sail_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #7

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TEST DRIVE MEME #7

1. before she hung up, she said she was a skeleton

[there is no note in your cabin. no forces stall your legs if you decide to walk anywhere but the atrium. in fact, for the first time in hundreds of years, newly arrived passengers on the Serena Eterna are waking up with absolutely no guidance. nothing but your fellow passengers in the halls - or maybe in your bed.

perhaps you end up in the atrium eventually anyway. it is where guest services is, and where Gal Friday… actually hasn’t been in a few days. until today. and she is visibly frazzled, her hair uncoiffed, her suit rumpled, something a bit like a bruise blossoming down from her hairline and over her smooth features. more papers than ever cover her desk, and when she turns to face you, her voice is as cheerful as ever, but audibly strained.]

Welcome aboard the Serene Eterna! [a pause] You know how to work a life vest, right? Everyone knows that! You don’t need me to teach you that!

[a light bulb burns out behind her head.]

… I’ll get right on that!

[freedom includes the freedom to not know what the fuck is happening. maybe you should reflect on that.]

2. grandma went and can't stop screaming

[it’s something about the lighting fixtures, this month. has the Bellona always had a massive chandelier? maybe. who knows. don’t ask questions. either way, in the stillness of the night, or day, or late afternoon, there is a noise like a cord being cut, and the chandelier plunges into the audience below.

it hits nothing, of course. no one is ever in the theater. and that, perhaps, is what the trouble is.

so, the chandelier starts to… travel, one could say. it starts to hang in various rooms: the dining halls, the bars, the clubs… sometimes, if you’re out on the pool deck and suddenly realized you’re under a shadow, you can glance up and see it suspended 20 feet above your head, securely fastened to nothing in particular and yet remaining perfectly in place.

until it isn’t. until it falls, crystal shattering on whatever surface it lands on: floor, table, person… and, wherever the chandelier goes, a lilting childish voice follows it, singing without any obvious source.]

Ring-a-ring of roses, a pocket full of posies… ashes, ashes, we all…

3. jeff bezos murdered the infinite tommy bahama

[the lights of the Infinite Tommy Bahama go out three days into October.

barely an hour after its closure, the lights go on again, and a new banner is unfurled.

physically, it is the same store. you can even see the old signs hidden behind the new ones. however, long gone are the tropical prints and khaki dress shorts. now, one can purchase any number of officially licensed or legally distinct Halloween costumes, decorations, and various other haunted accoutrements, leading back as far as the eye can see, and then farther still. is that a Gal Friday mask? spooky! well, at least you’ll be good and ready for the Halloween party at the end of the month, which is absolutely just a normal party and in no way whatsoever anything even remotely resembling a trick. there are only treats at The Infinite Spirit Halloween!

note: bahamanuel is still here! somewhere! it kinda looks like dan bongino.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. first it was a bulletproof vest

[

is the first thing anyone would hear if they happen to be nearby when Eddie comes to.

Because of course the last thing he remembers before waking up in this tiny room that somehow makes his trailer look like a mansion is being torn apart by bats and sweet Dustin Henderson making sure he didn't die alone. So naturally, the fact that he's awake is just maybe a little disconcerting.

]

[

His voice trails off as he starts to get his bearings, deciding that if this is the afterlife then he might as well make the most of it. And if it's not the afterlife and he somehow got stuck in another hellish dimension?

Well, at this point Eddie wouldn't even be the least bit surprised. The world might as well pile on more shit while it's at it.

Somehow he does end up in the atrium, but not before making several wrong turns, so he's looking downright exhausted before he comes across Friday.

]

[

Funny, the last time he was in the water, was --

maybe now's not the time to think about how a life vest wouldn't have actually helped in that situation.

]

[

he grumbles as he begrudgingly moves along to try and find the answers to a few question. Namely: how the hell did he even get here?

]

2. live like tomorrow doesn't exist

[

The first time could have been chalked up to a fluke. It had seemed kind of out of place, but this whole cruise ship is like one bit amalgamation of weirdness, so Eddie doesn't think too much of it.

Until he's on the pool deck, and notices a shadow. A shadow that definitely shouldn't be there, because there wasn't a single cloud in the sky last he checked.

There's an exasperated laugh -- yep, Eddie has definitely lost it -- as he just tosses his hands up in the air, mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like you win and retreats back inside.

But not before he hears a loud CRASH followed by the eeriest of voices, chilling to the bone.

]

not

3. if we can't raise the dead

[

Honestly, who the hell knows what brings Eddie here. Halloween kind of feels a little weird when the last time he wore a mask it was to sneak out of Forest Hills and hotwire someone's home.

But clearly he's not in Hawkins anymore, and if he can find something to take his mind off the absolute crazy fucking shit that he's already witnessed since coming to, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Right?

Maybe, just maybe, he can hide out in here for a little while and pretend that he isn't slowly losing his mind.

]

[

It's mostly said to himself, but if the Spirit Halloween just happens to not be as empty as he suspects, then perhaps he can be eavesdropped muttering to himself.

Oh yeah, he's completely sane.

]

4. wildcard!

[

or if none of the above tickle your fancy, feel free to toss something out! pm or find me at

aoneknifestand to discuss!

]

Edited (forgot to add wildcard oops) 2022-10-09 12:24 (UTC)

[ Steve hadn't actually come here to greet the newcomers and all that. Truthfully, he didn't even realize that was happening today — it's sheer chance that he shows up when he does, just in time to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure in the crowd. Shock hits him like a punch to the gut. Eddie? Here? That can't be — no, that shouldn't be right. That guy's been through way too much to end up here, too.

Steve pushes through the crowd and in spite of the heavy lump of dread settling in the pit of his stomach, he can't help but feel a little excited too. It's selfish but god he misses home. Just the chance to talk to someone else from Hawkins would be such a comfort on this stupid hell boat.

