TEST DRIVE MEME #7

[sailmods]

1. before she hung up, she said she was a skeleton

[there is no note in your cabin. no forces stall your legs if you decide to walk anywhere but the atrium. in fact, for the first time in hundreds of years, newly arrived passengers on the Serena Eterna are waking up with absolutely no guidance. nothing but your fellow passengers in the halls - or maybe in your bed.

perhaps you end up in the atrium eventually anyway. it is where guest services is, and where Gal Friday… actually hasn’t been in a few days. until today. and she is visibly frazzled, her hair uncoiffed, her suit rumpled, something a bit like a bruise blossoming down from her hairline and over her smooth features. more papers than ever cover her desk, and when she turns to face you, her voice is as cheerful as ever, but audibly strained.]

Welcome aboard the Serene Eterna! [a pause] You know how to work a life vest, right? Everyone knows that! You don’t need me to teach you that!

[a light bulb burns out behind her head.]

… I’ll get right on that!

[freedom includes the freedom to not know what the fuck is happening. maybe you should reflect on that.]

2. grandma went and can't stop screaming

[it’s something about the lighting fixtures, this month. has the Bellona always had a massive chandelier? maybe. who knows. don’t ask questions. either way, in the stillness of the night, or day, or late afternoon, there is a noise like a cord being cut, and the chandelier plunges into the audience below.

it hits nothing, of course. no one is ever in the theater. and that, perhaps, is what the trouble is.

so, the chandelier starts to… travel, one could say. it starts to hang in various rooms: the dining halls, the bars, the clubs… sometimes, if you’re out on the pool deck and suddenly realized you’re under a shadow, you can glance up and see it suspended 20 feet above your head, securely fastened to nothing in particular and yet remaining perfectly in place.

until it isn’t. until it falls, crystal shattering on whatever surface it lands on: floor, table, person… and, wherever the chandelier goes, a lilting childish voice follows it, singing without any obvious source.]

Ring-a-ring of roses, a pocket full of posies… ashes, ashes, we all…

3. jeff bezos murdered the infinite tommy bahama

[the lights of the Infinite Tommy Bahama go out three days into October.

barely an hour after its closure, the lights go on again, and a new banner is unfurled.



physically, it is the same store. you can even see the old signs hidden behind the new ones. however, long gone are the tropical prints and khaki dress shorts. now, one can purchase any number of officially licensed or legally distinct Halloween costumes, decorations, and various other haunted accoutrements, leading back as far as the eye can see, and then farther still. is that a Gal Friday mask? spooky! well, at least you’ll be good and ready for the Halloween party at the end of the month, which is absolutely just a normal party and in no way whatsoever anything even remotely resembling a trick. there are only treats at The Infinite Spirit Halloween!

note: bahamanuel is still here! somewhere! it kinda looks like dan bongino.]

Comments

[thefreak]

[ Well, that's not the explanation that Eddie expects to hear. Because that shouldn't be possible. How can Steve both exist here, and also have continued to exist in Hawkins?

And because Eddie's mind is filled with plots from various campaigns he has both run and played in, he can't help but wrack his brain for monsters, for Big Bad Evil Guys that would even have the capability of doing such a thing. Because clearly, the world runs in D&D metaphors. Well, if they could name a monster after Vecna, who's to say there isn't a monster for another eldritch horror out there? ]

Um. I hate to burst your bubble, Harrington, but you were most definitely back there. In Hawkins. Helping us. So unless the Steve that I -- unless that Steve is a doppelganger then that would mean you're the doppelganger and...

shit, I think I need to sit down for this one.

[thefreak]

There is so much Eddie wants to say, but at the same time, he's scared shitless to say it. So he settles for a smile and a nod in her direction while he tries to give his brain enough time to catch up with the rest of him.

