citylogs | [ OPEN ] July Catch-all

WHO: Will Byers (

willtheunwise) & OTA

WHAT: Catch-all for July,

WHERE: Various locations

WHEN: Through July

WARNINGS: Some talk of monsters, death and maybe kidnapping, typical Stranger Things/horror canon stuff

1. Sketching
After getting very involved in chalking Will has realised that in order to keep himself sane he needs art supplies. For now that’s a plain notepad and a HB pencil but it’s good enough and he can often be found sat in various city locations sketching whatever takes his fancy. That could be anything from buildings to trees and flowers or dependent on how interesting you look or what you’re up to is you.
If you approach him he will certainly startle like he wasn’t expecting to be noticed at all but it’s not too hard to convince him to stop for a chat or show you his artwork.

2. Mall
The last time Will was really at a mall was when the hivemind sent a huge meat monster version of his worst nightmares after him and his friends. His sister lost her powers, her father was seemingly killed and his friends possessed older brother died in front of him. Malls have bad memories attached. But still after snooping through what he could of the city before the second district opened up he still hasn’t located anywhere to get decent art supplies or records so he’s trying to be brave about it.
He can’t be found standing staring up at it quite blankly, disassociating a little, maybe breathing a little unevenly as he tries to convince himself that he can manage to go inside alone.

3. Convenience Store daytime
It sure is mighty convenient to be living so close to a convenience store and Will has been taking advantage by mostly feeding himself on snacks and soda because if he’s really honest he’s rarely had to fend for himself because Jonathan was always there in some capacity and when he wasn’t available Will was over at a friends house so his cooking skills are almost non-existent. He can often be found sitting on the counter and if you’re in there looking for anything specific he probably knows where it is.

4. Convenience Store night time
On occasion Will has been known to forget to feed himself, especially when he’s been busy scrolling through the network and sketching and generally behaving like a total shut in so it’s not unusual for him for him to be in the store late at night, since it seems to be open at all hours.
He’s only ever been in there alone though, so when he hears something else in there he creeps round the edge of the shelf he’s just been raiding thinking he’s being really sneaky and it’s definitely not going to freak him out. Of course when he does see someone he startles and the bags of chips in his arms go flying causing a crinkly racket as they hit the ground.

“Shit, sorry, shit…” Will looks at the mess then up at the other person, “I wasn’t expecting anyone else in here so late.”

5. Wildcard
Hit me with anything or shoot me a PM or find me here on Plurk

unwisewizard for plotting or closed starters or anything else!
Happy to match format also so if you have a preference for brackets I’ll match that!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Will turns back once all of his packets are safely in the bag he’s been carrying for this purpose. His soda is definitely going to explode if he tries to open it so it’s still in his hand ]

Yeah. Me neither.

[ he hates the dark and he hasn’t managed to find anything small enough to sleep by. Because sure having a nightlight makes him feel like a child but it also stops him from sleeping with the overheads on. He’s taken to napping when it’s light out instead ]

I’ll survive, apparently you don’t die for real here anyway.

[ She snorts, doubtful of the legitimacy of that. Organic beings largely needed sleep, and she's largely not organic. ]

Apparently.

Dying still sucks. And someone can make it a lot worse than if you had just died.

[ Intoned and serious, the sound of a person who knows exactly how badly you would prefer to die. On both ends of it.]

[ Needing sleep and being able to are different beasts unfortunately, though if she really looks she’ll probably be able to see the bags under his eyes ]

Trust me; I know.

[ He manages to look deadly serious about this fact of life. But really… Who’s going to trust a fifteen year old that he’s been through incomprehensible horrors? Probably nobody. Even though he has. He’s pretty sure only two other people alive know the extent, and one of them is barely a person anymore. ]

[ Counterpoint: Someone who was tortured most of her life probably would. So while she arches a brow at him - neither disbelieving him or fully believing the extent of it.. Sizes him up a moment before adding: ]

Then you should know in a place like this, you should always carry a weapon.

[ if only he’d open up without masking it with indifference he might discover they have something in common ]

I’d get disarmed and then they’d potentially have two weapons.

[ He’s tried it all, running, hiding, fighting back, and all he’s discovered is that if something wants to hurt him it’s going to and he’s pretty much powerless to do anything about it ]

With that attitude and form you will, sure.

[ She agrees, readily, without missing a beat. Half of dealing with enemies is a presence, this kid lacks anything more than a wilting flower in her eyes (sorry, Will). Another long sip before she adds: ]

Had any training?

[ Will shrugs. Everything he’s faced has been bigger and faster and stronger than he is. ]

No training, I can shoot a gun but not well.

[ Despite what Nancy Wheeler seems to think guns do barely anything against the things they’ve been fighting anyway ]

[ Guns can help kill things that aren't supernaturally above it all (or certain aliens). But usually alien guns are better, to start, so there's that. Nebula frowns at that. Who lets kids wander around unprepared? ]

[ This place, apparently. And sure he's a teenager, but that's still a kid and there's something moral in her that doesn't like it. She conteplates and then huffs out a question: ]

Want some?

[ Training she means, clearly. ]

[ Will feels sillier by the second. Maybe if he were a stronger person he would have at least tried harder to keep fighting but instead he just freezes up uselessly ]

What kind of training?

[ he isn’t exactly athletic by any stretch and his lungs have kind of sucked since he got stuck in hell for a week but he might as well find out what she’s offering and maybe at least give it a shot, if only to give himself something to do ]

[ You could just say no, Will, she wouldn't begrudge you of it. Children are meant to be children - this is something she solidly thinks now - but that doesn't mean they get to. Not in a place like this. ]

[ She shrugs a shoulder. ]

No guns for you here.

It'd be physical, by hand or with a bludgeon. Despite their no weapons policy, those are easy to get your hands on.

[ Bats and knives were just a small bit of available items. ]

[ Will shrugs shrinking down into himself a little further ]

I’m don’t think I really want to use weapons… [ mostly because he’s pretty sure if anyone came at him with one he’d just have an anxiety attack even if they were trying to teach him how to use one ]

I guess learning some kind of self-defence would be useful though.

Suit yourself.

[ She's not going to push him. She's not even going to bring it up again, since he is already pushing back. She doesn't get it - but then she was raised and bled as a weapon from when she was far younger than him. To fight was to survive, even if it's not now. ]

[ But she doesn't care enough to push - tells herself she doesn't - so she takes another sip of her drink and adds: ]

Good luck out there.

[ OPEN ] July Catch-all

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