Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Day #1

I decided to make a log because why not? I heard that smart people do it. I think? Not sure. Seems like a cool thing to do though.
I digress. Right now I'll be on my way to California.

Should I do spacing like this?

This
This

This
I'm not sure. I'll figure it out eventually.

I'm going to California from New Mexico. I recently got hired for a job there, and I can finally get away from my parents.
I had to pack up all of my stuff though. And by all my stuff, I mean everything.
Like, my entire life is stuffed in a 2022 Toyota Corolla Sedan right now.
Clothes. Gadgets. Random junk I swear I'd use one day. It's weird how much of yourself you can fit inside of a car.
I'm basically a hoarder, even if I don't like to admit it.
Though I am a bit low on gas. I only have around 150 miles left before I need to refuel.
A full tank is important. Especially on trips like these.

What else should I say...

I'm also a bit thirsty. Not dehydrated thirsty. Just... bored thirsty. I think sometimes I confuse the two.

I really like the watermelon flavor. My friends don't like it that much though. They're stupid.
It's literally the best flavor. And they don't like it???

Whatever.

There's a gas station next to a McDonalds about 100 miles ahead. I might stop there and grab a drink. Maybe a meal too. 
The $5 meal deal comes in clutch. If I get two of those, I'm set for the whole day.
Of course I'll drink water. I'm not insane. But sweet drinks just hit different. 

It's currently 5 PM right now. Actually 6. I should probably stop guessing and just look at my phone. 

It'll take me a while to get there and I don't want to mess up my Circadian rhythm. I heard that's bad.

I forgot where I heard that from. Maybe TikTok. And there's lots of misinformation on TikTok, so I'll probably be fine.

Maybe I'll just sleep in the parking lot. People do it all the time.

What's the worst that can happen? Probably just a warning or something.

===========================================================

I decided to put a line break. Seems more neat than just putting everything in a big block of text.

I'm at the gas station right now. 

I forgot to pack actual ready to eat food besides snacks.

I was planning on getting McDonald's anyway, but still.

I swear I thought I packed something.

Ugh. Well $10 isn't that bad. I already spent $50 on gas. 

I'll go back to writing when I finish my meal.

===========================================================

That meal was great.

I still have some leftovers. I'll just leave them on the passenger seat for now.

I checked my phone. It's 9 PM.

Time to sleep. Hopefully I don't get towed.

The air feels heavy for some reason.

It's probably just nerves from moving away.

I'll see you later tomorrow.

Good night.

Chapter Text

Day #2

Good Morning. That was a good nap!

..where am I?

I don't see the gas station or the McDonalds anywhere..

Shit. Did I actually get towed? They would've at least checked inside right?

But don't they put it in like a shed or something? This is in the middle of nowhere!

All of my stuff is here at least. That means no one broke in.

I'm so confused.

I want to look around but I don't want to leave my car here.

And the car isn't really meant for off-terrain driving. Maybe I can try driving anyway?

I'll see if I can find a road or something.

Besides that, I'm 95% sure as to how I'll be doing spacing from now on.

It might change later on. Maybe.

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So I haven't found a road but I found water.

It's not like a lake but it's more like a beach.

How the fuck? There's no beaches in New Mexico!

I just realized I haven't checked my pockets.

...yep everything is where it's supposed to be.

What time is it?

7:30 AM? I don't usually wake up this early!

Whatever, that doesn't matter now.

...I think I see a kind of plaza.

It looks old fashioned. I see boats, but not modern boats.

They're like 1500s-1600s boats.

Weird. I'll go ask some questions and stuff.

==================================================

So here's what I found out:

I'm in a place called "Jaya" (never heard of it)

Jaya is apparently a place popular with pirates.

...so what does this mean about my car?

Will other people steal my car?

Ok let's be rational here. It took me like 20 minutes to walk here.

There was absolutely no one near me. Not a single house or anything so that means no one lives in that area.

It looks like everyone lives in this plaza area.

So I might be ok. No pirates will steal my car.

I asked why they carried swords and flintlocks instead of something modern.

They looked at me like I'd spoken another language.

Maybe I had.

I have a Glock in my car. I probably should've carried it here to be honest since everyone has a gun.

But I digress. They asked about the thing in my hand (the AZ iced tea).

I told them it was a drink.

They asked for a sip.

I refused. I don't want other people's mouths touching my drink.

I told them that if they wanted a sip they'd have to waterfall it.

They didn't understand that so I had to explain what waterfalling is.

Big mistake.

They finished the entire can. I didn't even get a sip.

I guess that's on me for assuming social rules transfer between worlds.

..Oh yeah. There was a myth about a sky island. Probably unimportant.

But I said the same thing about yesterday and that was important.

It's a Sky Island though! There's no possible way for an island to go up in the sky!

I guess I'm stuck here until I can buy a ship or something.

I don't want to leave my car behind anyway.

==================================================

I asked those same where I could buy a ship.

It turns out they loved the drink so much that they were willing to give me whatever ship I wanted.

Apparently the taste was amazing and the can "looked magical."

They turned the can over in their hands like it was treasure.

I forgot how strange things from my world look here.

But if I wanted the ship they said that I needed to bring them more items.

So now I have to go back to my car to see what I can give them.

==================================================

Inventory Check:

I have a world map here. Pirates need a world map right?

I have this toaster oven.. but that relies on electricity.

I have this mechanical clock. Knowing the time is important.

What else..

Two sharing size bags of skittles. One of those is definitely going.

Ok. World map, the clock, and skittles.

That should be good.

==================================================

So I went back with those items.

The pirates looked at the world map.

Then they showed me theirs.

It's.. completely different.

Split into four sections.

They laughed.

"What kind of map are YOU using, man? This is the worst map I've ever seen!"

I don't know why that stung so much, but it did.

I felt small. Like I was the joke.

Then one of them laughed harder.

"Oh man, you're hilarious. That made my whole day."

I don't think they realized I wasn't joking.

But they loved the clock and the skittles. Especially the skittles.

"Damn. This shit is great!"

Overall they were satisfied and let me pick out a ship.

I did ask for one that can carry a lot of cargo.

They asked why. I brought them over to my car.

They stared at it for a while. Didn't question it. Just understood that it was heavy.

They helped me push it up the ramp. I had to put it in neutral first so it would actually move.

Honestly I owe my life to them.

Before I left they gave me a "Log Pose".

They said it was like a compass but better for "these seas." Whatever that means.

I'm still skeptical about all of this. Where exactly am I?

That's for future me to find out. I'll just focus on going to the next island.

They kept mentioning repayment jokingly.

I'm not sure if it was a joke.

Hopefully that doesn't come later to bite me.

==================================================

For some reason the compass thing is pointing up to the clouds.

..Is it that Sky Island myth they were talking about earlier?

No way that was actually real. But the compass thing is pointing up.

I have so many questions.

Like, how did it end up there? Why is the island there to this day? Shouldn't it fall down?

And how exactly do I get there in the first place?

Maybe I'll ju-
\
\ /
-___-

==================================================

whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck

whereami
whatsgoingon

ok ok calm down

calm

calm

what exactly happened?

So I got shot up into the sky.

...HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT HAPPEN?!?!

WHAT

THAT SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE

I AM IN THE SKY

shit i forgot about the car

oh thank god it's still here

Ugh. Well I'm still alive. Am I alive?

Well I'm still on the ship somehow.

And the car is still here.

Somehow nothing went out of the car.

This is all a dream. It makes sense.

Why would I be in a weird sky thing in the first place?

..but what if I'm not dreaming?

I don't want to think about that. I won't think about that.

Good night.

Chapter Text

Day #3

So I guess it's not a dream.

..oh god.

i'm scared

how did this even happen?

The wood is creaking. I really hope the boat can stay afloat.

I don't want to die here. Not like this.

I'll look around to take my mind off of everything. I don't want to think about the implications right now.

The sea is like water, but it's not water. It's clouds. I think.

Well clouds ARE made up of water. I learned that in middle school.

At least I have this log journal with me. I can write whatever I want here and no one will know.

But what if someone reads this journal?

Maybe I shouldn't write everything down here.

Then again, it is MY journal. I'm the only one that can read this.

Also it's kinda hard to breathe. And it's cold. Might be because of the high altitude.

Hold on some old guy and his bird are coming over.

==================================================

So this old knight dude explained where I am.

I'm high up in the clouds (no shit) and if I keep going straight I'll reach a place called 'Skypiea'.

He asked if I came from the 'Blue Sea,' which was the sea below this one.

I just nodded my head. He explained that this was the 'White Sea.'

He also took a look at my car. Said it was unlike anything he'd ever seen.

And he gave me some whistle so that I can call for help if I need it. I think that'd be useful.

But he said to only use it when I'm in danger. I feel pretty safe so I'm not sure if there's danger. I'm just confused right now.

Then he just left while riding his weird looking bird.

I barely even said anything throughout that whole interaction.

I guess I'll just keep on going straight to Skypiea.

==================================================

It took a while but now I'm at the gate.

This old woman is asking me to pay 1 billion extol. I don't know what an extol is.

She said 10,000 extol = 1 beli. I also don't know what that is.

Also I just realized she's holding a camera. So they DO have modern technology!

I showed her my phone and told her if there was anything like this here. She just stared at it in wonder.

I guess they're not THAT advanced yet.

For payment I have $47 in my wallet.

I asked her if I can pay with a $1 bill. I guess she really liked how the bill looked or something because she let me through.

She was too focused on the bill to notice my cargo. Not sure why I pointed that out.

That whole interaction felt off though..

Now I go up this rollercoaster thing I guess?

Well here goes nothing.

Wait what's that animal und-_/

==================================================

..well that was a rollercoaster. Literally, it was a rollercoaster up to Skypeia.

And that animal underneath me dragged me there.

Everything is still intact.

Now I'm at this beach. I think I see a couple of people.

There's an old man and a woman at the shore. I'm not sure why they wear those antenna things and those wings.

Maybe I'm in heaven and they're angels? I doubt it. That old lady at the entrance had those same wings.

I'll go up to them and ask about this area. And other stuff too I guess.

==================================================

They were actually pretty nice! Right now I'm in their house writing.

Right off the bat I see many similarities with their technology and the technology I have.

They have these thing called "Dials".

I was shown a couple of them, specifically the Voice Dial and the Heat Dial.

They're like voice recorders and ovens respectively. But they don't take electricity.

I mentioned that we have stuff like that where I come from.

If I ever get the opportunity I might buy a couple of dials myself to take with me back to the Blue Sea.

Also when I mentioned using electricity they seemed pretty confused. And scared.

Especially scared. There was some kind of fear in their eyes.

The whole situation was uncomfortable. I just moved on.

I showed them an example of my technology using my phone's voice recorder app.

I'll have to charge it somehow since it's pretty low.

And it's not like I can just invent a charger.

..wait. I'm an engineer. I can quite literally do that.

That'll be first on my to do list.

That's for later though. For now I need to get used to this place and possibly find a way out.

Anyway they looked at my phone in awe because it could do other stuff too.

I might be the Jesus of technology. Or I'm just an idiot with better technology.

I was told about this place called Lovely Street where they sell dials and food.

I'll buy as many dials as I can and then get out of here. I got places to be man.

==================================================

So I got interrogated by some cop dude. At least I think he's a cop?

He said I didn't pay the 1 billion extol fee so I'm a criminal now.

I thought you just needed to pay to get in. I didn't think you could go in and not pay.

But I paid with the dollar bill so I should've been fine right?

Even if I did underpay that old woman I didn't tell her the true worth of that bill.

So I told him I already paid but he was insistent that I didn't pay.

I remembered that whistle that the bird guy gave me. I blew into it as hard as I could.

It didn't make a sound. But he came through anyway.

He asked what was wrong and I explained the whole situation.

Then he told me that the gatekeeper lets people in without paying at the cost of being a criminal.

That genuinely makes no sense. What's the logic in that?

I had to come up with something on the spot. Then I remembered my dollar.

I showed him a dollar and I lied my ass off saying it was worth the 1 billion extol.

I was saying straight bullshit like:

"You see the art? No one can replicate this. This is basically an art piece as currency."
"You see how it changes a bit when under the sun? It shows that the bill has a spirit inside."
"The dude's face is a representation of the man's soul. Truly a work of art."

