memesinthenight | TEST DRIVE MEME #01

Entry tags:

!tdm

TEST DRIVE MEME #01

Hello and welcome to the The Next Night's test drive meme for May-June! Thanks for your interest in this GPSL! In an effort to streamline our application process and avoid future confusion between incoming and existing players, we do not have a reservation period. Applications will be judged on a first-come, first-served basis.

At this point in time, characters have not yet ICly unlocked the ability to bring in new people. However, we hope that will change in June! As soon as we set a date for applications to open, we will post an update to the OOC community as well as to plurk.

While you're here...

Take a look at our rules and faq pages to familiarize yourself with The Next Night.

Note that we will have an application cap of 20 apps for new players for this upcoming round only, and that the game has a player cap of 60. In future months we expect to limit this to 10 apps per round. An accurate count of current players will always be available on the taken page.

TDM threads can become game canon if both players wish. If the situation isn't something that could happen in-game, you're free to chalk it up to some strange hallucination, a shared dream, or other mysterious circumstance.

Threads with new arrivals must ICly take place after the mechanism for bringing in new characters has been re-enabled in order to be kept canon. We understand this makes keeping track of dates a bit tricky and may require some timey-wimey handwaving but please try to keep this in mind when deciding if a thread can be canon or not.

Note that top-leveling is not limited to new characters! If current players wish to post a starter, they are welcome to do so. They are welcome to make posts in the main comms for TDM events as well. Please note, however, that actual plot clues or happenings will not occur in TDM prompts. In addition, any threads from the TDM will be forward dated to when these mechanics are restored.

If you plan to apply, please keep in mind that we do require at least one sample thread on the application to be from our TDM (though it doesn't need to be the current TDM).

You're welcome to use the provided prompts or come up with something on your own, but we do ask that all threads take place in our game's setting.

As we no longer plan to have a bimonthly game-wide HMD meme, we will require all new applications going forward to have a HMD post somewhere on the journal and we will ask for this as part of the application process.

Thank you again, and we hope you'll choose to join us!

log prompts

EMERGENCY LANDING.

You've arrived.

Where, exactly? Well, that's quite hard to say. All around you is darkness. Even the stars above seem dimmed, as if it were possible to turn down the brightness on the sky. The only light immediately apparent is a lantern placed directly beside you. The handy-dandy tablet also provides light, but not enough to help much. Seems like you're going to have to find your way in the darkness.

Whether you find yourself in a dusted, rusted old amusement park, a spectacularly creepy abandoned orphanage, or what seems to be a museum with a very abrupt water feature in the middle of it, it's very clear you're not where you were when you closed your eyes. If you look back, what do you remember? Your death could be vivid, complete with the injuries that brought it, or a distant memory that almost seems like a dream. Either way it sticks to the back of your mind, whether you want it to or not.

And it might not be the best of ideas to worry about how you died or how you got here alone in the dark. Because turns out, maybe you aren't so alone after all. It might be a feeling, a crawl up your spine. Or sounds, bumps and wheezes and scratches hidden in the dark. Or it might be eyes, shining out in the shadows. It might be a good idea to start running, and hope you aren't the only one that found yourself stranded in this strange place.

Whatever you do, make sure you bring that lantern with you. Diverting too far from it makes you feel faint, and pushing past that feeling is not advised.

Turns out, it's not just new Beaconites that are turning up all over the place. The automated system is doing its best, but, there's some kinks to work out. The good news is, there's supplies coming into Beacon after almost two months of nothing! The bad news is, the supplies are showing up all over the place, with no rhyme or reason.

There are blankets and clothing items scattered on the dilapidated track of the Euthanasia coaster. There's a pile of food in the midst of the mostly destroyed sculpture garden, almost looking like an artistic statement on consumerism. Need some new tools? Hope you like climbing, because they seem to be precariously balanced in the branches of trees. There's a fax machine settled by the Bonfire, and nobody really knows what that's about.

