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

clarke griffin | the 100

[skaikru]

II. radiation burns & chocolate cake ( messing with my mind )

( when does a welcome not feel like a welcome? oh yeah, when it's tacked onto the end of your abduction indoctrination by the faceless embodiment of harlan ellison's worst nightmare. nothing about this entire experience is entirely tracking, and looking past the boxy green hazmat suit and the burnt, blistering skin on her face (somewhere between how are you alive? and that's a really terrible sunburn), all the churning gears in clarke griffin's head are clearly displayed on her face. a tight set in her jaw, the deep crease between her brows, and the hard way she looks left and right — trying to gauge immediate danger and any exit routes.

not that an exit route into the middle of some landmark-less stretch of ocean was really a viable option. she's not an amazing swimmer, and an even worse captive.

but they're given leave to roam, and she's off like an arrow seeking a weak point in enemy armor. feel free to encounter this crispy blonde bulldozer:

a. lurking around staircases, having acquired a piece of paper and a pencil somewhere, and very obviously trying to go places she shouldn't. the tallest point of the ship, for example, set to glare out across sun-streaked water until she goes blind or sees a bird.

b. very briefly passing the entrance to the casino, admittedly sidetracked by the musical jingles and chatter. bright lights and the pleasant thrum of modern (ancient) human life are almost more alien than faceless cruise directors and nameless bodies of water, and she's still staring into the gambling pit when starting to walk again. which makes for an easy collision course for either a human being or a large decorative potted plant.

or c. holding up the buffet line with an otherwise empty tray, staring down a huge piece of chocolate cake. is it poisoned or drugged? even if it was, could it still be worth it to eat as much as she could before dying here? jury's out. )

III. suspicion & salad ( mystery in the history )

( not her first ghost, not the first time it's felt like the dead are whispering in her ear. not even really her first time navigating a creepy ship, though that had been a crash landed space station with creepy music box melodies leading her into trap.

but — this is the first time clarke hasn't felt so isolated in her haunting. everyone around seems startled when chairs start slamming into walls and splintering. some seem to be the targets

this is also the first time she's ever been hit in the face with a big metal salad bowl and sent sprawling. lettuce and cheese and croutons sticking in her hair and now sporting a slightly bloodied lip in addition to semi-healed radiation burns. there's a ringing in her ears, accompanied by the unpleasant (but not unfamiliar) hiss of get out. geeeet out. getoutgetoutgetout. this is the definition of a breaking point. )

And go where? ( clarke snaps at no one in particular. time to lose it a little in a semi-public setting. ) Tell me where to go, and I'll go.

IV. calling all scallywags ( flyers in the hallways )

( taking a brief break from being a suspicious, sneaky, and kinda shifty looking herself, clarke still has the capacity to want to help other passengers. so you'll find a few hand written flyers taped along main egress and entrance points, advocating for the best ways to deal with: )

Seasickness

If you're still feel ill, try:
1. Facing the direction we're sailing.
2. Go outside and look at the horizon.
3. Light meals: crackers and water/carbonated beverages are best.
4. Lay down before you fall down.
5. There's a pressure point on your left wrist, where you'd take your pulse. Press there.
6. There's a store on Deck 1, or hospital wing is on Deck 0, if you need or trust their medication.

Any questions? You can reach me through your ShipTalk: Clarke Griffin, Room (XXX)

wildcard ( !!! )

( ooc | hit me with whatever strikes your fancy! clarke's a cranky, put-upon, teenage apocalypse warlord who's a little fixated on the fact she should be dead, and currently covered in radiation burns after narrowly escaping a deathwave. feel free to pm to hash out any details, or hit me up on plurk inb4circlejerk )

II.a

[sailmods]

[it is exceeding difficult to keep track of all her rascally new charges on the first day. it's hard and nobody understands.

but, her call is Service, and boy howdy did she notice someone in dire need of it at the latest muster drill. it's just that this particular one is... well.

the captain has never explicitly told her to keep passengers from climbing the mast and radio antenna? but, she feels like it was at least heavily implied.]

