sail_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #3

1. you're the only one you owe (GUEST STARRING: selenokinesis and creepyoldguy)

[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 Passengers(s),

You'll be unable to leave your cabin until you read this note. Congratulations on making it past the first step. Keep reading if you wish, as I have information to share with you, as a fellow passenger stuck aboard this ship. Or don't continue reading, and burn the note. I'm not particularly invested either way, especially if you choose to throw away valuable warnings.

Watch out for the Captain.

Be cautious what you sign up for.

If you die, you'll come back to life eventually, though I would recommend you try not to die.

Your life is the Captain's plaything.

Do not think for one moment that someone isn't watching you.

With that aside, I am now contractually obligated to tell you the following: You will find a life jacket within your cabin's closet, and you are required to bring it with you to your assigned muster station on deck one. A companion and I will take you through the drill. If you cannot find us, look for a tall male with white hair and blue eyes and a friendly-looking man with unkept brown hair and a winning smile.

Respectfully,
Moon Master Ebalon

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 two people standing at the front of the crowd: an exhausted-looking man with white hair who seems rather displeased that he's been roped into this, and a man with a wide grin, bright green tips on his hair, and amber eyes. the latter is waving cheerfully, having an armful of leis. he quite happily puts them around people’s necks and while they’re distracted, attempts to dip them into a kiss.

as he’s basically a walking corpse, and smells like one to boot, it’s not exactly hitting the jackpot. but, he does at least listen to the word “NO”.

the tired-seeming man ignores this and announces over the drone of chattering passengers like yourself,]

Welcome to the Serena Eterna. Do try to enjoy your stay here; it is rather permanent in nature, huhu.

[and from next to his companion, the… er, overly-affectionate man who sounds as though he smokes ten packs a day rasps,]

You’re all doomed!

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

after the duo complete the drill, you'll find that your legs suddenly obey your command, for what that's worth.

welcome aboard, passenger. we hope you enjoy your stay.]

2. one by one they'll do you in

[it starts, as most things do, with a table lamp. floating down a hallway, or the length of the promenade. ambling at a distinct clip: one-two-three-KICK, one-two-three-KICK.

and that's... not immediately concerning. after all, things float around here all the time; usually plates and drinks, but maybe the shades want to mix it up a bit. the lamp is alone for about a half hour before it is joined by others. a pillow. some knickknack from the ship store. Friday's clipboard. an empty vodka bottle. all have lined up, one in front of the other, and lead a procession snaking around the ship, growing with each passing hour. anyone familiar with the concept would begin to recognize it as a massive conga line.

there is a small chance you will want to join of your own free will. most likely, you will not want that. this does not matter: something compels you, like pins and needles in your feet, to join the dance. and once you have joined in... your body fights your mind on the subject, even as it grows more and more tired.

you pass by a familiar face. they could help pull you out. or you could pull them in.]

3. the price of vice foretold

[the scent of citrus and coconut rum hangs heavy in the air. there is a new storefront on the promenade, tucked between Sand Dollars and John's in a place where you are very certain there was not enough space to tuck a store before.

the clothes for sale are... a lot. like, a lot a lot. but, there are quite a lot of choices, though they do seem to repeat a little, once you've gone in far enough. in fact, even if you actively attempt to find it, you can't seem to find the back of the store. you can see a wall, sure, but it never seems to get any closer, even as you walk towards it.

be forewarned: the infinite tommy bahama does not have food or water.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Entire worlds have been destroyed and torn down because people are tired of being controlled." She's been through both of the ones she means. Westworld and the human's world.

She frowns slightly, brow creasing as she does. "Whatever reasons behind it, the intent is still to cause distress to others and entertainment for himself and whoever else is watching." Because, in her experience, there were always others. Delos was multiple people and those in the park were participants and spectators the same. "I should be surprised, but I cannot seem to find it in myself at the moment."

"Deservedly so." He too has lived through the uprising of a subservient people. "Sometimes the way to fix things, is to start fresh."

"Oh he so much as told us that, that we're here for his entertainment and because he thinks watching us is interesting. Though hmm.." He hadn't actually considered that there might be someone beyond the Captain watching them, that perhaps there's others enjoying the show he's putting on. That's entirely unsettling. "We haven't seen anyone else, save for Friday, but none who seem to be in a position of power. Though if they were truly powerful perhaps we never would."

“Has it been attempted here or is everything still simmering?” She supposes that being controlled would make it hard, but she’s fought through controls before. There could be a way.

She frowns at that. Of course he has. “Some people aren’t meant to have power.” Serac was one of them. “Some can hide in the shadows or play the game just to incite more trauma. Play roles just to make people’s story progress in a way they want.” She’s lived countless loops with countless outcomes all for other’s entertainment.