Whatever it is you find, it's all helpful things that the residents of town could probably use. Though, admittedly, it'd be more helpful if it were in a place it could be used. Just like cargo off the ferry, it'd be a good idea to haul all this stuff from its landing place to the store, or wherever else it might be helpful. Or for those feeling less charitable, just grab what looks good and squirrel it away. Surely nobody is around to mind that you're helping yourself to more than your fair share!

As a final warning — tread with caution. Because with everything appearing at relative random, the next place it appears could be directly above you. And nobody wants to be under a pile of building materials when it ultimately lands.

KATAKLYSMOS.

All around you are signs of a devastating flood. Debris is still washed up against trees and buildings, walls have been knocked over, roofs caved in, and there's even a massive sinkhole in the Town Hall. Sandbags and trenches decorate the salvaged buildings.

And to the forest spirits, this seems to be cause for celebration! Are they excited that everything flooded? Are they just trying to cheer people up? Is this some festive holiday they've adopted from previous Beacon residents? Hard to say. But little pop-up booths reminiscent of a street market start to take shape around town, made out of collapsed homes and downed trees. The spirits offer snacks and drinks (probably pilfered from whatever was left of the sorry supplies, so think sliced spam and Tang), and "souvenirs" of people's ruined personal belongings that had washed out of their homes.

The best part, though? Water-based activities, fun for the whole family! Yes, the spirits are running around with buckets full of water to dump on everyone! Congrats, you survived the flood, here's more water! Watch out - if they can't find buckets they might just steal your shoes or hat and fill those with water instead!

As with most forest spirit prompts, feel free to NPC them yourselves - they're of slightly above animal intelligence and will come up with inventive ways to get you soaking wet when you least expect it.

network prompts

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.

So you've found yourself in Beacon's eternal darkness. Well done! One of the first things most do here is check out the folding tablet they arrived with. On opening it, a prompt requests that you enter a network username.

But the instant you hit "OK", the screen redirects you to a welcome app. Which seems like it should be a good thing! But whether you select that you'd like it to be read aloud or if you would rather read it yourself, it seems to be a completely glitchy, bizarre mess. Parts are barely readable, but some parts look perhaps intentionally altered. Surely this isn't how the people of Beacon intended to welcome you, right?

Once it finishes, or once you manage to close out of it (a challenge, perhaps, since finding the right button on the screen to touch is difficult - the X shifts, the screen gets covered in static, and what is that sound) the network opens, prompting you to read the latest posts or make a post of your own.

WHISPERS IN THE DARK.

It's late. Or it feels late, it's always hard to tell in Beacon. Something pulled you from sleep, or whatever you were working on. A whisper, just nearby. A familiar voice, quiet and distant, and getting increasingly louder.

After some investigation, it becomes apparent the voice is coming from the tablet. There's a cryptic post, asking simply Do you hear me? And any time that particular post is pulled up, the voices won't stop.

The voices are distinctly ones that seem familiar. Maybe someone you've met in Beacon. Maybe someone you knew before then. Maybe it's someone you shouldn't be able to hear at all, and yet, you do.

There's no chance at actual conversation, though — the voice is simply asking if it can be heard. Softly, at first. A tinge confused, in some cases. The confusion escalates and is tainted by panic, as the voice keeps calling for an answer, an acknowledgment, that seems impossible to give. Even as the voice begs to be heard, please, please just say you can hear me, even as it fades into screams of frustration or terrified tears, no amount of response seems to break through.

The comments are open — maybe you can get your answers that way?

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ astrophysics isn't exactly law's strong point either, but he understands the explanation — it makes sense, though. destroying a sun seems like an effective way to destroy a world.

he peers at the photo, and upon seeing the creature, ]

How the hell can a thing like that hide here?

[ but then he shakes his head; it's irrelevant. as long as it's out there, that's all he needs to know. ]

So our purpose here is to stop this world from dying.

[ wonderful. that sounds like such an easy task to accomplish. ] What exactly are people doing to accomplish that?

