#wanderingdifferentuniverses

[xnotxbullshitx]

continued from x; @wandering-different-universes

It felt like the perfect opportunity to do something normal again, without having to be normal—or, at least, what so many people in this town expected his normal to be. With the music blaring, the lights low, and the band definitely not the genre a lot of Hawkins would be playing off their record players, it was an escape, really. It had been an easy yes when Steph had asked if he’d like to go, for all those reasons…and because it was her asking him. Loudness wasn’t anything that a few preventative ibuprofen couldn’t handle, not when it meant another chance to spend more time with her.

No, the most annoying thing about the volume was being unable to hear anything she was saying, his brows scrunching together as he focused on writing smaller, and smaller, and smaller on this napkin until not a single blank space was left on it. He felt torn, because it was her night off, and if she wanted to stay longer to hear the rest of the set, of course they would—but maybe a few minutes to dip outside to finish a conversation wouldn’t be a bad suggestion either—or to get some reprieve from how the place had the heat cranked up. It was still winter, fine, but did they have to give a guy who’d chosen a sweater heat stroke?

“Yeah, I might go outside for a few minutes, wanna join?”

Giving a small tug on his collar to get some reprieve as he asked the question before thinking through that she wouldn’t hear him, Steve noticed her leaning in, a closeness that, for the briefest moment, had his thoughts shift elsewhere—until he caught her concerned gaze. Tensing for some new horror that must have descended on their one night of normal, he would have shouted again to get a read for what she had seen—except for her gesture. His fingers curled, a swift pull of his collar up even as he shrugged.

“It’s whatever.” He mouthed, a dissuading smile sent before turning his gaze back to the band, desperately hoping that she’d take that as a sign he was totally okay with it. That he hadn’t been trying every scar or burn ointment he could get his hands on to help it fade, or that he hadn’t been exclusively wearing sweaters or buttoned-up collared shirts while waiting for it to heal. That he knew it was so—whatever of a thing to even worry about, let alone mention. Everyone was living on edge, losses and injuries weighing heavily on everyone’s minds, that the minor inconvenience of a scar taking longer to heal than he would like was the last priority.

As was the memory looking at it conjured up, the fear that strangled more than that vine had—that after everything he’d tried to change about himself, he’d die entirely alone anyway.

[xnotxbullshitx-a]

@wandering-different-universes from x

The surprise revelations were coming rapidly at this point, another incredulous expression at the fact she’d only had one relationship. Not that there was anything wrong with only having one, everyone’s different, but it didn’t sound like that had really been her choice. It just felt—wrong, that someone who easily connected with people, made them feel more at ease by meeting them where they were, wouldn’t be someone’s main priority. Someone’s person that they didn’t want to live without.

“Couldn’t even make someone want to stay…One day you’re enough and then the next…”

He could just make out the record jacket of Regatta de Blanc behind the one that’d given him pause, that familiar chord of loneliness, self-doubt he heard in her voice enough to pull him past his own inner turmoil to say something—something he wished he’d heard ages ago.

“Hey, you never stopped being enough, okay? They took off before they even knew a bit about you an’ all they’re missing—that’s on them. It was never on you.”

That was the silver lining even as he scrambled up the ladder, dreading how he just might have blown one of the few friendships he had, let alone friends his age—at least that wouldn’t be something he regretted saying. Not when she deserved to hear it…and he really believed it. If that was the last ‘not the dumbest possible thing you could think or say’ comment he had left in him, well, it wasn’t a bad thing to go out on.

Yet she actually seemed to be going along with the lamest excuse in history, so maybe he was saved after all. Faking it until he made it—he was real good at that after all—made it the hell away from a thought, a what if that shouldn’t have crossed his mind.

 “I always do.” He quipped, defaulting to the “funny” third option people so often ignored in a fight or flight scenario. “And I see, finally some appreciation for my craft. I thought I was only getting the parallel lines’ fans going, but good to know I had a wider audience.” His fingers smoothed over the tape, about to lift from the window when her offer lifted to meet him. Steve risked a look back over his shoulder, trying to gauge her expression to see if it matched what it sure sounded like.

Hey—hey hey, just play it cool. She was just telling you how she hasn’t been a ton of relationships man, and this is what we do all the time anyway. We’re both kinda, off from talking about exes, right? Right.

“—Well if it means I finally see this legendary employee discount I’ve heard so much about, I won’t turn down some seasonal work. There’s what, a bazillion holidays? That’s like—one whole record by the end of the year.” He shot her a smile before turning back to the window, another smooth of the tape that was probably already the smoothest tape in town by this point as he collected himself.

