sail_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #5

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TEST DRIVE MEME #5

1. not subtle revealings

[you wake up.

it doesn't matter where you were before. going to bed? dying? opening the door to face a great evil? same result. you wake up in a soft bed with starched sheets in a cool, darkened room, sunlight peeking out from behind thick curtains. maybe you're alone; maybe you aren't. maybe you immediately notice the folded paper on the bedside table near your head. if you don't, you better fix that real quick: you won't be able to even open the door before you read it.

the note itself is written in a neat hand on white card stock; there is a stylized logo of a ship with the words SERENA ETERNA printed underneath. the note reads as follows:

Dear Passenger(s),

As your cruise director, it is my great honor to welcome you aboard the Serena Eterna, your destination for fun and adventure! We know you could have chosen any cruise line for your vacation, and we're very grateful you chose ours! On behalf of the Captain, I would like to assure each and every passenger that will we do whatever it takes to fulfill all your needs and desires during your journey with us.

At your earliest possible convenience, please attend the mandatory lifeboat drill by the end of the day. I'm sure everyone is very eager to get started on all the fun and sun, but safety always comes first! You can find your life jacket in your cabin's closet; carry it to your assigned muster station on deck one, where I will take you through the drill. If you can't find me in the crowd, just look for the gal with the winning smile!

See You Real Soon!

Sincerely,
Gal Friday

you walk to deck one. you have no other choice: every time you try to step in a direction some unseen being considers "not towards deck one," you find your legs no longer move, staying stock still, frozen. whether compelled quickly by curiosity, or delayed by pure stubbornness, the result is the same, and you are left milling around with other similarly curious or stubborn people.

you see someone in uniform near the front of the crowd. she seems to be a gal, but is missing the winning smile, along with most of her other features. she seems to see you, though, rushing to your side and placing a lei around your neck with great formality. a voice, cheery but artificial, sees to come from nowhere and everywhere.]

Welcome! I'm very glad to have you aboard!

[you touch the lei. rooster feathers, lotus seeds, and a carved circle of something white and hard, linked onto a silk string.

after the drill is completed, you are seemingly free to go. or, well, your legs work, now. and maybe that's as good as it's gonna get.]

2. a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling

[the reflections are missing. all of them. in mirrors. in television screens. on the backs of spoons. nothing looks back at you.

then, figures do show up. not your own, like you'd expect. thin, wispy apparitions, people with pleading eyes and hands, reaching out to place their palms against the surface, from their own end. faces familiar and not, beckoning, mouthing words you just can't quite make out. help me, it might be. get me out, perhaps. just until you're close enough, until your skin warms the surface of whatever it is you're peering into. and then, those same hands wrap, all too real, burning-cold against your flesh, and pull, trying to drag you through the surface, making up for their lack of strength with desperation. any flesh unlucky enough to enter the reflection comes back bone-white and cold, all sensation dead, though it will fade within a few hours.

in retrospect, it looks a bit more like they were saying something different. something more like, better you than me. or maybe it's not even words at all. they look a bit more like they're laughing.]

3. complex mementos

[but, hey. sometimes changes are good! like, today, in Playback, there's a brand-new game available for all the children to play! it's an old-fashioned sort of claw machine, the type that's so large, a particularly dedicated kindergartner could wriggle their way inside. the prizes vary, and sit loose: bags of candy, stuffed toys, firearms, painfully early-00s electronics, actually that one just looks like a dead iguana, tiny ship-branded knickknacks... like all the other games in the arcade, the game starts up automatically upon being touched; lack of quarters shouldn't keep you from having fun! pro tip: they are loaded, and they will go off if you suck at claw games and let it fall.]

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[Chrissy goes a little quiet as she thinks all that over, biting at the inside of her cheek. There's something she wants to tell him, but she worries that explaining it to him might seem weird. Or make him worry, which she doesn't want to do after...well, everything.]

When I was first on deck, I met a girl. She showed me where the arcade was, and it's just about the only thing I know how to find. But she also took me by one of the stores. And we didn't actually use money to get anything. She got a lot of junk food and just ran it across the scanner. I did the same thing for my bottle of pills, and we were able to take it. I don't think we need money here.