He believed it wholeheartedly. So I gave him the dollar and told him that's my payment.

Eventually he backed off and told everyone I was clear. And he even told everyone about the bill.

Now to buy these dials.

==================================================

I bought out their whole supply for $20.

I also did the same logic heap with the $20 bill.

The conversation went something like:

"Have you heard about that $1 bill that guy was showing off?"
"Yeah."
"Well this is the same thing but it's worth 20 times that. See that 20 in the corner?"
"That's actually so cool!"

And he put it under the sun showing even more security features.

I told him that there's 20 spirits in that one so he just gave me all of his dials.

With all of these dials I can make some serious cash when I go back to the Blue Sea.

Or I could engineer some stuff maybe? That's for later though when I'm completely safe.

Maybe I could find a pirate crew to join?

I also heard some talk about Marines and a World Government back in Jaya so that could be an option.

The bill itself isn't worth anything but lying works wonders.

I'm actually surprised that worked.

Now I have this big sack full of dials that I need to put back on my ship.

I asked one of the locals how I could go back down to the Blue Sea.

He told me to go to the 'Cloud End' which is the edge of the Sky Island, so I'll be going over there.

My log pose is also pointing to another island. I'll go to where that is once I'm down.

Now I'm at the cloud end. Time to go back to the sea!

==================================================

There was a octopus balloon thing that was like a parachute for my ship.

I'm not gonna question it at this point. If a literal sky island can exist I'm not gonna draw the line at an octopus parachute.

I'll just go over to where the log pose is pointing.

...

Maybe I was wrong for taking those dials.

But I don't have time to think about that right now. I need to find stability ASAP.

Morals can come later.

==================================================

Well I'm here now at this Water City place.

It's cool how there's a whole city built around water. I've never seen anything like it.

Well I've never seen anything like a Sky Island before too. This world is very unique.

I'll find a hotel to stay at. Or I'll just be homeless and sleep on my ship. I don't have money anyway.

The water isn't moving so I shouldn't have to worry about my ship too much.

It's been creaking a lot recently. I'm worried.

I should be fine though. Maybe.

I think I'll start engineering stuff here. This feels like a safe place.

To engineer stuff I need materials. To get materials I need money. To get money I need a job.

I'll find a job here for now. I don't want to sell anything I have at the moment.

Well it's night time right now so I'll just go ahead and sleep. I have a long day ahead of me.

Good night.

Chapter Text

Day #4

Good morning.

While staring at the blue sky I realized something. I haven't thought about home in a while.

My mom and dad are fine without me right? My brothers and sisters too.

Hopefully they're fine.

What about my friends? Have they moved on already? I hope not.

I mean I don't want them to be sad or anything. I don't like making anyone sad.

That's why I rarely tell anyone my struggles or what I'm struggling with.

It'd just make them sad and I don't want to deal with that.

Maybe it's the type of thing where time isn't linear?

Like maybe I go home and it's only been an hour or something.

I don't have time to think about that. I need to go job hunting.

==================================================

I see a store that's hiring.

I'll go in and ask for an interview or something. Should be easy.

==================================================

I'm fucked.

I have:

No valid papers
No valid education
No references
No social standing.

I'm a nobody in this world! My smarts don't matter if I can't back them up!

Maybe I could lie? Say I built my phone or something?

No. They'd ask how it works.

And I kind of know how it works, but explaining it is a whole different matter.

I'll have to stick with something simple like manual labor.

..actually that could work.

Water 7 is basically a big shipyard right? Shipyards need manual labor.

I'm so smart.

Tobey Maguire got bit by a spider.

Me? Must've got bit by a GOAT. (bro)

Anyway I'll look around to see if there are any shipyards that need manual labor.

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I see a sign that says "Hands needed". I'll go in and ask.

It smells like sawdust and it's hot outside. But I need the money.

==================================================

That was pretty easy.

The dude asked if I could lift.

I said yeah.

He said to start tomorrow.

..I can't believe I'm doing this.

I'm supposed to be an engineer, not a construction worker!

And I'm not trying to hate on construction workers. Of course I respect them.

But I could be doing more than just.. that. You know what I mean?

Maybe this'll be character development. Something to keep me humble.

This could give me necessary experience as well.

If I'm going to "invent" stuff (take stuff from my world and put it here), I'll have to build it myself.

I don't really trust anyone with my ideas yet.

And I do still have food back in my car, so I won't be starving for a while until I get paid.

I'll log what I have when I get back to my ship.

==================================================

So on the way I met this guy. He had dark blue hair.

I asked if it was natural or if he used some sort of hair dye.

They probably don't have hair spray in this world so I wanted to know how he did it.

He laughed about it and said it was natural.

Honestly? Meh. Not that surprising compared to what I've seen so far.

Well at least I gave him a laugh.

I said I was gonna log what I have for food.

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Food Inventory:

3 cups of Maruchan instant ramen noodles
A sharing size bag of skittles
A sharing size bag of M&Ms
An untouched Hot and Spicy McChicken (with ketchup)
4 McNuggets
Two cans of Pepsi.

==================================================

At least I won't starve to death.

Tomorrow I'll bring a cup of ramen and a Pepsi. Maybe they have an area to heat water up.

If push comes to shove, I'll just eat cold noodles.

I did it a few times when we didn't have hot water, so it's not a big deal.

..well I don't really have much else to do for today. I'll just leave it here.

Do I say good afternoon? That sounds more like a greeting to be honest.

Why is good night an ending but good afternoon is a greeting?

I'm rambling again. I'm always doing that.

Anyway I'll see you tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Day #5

Good Morning!

This is the day where I'll finally be useful to society!

And I'll also gain a steady cash flow.

It's about 7:30 right now. I checked my phone 3 times just to be sure.

How does the internal clock even work? Is it totally accurate?

It seems accurate enough for me.

I got work to do and cash to get and inventions to make.

I almost forgot to bring lunch. One cup noodle and a Pepsi.

Ok now I'm ready.

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..ok im on break right now

im tired

but I dont think other places give breaks so i gotta be greatful.

They actually do have hot water, which is nice. I asked for some to fill up my Instant noodle cup.

Everyone looked at my cup weird but they gave me the hot water anyway.

Now I just have to wait a couple of minutes.

Also I had to take a dump but the only bathroom is a bucket.

I find that disgusting. I wish there were toilets.

..wait. I can make the toilets.

And the sewage system. And all of the other stuff!

But I don't think they'd listen to a new hire. I'm only a laborer anyway.

There's also the question of whether this world already has toilets.

Whatever. I'll just sketch out the plans for now while I'm on break.

...

Ok it's been about 3 minutes since the hot water was added.

Time to eat!

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I finished my meal of noodles and I was about to drink my soda.

When I opened the can it was loud. But I don't really think anyone cared. They might be used to loud things and tuned it out.

One guy came up to me and asked about my journal. I told him it's a log because I wanted to try out logging my days.

He nodded before asking about my soda.

I said it was a drink and decided to give him a sip.

He really liked it. I guess we're friends now.

Oh yeah, his name is Joseph.

That's a Biblical name.

Does that mean Christianity exists here?

Thoughts are wandering again.

He took a look at my toilet sketch thing and said it was interesting.

And he also asked for the soda can when I was done.

I just gave it to him and let him have the rest. He seems like a good guy anyway.

Anyway break is almost over. I have to get back to work.

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im so tired oh god

my body sucks

im sweaty, my body is sore, and i have blisters

but i got 7000 beli which is good enough i guess

so now i can finally buy some materials!

..i just realized i forgot the toilet sketch thing at the building

whatever i cant be bothered.

oh yeah and Joseph is next to me now

he's honestly a chill dude. i respect that.

Joseph said that he would lead me to a shop. That's pretty nice of him.

I asked how long he's been working there as a way to make small talk. He said 2 months.

While walking he kept looking at the Pepsi can. Mainly at the logo.

"Where did you get this Cola from? This is much different than what you'd normally get at Blueno's bar."

"In a good way or a bad way?"

"Good way. And this container is unlike anything I've ever seen. Where did you get this from?"

"I don't know. I just found it somewhere."

Of course I wouldn't tell someone I just met everything about myself.

I should be able to get something with 7000 beli. Maybe.

==================================================

So I got all the materials I needed.

I have to make it solar powered since there's no access to normal electricity.

I might not even need to make a new charger. I can just modify a current one I have already.

With these materials, it likely won't be effective. It'll still be better than nothing.

Hopefully everything is fine from that large tumbling that was Skypiea.

If not everything, at least my more important things.

I would've only afforded half of what I needed but Joseph pitched in and gave some money.

He said it was repayment for giving him the Pepsi.

May god bless his soul. Genuinely.

I went back to my creaking boat. It's pretty peaceful.

For now I'm gonna sleep.

I'm tired.

Good night.

Chapter Text

Day #6

Good morning.

That was honestly one of the best sleeps I've ever had. And it's pretty early so I have plenty of time to write and think.

I do still feel a bit sore but it's not that bad since I had a good rest.

I think I'll bring in my McChicken and McNuggets. I don't want them to go bad.

They probably won't ever go bad though. I remember seeing a 25 year old McDonalds hamburger without mold on TikTok.

..What exactly am I eating?

I don't wanna think about that. As long as I'm not starving I'm fine.

Anyway I need to go to work.

Work is boring. Usually I'd listen to music to tune out the boredom.

Since I downloaded music, I can actually listen to them without internet and stuff.

My friends always said to just buy Spotify Premium or something.

They wouldn't be able to listen to music here though! Haha.

That's something to look forward to when I build my phone charger.

For now I'll try to work on that before going. 

==================================================

I took an old phone charger I had and modified it.

I have the concept down. It's definitely charging my phone but it's very inconsistent.

Sometimes it charges and sometimes it doesn't. And it's not because of the sunlight.

And even when it charges, it's not that great.

Like, compare a modern charger to a lightbulb. My solar charger is a match stick.

There's also the fact that it overheats. A lot.

If you were cold in an igloo or something, this thing could genuinely replace a campfire.

I touched it and it was super hot. I think I burnt myself a little. It wasn't too bad though.

I'll take a look at it during break and see if I can improve some stuff.

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I think my body is leveling up. My muscles are going from screaming to a casual talking voice. 

Oh, and those toilet sketches I forgot at the job site? Our manager wants to know who drew them.

I'm not sure why. Am I going to get in trouble or something?

I don't think I want to risk it. Besides even if I took credit, I'm the new guy.

Nobody really cares about the new guy. They'd probably think I'm lying.

..anyway now that I'm on my break, it's time to fix my charger!

I'll go in the back outside so that no one sees me. I don't want other people seeing future tech right now.

They'll call me weird or ask questions. I don't want that. I need focus.

==================================================

Well, I know the cause of the overheating problem now.

It turns some of the things inside were damaged. Mainly through dents.

Damn it. I wish Skypiea didn't happen. I wouldn't have this problem if that were the case.

And I'm not sure if this is something I can easily fix. 

I'll try my best though. I need to make this better.

I went back inside to eat my McChicken and Nuggets and then Joseph came and brought someone new.

The new guy was looking at my food intently.

He seems good though. Just like Joseph.

I gave them a quarter of my sandwich. They split that quarter and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Break is almost at an end. That was a decent meal.

Sometimes I see the manager looking at me when he thinks I'm not paying attention.

Does he know about the solar charger I built? Or the toilet sketches?

Or maybe he just wanted a bite of my McChicken but was too scared to ask. Haha.

It makes feel a bit uneasy though.

==================================================

I feel sore but I don't even care.

Today I got 8000 beli! That's 1000 more than last time!

I asked Joseph how much he makes. He said around 15000.

I joked saying that I'll earn more.

Then he said: "Dude gets a 1000 beli raise and his ego goes up in the clouds. You're not that guy dude."

Genuinely, what do I even say to that? 

Oh yeah, the new guy tagged along too. His name is Grant.

Grant was straight up glazing Joseph when he said that. He was like "damn you really got him there" and just hyped him up in general.

I told him to zip it up when he's done. They didn't get it and just called me an idiot. 

