citylogs | [ OPEN ] July Catch-all

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[ 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!

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[ Nebula's restless and irritable in the end. Some days into her arrival and the fact she's still here with no more change or information than from when they started makes it difficult not to be. Control of her life isn't really something she's ever truly had, but she likes some semblance of pretending she does. Especially these days with what did control her a not-so-distance nightmare of the past (it'd never truly leave). ]

[ But there's only so much sitting around she can do and she'd never been one for that. With Peter and Gamora both here things feel... strangled, wrong, and there's some issues those two need to sort out. She'd rather not be around for it, so taking to the streets is all she can do. ]

[ Terran convenience stores aren't something she has great familiarity with, but she's found there's a variety of drinks that are to her taste. She'd meant to grab one of those when a young boy - sorry Will - startles out of some sneaking behaviour. Unfortunately for him, she's not good with kids and her brow arches up: ]

You're here, aren't you?

Edited 2023-07-17 02:31 (UTC)

It all still feels like a dream. Like a thing he should be waking up from — but Peter can't. The hours (days? How long has he been here, now?) stretch on and he can't wake up.

He mostly stays alone in the apartment that another boy helped him find. Holed up where it's safe (not that anywhere really is), staying in the living room most of the time. He doesn't like being in the bedrooms. He's closed those doors, pushed a coat rack in front of one. He doesn't want to hear the creaking sound doors make when they open.

But sometimes he wanders out of the apartment. Often it isn't truly of his own accord, roaming the city in a strange fugue state, like some haunting thing.

He finds himself out there now, blinking in the sunlight, confused. How long has he been here? Where is he...? Peter walks slowly, tall form moving like a spectre, too quiet. When he spots someone sitting on a bench up ahead, he freezes in place for a moment, but— ....it's a young boy. Maybe around his age, or a little younger. He hesitates a beat or two before drawing closer, and when the boy startles like that, Peter flinches in response.

"Sorry— I'm sorry." He looks bad. The bandage on his freshly-broken nose has been replaced with a new one by now, but it's still swollen and bruised, and dark purple blossoms beneath his eyes. They're held wide, looking as nervous of the boy as the boy is of him.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

It's strange. Usually you'd expect to see someone at a convenience store at all hours of the day - especially right now, in the middle of the day - but with how quiet this city has been, it's almost more surprising to actually see someone sitting there on the counter.

Especially someone so young. If Will has any snacks at all gathered next to him on the counter, Daniel definitely has a Look at those - however briefly - before he nods at the boy in greeting, wandering into the rest of the store.

He seems to be picking between some ingredients, but then can't help but turn around and walk back to where Will is sitting - apparently having thought about something he does have to voice. Even if the man doesn't actually speak up, instead grabbing his phone from his pocket and typing out something on it, letting the device's robotic tone read it out for him.

"You've been eating more than just snacks, right?"

Sorry, Will, apparently some guy here just can't help but let his Dad instincts take over.. Even if Daniel himself isn't looking his best, a big bruise covering the entire side of his face.

[ Okay the blue stranger makes a great point, he is there, but he’s frequently there and nobody else seems to come in very often, especially not in the middle of the night. He’s pretty sure the other store a block or so away has better stuff too.

And now Will is in the embarrassing position of having startled so hard he’s thrown all his carefully collected bags of chips on the ground.

He really hates how this place has amplified his skittishness.

Even so he schools his features into a more neutral expression. ]

I’m always here.

[ That’s an exaggeration but he forgot dinner and he can’t exactly go and whine to Steve when his strange little computer is telling him it’s past midnight, that’s even more embarrassing than the current situation. At least she doesn’t know he’s completely and totally failing at self-sufficiency having had his family to fall back on almost his entire life. ]

I’ve never seen anyone else here so late.

[ He’s probably not recovering this as smoothly as he’d like considering he’s loosely holding a bottle of what is probably now explosively shaken orange soda and surrounded by packets, heartbeat refusing to slow back to a normal rhythm ]

“It’s okay,” is the first thing Will manages to say when his heart slides back down out of his mouth and lands in his chest, beating too fast and just a touch uneven.

In the weeks he’s been here he’s seen (and avoided being seen by) a fair few people but he’s sure he’d remember if he spotted the boy before. He looks worse for wear, worse even than Will had when he stumbled out of the station in ill-fitting borrowed clothes, still sporting an uneven tan and deep, dark bags under his eyes from days spent riding through the desert just to land back in the never ending waking nightmare Hawkins, Indiana has been for the past few years.

