Lines form on my face and hands

[satanicpanics]

Who: Eddie & you???
When: November
Where: Solvunn, Horizon, Nocwich
What: Catch-all!
Warnings: The Nocwich prompt has some Weed Smoking



Horizon

[ Eddie’s domain is both extravagant and humble, depending on the path you take. On most days, when he’s not hosting a D&D campaign, the castle is shrouded in mist and he can be found in the shabby little trailer tucked somewhere in the trees. Most days this month are no exception. If the door is ajar, you’re welcome to pop your head in, and if you follow the sound of music, and you’ll find Eddie and his guitar both sitting on an unmade bed in the only bedroom in the house, scribbling something on a piece of paper and mumbling to himself over the decidedly un-Eddieish sound of Muddy Waters crackling over the record player speakers. ]

Shit, that’s no good…that’s just Stevie Ray Vaughn and you, Munson, are no Stevie Ray Vaughn…

[ But, if you’re really lucky (or just want to see the castle lbr), on some days you may find the mist cleared and the doors of the castle propped open. If you head inside, you’ll find Eddie seated at the head of a long table, yet scribbling something on a piece of paper. ]

Hey.

[ His gaze flickers up, and he points to whoever’s just entered his space. ]

What sounds like a better enemy? Gelatinous cube or brain mole? Don’t even think. Gut instinct only.


Secondary Settlement; Shrines

[ Eddie has been here for over a year and he has never willingly visited the shrines. He doesn’t know how to feel about the Solvunn gods beyond acknowledging that they probably do exist, which is an incredibly weird feeling for someone who wasn’t raised with any sort of religious background and bad experiences with people who were.

But he does as Wanda suggested. He finds a shrine tucked away in the forest, not fully abandoned but clearly visited less than some of the others if the handful of dried leaves and vines he has to clear away is any indication. He doesn’t leave an offering—not in the tradition sense, at least, but instead, he settles down before the shrine with his guitar. ]

Alright, old gods. [ His gaze flickers upwards, and he clearly feels a little ridiculous, but he’s already come all this way. ] I guess, uh…I guess this one’s for you.

[ And he begins to play, something a little less loud than he’d normally choose, but not at all stripped of the typical Munson spirit. He plays until the last chord rings out, and hesitantly glances around. He’s not entirely sure what he expected to happen. Maybe being smote was in the cards, but nothing is a little disappointing. ]

Alright. Tough crowd.


Nocwich; Smoke circle

[ It’s always upsetting to see someone disappear. It’s also a little terrifying, because no one seems to know where the people who slip from this world go. People try to soothe themselves with the idea that they’ve been returned home, but Eddie doesn’t find a whole lot of comfort in that. As far as he knows, if he slips from Abraxas, he’s nothing but dust in the wind, and the same could go for anyone else.

Klaus is the latest to disappear, and Eddie can’t help but think that Oleuni Square looks especially lonely without its eternal stoner and his supplies there on the grass. So he takes it upon himself to keep the tradition going. He and Klaus always had similar vibes, but at first glance, Eddie is just a little more intense, and maybe just a little less approachable. ]

I’m guessing you’re looking for the other guy? Yeah, well, he’s gone, so I’m what you’ve got. Same weed, though.


Wildcard

[ Anything you want. Find me at muttonchops if you want to plan something! ]

Comments

[hairington]

[ the you don't know i failed physics gets the most blank, flat look steve can pull off in that moment. in one part because he absolutely knows that eddie failed physics (he doesn't, he's just guessing), and in another part because that-

well, that isn't the point. and maybe it should be a little weird that both he and eddie have almost the exact same responses to each other there, but steve doesn't know if he wants to dwell on that too much. because the truth in this little exchange is that steve gets it - eddie's infamous repeating of grades may have been one of the top points of gossip around hawkins, but that's only because he was always going to draw attention. steve didn't do much better in school, scraping by with barely enough to pass most - if not all - of his classes.

