Nov catch all - open + closed

[be_seeing_you]

Who: Number 6 + YOU
What: catch-all for November post halloween fall-out
When: Various days of November
Where: All over, see prompts
Warnings: None right now, will warn as needed



Nov. 2, Ava's birthday. Semi-closed (Established CR to Ava or 6 can wander in and say hi if they want to.)

Ava had specifically requested that this be a small and modest affair. No wild or large birthday parties. So, to that end, he has taken over a secluded section of the lounge to turn it into a small picnic spread. He's stolen linens from the dining room, along with some cutlery. And he's loaded the tables with various finger foods from the buffet. The one at the end has several pilfered types of cakes and desserts from the buffet, too. One especially large piece has a birthday candle stuck in it. That's for Ava.

Over the upper railing, he's tied a rope. On the end of that rope is a pinata shaped like an ant. That was by special request as well. There's a stick leaned up against the pillar waiting for its moment to shine. ava will, of course, get the first swing. That pinata isn't making it out alive.

By 3:00 pm, he's got everything set up and ready. Now, all that is missing is the person of honor, herself. He pulls up the sleeve of his freshly pressed dark suit to check his watch. She should be here any moment.


Nov. 5, The Drunken Sailor - Open

Friday said no bonfires. It's a shame, but he can understand it. So, he's devised the next best thing. He's sitting at the pub with a drink in hand and with a pillar of leftover birthday candles that he's melted together to create something like a torch. He's simply sitting there now watching the flame as the wax melts into the bottom of the drink tumbler he's using to hold it all upright.

"Remember, remember..." he recites to himself under his breath, slowly bringing a small paper effigy he's drawn on a napkin up to the candle flames. He lights it up and holds it carefully while it burns.

"Not quite the same, but it will have to do."


Photos at sea - Open

What is that? He freezes in place when he notices a new picture that has appeared on the wall. A picture of him...kissing thin air in the middle of the Halloween party. Of course, that's not what was really going on, but that's what the picture seems to show.

"Of all the nerve!" He tries to rip the frame down, but it won't budge.

"Come off it!" he roars at the thing. "Come down!"

He needs to get rid of this before anyone sees it!


Drawing Lessons/Portraits - Open

Once again, Number 6 can be found around the ship with his chalk pastels and his sketch pad. He might be drawing a scenic picture of the deck one moment or sketching a candid portrait of someone else the next. If it's the latter, he will approach the subject of his art once he's finished and offer it to them, saying, "Here. I hope you don't mind, but you made for a good quick study. Would you like to keep this?"

He's quick to smile at anyone who eyes his supplies curiously and to hold a hand out in invitation while saying, "Would you like to try them?" This is one of those rare times when he actually invites people to approach him in public.


Relaxing in the hot tub - Open

Perhaps he's been working himself a little too hard in the gym lately because his muscles have been terribly sore after what should be a fairly routine fitness regimen. It might be all that extra fencing he's been doing, now that he thinks of it. Fine. Maybe a warm soak would help. After resisting for months, he finally gives in to the temptation of that hot tub.

Usually, he would not like to show this much bare skin in a public setting, but he's forced to use the swim trunks that are available in the newly restored Tommy Bahama. A tropical blue pair that go down to his knees is the best he can come up with. It's an odd hour of the day. He hopes that will help. It was a relief to see the pool deck empty when he got here.

With a sigh, he sinks into the warm bubbling water, carefully arranging a towel around his shoulders to help conceal some of his bare chest. Eventually, as the heat starts to seep into his tired limbs, he relaxes back. Half an hour later, his eyes have drooped closed and he's dozing softly, unaware of anyone else who may be coming to join him.


Closed to Arthur

This conversation is long overdue. He gave Arthur a few days to recover from the events of Halloween, but no more. Today, just after noon, he knocks on the cabin door of room 127 and waits.

"Mr. Lester, are you in there? We need to talk."


Wildcard! - hit me up with anything you want! Poke me on the discord or on plurk kansaibanzai if you want to hash anything out.

Comments

drawing lessons

[thefreak]

Back home in Hawkins, in a trailer that is very much not destroyed by earthquakes that ripped a tear through the town, there is a notebook. Its contents vary from lyrics that Eddie has jotted down for posterity to monsters that he wants to use in future Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, to potential tattoo designs. Out of all the classes he had to take to graduate, art class was one of the few that he excelled at.

