wayne.

[jhopper-ste]

Hopper was leaning against the side of his car, a half-empty bottle of beer sweating in his hand, when Wayne’s voice cut through the smoke and the generic classic rock filtering out of someone’s screen door. He exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke, dropped the butt, and crushed it beneath the heel of his boot. He didn't need to be told twice about the charcoal. He'd eaten enough of Wayne’s "well-done" hockey pucks over the years to know that timing was everything. Hopper grumbled, stepping away from the truck and walking over to the grill. His knees gave a faint, familiar pop, a souvenir from a lifetime of bad choices.

He held up his paper plate, nodding a quiet, respectful greeting to a couple of the Forest Hills regulars who were already lining up. Hopper liked it better down here anyway. No one at the trailer park asked him about town budgets, or why the north-side patrol was late, or expected him to make polite conversation over a five-dollar glass of wine. Here, if you brought a six-pack and didn't act like a prick, you were golden. "Give me one of the thick ones before you incinerate it," Hopper said, gesturing toward a patty that was still mostly pink on top.

[waynemunsonste]

Wayne nodded as he saw the sheriff approach. Despite his unease with judgmental law enforcement, he didn't take Hopper as the kind of guy to take action without having all the facts. That, and it helped that he was not a stranger to trailer park barbecues. Beer might have also played a factor into Wayne's ease around the other man.

"Ah, just for you, sheriff," he declared, scooping up a large patty and dropping it onto the other's plate. "Condiments are right there."

He gestured to the fold out table next to the grill.

"You gonna participate in any of the drinking games or just play ref?" He asked, knowing that once all the food was dished out, people would be quick to pull out cards and beer pong once they got settled.

[waynemunsonste]

location: trailer park cookout (memorial day)

It was Wayne's turn to man the grill, tongs in one hand and a cold beer in the other. Ribeye was not on the menu today, but he and a few other trailer residents had pitched in to get more than enough burgers and hot dogs to feed everyone and anyone who showed up. On days like today, he preferred the company of his neighbors to dragging himself to a more privileged friend's cookout.

"If you don't want a burger that tastes like charcoal, get your patty now!" He called out to the crowd and waited for a line to start.

[roryvale-ste]

Rory stepped closer, close enough that the dim bar lights caught and accentuated her bright blue eyes, close enough that he’d know she wasn’t brushing it off. “I don’t drink on shift,” she said, voice soft but steady. “But I’m off in…” She glanced at the clock, then back at him. “Two minutes.” Her fingers drummed lightly on the bar, a quiet, thoughtful rhythm. “If you’re still here when I lock the door,” she added, tone dipping into something teasing but undeniably sincere, “maybe I’ll keep you company for real.” She paused. Her gaze held his, warm and a little dangerous.

[waynemunsonste]

Wayne was old enough to recognize when a woman knew well enough to know what she wanted. His fingertips drummed across the bar top as he took another sip from his slowly dwindling beer. "This'll last three," he mused, not quite slurring, but his accent was digging in. He was comfortable with her. She was comfortable with him. Wayne reassured himself while keeping his desires in check. "Tired?" He asked, sipping from his beer to give her another out if he might not be worth the trouble.

[cynicalkilljoy]

Ollie walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, looking around the room for a bit. Her eyes went back to Wayne; he seemed to be concerned for her, and Ollie didn’t want people to feel that way. She knew she could do most things herself.

Ollie had originally come here to tell Eddie about a fight she had with David and that she had almost used her powers on him. But a question from deep in her mind came back: did Wayne know what really happened to his nephew, and why he had suddenly come back to life? And now something called the Echoes was everywhere, the reason why Eddie was alive at all. She couldn’t ask that—she would sound crazy if she even began to explain it.

Weird things had been happening, so maybe—just maybe—he had some idea that someone didn’t just magically come back from the dead. It just wasn’t possible; no science or anything could ever explain it.