That's the hard part. We're trying to make progress, but things keep happening to disrupt everything. Trying to speak with the forest spirits is helpful, but it's risky since some of them are more likely to try and kill us than cooperate. Understanding the portal that brings us here - and that brought those things here - that's important, but since the flood collapsed the cliff the lighthouse was on, that got harder, since the equipment up there was probably critical. We know the keeper, Robin, was able to control the lighthouse from there, and able to broadcast signals to the spirits, too. The portal itself should be in the lake somewhere, and there are people who live at the research station at its base but we've lost contact with them. There's some experimental tech at an underground lab, though. Only just recently found our way out to it.

[He'd apologize for the info dump, but it's all necessary. He closes the photo of the world eater and opens the map of the town to point out where the lab they discovered is.]

It's accessible through a series of underground tunnels, but we should theoretically be able to get to it through the forest, too, that's just more dangerous. We'd be making faster progress if we didn't have to keep rebuilding after things like floods and sieges and everything else this place puts us through but every few months when we think we've finally managed some stability, it all goes to shit again.

[Said with a very tired sigh. At least he doesn't feel like he needs to hide how bad the truth is from Law - really, he doesn't spare anyone the blunt reality these days when it comes to what they have to face here. It spares them the pain of discovering it for themselves later. Rip off the bandage, face the facts, this world is not a pleasant one even though it is slowly improving. The spirits work with them sometimes now, and they know more and more every day. Little signs of life returning to the world come in quiet but very real forms, like the strange flowers that began growing in May. Unfortunately, if the world eaters find them, and if they don't have a plan for dealing with them, it will all vanish quickly.]

[ it's a good thing law's mind is made for sorting things and remembering details — he composes a mental list of all the events and places and names cora mentions, and commits them to memory. he doesn't mind the amount of information. in fact, in his mind, the more he knows, the better. ]

Sounds like this world doesn't want to be saved, [ he mutters, his attention mostly on just how tired cora seems there. he doesn't seem concerned about the world's dangers — at least not for himself.

shifting back a little so that he can better look at him, ]

Cora-san, you... [ an are you okay is at the tip of his tongue, but does he really need to ask? there's no way he's okay if he's been stuck for a year here, trying to save a world that is dangerous and keeps fighting back.

he sighs, never finishing that sentence. instead, he asks, ] What about a medical center, or a hospital? Is there one here?

[He cannot hide the full-body shudder, the abrupt wave of revulsion on remembering his only experience with the medical center. He tips his chin down toward his chest, gets hold of the feeling and dismisses it with a slow exhale through his nose.]

Yeah. There's a hospital. Nobody's been back since the flood except to say it looks like it was hit pretty hard. Might be something in the wreckage though. Don't know. It would be worth a look.

[He'll point out where it's marked on the map in the tablet, though, just southeast of the village.

But he turns to Law then and his expression relaxes somewhat. The creases around his eyes soften.]

Your devil fruit... How is it?

[Does he still practice medicine, between all that piracy and revenge? The question is only half meant to distract from his reaction to the thought of the hospital, for he really does want to know. He went through hell just to obtain it, after all.]

[ well, there's definitely a story there, one that cora is clearly not about to share, and for a moment law regrets even asking about it. but really... it's the one piece of information he can probably do something with. hopefully. ]

Hmm... guess I'll see about that later.

[ the question, though a little suspiciously timed, is not one he wasn't expecting. and given its closeness to the talk of medicine... law can guess the question isn't just about the details of what his devil fruit can do. ]

If you've read the newspapers and seen my bounties... then you know the epithet they use for me. The "surgeon" isn't there just for show.

[ meaning, he is an actual doctor, not just a pirate. then, his grin widens. ] The medical applications are incredible... but I didn't expect it to be so easy to use the techniques in combat, too.

And therefore, "Surgeon of Death," hm?