The urge to help, or at least not make things worse, rises and he adds; “I was just absorbed, that’s all.” And gestures at the sketchbook in his lap before clearing his assorted debris off the bench so it can actually be shared.

Sketching, art in general, is the one thing he’s found that can turn off the hyper-vigilance that’s been brewing in him since childhood and amplified since he landed himself here somehow. The constant, bone deep anxiety has been getting worse the more he learns, or doesn’t, about their current predicament and if he leaves the apartments he’s not in danger of driving Steve insane with it.

“Sorry if me jumping out of my skin scared you back.” Still he manages to offer a small smile and gesture that he doesn’t mind sharing the bench. “I’m Will, I’m guessing you’re new here?” There’s been an influx of people posting on the network so something must be going on.

Since the man looks fairly normal Will let’s him get on with whatever he’s trying to find without being a nuisance, continuing to eat his way through a box of the closest approximation the city has for Red Vines.

Until he’s spoken to, and then he looks up, eyes wide and innocent. “Yeah, totally.” Which isn’t an outright lie because he ate cereal for dinner the previous night (at 11pm, but it counts, right?) and he’s not sure he’s even touched a vegetable in at least a week. Scurvy only happens to pirates anyway.

“Does stuff I can put in the microwave count?” He asks because he feels a little bad for even trying to lie when it’s clear the man is just concerned. Which is honestly fair because he knows he hasn’t exactly asked for help figuring out the whole keeping himself alive without someone to parent him and he’s doing… badly at it.

[ Nebula quickly appears to decide he's no threat, because as she waits for an answer she turns the rest of the distance to open one of the cold displays and grab out what she wanted. She shoves it closed with her shoulder as she moves to lean against it and opens the drink. ]

[ He's fairly young, if she goes by Terran standards. Not the youngest, but young, and acts like he's never been alone a day in his life (she's wrong there). But her expression remains cool as she listens, snorts, and takes a long drink. ]

Surprises, surprises.

[ Idly, dry, like he should have expected someone to appear one day. This is a place where people seemed to arrive at all times of day and in all times of conditions. ]

It's late.

[ With the tone of someone saying 'shouldn't you be inside?' ]

.. oh, Will.

Daniel is just enough of a Dad that he can see right through that last statement - or at least know exactly what it means. Not that it makes the man look mad in any sort of way though. If anything, it softens his expression further, into something that's a little worried and a little sympathetic at the same time.

"I get it," the phone speaks up again after Daniel types in a message. "It's got to be hard, right? Suddenly ending up here."

Especially when you don't know how to cook. Or when you're way too young to be here by yourself. Will looks very young to Daniel, anyway.

"If you want, I could cook you a meal. It isn't bad to eat meals from the microwave sometimes, but you have to get a variety of meals to stay healthy." Nevermind the fact that Daniel doesn't even know this kid. He's come across too many kids that don't seem to have their parents with them in this place - and if that means he has to stick up for them once in a while, then he'll do it.

He'd like to think other parents would be doing the same if his kids had been here instead of Daniel himself.

A nearby convenience store does help, and out of most of the spots that a person could go to? The fact that they could already be empty made going into them actually...alright, compared to most places around the city. Sure, it was missing a guy behind the counter, but--

But this time on a visit, the doors slide open to show something close to that: just, you know, it's a guy on a counter. The sight makes Robby slow a step as he enters, pulling a puzzled look as he sees them just there, hanging around.

"Hey," he gives, slightly amused. A little curious, too.

[ Will starts cleaning up after himself when she turns to the fridges, it seems pointless to stand frozen in it and he needs those to sustain staying up all night mindlessly staring at the walls.

He does keep his senses sharp though, just in case she is a threat. She doesn’t seem like one but Will tries to know better than letting his guard down too fast. ]

Yeah, it is late.

[ He isn’t a baby, he doesn’t need to be packed off to bed like one either. Besides that he’s not tired due to napping during the day out of boredom ]

But you’re still up.

[ If only she knew he thought she wasn't a threat, she'd think she was pulling everything off wrong. Not that she was trying to be a threat. Coal black eyes watchful and bemused at his response. ]

I don't sleep much.

