TEST DRIVE MEME #10

[sailmods]

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.]

Comments

[besixdouze]

Yeah, invite me whenever! I'll be there for sure. It'll be really cool!

[Perhaps even beautiful, yes, with all their lights combining together. And it would indeed be beautiful, until they accidentally blow up a stadium light, but you know...it's the thought that always counts--!!

Now there's a bit of a tangent from these future light show plans, though...and there's some food for thought here, now isn't there?]

Huh, so with kids...it's just you, and one other person? That's too bad... [Says this newcomer who has yet to grasp the actual mechanics of this place, and just how inhospitable it could generally be to most normal children. No, all that Voyager knows at the moment, is that children...always seem to like getting together into big groups, don't they? When they play, and do fun things. There were several pictures with groups of children recorded on his record. Then, in the Akihabara "after the Holy Grail War"...and even in Chaldea, with its more child-like Servants...yes, there were kids in gatherings around these places too. It does seem a shame, then, that Fio and her friend have been the only two here. (...Whoops, he's not really thinking of himself as being a new third child, now...and so he doesn't quite realize just why Fio has brought this up. After all, either way--!)] Still, I wouldn't mind meeting your friend! You can, introduce us...like a friend ambassador...

[Voyager smiles, pleasantly amused at this thought. Though it's a bit brief, before a new thoughtfulness occurs to him, one of Fio's phrases sinking in.]

Oh, but..."shy"? ...I think I've heard that word... [Yes, he thinks, he's certainly heard it around here and there. But...? He blinks to Fio curiously.] What does it mean?

[sabigoe]

[ A friend ambassador. Her eyes light up at the title. It sounds so professional! (Meanwhile, she doesn't realize Voyager doesn't realize she's including him in the current population of kids...)

A split second of mild surprise crosses her features when he inquires what "shy" means and shifts to a thoughtful expression. Give her some time to string together words to form a proper explanation. She knows the meaning and finds it easier to identify when she sees others display such traits. Sometimes, she becomes shy in certain situations. It may have been how she was as a newcomer on the ship, very unlike Voyager's immediate friendliness. ]

Shy is... it means... [ A thoughtful hum, leaning forward on the rails and staring off into the ocean. After a moment, her head perks up, thinking she's found the correct words. She's eager to share her knowledge! ] It means that you get really nervous around other people! Sometimes, people who get shy get all shaky and red in the face. [ Sparkles can't get red in the face, but... she's seen some of its bashful body language. ]

I know we just met, but I think you're really nice. Maybe you and Sparkles will get along!

[besixdouze]

[It's true that Voyager doesn't really have a shy bone in his body as he is now, for better or for worse. In his fairly abbreviated experience as a sentient Servant so far, he's just yet to really encounter a situation to be shy about!

Which makes Fio's explanation of the word positively fascinating, to be sure. He listens raptly, eyes a little wide, and tries to imagine this sort of feeling where you end up turning red and getting shaky...]

Wow, that sounds pretty rough...that must make it really hard, to make a good introduction with new people you meet. They could end up thinking you're a sort of person who's red and shaky all the time! It'd be a real problem...

[Of course, informing this bout of genuine concerned sympathy for this hypothetical struggle, is the fact that one of the core components engraved in Voyager's being involves "making a first-time impression on alien eyes"--ideally a good one! The best impression he possibly can! Which maybe also informs a lot of his own lack of shyness...humming thoughtfully, Voyager's falling into a moment's silence to mull upon this new information some more, but Fio's assessment brings him back to the present with a blink and a smile.]

Well, I'm glad I've made a good first impression to you! I'd like to make a nice impression for your friend too, yeah. Especially, if it might help them feel less "shy". I'll try my best, when we meet up!

["Sparkles", huh? What a nice name...after all, people use that word to describe stars a lot too...]

[sabigoe]

[ Fio has always been a cheerful, bright girl despite growing up in an unfair country. Circumstances had crushed her spirit, driven her into resorting to a more sheepish demeanor. Thankfully it's been remedied after finding better support with people onboard the ship, far better than the lack of it back home. She still has her shy moments and shaky confidence, but it's not as severe as when she first arrived. And she's hoping that Sparkles can discover happiness, just as she has.

She releases the rails, turning to face fully towards Voyager with a smile. ]

Sparkles really could use more friends. [ Besides her alone. (Or maybe... is that enough for it? Maybe it'll be happier with more friends.) ] Just let me know when you're ready and I'll be your friend ambassador!

[ It's... somewhere on the boat. She's certain the shadow will come out, when she calls for it. Sparkles has hopefully had enough rest by now... ]