As she sat on the couch, she started to speak. “Thank you, sir, but I’m good...” Ollie said, pausing a little as the light above flickered slightly before stopping. She spoke again. “Did anyone tell you exactly how Eddie came back to the world of the living?” Ollie said softly, gathering her words, hoping she didn’t sound crazy. Her eyes scanned the room again before stopping to look back at Wayne.

[waynemunsonste]

Wayne nodded and finally took a seat in his recliner. If she wanted to sit in silence until Eddie came back, he was ready for that. He was not ready for her to ask him about Eddie's comeback. He knew it was some kind of miracle that his nephew was alive, but he had been too afraid to question it.

He was no fool. He knew weird things had been happening in Hawkins for awhile. He had just hoped Eddie's return was one of the rare good weird things. He hoped it was something that would last.

"Eddie's no great liar, but—I prefer to let him tell me the details when he's ready." As long as his nephew never left him wondering too long about when he would next come home, he held himself back from suddenly being overbearing. He wanted to do more, but Eddie was a grown man now. Wayne would have to wait for him to be ready to come to him on his own if he needed help.

[eddiemunson-ste]

Eddie froze in the doorway like he’d just walked into a sacred ritual. Cold beer. Colder pizza. Wayne in his chair. Yeah. That was basically church. He kicked the door shut behind him with his heel and padded into the kitchen, curls falling loose from the tie he’d half‑assed earlier.

The sight of Wayne with a beer and a plate of sad, congealed pizza made something warm and stupid bloom in his chest. “Join you?” Eddie scoffed, dropping into the chair across from him. “Old man, that’s not an invitation. That’s a summoning spell.” He reached for a slice, took a bite, winced dramatically. “Jesus Christ, this is like… refrigerated cardboard. With trauma.” But he kept eating it anyway.

He grabbed a beer from the fridge, popped it open, and clinked the neck of the bottle lightly against Wayne’s. “Cheers to culinary excellence,” he said, deadpan. For a moment, he just sat there, shoulders loosening, breath easing, the kind of quiet settling over him that only ever happened in this kitchen. Then, softer: “Yeah. I’ll join you.”

[waynemunsonste]

Wayne shook his head in amusements at his nephew's dramatics. He should be used to them by now, but no one ever really got used to a guy like Eddie. "S'edible. That's all that matters," he corrected with a fond eye roll.

"Good to know you're not too cool to hang out with your uncle yet," he mused jokingly. "We can order something warm," he suggested, since there was less than half a pizza left. That was hardly enough to feed two grown men so he stood up to pull out their selection of usual takeout places.

"Anything new going on with your friends?" He asked, tearing off another bite of cold pizza as he read over the local Chinese food pamphlet. He could definitely go for some egg rolls.

[roryvale-ste]

Rory huffed a laugh under her breath, the kind that curled at the corner like she was trying not to smile too obviously. “Better things to do?” she echoed, leaning her elbows on the bar as she looked at him. “Wayne, if I had better things to do, I’d be doing them.” Her tone was light, but the warmth underneath it wasn’t something she bothered hiding. She grabbed a towel, wiping a ring of condensation near his glass, then glanced up at him again, slower this time, like she was taking him in piece by piece. “And you’re not an old man,” she added, voice dipping into something gentler. “You’re just… you. Which is kind of the point.” She shrugged one shoulder, casual, but her eyes stayed on him a beat longer than casual allowed. “Besides,” she said, pushing the towel aside and resting her hip against the counter, “I don’t mind watching you finish a beer. You’re good company.” A small, crooked smile tugged at her mouth. “And I don’t say that about just anyone.”

[waynemunsonste]

Usually, Wayne was a more tight lipped and gruff man, but being five beers in loosened him up a bit. His eyes watched her as she finished her bar duties. "Right, good company," he responded with a joking tone. "I'll be better company if you have a drink with me," he mused, unsure where the suggestion came from. Perhaps he was feeling lonely. He drank alone more often than he cared to admit, but if Rory insisted she didn't mind hanging out, he figured there was no harm in asking for more of her time.

