logs | [closed] help, they need an adult

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[closed] help, they need an adult

WHO: eddie munson & steve harrington
WHERE: stygia
WHEN: post-october festival event
WHAT: two dudes try house decorating in an abandoned building
WARNINGS: language (will update as more develop)

[ the hard thing about the afterlife is that it's also pretty much a capitalistic nightmare where you have to work to get all that you need and survive. there's also the added horror of the fact that coins here are the souls of the dead and they could be turned into coins any time.

eddie's not a fan.

it's almost worse than the upside down, which they could leave, but only marginally so because this place has monsters too.

without much money to their names, or any money in eddie's case because he doesn't know how he feels about earning souls, there's limited options in where to find accommodations. luckily, eddie's standards are on the ground. he's lived in a pretty messy trailer, slept in the back of his van when he needed too and rick's boathouse wasn't exactly comfortable. so when he looks around the abandoned apartment that he and steve broke into and then claimed as their own, he's not going to complain. he could. he has plenty of complaints but he also feels a higher level of anxiety than normal (a feat!) and guesses steve has more.

eddie's also trying not to wonder who it belonged to. this is totally temporary. totally.

heating is a problem and so is electricity but there's some furniture left behind, even if it's all worn down and there's no beds or anything to sit on. eddie picks up an abandoned pillow off the floor; it's seen better days and has a cat stitched into it. he holds it up to show steve. ] I know we said we need to make this place look more lively, man, but I vote we burn this thing for heat.

[ he turns the pillow back to look over the cat. it's hideous but in a sad way. maybe he's already getting attached. ]

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[ wE'LL SEE!!!! ]

I dunno, they must have something in town we can pick up. [ He doubts it'll be the kind of thing he's used to back home: Downey and Pledge and Clorox, and all the other shit. But decent soaps and sponges, they've gotta have that, right? In a place where people's souls are stuck in a whole slew of different shapes and forms and time periods ... some Restless must have introduced Stygia to cleaners.

And again, he is really zeroing in on this cleaning thing; what the hell is wrong with him? Maybe it's the focus he needs to not panic because it's so mundane and familiar. Like a defense mechanism or something. ] But whatever, like I said, it doesn't really matter. As long as we have a place to sleep and ... keep our stuff.

[ Once they accumulate some stuff. ]

And we're splitting the chores, man. Half and half, okay? Grocery runs, errands, I don't know, all that boring shit. If we're doing this, we're doing it right.

[ Mom says. ]

[ wow. this is what having a mom feels like, huh. eddie's not too familiar with that anymore. eddie's almost fondly amused, almost, except a part of him is feeling a little grated because even his uncle wasn't such a stickler for chores.

then again, that's what happens when two bachelors live together and they share habits due to the fact one raised the other. wayne's not exactly a clean freak and they kind of orbited around each other most of the time, not really on the same schedule with wayne's job and eddie's schedule of attempting to graduate, dealing, write epic dnd campaigns, play in a band, and also tendency to fuck off every once in a while when things felt too overwhelming. eddie tries not to follow that thread of thought down the path, that one leads not to mordor but the dead marshes with their looming sadness. ] I don't think bleach will keep this place from falling apart or the spookies away if they want to get in.

Which bedroom do you want? [ he asks instead of pushing mr. mom's buttons and teasing him about it, even if he's amused. ] The one with the better view?

And sure, man, we can split stuff. But I don't do dishes. I'll trade you permanent trash duty. [ and ensure that pillow is never in the trash while he's at it. ]

What view? The one that overlooks a hellish side street or the one that overlooks a hellish alley?

[ He flaps a hand to soften the flatness of his sardonic remark, like no, it doesn't really matter, both views are fine, both beds are fine. It's not as though he plans on doing a whole lot of sleeping anyway. How can he, when they're literally surrounded by nightmare fuel? ]

Think they've got Hell Cable down here? Maybe catch some Hell News at six?

[ He's making his rounds through the kitchens, opening cabinets and closing them, shuffling through long-abandoned, squeaky drawers. He crinkles his nose at some of the smells and some of the garbage that'll need to be collected. It's so goddamned normal, Steve almost can't help but laugh. He thinks of a world where he did go to college and did wind up with a roommate in a dorm, and he wonders if this is anything like it. ]

Okay, sure, sounds fair. I'll do the dishes and you take out the trash. Yeah.