His heart is beating rapidly, he notes. Which is still very odd, because he very distinctly remembers dying. Then again, he remembers Chrissy dying in the most horrific manner, and here she is, looking very much not like a gumby toy that's been tied up like a pretzel, so maybe that's just one of the perks of being stuck here. Maybe it's better not to put too much thought into it.

"You, um. You died," he states dumbly, wincing immediately as the words leave his mouth.

[pinballer]

"Nice to fucking meet you, too," he says, "There're a few bars, and they usually stop you from drinking if you're not old enough but right now no one's supervising."

Which means a lot of teens getting drunk.

"I like the arcade, too. You into games?"

[pinballer]

Never thought of it like that. Guess it is kinda cool. [ It sucked back home. Here it's just...sort of a power, he supposes, even if it's not the power he would have picked. ]

I'm Vance, by the way. Vance Hopper.

[bigbadrose]

Pokery. It's a -- It means technical stuff I'm no good at.

Ehhhh really? Guess I was overthinking it. I thought my phone was so advanced from the Doctor, but maybe these are a little better after all.

niche sailor moon lore activated

[light_mischief]

[Oh, it's somebody's nightmare, alright. Only time will tell whose!!!]

If you want the full history, I could give it to you, but suffice it to say that the Captain in charge of the ship has a firm grasp on chaos magic and loves trying to be funny.

[Whether or not he is funny kind of depends on your sense of humor...]

The shop itself doesn't provide anything directly to the Captain, as far as I'm aware. If it does, it would have to be... experiences, I suppose. That's primarily what he takes from us in exchange for all of this. [Not to imply that it's a fair trade...]

[inhairently]

[ It's getting harder and harder to deny the "we're just copies and can't return home" theory at this rate. Steve isn't going to drop that particular bomb just yet. He hates this. A lot, actually. Now that he's being forced to examine the situation in this way — that Steve Harrington, the real Steve, still exists in Hawkins, and that he's something else entirely.

But he has time to think about that later. Right now his job is to help Eddie understand this place the best he can. He remembers too well what it was like when he'd shown up here, convinced he'd died, not sure where to go. Having someone reach out to help and explain things made all the difference. ]

Yeah. Like I said, crazy.

[ He brings a hand to Eddie's elbow, there to steady him just in case. ]

Just... take your time. It's a lot, I know. We can go somewhere quieter if you need to.

[inhairently]

Steve does laugh, though not at Chrissy. More at the suggestion, the thought of himself in some cutesy Halloween shirt, than anything. It's a short and breathy thing, but it might be the first real laugh he's had on the boat.

"Yeah, I don't know if it's really my style," he says with a crooked smile. "Let's see."

He considers her other question as he digs through the other shirts to see if there might be anything he'd ever consider wearing.

"There could be a party," he says thoughtfully as he searches. "If there's not one planned already we could always throw one. I haven't been to a Halloween party since —" Since Tina's big Halloween bash where he and Nancy experienced the beginning of their massive downhill slide into breaking up? Yeesh. "— since... uh. High school."

Ah, here we go! He finds a shirt he will definitely never, ever wear but hopes might get a laugh out of Chrissy. He pulls it off the rack and holds it in front of himself.

"What do you think? Is it me?"

Serenity Rose || Serenity Rose || OTA

[greatunderstanding]

1. before she hung up, she said she was a skeleton

This is.

New.

Vicious just is not the 'sink or swim' type of teacher but Sera checks just in case her mentor has lost her mind or maybe she's under attack again. Neither seems to be the case. All the stuff in this cabin is made of stuff and not ectoplasm; further, it turns to ectoplasm easily enough. So she went to bed after a hard night working on her show and woke up on a cruise.

Cruises are supposed to be crowded though, aren't they? Where are all the sounds?

Uggghhhh. She's going to have to find people, and they're gonna be in a big crowd somewhere, doing, doing cruise stuff in tropical colors with those really stupid sun hats that are really close to their heads, and it's gonna be a whole thing isn't it. Serenity makes a temperature bubble around herself, pats herself down, and swings her door open with telekinesis.

