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TEST DRIVE MEME #10
a. that's where we both belong
[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.]
b. and there's plenty of that down by the sea
[it’s strange to think about, isn’t it? how all those new passengers, the ones grumbling or shouting their way through the forced muster drill, have absolutely no idea what happened just last month. no idea about the labyrinth. no concept of why anyone around them would be a bit more hesitant around shadows.
they’ll learn.
sometimes a shadow is darker than it’s supposed to be. very rarely does anything come of that; just a vague sense that someone is watching you, and little more. sometimes, though, the shadows move. sometimes they grab at your ankles as you walk. sometimes they give you a shove as you go down the stairs. sometimes they pull your hair, or pinch your arm.
sometimes you feel something sharp cut into your lower leg.
that’s not a shadow, though. that’s a fiddler crab. you see the crab, sometimes. the cut isn’t from its claws, which don’t look very intimating; it’s not a very large crab. the cut is from the large kitchen knife crudely taped onto its back. it’s probably fine. it's not chasing you. there isn't evil in its heart. probably.]
c. think I'll go back to the Keys
[one day, in the atrium, two pedestals suddenly appear. on each is a large button: one green, and one blue. pressing the blue button gives you a little treat, popping out of thin air next to you. pressing the green button sends a small electric shock through your body. weird, but, hey, pretty avoidable, right?
except, it seems to be spreading. to every other button on board.
in the elevator. on the soda machine. the arcade. your phone. the bell on Friday’s desk.]
no subject
They know it's coming and they let it happen. For the joke. But there's definitely something keeping him from closing his hand all the way around their throat. Cause they are not dying here. "You didn't even ask me for my safewords and you're coming at me like a beast in heat. Honestly. I know I'm attractive, but you can't just choke someone like that without permission. My fiance would not approve of your forwardness." They laugh softly, eyes just focusing on him. "I'm not telling you shit. You don't deserve him. And you can't kill me in case you've noticed." Just gonna carefully push that hand away.
"You have terrible breath, by the way. You should work on that."
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His fingers curl in the air as he struggles to complete the chokehold he intends. He's being repelled instead. Damn this Medium!
"Who are you to say what I deserve? You're no IOPSA agent. They wouldn't let a disgrace like you into their ranks."
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A beat. "And the accords don't count here, soooo I can do anything I want to you here." This really is fun, isn't it?
"I'm a powerful entity that resides on this ship. And I like Max. I don't like you. The IOPSA also doesn't exist here. What a time for you, really." He giggles at the insult. "Aw. You're really trying hard to flirt with me, aren't you? Are you always so dismissive of all your sexual interests or is it just me?" He's all chin-hands and smiles. "I bet it's just me."
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"Powerful entity, ha!" He scoffs. "Don't flatter yourself. You're human. I can smell you. That isn't a compliment."
He tries, now, to pull his hand back. Let this asshole keep his crab, Erik doesn't care. This is all a waste of time. He should be finding Max.
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Klaus laughs. "I'm strong enough to stop you from killing me, so it's basically the same thing, wouldn't you agree? You say human like it's a bad thing."
They make a point now to use all their strength to push him back against a wall, lifting the knife up. "The question is, can you stop me from utterly destroying your suit?" Because yes, Klaus does know what matters to Erik. "It's a little last season...like three seasons ago, but...you know...you'd hate to get it messy wouldn't you?"
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"What would you know about fashion? GET OFF OF ME!"
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Just a quick stab of metal into skin and then another and another. Both shoulders and one hip. "What was that about me not being a powerful being again?" A beat, eyes squinted up in thought. "Just a human, I think is what you said..." Another pause. "Maybe I could keep you on a leash instead. Don't worry. I'll get you a hot pink one with the rhinestones on it. Height of fashion. I'll do your hair like those cute little shih tzus. You'll look great."
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"Stop that you little shit!" he snarls as the first stab lands. He's had far worse for pain, so it isn't that which makes him hiss but the anger of yet more blood stains on this suit. And holes! It was expensive.
He struggles against the invisible force holding him, puts all his strength into it just as the knife goes into his hip but, still, there's no give. FUCK! Out of patience, insulted by the very idea of anyone keeping HIM on a leash, he gives into his primal instincts and snaps his jaws at Klaus's face.
no subject
The reaction makes Klaus grin even more. "Wow. What big teeth you have." A beat. "I'm trying to consider what parts of vampire lore actually apply to you. I guess I could break off a piece of the ship and impale you with it. Wood and all. In the heart? Or am I gonna have to take a really long time with this small knife to cut your head off? I'll probably have to take my dress off for that. Could get a bit messy."
