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

[he nods. He's not sure about himself. Whether he wants to go back or... It's a thought that rests on the point of a needle. The fall is inevitable, the question is what will come up to meet it.]

Might take a while. You might not even get back there. Might end somewhere else. [he squints at the horizon] The question is why. Why does this keep happening. How do you get it to stop?

If "might"s were enough to stop me, I wouldn't be alive today.

[A slither of smoke escapes his nostrils, and he sighs, leans back against the ship's railing.]

I ain't keepin' up with the rest of your philosophizing though. You saying you've been through this before?

[he wrinkles his nose but lets it alone]

Twice. Every time it's like a mindfuck. I'm bloody tired of it. [and he looks tired. There are bags under his eyes and he doesn't look like he eats well-- or barely at all.]

But...it doesn't seem to be a trend so take that as you will. [in other words, there's very few that he's seen that follow, or remember that they have]

Got a name?

[Twice. The dude's been mysteriously plucked out of his life and tossed into these weird ass circumstances twice before? No wonder he's such a fucking downer.

Maybe, just maybe, Sanji can cut him some slack for that.]

It's Sanji. First class sea cook and pirate extraordinaire. This ain't the first time I've been spirited away to some bizarre island or facility, but... It's the first time I woke up without my crew around.

Sounds like you've had a shit time of it.

Pirate... [he shakes his head. It's probably not a good idea to tell him he was a DI. Sort of was and wasn't. Sanji may be his only ally for the moment --or otherwise he might be out numbered and while he could fight, he still wouldn't be able to survive long if he had to]

It's fine. There's plenty of shit to go round and I've had the least of it. I can't imagine this happening enough to get used to it.

[he peers over the railing and pales a bit at the water below. They are in fact surrounded by water and are going to be a for a long bloody time. The color leaves his already pale face and he takes a step back, rolling his shoulders in a shrug]

We might have to rely on one another to get out of here in one piece.

[Sanji's steel blue eye narrows as he observes Hardy's already haggard face pale even further. He hadn't been paying much attention to the old bastard earlier, too busy dipping into the testosterone, but now that the both of them have mellowed...

Damn, could the guy be sea sick on top of everything else?

Sanji pushes off the rail, scans the deck for the nearest restaurant or bar.]

In that case, we should start by making sure neither of us spew our shitty innards all over some poor girl's shoes.

[It's almost like he's trying to be considerate by not directly pointing out that Hardy looks sick as balls but can't bring himself to actually say anything nice.]

Any place that serves drinks should have what we need to mix some fresh ginger ale.

I'm not seasick. [he makes a face]

I don't like the water, being near it, being on it... But... I'll handle it. Thanks.

[a pause]

Wouldn't mind some tea though. [anything to get away from the side of the boat]

[A disbelieving hum is Sanji's only response to that particular admission. Nobody can just ignore the ocean when they're trapped in the middle of it. This ship may be big, but it's not that big. So without further ado, he's off toward the pool bar.]

Herbal then.

[The dude should probably pass out at least once before he loads himself with any amount of caffeine. Not that Sanji will stop him if he decides otherwise.]

Anything. [he can't have much caffeine anyway. Not if he wants to keep his heart in working order and he needs to take care of it since lord knows what's going to happen out here. He buries his hands deep in his pockets and follows along, roughly by the young man's side]

Got any survival skills other than a quick mouth?

[That gets an almost amiable snort out of Sanji. Survival skills, huh? A question like that directed at a guy like him is as hilarious as it is tragic.]

Sure, a few.

[He starts intentionally vague and guarded. He doesn't have to go into detail to be cooperative, however, he reminds himself, so after another exhale of smoke, he continues.]

Like I said, I'm a sea cook. If the all-you-can-eat buffets ever run dry, I can keep everyone on board fed. Pretty damn good swimmer, and I can fight too.

Your turn.

[it's difficult not to be sarcastic about "sea-cook" though he deeply wants to- He doesn't really know the difference. Does the kid lose all of his cooking ability on land? Can he only do sea food? Alec knows himself enough to know that he's going to sound like an ass if he says anything so he refrains.

Instead he thinks about his own abilities... he sighs]

I'm a bit new at this yet but... [he pulls a small pin from his pocket and, wincing, jabs the pad of a finger and a bead of blood wells. After a moment's concentration the blood floats from his fingertip like a little globe, spinning lazily.]

That's about it. I can do a shield if I need to or a weapon if I have to but nothing for long. [or he starts to feel anemic. He realizes in the face of things he's pretty bloody useless, but he's long since gotten used to the sensation]

[Hardy's efforts to hold back his sarcasm save him from a very offended lecture on all the unique skills necessary to cook for a crew at sea.

Instead, his little blood display earns Sanji's full attention. The chef stalls his walk to the bar, leans in closer to get a better look at the floating crimson drop. Rather than disappointment or disinterest at Hardy's lack of skill, Sanji's brow furrows in contemplation.]

Can you do that... with anyone's blood? Or just yours?

No idea. [he flicks it away casually, the blood sailing well over the edge of the railing and dropping to the sea below]

Haven't tried. Don't bloody want to. That's a bit morbid, isn't it? Anyway it's not much and not useful yet, but it'll do in a pinch. [he hopes]

[Sanji snorts. If manipulating blood is so morbid, he has to wonder whether his high tension nose bleeds are too.]

Better than snot. [He retorts instead, pulling back from his close up scrutiny. Sanji is eternally grateful he never had to kick the bastard who could turn his entire damn body into mucus.] You get that under control, and it'd be a hell of a lot more than just useful.

What kind of fruit didja have to eat to manage that shit?

[Quite a bizarre question out of context.]

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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i see what you did there ♥

whatever could you meaaaaaan ♥♥♥

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