sail_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #8

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TEST DRIVE MEME #8

1. but times have changed for sailors these days

[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. tried to amend my carnivorous habit

[the space inside John's where the piano normally sits is mysteriously vacant today. as a matter of fact, the entire piano bar is silent, without so much as a muzak-inspired interpretation of Uptown Girl to hum along to.

the piano itself seems to have disappeared... for the most part. unlucky, unsuspecting passengers who enter the cabin hallway, step out onto the lower decks, or find themselves in one of the other narrow corridors of the ship, may find themselves suddenly facing down a silent, unmoving grand piano. it takes up too much space to squeeze by comfortably...

and then, the cover lifts, exposing what looks to be... teeth?

yeah. yeah, those are its teeth. and it's coming right for you.]

3. that American creation on which I feed

[it had been a difficult October for bahamanuel, the bahamanal. its territory had changed utterly, becoming alien and strange. new predators were encroaching on its hunting grounds. its position in the natural order is under threat. and so, nature finds a way.

the old timers know to be wary of large piles of clothes, but even they won’t think to look twice at the tiny lumps of garish kids’ swimsuits and sundresses - until they feel something latch onto their leg, and then several more things, and anywhere from ten to twenty balled up clothes piles try to take down their prey.

the young must learn how to hunt, after all.]

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"Medically prescribed?" Lev snorts, and he's about to expand on exactly how stupid he thinks that is, but he catches wind of the shuffling too and stops. "Okay. Uh. Thou hear'st that?" He reflexively puts a hand on Wilson's shoulder, as if to hold him back, as if he's used to people rushing off to investigate before thinking.

Lev looks from Kuro to the marks she made, then back at Kuro — even though she's an owl, and in his view, close enough to shoggah for book-keeping purposes, he avoids looking her straight in the eye, like he does with any stranger. Her distress is evident, and he wishes not to upset or unnerve her further.

He looks back at the writing, and runs a hang over the wall. The plaster is rough under his fingertips.

"This place, it makes me talk strange," he says, softly. "I mean to say things but I say them in a language I know not, have heard not. 'Tis like a dream, nu? But it can't be, because the writing never changes form." He sighs, deeply. "I don't like this either."

[ Are they going to get in trouble for property destruction? Hopefully not. In their defense, the piano came after them.

Demyx waited for a breath too, but it was looking pretty crispy, and being thrown around did some damage to the legs without a doubt. He lets out that breath and sighs heavily. ]

Monster piano's a new one. [ He can honestly say that's never happened before. ]

[ He should probably go over and poke it and check to see that it's really down and out. Or, even better idea- ]

Hey, you should make sure it's not getting up. [ Better plan. ]

Lyubov bows her head, pensive. After some moments, she says, "Good. Then no one is looking for me, and the North-West quartal's missing no rabbi."

She looks up and grins, and it looks only a little bit like she's trying to put on a brave face. "Have I been replaced? Or am I the simulacra, and the original is none the wiser?"

"Bookshop, bookshop," Lyubov says, tapping her walking stick on the floor, thinking. "I think we ought to walk around and see, nu? I've seen no libraries, at least— okay like, nu. No public libraries. There may be private collections, but I've been introduced to none of their curators." She smiles at Goldenglow. "Thou'rt right, nu? Horror is a great diversion. To read and to write both."

Lev would, of course, gladly tell Jeff the details, but it's something he prefers to save for less harried circumstances.

"Mayhap one day thou wilt call me something else," he says, nonchalantly. "Or not. People change, but not always in the same ways, nu?"

He has the somewhat absurd urge to reach out and touch Jeff's arm in reassurance, but quashes it for now. Too early, and it might come off patronising rather than as an offer of any kind of intimacy — Lev's not choosy over which kind.

"No one's used to such things," he says, softly. "Uhm. Like, Nyura and I— well, there's a mural with our likenesses, nu? And yet we are hardly heroes." He looks like he wants to elaborate on that, too, but bites his tongue. He wants not to come off as if he's bragging, and it's rather a long story, in any case.

"And uh ... yes, let's go sit down, nu? Maybe I can tell thee about the mural. Or nu, thou canst tell me about yourself. And where you got that skirt." He smiles, just a touch shy.

"You're a rabbi?" Darcy asks altogether too quickly, because good God she's gone more than six months without speaking to any sort of religious leader and it's been terrible. Nobody's asked her what she thinks of God in so long.

Still, it's a better reaction than most have, and she's not going to call Lyubov out for trying to stay strong through it.

"The you that's back home doesn't know, no. From what I've heard it's like... do you have photography in your world?"

But times have changed

The first thought that registers as his eyes snap open is that he's lying in a bed, rather than Yellow's cockpit. It's enough of a jolt that he sits upright a little faster than he'd intended. Scanning the darkened room, he finds the note. Ultimately, it leaves him with more questions than answers.