When he finally spots Eddie again — and yeah, that's definitely him, no mistaking it — he goes barreling towards him, wearing a wide, surprised grin and dressed like somebody's 60-year-old dad on a Carnival Cruise. ]

Munson? [ Eddie looks different than when Steve had last seen him. Dirtier, bloodier. That makes sense, given how long Steve's been gone — of course the others would have done something about Vecna by now, right? But it doesn't make it any less unsettling to think of it like that. His excited expression fades and twists into one of confusion mixed with worry. ] Shit, man. Are you okay?

[ Eddie had been so caught up in his own mental spiraling that he barely registers Steve's voice at first. After all, why would anyone here know who he is? Recognition hits Eddie like a pile of bricks as soon as Steve is in his line of sight, though, and Eddie is torn between feeling grateful that there's someone else here who he knows, and incredibly depressed, because does that mean Steve's dead, too? Did their plan to kill Vecna fail? ]

Fucking hell, Harrington, aren't you a sight for sore eyes? [ He settles for gratitude in the end, because he isn't sure he would be able to survive yet another hellhole on his own. ]

Am I okay? That's a very good question. [ He looks down at the current state of himself, maybe a little bit surprised that it doesn't hurt more than it probably should. After all, the bats had taken their pound of flesh. ] Not really, man, but apparently I'll survive.

[ Steve's probably been giving himself ulcers for the past couple of weeks with how much he's been worrying about what happened back in Hawkins after he'd been plucked out and thrown on this ship. Now that he's being presented with the opportunity for answers on a silver platter he's not so sure he wants them.

He folds his arms across his chest and frowns. ]

What happened? [ His voice drops to a loud whisper: ] Did Vecna do this?

[ Like it matters. It's not like Vecna's waiting in the rafters to swoop down at the first mention of his name or something. ]

[ The mention of Vecna's name causes Eddie to flinch. It's not immediately obvious how long Steve has been here, or how much knowledge he might be missing, so he can't help but assume that this is the same Steve who he last saw as he and Dustin were parting ways in the Upside Down, with Steve, Robin, and Nancy heading for the Creel house.

As far as he's aware, Steve wouldn't have found out what happened to him if they were both snatched here at the same time. ]

If by Vecna you mean those fucking bats of yours, Ozzy. [ He grimaces as he remembers being catapulted into the Upside Down via the water gate.

Although maybe it's not smart to drum up the memory of Steve Harrington, half naked with blood dripping from his mouth right now. ]

Sorry, by the way. You told me not to be a hero, I kind of fucked that up.

[ Shit.

This is exactly what he'd been worrying about the entire goddamn time he's been here. He runs one hand through his hair as Eddie speaks, the other on his hip, and his mind races with other possibilities. If Eddie is dead, then who else? Is Dustin okay? Robin? Nance?

And what about Max?

When he'd learned that his presence here didn't mean he was no longer in Hawkins, that there was still a Steve there to carry on trying to stop Vecna, he'd felt no comfort and now he understands why. He can't help but think that maybe things could have been different had he been the one there instead.

But no. He was here on a fucking cruise ship from hell while his friends fought, and some of them died. ]

I'm sorry, [ is what he finally says. ] I should've been there. I could've helped, I —

[ What else can he say? ]

Godammit, [ probably isn't helpful, but he says it anyway. Then, again, for good measure: ] I'm sorry.

[ Well that isn't the reaction that he's expecting to get out of Steve. Sure, he recalls the guy more or less throwing himself into Lover's Lake so that nobody else would risk their lives but him. But Steve was there, had helped, this wasn't his fault, couldn't be his fault. ]

Hey, hey, don't do that. [ He takes a step forward, because even now he can't not invade Steve' personal bubble. Especially not now when he seems like he's collapsing in on himself with unhelpful spiraling thoughts of self blame. ] You were there, Harrington. I mean, shit, you were gonna Molotov the fuck out of that asshole, and we were kind of grasping at straws.

[ He reaches a hand out to place on Steve's shoulder, meant to ground him and keep him from continuing this train of thought. ] Besides, you told me I was supposed to get the hell out of there if something happened, and I didn't listen. I'm a stubborn idiot, as it turns out. I had just gotten so fucking tired of being known as the guy who runs away from everything.

[ Grasping at straws or not, it sounds like they had a hell of a plan. Still, his mind races through each and every horrible possibility. He wonders how much they ended up figuring out about Vecna, if it was enough. If anything they were trying to do even mattered in the end.

Eddie's hand on his shoulder slows those thoughts, brings him back to the here and now, and shit he never wanted to be the one to have to explain this place to anyone, but here he is. He wants to tell Eddie to stop being so hard on himself. Sometimes running really is the only thing you can do, but that can wait.

First — ]

Look, man, this is gonna sound crazy, okay? But I've been here for like a month. The last thing I remember in Hawkins is climbing through the gate at your place after Nance had her Vecna thing. Then, I dunno. Bam. I was here.

[ Well, that's not the explanation that Eddie expects to hear. Because that shouldn't be possible. How can Steve both exist here, and also have continued to exist in Hawkins?

And because Eddie's mind is filled with plots from various campaigns he has both run and played in, he can't help but wrack his brain for monsters, for Big Bad Evil Guys that would even have the capability of doing such a thing. Because clearly, the world runs in D&D metaphors. Well, if they could name a monster after Vecna, who's to say there isn't a monster for another eldritch horror out there? ]

Um. I hate to burst your bubble, Harrington, but you were most definitely back there. In Hawkins. Helping us. So unless the Steve that I -- unless that Steve is a doppelganger then that would mean you're the doppelganger and...

shit, I think I need to sit down for this one.

eddie munson | stranger things

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@ 02.