not he's a conman hasn't been settled yet!! She's totally just...humouring him okok!! (Okay she's interested. Kind of!!)

Except--any curiosity on her part quickly turns to distaste. Spiritual growth and martial arts? Gross.]

...On second thought, I'll pass. Compared to blastia, that's just...boring.

[She makes that proclamation very bluntly. Blastia are simply too grand...]

[ Shi Qingxuan...pouts. He isn't sure if he's relieved or disappointed here... ]

It's not an easy undertaking; this is the sort of practice a person devotes their entire life to.

[ He didn't have her pinned as a slacker! But, this works out for him! If he taught her badly and she ended up hurt, Shi Qingxuan doesn't think he could forgive himself... ]

Since you're not interested, though, that's that! Blastia is your specialty, so you can continue focusing your attention and building your skills on that.

[ Yep, accepted this outcome! ]

Now you've learned a bit about my skills, are you satisfied?

[He sure pouts a lot... In any case, the level of difficulty isn't what holds her back. It really does just sound like a boring process! Unlike reading textbooks. Now that's much more interesting.]

Well, I devoted my life to blastia.

[She says it casually enough, even as she's all too aware of her use of past tense. What to devote herself to now...and how to go about it...]

Anyway... I don't know if "satisfied" is the word for it...

[Sorry, Qingxuan...she's hard to please... (even if she can admit--if only to herself!--that he does have a powerful grasp of magic)]

[ Or Rita makes him pout a lot!!

Regardless, what a thing to say! He smiles in amusement, only thinking: She's so young, and she's already committed to such a degree. Some people dream of immortality from a young age, and she's also followed her own dream. How can he not smile over that? ]

In that case, then I wouldn't want to lead you astray from your life's passion... [ Everyone has their own path, et cetera, and... ] ...but still, are you not satisfied? What word you would use if not "satisfied"?

[ WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT, MISS RITA?? ]

[He's totally just a pouty-face!!]

Yeah...I guess.

[It's a pretty non-commital answer, but he's basically still a stranger--she isn't about to go spilling all her uncertainties on him! Instead...it's much better to make him squirm.]

Hmm..."messy" sounds about right.

[She's just going to smooth out some of her wind-disheveled clothes to back up the point!]

[ Shi Qingxuan being Shi Qingxuan, he doesn't press or linger on her answer, letting the topic pass.

But!! Oh...

Now he feels guilty again. She's still a young lady after all, so how could he let her clothes end up in such a sorry state? ]

Sorry, sorry. That really was my mistake... I thought it would feel refreshing out here, but it had a nasty effect on your clothing.

[ So sad...but?? He snaps his fan closed and taps it against his hand. ]

Let me make it up to you.

A breeze is refreshing. A gale, not so much.

[...Boy, he really is easily guilted, huh... Rita wasn't even being entirely serious (not that it showed in her tone at all), but now she's curious to see what he'll do.]

Hmm... What do you propose, then?

[ If only Shi Qingxuan knew that Rita also just liked using magic, then maybe he wouldn't feel so guilty! As it is, he answers very seriously: ]

Let me get you something new, to replace the clothes I made a mess of. It's the least I can do for you.

[ Yes. ]

...Huh?

[She blinks in confusion. Really...? Clothes don't need to be replaced just because they get windblown... What the heck is this guy?!]

...You know everything on the ship is free, right?

[ Well...

...no, because he hasn't tried yet. As evidenced by his lack of new clothing. ]

Then how should I make it up to you? [ Wait, a thought! ] Oh! How about I find a hairpin for you? You can't buy one, so I'll find one another way.

Edited (decided he wouldn't be that clueless here |'D I was debating between these two options and 💦) 2022-09-02 02:43 (UTC)

[Oh, right, not every newcomer goes as long without ~~not being a heathen~~ changing their outfit...

She crosses her arms and raises a skeptical eyebrow.]

Another way? Unless you plan on pulling it out of that game, I don't see where else you plan on getting one.

I'll get it out of that game. [ He even declares it! ] I only had one chance to get it, so I'll definitely succeed in the future. I just haven't gotten time to practice.

[ These are Shi Qingxuan's famous last words...but at least he looks confident? ]

Hmph...well, if you're so confident, then have at it.

[She shrugs. She's not going to watch him try, but if he's determined to go for it on his own time... Maybe she'll poke at him some more.]

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winepouring - 2022-09-04 15:52 (UTC) - Expand

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