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

[ Yeah, somehow Law doesn't think that would have helped much, anyway. Mini den-den mushi don't have the best range. (He's also not considering the dimensional thing.) ]

I'm alive. ...Can't say I remember everything, though. [ At least if he remembered passing out on the battlefield, that would make some sense... more than being there at Onigashima, watching Straw Hat fight, and then waking up here with nothing in between. ]

You seem like you're alright, too.

Yeah, but I've been here a while. [he thinks, and then looks disturbed] Couple months, I think. It's hard to tell, one day is the same as the next.

I think you're gonna need this.

[he looks around, not like there's anyone visible actually working the bar, and then lunges to grab the nearest bottle of rum. He has a 50-50 chance of getting slapped by a ghost, but it's worth it]

[ It's no surprise that Zoro's answer is booze, but Law is agreeable enough to the idea. He reaches over the bar himself, snagging a glass, because he's not going to drink straight from the bottle.

With his glass half-full, Law takes a drink. It burns, and he's not well-versed enough with rum to pick out any subtle flavors. He's not comfortable enough to get drunk, but with a familiar face he's pretty sure he can trust (as sure as it gets, for someone outside his own crew), he can at least lower his defenses a little bit.

| | like that much, maybe.

If Law had to rank the Straw Hats by cluelessness, Zoro wouldn't be at the bottom of the list, but he wouldn't be at the top, either. He's worth hearing out and working with, at least. ]

Have you seen the "Captain"?

[it's a good thing Law doesn't want to talk booze, since Zoro's just here to see how much it takes before he can feel it. It's not about flavors this week. Or, well, ever. His record is five bottles before the ghosts poltergeist him out of the room]

Yeah. Not too long ago - he held a party to celebrate a bunch of people murdering each other, just to show himself off. He's...not impervious, what's the word? I watched people put swords and spears right through him, and he didn't take any damage at all. He's un-killable.

[ When Zoro says it, it's admittedly a little easier to believe than when he hears it from a stranger, but Law doesn't like what he hears. ]

"Un-killable", huh? [ He doesn't sound thrilled. ] Maybe there's some secret to that. [ Because Law has to believe there's some way out of this situation, some puzzle they can solve, even if that puzzle contains a fight to the death at some point. ]

Everyone has to be vulnerable at some point.

[it's true, given how many enemies they've both cut their way through in their time]

It's just finding out what it is, how his ability works. I took a swing at him myself, and it had no effect on him - he didn't dodge it, it just didn't cut him. Like Kaidou, only worse, since he could get cut eventually. Someone else's sword went into him and got stuck, she couldn't pull it out.

[ Yikes. Law appreciates the warning, because he's not ready to lose Kikoku. ]

Unfortunately, if he doesn't come out often and he's that strong, it's difficult to figure that out... it'll take time. And blood.

[ Another drink, longer this time.

Law isn't going to tell Zoro what to do, because that's not his place and he hates when someone does it to him. But he has decided that, for now, he's going to hold back. If the Captain appears, other people can throw themselves at him, try things out, narrow it down. Law will watch and keep track. ]

But, it's useless to worry about that now when we don't have any way to force any information out. [ Annoying as that is. ] What have you been doing to pass the time? [ Drinking? ]

[these boys and their attachments to their swords...

Zoro grunts his agreement to the overall assessment. Even if Law isn't his captain they do still have an alliance, so they're in this together for better or worse. They'll figure it out eventually.]

This. [tipping his glass. Yes, in fact, he has wasted a lot of time drinking] Exploring the ship - it's huge. There's parts I haven't been able to get into and boring parts but the thing is basically a floating city, it's got shops and shit. Downside is, there's no easy way to go fishing or anything.

[ Fishing? Law huffs a sort of laugh, amused by something so simple. As someone who usually travels underwater, he doesn't spend time fishing while enroute to other islands like he's seen the Straw Hat crew do. ]

Hasn't the ship stopped at an island or anything in the time you've been here?

[ It does seem like it would be a way for someone to get away, but Law doesn't understand what's going on here. Are they being controlled for some end goal? What is the Captain's motivation for what he's doing? Why bring them all aboard? It's too soon for Law to make sense of any of this. ]

So far, just one.

[he pauses for deliberate dramatic effect, and a drink, before raising an eyebrow in warning. Shit's about to get real, yo.] They said ahead of time that was it was going to be a strenuous camping trip. That turned out to be a shitty game where they made everyone kill each other until only one person was left.

[let it sink in, Law. Let it wash over you.]

[ Law's quiet for a long moment, filling the silence by taking long drinks from his glass. He doesn't talk again until it's empty.

Controlled actions seems to be a theme here. He doesn't like it one bit. ]

Was that you? [ It's both likely and unlikely. Law knows that Zoro is strong, but he also knows there's quite a few other people here, potentially with unknown abilities. He's not sure he really wants the answer to this question. The entire topic is turning his stomach. Still, he keeps his expression impassive. ]

[it's a valid question, but Zoro still scoffs under his breath. He can't even be sure anymore if he would have been the one, given the way magical people got taken down by underpowered civilians.]

I didn't go. I didn't feel like doing anything strenuous so I didn't sign up. But they broadcast the whole thing on every screen on the ship. [he gestures with his glass to one of the TVs over the bar, which is now dark and silent] You couldn't escape it.

I'm wary of any more excursions, but I'm also getting sick of this damn ship. All choices are screwed no matter what.

[ Law thinks this over. Naturally, he'd offer to go with Zoro the next time they made land, but doing so could easily put them in an ugly situation against each other. Of course, the other possibility is being there without a familiar face. Which option is worse? There's not enough information to figure that out right now, unfortunately.

Law refills his glass, since no one has come to tell them not to serve themselves or anything. Might as well. ]

There could be advantages to staying aboard when most everyone else leaves. But I'll probably go if we get the chance again. It's unlikely they'll do the same thing twice. [ Could be worse, though. ]

Guess it's pointless to wonder about that right now, though. [ Another drink, then. ] Anything else you can think of that I should know?

[Zoro mulls it over, considering that his personal interests don't usually align with others' so he hasn't exactly asked all the right questions. Or any, hardly.]

Nah, those are the important bits, as far as I can tell. Oh - there's apparently not really any pirate scene in this world. Which means getting off this ship and onto another one is probably not happening anytime soon. The one pirate we've seen turned out to be some sort of crazy storm god, she didn't seem to know anything about going home either.

TEST DRIVE MEME #3

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