TEST DRIVE MEME #1

[sailmods]

1. now it's fun to wake up in a strange chateau

[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! We're so glad to have you!

[you touch the lei. rooster feathers, lotus seeds, and a carved circle of something white and hard, linked onto a silk string.]

2. messing with my mind was fun at the time

[freshly lei'd, your legs are forced to lead out onto the deck and towards your muster station. the same woman is there, carrying a clipboard. this time, she introduces herself as Gal Friday, the cruise director, before immediately going into the muster drill spiel. it is very boring, and you are not allowed to move, except when you are required to show you know how to put your life vest on. you could try to not do this, but Friday will move to stand in front of you very closely and just. look in your direction until such a time that you decide to do it. and I'm sure your fellow passengers want you to just get on with it, too.

but, once it ends? she reiterates her desire to welcome you aboard. and, then, you're free.

well, free to move about the ship at your own leisure, of course. which is a kind of free, and probably the best one you can hope for. you could try to escape, maybe, if you have the means to; Friday certainly won't be one to stop you. that's what the barrier is for, after all.

but, wouldn't you much rather have fun?

the buffet is full. the pool is open. the casino jingles and chimes.

welcome aboard.]

3. lots of mystery in the history of the devils I knew

[you were never alone.

a few days have passed since you first arrived on the Serena Eterna. perhaps you've made yourself a little routine, and settled in a bit. or maybe you haven't done that at all. either way, you're here, and it looks like somebody is pretty pissed off about it.

it starts small. sometimes nearby plates skid off tables, or a pool chair upends while you're walking next to it. and sometimes that chair is aimed right at your head. objects are moving with quickly increasing frequency, and a wide variety of styles: some are dropped, or pushed, and others and others are tossed, but a few of the items are thrown, with great force and odd accuracy. if Friday is around during the lighter moments, she simply titters and cleans up whatever mess is made. if a pot of soup sails off the buffet line and nearly drenches you in boiling minestrone, she simply walks away.

and then there's the voices. hundreds, maybe thousands, calling out. not all are intelligible English, but you seem to understand them anyway. some sound scared, or angry. some are screams, others whispers. some sound entirely strange, while others are achingly familiar. and they're all saying the same exact thing:

Get Out.]

Comments

[trophybite]

[ Giselle gets a vaguely hostile vibe from the ambiguous phrase "close in a way." But speaking of creature of the night things, that kind of (what she perceives as) ambivalence is pretty common among vampires. Indefinitely extended lifespans create myriad opportunities to develop grudges; at the same time, you're the only ones who can truly understand each other.

Land and riches are easily acquired and kept. Bedfellows are plentiful, if transient. Understanding, though, is hard to get. ]

Most things can go against their nature, I've found, if you pull the right strings, [ she muses. ] Or maybe a less prominent piece of their nature reveals itself.

Giselle. And you are?

[trophybite]

[ And that giggling laugh, in turn, strikes Giselle as a very sweet sound. She likes sweet sounds, even if she can't really make them anymore. ]

Not that, [ she says with a frown. ] I mean a place to cash them in. I've looked along every wall here, but I can't see where they might be hiding a cashier's counter.

What do you think? Am I ocean-addled?

[ Or do the chips, like their accommodations, come with a built-in dead end? ]

[electricities]

[ Miko is quiet as he tells his tale, and she tries her best to hide her amusement. Mostly, it's well-hidden, but there's a mischievous glint in her eyes that shows that she's got other things other than his well-being in mind. This is truly a fine form of entertainment.

She feigns ignorance and shakes her head. She puts her hands behind her back in an attempt to try and hide some of the little red marks on the backs of her hands from her own encounter with an evil spirit. The shower certainly wasn't kind to her, either. ]

Why, of course not. If I did, I'm sure I'd be trembling as much as you are right this second.

[ She...really wouldn't be, though...... ]

How terrifying. If I had the proper tools on hand, perhaps I could come up with a way to ward them away, but alas. It seems like you've made a new friend.

C (cw: alcohol mention)

[dontworkfortoons]

They're not 'sposed to be. 'Cept for maybe on Prime Rib Tuesdays.

[ Eddie probably shouldn't crack wise around this kid, who is obviously scared and confused. That being said, he feels he's earned the right to crack wise, seeing how many times he's been on the receiving end of sudden violence and haphazardly thrown dinnerware. It lends him an air of emotional detachment.

The flask in his hands, held for dear life, doesn't help things.