It was a good joke too! I tried explaining it to them but they didn't even bother listening.

Damn.. what a waste.

Anyway, my phone is at 5% now so the charger is definitely working.

It's really warm in my pocket. Feels like a cozy blanket.

I don't know if I should show them or keep it hidden for now.

Grant told us there was a restaurant that sells really great fish and that we should go.

He looks like he knows his way around a plate. I'll trust his food knowledge.

==================================================

I'm writing as I wait for food. 

We got our drinks. Joseph got a beer while Grant and I got waters. 

I told them I could drink that tall glass of water within 10 seconds.

They said that was impossible and that if I couldn't do it, I had to pay the bill.

But if they were wrong, they'd have to pay.

I took that challenge and drank that water. Took me about 6 seconds.

When I looked backed at them they were completely shocked.

All I did was just open my throat and poured the water in. Then it goes straight to my stomach. 

They asked how I did it. My explanation came out VERY wrong. 

Anybody could probably imagine what I said to make it sound that way.

I didn't realize that until they told me to explain it again.

..that was embarrassing.

This is why I don't normally do that trick in front of people. Trying to explain it always sucks.

They laughed at me after that.

I felt like the butt of the joke again. I hate that feeling so much.

But look on the bright side. The meal is free!

I don't even have to pay a single dime.. or Beli in this case.

==================================================

That fish was REALLY good.

While at the restaurant they also asked about my mechanical pencil.

I explained how it works and they thought it was genius.

Grant said I should start a business with those pencils.

It's too much effort though. There's paperwork, laws, and regulations.

I'd rather just be forgotten.

Not in the sense that I'd be a bum who's done nothing with his life. Of course I don't want that.

Let me put it this way.

Who designed the water fountain? Who designed the candle? Who designed the sidewalks that we walk on all the time?

These inventions are so ubiquitous that the person who designed them is forgotten. 

If it's a good idea, it's a god idea. Nobody can really take claim and own it.

Every time you turn on the light, you don't start praising Thomas Edison right?

..But maybe that's just a stupid thing to say.

Anyway, I told them that I don't feel like doing all of that. 

"So you'd rather make weird doohickeys than things people would use?"

"..what?"

"You know, that weird brick thing that you were toying with during break."

"How did you even see that?"

"We saw you through a window. You're not slick man."

..That's probably why the manager was looking at me funny.

We all went our own ways after a while.

Right now I'm at a bench writing this. 

The scenery is actually really nice.

I can see everything from here. Even my ship.

It looks a bit busted from being launched up to the sky.

The birds are chirping and the sky is clear. I could probably die here and be happy.

I remember my dad always did this kind of thing when I was young. I never really understood it.

Now it makes sense to me. I feel at peace.

Like a man who's been standing all his life and finally has a chance to sit down.

...

I wonder what my dad would be doing now. Maybe he's watching a random movie.

He always watched random movies. I swear he's like a movie connoisseur.

But I'm glad he's a movie connoisseur. I wouldn't have seen my favorite movies if it wasn't for him.

I have this one memory that I treasure deeply.

Our family sat down and watched Spy Kids. It was such a great movie when I first saw it.

I thought the gadgets were so cool. Especially that one scene where they microwaved money and it turned into a McDonalds meal.

That reminds me of something funny I did when I was 8. 

Once, my mom said we couldn't go to McDonalds but I really wanted to go.

I remembered that microwave scene and tried to do it with some bills and coins. 

Long story short, it did not go well. I think I almost burnt the house down.

My mom whooped me immediately after taking care of that fire! Haha.

That's one of the few memories I have of my childhood. I remember them fondly.

Good times.

...

So besides the solar charger, what else can I make?

==================================================

Idea list:

Pencils
Water filters
Batteries 
Lock & Key
Mechanical Calculators
Stoves where you put a pan/pot directly on the heat source instead of just a fire
Printing press (this might already exist)

==================================================

That's about it for now.

I think the Lock & Key one would be the good to start with. It's easy, but not too easy. 

I'll try to work on it soon.

That's about all I have for today. It's been great in my opinion.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Goodbye.

Chapter Text

Day #7

Good morning!

I actually woke up early again.

My circadian rhythm has been on overdrive recently. Not sure why.

It's whatever though.

My phone is only at 20% right now. I really don't want it to die.

I'd need some kind of modern tech to improve my charger. This is all out of my range.

But you know what is in my range? The lock and key!

Maybe I could do handcuffs as well.

The lock and key might already exist though. Handcuffs too.

I'm not sure about padlocks though. And handcuffs are more of a side bonus.

I'll ask my friends about it during break.

For lunch I'll bring a cup of instant noodles and a handful of M&Ms.

I like to put the M&Ms in my pocket so that they become soft from my body heat.

That's the best way to eat M&Ms.

My friends always called me weird for that.

They called a lot of the stuff I did weird.

I miss that kind of friendly banter though.

At least, I think it was friendly banter.

I wonder what they'd be doing now. Probably laughing at something stupid or something.

Without me.

..now's not the time to daydream. I have to get ready for work.

==================================================

My manager gave me new tasks to do.

I've only been working for three days. New tasks already?!

Sometimes I see him looking at me when he thinks I don't notice. Very suspicious indeed.

I still got my work done, new tasks included.

I asked Grant and Joseph about handcuffs and padlocks.

They said they both already exist.

Fuck. I thought I was about to do something with my idea.

It's not all bad though. Maybe their padlocks are weak or something.

"Well, where can I get a padlock?"

Grant was curious. "Why do you want to know?"

"I want to test it out and stuff."

They were skeptical at first. "..Alright."

Joseph spoke up. "I have a cousin that's a blacksmith. He can help you."

He gave me a piece of paper. "This is where his shop is if you want to meet him."

"That'll help. Thank you."

I think my mechanical pencil explanation played a part in that agreement.

Then our manager gave me a padlock.

"This is the best padlock I got. Let's see what you do with it."

First I wanted to see how easily I could bypass its security.

I took a paper clip and shaped it into a rake. They were confused as to what I was doing.

Honestly, I didn't even expect it to work. I only saw it on videos.

It was a monkey see monkey do type of thing. Doing it in real life felt unreal.

I'm not even kidding when I'm saying it took me 3 seconds max to pick that lock.

I was surprised too.

All I did was put the rake in and twist it in one direction. I didn't even actually do anything.

I don't even think there were any pins.

I tried twisting it again with my fingernail just to be sure. It unlocked.

Everyone was dumb founded when I did that.

The manager just nodded silently like he was analyzing me.

So bad security, check.

Then there's straight up opening it with brute force.

It took a lot of my strength but eventually I forced it open after 10 seconds.

Mind you I'm not even that strong so if someone like Joseph or Grant tried to brute force that lock, it wouldn't be that difficult.

Bad lock strength, check.

And finally, durability.

"Umm.. can I do a durability test?"

"Go ahead. I want to know it's limits."

For this test I just smashed it with a hammer.

First hit left a big dent.

"..should I keep going?"

"It's already ruined. No need to worry."

Second hit annihilated it. It split down in the middle.

The parts came out like guts.

Long story short, padlocks are not exactly the best in this world.

I can definitely make them better.

Better security, harder to force open, and even more durable? That sounds doable.

Especially compared to the lock I just tested out.

And that was supposed to be his best one! Haha.

But I do feel bad. That was his best lock after all.

He wanted me to test it though. That means it's fine.

It has to be.

==================================================

I have the improved lock idea in terms of security.

The hard part though is getting good quality metal.

I'd have to either find a good blacksmith or make my own metal.

..wait. Making my own metal isn't a bad idea.

I learned about the Bessemer Process in college. If I could just recreate that here, I can make a good lock!

Not only could I make a good lock, I can mass produce steel as a whole!

But that would create an Industrial Revolution. Should I do that?

I'm not sure. Introducing steel this early on would basically affect EVERYTHING.

That's too big of a change. I don't want to do that.

Maybe I could use Wootz Steel? They probably have that around here. I'm not sure if that'd be good for locks though.

I think I'll just settle for a high quality iron.

And I still feel bad for breaking my manager's best lock.

I'll give him the better lock as an apology. It's the least I can do.

I'm looking at the paper Joseph gave me. It's a few directions from the place we work at.

I'll show him my Lock & Key sketch and we can work on that together.

First I need to backtrack to work to follow these directions accurately.

==================================================

I'm at the blacksmith right now. Joseph's cousin was pretty nice!

I showed him the Lock & Key sketches.

"You know, I've built padlocks before. But this is unlike any padlock I've ever seen. I'm going to need your help with this one."

"Of course! I shared this with you! Why wouldn't I help?"

==================================================

I'm sweaty, tired, and covered in soot, but we finished our first lock!

He tried opening it with brute force. He couldn't get it open even with all of his strength.

"Damn if I was in my prime I would've snapped that thing in half easily! It's only because I'm tired from working."

He was definitely making excuses.

We also did some durability tests.

It took a few scratches but it was good overall. Honestly we didn't think it'd survive considering he was going full force.

He even threw it on the ground. There was a small dent in the corner.

Now for the main part. The key.

The key broke when I tried to open the lock so now we have to create another key. Ugh.

==================================================

Now we have the new key! Time to open the lock.

The key works that's for sure. Like it's twisting and stuff.

But the padlock itself isn't opening.

Let me try again...

..fuck. This one is a dud.

I'll open it up to see what's wrong.

It turns out the cylinder was slightly bent.

I guess it's not that big of a problem. We can make another cylinder.

Making another cylinder isn't an easy task though.

We have to measure it to have it fit snug in the lock, and then we have to file it down to the actual cylinder.

But I think him throwing it on the ground had an effect.

If this keeps on happening we might actually have to start over.

==================================================

Ok new cylinder inserted. Now let's see if it's functional.

Time to twist the key. I'm nervous.

IT WORKS!

YESYESYES

We were so ecstatic that we jumped up and down like little children.

I asked how much I needed to pay.

He said that it was free. "Creating a lock that great is already enough for me."

I really wanted to pay him but he insisted. His smile said everything I needed to know.

I thanked him and told him that I'd go show Joseph this as well. He said to mention him as a co-creator.

God please bless Joseph's whole family.

==================================================

I found Joseph and showed him the lock. Grant was also next to him so this was perfect.

It should work, even if there are scratches and a dent.

I told Joseph to try brute forcing the lock but to not beat it up.

He understood and gave it his all.

His pride was slightly hurt, but he said he respected the craft.

I told him to thank his brother for that.

"Joseph, you're weak as hell. Give me that."

He tried so hard that he did a little toot.

It was the funniest thing ever I swear. Our abs had a nice workout.

"I only faked it to make your lock seem good! Alright?!"

"Hahaha! Yeah man! Whatever you say."

We kept giggling for a while.

I tested it with the key just in case and it still works.

Now I have to give the lock to my manager.

I don't know where he is though, so I'll give the lock to him tomorrow as an apology.

I hope he doesn't think I'm condescending or something.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about those M&Ms in my pocket. I'll eat them now.

..yum.

That's all for today.

Neil Armstrong said "One small step for humanity, one giant leap for mankind".

That's basically what I'm doing. I think.

Anyway I'm tired and I want to sleep.

Good night.

Chapter Text

Day #8

Good morning.

You know, there are a couple of things that I haven't thought about that I should really pay attention to.

Those pirates that I met at Jaya.

How am I gonna pay them back? Will they come here eventually?

And those people at Skypiea.

I basically took advantage of them. Those dials were stolen.

And why haven't I thought about my car recently?

I'm not sure how to feel about myself.

...

But I can keep going.

I can still make things right.

If I make the world a better place, maybe that'll make up for everything.

The first step is that padlock. I broke my manager's best padlock after all.

But I'm not sure how he'll react. Maybe he's still mad that I broke it.

Even if he didn't say anything then, I know.

I'll just bring some more M&Ms. Stuff them in my pocket.

==================================================

I'm outside the entrance.

I'll just apologize to the manager and give him the lock! No biggie.

Hopefully.

==================================================

The manager apology thing was pretty awkward.

"Hey there! Umm.. I'm sorry about that breaking your best lock. I shouldn't have done that. But I made this one! You can take it."

