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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.]
Linnet | OC
What's going on? Where is she? The card that's been left for her in the cabin means nothing because she can't read it. She did try but... without Damien's help, forget trying to puzzle it out.
The door of this strange room isn't locked, but she's frightened to discover that she can only walk in one direction. Is this some new kind of technology? Is Damien using her as a tester again? Sighing and crossing her arms, she reluctantly follows the path that unseen force is taking her on, until she reaches the muster.
A tiny, "Eep," escapes her mouth when she sees that woman with no face. She's quick to put a hand over her lips to keep any other sound from coming out but she's forced to put them down again so she can accept that horrifying lei going over her head.
She picks up a piece of that white disk gingerly between her fingers and scrunches her nose up. What is that? Naturally, the best way to check is by putting it between her teeth, right? She makes an explosively disgusted face seconds after that regrettable choice when she realizes it tastes like bone. Her already ruffled wings puff out as a full body shudder runs down her spine. Ew. Ew. Ew!! Why would anyone make a necklace like this??
2. [cw: blood]
She hates it here! Nothing makes sense! Worse than that, even everyday objects are apparently dangerous. Such at pianos!
Her bare feet smack against the deck as she runs, a full sized piano clanging after her, charging with it's lid open and teeth out like it's planning to eat her alive. Can a piano do that? She's not sticking around to find out!
She vaults over the rail and spreads her wings, soaring out over the unnaturally calm water. But, to her shock, not too far out she hits an invisible barrier. Crunch goes her nose, and she can both taste and smell the new trickle of blood. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. Did she break it? Damien is going to kill her if it ends up leaving a scar.
She has no choice but to swing around in the air and come back to the deck. The piano is still there, pacing at the rail like a attack dog guarding the perimeter. Oh no! Someone else is walking this way. Don't they see it? It's going to get them. She can't shout, but she flies as close as she can and starts frantically waving her arms and pointing. Look out! Mad piano on the loose!
3. [More Blood/Violence]
This clothing store is weird. She wanted to just take a quick look around to see if she could find a replacement dress, since she got blood all over this one from a nosebleed. That was... she doesn't really know how long ago. A while. And she feels like she's been walking for miles. She's lost. Not even flying up and trying to get a better vantage point is helping. It just goes on and on.
Distraught, she perches on the top of a circular clothing rack to rest, her still bare feet are getting sore. She hasn't covered this kind of distance on foot in years. Just then, something below her rustles. What? Is there someone else in here? She squints down between the hangers of tacky swimsuits. No. No one there....
Suddenly, the fabric itself rises up and latches onto her. She shrieks, loud and wordless, and pumps her wings hard to lift away from the rack. A lump of clothes is still attached to her leg and it's chewing on her. She can feel something like little needle teeth. She desperately shakes her leg trying to fling the thing off but it won't let go. Help!!
no subject
Hold onto your leis.
Thus, he winces slightly when the girl with wings (wings! how extraordinary!) bites directly into the bone medallion. Pal steps forward to intercept her once she has broken free of the spell that brought her to the deck in the first place. “You’re not meant to eat that,” he tells her matter-of-factly. For all he knows, the leis resemble some sort of food where she comes from. “But you should keep it on your person whenever possible.”
no subject
For the time being, however, she does as she's told and leaves it around her neck. He's obviously a human so he'll be expecting her to do as he says. She can't believe she's actually missing her owner right now. Damien would step in on her behalf. Where is he?
no subject
The young woman is looking expectant in a way Pal can’t quite parse, but it makes him not want to leave her alone. “Would you like a cup of tea or something to eat? I can show you where you can get something.”
no subject
When he offers her tea and food, her gaze shoots back up and she nods eagerly. Finding out how to feed herself would solve one of her problems. Damien always said if she found herself alone, she needed to prioritize her basic needs over trying to locate him. She's bouncing on the balls of her feet anxiously, but when she realizes that, she abruptly stops and drops her gaze to the floor, as if she caught herself doing something wrong. Even her wings seem to droop a little, no longer fluffed out with excitement.
no subject
He’s about to lead her to the elevator when, seemingly without reason, her whole demeanor changes. “Is everything all right? If you’re concerned about the food options available, I can assure you that the buffet is remarkably accommodating. It caters to any dietary need you can imagine, and a few you probably can't.”
no subject
When he asks her that, she freezes. No, she's letting too much show again. A slow shake of her head. Nothing. It's nothing. Yet, she isn't doing herself any favors by pulling one wing around in front of her to hide behind bashfully. When she peeks back out again to look at him with big blue eyes and slowly raises a hand to point to her mouth, she hopes it conveys that she's hungry and it's okay. She'll eat whatever she can.
no subject
As they head to the elevator, he chatters in a mild, unassuming sort of way. “I’m called Palamedes Sextus, and I have been aboard the Serena Eterna for, oh, about nine months now. You will soon discover that many of us have been pulled here from very different universes. For example, I’ve never met a woman with wings before.” He flashes her a small smile. “They’re quite impressive.”
no subject
Maybe... Maybe she can try the parrot technique--that's what Damien calls it-- to see how Palamedes reacts. Some Companions are capable of learning to say a few words without it raising too many eyebrows.
"Thank you," she says in a purposefully stilted accent, made more convincing by how dry her throat is. "Me...Linnet."
no subject
Then, she speaks, and his face breaks into a smile, awfully glad to have been proven wrong. “A pleasure to meet you, Linnet.”
no subject
She needs to test something.
Spreading her wings wide for emphasis, she says, "I'm a Companion." Everyone knows the word. Everyone should know what that means.
no subject