The alley gets less foot traffic and has what looks like could have once been a statue. That's quiet and a view. [ how is eddie the optimist here? are pigs going to show up and fly? he swallows, takes a deep breath against a sudden wave of anxiety that's definitely mostly his own.

he's pretty sure.

the comment makes eddie snort. ] Maybe. The news at six would be more helpful than anything else on the whole 'Figure out what the fuck is happening down here front.' [ eddie adds in some air quotes before he pushes himself off the couch, pats some dust off his jeans. ] So far the locals haven't been that helpful, man.

[ which, he winces, remembering the whole soulmates thing he learned. right. how to bring that up? also maybe better not to bring that up yet?

he follows steve as he paces, staying a few steps behind before asking in a more even and careful tone. ] Dude. Are you okay? We don't have to clean it all up right now.

Christ, I know right? Like, can you be any less helpful? Maybe they get off on freaking us new people out or something, I don't know. I wish there was a manual or even a pamphlet — I'll take a pamphlet. Whatever that Reaper guy told me when I first woke up ... I can barely even remember what he said.

[ Has he already begun to set aside some of the shit he hopes to chuck into the trash without being consciously aware of it? Oh, uh, yeah, maybe. Shit.

He takes a step back from the counters and dusts his own hands on the fronts of his jeans. He can feel Eddie's attempts to be careful buzz somewhere along the base of his brain, or maybe it's under his skin, or maybe it's somewhere else all together, some place where soul-bonds are forged and it's not even a measurable thing, and it prickles something offended in him. It's wholly reactionary and has nothing to do with Eddie. Sharing this really, really close bond is going to take some getting used to. ]

No, do I look okay? Like, is this it? We get this place set up and we just live here? We're dead? Really?

[ He scrubs his face. ]

Sorry. [ And now he's probably being an asshole. ] Sorry.

The Amun guy likes it, I think. Assana's kinda been helpful. Like... one of the characters you meet on a good campaign that helps point you in the right direction. [ eddie says after a moment, one arm crossed over his chest and the other palm propping his chin up as he thinks and strokes an invisible beard along his chin. ] What do you remember the Reaper saying?

[ like share with the class, steve. eddie's pulling all the weight here. which is something he cares about a lot less when steve snaps, brushes his hands down his face and looks more frustrated than he did in the goddamn upside down. that's sobering.

eddie swallows. ] You're fine.

[ he can feel that anxiety bubbling underneath his skin, more amplified than the near constant buzz that eddie had felt since chrissy started to float up off his floor and to his ceiling. it's sharper than his own usual anxiety, swirling around with thoughts that don't always linger or sometimes linger for too long and he has to get them out on paper in form of a song or a campaign.

this isn't him though, he thinks. which is-- which is something assana said. he clears his throat. ] I'm freaked out too, man. I don't want this to be it but until we know more? Might as well have a base camp to come back to before we venture out for more clues, you know?

[ Steve has literally no idea what Eddie's talking about, what with 'campaigns' and 'characters' — so he assumes it's probably something Dustin would get right away, something to do with that Dungeons game he and the other little shits play, and glosses right past that. ]

No, yeah, yeah of course, you're right, you're right. A base camp. Yeah.

[ Back in Hawkins that had ... weirdly been Nance's house, so it begs to differ that without the Wheelers in this place, they'd have to find some place to come back to after a long day of intel-gathering. Yeah, it totally makes sense.

Eddie might feel the way Steve's initial freak-out (among many) has lessened to something a little calmer. Steve even comes back over to their makeshift living room and settles onto one of the couches. It's gross and dusty and those pillows are still hellaciously suspicious, but. He's keeping an open mind here. ]

Okay, so. The Reaper. Yeah — [ He runs a hand through his voluminous coiff, thinking back on when he'd first arrived here. ] — yeah, so. He said something about us being reborn here, and having unfinished business, and about keeping Oblivium back? Okay, that's obvious. Uh — honestly, Munson, now that we're here, I don't think he told me anything we don't already know.

( it's nice to be told he's right when it's from someone he doesn't expect it from. eddie grins, looking like a cat that's gotten into the cream as he nods to himself. ) Exactly. I know what I'm doing.

( in that theoretical sense of it all. in practice, eddie's fucked; he's just as anxious and confused as anyone else. he spins to follow steve with his gaze and shuffles to lean against the wall opposite of the couch. there's nothing against it, they'll need to find something to decorate with since he doesn't think there'll be the chance to get a television.

arms crossed over his chest, he listens to steve and then nods. yeah. nothing really new. ) Shit, okay. Reapers aren't helpful and they're trying to steal our souls to use as money. Got it.

( he sighs, then grimaces. ) Assana told me some soulmate stuff but, uh, you can't get pissed when I tell you.