Miss Griffin! That isn't very safe! You'll get picked off by eagles! [there are absolutely no birds anywhere, at all.]

[skaikru]

( damn. caught, red handed and several rungs up the service ladder on the mast. clarke freezes first, gut instinct insisting she was in immediate danger for venturing past the acceptable distractions like the casino, buffet, and shops. but she steels herself, and gradually climbs down to the floor of the deck. )

I'm sorry. ( not even the slightest bit sorry, but at least puts in the work to keep open hostility out of her voice. and... to not outright sneer, because no discernable eyes didn't automatically mean friday couldn't see. she'd at least spotted clarke trying to do her best impersonation of a squirrel, so. )

I just wanted to find the best view.

[sailmods]

I think every view on board is the best one! [pauses, then speaks in a slightly quieter, almost conspiratorial voice] But, I also think it's prettiest when you're on the back of the ship. The aft, they call it! The wake makes the ship look like a bride...

[startles from slight reverie]

Oh, but where are my manners! I have a gift for you! [she pulls a small wrapped present out of don't ask questions, and holds it out.]

[skaikru]

( yeah, her interest for boats in bridal gear is resting firmly below zero, and it shows in both the pinched corners of clarke's mouth, and how she leans the slightest bit away from friday when she speaks.

wants to take a full on step backwards when offered a present, but a hint of adrenaline keeps her rooted to the spot. in matters of fight or flight, clarke will invariably chose to fight. but not without knowing all the pieces on the board.

purposefully not reaching her hand out, but still inquiring: ) What... is it?

[sailmods]

[tilts head forward] It wouldn't be a very fun surprise gift if it wasn't a surprise!

[but then she seems to sort of. decide on something for some reason.]

It's gauze! And a topical steroid. You can't get that one in the shop, and most passengers don't learn about the infirmary until something bad happens to them.

[presents package forward again] I really do hope you'll feel better! It would be a shame to miss out on any fun!

[skaikru]

( that's an incredibly thoughtful gift. clarke's suspicion skyrockets and she wants absolutely nothing to do with either first aid tool.

but she's done worse things, that have made her more uncomfortable, in the name of diplomacy than reach out a hand and take the small package from friday's hand. it's going to go directly in her pocket the second she's out of the woman's view, but until then she just weighs it in her palm. ) I... thank you.

But I didn't sign up for this sort of fun. You know that, right?

[sailmods]

[she holds her hands in front of her, briefly turning her face to the ground.]

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to make the best of things! It's always so much worse when everybody gives up on the first day...

[skaikru]

I'm not going to give up. ( just severely doubts her own ability to relax, have fun, or make the best of anything. and maybe that statement is 30% a threat, because clarke has a habit of digging her teeth into an idea and not letting go until she has to. and right now that idea is — ) But what if I want to go home?

( back to an irradiated world where just might... die? okay, terrible choice, but at least it would be her choice. )

[sailmods]

[she brings a knuckle to her chin. if she had a mouth, she probably would have bit it.]

There aren't many things that are impossible on the Serena Eterna... But, that's one of them. As far as I know.

IIb

[myagic]

[After looking around the casino, not finding any useful information, and being stared at yet again by the no-face freak for being a minor, Rita retreats opts to explore elsewhere. Quickly. And in her hurried strides, she and the other teen slam right into each other.]

Ow-!

[It didn't actually hurt, but that's not the point, and Rita scowls for a moment after she staggers back a step.]

Hey, why don't you watch where you're going...

[She ends up sounding less indignant than she intends to, trailing off at the end as she takes in Clarke's unusual appearance (as if Rita's one to talk about weird outfits).]

...What happened to you?

[skaikru]

— sorry. ( and she means it, but the air of genuine apology is lacking from clarke's voice. she's still entirely wrapped up in the swirl of questions and concerns about this entire situation to put any real energy into fussing over a stranger she's bumped into. or to care about the light

the burns on her face had stung when subjected to the saltwater spray kicked up by the ships engines and gal friday had gifted her a topical steroid shortly after their safety brief, so clarke knows she's not exactly looking her best in this moment. it just hadn't been the biggest matter of importance when the alternative was trying to figure out exactly what creepy hell hole she's fallen into. she was still alive, might as well keep going.

but literally crashing into concern has clarke pausing, stumbling over an honest explanation that doesn't leave her feeling like she's told anyone too much before figuring out if they were someone to trust or not. )

Nuclear radiation. It's fine, I'm fine. It'll probably heal.