[So maybe they don't need actual money to get anything to eat, she's hinting at. It almost feels like a silly point to make, since he's said he'll walk her back to her room. She cancels the fifth floor and presses the floor her room is on instead.]

Oh.

[It's a little surprising to hear, but Eddie can't deny that not actually needing money here would make things so much simpler. One less thing to worry about, at least. He appreciates the honesty, though it does make him feel a bit bad for keeping the truth from her before.]

Since we're sharing... I feel like I should admit that I've already seen the arcade. And uh, I've gotta say. It's less than impressive.

[Eddie pauses to let that sink in and steals a glance at her. Is she going to be mad at him for not being honest? He certainly hopes not, but he wouldn't blame her for it.]

Think it's like that for everything here? No money involved, I mean.

[She doesn't look mad. Chrissy looks thoughtful, a little unsure maybe. But not mad. It's pretty hard to make her genuinely angry. She's far more likely to find a way to blame herself for feeling any negativity, not that she's feeling any of that right now. There's too many curious things about the Eterna for her to be mad.]

I'm really not sure what to think. I've never been in a place like this before. But I'm sure we'll find out!

[It's important to her that she at least try to seem like she's optimistic everything will be okay.

The elevator dings and the doors open. They're on her floor now. She grabs hold of his hand and pulls him out after her, glancing back at him as they step out. Her mouth opens like she might say something else, but instead her cheeks pinken a little and she decides to just keep moving forward.]

I'm trying to keep an open mind.

[Eddie's not sure what he'll do if this does turn out to be some kind of elaborate dream or a hallucination or something. He's also not sure how it could be anything else. He'd seen her that night, and it didn't seem like something a person could come back from. She feels real. Alive, even, and Eddie wants that to be true more than he's ever wanted anything else in his life.

She doesn't look mad, at least, and he's relieved. He's certainly given her a big reason to be upset with him recently, so it's nice to see that he hasn't added one more to the pile.

The ding of the elevator derails that train of thought and then she's tugging him through the doors by the hand. Eddie allows her to lead him into the hallway and then it hits him that this is really happening. He opens his mouth to say something, to fill the silence, and realizes he has no words.

For once in his life, Eddie Munson is speechless.]

[They walk in silence for a minute or so before she finally decides to talk. His hand in hers feels real, but she's afraid that he may vanish at any second. And if he does, she wants to make sure she's at least made the most out of the moment.]

I only wanted to go to the arcade because I thought you'd like it.

[It's not important that he knows that. He may not even care that was her logic. She still wants him to know anyway.]

But maybe we could...sit and talk for a while?

[When she comes to a stop, it's obvious they've reached her cabin. Chrissy doesn't want to make him feel obligated to stay. But she's also reluctant to pull away and let him out of her sight.]

[Ultimately, Chrissy is the one to break the silence. The bark of laughter her admission earns her is a little louder than he would have liked, and he flashes her a sheepish smile.]

Sorry! It's just that I only agreed because you sounded so excited to go and I wanted an excuse to spend more time with you.

[At least they're able to admit when they're being ridiculous?]

We can do whatever you want.

[It's admittedly kind of a dangerous statement, but he's not just saying it at this point. He's not ready to part ways just yet, though he's hesitating just a little now because going into her cabin seems like a pretty big step.]

[If this were any other day, she might read more into that comment. But she peers up at him almost owlishly as he says it now, the corner of her mouth curving upward gratefully. She's not entirely unaware of what inviting him in looks like on the outside, and it's with a little awkward fumbling that she gets the door open and tugs him along inside.]

I just want to talk.

[No, that's not entirely right. And she casts him an apologetic look as she shakes her head.]

I need to talk.

[And maybes she's not ready to let him go yet. But she has to, doesn't she? She can't just keep holding his hand now that they're in her room and have a little quiet privacy. So she reluctantly pulls her hand away from his, sighing softly with a frown as her fingertips linger against his for just a little longer.]

[This past month has been such a whirlwind of danger and excitement and intrigue, and Eddie is starting to wonder when it's going to stop. Even now, trapped on a weird cruise ship who knows how far from Hawkins, he's still waiting.