Crouched behind the buffet line, he calls out to Kara. ]

You hear where those are coming from?

[ The voices, he means. ]

Osamu / Destiny Child / OTA

[wannabedemon]

1. One Strange Chateau

[Now, Osamu isn't one to scoff at free vacations. If anything, he was in desperate need of a break from the Archfiend Contest and all the annoyances in his life - particularly a certain trio of succubi who seem to take pleasure in making his life a living hell.

But to be dragged into one against his will? He isn't very keen on that. He's just about done with being forced to do things against his will.

It's specially annoying when he can't even walk around freely, being guided by some unseen force to the lifeboat drill. He wants to shout and complain about his predicament but... without any of his aides or Childs around to hear him it feels kinda empty and pointless, so he just resigns himself to going to that stupid drill.

Thankfully, the whole thing is over soon - Osamu can't really say he's shocked by seeing a woman without a face, considering he's fresh out of seeing Babel's mutated Childs - and he's free to wonder about as he pleases.

And while that's all fine and dandy... He just stands there, looking down at the lei around his neck and wondering why he feels so weirdly alone.]

2. Out and About

a. Deck

[Osamu decides he needs some fresh air, so he goes down the deck to get just that. He stares out into the ocean that stretches as far as the eye can see, not a single spot of land in sight.

The fact no one seems to be able to leave this ship isn't what bothers Osamu the most. Neither are the ghosts. He's a demon so spirits and unexplained events aren't really going to phase him. What really bothers him is the fact that even if people were able to escape, he wouldn't be able to do so on his own. He doesn't have any outstanding powers, even as a demon, and that makes him let out a big, frustrated sigh.

He really is a failure as a demon, isn't he?]

b. Mikabo

[Tired of feeling sorry for himself, Osamu decides that if he's going to be trapped in this place, he's going to indulge in everything it has to offer. And the first order of business is stuffing his face with fine sushi.

He eats plate after plate from the conveyor belt, sighing happily with every lil' sushi that goes in his mouth. It's so good being able to eat in peace, without anyone bothering him about pacts and striving to win the contest. Just peace and quiet and good food. When was the last time his life was this tranquil? Maybe this boat ain't so bad!]

3. Breaking Dishes

[Spoke too soon! This place is bad! It's bad news all over!

For the past, what, two days? Osamu honestly lost track, but he's being haunted, he's sure of it! Heavy and dangerous things keep falling just a hair away from him, ad he keeps hearing disembodied voices telling him to get out.

Get out how?? Even if he wanted to, he can't! At some point, while walking down one of the hallways, he grows far too annoyed by the constant voice and snaps.]

SHUT UP!! I can't leave this damn place so piss off whoever wants me to leave! Why can't I have a single day of peace? Why am I cursed this way? [Someone should probably tell him not to scream to himself in the middle of the hallway...]

[neverleave]

[What little expression he had disappears as he stares flatly at Rita's pointing finger.

After a moment though, he turns around to survey the buffet, giving the hovering cuttlery his best unimpressed glare. Just you try!!]

If they're nearby, we should try the kitchens first.

[Yes, "we". Now where are those kitchens? Natsuno takes a few experimental steps until a chair topples over in his path.]

Maybe this way.

[His logic being that the source is where the unseen force doesn't want then to go.

He glances back at Rita, raising an eyebrow. Well, are you coming?]

Diana Abel | Vampire: The Masquerade (OC)

[diana_abel]

1. now it's fun to wake up in a strange chateau
Well, it wasn't the first time Diana had woken up in a strange place, without remembering how she'd gotten there. Usually, that kind of awakening involved a cute boy and/or one of her sisters yanking on her hair until she swatted them away and asked what she'd missed. This, however, was the first time she woke up complete alone. On a ship. And that part was really the alarming part. Between the horrendous experiences she'd had crossing the Atlantic the first time, the intense danger when it came to sunlight, and the fact that she couldn't swim...yeah. It wasn't exactly going to be a groovy kind of awakening.

Compared to all of those other fears, Diana could barely spare much concern to the fact that she seemed to be totally compelled to follow instructions. And yet, there she was, making her way through the ship like she'd been there her whole life, heading straight up for deck one. Her white, plastic go-go boots squeaked. The many strings of love beads around her neck clacked. And the butt of her guitar softly thumped against her back.

She was a walking symphony. Kind of hard to miss.