Then he looked at the lock with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah umm.. don't mind the scratches and the dent. That was from the durability testing I did. haha. So I guess I'll see you later?"

He just stared at me.

"..Ok then. Are you alright? You don't look so good today."

"Yep. I'm fine."

I hate when people ask that.

It might have been because I was acting weird. I shouldn't do that often.

==================================================

I got my payment.

Thinking about the Pirates and Skypiea make me feel terrible.

Even my friends noticed how I was feeling.

"Are you doing alright man? You look a bit.. depressed."

"Yep. I'm fine."

It'd just make them sad if they knew. So why bother telling them?

It's better if they don't know anything.

Maybe I can do something good to take my mind off of it.

There's a soup kitchen near where I work. I'll ask if I can volunteer.

==================================================

At the soup kitchen I saw something completely unexpected.

Those pirates from Jaya actually came here.

They realized who I was and called me out. We talked for a little bit. I was very nervous.

It turns out the pirates actually went to Skypiea as well.

I asked how the people over there were doing. It turns out they're doing alright.

They even had plenty of dials. I thought I had completely robbed them.

So I guess it's not all bad up there.

But they did say they were praising a weird piece of green paper.

They laughed about it. "What idiots would worship paper of all things?!"

I felt absolutely terrible upon hearing that.

I guess the dials are just easy to make. At least that alleviates the pain a little.

I still feel guilty about everything.

It took a while for them to calm down.

"Cheer up man! That was funny right?"

"..ha. yep. So why are you here in the first place?"

"Our ship took a beating after fighting some pirates. We're here to get the ship fixed."

"But why are you HERE? Like, in this food bank?"

"..we lost that encounter."

They said it like it hurt.

I felt bad for them but I didn't really have much to give.

I only have 30,000 Beli and some M&Ms in my pocket.

But I had to give something right?

I gave them some food and 8,000 Beli. I know it's not much but it's something.

One of them thanked me for my kindness.

I felt a sense of warmness inside that the soup kitchen wasn't giving.

But it feels weird feeling both guilt and relief at the same time.

I guess it's like a tipping scale? I don't know how to describe it.

"Thank you. Your debt isn't exactly repaid, but we won't hurt you now."

"..what?"

"Your debt isn't repaid. I thought I spoke clearly."

"No I heard that part. 'But we won't hurt you now?' What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh yeah. We were going to take what you owed us."

He said it like he was talking about the weather.

"..and what exactly do I owe you now?"

"I dunno. Some of your weird trinkets. Or maybe your life. One of the two."

There was a big grin on his face. I got shivers down my spine.

Being able to smile while saying something like that is really scary.

What kind of people did I have help me?!

Thinking about it scares me. If I didn't help them, I'd have absolutely nothing.

Maybe I'd be dead.

...

But look on the bright side. I did help them. And now I'm safe.

I should probably help more people as a precaution.

But I don't want to put others before myself. That'd honestly be exhausting.

After talking for a little bit, I found out their names.

Micah, Rowan, Eagle, and Jacob.

That'll be good to remember. And even if I forget, it's written here in this log.

Chapter Text

Day #8.5

I need to take my mind off of that interaction.

What can I focus on instead?

...

Oh yeah! Dials! It's about time I use those dials anyway.

I think I left them untouched because I felt bad. Like, really bad.

But after that conformation from them, I don't feel as bad anymore.

Well I do still feel a bit bad but I think just letting the dials gather dust would be worse at this point.

There's so many things I can think of.

What if I could improve them?

Maybe I could reverse engineer them and see how they work.

Or I could make new technology!

The possibilities are endless! I'll go back to my ship to experiment.

==================================================

Before I bought all of the dials at Skypiea, the man at the counter was kind enough to explain what some of them do.

I wasn't really paying attention when he was showcasing them though. That'll come back to bite me.

I think he mentioned a lamp dial. That'll be nice for lighting.

First I have to find it.

I think I found it. It took a while though.

Let me test it out real quick.

...

| gnuInely g0t blnded Tht wa/s n0T thr lGmp dila.

0k i th

k my visi0n is back. | have we]rd spots in my eyes tho

let me look for it again

...

Well I found it. Why does the blinding light one and the steady light one look so similar?

That's such a dumb design!

Anyway let me take it apart and see how it works.

Wait, I see a note on the bag.

It's actually really big what the hell?

I'll see what it says. I'll attach it here to this log.

==================================================

Dials 101:

Dials are made from the remains of particular shellfish. The shellfish remains are gathered from the shallows near the shore of the White-White Sea.

Dials store energy and matter itself, usually by that particular type of energy or matter being absorbed by a tiny hole or holes on one side of the Dial. The content can then be released by pressing the apex on the other side of the shell. There are many different types of Dials that store various things depending on their type, as each type of Dial is limited to only a single element or substance that it can store.

In some cases, different types of Dials are capable of storing the same thing, but releasing it in different ways; both the Flash Dial and the Lamp Dial are capable of storing light, however the Flash Dial releases light as a sharp blinding burst while the Lamp Dial releases it gently and gradually. Furthermore, some Dials, such as Impact Dials and Axe Dials, release all their contents all in one blast, while others, such as the Flame Dial, are capable of storing multiple uses until it runs out. Either way, the Dial then has to be refilled with its designated content before it can be used again.

Dials also come in many sizes and shapes, from the size of an average seashell to the size of a human.

The storage capacity of a Dial is determined by the size of the shell itself. Additionally, as long as the Dial is not damaged, then it can continue to function indefinitely, even if it is hundreds of years old.

Most of them seem to be very common throughout sky islands, though their rarity can vary by type, with some being native to specific regions and some extremely hard to come by due to the shellfish they come from being extinct.

Dials that store and release clouds are unfortunately rendered useless on the Blue Sea.

==================================================

Summary:

Dials are dead shellfish batteries (wow ok)

One input, one output

Tiny holes absorb energy or matter, release through pressing tip of the shell

Capacity scales with size

Cloud dials won't work here

==================================================

So how would I recharge a light dial?

..oh yeah. Sunlight.

That means it charges during the day and turns on during the night. Which is actually pretty smart.

I could theoretically make an easy light switch out of this.

I'll build one for myself right now.

==================================================

It took a while to figure it out, but I have it built!

When the switch is down it's off. When it's up the light turns on.

Now time to activate it.

..Nothing happened. Let me try that a couple more times.

Nope. Let me test the dial itself.

The dial didn't have any light. I'll put the light dial next to the lamp. But I'll be careful not to blind myself again.

Damn I think I just flashed everyone. (i could've worded that better)

I think I heard a yell. It was super far away so I couldn't really tell.

I'll just see if it works.

There we go! A nice functional light switch has been created.

I'm basically Thomas Edison now.

But I can't really produce many of these.

Wait. They said dials are basically shellfish right?

Maybe I can re-create a dial using shellfish.

Actually I don't think I can. They're from the White-White sea so they might have some sort of special property.

At most I'll only be able to build stuff for myself and a couple of others.

But I can still do the same concept using solar energy!

That's actually smart. It'll store energy throughout the day and then light will be emitted at night.

It's same same but different!

But in order to do that I need batteries to store the power in the first place.

I swear it's like a chain reaction. One invention requires another invention to pull off.

Though I will save that general idea for later.

What else is there..

Maybe I could put a heat dial on my solar battery!

The heat dial can take away the heat to prevent it from overheating!

That's super smart.

I'll do it one day. It's super late right now.

==================================================

I mentioned making a water filter. Maybe a straw with many filters inside.

But then you'd basically be drinking viruses and bacteria anyway.

They don't know about that stuff though.

Maybe I can make a microscope instead. That seems like a good idea.

It'd show why things like sanitation, hygiene, and even cooking food are important.

And it could help set up other inventions that I'd make in the future.

I don't think anything bad will come from re-inventing the microscope. And if so, I believe the benefits would outweigh the downsides.

That'll be my next thing to re-create. Or top three at least.

I might build it someday. I don't feel like doing anything more today.

I really hope I don't run into those pirates again.

I looked around. Nobody was in sight.

Thank god.

The ship sometimes creaks when I walk.

I'm nervous.

I'm spiraling again.

I'll just go to sleep.

Good night.

Chapter Text

Day #9

Good morning.

I've been thinking about my car recently.

I'm not sure what I should do with it. I haven't been using it at all.

But I still want to keep it. It has everything I had before I was going to California.

Most of it seems useless though.

Like my SSN and passport.

I have a toaster oven but that requires an outlet.

Maybe it's like when you can't get rid of your favorite shirt as a kid?

Or your favorite toy.

...

Every time I look at my car I feel sad.

It reminds me of home. And I can't go back there.

I wish I could, but I know it's impossible.

Do I repair it? Scrap it? Pretend it doesn't exist?

I'm not ready for these thoughts yet.

I can't bring myself to do anything.

You know what I can do though?

Get ready for work. So I'll do that instead.

==================================================

It's break time right now.

My manager told to come to his room whenever I could.

I'm nervous. Was it something I did?

Joseph was also nervous. Maybe he's feeling bad for me.

Well here goes nothing.

==================================================

We had a conversation. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that.

I still need to process it.

==================================================

I went to his room and he told me to sit down.

"First of all, are you ok?"

I forced a grin. "Yep. I'm fine."

"I'm being serious. You've been acting strangely since yesterday."

"I'm fine. Really!"

He paused. "..Are you sure?"

"Yep!"

"..I'll take your word for it. Moving on from that."

He took out the toilet sketches.

"Do you know anything about this?"

If I said yes, he might've had some type of plan for me.

If I said no, maybe someone else would've taken my work and improved the world.

"..no."

"Don't lie to me. I know you made these sketches. Joseph told me he saw you sketching something similar to this when I asked him about it."

Fuck. Why did Joseph have to tell him?!

I thought I would've been sent away or something.

"We have toilets, but not like these. Dual flush systems? Bidets? All in great detail too."

I was surprised. Both at the fact that this world has toilets and that he was analyzing my sketches.

"There's toilets? Why don't you have one here?"

"We can't exactly afford some right now. But that's besides the point."

Then he sighed. Not a bad sigh but the kind where a teacher knows a student can do better.

"How long did it take you to sketch these?"

"..three minutes."

He was in disbelief.

"I'm pretty fast when it comes to sketching."

It was silent for a good while.

"..listen. I've seen the things you've done. The toilet, the padlock you gave me, and the things you make when you think no one is watching. Especially that light switch. Someone with your talents shouldn't be stuck here doing manual labor."

"Wait, how'd you know about the light switch?"

"Remember when you flashed that light?"

"..oh."

"Yeah. It was pretty bright. Woke me up out of a deep sleep. I looked out and I saw you on your ship experimenting."

My throat felt dry.

"I'll just get straight to the point. I hate wasted potential. I've seen what it does to people. It crushes spirits. And in this case, it'll crush your soul."

I nodded like a child being scolded.

"I'm not saying you should leave right now, but don't get too comfortable here. You have a bright future ahead of you. I don't want you to waste that."

I couldn't look at him.

"That's all I wanted to say. You can go back to your break."

I wasn't sure what to say. I just nodded throughout the whole conversation.

"Oh yeah. Before you leave I need to tell you something."

"..what is it?"

"Everyone gets two days off per week. So tomorrow and after tomorrow you don't have work."

"..alright."

"Just thought you should know."

I just left.

==================================================

I still don't know how to feel about that conversation.

Exposed or relieved?

Nobody ever talked to me like that before.

Well, not since I came here anyway.

At least the manager wasn't as bad as I thought he'd be.. I guess.

Joseph asked what he said so I told him everything.

He looked a bit sad when I talked about not staying here for too long.

I told him that it'd be fine and that we can still do stuff after work. That made him a bit happier.

I think that'll be all for today.

Man. Two days off. That's basically a weekend.

What am I going to do?

I don't know yet.

But I'll be back tomorrow.

Goodbye.

Chapter Text

Day #10

Good morning.

I thought about what my manager said about wasting my potential, and I agree with what he said.

I am overqualified and shouldn't waste my potential.

But where do I go? And what about my friends?

I want to embrace my potential, but I don't want to leave them behind.

It's for the best. I'm sure they'll understand.