"Oh no."

Oh no, indeed.

He leaves the room, note still in hand, as though clutching it like that is going to somehow make all of this easier to process. He's not expecting to cross paths with a faceless woman, but it's still somehow not the weirdest thing he's seen. Trying not to stare takes some effort, which he manages by focusing his attention on the lei.

"Hey, thanks for this."

There's about a five-second delay before Hunk is putting the white circle in his mouth because that's just who he is as a person. Not edible, as far as he can tell. Good to know.

"So uh.. now what?"

My carnivorous habit

"Well... that's a dumb place for a piano," he announces to nobody in particular.

Hunk was sure this was the way back to the cabins, only he doesn't remember there being a piano in here when he'd come through earlier. Maybe he can just sneak past it. Or, like, call someone to come move it.

He's in the process of looking for a phone or something when he glances back in time to watch the cover lift and spot a bunch of nasty-looking teeth that definitely shouldn't be there.

"You know what? No. I'm just gonna... go the other way. Someone else can put you back where you're supposed to be," he adds, in case being clear with his intentions will help him through this nonsense.

Choose your own

Wildcard it up if neither of the above seems like fun. Hunk is nosy and can be found pretty much anywhere.

I used to, when I was young. I didn't like seeing her, knowing who she was, and that she'd never speak to me. Now I know how hard that must have been for her. I grew up a lot after I left home. I was lucky, really. My adoptive father was a really good person.

[A little more softly] I'm sorry that you lost your mother.

[Reno scowled at Demyx's suggestion and flipped him the bird. Yet he turned back to the piano and inched a little closer, eyes set on the piano and waiting for it to suddenly jump back to life.]

Same but then I have seen a monster house so...

[He informed Demyx without taking his eyes off the piano. He waited to see if his voice provoked it into action but so far nothing. He finally got close enough to poke it with his baton. He gave it a nice whack on its... uh, top since it had no head.]

I think it's--

[Famous last words. It suddenly lurched forward and Reno won't admit that he screamed at the sight of a mouth full of teeth as it came at him. Instinctively he swiped his rod at it, showering sparks everywhere.]

Reno! [ Those sparks go off and Demyx responds by making a grab for a handful of his shirt to yank him back out of range. Don't read into this, he's no one's hero. ]

This not very peaceful! [ He swings his sitar down on the abused piano with a loud crack. ]

What kind- [ thwack ] of a piano- [ thwack ] tries to eat people?! [ Another thwack, and this time he drops it down so the bladed end hits the keys. ]

[ Reno so owes him for that...or probably not, they should probably never mention it again. ]

"Don't mind if I do!" Pinball was always what grabbed her attention most back when she was working: there was something appealing about the mechanical rhythms. She picks one almost at random, and soon she's adjusting to the controls. It's not quite like back home, everything feels a bit lighter, but eventually she gets into a decent rhythm.

"I didn't come up with it-" He shuts up, listening for whatever Lev heard. Unfamiliar noises aren't always dangerous; sometimes they're what the dangerous things are hunting. They're always worth checking to find out. It sounds like... something large but soft being dragged energetically across the deck? It's getting louder. Closer.

That's probably the right practical instinct for Wilson-wrangling, impulsive as he can be, but he still frowns and tenses up under the hand before he really realises he's doing it. Just the one hand, human-sized and shaped, attached to a guy. It's not a shadow hand about to drag him under the earth.

Before they can round the corner and enter the Promenade proper, a furious heap of floral-print summer clothing bigger than both of them looms out from behind the wall and launches itself at Wilson, who screams in an undignified squawky register and flails some sort of purple spiky weapon at it. Bahamanuel makes no move to attack Lev, already pulling away back whence it came, the spiky-haired little man mostly engulfed but visible as a flailing gloved left hand hitting it with the spiked implement.

"...God now I'm wondering if Tzars are just intrinsically shit on every world or if it's a two-nickels kinda situation..."

A beat.

"Wait. Your husband killed the Tzar?" Erin offers a high-five with a grin. "Badass. Excellent taste."

"Yeah she was from this... dystopian future I guess where the pollution was so bad she couldn't see the sky, and I'm from Montana which is Big Sky Country and trying to explain that to her I mentioned the forest and she at least knew what a tree was but... It was pretty sad man. Not that it's her fault or anything but fuck, it was rough to try and explain that it wasn't just a bunch of trees but like, more than that. And rivers and deer and shit..." He runs his hands through his hair getting distressed just remembering it. She hadn't lasted long, but she'd been from the same world as his former roommate, and the more he found out about their world the more fucked up it seemed.

