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TEST DRIVE MEME #6
1. took a time-traveling ride
[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 aboard! I'm so happy you could join us!
[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. so many dragons lurking out in the fog
[the cabins closest to the laundry room door will notice first. the steady hums and thuds of the machines, muffled by walls, are growing louder and louder, until it almost sounds like someone is bashing them against the wall. soapy water leaks from under the closed door, drips from the sides.
until someone is dumb enough to open it.
it’s a flash flood of detergent, a wave of foam and hot water feet high spilling forth and bringing down and along anything caught in its path. you’d think it would be a quick burst, that once whatever had built up in the room was released, the torrent would subside. but, it doesn’t. and a river of half-washed socks overtakes the hallways.]
3. I need protection from the things in my head
[The Infinite Tommy Bahama, everyone’s favorite destination for laid-back island sophistication, is a bit of an odd duck on the Promenade. and not just because it’s seemingly shoved between two extant locales, or because it’s a clothing store among bars and restaurants. for some reason, the unseen spirits that attend the other bars and shops, doing the routine duties necessary to keep such places running, seem to avoid this one, and it shows. clothes that are taken off the racks are not put back on again, leaving increasingly large piles of floral print and polyester blends in every aisle.
and that is where he is born.
there’s just so many piles. and they all look pretty much the same, each as tacky as the one next to it. it would be hard to notice that one has moved while your back was turned to it. difficult to realize that a singular pile has started stalking you through the stacks and racks. until it’s too late to turn back, until you’ve lost sight of the entrance, and the piles of discarded slacks and blazers seem to conglomerate into one massive beast, which rises from the polished wood floors and throws its weight upon its hapless victim.
the bahamanal strikes.]
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[For once, he bites his tongue on that. He picks up a wet pair of pants and nods.]
It’s not usually for one in my standing… [Gabriel shut the fuck up] But seeing as we’re the only two here…
[He shrugs. He can help.]
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[And Rose beams, she genuinely appreciates it, and gets that he wouldn't normally do it, so she's extra grateful!] Thanks! Normally you'd be doing holier things, right? Normally I'd be like, "Aw nah, I'm not doing this again," but like you said, there's no one else.... so, I guess I better do my best to be a hero.
What's it like being an actual angel?
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[His helmet tilts to glance at her. There's no expression through that helmet, but it's easy to tell through tone alone that he's being wry, with a slight, teasing grin to his voice. A few more shirts go onto the table, now quickly turning into a sopping pile.]
It depends on what sort of angel you're referring to. [Then again, it would take too long to explain Heaven's hierarchy - much more the fact that most angels prefer to separate themselves from humans. Gabriel's one of the few of his standing who interacts with them. His chin lifts with pride.] To be the righteous hand of the Father is splendor in its highest form. There is work involved, certainly, but it keeps order amongst the chaos of the afterlife, to maintain the Light.
[This is coming from someone who is very convinced that the terrible things he's done as Hell's judge was for the benefit for righteousness (he'll get better, eventually).]
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Well-- I might boss the Doctor around. And Mickey. But only for their own good.
[But she listens cheerfully, almost studiously.] So um, pardon me, if it's rude, I just don't know, yeah? Did human religions get it right? Any of them? Christianity or Buddhism, or whatever? [Which ones had angels again???] Or is it all... [She waves a hand.] Not even humans?
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[He chuckles.]
I would say your...Catholicism was close enough, as well as what the ancient Greeks believe. But I suppose each "religion" had some grain of truth to it. You all had it right and wrong in some form or another. At least...where I come from.
[Now he hesitates, staring at a shirt he just lifted out of the water.]
I thought this was some part of Hell. But I'm starting to think I don't know where I am.
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[A hum!] Now I'm worried about Queen 'Liz' even more. I always thought there was something suspicious about her. Virgin queen yeah right.
Nah, it's not Hell. I'm pretty sure. Because I haven't died, and I would remember that, right? [MORE THINKING.] Unfortunately I'm no expert. Not like the Doctor. So Serena Eterna as a cruise ship... 'Dunno! It could be on so many planets. Or times. Or universes. [Her tongue sticks to the roof of her mouth for a second thinking of that. That'd be truly terrifying, and so hard for the Doctor to get her back.] Ah... I don't think it is though. It doesn't have that kind of taste, you know? [He probably doesn't, but she's sort of confident in this.]
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[Humanity died out where he comes from. The people here are the first living ones he's seen in a while, and it's more alarming that he explains.]
I don't know what you mean about...times and universes. But there should only be one.
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Oh... well... um. I've been to multiples. [:T oops?] Is that a sin? [It's okay, the Doctor will fight for her behalf like... what was the Greek dude again???]
[Point is, it's not her fault!]
What happened to humanity in your universe? You've never heard of daleks or the Time War, right?
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[Give him a sec, he’s confused. And working himself up about it for no reason.]
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"Job well done, Rose Tyler. Enjoy your rock concert!" "Oh thanks God! I will!"
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[Gabriel cuts himself off, thankfully, and sighs. He glances at her hand, but doesn't take it.]
God already has his purpose for me, and it's not here. [keep telling yourself that dude] But. Thank you. I suppose the way out will come to light soon enough.
[That and he'll attempt to force his way out. A lot.]
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And I'll help you look.