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

Rochelle | Left 4 Dead

[axemeaquestion]

[ooc: Just a general heads-up - I probably won't be tagging back too often until Sunday night. Still wanted to a starter in though, I'm super excited for this game!!]

[1. DEVILS I KNEW]
[At first, Rochelle thought this was the ship that the military vaguely mentioned when she and the boys were rescued from New Orleans. But there was no military, and Coach, Nick, and Ellis were nowhere to be found. Rochelle had spent most of her last few days hoping she could the guys - much less figure out where the hell she was.

Of course, that's when ghosts started happening.]

You have to be goddamn kidding me--

[For the third time in a day, a plate flew in her direction in the Stellar. Ro swore to herself and grabbed a butter knife off her lunch plate. She's realized in the last few days how uncomfortable she was without a weapon in her hand now.]

First zombies, now ghosts...

[She mutters to herself and holds the butter knife - very threatening - in front of her and starts to step away from the dining hall. Nearby plates are starting to shake.

Anyway, if you feel like witnessing a small woman in bloodstained Depeche Mode shirt (look, she doesn't have the money for new clothes yet) brandishing silverware at nothing in particular, be her guest.]

You can't stab a ghost, right?

[She's asking you. Sort of.]

[fortify]

I am afraid not. [ is the response that comes from her left, a welldressed man by himself at a table with a cup of tea. Despite the rattling of the plates (although he only has a teacup in his hand and no plates or silverware on the table he's at,) he seems quite unperturbed or inclined to move. His gold eyes are watching her, particularly the body language she exudes in her tensed up state.

Zhongli certainly can't blame her, though, and he will kindly beckon her to sit at the table with him. ]

If you are still hungry, please come sit. It's important that you eat to maintain your health while we are stuck here, regardless of deterrents.

[ Why the man is asking her to sit seems very strange when this entire place seems to be ready to become a warzone of plate flinging and a top tier example of a food fight gone wrong is anyone's guess.

...Or, it was, until a plate suddenly sends itself through the air right at Zhongli, only to suddenly smash harmlessly into a strange barrier that becomes visible once the plate hits it with the shattered pieces hitting the floor harmlessly. The barrier spans the entire table with some room to spare. If she takes his offer and approaches to sit, she will find that she goes right through the barrier with ease, unlike that plate— and the second plate that smashes right behind her against the barrier almost immediately after she steps in. ]

I realize you left your food at the table, but we may move to retrieve it for you or get you something else that requires minimum dishware and silverware. We may also chat, or you are more than welcome to simply sit in silence and wait until these spirits settle down.

[axemeaquestion]

[... Huh. Rochelle was about to be incredulous and maybe a little rude; ask if this stranger was nuts, etc. But then the barrier happens. She blinks up at it - then stares. Then squints.]

... You know what? For right now, I'm gonna question this less than the ghosts.

[Says the woman whose world was completely normal and boring until zombies happened. She guns it for a plate of chicken tenders (worth it? absolutely) before making her way back to the stranger and the barrier. She just barely dodges a flying plate herself.]

This - works. [If only because she doesn't trust her own food to not go flying in the meantime, and she's savoring any decent meal she can get right now.] Thanks.

[fortify]

[ He is glad he is actually able to help her out, even if it would be preferable if they could put a stop to these tantrums the ghosts are seeming to have. ] I am happy to be of assistance. Although I have experience with spirits and ghosts, these are ... quite the enigma to me. Are ghosts a common phenomenon where you come from?

[ From the way she held herself, Zhongli could immediately tell the young woman has seen some horrors in her time, although what those are exactly he isn't privy to.

An entire plate of spaghetti and meatballs smacks into the barrier, and while the plate breaks, the sound of it is relatively muffled to make it easy to ignore—so long as you aren't directly watching the noodles slide down to the ground all while dripping in tomato sauce. Zhongli frowns before taking a sip of his tea. ] Is this all an intentional part of the "cruiseline experience"...? I admit, I have never been on a ship like this before, but this does seem rather... costly and destructive to have as a part of the... ahem, "vacation." [ not to mention really dangerous. ]

[axemeaquestion]

I wanna say you're unnaturally calm about this.

["Wants to" as if she didn't already say it. The producer settles into a chair next to Zhongli - and jumps at the spaghetti and meatball attack. She is, most definitely, directly watching the noodles slide to the ground.

And slowly picks up her own food to take a bite anyway.]

Not... exactly. [That might as well be an answer to both of Zhongli's questions.] Normally, the ship doesn't try to kill you.