[chosenbyechoes]

“Yeah, I do. I am just catching some air, is all. Heartbreak hurts…” El said softly as tears fell from her eyes, and she wiped them away. She sniffled, wiping her nose as well, her eyes remaining wet. She didn’t know much about Wayne, just that he was Eddie’s uncle and worked late nights. He was a nice man and meant no harm to anyone.

“I have a place to go, I just forgot how to get there,” she said again. She had been doing so much running in the fog that she wasn’t looking at the direction she was going. The heartbreak she felt was agonizing to her, like a pain she thought would never heal, and maybe Wayne knew that all too well—not because he was older than her, but because he knew what to do and say.

Yeah, she could have gone to Hopper, but would he even understand? She was young and had her whole life ahead of her. She couldn’t let one boy stop her from that, but pain had a funny way of coming back when you didn’t want it to.

[waynemunsonste]

Heartbreak. That was definitely one wound that Wayne had no idea how to mend. He had been a lovesick teen once, but that felt like forever ago.

Still, he knew when a kid needed help, so he offered her a hand. "Um well, if you want to dry up at the trailer, maybe have a midnight snack—" He was sure they had some ice cream left. "Then I can take you wherever you need to go or call someone." He just hoped Hopper wouldn't start up a town search party before she was ready to go back. He recognized her now as Hopper's kid, and he knew how protective that man was of the women in his life.

[roryvale-ste]

Rory paused mid‑wipe of the counter, glancing over at him with that small, crooked half‑smile she only ever gave the people she trusted not to break it. “Tired’s kind of my default,” she said lightly, flicking a stray lock out of her face. “Doesn’t mean I’m kicking you out.” She leaned her hip against the bar, arms crossing loosely as she watched him take another sip. “You’re fine,” she added, softer this time. “Finish your beer. I’m not in a rush.” She pushed a fresh napkin toward him, casual, like she hadn’t just admitted she liked having him there. “Take your time, Wayne.”

[waynemunsonste]

Wayne shrugged, giving her a nod of thanks before taking another sip. "I'm sure you have better things to do than watch an old man get drunk." He liked to think he was a polite man, but if she was offering, he didn't mind taking an extra minute to finish his beer. Rory was a well-liked bartender, especially amongst men, but he appreciated her way with people more than anything.

[eddiemunson-ste]

grab a beer || wayne & eddie

The trailer creaked the way it always did when the temperature dropped. Metal settling, wood complaining, the whole place sounding like it had opinions about being old. Eddie didn’t think much of it at first. He was used to the noise. Grew up with it. Slept through worse. But then he heard movement. Not the usual shift of the wind or the rattle of the siding. It was actual footsteps. Slow. Familiar. He froze halfway through peeling off his jacket. “Wayne?” he called out, voice low, like the dark might echo it back wrong. A beat of silence. Then the soft scrape of a chair leg in the kitchen. Yeah. That was him.

@waynemunsonste

[waynemunsonste]

Wayne settled down with his leftover pizza, ready to enjoy his night off with a cold beer. "In the kitchen," he called out to his nephew. "You going to join me for cold beer and colder pizza?" He asked jokingly. They had a microwave, but Wayne was allergic to using it for anything that wasn't completely frozen.

[cynicalkilljoy]

Ollie nodded as she walked inside. The place felt the same as many other times. She didn’t know much about Wayne, just that he worked with David at the plant. He was mostly never there when Ollie was around during the day after school or whenever she stopped by. She wiped her tears away with her sleeve as she walked into the living room, the light shining slightly in her eyes, which remained glossy from crying earlier. Ollie looked around the room, trying to focus her eyes on something other than what had happened. She found a place on the couch and sat down, placing her bag on the other side of her.

The Munson trailer wasn’t fancy, but it was a nice place to hang out. Ollie hated living in a big house—a house no one was in when she got home. It felt lonely, so she did what she could to fill the time while her mom, Ruby, was working at the hospital and her stepdad worked at the plant. They never really seemed to have time for Ollie, though she never wanted David’s time. She hated that man. Hated him for ruining her life. Hated him because he took her mom away from her when Ollie needed her most. That was something she could never forgive. As she sat on the couch, her eyes dropped for a moment before she looked up at Wayne, catching his gaze.