Directly into...you, probably. It's not a hard open, but then, it's not a small door, is it?

2. grandma went and can't stop screaming

So there's a new girl.

And the chandelier seems to be uh.

How do we put this?

Hunting her.

The crystal chandelier falls at Serenity, who floats out of the way with remarkable speed. It shatters, and then - wait, it's supposed to vanish, right? But instead it gets enveloped in this green, snottish substance, put back together just the way it was, and floated towards the ceiling.

Let's get a bit closer, shall we?

"Pleasestayuppleasestayup I don't wanna get in trouble on my first dayyyy -"

And then the chandelier falls and the girl is dodging again.

"OH COME ON!"

3. jeff bezos murdered the infinite tommy bahama

"So this is all real stuff too," Sera murmurs to herself, floating through the wreckage of the Infinite Spirit Halloween. "Real smashed stuff but still. The room's..."

She goes cross-eyed after a moment of trying to analyze the dimensions of the room and then she stops doing that. That stove is hot, message received.

She has no idea that this is Bahamanuel's hunting ground, but she finds out soon enough when the creature lunges from behind a display of animatronics. Serenity throws her hand out and tilts her head; her oversized bangs cover one eye.

"...Someone made you. Can I -"

She cannot. Whatever she wanted to do she Cannot. It does not happen. Serenity takes a full dose of Local Urban Legend to the entire four-ten-eighty-pounds non-presence that is her mortal form and has to blow it off of her body. The blast of telekinesis comes with a panicked shriek.

"What -"

She throws her hand out again.

We got nothin' here, Sera.

"WHAT?"

Bahamanuel stalks closer...

[bubblegumheart]

If anyone can relate to being too afraid to say the things they want to say, it would absolutely be Chrissy. Waking up here has raised so many questions and she's pretty sure that Eddie is the only one that can really answer them. She's hesitant to ask, though, because part of her is afraid of the answers.

In the end, he takes the choice away from her by answering the biggest one. She can't remember waking up after the monster caught up with her, and now she knows why. Admitting it to Vance had felt easy, and she hadn't even been completely certain about it at that point. Hearing Eddie say it now feels like something reaching inside her chest and squeezing her heart. It's not a surprise, really, because there are only so many ways to interpret someone telling her they're going to make her suffering stop. As much as she might have wanted to believe it, sending her on a cute little vacation isn't what the monster had in mind.

"I think... I knew that already." She'd been mostly convinced, despite the fact that she's clearly walking around, and she feels alive. But the last thing she remembers before the monster was Eddie leaving the room, which means- "You came back?"

[bubblegumheart]

"Kind of wish it was under less ridiculous circumstances, but I guess it could be worse." Chrissy doesn't want to think about how it could be worse. "How many is a few?" Is it necessary to have more than one?

Maybe it is. Drinking was never really her idea of a good time, but it's obvious that there are other people on board.

"I didn't really have a lot of time to play games before, but I don't have anything going on right now if you want to show me?"

[starryeyedsongstress]

Oh, do you?? ...Like, a real vampire?? [ They're not really a "myth" in Runeterra, but there are hemomancers that are basically vampires, so... it's a fine line. They're a spooky concept, for sure! But... ] Well, I don't really want to steal anyone's thunder! I think if this is a time for everyone to dress-up, I think they should shine at that~! I'll be something simple like... a creepy marionette or something!

[starryeyedsongstress]

[ She gives a little bow once she finishes, something that's just habit at this point. It's the first time in a while she's performed for just one person, though. It's kind of fun, actually. Sure, she can feel the excitement and enjoyment from an audience when she's on stage, but the blaring lights, the sea of noise, the faces -- the many, many faces... it's nice to just be able to focus on someone like this and gauge their reaction that way.

She picks herself up and gives an optimistic smile. ]

I hope that helps! I can't seem to make that mischievous voice happy, but I'll feel a little better knowing I could do so for someone else.

