#𖤐 ⸻ arc i ; movie compliant. ❜

[ripgray-moved]

what’s it like having a mom

ASK MY MUSE QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIPS.

𖤐  ⸻ The question makes Peter want to cower. He's been asked this only twice in his life, and both times it's been from people who took issue with the confessions he'd entrusted them with. I feel really alone when I'm at home, he'd mumbled as he wrung his fingers obsessively, not used to being honest about his feelings. But of course, how can you feel lonely when you have a family? Is there anything that's gonna satisfy you if your family doesn't? You know how many kids would kill to have a mom? What's that like by the way?

Peter had felt SO MUCH in those moments, and had he been less terrified of opening up, he'd probably have screamed at them. He'd wanted to punch them, hurl his quivering fist straight into their upturned noses and wail 'PRETTY SHITTY, SINCE SHE ACTS AS IF SHE HATES ME!'

         Contrary to popular belief, he isn't stupid. He learns from his mistakes.

                                                ❛ Pretty great... ❜

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𖤐  ⸻  ❛ Yeah. I remember Starcourt. It was huge news. ❜

Of course, Peter's default reaction to the things that Eddie tells him is SCEPTICISM. It seems absolutely improbable that any of this could happen— but so does what he is currently going through. When looking at things through that lens, it's hard to truly discredit the things he's being told.

Still, interdimensional monsters...? Sounds a little bit like he's in the midst of a prank.

❛ So, this... 'Vecna' guy... why would he do any of this? If I'm understanding what you've said right, he's not even part of this... uh, 'dimension'. ❜ Peter cringes at himself. The things he's saying sound ABSOLUTELY ridiculous. They feel wrong in his mouth. ❛ I mean, what's his problem? And why is he targeting random teens? ❜

It isn't even that he expects Eddie to know the answers to his questions per se; it's that if he doesn't at least question what's being said to him a little bit, it'll fail to sink in. He won't be able to ACCEPT it because he'll forever worry this is a joke, a means of some asshole kid taking advantage of another's fucked up state. Highschoolers have always been cruel, and though he tells himself that there's no way he'd have bothered to talk him down from a panic attack if his only intention was to mock him, the sad reality is that so many do equally big or EVEN BIGGER gestures to lull their targets into a false sense of security. Hell, pretending to have romantic interest and asking people on dates as a means of getting them to a desired location is a popular means of attack here. If LOVE isn't sacred then what is?

❛ Right. So... what can these people do? 'cause I highly doubt they just... asked this 'Mindflayer' thing to stop and it went home. ❜ Though the idea is slightly hilarious. ❛ What kind of 'help' are we talking here? ❜

✘ ⸻ Forest Hills might be viewed as housing the 'dregs of society' to most, but for Eddie? It had been home for as long as he could remember. Sure, he didn't have a fancy driveway with an even fancier car sat out front, and the roof had a tendency to leak when it rained heavily, but it was home all the same, the first place he'd ever felt truly safe in.

As the pan boiled the water for their coffee —because of course they didn't have a proper stove top kettle or anything— Eddie began to figure out just how he was going to go about the next part of their conversation, where he should start, how much detail he should give —that sort of thing.

Before long he's handing Peter a steaming mug of coffee, of course it isn't the expensive, fancy kind, but it'll do the trick. Plus, he's added an extra sugar in there to help with Peter's nerves. Probably an old wives tale, but he figured it couldn't do any harm. Sugar usually makes him feel better when he's stressed or anxious.

❝ I'll be honest, dude... I don't even know where to start, which sounds like a cop-out, I know. ❞ He speaks as he lowers himself into the seat at the other end of the couch, giving Peter room, the sense that he's not being crowded. ❝ See, I've only been in this mess for a little while, and there's shit I don't know the full story of. ❞

Eddie takes a measured sip at his coffee, the bitter liquid burning his tongue briefly before swallowing it down. He's stalling, he knows he's stalling, but he also knows he can't do that forever, not if he wants Peter to stay and listen.

❝ You remember the mall, right? Starcourt? How it got burned down and some people were killed in it? Local authorities tried to make out it was faulty wiring or some shit... that's... not exactly what happened. I wasn't there, so you're getting a secondary account of events. ❞

Carefully, Eddie explains to Peter what really happened, that a monster from another dimension wrecked the mall in a bid to... well, on that point, he's not so sure. He then back tracks a little more, explains that this monster, the Mindflayer, wasn't the only one, that Will Byers had gotten stuck in this place it came from, that he was partly responsible for bringing it back to their world.

❝ And that's kinda where I come in... there's this... thing, we call it Vecna, he's the one responsible for killing Fred and Patrick, and for fucking the town up as badly as it is. He's been pulling the strings all along... I know it's a lot, and I probably missed a bunch of shit out, but it's the truth. So, if what you're going through is anything like that? We can help you. I know people that can help you. ❞

[ripgray-moved]

𖤐  ⸻  ❛ You know I'm not some LITTLE KID, right? I'm fucking seventeen, just get off my back. I said I'm fine. ❜

[ripgray-moved]

arc tag drops :3c

[ripgray-moved]

𖤐  ⸻ ❛ Iron Maiden? ❜ Peter spares him a brief nod, a gesture of respect. ❛ Can't go wrong with that. I'm more of a Motorhead kinda guy personally, but Iron Maiden's one of the greats for a reason. ❜

Peter's taste in music is so incredibly VARIED that there're even some pop songs he enjoys. As long as something has good composition? It can likely earn a spot in his CD rack, if not his vinyl cupboard.

❛ Me? Oh, I just scout. Music's kinda my thing, so... ❜ Shoulders raise loftily, feigning ease. The truth is that the tension between him and his mom has been getting worse recently; ever since he had that nightmare about Annie sleepwalking into his room, he wanted to spend EVEN LESS TIME THERE. ❛ Think it could be cool to find Skid Row's self-titled. Y'know, the Youth Gone Wild era? They never seem to have it when I come. ❜

gareth knew the sound far too well. he knew the relief of not going home. that's why gareth didn't even question going to the record store with peter. he didn't really want to go home either. "uh---....some iron maiden. every time i go, they're always sold out of the particular album i want,"

it's a vague answer. mainly because he wasn't really telling the truth. though, he's always on the look out for something he doesn't have. he just didn't really know what he was looking for. "what about you? anything your lookin' for in particular?"