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

marshmallow gals

[withsadness]

That sounds perfect!

[The voice comes from below him, where little Mary beams back upward. She might have not even been the one he'd poised the question to, but she sure is the one who answered. With absolutely no ulterior motive, she adds:]

You should make one for her to say hello and be nice, and then make extra for me!

[No hidden agenda whatsoever.]

[deviledlegs]

[Sanji blinks. That sure is a cute voice, but where could it be coming from? Slowly, his gaze drops, and he meets the sparkling eyes of a little girl not yet blessed by puberty. He kind of wants to sigh, but then again, she just asked to try one of his drinks, so maybe he can forgive her for being a tiny.

A calloused hand reaches down to ruffle her hair.]

Right, right? I knew I had this figured out. Then all that's left is to find the nearest grocery and get to work!

[Do cruise ships even have groceries? Well, he's seen the dining hall. He knows the place serves food, so they must be getting supplies from somewhere.]

You up for a treasure hunt, kid?

[withsadness]

[Mary laughs when his hand musses her hair. She wonders if this is what Ib felt like having Garry around. She had never really experienced this kind of encouragement from him. Just a terrible, insidious jealousy.]

Yeah! A hunt for the golden marshmallows!

[Actually being golden not required. Instinctively, she reaches up to grab his hand.]

Do we need a treasure map with a big X?

[deviledlegs]

[Golden marshmallows, huh? That definitely sounds like something Luffy would drag them all to the ends of the Earth in order to consume. For now, though, they'll have to make due within the confines of the ship.

He's not trusted with children very often, and her little hand feels alien in his grip, fragile but warm. He makes sure not to squeeze it too tightly.]

We'll have to find a map first. Maybe even make one of our own. [Shit, he misses Nami. He grins through it.] Then we can X as many spots as we like. It'll be hard work, but golden marshmallows don't drop into just any lap, y'know.