Her question drew him to yet another fork in the road, however, whether to totally ignore whatever the hell this was going on or maybe, just maybe, take one step down the other path. Just a small step wouldn’t hurt, right? Something that could go either way, something easy enough for them to move on from if he was reading all the wrong signals, again.

“Uhm, well…the usual five mile run in the morning, probably playing a mix of old stuff and anything new I might pick up today in the afternoon, trying out a few new recipes in the evening, and…” Trailing off, his fingers drummed along the glass, a short inhale before keeping his tone calm, casual. “…I really haven’t seen a whole lot of horror movies, but I feel like you’d be the expert in that area, so, maybe you could bring a few over?” A low exhale, gaze darting to the glass to see if he could see her reaction without turning around. “I mean—if you don’t already have plans, or uhm—yeah, if you don’t have plans or if you want to, obviously.”

[xnotxbullshitx-a]

continuing from x ; @wandering-different-universes

“Nah, you’ve gotta have a mind to lose first for that.” Steve whispered back, a half-smile even as he kept his gaze fixated on the point directly ahead of them, that sense they were being watched ever building. “And you wouldn’t be—you’d be finishing the plan down here, and I’d be behind you.” Out of the corner of his eye, he could just make out her grip of the axe, a sneaking suspicion she wasn’t all too familiar with handling one.

“Not exactly the weapon-wielding type in real life.”

Well, looks like you’re about to be.

“—You’re gonna wanna hold that with both hands, dominant hand on top and sliding down when you swing. Always look where you’re gonna swing and follow through.”

His tone was as low as he possibly could make it, knowing every word was a risk with these things, but she couldn’t afford not having them. Not when it sounded like she was dead set on sticking around to fight, and it would be a risk on top of a waste of breath that he needed every bit of now to fight her on it.

Especially as he felt a warm, burning sensation at his sides which told him just how much his recent injuries loved sprinting for that mile.

Another reason you shouldn’t stay, if it comes down to it—I won’t let you stay, if it gets bad enough. They’ll follow the blood scent, I bet…shit, they might already have been.

…I’m not getting another friend of someone I care about killed. Not again.

“I’ll go for its face-mouth—you aim for back of neck or belly, if you can. Unless…it’s a pack of them, then hit another one.”

He let out another low exhale as he watched the sickly light glint off rows of sharp teeth, the gaping maw finally within view as he judged the distance from them to it, a silent countdown in his mind for when he’d run to meet it. Yet he chanced a single glance to meet her gaze, a softened, reassuring look that he hoped dispelled some of this nightmare.

“You’ve got this. And I’ve got your back.”

You’re getting out of here, no matter what. I promise.

[xnotxbullshitx-a]

Spotify Wrapped - Steph (tagging character name out of habit)

SEND ME ‘ SPOTIFY WRAPPED ‘ AND I WILL SHUFFLE MY SPOTIFY AND MAKE YOU A STARTER BASED ON WHICH SONG IS CHOSEN ! @wandering-different-universes for Steph

“I been unraveling since my birth; going to wander out there to see what I’m worth.” - Way Out There, Lord Huron

Everything had gone to hell so quickly, it was almost as if they were already there…

The plan had devolved when the vines had found a life of their own, all the Upside Down writhing as night terrors came alive, alerted to their presence. To evade the wall of fearsome flora rising between them, Steve found himself keeping step with Steph in what was likely her dead run pace, glancing through the gaps of the black masses to make brief eye contact with Nancy and Robin before they had to turn aside to miss the looming edge of the quarry. Every breath was another second on borrowed time, his gaze scanning for some refuge, something to buy them more as he could sense something else behind them the longer they ran.

“There, there!! The hollowed tree, quick!”

He pointed at the tree he could have sworn had been chopped up for firewood years ago, hand then moving to brace her back as he made sure she entered first before he followed, a frantic look to see if there were vines in here as well. The all-clear on that front didn’t provide much comfort, however, when that sense they were being followed, hunted only grew as he turned back to the opening. He lifted a finger to his lips, gaze darting to hers to make sure she understood, before focusing on the darkness ahead, trying to make out anything beyond the thrashing of the vines.

Suddenly, the vines stilled, as if suspended for the briefest of moments, like they too sensed that something had come. Something far more effective than they to do their master’s bidding. The moment passed, nothing heard but their quieted gasps for breath, then the vines slowly slid back from the opening, as if to provide an unimpeded path to prey. A low chittering sliced through the air, a squelch of fleshy paws padding through the darkness.

Demodog.

Jaw clenched, attention still fixed where he knew it would eventually come into sight, Steve carefully shifted his backpack off his shoulders, holding it between them before whispering.

