sail_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ the bard - whoever he is - is terribly optimistic, all things considered. Childe's like to believe him when he says that he's usually at leisure anyway, and knows from experience how to tell the more obvious signs when someone is lying. ]

As much as I don't think I've done anything to warrant a proper vacation, I like your optimism.

[ listing the captain as a suspect in this mass kidnapping is a good thought, and one that he files away for later when he's inevitably able to explore the boat and all the amenities and things on board. he's familiar enough with them to know that the vessel they're on is massive and he doesn't doubt that he'll be spending a decent amount of time just trying to get his bearings. ]

My name is Tartaglia, by the by.

Tartaglia, I'm Venti! Your local bard~ for as long as I'm local here, however that might be. [ he... seems to be easygoing to the point of irresponsibility, but maybe that's just the way he is. fickle and whimsy and, why worry? ] A vacation's a vacation, deserved or not.

If you're going to find the captain, I could keep you company. [ this person... easygoing as venti is, he isn't an ignorant. the wind has its way of finding information, and the fatui aren't exactly super subtle with their naming scheme.

one of the harbingers had taken his gnosis, after all. he might just have some reason to keep a casual eye on childe. ]

Venti, huh? That's not the worst name I've heard.

[ he's definitely teasing, despite their situation - or perhaps because of it. but Childe's never really been one to panic or stress about the unknown, either due to his experiences in being a Harbinger or because it's a challenge he's more than happy to overcome, so it really shouldn't be surprising he's treating this much the same way. ]

That's definitely one way to look at it. I wouldn't mind having a few words with the captain, because if they're the sort that's skilled enough to get me onto a boat without my knowledge then I definitely want to meet them. I can only imagine how strong they are.

[ 'not the worst' is... probably one of the most accurate ways to describe him, just maybe. he wonders briefly if tartaglia might even be aware that his own alias is very clearly just that, the name of an archetype, but--maybe he'll keep that to himself for now. ]

In that case~ I'll accompany you and you could protect me from the big, strong dastardly kidnapping captain! Why, I'll even write a ballad of this showdown if you're going to challenge him to a fight.

[ which--he supposes is a valid and understandable reaction for a kidnap-ee, but it's kind of refreshing how casually tartaglia appears to be taking this. not that he'd complain, it beats panicking. ]

A ballad of one of my fights, huh? Can't say I'm not flattered.

[ there's probably been a dozen composed for him back in Snezhnaya. something something Her Majesty's youngest Harbinger. goodness knows he threw himself into the limelight enough to never really shy away from that kind of attention. ]

Well then, I suppose we'd better find our way to the captain's quarters first.

[ there's a life vest in the closet, judging from the note, but he's fairly certain he won't have any issues with drowning. Childe will instead make his way to the door which isn't quite meandering off the beaten path just yet, so he doesn't feel any kind of compel to move without his consent. opening it, he'll turn to Venti and hold out a hand; whether he intends for the bard to take it or he simply means for him to come along isn't made obvious at first glance. ]

Shall we, Mr. Bard?

[ whoa, childe really is popular... but, they can certainly add another song to the list, why not? one in addition to songs like this possibly, or venti could even bother him into singing one if he ever finds out.

for now, he cheerfully dissipates his harp and hops down from the top bunk in a little sweep of wind, looking a bit surprised at the extended hand--but then he takes it, beaming. maybe a bit like a trusting creature, shaking. ]

Do I look old enough to be a 'Mister', Mister Tartaglia? [ he is 2000+ years too old to be a mister. ... anyway. just a bit of tit for tat, not that he's actually offended at all. ] But sure sure, let's go~

[ he opens the door for them both. and then they may as well go through the drills on board, afterwards. ]

I've been fooled before by people of your stature, Mister Venti. [ he quips back, totally unapologetic and not at all malicious - even if some of the associated experiences are less than ideal. at least there's honesty enough in the mutual dislike between coworkers that he can't find himself getting too worked up over it.

the way he dissipates the harp gets a scrutinizing look from him, and it's then that Childe notices the Vision against Venti's hip. how interesting. ]

Maybe after you can show me what you can do with that Vision of yours. [ it's less a provocation for a fight and more of a light teasing, a gesture of acknowledgement. he sees you, Venti.

but before he can add anything more to it, before he can think about where else to go - he's through the door and his legs are moving, automatically, taking him in the direction of the drills. it's only a little confusing. ]

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

disowns u

but im not even the child(e) here

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