( nothing good ever comes after 'you can't get pissed!' does it?)

[ Literally! Nothing! Good! Comes after 'you can't get pissed'!

Steve straightens in his seat, and positions himself to give Eddie an incredibly pointed Look, the kind of expression that essentially spells out, 'out with it, Munson' in so many words.

So far so good, maybe. Maybe? He'll try his best. ]

What'd she say?

So. Uh. Thing one was.... [ eddie takes a deep breath and then--- ] It'snotundoable.

[ did he say that all as one word? yep.

he reaches up to scratch behind his ear in his mane of hair, rings getting caught on some of the strands so he focuses on pulling those out instead of the inevitable chaos he's blurted out and unleashed. ]

It's not ... what again?

[ And say that slower. With spaces between those words, Munson. ]

[ but better idea, what if he doesn’t?

eddie clears his throat and reminds himself about not running. the problem of being a runner all his life is that he hesitates, still fussing with his hair before dropping his arms to wrap them around his torso. ]

It’s… kinda permanent. [ permanent burden, apparently. steve is stuck with him and somehow eddie feels worse about that because it’s his fault for thinking he understood the whole magical world thing from losing himself in fantasy. now the only guy he knows here is more fucked than wayne; at least, before he died, there was a point he was going to get out of his uncle’s hair. ] Sorry.

[ he coughs after that one, trying not to feel awkward. wayne’d taught him that not all munson men were incapable of apologizing. ]

[ There's a quick blink or two before Steve can form the words to vocalize his reaction. Unfortunately, yeah, it comes out in a pretty unimpressive: ]

Oh.

[ He swallows, his shoulder slumping a little bit. It isn't even as though he's really thinking about Eddie being at fault, or Eddie being a reason for disappointment at all. It ... really isn't about him. Steve knows he has to reconcile with the idea of what a soulmate even is, and learn to shift his perspective or some shit. He'd been told as much. It doesn't mean the same thing here that it does back home.

But it's hard.

It's hard not to think about Nancy Wheeler somewhere out there, hopefully alive, hopefully thriving, but without him there. It's hard not to think of 'soulmate' and imagine Nancy's face and his stupid goddamned confession to her, like some lovesick moron who can't get over his ex. So the next word he lets out isn't intended to hurt Eddie, even if it might sound ... well, bad. ]

Shit.

[ And when he realizes how it might have sounded, he shakes his head and refocuses on the guy in front of him. ]

Sorry. Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, it's a good thing that we're soulmates if it means not going crazy, right?

Yeah. Shit. [ before spring break, eddie really would have been sincere in that sentiment because being permanently stuck with steve "the hair" harrington? nope. no, thank you. fuck off.

now he feels like shit because mr. romantic, who is caught up on nancy wheeler believes in soulmates as a legitimate thing, is chained to eddie of all people. not exactly how things are supposed to go. steve confirms that with the slump of his shoulders. ]

It's fine, Steve. Nothing to be sorry about. [ he waves a dismissive hand, trying not to listen to the hissing voice at the back of his head that reminds him he's shitty to have around. he lifts that same hand to his mouth, bites into his thumbnail, anxious. ] Yeah, it means no craziness but also means we'll feel each other's pain and intense feelings.

Assana said something about thoughts too which -- [ a frustrated huff escapes him. ] -- sounds crazy even if we won't be going crazy. I'm gonna need some weed or something like it to deal with all this.

Oh — yeah, like the anxiety stuff, right? Like, it feels ... more intense.

[ Steve felt it. He feels more of it than he'd normally have to deal with on his own, so Eddie telling him that their bond allows the other person to feel intense emotion and ... pain? Yeah. He believes it. He believes it wholesale.

In fact — ]

Hold on. Maybe that explains this kinda pain I've been having in my leg. You were hurt there too, right?

[ He starts to reach down to pat at his leg by way of demonstration before the rest of what Eddie says catches up to the little cogs turning in his brain and then he straightens his spine, snapping to attention, his mind latching onto 'thoughts'. ]

Wait — wait, what? What about thoughts? Like, you can hear them? Or something?

[ wait -- steve can feel his pain already? eddie's not sure what they're supposed to be able to do or feel with their bond so early on, how it work (he feels like a goddamn idiot for not asking more), but he hadn't considered steve would feel anything. ] You can feel my leg pain?