I don't know what to do for today. Maybe I'll just explore the city.

And by 'explore', I mean wander around.

==================================================

I saw Joseph while wandering around.

He asked for more details about what the manager told me so I said everything.

From the toilet sketches, to me lying about them, to his whole speech.

Joseph was understandably sad but I told about my plan.

The plan to have the best weekend ever!

That cheered both of us up.

I asked him what he was doing.

"Oh, I'm going to a cafe. Do you want to come?"

"Sure. I didn't have any plans today, haha."

"Haha, yeah. Also Grant will be there."

"Oh alright. Sounds nice."

"And you're serious about all of this, right?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how to break the news to Grant."

"I can tell him if you want when we get there."

"That'd be nice."

==================================================

We're now in the cafe.

Grant was surprised. "I didn't think you'd come here! That's a pleasant surprise."

"Joseph invited me. You can thank him."

We both sat down. Joseph looked nervous.

"Joseph, don't worry. I'll tell him."

Grant was curious. "Tell me what?"

"Do you remember when the manager told me to go to his office?"

"Yeah. Were you in trouble or something?"

"No. It was much different than I expected."

Grant listened intently. Joseph was twiddling his thumbs.

"He told me that I had potential that shouldn't be wasted. And that I shouldn't be working as a manual laborer for too long."

"..where is this going?"

I hesitated for a while.

"Well.. I agree with him."

"What?"

"I don't think I should be staying here much longer. I need to embrace my potential."

He thought I was joking. I wasn't.

"..wait. Are you serious about this?"

"Well.. yeah."

His fist slammed the table.

"And what about us?! Are you just going to leave us behind?!"

He paused for a moment before sighing.

"..You know what it sounds like? It sounds like you don't care about us."

"Come on man.. don't be like that. If I didn't care, I wouldn't be here."

"If you really cared, you wouldn't be thinking about leaving us in the first place!"

Joseph glared at Grant. He immediately froze.

"Calm the fuck down."

Grant took a few deep breaths.

"Do you see what you're doing?"

"What exactly am I doing?"

"You're holding Elias back."

"but-"

"There are no ifs, ands, or buts. Friends should help each other become the best people they can be. Are you doing that right now?"

Grant just sat there defeated. There was a notable tension at the table.

Just then the waitress came to us.

"Hello everyone, how are you guys doing today?"

"We're alright."

"Good to hear. Can I get you started with any drinks?"

All of us got waters.

None of us said anything for a while.

Joseph turned to me. "So Elias, do you have any ideas?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I could join a pirate crew?"

He chortled at the thought.

I was confused. "What's so funny about that?"

"Dude, you don't have the balls to be in a pirate crew."

I was about to say something, but I remembered that pirate confrontation I had.

"..yeah. You're right. So what other options are there?"

"There's the Marines. They'll take anybody!"

"Yeah, joining the Marines is definitely a good idea."

"Do they have any need for engineers?"

Grant thought for a while. "I've heard of a Marine base that was in need of engineers. I think."

"Alright! Sounds perfect for me."

"But if you'll be leaving, you'll need a way to contact us."

There was barely contained anger when he said 'leaving.'

"umm.. how will I do that?"

"Oh, you don't know about Snail phones?"

"Snail phones?"

"Yeah man! I always carry one around me."

He showed me his wrist. It had a small snail on it.

"..you said it was a phone right?"

"Yeah."

"Let me try something."

I wanted to try calling the snail phone with my actual phone.

They looked at it for a little bit, but other than that they didn't really care.

I asked for their numbers.

I typed Grant's number in and..

*beep Beep BEEP*

"We're sorry. We didn't get your message as dialed. Please check the number and dial again, or call your operator to help you."

Yeah that makes sense.

Joseph was confused. "..What was that? Why did your rectangle box thing speak?"

Grant was irritated. "You and your weird.. things. Ugh."

I don't think anyone else noticed. Thank god.

I just put the phone back in my pocket. It was worth a try.

"So you guys have snail telephones. What other advanced technology is there?"

They thought about it for a while. "Advanced? Umm.."

Grant spoke up. "There's seastone. Harder than diamonds."

"Yeah, that's probably advanced. Nullifies devil fruit powers too."

I was confused. "What's a devil fruit?"

"It's a fruit that supposedly gives powers. My ass," said Grant.

Joseph turned to Grant. "No, they're real! Are you stupid?"

"You're telling me a man can turn into light? Or a dragon? Just because of a fruit? I call bullshit on that."

"We can talk about that later. Franky would be considered advanced, right?"

"Definitely. He's a cyborg."

"And those snail phones."

"But we already pointed those out."

Wow. This world is pretty advanced!

I decided to speak up.

"So if you guys have all of those things, you must have access to Penicillin."

"What?"

"I haven't seen any drug stores. Where do you get your medicine from?"

"Drug stores? Penicillin? What are you talking about dude?"

I cleared my throat.

"What about Airplanes?"

"Airplane.. that's a funny word. airplane. airpalaeenuh.."

I didn't say anything else about technology after that.

Genuinely what kind of world is this?

Some technologies are hyper advanced while others are weirdly primitive.

Actually I notice something weird.

The things they mentioned. These are all for like military power. Those things are advanced.

But things such as medicine and fast travel aren't a thing?

That's suspicious...

Oh, our waitress is coming.

==================================================

"Here are your waters. Any starters for you guys?"

I got a Cinnamon Bun since I wasn't that hungry.

Joseph got fried eggs.

Grant got a full meal with eggs, sausages, and hash browns.

"Damn Grant. You're going all in!"

"I'm hungry! Leave me alone man!"

"Damn, my fault."

I saw an empty piano. It looks abandoned.

I turned to the waitress. "What's that piano doing over there?"

"Oh, that old thing? It hasn't been played in months. It's very out of tune."

I actually know a song that would go well with an out of tune piano.

Maple Leaf Rag! I learned how to play it during the pandemic because I had lots of time on my hands.

"Can I try playing on that piano soon?"

"Knock yourself out. If you can make a listenable song on that thing, I'd be surprised."

I haven't played the piano in a while, and I don't want to embarrass myself in front of people.

==================================================

We didn't say anything until we got our food. And even then, we ate silently.

There was some kind of barrier between us which prevented us from speaking.

That Cinnamon Bun was really good though.

After we finished our meals, I was about to leave.

Grant spoke up. "I thought you were going to play on the piano."

"I don't feel like it. I haven't played in a while anyway."

"What? Are you scared or something?"

"No. I just don't feel like it."

"Sounds like you're scared."

"Ok fine! I'll play the damn piano!"

I went up to the piano. Some people were muttering.

"Is he really going to do it?", "Nobody's played that thing in months!"

I hate when people say stuff like that and put me on the spotlight.

==================================================

Muscle Memory for the win! I only played a minute of the song because I forgot the rest. Had to improvise an ending.

I did mess up a few notes but nobody knows that song anyway so it's fine.

When I finished up, people clapped.

I didn't do it for the claps though. I only did it to prove a point.

I went back to the table.

Joseph clapped. Grant just glared at me.

I don't know why he's been like this.

It made me feel bad in a way.

Grant talked with venom in his voice. "Of course they clap for you."

..I think I made up that best weekend ever thing to convince myself.

I'm spending time with my friends. Why doesn't it feel good?

Grant stormed off. Joseph gave me 3,000 Beli to pay for the food.

Then he went off to chase Grant.

At least they paid the bill. I guess.

==================================================

I don't really have much else to do other than say goodbye to people.

I'll start with the blacksmith. He should still be working.

I want to say bye to the manager as well but I don't know where he lives exactly.

He should be somewhere near my ship though. I'll say goodbye to him tomorrow when I find out.

I'll be on my way now.

==================================================

I know that I said I don't like to tell people my struggles because it makes them feel bad.

But I can't hold it in any longer. I feel terrible about it and I need to tell someone.

Especially when it relates to Joseph and his friends.

So I told the blacksmith about everything from today and how Grant was acting.

I don't know if that makes me selfish. But I can't always put everyone before myself right?

Is that being selfish?

I'm getting off topic.

I asked what he thought about this whole thing.

==================================================

"You showed up to the cafe right?"

"Yeah."

"You told them that you were going to leave right?"

"Yeah."

"You tried to have a good time before leaving right?"

"..where are you going with this?"

"What I'm saying is that a selfish person wouldn't have done those things.
They wouldn't have told them anything. They would've just taken and left. Disappeared. Forever."

"..."

"You're not wrong for wanting to move forward. A caterpillar can't become a butterfly without change.
I'm not saying that Grant is in the wrong either. Nobody is.
But people get angry when they think they'll be left behind."

"..."

"They will forgive you eventually. Trust me.
But if you straight up disappear? That's the thing people wouldn't forgive.
So don't make them think you'll leave them forever."

That was some good advice.

I can't write anymore today.

Goodbye.

Chapter Text

Day #11

Good morning.

Right now it's around noon. I've just been laying down on the ship while looking at the clear sky.

And while the ship creaked along the ocean waves, I thought for a long time.

About home. About myself. And why I don't like telling people about my feelings.

My dad always said that real men don't cry.

They don't show feelings. They don't say what they're going through.

If you do that, people will feel sad.

And a man should sacrifice himself for the benefit of others.

And now that I think about it, that way of thinking seems terrible.

Actually, it is terrible. That mindset has done nothing but made me worse.

I wanted to say something when Grant stormed off. But I didn't.

And I feel like an idiot for that.

Before yesterday, that ideology was burned into my mind. To not show feelings and stuff.

But after my last interaction with Grant, I don't know what to think.

It's how my dad was raised. And how his father was raised. And his father.

But maybe it's about time that I break that cycle.

My brother did it, and he became happy.

So maybe I should do the same thing.

I also haven't listened to music since I appeared here.

My phone is at 40%, so I don't know why I didn't do that yet.

That heat dial charger idea worked wonders. But I'm not sure what to do with the leftover heat.

Whatever. I'll think about that later.

What music can I listen to..?

I really like Graduation. That's one of my favorite albums.

Yeah. I'll listen to that.

==================================================

Damn. Some lyrics hit differently now.

There were two parts in a song (i forgot the name) that stuck out to me.

"But if you really cared for her, then you wouldn't've never hit the airport to follow your dreams"
"Reach for the stars, so if you fall, you land on a cloud"

==================================================

If I really cared for my friends, then I wouldn't leave them right?

But they know I care! They have to know!

I really hope they do.

Sometimes, you have to close a door to open a window.

But it's not like I'm closing the door all the way, if that makes sense.

And that line "Reach for the stars, so if you fall, you land on a cloud"?

That inspires me. Makes me wanna do a lot.

I know it sounds corny but it really does inspire me.

If I go for very high goals, even if I don't reach them, I'd be better off than not doing anything in the first place.

I'm not sure what I want to do yet, but that doesn't scare me.

I'll just wander around. Maybe look at the city for the last time.

==================================================

..damn, this day is boring. I don't know where Joseph is at. Same with Grant.

I just want a final goodbye or something.

I'll just go back to my ship. I've wandered around plenty.

==================================================

What the fuck?

Why are Joseph and Grant on the ship? How did they even find out where my ship was?

I never told them anything! I mean, I would've eventually told them but still!

I need to talk to them.

==================================================

We had a conversation.

..well it was more of a confrontation.

They left after a while.

I'm just sitting as the boat rocks back and forth right now.

I'm still thinking about all of it.

==================================================

Grant saw me and spoke up. "So what's this thing here?"

He was calm. Unnaturally calm. It scared me.

Meanwhile, Joseph was quiet.

"That's my car."

"Did you build this thing here?"

"No, I bought it from a place."

"What place? This doesn't look like something anyone could just buy. And what are these documents here?"

He was intimidating. I couldn't say anything.

"Answer me."

"Identification."

"What are these things? Social Security? Birth Certificates?"

I was just frozen while he was looking through everything.

"Elias Calder.. why haven't you told us your name?"

I couldn't look at him.

"What have you been hiding from us Elias?"

I didn't know how to answer at first.

Grant just kept on going.

"..United states of America? Is that where you're from?"

I decided to just tell the truth.

"Ok. Look. I'll be honest with you."