[opheliac]

With a voice and a cute face like yours, how could it not help?

(she had to say it. that comment was just boiling in her bones. but now with that out of the way, jinx relaxes back into her seat with her head tilting back and forth -- attempt to pull out any sores.)

So what's the plan for you now that you're here?

[starryeyedsongstress]

Aww, thanks! You're too kind.

[ Seraphine even plays with her bangs a bit, brushing her hair back and posturing herself up on the stage. It continues to float and pulse with an energy that... isn't quite hextech, even if there does seem to be bits and pieces here that use it. ]

I'm gonna be honest, I've never really been good at making plans. Not outside of engineering, anyway. I'm more of a... go with the flow sort of gal! Though, um, I would like to meet everyone? Maybe if I can get some sort of bearing on meeting the people here and learning about what's happening, I can help out somehow.

[opheliac]

... Didya say engineering?

(the magic word of the day, it seems. this sparks up her own energy as she hops up from the seat and heads on her way to her.)

Y'know, I am, too! But you probably already know that. All the weapons I carry are weapons I made solely on my own. I'd show 'em to you if they were here. Got 'em stored away for now for safe keeping.

[pinballer]

"Shit, like...five? And most of them suck," he says, because he simply doesn't appreciate tacky cruise ship theming, "And fuck yeah, it's not that far if you wanna check it out."

And with that he starts leading the way to Playback.

[starryeyedsongstress]

I did!! I made all my stuff here, too. [ She gestures to the stage and her microphone and even her outfit, but... well, that's obviously not engineering, but her point stands!! ]

I have a tech guitar in my room as well. It's gotta couple bugs that I'm working out, but it's functional. I'm hoping that maybe I can add some more settings and stuff to it, if I can. Though I'm noooot so sure I'll be able to do that here.

[pineapplesalmon]

((I'm terrible and couldn't help myself.))

Just this store. So far.

[He shrugs]

It used to be a store that has tropical-ish clothing called Tommy Bahama. I guess it's Halloween, now. We'll have to see if it returns to normal after this.

[redlightgreenlight]

[Tommy Bahama is a normal store in her world, so not everything is entirely foreign, despite being incredibly creepy]

I wish that was more reassuring.

[She directs her attention to the living newcomer fully, thinking, evaluating the level of threat, if any.]

You seem...undisturbed by all this, so I assume you've been here awhile. You also aren't surprised to see me, which means this happens often?

[pineapplesalmon]

I wish it was, too.

[He's got some light muscle, so he at least works out. But he certainly doesn't seem to have any obvious weapons and doesn't move like he's strained in... anything, really.]

I've been here for a while, yes. Since early March, and now it's October. We tend to get new passengers often.

[redlightgreenlight]

[This places seems more and more like purgatory, or at least the human idea of some cursed place between life and death.

Her gaze moves back to the costumes as she reaches out to slide the hangers over, a large, black, furred wolf mask appears behind the costume she just slid over and she jerks back. The glittering red eyes are dead and lifeless, nothing alive except herself and the man standing not far from her. She takes a breath]

This place is unsettling.

[She turns back to him, expressionless, as if she hadn't just been frightened of a mere mask.]

I assume you have a name?

[opheliac]

Is that right, huh? (she bends over to take a closer look at her hovering stage -- even letting her fingertips brush along the its structure.) — Think I could take a quick peek at your guitar sometime? And by the looks of it, I think you and I were meant to meet like this.

[pineapplesalmon]

It is. But I've sadly gotten a bit used to it.

[César saw. It's obvious enough that he saw. But he lets her keep her dignity by absolutely pretending he didn't.]

César Salazar. And yours?

[starryeyedsongstress]

Sure!! Whenever you'd like! [ She's not afraid of things accidentally messing up, anyway. Worst case scenario is that Jinx breaks it, it's not like Seraphine can't just fix it back up? ]

You think so?? Do you believe in fate, then?