"Well multiple people have tried to murder the one in charge, but it never seems to stick. And there's been a lot of property damage - but the majority of people seem more interested in fighting each other."

He includes himself in that number, as he definitely attacked a few other people instead of going after the Captain. But he knew he wasn't going to be able to do anything to the man, so might as well get some cathartic stabbing out of the way.

"It doesn't feel like he's manipulating us to an end goal, funneling us to do what he wants so he gets a specified result. Everything is entirely too random for that. And nothing ever coalesces into a goal. I think the main thing he desires is chaos as entertainment. But I've only spoken to him once."

That does make things more complicated. “That sounds like home, to be honest. They would rather destroy each other than the ones that matter.” That or those they felt would never remember or care about it.

It’s unusual to find people that might be worse than home. Even the Man in Black had some reason to his madness. Less chaos and more murder to pretend it changed who he was outside the park. “Curious. I suppose I’ll have to keep my wits about me as best as I can.” She glances over. “Thank you for listening and giving me some further insight.”

"I'm told that's human nature, and it does seem to be proving true." and if he's honest with himself, which he's not often, it's probably in his nature too. It's much easier and more short-term satisfying to deal with interpersonal conflicts with violence and solve those tiny issues, then to confront something much larger and nebulous. At least on an individual level there's progress, the person you hated is dead now, dealing with an entity that has kidnapped everyone to some magical ship to toy with will take much more planning, deviousness and effort.

Sometimes the small things are all you can achieve.

"But of course. I can't answer all questions, but it does help if everyone is informed of at least the basics. Perhaps someone will figure out how best to go about solving this."

Human nature. Yes. That was likely why they'd been programmed to be so similar. But if they did not mean for them to fight, why give them the means? That was Ford's influence. "I've seen enough to be certain it is." She hopes to avoid as much pointless conflict as she can, but she'll be prepared for every possible outcome.

"There's a friend from home that I'm sure would find a way, but I have yet to see her around," she says. Perhaps Dolores really is dead, gone. Maeve wishes she could have understood her more before the end, before they were constantly pitted against one another. "I assume I will start to get used to everything with time."

This place has been rife with pointless conflict, and while he wanted to pretend to be above all that, the longer he's here the more annoyed he gets with everything and ends up succumbing to those sorts of things. Not that he'll admit that out loud

"It's not often people find others from their world. Though when it happens it seems to be huge numbers of them." He's still not sure exactly how many pirates showed up from Lucius' world but there seem to be several of them running around. And yet almost everyone else is here alone. Strange that they were different and came in a group.

"Unfortunately so. Adapting to situations happens whether we want it to or not." tone slightly disappointed, because he didn't want to get used to this. No one should be used to it. But what other option was there?

"Why does that not surprise me?" Her voice is calm, but there's an underlying hint of something. Like someone that's used to being disappointed. "Then again, she's dead. For all intents and purposes. So I'm not certain it matters."

She hears the disappointment in his tone, registers it and looks at him quietly for a moment. "It can't be easy to have been here so long already." Though, she's not sure how long it has been. Long enough that he seems disappointed by the adaptation. "Like being trapped in a simulation where only minute differences occur based off your choices and, in the end, you'll likely end up dead anyway."

"That's it precisely. The outcome is already predetermined and our actions only have short term impact, if even that. It doesn't seem to matter what we do - at least so far. I've been here thirty-three days and I don't see anyone progressing towards ... well I'm not sure what towards. Getting us off the ship, defeating the captain, figuring out how we even arrived here. Many questions, and only hints of answers."

He's definitely expecting to die here permanently. Not that he's giving up, but he likes to be a realist hence the adaptation to the environment. But that bothers him, how long would it take before everyone was acting like this is a second home?

It seems a cruel joke that she would end up in another version of Westworld aware and yet still unable to change things, but she can't claim to be surprised. Everyone was always trying to keep her tucked away in a simulation. The most recent being World War II. At least she's used to dying by now. She wonders if there's a way to keep herself in control of her deaths here.

"I suppose all that can be done is to gather what information we can and see what that helps us to understand." But she's not terribly optimistic. Just terribly stubborn. "Likely nothing, but I'll try all the same."

"Yes, that seems to be the prevailing logic. I wish you well with it." and he means it, for as selfish as he can be, he doesn't actually want them to all suffer with not knowing what's going on. Someone is going to figure this out eventually - likely not him, but someone.

He nods politely, "Do let me know if you discover anything of interest."

And he'll leave her to it, completely unaware of the fact she's his roommate and they shall meet again.

TEST DRIVE MEME #3

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