“Take this. Has the axe and everything to light that son of a bitch up. If—this doesn’t work out, you book it to the Creel House to help Robin and Nance, okay?”

A pause, a slow inhale, then exhale as he shifted his grip on the nail-bat, letting his mind clear like he did at the start line, the pool edge, the tip-off, the opening pitch, muscles tensing like a spring. At worst, he was buying her enough time to get out and clear before anything else tried following her.

Because whatever happened, she was getting out of here—especially because it was his whole damn fault she was even here in the first place.

“It’s okay—I’ve got this.”

[insidemyblood]

starter for @wandering-different-universes

"Oi!"

His hands were buried deep into the pockets of his coat as he walked nonchalantly. A crooked smirk tugs at his mouth.

"Heard you were askin’ about me. Figured you'd have the sense to stay the hell away. Has everything gone tits up 'round here or you just missed me charming personality?"

[sleuthscreams]

▪ ♪ ♩ ♫ ♬ @wandering-different-universes indulged in my starter call

“I have too much going on to be swayed by a shitty rumor.” That entire whore label she'd been saddled with, even if it were true, hardly mattered to him. Funny how it was only women who enjoyed the presence of men who were labeled with anything negative, when men could get notch after notch on their belts without any trouble. “We all do, honestly. Anyone who has time for that crap should invest in a hobby, or get laid or something.”

“All that to say, I'm safe to talk to. If you ever find yourself in need of a slightly weird friend.”

[hawkinsfoster]

✧ 𝄃 𝄃 𝄃 𝄃 𝄃 @wandering-different-universes sent » "sorry- am i crazy, or have we met before?"

Took a few moments to recognize her, but it was hard for him to completely forget anyone he'd done drawings for in the past. Perhaps that was overstating things; she'd never commissioned him for artwork herself, but he had done a little bit of artwork for that Dungeons & Dragons group she rolled with. Hellfire gave him a chance to break away from his usual work revolving around space and aliens to sketch something outside his comfort zone.

“Hellfire has gotten me to draw a few things for them in the past; I'm surprised you remember me from that. I was only around at the beginning of a handful of your sessions.” That vain part of him wanted to believe he was that memorable, but he wasn't that prideful. Guess anyone who was popular and willing to socialize with the Hellfire Club was someone who registered in their memories. He knew that quite a few saw them as freaks for one reason or another, especially Jason.

[xnotxbullshitx-a]

continued from x; @wandering-different-universes

It was a risk, driving this late with the military increasingly cracking down on the town’s movements, the façade of safety just an excuse for control and cover up, but it was the tried-and-true method when he couldn’t sleep. The wind in his hair, radio low but never off, rubber gripping the asphalt all grounding in a way a bed just couldn’t be, at times. Steve had just gotten a semblance of calm, his heartrate back where it didn’t feel like his heart crept up his throat, when he noticed the baby blue Ford EXP along the roadside, headlights catching the license plate just enough for him to pull over himself.

Worry hurried each footstep, a balance between not trying to draw attention in case there were others out here beside Steph and getting to her before anyone…or anything could. There was no telling if things that were dormant now would remain that way, especially next to one of the gates; wouldn’t that be the first place things would start to go wrong? Please just be sitting there, nothing attacking you, just—please be safe.

That heartrate he had just gotten to calm spiked all over again, blood pounding in his ears as he’d increased his speed to the fastest jog he could risk without snapping every twig and rustling every leaf on his way to the shore. Yet, when he finally could discern the result he’d been repeating to himself as a mantra of what he’d hoped to find, relief was only an initial, fleeting sensation. Instead, the way she’d pulled her knees to her chest, staring out at the dark water that no longer felt welcoming to anyone, let alone lovers, only evoked guilt.

This is your fault. All your fault.

“No... no, you really don’t need anymore of that.” He kept his voice low, gazing along the shore and the water for any threats from either front. “It’s just, the military or the cops are getting more and more ready to check anything and everyone’s movements, so…I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Even that last sentence felt wrong for him to say, as if he had that right when the whole reason she likely wasn’t okay was him. Him asking her to ride into all this mess, even if he hadn’t planned on her hearing about the Upside Down, let alone going there, was exactly why she was sitting here in the godforsaken hours of the morning. Once it had swept over every possible area it could, his gaze lowered, staring intently at the pebbled shore as that building guilt infected every word.

“I’m sorry. I never meant for you to have to carry, any of this. It was just supposed to be hoping you had another idea of where Eddie could be, then being there for the guy so it wasn’t just Dustin that he knew finding him when he’d all be wired and on edge. And I know that, that doesn’t change anything of what happened, or what you’re going through now, but—I'm sorry for it.”