So, suffice it to say, when Eddie spots the man sketching the portrait of someone nearby, Eddie can't help but approach, taking a peek at the work in progress, while also eyeing the supplies. It's been ages since he's been able to just sit back and draw, before his eyes were opened to the horrible realities contained underneath the surface of Hawkins, and for the first time in a long time, he feel the itch to pick up a pencil and paper and just sketch whatever comes to mind.

"That's really good," he comments with a smile. "Mind if I give it a whirl?"

[be_seeing_you]

Number 6 doesn't show any signs of being bashful even when someone is looking over his shoulder at his work. He puts one little finishing stroke to the corner of an ear, then looks up to greet this new young man.

"Thank you. I don't mind at all. Help yourself." He gestures at a second, slightly smaller, sketch pad laying there beside the pastels.

"I don't believe I've seen you before. You must be a newer arrival. I'm Peter Smith. I've been here some months now."

[thefreak]

With Number 6's blessing, Eddie picks up the sketch pad and makes himself comfortable. Usually he's in the comfort of his own room when he sketches, free of distraction, but there's something pleasant about the scenery that invites a warmth and creativity that he doesn't really get to experience that often, hailing from a small town like Hawkins.

"Eddie Munson. Nice to meet you," he flashes a smile before he picks up one of the pastels and begins to sketch, starting off with an outline of the pool deck. Normally he doesn't really sketch from reality, but he's feeling compelled to add a little bit of surrealness to their reality, toss in one of the monsters from his monster manual back home, almost like a marriage of the two worlds.

"And yeah, I'm a new arrival. Had the pleasure of showing up just before the Halloween hell that broke loose."

[be_seeing_you]

"Ah, then in that case I don't need to warn you of how dangerous this place can sometimes be. I'm sorry that had to be your first impression of things."

He leans over to look at what Eddie is drawing and nods approvingly. "You have a vibrant imagination. Does that beast have a name?"

[thefreak]

"Unfortunately," Eddie mutters, with a slight grimace. "I take it that means that kind of stuff happens a lot?" Which really doesn't bode well for him, who has spent more time on the run and not enough time learning how to defend himself.

He looks up at Number 6's question and grins before looking back down at his work in progress. "Thanks. It helps, gets me through the shittier days. And, uh. It's a rakshasa. They're creatures that have mastered illusion and necromancy, kind of seemed fitting after, well, everything."

[be_seeing_you]

"Unfortunately," he echoes back. "Not always with that degree of violence. But sometimes." He will spare Eddie from hearing about the battle royale. Number 6 wasn't there for it but the stories are all grim.

"It's a far healthier outlet than some have," he says approvingly. (No one tell him Eddie's a dealer.)

"Mm. That is fitting. Are those creatures a common issue in your world?" This man was alive before D&D existed, so he can only assume Eddie is drawing from life.

[thefreak]

Eddie sighs deeply and tries not to let the feeling of hopelessness take hold. He's starting to get the sense that there aren't many (if any) ways to change his current circumstances, so the only way out is through.

"Yeah," Eddie agrees, ducking his head to hide from Number 6, because he's definitely had far less healthy outlets. Considering he doesn't have access to any of them here, though, drawing it is.

"What, these things? No, they're from a game I used to play with my friends back home, I'd create this whole big overarching story and they'd create the heroes that try and kill the monsters and save the city from evil."

[be_seeing_you]

"I'm sorry. I know that sounds discouraging, but there are bright spots. There are many good people aboard this voyage. That's something to take solace in." Says the man who's recently gotten into a relationship.

"A game? Really? That's intriguing. How are they created? Is it something like those large cabinets in the arcade?"

[thefreak]

There are, and Eddie has met quite a few of them. Not to mention, the people from his own world, from Hawkins. It's enough to keep Eddie waking up each morning, at least. "True. Guess the glass can't be half empty all the time."

He brightens up at his questions about Dungeons & Dragons. "Not quite. It's all with the imagination and with a set of dice. You roll a twenty-sided dice several times and the determines how good your character is at certain things. It's kind of cool, everything's decided through dice rolls to keep it as fair as possible."

[be_seeing_you]

"Fascinating. I've never heard of a twenty-sided dice before. And you say you have characters?" Teach him the joy of table-top... and beware you might be creating a monster.