( also rita's outfit is a delight, she has a soft spot with teenagers rocking goggles, but the long train of fabric seems impractical. no fashion police here, though. )

[myagic]

[they can have excellent fashion taste together]

Nuclear...radiation?

[As she tilts her head, there's an edge of confusion in her voice but there's also the tone of someone who's pondering the words--the phrase is unfamiliar, but if she parses the meaning of each component...

(Nuclear...nucleus...core...)

She crosses her arms, tapping her chin with a finger. Curiosity has temporarily shoved aside concern over the burns.]

So...you're saying you got caught up in an explosion? Where? Was there another blastia core that went berserk? Or...

[Terca Lumireis doesn't even have long-range communication in their current technology; they certainly don't have enough understanding of particle physics for even Rita to know much about ionizing radiation. So she focuses on what "core" means to her: the backbone of their magical technology. Even if the way Clarke worded it gives Rita some doubts that they're talking about the same thing.]

[skaikru]

( they're definitely not talking about the same thing, but simultaneously it's probably not that far off. yes, it was an explosion — it was just... the whole world exploding? and yes, it all went back to cores, but in her time it had been the cores of nuclear reactors stationed all across the world simultaneously melting down and putting an end to the last stragglers of the human species.

clarke doesn't know what a blastia core is, and blinks like a particularly stupid deer caught in headlights for a few moments. )

It was... everywhere? ( it's like speaking two different dialects with the same parent language. ) I'm saying the world ended in a wave of fire, and I just wasn't dead yet when —

( a pointed glance all around them. when being the entirety of the ship, this whole sordid affair, their kidnapping, and the rampant seasickness. )

— I woke up.

( she's only seen a scant few people aboard so far, but it's been enough to realize they've not all been dragged from the same reality or era. clarke isn't stuck on the idea they've all lived very different lives, in very different worlds, under very different circumstances. she's won't be surprised if her mention of the apocalypse doesn't elicit a visceral reaction from people who haven't lived through it. but please rita, mention magic and watch her head spin off her neck. )

What were you doing before you were here?

[myagic]

It...ended...?

[Her brows furrow in deep thought. No, the world didn't end yet, even if just yesterday it looked like it was about to. And that...weapon, or whatever it was, hadn't been activated yet.

Rita has gotten a sense that the people onboard are different--more different than a regular group of random strangers. But alternate worlds, parallel universes, time travel? That's all too philosophical for her. They have no bearing on reality. But all this seems real enough... (maybe she's just aersick after yesterday...?)

She could easily spend far too much time thinking it over, and over, and over, so it's probably a good thing that Clarke's question pulls her from her thoughts.]

Nothing as...final as that.

[She almost feels uncomfortable saying it. This girl was supposed to die? Rita makes a face to banish that thought.]

After I'd finished on that magic formula, it was already morning, so... There was something else I had to do and I was on my way to the city gate. And then it was like--I was just here. I woke up, like you.

It doesn't make much sense.

[skaikru]

( yeah, their worlds don't match up. that much is only reinforced by listening to the younger girls answer. but it's in line with the experiences of everyone else she's talked to thus far, and thus not surprising.

still, with a sharp nod and firm agreement: )

It doesn't make any sense.

( and then, there's that one word that grabs her attention above the rest. after a frustratingly circular one-on-one conversation with their faceless, one-woman welcome party, her initial plan to seek out whatever technology was at play here and mess around in the guts of its wiring until she could somehow figure out a way home was... suspended. pending further information, specifically on: )

Magic?

( not that friday is within clarke's circle of trust. but on the off chance she's telling the truth and it's magic that brought them all here, it might as well be best to learn as much as she can about it from someone more familiar. )

What sort of... magic formula were you making?