[ Automatic, the thin up quirk of a corner of her lip barely hidden humor - she doesn't do a lot of things, not with this body. It always feels like some hidden joke. ]

It could be dangerous out here.

If Will knew what a bodega cat was that is probably how he would describe his penchant for hanging around in the convenience store and honestly on the counter is one of the less weird places he’s decided to hang out.

He’s bored of aimlessly scrolling the network and frustrated with a sketch that won’t go right so his third activity has been looking at things and trying to work out what they are back home, because the brands look familiar but not quite and sometimes it yields incredibly disappointing results such as chips that taste like spaghetti sauce and not at all like ketchup which he’d been expecting.

“Hi,” he replies looking up from the packet he’s been studying. “You need something?” It doesn’t hurt to ask and even though the boy doesn’t look too much older than he is it doesn’t mean he won’t want to access the display of cigarettes and alcohol behind the counter where Will is currently sitting in the way.

Watching the man’s expression change makes Will actually feel his age instead of simultaneously stuck at twelve and also at least one-hundred. He’s not wrong at all though, Will is out of his depth and he doesn’t want to put all of that on Steve so he’s floundering alone instead.

“This isn’t my first alternate dimension rodeo and it’s better than the last one,” Will manages with a small shrug. Twelve might have been too young for that but fifteen is still not old enough to deal with this shit very well. “I miss my mom.” It’s not supposed to come out but it does and it’s the truth so he doesn’t try to cover it up with humour or anything.

He considers the offer and then considers the very real possibility that he’s going to get sick of he keeps this up. “That would be good, I can help or try to? Maybe then I’ll learn some stuff…” his current dinner greatest hits that aren’t cereal, microwave meals or snacks include eggs that he tried to stop being slimy by turning the heat up on and turned into rubber instead and singed packet mac’n’cheese that stuck in the pan so badly that he threw the whole thing away when he couldn’t wash it.

“My mom never had time to teach me, she had to work long hours and stuff and she’s not very good at it herself.” Will adds playing with the cuff of his shirt. He almost feels like he should be defending her because she’s done her best but Joyce Byers has managed to burn a pan of water and realistically he had no chance.

"Some milk," he points, showing he knows the way to go, then gestures to the aisles, all the while still looking at the guy, "--browsing. Seeing what's new in. Speaking of, you the new guy? 'Cause I have a tab with the owner."

It's not often that he's felt in the mood to make a joke, but he'll take this moment, apparently. The set-up calls for it, a small smile playing on his lips. Plus, when's he ever going to get to say he has a tab and sound like a rich prick off TV?

Guess there's one good thing about being trapped in a hell city.

Peter follows the boy's gesture down to the book in his lap, staring there for a few long moments. Sketching... he's been drawing. There's an odd, sudden hitch in the older boy's chest — ghosts constantly follow him, whispering and creeping, and so many things make them flutter within Peter. He thinks of his sister's book, the one that she always kept with her, her little sketches—

There's an odd, quick little jerk of Peter's head, as though an insect's flown close to his ear and he's instinctively trying to make it leave. Can't think about it. Can't think about it.

The boy gives him new things to think about instead, and Peter does, slowly sinking down to sit beside him when gestured to, with an almost comical obedience: his body language as though he's a much younger child following an older person's orders. Peter sits there stiff and awkward, hands placed gently in his own lap.

"It's okay. Guess we're all a little jumpy." He manages to say, breathing out a soft exhale. "Yeah. I... I think I've only been here a couple days. It's hard to tell."

It's more words than he usually voices, something that's actually reminiscent of holding a conversation. Maybe it's easier to talk to someone who seems young and soft and safe (even if an aching heaviness lingers in his chest and he knows he deserves it to.)

"How long've you been here?"

[ 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.

“Yeah totally, it’s how I pay the rent,” Will shoots back sounding amused. He doesn’t pay rent. He doesn’t think there’s even money around since there’s nobody here to take it. He’s just laid claim to an apartment in the location Steve wanted to be in anyway.

“Milks in the fridge.” Congrats captain obvious. “Unless it’s been taken as a sacrifice to the cow overloads.” Either he’s going to end up making it so nobody ever comes in ever again just in case they meet the resident nuisance or the other boy will share his sense of humour and maybe he’ll end up friends with someone and go a little less out of his mind.

[ 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.]