[So, kind of horrifying, especially given he's now picturing some very... aggressive surgery that must be terrifying to witness. The sort of thing that's likely very impressive, very effective, and extremely unpleasant. He was never naive to the Marines' intentions behind obtaining such a fruit - because yes, from what he knew of the ope-ope already, it held a lot more potential than making someone a miracle doctor, as if that wasn't valuable enough.

He's glad it's in Law's hands. Or... was. The hunt for it will probably start anew back home. Hm. He's long past questioning why his abilities still work here, but it reminds him again how strange their situation here is. Anyway, at least Law had it for a good long time. Kept him and his crew safe, must have helped immensely in bringing Doflamingo down, not to mention in letting him survive his illness.]

I'll have to see you use it sometime. For combat and medicine both, especially since I think we've lost everyone who had more than just field medicine and first aid. Um... how long did it take you to work out how to cure yourself?

[Not that he really relishes the idea of reminding Law of what happened on that island, but he's still trying to work out just how that dear little boy became who he is now. From white spots to black ink, given what he can see of his hands.]

Hm, maybe.

[ in fact, law finds it rather ironic that he be named such — though he's hardly opposed to his enemies dying in battle, it's not like he's someone like eustass who kills people to make a point. as a doctor, needless murder is strictly on his list of things to avoid... but it's just as well. he doesn't really give a damn what the marines think — or thought — of him. ]

Considering everything you've told me of this place, I suspect it'll happen sooner rather than later.

[ his expression darkens at the question; of course, he'd want to know, but that doesn't mean it's a particularly nice memory for law to think about. ]

... a couple of days. [ not that he could have afforded any longer. necessity is the mother of all invention... or figuring out how to use your devil fruit powers. ]

[There'd been a slight hope Law would volunteer more information on the process, because he's both curious and concerned, but if that's all he wants to say on it then he won't push.]

Glad it worked.

[Obviously. He's glad too that even in the state he last saw Law in, he had enough strength to manage for long enough to get away. There were moments where he wasn't sure they would have enough time to even make it to Minion.

He's about to try another topic, ask about the tattoos on his hands maybe, when he catches his own reflection in the tablet and snorts, then switches it to the selfie mode to get a better look. He's trying to have a serious conversation here, meanwhile streaks of black eyeliner and colorful sunbeams are just all over his face, apparently.]

What a mess. Let me clean up - do you need anything, by the way?

[Maybe the rest of the two hundred burning questions he has should wait until they've both got coffee, maybe Law is hungry, maybe he wants to work out where he's staying...?]

[ law thinks of saying something else, but — what else is there to say? that it was difficult? that it was horrible? that it was exhausting? no, everything he could say would only make cora feel worse... and the less law has to remember of the days immediately following minion island, the better.

he's ridiculously relieved when no more questions follow, and when cora notices the smudged makeup, well. law may just hide a smile by ducking his head.

it's not very long-lived, though. the question could be answered in so many ways, but in the end, law settles for, ]

... coffee.

[ he doesn't think he can stomach anything right now, and coffee helps with wha he's planned: staying up all night, sitting right here. he feels to be in a state of weird limbo: on one hand, he's so used to having his own space that the thought of simply shamblesing himself to an empty room and collapsing for a while sounds incredibly appealing... but on the other hand, he doesn't trust this place. so the thought of sleeping, or leaving cora on his own... no. ]

[That simple, one-word request makes him smile. A lot of their situation - past and present - might be horrible, but he's just so goddamned glad to have Law at his side again. That's the ultimate truth. It's the same thing that convinced him to give up on his mission, his career, before everything really went up in flames. To hell with everyone else, he has Law.

He has a couple other people now too, but he'll make it all fit. Law has always come first.]

Yeah, sure, if Dr. Ingram didn't drink the rest last time he was over.

[Which is also where a chunk of the last carton of cigarettes went, actually. Rosinante stands and pockets the tablet, and gestures to the kitchenette in the corner of the room.]

Have a look through the cupboards. I think I've got some left.

[Along with tea, a tin of candy, and not much else. He'd donated whatever was in his personal stash of food to the group cause when they started running out. The candy, of course, he saved for his very small roommate. She'll be thrilled to have another person around, hopefully, but Mary always reminded him a little of Baby 5 so maybe he's making assumptions.