[fortify]

Yes, well... I have been told I control my emotions quite well most of the time. [ more like he is still learning how to do the human emotions thing, and patience and calmness in the face of the unknown has been something he's practiced for at least the last 5000 years. ... That is a story for another time, though!

Zhongli hums thoughtfully at her revelation about the typical cruiseliner experience. That would make much more sense. ] I do hope they are not trying to kill us, although they are not being particularly discriminant about what they are throwing so their intent matters little. [ a napkin can be seen near them getting tossed around completely harmless—until a bunch of knives seem to drop from the from ceiling point first down on it. The only saving grace is that the knives clink uselessly on the napkin and the floor and fall over flat rather than being thrown with enough force they could imbed themselves point first into the floor.

Which, on that note, there is some activity going on at a wall nearby them where forks are being thrown like darts (and sticking just like darts, too) at a crudely drawn bullseye (looks like... ketchup and mustard?). There's also a stick figure human(??) drawn next to it getting dart forks thrown at its head, so... yeah, it's anyone's guess what the real motive of these ghosts are beyond trying to force them to leave.

If only they knew how willingly everyone would get off this ship if they actually could. ]

It seems we can rule out these ghosts being responsible for bringing us here. It is unlikely they would be telling us to leave, in that case. [ it's now raining salad, croutons, and popcorn around them. And nuts and seeds. Totally fine. ]

Now, if only they would get tired of causing such a ruckus like children.

[axemeaquestion]

... uh-huh.

[Sorry, Zhongli. Give Ro a second. She's a little distracted.

But she's eating now, at least. Chewing, brows raised, head tilted, and watching the barrier with a perplexed fascination. Despite the threats, she's gone from scared to vaguely bemused.

A week fighting through zombies will do that.]

Mmh - hang on.

[She gestures vaguely to the barrier with a napkin.]

Do you have a marker or something? Or does this thing go both ways?

[fortify]

[ Zhongli tilts his head at her request. He does indeed have a marker that he recently picked up at one of the shops, how convenient! He will lean over to the small bag on the floor next to his chair to grab it and hand it to her. It's fine whatever she does with it, he has more. ] Both ways....? If you mean will you be able to throw things and have them pass through the barrier instead of collide with it, then yes. This barrier is only keeping things out.

[ Things like that... ohhh, okay, what the hell is this?

Zhongli is admitted distracted by the sudden white pool float that comes sailing/soaring (dramatically!!) through the doors from the pool area to enter the buffet before hitting the ground very awkwardly right near their table (which may have also involved tumbling down some stairs, not really sure the layout here)—and it sure looks at them rather awkwardly, too, doesn't it?)
Zhongli has no idea what a pool float is and, even if he did, would not be able to identify the creature it represents, but this old man is staring back at it currently with just about the same expression its giving.

It suddenly starts being dragged a little, but also has its face-neck-thing now pushed up against the barrier quite awkwardly until it eventually disappears from sight around a pillar that is just within the barrier radius.

Is someone going to tell him what that was just now???

Rochelle
PLS
HELP
ASSIST.

also please continue with marker magic. ]

[axemeaquestion]

So. [She takes the marker.] Does that mean I CAN'T make a mark on this side?

[She gestures vaguely to the target the ghosts "painted" on earlier.

Anyway. She's also looking at their new friend.







Okay, you know what. Despite everything, it's hard not to let out a big SNRK as she stands up.]

Well. If they think they're funny, here's hoping this works.

["This" being her idea to write on her and Zhongli's side of the barrier - if it's possible. She'll wait til Zhongli says so, because she's hesitant to test it out cold turkey.]

[fortify]

Ah, I see. So that is your intention. [ in that case... he waves a hand to her encouragingly. She'll be able to draw on the barrier now, although she can't walk out of it, anymore, either.

Still, she can go crazy with that marker to her heart's content. ] You can do so now.

[axemeaquestion]

Thanks.

[She smirks to herself and turns back to the barrier. She starts drawing a grid - then makes an X in the middle.

It's a tic tac toe board, basically.]

I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm kinda-sorta hoping playing around with them will calm 'em down.

[90secondsafter]

[Nell has pretty much given up on eating in the dining hall itself. She's got a bowl of chicken soup that she's more or less clutching to her chest as she eats it. But there's always that sneaking feeling of disapproval of taking the bowl very far from the hall itself, even just outside of it there's a 'glare'.

She looks up at the petite form and then glances in at the room, focusing on the chattering plates.]