Grant listened intently.

"This may sound like complete nonsense, but I'm from another place. A very faraway place.
I'm not exactly from HERE. My place doesn't have these devil fruits, Marines, or Pirates."

"What do you mean you're not from here? What the fuck does that mean?
And this place isn't on any map that I've seen. Just tell me the truth man. Please."

He sounded more hurt when he said that last part.

"..ok i'm from another world."

Grant looked at me in disbelief, but he was still willing to listen.

"I didn't want to tell anyone because I was afraid."

"Afraid of what exactly?"

"I was afraid about how that information would change our friendship.
..I thought you'd see me as an anomaly and not an actual person."

His look became much softer than at first.

He started laughing. I was confused.

"What's so funny?"

"..well.. You're lying! There's no way that's real."

Joseph stepped in.

"I believe Elias. Have you seen the stuff he's done?
The whole manager padlock thing. All of his weird gadgets. Those sketch thingies.
Even the stuff you found in this 'car.' The car in and of itself is proof."

"W-well.. what if he's faking it? He could've.. forged all of these.. these things!"

"And why exactly would he do all of that? Give me one good reason."

Grant thought for a while. He couldn't find a reason.

"Well.. I-I still think you should've told us."

"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey guys, I'm not from this world!'
That's not the type of thing that... you know.. anyone would say."

"But you.. umm.. i..."

He fell to his knees and started crying.

"i just.. didn't want you to leave man. we had so many good times together. i didn't want that to end."

It was like that for a while before I went down and hugged him.

The words were stuck in my mouth but I eventually got them out.

"..you're right to feel this way. I understand. But I'm not going to abandon you just for the sake of it."

"..."

"Besides, it's not like I'm dying or anything.
Remember those snail phones that we were talking about from yesterday? You can still contact me. We can still talk.
Even if it's not the same as hanging out in person, it's still better than nothing."

"Promise that you'll call at least once a week."

"I promise."

We just sat there for a long time. I cried a little.

After that, Joseph broke the silence.

"If you could go back, would you?"

I thought about it for a while.

While I do sometimes miss my home, I've had my best moments here.

So I decided to be honest.

"I don't know."

Chapter Text

Day #12

I'm nervous because of yesterday.

My weekend is over. Today is my first day back.

Seeing Joseph and Grant again will definitely be awkward.

Actually, I don't know if awkward is the word.

But I haven't exactly been.. emotionally honest with anyone before.

The only exception was my brother. But I don't know if family counts.

So I'm not sure how that'll turn out with my friends.

I don't know if that's something I want to think about right now.

...

I've been putting a heat dial under my solar charger to absorb the heat.

One is already full. So I had to put down another one.

The idea is working great. Maybe I can use the dials for room heating later or something.

Well, it's time for work.

==================================================

They went up to me during break. Grant was curious.

"So you came here from another world?"

"..Yeah. But don't tell anybody. Alright?"

"Why not?? It's so cool!"

"Because I'll get experimented on or some shit."

"Ok fine. But how did you even get here?"

"I don't even know. I just.. woke up here. In Jaya. In my car."

"Now that's complete-"

Joseph elbowed him.

He sighed "..I guess I believe you."

"I mean, I'm not asking you to believe me or anything."

"I believe you." said Joseph, "There's too much proof to just disregard everything that we saw on the ship."

I turned to Joseph.

"Speaking of the ship, how did you guys even find out where it was? I never told either of you."

"The manager told us. He said that he saw you on the ship 'experimenting' or whatever."

"Why though?"

"I dunno man. I guess he was.. worried. Or something."

There was a moment of silence at our table.

"Don't you have a house or something?" said Grant.

"No. I've been sleeping on the ship for a while."

"Really? It looks like it's about to break any second now!"

"..I try not to think about it. I don't have anywhere else to go anyway."

"Oh. Well.. do you want to hang out again at the ship after work or something?"

"Yeah sure. That'd be nice."

"Alright. That'll be our plan for the day."

==================================================

Work finished, got my payment.

The manager didn't say much.

Now we're walking to the ship.

Joseph was curious. "So what did you do back in your world?"

"I was an engineer."

He turned to Grant. "Yo, what do engineers do again?"

"Ask Elias bro! He's the engineer!"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm kind of dumb for that, haha."

He turned to me. "What do engineers do?"

"They basically build and design stuff."

"What do they build though?"

"You see those houses? Clocks? The roads? Those are from engineers."

"That's so cool. You're a pretty cool guy Elias."

"Thank you. I guess."

It felt strange to hear. But not in a bad way.

Grant was glaring at Joseph.

"W-why are you looking at me like that?"

"Don't be calling yourself dumb! You're super smart man!"

"But I don't have an education like you man! You're the smart one!"

"Ok? So what if I can like, read or whatever? You're better with emotions than I am!"

"I don't even know what that word means. Clearly you're smarter."

I stepped in. "Ok calm down. I'll settle this."

I pointed at Joseph. "You're emotionally smart."

"..what does that mean?"

"You're good with feelings and stuff."

"Oh cool."

Then I pointed at Grant. "You're.. formally smart. Because of your education."

"Alright. I'll take it."

Joseph thought about that compliment.

"So I'm good with feelings. Does that mean I can control how people feel? Let me try something."

He looked at Grant and wriggled his fingers like he was casting a spell.

"Happy!"

Grant laughed. "It doesn't work like that dude! You're so dumb!"

"Looks like it's working to me."

Before I knew it, we were at the ship.

==================================================

Grant looked surprised.

"I only took a look at that machine. I didn't realize what else there was. You said it was called a car, right?"

"Yep."

"Car.. like a carriage?"

"I guess you could call it a carriage."

"Your carriage is really messy. I look inside and I see random things everywhere."

Joseph looked at the solar charger. "Isn't this that doohickey you were working on?"

"Yeah. Don't touch it. It's really hot."

"It can't be that hot, right?"

Joseph felt the heat radiating off of it.

He was concerned. "..Why is that even on your ship?"

"Wait, hold on."

I scoured through my bag for another heat dial to put on the charger.

I got this really big one the size of my torso. I laid it on the charger.

"What the fuck? Is that a seashell? And why is it so big?"

"It's a dead seashell heat battery thing."

"..what's a battery?"

"It stores heat that can be used later."

"Oh. I saw some other smaller seashells like that one."

"I suggest you to not touch them."

"Alright."

Grant is currently looking in the c

==================================================

oh my fucking god

that could've went badly

really badly

i need to calm down.

...

Grant found my gun.

The trigger was pulled. I only heard a loud bang.

It punched a hole through the wooden railing.

Then there was the tinking of the bullet casing.

The birds flew away. It smelled like gunpowder.

I heard a few people running away.

I saw him with the gun in hand. He was scared.

My body reacted faster than my brain could.

I ran to him and snatched the gun away.

Thank god they're fine.

Both Joseph and Grant stared in shock.

It was completely silent other than the humming of the sun.

"..what. the fuck. was that."

"umm.. that was my gun."

I muttered to myself. "shit, i completely forgot about that. oh god, that could've went horribly."

Grant heard me. "You forgot about a loaded weapon?! Are you serious?!?"

Joseph added on. "That's genuinely fucked up. Even I know damn well you shouldn't be doing that."

It was completely my fault.

"What if it was pointed towards me, huh? What would you have done?"

"I-.."

I couldn't say anything.

There was nothing to say.

"And if you forgot about that, what else is there?"

My mind started racing. But my body couldn't move for about a minute.

I remembered my case. It was under the passenger seat.

I took the case out and put the gun in without saying a word.

"..I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore."

Joseph sighed.

"We're not angry about it. Just.. disappointed."

Those words stung.

Grant chimed in. "Yeah.. we know you're better than that."

"I'm sor-"

"Don't just say sorry. If you're really sorry, don't do it again. EVER. Alright?"

I couldn't look them in their eyes.

"..Alright."

"We'll be leaving now. Maybe you can think about what just happened."

I cried. Not audibly though.

They didn't turn back.

..fuck.

Chapter Text

Day #12.5

What the fuck is wrong with me?!

Why do I always forget these kinds of things!?

I can't be doing this!

God dammit!

AIEWQFOJDVSKHGKLGTNLMFDS

...

But what's crying about it going to do?

Nothing.

It just wastes time.

I can't be forgetting what's in my car.

I can't trust my memory anymore.

So I'll make a list.

A list of everything in my car.

That way I won't forget.

Being forgetful could cost me everything.

==================================================

I'll start with the trunk.

Then the back seats.

Then the passenger seat.

The center console.

And finally the drivers seat.

==================================================

Trunk:

A toolbox with basic hand tools, safety gear, and a slightly rusted tool
A backpack with notebooks, blank paper, homework assignments, and half finished sketches
A box that contains adapters, USB cords and flash drives
A waterproof folder that contains copies of my birth certificate, SSN, vaccination records, and some old resumes
My laptop (somehow completely undamaged)
A phone with a cracked screen
A broken calculator
A box of UNO cards
A trash bag with a hoodie and a McDonalds shirt inside

==================================================

Back seats:

A bag filled with clothes
An engineering book
A copy of Catcher in the Rye
A plastic bag filled with snacks such as Doritos, Skittles, and M&Ms.
A power bank that's 47% full (Still functional)
A slightly damaged pair of headphones
A heavily damaged Mouse/Keyboard pair with half of the keys missing

==================================================

Glovebox:

The owner's manual
Car registration
Insurance
Emergency flashlight

==================================================

Center console:

An old pen
Crumpled receipts
A bag full of coins (Potentially useful for future inventions)
Hand Sanitizer

..and a picture of my family.

I cried just looking at it. I'll put it in my shirt's center pocket.

In the cup holders there's my stainless steel water bottle and an empty Kirkland plastic bottle.

==================================================

Driver's seat:

The gun.

That stupid.

Fucking.

Gun.

It makes me angry just seeing it.

I fucking hate that thing!

I should never have brought it here!

Oh god..

I hope we can still be friends after this.

I really do.

But I'd understand if we weren't friends after this.

I feel terrible.

Hollow.

Something worse.

I want to destroy that gun.

But I can't bring myself to do it.

I'll still need it for self defense one day.

I will be more careful from now on.

Because if I don't.

It might cost me everything.

...

I don't feel like writing any more for today.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Bye.

==================================================

Someone knocked on my ship while I was looking at the sky.

He had a Marine hat on. I assumed he was some kind of law enforcer.

"We heard reports of a gunshot near this area. Do you know anything about that?"

I was nervous.

"Oh yeah, I got scared too. I don't know what happened. I wish there was more I could say, but there really isn't."

I'm not risking jail time.

"..Alright then. You have a nice day."

"You too sir."

I looked back at the car.

After he went away, I took out the gun.

I forgot to turn on the safety. I'll do that now.

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading! This is my first time posting here, so I appreciate all of the hits, kudos, and overall support.

I've been uploading chapters quickly to catch up with what I've already written, but I'll be slowing down the updates a bit so each chapter has time to breathe.

Hope you enjoy the future days of the log! Things will start getting a little more complicated for Elias soon.

Comments, thoughts, and reactions are always appreciated. :)

Chapter Text

Day #13

I'm scared.

Genuinely scared.

Maybe they'll like me after yesterday?

Probably not.

I wouldn't like me either.

Things could've went super badly yesterday.

..Maybe it's for the best.

I'm so fucking stupid.

I'll just go to work.

Maybe that'll take my mind off of things.

==================================================

Going to work made it worse.

I forgot that Joseph and Grant go to work too.

I'm too afraid to say anything.

I've been avoiding them.

Joseph is trying to get close to me. He wants to say something.

I'll just brace for impact.

"Hey man. Are you alright?"

"..You're still ok with me after yesterday?"

"I mean.. yeah. Why?"

"But things could've went horribly!"

"They didn't though. What's your point?"

I tried to say something. Nothing came out.

"You can't be focusing on like, 'what if this happened' or, 'what if that happened.'
All you can do is.. accept what actually happened. You know what I mean?"

I just nodded silently.

Joseph sighed.

"So, did you do anything about yesterday?"

"..Well.. I put it back in the case. And I made a list of everything in the car."