[ which is what steve just said but eddie repeats it kind of dumbly, looking down at his left leg. under the fabric of his jeans the skin is scarred and mangled, but not as torn up as it had been. it still looks gruesome and it still hurts most of the time, but so do his arms and torso. somehow, the scars on his neck and face healed better but those feel more numb than anything. ] Shit. Yeah-- yeah, that was hurt.

[ there's no light way to say, 'i'm pretty sure some of it was bat food?' really. so he clings on to what steve's focused on too, nods and tries not to wince. goddamn it, why is feeling so wired and jumpy now? ] For soulmates who are really close, I think?

[ which isn't a problem for them. they're barely friends right now? more two guys from the same place, older brother figures to a kid that's thankfully nowhere to be seen. that last one shouldn't be a problem. ]

I mean, not all the time. And it doesn't hurt like, a lot.

[ He stares down at his own leg too, and then glances over in Eddie's direction as though he might see the same thing echoing back at him, full of answers and revelations unknown. ]

But it's something. Kind of like an ache, you know? Like when you bump into a table corner on your way to the TV or whatever.

[ He is trying so hard right now to not sound like an asshole, or to give an impression that Eddie's some kind of burden, because he isn't. He totally isn't. ]

Okay. [ Well, that's a relief at least. Eddie totally does not want to hear any of the thoughts (which, yeah! He totally has them!) in Steve's head. ] So we're ... we're good then. For now.

[ A beat. ]

You don't hear anything I'm thinking, right?

[ that's sound a bit like a burden, steve!!!

eddie's frowning at him, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed for a moment. that's not how he'd describe the pain that he's still not really used to, it's more of a constant tingling and pulling on his muscles like they're still working out how they're not all chewed up. his thigh cramps up a lot but if the worst steve feels is walking into a table, well, that sucks but it's not the worst thing.

eddie nods after a moment, swallowing and really wishing he had cigarettes. he wonders if the nicotine withdrawal is hitting steve too. that would suck balls. ] And that's all you feel? My leg?

[ ignoring that 'for now' that eddie's not sure he gets, he blinks and tilts his head at steve. ] No? Think about something random and I'll try to guess.

Yeah. And the intense anxiety stuff from earlier, but yeah.

[ And here's hoping it doesn't get worse than that. It would suck to feel a withdrawal for an addiction he doesn't even have. Hawkins High had a strict policy about drinking and drugs if you wanted to stay on the team, and even after he graduated he kinda kept up with the routine.

But for now ... for now, he tries to think of something random ... and eventually his mind wanders to thoughts of home. Hawkins. Their high school, the strip mall, the shops and restaurants; all the rows of houses packed together in claustrophobic clusters to form the neighbourhoods he'd been raised in. His parents still live there. The Wheelers do too. And Dustin and his mother ... Robin.

Robin. The video store. He thinks about Robin, his best friend, the weirdest girl he ever met, and the coolest one too. ]

Okay. What am I thinking?

Yeah, that makes sense. I've been riding on fifteen out of ten on the good old anxiety meter since we got here. [ since they died and ended up in a weird purgatory. eddie's still out on if this is worse than hawkins, all things considered.

no one's tried to chase him out of town yet and the other people on the netherwork seem to have just as good of a chance of that happening to him as he does. things are kind of looking up if you forget the dead thing and eddie really hasn't forgotten.

this time when eddie gives steve a once over, tilts his head back as he narrows his eyes and appraises him. he can't really guess what steve harrington is thinking about, doesn't have a hint of thoughts in his head that don't sound like a version of his own voice.

so he defaults to what most guys their age in small town indiana would think about. ] Tits.

[ Well.

That confirms it at least. ]

The literal one time I'm not thinking of boobs, and you mention boobs.

[ This is a nightmare. ]

[ that's a relief, at least.

also, that's a lot of time spent thinking about boobies. is there any room for anything else left in that brain of steve's? ] So what you're saying is if I stick to the same answer, we'll never be certain that I'm not reading your mind.

[ does that make sense? eddie's not sure that makes sense after he says it but he's sticking to that statement with a deadpan expression. ]

[ Uh, yeah. Duh. There's tons of room for other stuff. Like Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler's —

And also! Also, like, Life Stuff! Obviously! His rapidly declining prospects for the future, his recent death, there is just so much going on in Steve's head, Eddie's lucky he doesn't have access to his thoughts.

But Christ. ]

Even a broken clock is correct twice a day, right?