Robby nods his head at the joke back, a smirk on his face that sticks as the other guy continues. He can handle some goofiness, though he will make his way towards the fridges--thank you, Captain Obvious--while speaking up.

"Cow overlords? That's a new one; I heard this whole thing was aliens. If it's cows, we're probably screwed."

Said, with a resignation to his potential death. He's opening up the fridge, looking at the labelling enough to figure out where the whole milk is, and thanks, he'll be taking that. Turns, just so he can add while looking at the self-appointed store attendant.

"We have been eating them for years."

So, you know. No mercy.

“A couple of weeks,” Will replies nervously fiddling with his sleeves. “It’s a mindfuck at first.” It’s still a mindfuck but he doesn’t want to say that because maybe other people are adjusting better than him. He’s sure plenty of the adults trapped here aren’t sitting awake at night missing their mothers.

There is definitely something wrong with the other boy though Will has no idea what it might be, just that his mannerisms are off. He seems twitchy and the small flashes of almost jerky movement and the way he follows orders is… uncanny. However having seen firsthand the kind of damage judging people on a first impression or for being a little strange does he’s not one to point it out. He is, however, concerned it could be something to do with how the boy looks like he’s smashed into something fairly recently.

“Has anyone checked you over?” It’s a question asked hesitantly, tone soft and quiet. He doesn’t reach out, keeping his hands to himself even though he wants to because he knows the power of a gentle hand on the shoulder.

Will looks over him again, the bruises look new but not too new, like they’ve had a few days to settle in and change colour. The bandages on the boys face look clean enough but something like that can leave you concussed. Will has seen enough people get their faces smashed up to know about concussions and the lifespan of a bruise.

[ 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. ]

“There are a few theories being floated.” Aliens isn’t actually something Will has written off because if interdimensional monsters can exist who says aliens can’t? Not him that’s for sure.

“If it is Cow Overlords I think eating all the snacks is the way to go, make sure you’re fattened up first.” A new and interesting excuse for just how much sugar he’s managed to consume after moving here. “Especially since everyone else is training or starting fights or whatever, being the most edible means I get out faster.”

It’s almost reminiscent of the stupid conversations he used to have with his friends though who would have thought six months of giving up bike riding and a smack with the puberty stick would have ever made him someone who could hope to be titled ‘most edible’ considering he spent the first fourteen years alive being the smallest and twiggiest of all his friends.

"First time I heard being easier to catch being counted as a good thing."

He'll give the guy that--and that's under any circumstances, abducted or otherwise. The fortunate thing for their conversation is that the counter's placement makes it easy to be seen no matter the aisle, save the farthest at the ends. Not that Robby's really walking in a way to be kept in view; but it does help their chit-chatting as he moves to stand between two aisles, look down to see if he spots anything he's interested in.

"Only training I do is so I don't start losing it. Even then, being stuck in this city? Feels like I'm wasting my time."

Like a fucking moron, who should be figuring a way out. Out from, you know, the city that makes you turn yourself around if you walk 'too far'.

So much for feeling accomplished after a workout anymore.

“What kind of training do you do?” Will idly opens another box of off-brand nerds and shoves a handful in his mouth. As if eating too much sugar isn’t what has him talking garbage at a stranger in the first place. He munches while observing as the boy wanders the shelves. It’s all kind of useless unless you’re into junk and snacks.

He’s pretty glad he’s not the only one who feels like he’s time wasting. Time wasting and hurtling towards madness.

“I hope whoever or whatever it is makes itself known soon so at least we have some kind of purpose.” Anyone who has managed to find one or had the guts to really dig into trying to find out what’s going on is braver than Will is.

"Seeing what we do might be the idea. And the driving us crazy." Which would be the most boring, dullest way to fuck with people in existence. Some of that theory though, Robby doesn't doubt as being the reason for their abductors keeping in the shadows, but he's not about to linger on it. Does instead by some of the snack bars, which are always worth a look at.

"But I'm doing karate. Less 'cause I'm getting ready for a fight, and just for something to do." He pauses, then looks over at the guy. "What were you up to before you got here?"

He could ask them about their own potential training history, but to be honest, Robby isn't that bothered to talk about karate to someone who probably doesn't care. He doesn't care himself, either.

Unless it turns out he's really into karate, actually.

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[ OPEN ] July Catch-all

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