He looked tired. "Sounds like you learned your lesson then."

He walked away. "Just don't be doing that stuff man. You scared the shit out of us."

==================================================

Grant went up to me after work. He looked angry.

"What were you thinking?!"

I couldn't say anything.

"I'm genuinely asking. You know, one of us could've actually died!?"

Joseph stepped in.

"Grant. We talked about this."

"You don't understand! How could you forgive him so easily?!"

"I didn't forgive him yet! I'm still pissed about it too!"

He put his hand on Grant's shoulder.

"But clearly he's improving! He put the.."

He looked around to check if people were around.

"..gun. Back in the case. And he made a whole list."

"So what?! It doesn't change what happened!"

"Of course it doesn't. But he learned his lesson. And he won't be doing shit like that again."

Grant took a deep breath. He looked at the ground for a moment.

"Alright. I understand."

There was only the sound of wind.

"You know, I was thinking about leaving today to join the Marines."

"Alright. We'll help with that," said Joseph.

...

"That's it?"

"Well.. yeah. What else do you want from us?"

"I don't know. I just thought you'd resist that or something."

"But that's what you wanted right?"

"..Yeah. I'm being irrational. Haha."

"I know where you can get sign up," said Grant. "I'll take you there."

"Appreciate it."

"And after that, we'll get you a snail phone so that you can keep in contact with us."

"Sounds like a great plan."

We were about one minute on our way before I realized something.

"Wait, don't I need proof that I'm an engineer?"

"Yeah, and you don't have any legal documents. Well, documents that mean anything here."

"Maybe I could try anyway? Bring some sketches and stuff?"

"Well I guess it's worth a shot. Let's go back to the ship."

==================================================

We're back at the ship now.

I rummaged through my backpack from college. The one with notebooks and sketches.

I managed to find my lock sketches and an assignment where I had to design an elevator.

"Yeah. These'll be good."

I put them in a folder.

"Alright, I'm ready now."

==================================================

While on the way to the office I had nervous thoughts.

What if they ask for identification?

What if the sketches aren't enough?

Lots of what ifs.

But I remembered what Joseph said about what ifs.

And how I can only focus what actually happened and stuff.

I think the same thing applies here.

Like, I won't know what'll happen until it actually happens.

Damn that guy is smart.

I didn't even notice the walk until I was at the entrance.

"Here we are! The recruitment area."

I took a deep breath.

There's nothing else to do but walk in.

==================================================

I went inside, folder in hand.

All I saw was a guy on a table.

"Is this where I can enlist?"

"Yes, go ahead and sit."

I sat down. The chair creaked slightly.

"What's your name?"

"Elias Calder."

"Hmm. Unique name. And what position do you want to apply for?"

"Are there any Engineering positions?"

"Yes there are! But I need to see proof. Some detailed sketches will do."

I passed him the folder and he took a look.

Then he stared at me for a while. Like he was analyzing me.

"..Impressive. Do you have a criminal history?"

"No sir."

I don't even have a history here.

"Good to hear. Have you ever handled a weapon?"

I was hesitant. "..Well.. I've handled a gun before."

"Great. One last question."

He marked a few things down first on a piece of paper.

"I've noticed the calluses on your hands. You seem like a hard worker. What have you been doing?"

"I've been working at a shipyard for the past.. I'd say 10 days."

"Wow. Shipyard work leaves marks fast."

He wrote some stuff down.

"Alright. There will be a ship coming at the North side of Water 7 at about midnight. Don't be late."

"Where will the ship be going?"

"To Marrowfall. It's a great city. I'm sure you'll like it."

We stared at each other for a while.

"..That's it? No verification or anything?"

"Nope! We don't have the luxury of being picky right now."

"..Why?"

"They had some.. recent losses. That's all I can say."

"What do you mean by 'recent losses?'"

"That's classified."

"..Alright."

I knew better than to ask more.

At the corner of my eye, I saw another Marine.

It was the same guy that knocked on my ship.

He kept staring at me. I just waved awkwardly.

The recruiter's mouth twitched like he was holding back a laugh.

I don't think that was the right move.

My fingers suddenly became interesting.

"..Disregarding that, Water 7, North side, Midnight, don't be late. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Also you'll be watched on the ship. If you fail, you won't be put into engineering."

"..."

"That's all I have to say. You can go now."

I just left.

That felt easy.

TOO easy.

Chapter Text

Day #13.5

Right now I'd say it's about noon.

Joseph and Grant were waiting outside.

"So how did it go?"

"I leave at midnight. Today."

"That soon? Damn. Usually there's a waiting period."

"Well they did say something about 'recent losses' or whatever."

Grant looked serious. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Recent losses are never a good thing. They can send you to the front lines man!"

"Why would they send an engineer to the front lines?"

"You're right. That doesn't make sense."

"There's a part that scares me. Remember that gunshot?"

They looked tense. "..Yeah..?"

"A Marine came up to my ship to check on that. That same Marine was in the office."

"You don't think they're suspecting you right?"

"I don't think they'd recruit someone they're suspecting of a crime."

"You never know man. Weird things happen."

I decided to switch the topic. I felt uncomfortable talking about it.

"I should pack up my stuff."

"I know a guy that can get you plenty of boxes," said Grant.

"Who?"

"My brother. He owns a small moving company. He can easily help you."

"Alright then. It's much appreciated."

"Didn't we say we'd get him a snail phone first?", said Joseph.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that! Lets get you one right now!"

==================================================

We made our way to a snail phone shop.

The owner was very friendly towards Grant.

I turned to him. "How do you know this guy? You two seem really close."

"Childhood friends man. You always gotta keep in touch."

Huh. Maybe that's why he wants to get me that snail phone.

Eventually the owner pulled out a snail phone. Grant inspected it thoroughly.

"Wow. That's a pretty healthy snail right there."

"One of my best ones. 30,000 Beli. I'll even throw in some food."

Food?

"You have to feed it?"

"Duh! It's a snail! What, you think a phone can live without food?"

I looked at the pocket where my phone was.

"..no."

Grant didn't even look at me before paying.

==================================================

Joseph carried the snail phone on the way out.

Grant gave someone a call.

"Hello? Hey bro! Listen, can you do me a favor?
...
I have a friend that needs to pack his stuff up and go North. Can you help?
...
Really? Alright! That's great. I'll give you the location right now."

He looked around before whispering to the snail phone.

"It's should only be like, 20 minutes away from you.
...
We'll get ready at about sunset.
...
Alright, see you later!"

He hung up.

"Grant, how do you know so many people?"

"Rich parents. Rich network."

"..So why do you do manual labor?"

"It's helps build character."

That explains why he has an education.

Well, props to his parents for raising a good man.

It didn't take long for us to get to the ship.

It was actually pretty close to the snail phone shop.

==================================================

"So what exactly do I do Grant? Do I just wait for your brother or something?"

"You can sort your things in piles. He'll take care of the rest."

I had an idea as to how I should sort them.

Clothes, Tech, Parts, Tools, and Misc.

Nothing else to do yet.

==================================================

While I was busy sorting, a Marine came up to me.

That same guy from yesterday.

Joseph and Grant just stared at him.

"Your name is Elias right?"

"Umm.. yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You're definitely.. unique."

"..What's that supposed to mean?"

"Those sketches in that folder. They're pretty darn promising."

I just looked at him.

"Are you able to replicate stuff like that in other bases like Marrowfall?"

"I guess so."

"I'll take note of that."

He paused for a moment.

"You know, I saw you put something in the case when you thought I wasn't looking."

I had to put on the best poker face ever.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't lie to me. You know what I mean. Front left door in your irregularly shaped machine. There's a case there."

..there was no getting out of this one.

"How did you know?"

"I was watching you when you thought I left yesterday."

I pulled it out reluctantly.

"You are going to open that case. Now."

I opened it to show the gun.

Grant and Joseph instinctively moved away.

The Marine inspected it thoroughly.

"Hmm.. What is this thing?"

My mouth locked up. I was too scared.

"You seem pretty scared by this thing."

The Marine focused more on the gun.

"This grip.. wow."

While inspecting it, he deliberately kept his finger off the trigger.

He pulled back on the slide. A bullet fell out.

He picked it up and shook the bullet. The gunpowder inside shook.

"..what is this?"

Then he fiddled around with the buttons. The magazine dropped out.

"..."

He read the text.

"9x19.. 19 Gen 4.. Why is it so neat? And what do these numbers mean?"

He looked at the left side. Then the right side.

"It feels like a gun. But it's not like any gun I've seen."

He put it in his hands. "But it's so.. small. Probably not that dangerous. I think a flintlock would do more damage."

He had no idea.

He pulled back the slide. Another bullet came out. "These bullets also aren't as big as the flintlock rounds."

He frowned. "And the reload mechanism is strange. Where do you load the bullet in to shoot?"

He tried pulling the slide back and putting the bullet in that way.

Then he tried putting the bullet in from the barrel.

"What a weird design."

He gave it back.

"That doesn't matter though. If I see you using this anywhere near the Marines, you're DONE for. Understand?"

"..yes sir. I completely understand."

"This stays in that case. Locked. If we see it out again, we'll take it."

I just nodded nervously.

"Good. Now go back to what you were doing earlier. I won't tell anyone about this."

Before he left, he said one thing.

"We can't afford to lose promising engineers over.. whatever that is. So don't make me regret overlooking this. Ok?"

"Yes sir."

Chapter Text

Day #13.5 - After Hours

The birds kept chirping.

The sun kept humming.

The sky was a beautiful orange.

But none of us said anything in that time.

I just kept organizing to try to take my mind off of what just happened.

I gave them gifts like my Catcher in the Rye book and UNO.

Grant inspected the book. "Catcher in the Rye.. what is this about?"

"I don't know. I never started reading it."

He flipped through the first few pages. "Then I'll read it."

"Why?"

"So that when you call, I can tell you how it ends."

...

They likely wouldn't let me take my car.

Maybe they were right.

"...Joseph."

"Yes?"

"Do you want to take the car as my last gift?"

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. I trust you to keep it safe and hidden."

He shed a few tears.

"But why me? Why give ME the car?"

"It just.. feels right. I guess."

I tried not to say anything else.

"If you're really doing this, I'll take care of it."

I don't know why but that hit straight to my soul.

"I'll make sure it won't rot. And not just the metal. Everything."

I started crying.

I gave him the keys. "The manual is in the passenger seat in the glovebox. It has all the information you need."

He opened the passenger seat and eventually found the glovebox.

Then he started flipping through the pages

"I can't read this. This has no use to me."

"..Oh."

"But I can," said Grant. "I'll work with Joseph to keep that car safe."

I sniffled. "That means a lot. Really. It does."

The moment ended when Grant's brother cleared his throat.

==================================================

"Hey Grant. How are you?"

"We're doing alright."

"..But you don't look alright."

"We're fine."

He didn't press.

He looked at the items neatly organized in piles.

"You said to go to the North, right?"

"Mhm."

"Start packing up."

==================================================

We went to the North side.

My things were packed neatly in boxes.

There were labels with my name on them.

We approached the docks. It smelled like salt and old wood.

==================================================

The night sky was bright. The stars were beautiful.

I could've looked at it for hours.

Grant noticed. "What? You don't see this kind of view often?"

"Not really. The sky is completely black where I'm from."

"Huh? What about the stars and stuff?"

"Light pollution is one hell of a thing."

"..I'm going to pretend like I understood that."

The ship eventually came.

I said goodbye to them one last time.

"Don't forget about the weekly call. Ok?"

"I promise."

He was confident when he said that.

They helped put my stuff on the ship.

Now the boat is moving.

I saw them shrink in the distance as they waved at me.

Joseph waved cheerfully. Grant only lifted his hand.

As I saw the city shrink, I felt the snail phone in my pocket.

I took it out. The snail yawned and blinked a few times.

It looked so warm and comfortable in my hand.

Chapter Text

Day #14

i might not write much today.

i slept throughout the whole night.

we're still sailing.

there's other people on the ship. not sure if they're engineers too.

...

i don't know how i should feel.

this is supposed to be a good thing.

but right now i feel terrible.

i'll just sit in the corner.

maybe cry silently.

hopefully nobody sees me.