[waynemunsonste]

Wayne was familiar with kids who had that look in their eyes. A look that meant they had already or were in the middle of enduring things that were far too much for anyone, let alone someone so young. He recognized that look the first time he met Ollie even if it was only in passing.

"Hungry? We got leftover Chinese, frozen burritos, and probably some ice cream if Eddie hasn't eaten it all." He liked to think food could fix almost anything, but he doubted that would be the case here. "Or water's always on the menu," he tried to joke, but it fell flat when the girl finally caught his gaze.

"You can stay as long as ya need," he finally offered, willing to do for her what he would do for Eddie since she had always been a good friend to his nephew.

[roryvale-ste]

closing shift || rory & wayne

Closing time always settled over the bar like a sigh. The music cut out, the lights dimmed, and the last of the regulars drifted out with lazy waves and half-slurred goodnights. Rory liked this part. The quiet, the routine, the way her mind finally stopped buzzing. She tossed a few bar towels into the bin, rolled her shoulders, and started wiping down the counter. The place was empty. Or it should’ve been. She hadn’t heard anyone move in minutes. She flicked off one of the neon signs, bathing the room in a softer, amber glow. The silence felt thick, but she chalked it up to exhaustion. Long night. Too many orders. Too many people. She grabbed a chair, flipped it onto a table, and let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Almost done. Almost free.

@waynemunsonste

[waynemunsonste]

Wayne had grown comfortable at all the late-night bars of Hawkins. Most of the time, all he needed was one too many beers and a generous bartender. That was how Rory had become one of his favorites since she seemed to understand that no matter how much he drank, he never meant any harm. "You're tired," he spoke suddenly, sipping from his half-finished beer. "I'll be done in a few minutes if you don't mind,' he assured. He was almost sure he had one or two beers at home if Eddie hadn't snuck one out recently.

[chosenbyechoes]

She felt the tears fall for a while, until she couldn’t feel them anymore. She wiped her eyes. She heard the rustle of trees snapping and looked around, but couldn’t see anyone. El sat there, turning back around as she held her knees, placing her head on top of them. For a moment, she thought about it—why was she even out here, knowing that someone, or Hopper, might be looking for her by now? Everyone treated El differently, like she was made of glass or didn’t have a good understanding of things. But she knew more than she let on. She was smart and understood how the world worked, in her own way. Her ears caught another snap of branches, and she turned her head. A man was standing there. Her breath shortened slightly, but she heard him ask if she was alright. For a second, she thought it was Hopper, but the man was too lean to be him. The night seemed to swallow them whole, leaving just the two of them. The only light came from the moon, barely illuminating her small figure. What was she going to tell this man anyway? Was she really going to spill her guts about her breakup with Mike, or the fact that Vecna wasn’t the only villain? How could she explain the echoes, the loud noises, all the things messing with her mind? On top of that, how could she explain her powers? This guy probably didn’t know anything about what had been going on—or maybe he had some idea. El slowly stood up, brushing leaves and dirt from her pants as she placed her hands at her sides. “I—” a beat, “I’m okay. Just really sad. A lot going on…” she said softly, standing there and looking in the man’s direction. How could she even explain why she was out here in the first place? How the dark forest reminded her of that tank chamber she spent so much time in, when she was in the void. How the sounds of the lab filled her ears, how the lights would flicker, and the aura in the room felt dark and filled with disdain. How El tried to do what Papa wanted, but it was just too much for her young body at the time. Remembering it now hurt, but she pushed it away like everything else.

[waynemunsonste]

It was hard to make out her features in the darkness, but he could have sworn she seemed familiar. There was a gaggle of kids who liked to hang around his nephew, but it was hard to say if she was one of them. Either way, she was a kid, alone in the forest at night. Even if she didn't want to talk, he needed to make sure she got home okay.