( and no, he does not want to think too hard about how he knows there were tests he failed. exams and projects he bombed. how the math, even knowing how bad at that he was, didn't add up.

the fact he graduated at all is a favor, some dark, deep part of him is absolutely sure of that. not that it really matters anymore. )

anyway, it doesn't matter. henderson and co are stupid smart and steve knows they're the type that will go off to change the world. meanwhile, he and eddie are talking about goat-powered batteries and how some part of this will make it work. later. because the batteries work right now, and steve has the headphones over his ears, and eddie-

eddie's eyes are very brown, and pretty big too. steve stares at them for a second longer than he has any reason to, and is only really pulled away from it by the sound of eddie's throat clearing. right, yes, music - eddie lets go and so does steve. even if in that following moment steve doesn't really know what to do with his hands, so they end up falling into his lap as eddie fast forwards through to the next song. and he is going to take this seriously, because he knows music - this music in particular - means a lot to eddie. so steve settles, lets out a breath and closes his eyes; lets the music begin.

luckily for steve, and unluckily for eddie, steve remains focused through...well, the whole course of the song. his head starts to bob along at some point, finding the rhythm something he could get behind. it's not his music, it's not anything he would pick out for himself, but it is pretty much exactly something he would imagine eddie listening to. eddie learning how to play. and because of that, somehow, steve feels himself getting even more into it - even as the song continues on.

and it isn't until the end, when the song comes to its abrupt finale, that he cracks open an eye to see eddie still watching him and seeming almost...nervous? ]

It sounds like you. [ he says with a small smile as he reaches up and pulls the headphones from his ears. he hands them over. ] Like- what I'd expect you to listen to. They're good. I can see why you like them.

[satanicpanics]

Hell yeah it does.

[ Eddie is positively beaming as he takes the headphones back. Maybe Steve is telling him what he wants to hear, but it doesn’t matter, because it but it doesn’t seem like he's faking it. Steve listened to the entire song and didn’t even use the guitar interlude as an excuse to duck out, and that means something to Eddie. It's small, but it's important and Eddie isn't going to forget it.

He’s made music, this music especially, an enormous part of his personality. Even here, far from Indiana, the remnants of its influence are apparent. He still wears his hair long, still wears rings and black, and he’s paid more than one visit to Nocwich to add to his tattoo collection. The connection between him and metal is there and it’s always going to be there, but most people have viewed it as a negative. And to hear it sounds like you in a positive way? Kind of nice. Really nice, actually. ]

You know…

[ He tilts his head, turning that magnificent Walkman over in his hands once more, and he doesn’t know what compels him or what makes him connect this moment to another, but Eddie who seems to share so little about himself that isn’t D&D or his encyclopedic knowledge on music unless his death is involved, chooses to willingly disclose something about himself: ]

I, uh…I nearly had a record deal once. Or a chance at one. Senior year—first senior year—this big shot record producer out in California liked our demo and we were supposed to audition for him. Kind of fell through. Annnd I don’t know why I just told you that.

[ It’s not that it’s embarrassing, because it really isn’t. After all, he didn’t fail. He didn’t even get the chance. It’s disappointing it fell through so royally, sure, and maybe his luck would have improved if he were in California, but it’s just another one of those things he holds close to his chest. It just doesn’t seem worth mentioning when it never went anywhere. But Steve is sort of in his world now. He listened to the music, got something out of it, and now he has the key. ]

Sorry, man, Motormouth Munson. Just can’t stop sometimes.

[hairington]

[ eddie is beaming, and steve finds himself a bit caught up in it. it's not the first time either, just like it isn't the first time steve suddenly gets why dustin had been so obsessed with eddie. why all the kids had been drawn to eddie so quickly, so intensely. he may not fully understand what it is he's done, or said, to get this kind of reaction - but he's not going to question it too much. eddie likes music, eddie likes this kind of music, and whether or not it's steve's preference doesn't matter nearly as much.

( lord knows he's watched plenty of movies he doesn't actually care about for robin. it's not that hard to listen to a cassette. )

you know eddie starts, and steve's blinking back to the present. to the realization he'd definitely just been staring. smooth, harrington. he blinks, and listens, and eddie mentions something about a record deal and California and steve's brain stutters to a stop somewhere in the middle of it all. ]

Wait- seriously? Holy shit, Munson. [ there's not enough time for steve to realize that this is one of those rare moments where eddie is actually revealing something about himself, because he's a bit too caught up on the facts of it all. the mental image of eddie in california, a part of a famous band, escaping hawkins once and for all...

steve's thoughts stutter to a stop right about there, knowing what he knows, but he doesn't want to bring the mood down. doesn't want to bring up what they both know but don't like talking about. so instead, steve laughs, shakes his head. ] That's sick. Sucks that it didn't go through, but damn.