The sink does have running water, and there's a slightly more modern coffee pot on the counter than either of them would have used regularly at home, but Rosinante figures if Law can't work out how to get it started, he'll help once he fixes the makeup problem, and ducks into the bathroom to get that sorted out.]

[ he cocks his eyebrow at that, as if to ask, who? or maybe say, don't you have a social life — but there's something like gladness in his expression, too, the knowledge that he's not been here alone. law knows he would have truly gone crazy without his crew — so the knowledge that cora has had people here, hopefully people who have kept him sane and looked out for him, it makes law breathe a little easier.

he nods, pushing himself upright again. ]

Yeah. [ then he looks at cora, and huffs out a breath that's just a touch away from a laugh. ] You look ridiculous.

[ but the words just sound incredibly fond.

when cora leaves to the bathroom, though, law doesn't even go close to the cupboards: instead, he picks up kikoku, mutters room and leaves it just so that it covers the distance between him and the cupboards. then, scan — yes, there, coffee. shambles, and it's in his hand.

when cora comes back, there's no evidence of any of that, though, and instead the coffee is slowly brewing and law is by the sink, hat in his hand, cleaning the makeup smudges from it. ]

Uh huh, thanks.

[Said with a bright grin. It's stupid, he thinks, but even little exchanges like this are something he misses. Most of the people he used to joke around with here and there are gone now. And there have never been many, he's too slow to warm up to anyone, so he feels each loss acutely.

There's a drawn-out moment once he's scrubbed his face clean where he just stands hunched over the sink so he doesn't tower over the mirror, and studies his reflection. He's afraid, still, that he'll turn around and go out into the room and Law will be gone, that none of this is or was ever real. He smells coffee, but maybe his mind is filling in the scent. Maybe he made some earlier and forgot. Maybe Will stopped by. Or maybe this place is driving him insane by making him think that all of these possibilities are perfectly reasonable.

Damnit. With practiced precision, he replaces the eyeliner and lipstick, decorates his cheekbone in gold and fuschia petals - things that might be blooming now if this place knew the real meaning of summer - then straightens his hat and re-emerges, while reminding himself again to work out some way to contact Pluto, to check on Petra, who gave him these colors. It is a very real relief to see that Law is still here. Still real.]

I've got some stuff that might help with that, if it's not coming out.

[See, he's fine, everything's normal and he's not having some slow crisis! He's smiling, so it's fine. He scoots past Law to pull a couple of mugs down from the cupboard and set them on the counter.]

[ meanwhile, law is doing an amazing job at quite simply ignoring the way a part of his mind is certainly catastrophizing literally everything — luckily, it's something he's become adept at, pushing down the part of him that wants nothing more than to focus on every worst-case scenario he can come up with... at least until he's relatively alone and can afford it.

unfortunately, he's so focused on keeping his mind from collapsing in on itself that he doesn't really pay attention to whether cora is suffering from the same problem...

instead, he shakes his head in response. ]

No, it's fine. Bepo showed me —

[ — how to clean white fur in the most effective way, he means to say, except the mention of his navigator is a stab in between his ribs, a reminder that he left them all behind. sure, he did what he could... but they're there because of him.

if they die in the fight against kaido...

— right, catastrophizing. law swallows and turns off the water. ] ... it's fine, [ he repeats, and indeed, his hat seems mostly clean. ]

[Ooh, who is Bepo? Another question to add to the unending list. The name sounds familiar, actually - it must have come up in some of those articles, or maybe a bounty poster, but the sheer number of unknown faces and names ran together pretty quickly. It's a question he won't ask right away, anyway, given how Law shuts down abruptly.

So he nods instead, and looks wistfully at the coffee pot, which is still several minutes away from being ready, then gestures to the rest of the room and some of its particularly colorful decor.]