2. messing with my mind was fun at the time
She appreciated the flowers, anyway. That was kind of nice. The rest of this, however, was traveling far beyond even Diana's weirdest trip. And she'd taken quite a few, over the last two hundred-odd years.

After the drill, she slipped back down into the atrium. From the top of the stairs, she felt like she was in the title number from Hello Dolly!. A part of her immediately expected a bunch of dancing boys in tuxedoes to tap their way up to her, grabbing her by her extended arms and carrying her down while she pointed her toes and belted out her best, "I feel the room swaying, while the band's playing!"

That didn't happen, of course.

So she just walked down the steps herself, determined to get the lay of the land. It was the only thing she could think to do at the moment. And she figured it was what her sisters would have done. Well, what her younger sister would have done. Selene would probably have thrown someone through a window, by now.

3. wildcard!
[OOC: Come at me with pretty much anything! Totally open. I will also switch to action, if that's your preference! If you're a supernatural critter (vampire, mage, werewolf, changeling, etc.), let me know if it's okay for Diana to recognize you as such.]

[myagic]

[That this entire thing is weird and nonsensical seems to be the consensus just about everywhere, even if some are calmer about it than others.]

It's--

[A secret? Rita is all too happy to lecture people on magic, but this particular case was different. She isn't going to go around and talk about her friend being used to nearly cause a worldwide disaster, so she decides not to go into too much detail.]

...a long story. But all it came down to developing the right formula to keep another one safely under control. Although normally I work on blastia. You know, right...?

[Something tells her the other girl actually doesn't, as strange as it is to consider for Rita, and she taps her blastia: a gold choker around her neck, set with a small red gem. One can see the gem--the core--glitter faintly if they look close enough.]

[myagic]

I mean--I guess it'd be impressive, in a way. Even I don't know of any magic that can mess with your memories.

But we need more data first...

By the way, which town were you in? Were you in the capital too?

[She means Zaphias, of course, but at the moment, she has no reason to specify the name; she assumes he would know.]

[myagic]

[Satisfied with his apparent compliance--and because she can't exactly blast the culprit if she isn't there when he finds them--Rita actually does follow after him. Now that she's decided some form of magic is obviously at work, there's no reason to be afraid hold back.

The cutlery clamors all the more...menacingly? Or loudly, anyway--while the chair spins like a top. Rita scowls at the noise.]

Oh, I've had enough of this! Hey--you!

[She addresses Natsuno again instead of asking for his name like a normal person.]

You handle the chair; I'll get rid of these!

[She assumes he can probably do something about it, anyway. Meanwhile, she flips open the textbook she always carries around, and...a large, striped cat paw stretches from the pages and swipes the cutlery out of the air. Totally normal.]

Hah! That'll teach them to think they can mess with me!

[kishidope]

[Zoro with one sword is no challenge for Sanji and his fine fucking legs. Two swords is trickier, but he's determined to summon all three before this tiff ends, damn the consequences. He's not about to back off now.

Enma's force successfully shoves Sanji backward, exactly where Zoro intends to lead him, but the cook throws in an extra leap to better control his touch down. He lands on the buffet table with all the light, fluid grace of a cat. Not a single dish is disturbed as he races the length of the table and leaps once more, meeting Zoro's slashes with the sole of his boot every time. He diverts even the air pressure behind the swordsman's admittedly restrained blows, sending shockwaves at walls and furniture but never at food. In the back of his mind, he acknowledges that Zoro is probably making this task easier for him, but he sneers at his victory nonetheless before ducking down and swinging for Zoro's ankle next.]

I haven't lost shit! [That affirmation is a little too real, a little too close to what Sanji is actually afraid of to stand alone. So, naturally, he has to add a taunt to it.] So shove that last sword in your shitty muzzle already, and get serious, dammit!

[neverleave]

[That. Sure is a cat paw coming out of a book. Not exactly what he thought when she mentioned magic formulas.

Any questions can wait for later, though. Natsuno has no magic nor any flashy abilities unless he consumes blood. He is, however, spitefully stubborn and cares little for his bodily safety.

Stomping the chair into splinters may not be as elegant as Rita's method, but it is efficient.]

Right. Anything else in this book of yours?

[yourotherleft]

[any restraint is merely to keep anyone who walks in from taking collateral damage, otherwise this is as all-out as he can go without tearing the ship literally in half. So he thinks, anyway. Zoro takes a hop back to evade getting thrown to the ground and fuck it, goes right ahead and grabs Wadou Ichimonji. Your wish is his command, cook.]