"Uh, well, I'm Wayne Munson. Eddie's uncle, if you know him." It was a risk since his nephew did have a more infamous reputation, but if she knew him or the kids that hung around, then she might be more inclined to trust him.

"Anyway, sorry to hear you're havin' troubles, but you shouldn't be out here so late." He paused, giving her a moment since even through the darkness he could see all the heavy thoughts racing through her head. "You got somewhere to go?"

[chosenbyechoes]

Lost In The Echoes

(open roleplay)

Location: Forest

Time: 12:45 a.m.

When: March, 25, 1987

It all started when Eleven was sleeping peacefully. It was a good sleep—dark, but not the kind she had faced when she was younger in the tank chamber, where she had been held for long periods of time. For her, the past was never far away—not from her, or from anyone in Hawkins. Sometimes luck wasn’t around, and chaos was the only thing left to face; even surviving became the main goal. She opened her eyes suddenly, gasping for air as her hands clutched her chest tightly, trying to ground herself. As she did, the lights flickered, and the door in front of her slammed shut with her mind. The noise made her flinch. Blood began to drip slowly onto her sheets. Her eyes fixed on it as she moved her hand from her chest, wiping the blood away with the back of her hand. Eleven forced herself to breathe slowly, in and out, steady and soft. As she did, the lights stopped flickering. She got out of bed and walked to the door. When she opened it and stepped into the hallway, the house was silent. It was the middle of the night, and no one else was awake. At least, she thought so. She decided to leave—just to clear her head. The only way she knew how was to go for a walk. Somewhere not too far. Somewhere no one could see her or ask questions. It had been days since her breakup with Mike, and she was taking it… as well as she could. Of course she was sad, but it was something that had been a long time coming, and her mind was still trying to make sense of it. She wondered if Mike would ever forgive her, or if he would simply pretend that what they had never existed. And what they had was something no one could replace. Was it for the best? She opened the front door and stepped out into the night. The cool air filled her lungs and chilled her skin. For a moment, it felt like everything she was feeling might fade away—if only temporarily. As she walked, she pulled a hoodie over her head, just in case. Her mind drifted back to Mike for a moment. Her shoes hit the pavement with each step as she moved down the street. Her eyes caught sight of a small patch of forest, and she made her way toward it. Twigs snapped beneath her feet as she pushed through the trees, eventually reaching a small clearing. She sat in the middle of it, burying her head in her hands, trying not to cry—trying not to let the thoughts and memories consume her, the way they had consumed her friend, Ollie. The darkness seemed to close in around her as she sat there alone, breathing, trying to hold herself together. There were so many things she didn’t know, things she had never been taught. She had never really been taught how to live—only how to survive. To endure whatever the lab had done to her. To maybe understand why she was so important. It had been a while since everything with Vecna and the echoes had happened, but it still felt like too much. She didn’t know what to do. The sounds of the night filled the air as she sniffled, and tears began to fall from her eyes.

@sterpstarters

[waynemunsonste]

Wayne often picked up night shifts at the plant. The nights he wasn't working, he was either warming a bar seat or walking aimlessly in a futile attempt to clear his head. For a man his age, his life should be simple, but ever since he realized there was more lurking in the shadows, nothing was simple.

Sighing, he trudged through the forest, wishing he had brought a beer with him, but he also did not want to get a ticket for public intoxication. He had been cut a few breaks when Eddie was still believed to be dead, but that card was maxed out since the kid was back. He was beyond grateful his nephew was alive, but that meant he had to get back to normalcy, whatever that looked like for the Munsons now.

He paused when he heard soft sounds that didn't belong in the forest. It took him a second to realize it was the sound of crying, and he was quick to investigate the source.

"Hey, kid." He called out to the curled up figure, too small to be an adult. No kid should be out here this late, but he kept his distance for fear of scaring them away since, to them, he might just be a strange man wandering the forest. "You okay?" He asked gently.

[awakenedsorcerer]

“Hello! Uh, no, not at the moment. Is everything okay?”