"Oh! Right uh.. yeah. That's.. one of those things I probably shouldn't casually mention huh? Keep forgetting. But yeah, I died in a nuclear apocalypse. Well in a car trying to outrun the nuclear apocalypse. The Collapse. Shockwave sent a tree right into the Jeep and I got squished."

[Reno finds himself yanked back by the collar of his clothing and he stumbles out of the way. The teeth aren't gone but they're further away and he watches Demyx wail on the beast-piano with his sitar. The Turk sends off another electrical burst at the thing once Demyx hits it one last time--just for good measure.

The piano has stopped moving by that point though. Reno expects it not to get back up this time.

But he keeps his distance anyway.]

Aww, my hero~. [He sing-songs, and then drops the act.] I say we burn it. Bonfire on the forward deck, anyone?

[ Reno, you ass. Demyx gets close and offers him a playful shove for the hero comment. ]

Where's Axel when you need him?

[ Bonfire on the deck, bonfire on the deck! ]

I don't do fire magic, unless you've got some way to burn it.

I'm really glad your father was so good to you. Mine was too. He was everything for me and my sister.

[He chews on his bottom lip, trying to decide if he should say this next part but... he doesn't want her to have the wrong idea.]

My mom didn't die or anything. Um. It was... I don't want to say worse but... she cheated on my dad, and then she left us all to go be with the guy she was having an affair with. My sister was barely older than an infant and she just... ran away. My dad had to raise us all on his own. He's basically a superhero.

"I'm from the Ozarks. Not actually mountains," despite his master's clan being called The Ozark Mountain clan, "but we do have rolling hills and forests. I can't imagine never seeing that..." But what if he doesn't? What if he never leaves here again and he actually never will see any of those places again? Shit, he needs to stop thinking about that or he might break down himself.

"How do you keep forgetting..." That seems like something that shouldn't be easy to forget?? "Are you actually telling me people can be here even if they died in the place they came from?"

[Reno just grins through it.]

The, uh, other red head?

[Was that his name? Or was it Lea? Reno doesn't remember. (Doesn't know there's a difference.)]

Magic isn't the only way to start a fire, you know.

That's- [She looks momentarily uncomfortable as she tries to make sense of it, tries to fit it within her own framework of understanding.]

It's more of a betrayal, isn't it? Where I'm from, partnership contracts end all the time. People fall out of love -but they should have the maturity to end things properly, and there's no excuse for never seeing your children again.

Did your father not have any help? You didn't have nannies, or tutors?

Yeah that's him. Red hair, smartass, lots of fire. [ They're kind of elemental opposites, but they get along okay as much as Demyx gets along with anyone. He did mean Lea but he's adjusting to name changes horribly. ]

That's what I'm saying, what've you got to set it on fire?

[ Alright someone has to be brave and Reno already did that so he goes over and kicks the piano with his toe. Yep, dead. Perfect. ]

"Oh yeah, that's good wilderness too, but more flat than where I'm at. We have big mountains that get full of snow. But not the kind you wanna ski down unless we started logging out the trees or something." He's sure if the world hadn't ended some big time developer would eventually buy a mountain and try to make a ski lodge and the people of Hope County would have a whole different kind of war on their hands.

"I forget everything, because my brain is basically three week old guac from the back of the fridge at this point. So if I don't recognize you like, tomorrow, that's just cuz I suck." He shrugs, as if he's admitting he sometimes sets his keys down in weird places and not that he often has the actual memory of a goldfish. "Oh yeah, it happens. Clara was dead in her world too and then showed up here. Tho timing is a little weird, I was dead for about seventeen years before getting sucked into the pleasure cruise of the damned. And I only know it's been that long cuz a buddy of mine from back home is also here and let me tell you it is fucking weird that he's in his fifties now. Shit is bizarre."

[So Reno but with fire instead of electricity. Just don't make that comparison to Reno's face, keke. Yeah, he remembers that guy from the train. He didn't really get the name thing anyway so Demyx is good to call him whatever he wants in front of Reno.

Reno flips his rod over in the air and catches back in his hand.]

Well, electricity can start a fire. But I was thinking of finding some matches. And maybe some gasoline. [beat] Wait, what about the kitchen? Can we get in there? You gotta have flames for a proper kitchen. Let's check it out.

"Yes, let's have a walk," Goldenglow replies. "It'd be for the best to get a sense of where everything is, just in case anything goes wrong later. Looking for the shops makes complete sense."

She readjusts her grip on her staff and gets ready to move: the waves feel like they've calmed a bit, or maybe she's just adjusted to them. "Thou writest, as well? Th'art quite a busy one!"

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TEST DRIVE MEME #8

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Hunk | Voltron: Legendary Defender

cw: abortion/reproductive choices (futuristic)/absent parent/abandonment

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absent parent/abandonment/infidelity

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