[ and then steve snorts, shifting away from where he'd moved to sit right up against eddie's side back to where his armor is...still strewn around the floor. he wants eddie to have time to listen to his music, after all, and he's only halfway through his cleaning routine. ]

Dude, don't apologize. You've met Robin- that's a motormouth. You're not even close.

you wanna call this wrapped/wrap it up? to make room for NEW THREADS IN A NEW YEAR...

[satanicpanics]

Dude, you think I’d make that shit up?

[ Sure, maybe it didn’t work out. Hell, maybe it wouldn’t have worked out even if he had made it to California, but he can still be proud of himself for brushing hands with fame, however brief it was. Stuff like that doesn’t usually happen for anyone, let alone guys like him. ]

Pretty fun story, though, actually. I’ll have to tell you about it sometime.

[ And by that he means it wasn’t particularly fun at all, but he can look back on it without too much bitterness now. He’s always going to wonder what might have changed if he had gotten out of Hawkins, where he’d be now, but it does no good to dwell on it. That’s not really his life anymore, and to be frankly honest, there’s not much he’d change about the past year in Abraxas.

Sure, the fact that there still seems to be the threat of looming war that no one wants to mention isn’t great. Oh, and Steve not being kidnapped for over a month would have been preferable, and it would be nice to know if Robin was safe after her brief appearance in the world, but it’s…sort of nice here. Solvunn has taken on a certain level of homeyness, though Eddie’s not so sure he would feel the same if Steve weren’t here with him.

It’s odd, though, this weird turn their friendship has taken, because it is not lost on Eddie hat it’s become common for Steve holds his gaze just a little longer than what seems socially appropriate, and it’s not lost on Eddie that it makes his stomach flip, or that this gift is more precious to him than gold, and he really doesn’t know what to do with any of that information.

Just ignore it for now, probably, and hope whatever it is buffs itself out.]

But for now—I’ve got a date with Iron Maiden. You understand, I’m sure.

[ He beams and slips the headphones back over his ears, beaming as the song transitions into a percussion-powered instrumental. ]

Thanks again, dude.

[ And without being asked, he reaches once more for a piece of armor to clean. Steve never asked, but he never told him to stop either, and turning it into a two person job will get it done faster. For now, it’s the very least he can do. ]

ties this off with a bow

[hairington]

Honestly?

[ steve makes a face that says actually, yeah, part of him does believe that eddie could make that shit up. he's a freaking crazy storyteller, he could make up anything and chances are steve would believe him.

but it's mostly a joke. partially a joke. steve believes that eddie could make that up, but he doesn't think he has. there's something a little too vulnerable, a little too real, about the way he shares it. and knowing eddie, knowing him like he does now, it's not so crazy of a story. he could absolutely see eddie as one of those people who made it, who got found and got out and did it.

except that he didn't - both of them know that - so steve lets the conversation slide away. ] I'll hold you to it. [ about hearing the story, at least. he does kind of want to know - how someone heard about a metal band from hawkins indiana - but he wonders if that's pushing too much. if they're in a place where eddie can talk about what almost happened. steve knows that they're pretty far removed from whatever that life might have been, but it can't feel great. it can't be fun.

god, he wished he know what he was doing. wished he was better at...anything. this. he also wished he knew what this was. because some part of him knows that calling it friendship isn't quite right, even if they've officially been friends for long enough now that it's something. somewhere between the year of living together, the nightmares and events that they've survived, the fact solvunn still feels weird and still feels foreign but also feels a lot like home, too.

( this feels like home. )

eddie makes some comment about having a date with iron maiden and steve just rolls his eyes, his head lolling back for the dramatics of it, even if that was kind of the whole point. ] Yeah, yeah. [ and then steve is refocusing on his armor, picking up the towel and shifting over back to where he'd been sitting earlier.

the thanks again gets steve's attention for just a moment - a glance, a smile, a nod. ] Any time. [ and then steve's back on his armor, on the routine. he catches eddie's hand out of the corner of his eye, and without thinking twice he hands over one of the smaller pieces, letting the both of them fall into relative, comfortable silence for the rest of the evening. ]