Don't tell me what to do!

[even though he still does it anyway. Right, then, time for a straighfoward Rengoku Oni Giri, charging directly at Sanji before he can disrupt Zoro's rhythm again. There might be a table sort of in the way, fortunately there's no food on it so if he cuts through it on his way to the cook, oops?]

[myagic]

[Well, he did handle it in the end... Rita doesn't look particularly impressed, but she's not one to turn down a quick(?) lecture.]

That wasn't part of the book; the book itself just has the right level of conductance to coalesce the aer into an effective tangible shape--that attack was a custom one by yours truly, by the way--but to answer what you're really asking, of course I can cast spells, too.

[natsuno i am so sorry for your lots here]

Anyway, should we move on?

[kidnapcard]

Just your average damsel in distress.

[The way she says it it's clearly a joke. And straight after making it Roxanne dips right back into a more serious tone.]

The way I gather it now the guy kidnapping me all the time thought I was dating the hero of the town and it was a way to get his attention at first. I think towards the end though it was more of a flirting thing.

[Her expression flattens out some.]

Look, I know how stupid that sounds. It was a stupid situation too.

Reigen Arataka | Mob Psycho 100

[techniques]

Now It's Fun To Wake Up

[Listen, the last time Reigen was on anything close to a "vacation", he got stuck in a haunted train for a month and had almost no chance of enjoying the hot springs with Mob and Serizawa. So upon waking on a suspicious cruise ship, Reigen is immediately trying to go literally anywhere other than deck one--at one point he even attempts to take a running leap toward the side of the boat as if planning on making a break swimming for land. But, his legs end up being frozen in place, until finally he seems to give up and proceeds to throw his hands into the air in exasperation.]

Goddamnit, are you serious!? Why does this keep happening to me!?

Messing With My Mind

[Okay so once he has been forced to attend the world's most boring safety drills, when it comes to his turn, instead of complying with what's being asked of him, he instead raises a hand.]

Before I agree to do any of this, I have just one question. One very, very important question that can't go unanswered any longer and if you expect my cooperation, it needs to be attended to immediately.

[Pause for dramatic effect and some rather exaggerated hand movements, and then--]

How much is this so-called vacation going to cost me? As a businessman, I can't afford to take expensive vacations like this without knowing what price I'm supposed to be paying for it here.

[Really, Reigen, why is this your important question to ask here?]

Lots of Mystery

[When the voices start up, Reigen has a plan to act on here... albeit, not in any conventional way a normal person might in this situation.]

Begone, evil spirits!

[Suddenly, Reigen is throwing a handful of salt in the direction of wherever the voices are shouting "get out" from this time. Which, doesn't really seem to do anything other than create a pile of salt on the floor? Or maybe this direction is unfortunately in the spot you happen to be standing in, and you end up getting hit in the face with salt. While you're trying to brush it out of hair, you'll find that it appears to be regular table salt that's probably available in the cruise ship's restaurant.

Sorry about that.]

Wildcard

[Here's the wildcard option for anything that doesn't fit in the above! Feel free to hit me up via PM or wailords if you want to talk specifics about anything.]

[neverleave]

[The lecture's content means nothing to him, but it's meaningful nonetheless. This girl has access to resources that he doesn't, she can use them to invent new things and she's pretty logical once she stops freaking out.

Her personality isn't exactly endearing, but neither is Natsuno's. What's important is that she seems like acceptable company for investigating creepy mysteries on a haunted ship.]

Yeah.

[But if there's a back door to the kitchens, it sure is well hidden.]

I wonder how anything gets done here. You can't break into the crew cabins or the bridge, but at least they're there. I didn't see any other service doors.

[Or, y'know. Any crew except that Friday... woman (??)]

b.

[yourotherleft]

[so sorry to disrupt the tranquility here but...]

Oi. Is that octopus? Grab me some of that, will ya?

[rude enough to ask someone to do the work for him, not rude enough to actually reach over Osamu and grab the plate himself. Never mind that he has four plates stacked in one hand already...

[wannabedemon]

[Osamu is midway into shoving another sushi in his mouth when he hears someone talk to him.]

Hmph? [He takes a second to register the request and almost misses the octopus as it passes him by on the conveyor belt. He eats up his own sushi with a large gulp, smile on his lips.]

There you go! [He's in a particularly good mood so he really doesn't mind the rudeness. It's been a while since he's been able to eat in peace. And for free? That's a double win in his book.]