You'll have to meet Mary whenever she comes back. She's been staying with me the whole last year. She's just a kid, so... I figured someone needed to look after her, but it turns out most of the time I just can't keep up. She's determined to befriend every one of the forest spirits.

[Which seems like it should be dangerous?? But he's only had to drag her to safety a handful of times, somehow.]

[ he's quietly relieved when there is no follow-up question; eventually, he'll be happy to speak of his crew... but not now. not yet.

he glances around the room as cora gestures at the decorations; he'd been able to put as much together, sans the name of the child in question, of course... and the little tidbit about the spirits.

leaning against the sink, arms crossed, ]

What a stupid idea.

[ look. being a kid is not an excuse to being an idiot! ]

Yeah, she's stubborn. The spirits don't always know what to make of her either, sometimes.

[And it's not all bad. Taking them by surprise with kindness has its benefits, strangely enough, so long as she doesn't run into the ones that just don't care.]

Before she died, she didn't really have friends that treated her well. Be patient with her, all right?

[Whoever Law has become now, Rosinante wouldn't exactly have called him "patient" as a kid, that's for sure. Or gentle, or kind, or the sort of things Rosinante tries to be for Mary who died too young and whose "friends" abused her trust and sent her here. He doesn't take in every stray child, but some just need a little more love and care in their lives.]

[ what a request. at least over the years, law has become someone incredibly patient when it means advancing a plan... with people, not so much, though the straw hats have forced an indifference in him to antics that normally would have caused him to snap angrily at the source.

maybe that's something. progress??

law pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing. ]

Why does everyone I associate with have a bleeding heart?

[ he sounds so genuinely aggravated by this that it's almost hilarious. from punk hazard onwards, it's been saving one kid after another: mocha and the others, then momonosuke, then tama. apparently the same trend continues, along with him not wanting anything to do with any of it.

but hey, at least he's not saying no to the request... not that he's saying yes, either. 50/50 odds are probably the best one could expect. ]

Sounds like you keep good company.

[He teases with a chuckle, then gives Law another look over as he decides what's probably safer to ask about versus what is too painful without at least the coffee to commiserate over. The people he's been associating with are on a fine line between the two, he figures - like that mention of Bepo before, he's going to have to wait on that. The clothes, too, even though he's dying to know. And the sword? Is that part of the costume? Is any of it a costume?

No, back to himself. Reel in the questions, Rosinante. He's having to do the opposite of what he does to everyone else here all the time - keeps everything about himself concealed, and learns as much as he can about the people he's stuck with. It's weird in contrast, but it's probably easier for Law for the time being.]

I wouldn't say everyone here is entirely kind, or optimistic, but I think we've found surviving is easier if we all work together to protect each other. I'll have to introduce you to people. There's Cao Pi, who's a former emperor of a powerful nation in his world, and here he's been good at helping everyone stay organized and up to date on information. And Kuai Liang, another former world leader of some sort, but he's... Well, I think you'd find he does have a bleeding heart. Kind and thoughtful. Mm, Doctor Ingram I mentioned earlier, he's a scientist. He's one of the people who's been here longest, actually, before even me. He survived through the last reset only because he cheated the system. I'd warn you about resets, actually, but I think with the lighthouse destroyed, we might not have to worry about those anymore.

[Sorry for the info dump - he cuts himself off so he can turn to switch off the coffee pot and pour them each a full mug. No cream of any sort available these days, unfortunately.]

[ he huffs at that, and looks for all intents and purposes like someone who knows he's made a grievous mistake and is now suffering the consequences. ]

You would approve of them, [ he mutters, because he has no doubts in his mind that cora-san wouldn't approve of literally everything about the straw hats... his own crew is at least less chaotic.

he falls silent with an almost grateful air, listening to the list of names and professions and characteristics; the only one who makes interest flash in his eyes is the scientist and the mention of cheating the system, but in the end, he asks nothing, and just nods.

he'll have to go over all the information later, he knows — no point trying to remember everything now when his mind is in no state to absorb it all anyway.

instead, he reaches for the mug, and not caring one bit that it's probably scalding hot. at least he only sips it, instead of downing about half of it at once as he feels like doing. ]

... is there something else we should worry about? [ aside from everything he's already mentioned, that is. ]

Oh, what, you want more than malicious spirits, world eaters, a river that's out to lure people to their doom, occasional catastrophic floods and the chance that you might just wander off into the darkness and get lost and die that way?