[ And Steve scrubs his face, feeling ... weirdly embarrassed? He lets out a huff of laughter. ]

This clock would be right like most of the time. [ eddie points out, looking a little smug about this as if he's not at least in a similar boat as steve.

there are plenty of other things occupying eddie's mind. plenty of people, actually, but it's not like he's not also thinking about boobs a good amount of the time. he was but a mortal man, once. oh cruel, cruel world depriving him of any of those fantasies becoming more than that.

wait. is that his own embarrassment or steve's? eddie's not sure but he coughs, shakes his head. ] At least our minds are safe? Silver lining here after the pain thing?

Along with the not going crazy and preventing our Shadows from taking over? [ whatever that actually means. gotta take the wins where you can get them. ]

Yeah. And in a place like this, I guess we can't really be picky about whatever silver linings we can get, huh?

[ If there's one thing to be glad of, it's that their initial mistake provided them with protection against the darkness slowly seeping into their brains and possessing them like pod people.

But it does bring about a few more questions. Or a few hundred more, but he'll start with a few. ]

Speaking of Shadows ... has yours been doing anything weird lately?

Definitely not. Any reason we find is a reason to celebrate in the good ole Netherworld. [ eddie sweeps his hands out to the side in what's meant to be a grand gesture.

he pushes off the wall he's been leaning on, tucks one arm behind his back and then cups his cheek with his free hand. ] Define weird here, Steve. What I'd consider weird or what you'd consider weird?

[ A grand gesture to ... total and utter bullshit, sure.

Steve glances around their run down, dusty, half-broken, unkempt hovel and thinks, Welcome to the Good Ol' Netherworld. But ... it really could be worse. ]

What any self-respecting person would consider weird.

[ So, it'll be Steve-weird but also Eddie-weird, but also literally anyone-else-weird. Or it should because it's a Shadow. ]

Does it speak to you at all? Does it show up unwanted? I dunno, man — never mind, it's probably not a big deal.

[ touching for steve to assume that that encompasses eddie, really, but the older of the two lets out a bark of a laugh at that before his brows knit together and-- yeah, he can be serious about this.

he can.

sometimes it's better not to play the jester, to try to distract with humour to ease the tension or draw attention from the uncomfortable looming thing in the room.

eddie frowns and wraps that arm around his middle, over where the demobats decided were the good meaty parts. ] Nope. No way, man. No never minds about the shit that could be a problem for the both of us.

It doesn't speak to me or anything. [ not much, anyway. not more than the normal levels of self-doubt he's sure everyone deals with. ] Sent a few fucked up texts though.

It hasn't done anything evil yet. Why? [ he bites into his lower lip, suddenly feeling like he should be worried about where this conversation is going. worried for steve because while eddie gets that soulmates are supposed to protect them from their shadows, he's not really fucking sure what their shadows are. not completely. ] Is yours being weird?

[ Steve shakes his head. He'd found himself migrating to the gross couch in their living space and somehow planting his feet on the little coffee table. He pulls them down now and sits up a little straighter.

Because yeah. This kind of is a serious conversation.

There are too many unknowns in this place, and their Shadows are a huge one, all tangled up into their reason for needing a soulmate, but there's definitely more to it. And he's no Sherlock Holmes or whatever, so maybe he's never gonna be smart enough to figure the mystery out but ... he's got his questions. Maybe if he lets them out into the world, someone can help him find answers.

Eddie's smarter than he is at this stuff too, so maybe ... ]

Nothing any weirder than you've seen. There was the weird Soulidarity thing, and sometimes I think I hear something inside my head talking to me. Like, it's me you know, but it's not me. [ That harsh insecurity tends to have a point, even if it's a really dickish one. ] But are we supposed to battle those things together when we see them? Will things get worse the longer we stay here?

[ eddie wishes he had answers but as much as he's poured hours into dnd manuals, those don't exactly have anything about how to deal with a shadow or voices in your head.

at least, not non-magical voices.

the thing is he doesn't know. which isn't new for eddie with most things in life but fantasy shit is supposed to be up his ally. except that he's also learned he likes the supernatural in movies, books, and in the contained space of hellfire instead of all around him. he does better with it then too. ] I think so?

If soulmates stop your Shadow from taking over then we're supposed to be able to help each other out if ours start trying to take over. Or do something. [ don't focus on the fact he doesn't really answer that second question. ] Stop it from winning because you go nuts if it wins and then... your soulmate feels it.

[ shit. he hadn't mentioned that yet, had he? eddie clears his throat. ] I can ask around to figure out what the fuck we're supposed to do to help. It's probably not like any of the books from home. It's probably better, you know, than trying anything out from good ole Tolkein's manual.

[ there's that babbling again. put him out of his misery and panic about something, steve???? ]

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[closed] help, they need an adult

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