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"Don't bother. Neither method will kill me. And even if it could, I will not stay dead here and you know that." All the same, he'd really rather not sit around waiting for his body to regrow from his head. This sicko might decide to take it home as a trophy in the mean time.
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A beat. "Okay, but it will get more blood on your suit and that's probably even worse for you than the dying, isn't it?" They are just gonna do a few more stabs. "This is actually great for my stress right now. I've been planning my wedding, you know? And it's just soooooo much. It's really a lot of work. I've never had to plan a wedding before, so you know. I didn't realize how much went into it. Now...I did officiate for my brother's wedding. Luther. Fell in love at the end of the world, you know? The wedding was..." Chef's kiss. "Tres magnifique, you know? Great. Five gave a speech about familial love. It was touching." There's a smile here as he send the knife in a little harder than necessary between a couple ribs.
"But planning my own wedding? Stressful. Neither of us have been married before, so you know...I want it to be perfect. I'm sure you don't know anything about that because you're just too boring for marriage, but I guess not all of us are meant to be married."
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"The suit is already ruined beyond repair. Your mission is more than a-accomplished." That last stab through the ribs actually gets a wince from him. Fuck, that spot is tender.
"Does your bride to be know what kind of sadist they are marrying?"
no subject
They study him a moment. "But you cover it up as kindness. Only doing good for him, no? You give him kindness and slowly stamp out his will until he can't see that you're a manipulative piece of shit and even if he could, he wouldn't do anything about it...because you care about him, right? How kind of you to give him glimpses of the light while keeping him trapped in the dark. What and who would he be without you? Right?"
There's a hollow laugh there, the expression on their face darker. Knife out and between another two ribs. "My father was the same way. But the difference is...I can tell he was an asshole. You don't deserve Max. He's much too good for you."
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As for the rest? What the fuck does this lunatic think he knows about his and Max's life together? Where would Max be? Dead. That's where. Dead or worse.
"Don't tell me I'm a stand-in for the father you could never stab?" Another wince and hiss as the knife slips back into him. Fuck this! "What a pathetic piece of shit you are. I cannot wait for Max to discover the truth about you. I suppose your father taught you well."
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Klaus is glad that Max is alive, but the stuff after that? No. Why not make changes in the way things were done, Erik? Actually care for him!
There's a smile. "You think you can hurt me? Cause that's funny. But no. You two are just similar. True, he might actually be proud of me for this. But that's not gonna make me feel bad about it. Cause Diego would be more proud of me and that matters to me more."
no subject
He thrashes again, straining with all his might to lift an arm, to try and grab the knife from out of his chest so he can crush it.
"I wouldn't count on Max being so forgiving just because you haven't killed me. Something tells me you haven't made him aware of this nasty side to yourself. You know he wouldn't approve, don't you?"
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"You're not used to having someone else in control of you, huh?"
There's an even wider grin now. "No, but see...you made him into someone that would forgive all matter of sins, didn't you? Easy to wilt and anxious to please. So that same bullshit you instilled in him will help me. It's kiiiind of unfortunate. You should have thought about that." Using that is probably bad news bears, but Klaus will deal with that when they get there. They move forward to flick his forehead before pulling the knife out and loosening his grip on him. "Try and kill me and I'll be forced to put you back into your trap. But I suggest you leave if you want to."
There's a sigh. "I know you kept him alive, but you should have done better by him. I hope he proves me right one day and sees you for what you are and chooses his own happiness over you."
no subject
"I made him capable of living happily in the only way that it was possible for him to live. Those characteristics you claim are so harmful were in him from the very beginning. Be glad that he is a kinder soul than you or I."
He drops back to his feet and spitefully brushes his hands down the front of his ruined suit. The wounds themselves are already mended but the blood spots are all still there. Despite Klaus's warning, he truly is tempted to slash at them. It wouldn't matter. They would come back three days later anyway and probably make themselves into even more of a nuisance. If he never sees their face again it will be too soon.
"Hope for whatever you want. Just stay far away from me."
He's leaving.
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Klaus snorts. "Sure thing, buddy. I'll add it to my list of things." Yeah, being flippant and sarcastic are the flavor of the day.
"I don't make promises I won't keep." They let him leave.
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