[thefreak]

"Apparently, the twenty-sided die has been around for a while, just. I guess it kind of fell out of style compared to the six-sided one?" He shrugs, but the look on his face is one of excitement. It's not every day he gets to talk to someone who hasn't heard of Dungeons & Dragons! "Yeah, you come up with a whole backstory and everything. People sometimes get really into it, dress up as their character, and adopt a different voice for them."

[be_seeing_you]

"Really? I never knew." He almost thinks he should, for as much time as he spent in casinos for his work.

"Let me see if I understand. You create a persona for yourself, and play as that through various imagined adventures? That sounds almost as if one has turned an improv performance into a game. But what are the dice rolled for, specifically? Are the monsters you fight all created from whole cloth as well?"

[thefreak]

"That's...actually pretty spot on," Eddie remarks. There is definitely a bit of improv involved, especially at his table. He always encourages his players to interact with the NPC's, and not just try to fight their way through a dungeon. Sometimes the best solution is using a bit of charm or a lot of stealth.

"Oh, well, it's to determine the success of something. Like, if someone wanted to investigate something, they'd make a roll and depending on how difficult the task is and how high the roll is I'd tell them if they find anything out. For combat, it's to determine whether someone lands a hit on a monster and how much damage they do." As he speaks, his voice is filled with an excitement he hasn't had, well, pretty much ever since joining this ship. It's clear this is one of his passions. "I have this manual to choose monsters from, which helps so I don't have to create them all at scratch. Though sometimes it's fun to come up with my own."

[be_seeing_you]

Number 6 enjoys the passion in this young man's voice. He can see it shining in his eyes, too. That kind of glow, it would be a shame to see it dimmed. A little fantasy and adventure could be good for this ship, minus the actual threat to life and limb.

"Do you happen to have that manual with you? I would be interested in seeing it for myself. Does it include story items as well, or are those always spun from the mind of the... leader?"

[thefreak]

When Number 6 asks about the manual, Eddie's face falls a bit before shaking his head. He's heard stories, of people receiving gifts, and while he can only hope that somehow something like that will arrive for him, so far he hasn't been so lucky.

"Not yet. If they ever show up though? You'll be one of the first to know." He does smile again, though a little bit of the light has been lost from before, as he realizes that he is going to start thinking of things that he misses about Hawkins, even if a small part of him is happy to not be there anymore. "Dungeon Master," Eddie replies sheepishly. "The leader's called the Dungeon Master, and there's a separate handbook for the one crafting the story. I draw some idea from there, sure, but I try to throw my own in there every now and then."

okay to wind this down?

[be_seeing_you]

"Friday has a way of surprising us with these things. I shall hope, then, that one arrives for you. I would very much like to see it for myself."

Dungeon Master...? Well. He might have gone with a different title if he was the one inventing it but he leaves that unsaid.

"You're a creative in many ways, aren't you? That's good. Try to keep that spark alive here, and it will serve you well." He gestures at his sketch pad as the proof of that. As far as coping mechanisms go, using creativity as an outlet is one of the healthier ones.

definitely!

[thefreak]

"Yeah? Then I'll just have to cross my fingers for now." Eddie could really use something to look forward to, for his own sanity's sake. If he's spending each day looking over his shoulder waiting for the other shoe to drop, he's just not going to last very long here.

He nods at Number 6's question. "Yeah, my uncle used to say it was like I was in my own little world half the time. Drove him nuts because we'd be having a conversation and I'd zone out." He smiles fondly, though. At least they have the chance to channel their creativity here. If he were stuck in the Upside Down, that would have been a completely different story.

thank you! last one from me

[be_seeing_you]

"I can see where that might be less appropriate at inopportune times," and why that would annoy his uncle, "but, overall, I think the tendency may serve you well here. The ship is full of a surprising variety of people, many of whom will very much appreciate your spark. Let it shine." This concludes Number 6's new person pep talk.

et fin.

[thefreak]

"Yeah, I've met quite a few so far already," Eddie admits with a small smile. It had been weird, meeting all sorts of new people who had zero idea of who he was back home. It's been refreshing in a way. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, though, I'll definitely do just that." And if he signs the little piece he had been working on beside Number 6 and leaves it for the other man to do with it as he wished before excusing himself to be on his way towards nowhere in particular, well nobody had to be any the wiser.