Did you try the shrimp ones? They taste so fresh... [Osamu sighs, trying to spot another one of those down the belt.]

Lots of Mystery!

[wannabedemon]

[Osamu, with his infinite talent of always being at the wrong place at the wrong time, gets pelted in the face with salt seemingly out of nowhere as some guy shouts at him to 'begone'.

OK, he's a demon, but he thought he was being very inconspicuous so far, even with his tail swinging about.]

Wha- What the hell! Why did you that? [He's at least glad that, even though he's on the weaker side, demon wise, salt doesn't really do anything to him.]

[techniques]

[At first, Reigen pulls a face when he realizes that he appears to have hit a person in the face with the salt here, but then he very quickly recovers with another dramatic gesture. He doesn't seem to have noticed the tail yet, or if he has, he's not commenting on it right away.]

My psychic intuition led me to this spot right here as the source of the undesirable voices of the damned. Be thankful, for now I have taken on the task of ensuring that they do not continue to haunt you or anyone else by dousing this area in the salt these type of spirits often despise.

[Apparently this is supposed to justify throwing salt at you?]

[myagic]

[Rita rubs her temples before summing it up as logically as she can-]

So you're surrounded by creepy weirdos who don't know how to take a hint. You ever thought of making better friends?

Fio | NieR Re[in]carnation

[sabigoe]

i.

[ That Friday lady sure talks strangely! But she seems nice, Fio thinks. The lei is kind of nice too. Does she truly deserve to wear something like this? Coming from a village where her social standing was considered the lowest of the low, she feels like some sort of princess! This ship is far too grand for her. More fitting for a Noble, which she absolutely is not.

As instructed, she heads to deck one and goes through the drill spiel like every other passenger. Her manner of attire is telling enough that she's someone of poor status sticking out in the crowd: tattered, dirtied white dress. And a peculiar collar around her neck. With many others around, she's sort of expecting to be laughed at and have unkind words thrown at her. Those concerns are pushed to the back of her mind, as she focuses her attention like an obedient student at school. ]

ii.

[ Fio's stomach had been hurting. When was the last time she ate a proper meal? Naturally, she makes a beeline for the buffet. Once she arrives to see all sorts of food for the taking, she stares wide-eyed. Despite her hunger, she doesn't dig in just yet. This is okay...?

She looks around worriedly, as though waiting for someone to tell her it's fine for her to eat. ]

iii.

[ It seems her nightmares have finally come to an end ever since her arrival. No more running around the Cage either. Admittedly, she found it fun being together with Mr. Monster and the Carrier. Far better than her normal life. She can only hope her former companions turn up on the ship someday. Just when she thought she was growing comfortable in what may be her new home, a new problem begins to arise.]

Uhm...

[ Get out, she hears. Making a sound of discomfort, she attempts to ignore the voices no matter how noisy they are. A frown tugs at the little girl's lips, clearly unsettled. Yet she continues to go about the regular routine she had adopted since awakening in her cabin. As she walks past a pool chair, it upends with a loud clatter. Startled, Fio lets out a squeak.

Then the voices grow more aggressive. Finally, she pays them some mind, whoever they might be. ]

Hello? Who's here? Where are all of you? [ Awkwardly she calls out to seemingly nothing. ] Why do you want me to get out? Was I... bad?

iv. wildcard

[ ooc: Anything goes! If you're not sure, feel free to PM me! Also if you see I typed something dumb and need to fix it, feel free to PM me regarding that too lol. I haven't really RPed in a year (formerly endbringer on plurk, which I don't use anymore) and I apologize my journal is under construction... if you need a little bit of extra info on Fio for tags, she has a wiki here. ]

[myagic]

[So he's pretty observant--she hadn't even thought of service doors.]

Hmm...if I had to guess, I'd say a lot of it's probably automated. This ship is pretty technology advanced from the looks of things, so it's likely a lot of the basic functions are automatic. Maybe even more than just the basic ones.

The food must get filled at the buffet now and then, so maybe you'd see where they come from then.

[She hasn't spent enough time in the restaurants to see how the food goes right through the walls. If she sees that, she might go back to freaking out...]

[yourotherleft]

Thanks.

[never let it be said Zoro is rude to people who feed him. Well, mostly. He decides to plop down in the nearest chair, since an extra pair of hands to grab food is always appreciated]

Eh, the shrimp's okay. Watch out for the salmon, though, it's kinda bland. For a ship this size, you'd think they could do better.