[It's a fair question, admittedly - best to know the full list of threats, after all! But it makes him laugh anyway. He takes his own mug, drinks from it without even considering the heat, and then spits a fountain of coffee right back out with a gasp.

Yep, that hasn't changed either.]

[ he shrugs. ]

Could be worse.

[ the sad thing is, he quite genuinely feels that way. and now that he knows all the threats, he can protect cora-san better.

... and then there's an impromptu coffee-fountain and law is yelling, ]

Be more careful! How do you still not remember it's hot?! [ he's the very picture of angry concern, which really is the way he shows his affection. clearly that hasn't changed, either. ]

[Gotta protect him from his own hot drinks first.

Half of what remained in his mug spilled in the startle as well, it seems - but the rest is safely put back with the mug onto the counter as he winces hard around his own poor burnt tongue, then reaches for the rag at the sink and kneels down to mop up the spill.]

It just - I don't know! I didn't think about it.

[Just his dumb idiot self. Ugh. Once finished he dumps the rag in the sink to deal with later, and slouches back against the counter.]

You'll be pleased to know that I haven't set myself on fire once since arriving here, though.

[He tries a smug grin as if this is somehow an accomplishment and not the result of the fact that fire just can't actually catch like that here.]

[ no, he'll leave him to the mercy of the hot drinks and just scold him excessively. far more efficient.

law simply looks at him for a long moment before saying, flatly, ]

It shouldn't be something you need to think about.

[ he turns, and walks back to where kikoku still rests against the wall, sitting down next to it. he takes another sip of his coffee, very pointedly. ]

I'll be pleased when you go a week without tripping and falling down. [ the way he's saying that makes it very clear he might as well be saying when hell freezes over. ]

[He gives a snort, knowing full well that will never happen, then rolls his shoulders in something that's more a stretch than a shrug before mirroring Law's actions and taking his coffee cup back up. This time, though, he doesn't drink from it. He can wait. It's too hot.]

Aside from that girl Pudding, a lot of people here don't know much about our world. Of course, I don't know what she's told people. But for most of the last year here, all anyone's learned from me is that it's mostly water and islands, that the Marines try to keep pirates from terrorizing civilians, and that I'm a Marine.

[Which, you know. The last bit he's not thrilled about pointing out to Law again, but he nods to his lantern with its embossed MARINE emblem as if it had come straight off one of their ships.]

They know I protected you. They don't really know... what exactly I did. To them I'm a good, honest, loyal soldier. Just... so you know what my story is here.

[People don't like spies and traitors. Easy to be liked and trusted if he tells a simplified version of his life, that's all.]

[ perhaps surprisingly, there's not even a hint of anger or anything of the sort in his expression when marines are mentioned — he's accepted cora's indentity a long time ago.

for a moment, he thinks of dressrosa and the former fleet admiral, and he knows he needs to talk about that, but. not now. cora-san has cried enough for one day. ]

... good, [ he mutters eventually, because it really is. even if he's somewhat worried about cora's general competence with taking care of himself, this he'd never worry about. of course he's created the most suitable explanation and kept everything else from being found out. it makes sense, and it's smart. ]

I won't tell them anything you haven't told them. [ he sighs. ] I could lie about being just a doctor, but... if Pudding-ya is who I think she is, she'll recognize me. If others come here, if they're from the same time as I am, they'll recognize me too.

[ the downsides of being a former warlord. ] It doesn't really matter. If people distrust me because I'm a pirate... it just shows they're not stupid. Besides, my reputation can't be worse here. [ and he's not exactly looking to make friends. (when is he ever?) ]

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