It's still pretty wild to him to think that she's here. Alive. Real-

... Dragging him into her cabin and shutting the door like it's the most natural thing in the world.]

Okay. What's up?

[Eddie supposes it's only fair, considering how he'd taken one look at her before and blurted everything he'd been trying to keep to himself for the entire month. Though, now that he's thinking about it, he can't even begin to imagine what else she'd have to say. There's something final about the way she pulls her hand away, and Eddie fights the urge to frown because of it.]

[Her eyes look down to her hand, and she wishes that she hadn't let go. Especially given the question she wants to ask him is something that could be hard for him to talk about. He had taken so much blame on himself, and it breaks her heart that he'd do that.]

I want to know something.

[She starts, looking up at him with sad eyes that hold sorrow she's not going to let flow out of her in tears. It's one thing to get caught up in the moment and be emotional. But she can't bring herself to cry anymore. Not today.]

How long has it been for you? Since I —

[Here she goes. She can say this. All she has to do is be brave.]

Well, you know.

[He looks up at that statement. Five little words should not be nearly so terrifying, and yet.

Eddie's quiet, watching her thoughtfully while he waits for her to continue. There is any number of things she could be wondering about, he supposes, and it's not like he wants to keep things from her.

The question is, ultimately, not one he's expecting. Though it makes sense.]

Oh. It hasn't been that long.

[How long has it been? Now that he's thinking bout it, Eddie isn't sure he knows specifically.]

A week, maybe? It's hard to keep track. There's been a lot happening.

Oh.

[She slowly exhales the breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. Only a week? That's hardly any time at all. It helps explain his guilt though. It's still fresh for him. Only a week maybe.

Chrissy sits on the edge of her bed, looking up and over to him. She's anxiously fidgeting, her fingers working into knots as she works up the courage to confront what she's most afraid of.]

You were there with me. [They had already established that, but it leads into the question she's hesitant to ask.] Did it look like it hurt that much?

I was.

[Well, at least she hadn't asked about what had been happening.

That question is a little surprising, though, and Eddie's not sure how to answer. It's not that he doesn't know the answer so much as that he's not sure it's something she should hear. But keeping it from her after he'd already told her so much seems dumb.

Eddie has yet to move out of the doorway. He's still standing with his back to the door, half-afraid to go any further into the room.] I was hoping you wouldn't ask that, but I don't want to start lying now, so...

[There are a lot of things he's hoping she won't ask, if he's being completely honest.] It looked like it hurt like hell.

[Sitting suddenly feels like a bad choice. She feels sick to her stomach as she promptly stands up and wraps her arms around herself. The cabin isn't that bad, but she takes to pacing around it anyway. He could've lied, she realizes. But he didn't. And even if what he has to say upsets her, she's grateful for the fact he was honest.

As she paces, she swears she can remember more details. She may be flooded by the memory of the fear she had felt, but it's like she has phantom pains in her arms and legs. Even her eyes are aching, which she attributes to the fact she's crying again.

By the time she stops pacing, she's standing directly before him. Her hand is in his once again, and she's not sure if she grabbed him or if he reached out to stop her. ]

Thank you. For staying with me.

[She hasn't pieced together yet that there was a price for him to pay for being there. That he suffered greatly for her being killed in his uncle's trailer.]

[The memory of that night has been haunting him for what feels like forever now. Talking about it now, even in such vague terms, is difficult but there was no way he could have lied to her.

She stands abruptly and Eddie has to fight the urge to cross the room and pull her into a hug. But he stays put, dark eyes following her path as she paces the room. He wants to say something, but he's at a loss for words. It's not a feeling he particularly likes, though it seems to be becoming more frequent as of late.

When she does finally stop pacing, it's to stand right in front of him. Eddie's not entirely sure who reached out first, but her hand is in his again. He gives her a reassuring squeeze and smiles.]

I couldn't just leave.

[Their hands are easier to look at right now than his face. She worries that he might be looking at her like she's a ghost again, and she isn't sure she can handle that right now. But her hand can squeeze his back in return, even as her shoulders slump and she frowns.]

What happens —

[Her question dies off before it can be heard. What happens after, she feels herself tempted to ask.