No... Most of the time they end up just staring at you with the knife sticking out. [She supposes anyway. Not that she's tried.] But it doesn't stop it from making it satisfying in a way. [Again, she supposes.]

nvm I may have more time to tag today anyway

[axemeaquestion]

[Rochelle glances at the woman nearby. She flashes a sympathetic glance at Nell and her chicken soup, then turns back to the plates. One nearby threatens to lift off, like a washing machine going nuclear.

The producer swallows. She's already covered in bruises and bandages. One more won't make a difference, but she's deciding whether she can save her chicken tenders without getting clipped.

Because fuck if she isn't savoring every bit of junk food she can get right now.]

You're, uh--[She has to raise her voice over the one plate.] Saying that from experience, or?

/o/

[90secondsafter]

[There's just the smallest feeling of safety being outside of the hall. It's not much, but there's a narrow window where they can still throw the plates. Nell eyes it from where she sits.]

Media consumption, mostly. [She's never gotten close enough to her own ghost to try and stab it. Not since she was a little girl on that couch in the den...]

Did you...did you want some help? [She can offer some small distractions?]

[axemeaquestion]

Fair enough.

[Honestly, after going through a zombie apocalypse? Rochelle is questioning ghosts a lot less than she expected to.]

I'd appreciate it.

[90secondsafter]

[She gets to her feet, her bowl of soup now empty.]

I'll go in first, maybe it'll redirect their attention.

[Eleanor enters the dining hall 'timidly' to hopefully draw the ghosts' attention to her, glancing around for the location of a place to put her dirty dishes. It seems to work for the most part, things start rattling towards her direction as she goes further into the room.]

[axemeaquestion]

[In retrospect, this was a bad idea. If this stranger gets hurt over some food Rochelle is going to feel really, really bad.

Too bad it's already happening.]

Just - get out if you need to!

[Nell's strategy works, at least. The plates near Rochelle's original table are finally still, and the producer makes a brisk break for her food. She then makes her way back to Nell.]

You good?

[90secondsafter]

[Once they're both safe again outside the hall she nods.] They don't seem to have a very long attention span at least.

[A brief smile.] Throw a ball and like an overeager puppy they'll run right after it. Then get distracted by a butterfly on the way.

[axemeaquestion]

Are we calling ghosts puppies now?

[Rochelle quirks a brow - then starts to laugh. She shakes her head.]

I'm Rochelle, by the way. Thanks for sticking your neck out over some chicken strips. [Her smile turns lopsided.] I haven't had a decent meal in a while so... I appreciate it.

[90secondsafter]

Doesn't make them any cuter but maybe they won't think we're talking about them if we refer to them that way.

[She's not quite sure that the ghosts can hear them, but you can't rule out anything either.

Nell nods and tucks some hair behind her ear, smiling as well.] Nell. Or, well...Eleanor. And no problem. Just hope I won't have to ask for the returned favor any time soon.

[the_infant_death]

"I don't know." The silvery little voice comes from just below Rochelle's elbow. Claudia is all of three and a half-feet tall, but answers with clear precision, her dark blue eyes intense and focused. "I have never met one. I believe a priest, or at least a blessed crucifix, is generally considered an acceptable remedy."

Dressed in 1980's finery, she is a tiny vison of lace and silk, her blonde curls cascading down her back.

The smell of old blood from the woman's clothes is very tempting, and Claudia is very hungry.

[axemeaquestion]

Rochelle looks down and blinks. Oh, good god, she thinks to herself. I got zombies, ghost, AND little Victorian girls.

Whether that's correct or not is another issue. Ro quickly puts a hand on Claudia's shoulder and puts herself between Claudia and the shaking plates.

"Sweetie, you need to get out of here."

[the_infant_death]

Claudia is rather cool to the touch - she's dead, after all, and generally runs to room temperature unless she's killed recently. Being touched without permission sets off her temper, her New Orleans accent getting a fraction stronger.

"I will not. I want to see what happens. I've never seen a ghost before."

She steps back, sharp and precise, skirts rustling.

[axemeaquestion]

Oh. Rochelle blinks again, then brings her hand back and holds it up in a vague sign of surrender. No touching, alright.

"I get it, but - uh. Maybe we can watch them from somewhere where we DON'T get attacked, alright?"

[the_infant_death]

"Very well." Claudia is watching the rattling plates, curiously. One sails past, a foot away, and she tips her head to watch it go, unruffled. "Though that may be difficult. Do you hear voices, too?"

Curious, calm, as only a very particular child might be...or something else far removed from humanity itself.