( preemptively sorry she's magic-ist uneducated and thinks all magic is the same, rita. )

[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.]

[skaikru]

( even with the very kind indication of what exactly a blastia is, looking at rita's necklace connects as many dots for clarke as she imagines it would for the other teenager if she pulled the flame out of her pocket and tried to describe that the microchip contained a dozen or more souls.

formula sounds so much like science that maybe this conversation will go easier than expected, but at least for now, clarke still has a lot of clarifying questions. )

"Under control" like mind control or anesthesia?

ii-b.

[strikon]

[madi had been feeling on edge from the moment she woke up here with clarke no where within her immediate vicinity. there were so many question running through her mind, she was bewildered and fascinated by her new surrounding all at once from what she was used to from the corner of earth that she occupied with clarke over the years since they found each other.

there were more important things to focus on, everything else could wait until later once she found clarke. it feels like she's been wandering around for hours but it isn't until she eventually passes the casino that she spots clarke, her recognition is immediate despite appearances and in her excitement, she bolts straight towards the blonde tackling her in a surprise hug]

Clarke— you're actually here! I wasn't sure I'd find you in this place. [it doesn't register how different clarke looks right now or that it means something is off because in the moment all she can focus on is how relieved she feels to have found clarke, knowing she isn't completely alone in this strange unknown place]

cries preemptively

[skaikru]

( ah, cruel fates.

someone's calling her name, and the morbid fact that all of her friends are lost — buried, barreling towards the edge of the atmosphere, or burning alive — wars with that kneejerk hope. the suspension of disbelief that maybe she's not entirely alone here, swimming in a sea of new faces and alien experiences. that maybe her mother has just rounded the corner, or bellamy's come in from out on the main deck, or raven and octavia woke up just a little after her and caught a second orientation. she'd even feel an undeniable wave of relief to see john murphy, echo, or emori magically appear in front of her. and running on that hope and the last vestiges of adrenaline, she's turning. eyes bright and actively seeking a familiar face.

only to be suddenly and aggressively hugged around the middle by a child. a strange child. when she looks closer, she'll be able to notice the distinctly grounder look to her clothes, but now she's just staring down at the top of madi's head, somehow more confused and alarmed than she'd been upon initially waking up in her cabin. )

I'm — ( not who you're looking for? but she knew her name. after the first wave of shock, she's gently but firmly prying the young girls arms from around her waist. putting a bit of space between them, enough to look at madi a little harder and... yup, nah, still coming up empty on memory. this may also be a prime time for madi to notice the blistering radiation burns across clarke's entire face. they'd been much better healed when she'd finally made it to the remnants of madi's village, but here they're painfully fresh. )

I'm sorry. Who are you?

i'm right there with you crying. this is already heartbreaking ;;

[strikon]

[the fates were indeed very cruel.

madi had excepted that clarke would similarly be relieved to see her and hug her back just as tightly while fussing over her as she does. maybe more so because of the situation they've found themselves in but instead there was nothing of the sort. no familiar warmth from her embrace being returned or utterances of worry that she had come to expect, instead it comes as a complete surprise when clarke pushes her away.

she can't help the look of confusion that crosses her face from the action itself. did she do something wrong? she doesn't understand but now that there is a bit more space between them, madi looks up towards clarke noticing the burn marks across her face and how much longer her hair is and this only adds to her confusion and concern. she is just about to comment on it when clarke speaks up and hearing her words that follow, it feels like a punch to the gut.

who are you? it is only three words but it feels like her whole world shatters, tears welling up in her eyes. if clarke were anyone else, madi would think it was a joke but the thing is that she knows clarke. she knows she wouldn't be joking with her about something like this and that only leaves her feeling more unsettled and alarmed because she can't make sense of any of this yet. she lets out a deep breath as she tries to find her words while reaching out and out of habit tugging on clarke's sleeve] Come on, Clarke. It's— me. Madi.

You have to know me. It's been just the two of us these last six years since Praimfaya. We're family.