It makes sense that he'd call someone. Her parents' lives would be shattered. Jason might be sad that he lost his girlfriend right before prom. There would be a funeral. But if it's only been a week for him, then maybe that hasn't even happened yet.

Being seventeen and faced with the reality that you die and accepting that you have a funeral and leave your family behind is a lot to handle all at once. In an attempt to keep from crying again, she pulls herself in to bury her face against his chest.

She can't ask that question. Not yet. ]

What happens if none of this is real? You're not going to leave me alone here, are you?

[Her inability- or unwillingness- to look at him doesn't go unnoticed. If he's honest, it's actually a bit easier when she's not looking at him right now.

The aborted question shouldn't be nearly as terrifying as it is. Eddie feels like he can probably make an educated guess as to where she was trying to go with it, but there's a small part of him that's actually relieved when she doesn't.

Lying about it or making something up to make her feel better isn't an option, and he honestly doubts she'd want to hear that the town had decided to pile more stupid shit onto his name. As far as convenient scapegoats go, Eddie supposes he's probably top tier. And why shouldn't they blame the town freak for the death of one of Hawkins High's golden girls? It fits the narrative, after all.

She's moving again, burying her face in the Hellfire shirt he's been wearing for days and effectively derailing that train of thought. Eddie frowns and wraps an arm around her.]

It feels pretty real to me. [He's still on the fence about all of that, though.] I'm not going to leave you.

[It's a promise she's not sure he can keep. It doesn't feel right to say so. Not when his arm is around her and he's trying to comfort her. A shuddering breath is the only warning he gets before an arm slowly wraps around him in return. If someone had told her a couple of weeks ago that she'd be standing like this with Eddie Munson, she wouldn't have believed them.

She had always thought he'd be mean and scary. There's nothing but an abundance of guilt that she had ever assumed he might be terrifying. But she knows better now, and also knows that maybe he finds her terrifying in return. That thought makes her think back to their conversation in the forest outside of school and it gives her the strength to smile. Even if it's just a little, it's enough.]

Yeah. It feels real to me too.

[Probably the realest anything has felt in years, actually.]

So I'm not going anywhere either, okay? We'll figure this out together.

[Eddie's not generally in the habit of making promises, particularly when he knows he might not be able to keep them. Getting someone's hopes up and then shattering them has never been his thing. It's just easier to avoid putting himself in that situation.

So when he says he's not going to leave, he's actually surprised by the realization that he means it. He hadn't actually said the words, but they're just a formality at this point. There's still the question of whether or not this is all some big elaborate hallucination or something, but until that turns out to be true, he can at least make an effort to stick around for as long as she wants him to.]

That's a good sign, right?

[Or maybe it's just wishful thinking. Eddie's lost count of the number of times he'd wished for the chance to see her again.]

Okay... But I should tell you- If I wake up some morning and realize you're gone again, I'm gonna be in such a bad mood.

[It's an admittedly terrible joke, mostly meant to lighten the mood a little.]

[What starts out as a laugh turns into a small fit of giggles. Something about the way he says it just strikes her as so light and sweet given the subject matter they're talking about. Of course, the heaviness of all that isn't far from her mind. So her tears finally fall, a combination of joy at the fact he's able to joke around with her at all, and sorrow that they've been put in this position at all.

Maybe she clings to him a little tighter as she goes through her emotions, and she winds up leaning against him. He's so quickly become her support. The head cheerleader with the most unusual cheerleader of her own.]

I'm sorry!

[She apologizes once the laughter subsides, the tears remaining as she pulls back enough to look up at him. A smile graces her features, cluing him in to the fact that she's not completely upset.]

But I was about to say basically the same thing to you.

[Well, he'd been trying to make her laugh, so he's going to call that a win for now. He's quiet as she devolves from laughter to tears, content to just be there for her to lean on. It's nice to hear her laugh, even under such crazy circumstances.]

Nah. Don't be sorry. I missed hearing you laugh.

[When she pulls back to look at him, Eddie smiles and lifts a hand to brush the tears away with his thumb.]

Don't worry, princess. I'm not that easy to get rid of.

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TEST DRIVE MEME #5

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