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

TGIF

[secondtick]

[Well the ship wasn't repairing itself, and Friday was about as helpful as the busted lights, so someone had to work and try to keep things manageable when everyone seemed to be content with pulling the whole place down around them. Lying on his hoverboard, Ekko was under a display working on a little bit of electrical wiring. When she spoke it was a voice that he recognized, but not quite not immediately. It was enough to pull his attention and get him to slide out from under the counter and sit up.]

You're a long way from home. One of us leaves and someone else shows us now?

[But he supposed a performer was at least better than an enforcer, as far as having to put up with a Piltie went. Anyways, Ekko kind of enjoyed her music too, the few times he and a few buddies had snuck up to see a performance or two.]

You know anything about crossed wires? Or should we start with just replacing the bulbs?

[starryeyedsongstress]

[ Ekko speaks, and her hands go back to her sides where she nervously tugs at her skirt. She doesn't recognize Ekko so much as she recognizes the hoverboard and... a sense of relief washes over her. It's the first familiar thing she's seen since getting here! Does that mean this boy is from the Undercity?? ]

"One of us leaves"? What do you mean? How long have you been here?

And I can't say I'm an expert, but I know at least how to fix simple stuff. [ So, you know, the very basics, but even then, her parents were the ones that usually dealt with these things. That doesn't mean that she doesn't want to try to help, anyway!! ]

[secondtick]

[Ekko stands up putting away the screwdriver and pliers that he'd just been working with as he wiped off his hands and forehead.]

Me, a few months now. Four or five. There was an Enforcer, but I haven't seen her for a week or two now. There's also another Zaunite here, Jinx, but I'd recommend keeping your distance for a bit.

[Simple stuff, so lights and switches it was.]

You learn your way around yet? Right now the safest place is your cabin and the buffet.