[waynemunsonste]

"Uh, yeah, everything's fine. Just...overthinking, I guess. You see him tell him to find a phone and call me. It's nothing important."

[waynemunsonste]

☏ ring, ring... connecting to @awakenedsorcerer

"hey, kid, is eddie at your place?"

[cynicalkilljoy]

The day didn’t start so great for Ollie. She woke up to David barging into her room. He was angry because she had come home late and wasn’t there on time. Days like this made Ollie want to run away—but there was someone, and a place, she could go when she needed it. Eddie. Someone she knew she could count on. Besides, he was always there when no one else was. “Ollie, where were you last night? You been sneaking around again with that boy?” David said sternly, looking at her with angry eyes—eyes Ollie knew all too well. She got out of bed and stood a few feet away from him, crossing her arms. “If you’re referring to my best friend, Eddie, then no. And it doesn’t matter where I’ve been. Mind your damn business.”Ollie shouted at him as he took a few breaths and said, “Maybe some manners would do you good. You mouth off to me again, and I can make one call to the government and you’re gone.”That’s when Ollie flung her hand forward, throwing him back into the wall. Blood trickled slightly from her nose. “Do it! I dare you! See what happens!”That’s when Ruby—Ollie’s mom—came into the room. Her eyes landed on Ollie leaning over David, about to hit him,“Tell your husband to fuck off,” Ollie said coldly to her mother, who only stared at her like she was an alien—like some kind of creature. Ollie sighed, knowing her mother would never take her side. It was always about David. It was never about Ollie or how she felt. It wasn’t Ollie’s fault her mom cheated and her dad walked out.

“So what—you’re just going to space out every time, like the time you cheated on Dad?!”Suddenly, Ollie felt a slap across her face. She looked at her mother, stunned, holding her burning cheek. “Get out!” her mother screamed. “GET OUT!”“Mom, come on, I—” Ollie stopped when she saw tears falling from her mother’s eyes. “I don’t want to hear it, Olivia. You obviously don’t understand the whole story,” her mother said, helping David up from the floor.“No. I know enough to know that I HATE YOU!” Ollie shouted, storming out of her room as her mom chased after her. “You don’t mean that, Olivia! Get back here!”But Ollie was already out the door, tears falling from her eyes as she walked. She knew David wouldn’t come after her—and neither would her mother. Something she wished, deep down, her mother would do. As she walked, she knew exactly who she wanted to see: Eddie. He would know what to do. She knew he’d do his best to comfort her—maybe smoke with her, or just listen to whatever she needed to say. After walking for some time, Ollie saw the sign for Forest Hills Trailer Park and knew she was almost there. She found the trailer and walked up the steps, tears still falling as she quickly pounded on the door. “Eddie, I need you… please,” she said. The door opened, and his uncle Wayne stood before her, asking if she needed Eddie. Her eyes met his, glossing over again, but she quickly wiped her tears away. “I—I am…” Ollie looked down for a moment, then back up, sniffling as she wiped her eyes again.

[waynemunsonste]

As soon as he took in her full appearance, puffy eyes and a shaking voice, he knew the girl needed help. A sigh of worry left his lips, having no idea when his nephew would be back. Eddie had agreed to a daily phone call at least, proof of life, so Wayne never had to question if something awful had happened again or if it was just the boy's usual wayward behavior.

"He's not here right now." He paused, clearing his throat. "I'm not sure when he'll be back, but you can come in and wait for him." He offered, stepping aside so she could let herself in.

[waynemunsonste]

location: munson trailer for: @cynicalkilljoy

sippping on his beer, wayne watched the alien known as ET float across his screen. a bit mushy for his taste, but he had to admit, it contained a compelling story.

he was about to bring the bottle to his lips again when a hurried knock interrupted his tv time. setting down his beer, he was slow to approach the door, figuring it was no one of importance until he opened his door to a recognizable young girl.

"hey, you looking for eddie?" he asked, knowing his nephew had yet to return home for the day.