==================================================

we got breakfast.

i didn't eat.

wasn't hungry.

==================================================

we made it to marrowfall.

it looks fine so far. what losses could they be talking about?

the ships are fine. buildings look structurally intact. streets are clean.

???

i got called to room 107. wherever that is.

i don't know why. i don't really care at this point.

==================================================

there was a guy sitting behind a desk.

that same marine who inspected my gun was also there off to the side.

they stared at me deeply. long enough to make me feel uncomfortable.

"Sit."

i sat at the chair facing him. it was lower than his.

"So your name is Elias Calder. Correct?"

"mhm."

"That's yes 'sir.' Try that again."

"yes sir."

"Good. Now I have some questions."

"is it about my luggage sir?"

"We don't care about what you carry. We care about what you can build."

he pulled out some papers.

"Take a look at these."

...

I saw the lock sketch.

The elevator.

The toilet sketches.

How did they get the toilet sketches?

"You met a Marine recruiter at Water 7. Correct?"

"Yes sir."

"He says that there is great potential in you. Frankly, I agree. And I believe in maximizing potential."

A door opened.

"You'll get an assistant. Granted, she is fresh out of training, but she should be helpful regardless."

Someone came in the door and looked at me.

"Hello! I'll be your assistant. It's nice to meet you!"

The guy behind the desk looked pissed. "You're too informal. Try that again."

"I'm very sorry."

She cleared her throat.

"Hello Elias Calder. My name is Realda. I'll be your assistant from now on."

She sounded so monotone. Like her humanity was stripped. It gave me chills.

"Any questions?"

"I have a few questions sir. Why are you giving me an assistant in the first place?"

"Well, we believe that you can make great changes to our base. And your assistant here should be a great asset to help with your tasks."

Asset.

I don't like the way he said that.

"How did you get those sketches sir?"

"We make it a point to evaluate assets thoroughly. Anything else?"

"What are the 'recent losses' that the recruiter at Water 7 talked about?"

He paused for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Recently we had an.. engineering accident. A large explosion caused multiple casualties."

"Oh."

"Yep. 7 engineers and 4 sailors. Gone in an instant."

I wasn't sure how to react to that.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"I'm fine for now."

"That's good. Your assistant will lead you to your room. You two can leave now."

Realda bowed deeply. "Yes sir. We'll be leaving now."

She turned to me. "Follow me Elias. I'll lead the way."

==================================================

Her movements were stiff. Like a robot.

And her posture is noticeably forced.

We made it to the room. All of my boxes were there.

Realda opened the door for me. That's nice of her.

"Thank you."

She looked surprised. "What are you thanking me for?"

"Opening the door. What else?"

"..Never mind that."

Maybe that's just something an assistant normally does.

Realda was flipping through her clipboard for what I assume to be her notes.

She's a bit awkward. And she's been mumbling to herself a lot.

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

..No.

Elias, you know better. Don't even start.

Realda is only your assistant. Nothing more, nothing less.

She eventually found her notes and cleared her throat.

"This is your room. You have.. two hours until lunch. Then there's orientation.
..wait no. It's two hours until orientation, then lunch. Sorry about that.
Anyway, feel free to do whatever you want in the meantime."

I looked around my room.

It's blank. Except for some glass windows.

They do point towards the sea. At least I get a good view.

The floor is carpet, so that'll be comfier than the wooden floors.

"Looks like there's only one bed. Do assistants get separate rooms or something?"

Her response was instant. "They don't. But I can sleep on the floor."

That caught me off guard. "You? On the floor?"

"Yep!"

"Do you HAVE to sleep in the same room as your superiors?"

"That's how it's done."

"I don't feel comfortable doing that. I can sleep on the floor."

"You're my superior. The superior should have the bed."

"Well I didn't leave Water 7 to make others sleep on the floor."

"But you'd be comfier on the bed!"

"Well I've slept on the floor ever since I was a kid. So I'm used to it."

"You've done that since you were a kid? Why?"

"I'd rather not talk about that right now."

"Ok then."

Too much to unpack.

...

I mumbled to myself. "Doesn't seem like there's much to do. Maybe I can take out my stuff or something.."

"I'll get right on that."

"Alright then."

I went over to the boxes. She spoke firmly.

"No. You stay put. I can do it for you."

"What, I can't help?"

"That's not what I'm saying."

"We can both do it. Four hands are better than two."

She was reluctant to accept it. "..Alright."

==================================================

It took about an hour to get everything.

So one more hour until lunch.

Realda was interested in some of my items.

"What is this rectangular object? It appears to be broken."

"Oh, that's an old phone. Skypiea took a large toll on some of my items."

"..Phone? Skypiea?"

"Umm.. forget I said anything."

I took the phone from her.

"This could probably still work. I'll put it on charge."

I took the power bank and plugged the phone in.

It showed a charging screen.

There's no lines. Only the glass itself is broken.

I'd say that's a good sign.

"You know, I forgot what was in there, haha. I'll check it out once it's charged."

I saw Realda just standing there.

"..Are you just going to stand there?"

"Well I can't move unless you tell me to do something."

I hated that response.

"Doesn't it get tiring standing 24/7?"

"What's 24/7? I've never heard of such terminology."

"24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

"Well it's my job. What else am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Anything else I guess?
You don't need to just.. stand there waiting for me. Do whatever you want."

She seemed confused. "Really?"

"Yep. You can walk around or, sit on the floor or.. I don't know. Anything."

She thought about it for a moment. Then she relaxed her shoulders before looking at me for approval.

I awkwardly gave her a thumbs up.

"..Can I be myself?"

I wasn't sure if I had that authority, but I nodded anyway.

Realda went up to my phone and curiously put it in her hand.

She wasn't walking like a robot anymore.

"It says 4 percent."

"Oh really? Can I see it real quick?"

She gave the phone to me.

I turned it on and entered the passcode.

Let's see what's inside.

==================================================

There were a lot of things.

Random memes that I thought were funny.

Pictures from my time at McDonalds.

Videos of my friends doing dumb stuff.

Family photos.

The list goes on and on.

One thing that stood out was a video of my brother.

He was playing on the PC and I was annoying him. It was really funny.

And I won't ever see him again.

This is all I have to remember him by.

...

I don't know what's harder. Letting go, or just.. being ok with it.

Realda was peeking over my shoulder curiously.

"Oh, is this a private thing? Sorry, I didn't mean to get so curious."

"..It's fine. How long until orientation?"

"I'd say about 20 minutes. A bell will ring when it's time."

"Good to know. Thank you."

==================================================

The bell rang.

Realda stood up straight. "It's time."

I guess this is it then.

Chapter Text

Day #14.5

Orientation was.. boring.

The whole room smelled like ink and dust.

The speaker's voice blended into the background.

He kept talking about discipline, duty, and sacrifice.

Everyone sat up too straight. Nobody looked like they wanted to be here.

Their eyes were unfocused. Everyone stood at the same angle. No one laughed, or whispered.

It was depressing.

Plus they all had identical uniforms.

I didn't get mine yet so I felt like a black sheep.

A few people looked at me when they thought I didn't notice.

...

While talking, the speaker said something that stood out to me.

"Your loyalty is to the system, not to individuals."

It felt so wrong just hearing that. I had to bite my tongue a little.

Other than that, I forgot a lot of the things he said.

It didn't really matter either way because we got a document explaining everything.

I got something similar to a dog tag.

It had an ID.

'M3UX9D5Z'.

Something about the order of the characters looked appealing. Not sure why.

But at the same time, I felt like a replaceable part.

Being reduced to a jumbo of characters and numbers felt degrading.

It looked less like a name and more like a crate label.

The speaker said there was more information in the document.

We were dismissed to lunch shortly after. Everyone left except for a few people going out anyway.

Before I could leave, the speaker called me over.

"Hey you! Come here."

I walked up to him nervously. It was definitely about the uniform.

The people that were still in the room were looking at me.

"Why don't you have your uniform on?"

"I haven't received one yet sir."

"Really? What's your ID?"

I took it out of my pocket to read it.

"You should've had your ID memorized by now. If you don't know it, you don't belong here."

I got my ID about 2 minutes ago by the way. How the fuck am I supposed to do that?

"I'm sorry sir. I'll do my best to memorize it for the near future."

"That doesn't matter now. We'll have to get your measurements. Follow me."

Hopefully the cage won't be too tight.

==================================================

They took measurements and stuff before telling me to wait a few minutes.

I really hope I can still get lunch. I'm hungry.

Why didn't I eat breakfast back at the ship?

I guess I was depressed or something.

I'm still kind of depressed but there are more important matters at hand.

Such as that uniform. I hate sticking out like a sore thumb.

Realda went off somewhere. Probably to lunch.

I'm going straight to lunch after this.

But I can tolerate these pangs for now.

I've went to bed hungry before. This is no different.

==================================================

I got my uniform after 5 minutes. Time to put this thing on.

...

It's surprisingly comfy and breathable. I expected much worse.

Time for lunch.

==================================================

I went up to the food section. I saw Realda sitting at a table.

They told me they ran out of food. I guess I was just too late.

Damn. That sucks.

Well, it is what it is.

I sat down next to her.

She had a lunch tray. It looked good.

"They ran out of food again?"

I sighed. "Yep."

"Aren't you sad or something?"

"There's nothing I can do about it. Why bother getting sad?"

She folded her napkin. "You're better than me then. Usually I'd get sad at this type of thing, haha."

I saw she had two cookies. They were a bit burnt.

"Are you gonna eat those cookies?"

"No. They're burnt."

"Say less."

I took a bite out of one. It had a gooey center.

"What are you doing? I was going to throw those away!"

"And waste perfectly fine food?"

"Clearly they're burnt. That's not perfectly fine."

"I've had worse."

She didn't say anything after that.

I just took the other cookie and finished it.

"That was pretty good."

"..If you say so."

Maybe she's never been hungry before. Good for her.

==================================================

We went back to our room. I just sat on the floor doing nothing.

This is boring. What can I do to pass the time?

Maybe I can learn more about Realda or something.

Like where did she come from? Why did she join? Stuff like that.

"Hey Realda."

She turned her head to me.

"Where did you come from?"

"Oh I came from Loguetown. It's a very nice place."

"But isn't this Marrowfall? How'd you end up here?"

"It's a long story. A really long story."

"Alright then. Is there anything special there?"

"What, do you not know about Gold Roger?"

"I think I heard about him once or twice while I was at Jaya-"

"You were at Jaya?!"

"..Is there something wrong with that?"

"But what would someone like you be doing in a lawless island?"

Realda looked nervous. She glanced at the door.

"..Were you a criminal back then? Or a pirate?"

"Take a good look at me. Do I look like the type of person to be a criminal or a pirate?"

She analyzed me for a while. "..No. But still, what were you doing there?"

"I just.. appeared there one day."

"Like, you washed up on shore?"

"I guess you can say that. Yeah."

"That's.. not normal."

She didn't seem convinced.

It was silent for a while. I tried to move onto a different subject.

"Anyway.. why did you join the Marines?"

She hesitated. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"There's not much else to do. Might as well know each other better."

"Ok then."

She took a deep breath like she was preparing herself.

"I wanted to be a soldier. But my parents didn't agree. So they made me become an assistant."

I wasn't sure what to say.

"Sorry about that."

"Yeah. It sucks."

I couldn't look at her. But I saw her straighten her posture instinctively.

"Umm.. do you not like being my assistant?"

She thought about it for a while.

"Training prepared me for worse. You're actually pretty lenient for a superior."

I wasn't sure whether to feel flattered or concerned.

"That's a pretty low bar."

"Yep."

Neither of us said anything for a while.

"You know, where I'm from, anyone could be a soldier. Man or woman."

She shushed me.

"Don't say stuff like that too loudly. People might hear you... but that does sound like a great place to live."

I guess she couldn't help but think about it.

"Well, if you say so."

It's getting pretty late. I'll just go to sleep.

"Before I sleep, what time should I wake up?"

"I'd say an hour before sunrise."

"Oh alright then. What are we doing tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow will be your first day of work."

I set an alarm on my phone for 5:30 AM.

I'm kind of scared for tomorrow.

Good night.