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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.]
Usagi Tsukino | Sailor Moon (manga)
She wakes with a gasp, sitting up almost immediately, something clutched tight her chest. How did she get here? Did Tuxedo Mask...?
Right, she transformed right in front of him...
In a sighing light the sailor suit dissolves back into a school uniform, and Usagi looks around.
Just where is she anyway?
It takes a while before she finally finds the letter and, with great confusion removes herself from the bed.
It'll be quite some time before she reaches the muster, she keeps trying to go the wrong way, and getting distracted by the sights.
After the drill, Usagi's no less confused than when she started. Well, first things first...
"Excuse me, have you seen my cat?" She asks whoever happens to make eye contact first, "She has a bald spot on her forehead that looks like a crescent moon"
Fighting a monster piano
Usagi still hasn't found Luna, but she has found one of the enemy's monsters. At least, she thinks she the piano lumbering towards her with teeth bared is. She'd really feel a lot better about this if Luna was here, or Ami, or Rei, or Makoto, or Tuxedo Mask.
Oh no the piano's getting closer
"Moon Prism Power Makeup!"
With a near blinding light she transforms, staring down the toothed piano that's still approaching.
Usagi gulps before she continues.
She can do this.
Totally.
"I am the guardian of love and justice, Sailor Moon! And in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"
Hardcore gaming
It was only a matter of time before Usagi gravitated towards Playback. And to one arcade machine in particular, the Sailor V game.
She's intensely focused on it, alternately yelling in either frustration and celebration. She'll be here for hours most likely, especially given it doesn't seem to want to eat her limited money.
If she notices someone watching, once she inevitably loses she'll turn to them with a bright grin
"Oh sorry, do you want a turn? It's pretty hard"
Wildcard
[Whatever strikes your fancy!]
Re: Usagi Tsukino | Sailor Moon (manga)
2: Not a cat, but animal companion get!
There is a dog. A very big dog. Perhaps this dog is a goddess, or perhaps Usagi sees gleaming white fur devoid of divine markings, that depends on her. But either way, Amaterasu lands beside her with a leap off of thin air. "Would you like some assistance?" She asks in a warm tone.
Clearly this young heroine needs a helping paw, and, well... Without Issun or even Susano, a goddess gets a little bored. She missed the last major excitement aboard after all. Though perhaps that is a good thing?
no subject
It's not quite the help she was expecting, but Sailor Moon's glad of anything right now, and there's something about this dog with her red markings that makes Usagi feel safe.
Unfortunately, she's so distracted by the dog – so cute! whatagooddog – that she forgets to follow where the piano monster is and doesn't get out of its way quick enough. The lid closes around her arm and she yelps, tears forming in her eyes one step away from wailing as tries to pull herself free.
no subject
If only Greensprout worked here. A piano is mostly wood, the cleansing effect would likely be effective. But no, none of her powers of growth and revitalization function on this ship.
Power Slash remains perfectly fine, however, and a brief moment of slowed time gives Amaterasu plenty of time to make three careful, deliberate cuts, freeing Usagi's arm. She follows this up with a quick headbutt to create some distance.
For a guardian of love and justice, Usagi's outfit doesn't seem to protect her much. And being human, she doesn't even have a comfy layer of fur to keep her safe. "Are you okay?"
hardcore gaming
He hasn't noticed the Sailor V game before. It probably wouldn't normally be something he would even try out, except for the fact that Usagi just kind of attracted his attention, with how enthusiastically engrossed she's been in the game. Eddie gets it; he can get carried away with Dragon's Lair, so there is no judgment on his face when she voices her frustration.
He doesn't expect her to turn to him though, and offer him a chance to try.
"Uh, sure! I've never played it, though, so don't be surprised if I lose immediately."
Re: Usagi Tsukino | Sailor Moon (manga)
Goldenglow heard all the light and the fuss, and it sounds like somebody needs help. She can do that, especially if she's not fighting alone, and this Sailor Moon girl sounds like she knows a thing or two about fighting.
She dashes around a corner to see the dramatic standoff, Sailor Moon between herself and the piano. "Not that bloody thing again! Nearly took off a leg last time I ran into it. Care for a hand?"
Goldenglow thumps her staff once against the ground, hard, and there's an audible crackle as a small, diamond-shaped drone snaps out of a hidden compartment. She lets her electric powers fill her body and spill into the air around her, so that the smell of ozone is suddenly sharp in Usagi's nose. Her braid unravels itself and her tail puffs up with all the power flowing through her.