[skaikru]

( clarke is... alarmingly confused.

there comes a point where very little surprises a person anymore. new dangers? eh. new enemies? must be a tuesday. new near death experiences? also a tuesday. new losses and complications? that's any day that ends in a -y.

but she's never been on the receiving end of a complete stranger coming up to her, throwing their arms around her middle, and insisting that they were family. clarke's still processing the idea that she was actively succumbing to radiation poisoning on the floor of becca's lab a few hours ago, and can safely say she's never seen this child before that moment. the idea of alternating timelines, timeline distortion, and the very fabric of space ripping itself apart to bring people here hasn't fully formulated in her mind either, and the kneejerk reaction is suspicion.

simultaneously, there are aspects of her personality that can't even be undercut by the absolute emotional whiplash she's trying to process in this moment. the girl ⁠— madi? ⁠— looks absolutely distraught, and that tugs on her heartstrings. )

Hey. ( almost immediately softer. the hands on madi's shoulders also ease their grasp a bit, still holding a firm distance between them but no longer biting through layers of clothes with alarm. she is just a kid, albeit strange, unknown kid. )

Hey. It's okay. It's ⁠— I'm sorry, did you say six years since Praimfaya?

[strikon]

[madi wipes her face, blinking back her tears when clarke gently grips onto her shoulder and tries to reassure her. it doesn't do much to really calm her because clarke should know her, she should know about all of it especially the six years they spent together and the bond they share from the moment they met up until now so why doesn't she?

she searches clarke's face in hopes that the other girl would suddenly pull her close, memories flooding back to her so they could forget all about the last few moments of confusion but the blatant lack of recognition was all too painful. she doesn't understand what could have happened but then she zones in how different clarke looks, she hadn't given it much thought or been focused on questioning it before but maybe it was related somehow] Yeah, it's been six years since we found each other.

[madi takes a small step closer towards clarke, lifting her arm to vaguely gesture at the distinct burn marks on her face. there is something oddly familiar about it but the thought that they were fresh from radiation poisoning doesn't occur to her because that is totally ridiculous based on what she knows] Did... you get hurt? Did someone do that to you? [her words are laced with concern and worry as she tries to make sense of this]

[skaikru]

( she's drowning here and doesn't know what conversational tangent to grab first; which would make this all make sense? what would keep her afloat? what would help this poor child who exuded grief that ⁠— for once ⁠— clarke has no idea how she's caused.

six years sticks in her mind, and there's the absolutely baffling idea that... wait, had she somehow survived? clarke's last moment before stumbling out of her too-clean bed in a cabin of the serena eterna had been collapsing on the floor of becca's lab, choking on her own lung fluid and welcoming the black clouding along the edges of her vision, if death meant for a moment she'd stop burning. )

I ⁠— ... Praimfaya. Praimfaya did this to me. I was dying after running from the Death Wave, and then I was just here. ( i don't know you, i never found you, you must have the wrong person. )

[strikon]

[madi isn't sure what she expected as a response for this situation to suddenly make sense but her eyes widen in complete surprise hearing clarke answer her question. she was so convinced that something else had happened, that clarke was experiencing temporary memory loss because of something someone had done to her and that there was some other more logic explanation behind all this but she was coming up empty thinking having any of this make sense to her.

there was no part of this that seemed like it was remotely possible yet it was undeniable in a way between the fresh burn marks from the radiation poisoning to seeing clarke's hair being a little longer much how it had been in the early years before she decided to cut it shorter. it hits her suddenly how she really is just nobody to clarke right now. she was somehow brought here from a time before they even met and knowing that makes her feel even more alone for the first time again in a long time]

Oh— [she doesn't know what to say at first as she struggles to find her words to express herself because what do you even do when your most important person in the world sees you as a stranger? she really wasn't sure how to navigate this or what this meant for the two of them going forward either] You didn't die, just so you know. You survived the same as I did because of your Nightblood.

[she hesitates for a moment, feeling a bit uncertain of herself before does continue in hopes that it'll help clarke understand a little better] We didn't meet right away. It was almost two months later that we found each other and learned we weren't completely alone on the planet.