you can color my world with sunshine every day

[deadboywalking]

Featuring: Will Byers deadboywalking and you~
What's happening: General March catch-all business
Day/s: Throughout March (3/02-3/31)
Content warning: panic attacks, ptsd, mentions of self-harm, possession, death, suicidal ideation (all in prompt 3)

i. casa de wheeler-byer

[So Will and Mike have a house now, which is an excellent thing for two eighth-graders to have. It's small, just enough for the two of them, and Will is obsessed with it. He's barely left it since the first day it appeared, busy painting every single wall with the variety of art supplies he got from Eddie.

One wall is a forest, one is a lake, another is a field with the sun shining and the sky a brilliant blue (and a rainbow ofc), and another is a literal castle. Will's working on this last one now, in the living room, sitting cross-legged so he can work on the details of every single stone in the outer wall, the links in the chain of the drawbridge, the sprigs of bright green grass along the moat. He's got paint all over him, in his hair, smudged on his face, on his clothes.

He hasn't been this happy in weeks. Since before coming to Reims. Since before the Upside-Down. He's in a focused, intent trance, but he's calm and happy enough that any visitors would be welcomed.]

ii. do you take commissions?

[Now that Will has his art supplies back, he's on a roll. He's already helped Kara and Faith redecorate, as well as made a sign for Majima, so why not offer his services to more people who might need it?

Hence:] un: willthewise - if anyone needs anything drawn or painted or any signs or anything done, let me or mike know. it's really grey and sad here, so i wanna help it be a little more colorful, if i can. mike's usually at fight club, and i'm at castle wheeler-byers. it's got a sign, you can't miss it.

i'll also be doing illustrations for mike's book of monsters thing, so if you gave him anything for that and want to make sure i did it right, come by.

iii. because a vision softly creeping left it's seeds while i was sleeping; open to close CR

[Most days are good ones. Will has settled in to a routine here in Reims -- go to Fight Club with Mike, visit his friends, draw or paint or sketch late into the night. Try and stay out of trouble -- nothing stupid or risky, stay away from the monsters. Help out where-ever he can. It's not perfect, it's not home, but Will's sort of happy here.

On the good days.

But then there are the bad ones. Sometimes it's a nightmare, sometimes it's a smell or a sight or a barely-audible sound. Sometimes Will just wakes up and he knows already it's going to be one of the bad days. He'll try to go through his routine like normal, try to pretend that everything's okay, but then there'll be that one tiny thing that flips the switch in his brain and --

-- and he's back, he's riding home from mike's and something is chasing him, he's in the shed with the rifle, no he's in the shed tied to a chair, no he's not in the shed he's in castle byers and there's something growingfesteringliving in his lungs and his throat and his stomach, no he's in the field behind school and it's in his ears in his eyes in his mouth and arms and legs and mind and bones and it's walking for him talking for him killing for him, he's in the upside-down and he's so so cold, he's in the lab and there are needles in his arms, he's in the lab and bob is dying bleeding screaming and he's happy he's so happy it's exactly as he planned, he's in the shed and tapping out C L O S E G A T E C L O S E G A T E K I L L I T K I L L M E K I L L M E --

and in reality Will is sitting hunched over on the front steps of his house in Reims, doubled almost in half, absolutely still, absolutely silent, because he has his wrist shoved into his mouth and he's biting down as hard as he can to keep from screaming.

Because he has to be quiet.]

Comments

iii

[justbeingknife]

[ At first, he thought that maybe Will was having some kind of seizure -- he'd never actually seen one, but the rigid, unnatural set of his body brought the possibility to mind. At least until he realized that Will was biting down on his wrist deliberately...

He dropped the item he'd been holding in a patch of weeds and mounted the steps to the house, bending down to touch a hand gently to Will's shoulder. ]

You all right?

[ He was mouthing as he approached, knowing that Will couldn't see his lips move, couldn't understand him even if his attention hadn't been firmly elsewhere. ]

[deadboywalking]

[Perhaps predictably, the touch makes Will flinch, cringing in on himself, curling up even tighter. It has the secondary benefit, however, of snapping him out of the flashback, bringing him back to the real world and all the potential dangers it holds.

After a long, silent moment, he shifts enough that he can look up at Majima, eyes wide and glassy and unfocused. Not...exactly all right, nope.]

iii

[iisupergirlii]

[Kara's been meaning to swing by Will and Mike's new house. They've been so excited about it! But right now, she's patrolling, taking her hourly flight around the city to make sure everyone is okay, see if anyone needs help.

She notices Will's crouched form, vaguely rocking, on the steps of his new place and doesn't even think before she's swooping down and crouching next to him, a hand reaching out to touch his arm. A concerned look is on her face - what's the matter?

she forgets that he hasn't met Supergirl yet.]

[deadboywalking]

[The touch makes Will's whole body tense, jerking away, wrist dropping from between his teeth in his surprise. He doesn't gasp -- it's a near thing, but he doesn't -- even as his head shoots up to stare at her. His eyes are wide and wild and completely void of recognition. Maybe it's the cape, maybe it's the scenario, maybe his mind is stuck too firmly in the past, but it's obvious --

-- he has no idea who she is.]

ii; un: MadMax

[beyourzoomer]

Would you consider painting my bedroom? I could pay you in scavenged erasers and...uh, whatever else I find that might be useful.

un: willthewise

[deadboywalking]

you don't have to PAY me, silly. i like doing it. it's fun. how do you wanna paint it?

ii: un:5by5

[rockypath]

Maybe I missed that. What's Mike's Book of Monsters? [This is her forte after all. And she's curious.]

un: willthewise

[deadboywalking]

mike's trying to put together a guide of all the different monsters from everyone's worlds, so in case any of them come here, we know what to do.

like the demogorgon or kilgrave or zombies.

iii

[353]

[ Mike thinks the new house might have been the best thing to happen here because it means Will is happier than Mike has seen him in a while. The old house held bad memories for Mike personally, bumping into Kilgrave that one night he'd been looking for Kara with Faith, having no idea who he was and directing him to her bedroom...

He still feels guilt over that, even though he still would have found her anyway.

The blank walls prove to be a good distraction for Will. So does illustrating his monsters book. They have Atari to play, given with the house, as well as candy -
though they're rationing that, as hard as it is for two eighth-graders to not eat it all at once. Everything seems... well, maybe good isn't the best word, considering the circumstances, but it could be worse.

Until one of those worse days come. Mike wakes up in the middle of the night with a dry throat, feeling a cough coming and shitshitshit he needs water fast, since they're still working on soundproofing the house. After getting a glass of water from the kitchen and swallowing it down, he notices Will's bedroom door is wide open. And there's no sign of Will inside. He thinks about checking the bathroom next, but then he spots the front door is open as well.

Mike immediately starts to panic, doesn't even put shoes on to cover his bare feet as he dashes out the house to start looking for Will -

He nearly collides with Will sitting on the steps, not expecting him to be sitting there. He almost breathes out a sigh of relief, that is until he gets a look at Will's face, his hand in his mouth to stop himself from making noise and all Mike can do is crouch down, hands on Will's shoulders, looking into his face to see where his friend's mind has gone.

Will, he mouths desperately, gently shaking him. Come back. ]

[deadboywalking]

[Even more than Joyce, Mike had always been the one who could reach in to the dark, horrifying places Will's mind went sometimes and drag him back. Halloween hadn't been the first time Mike's hands on his shoulders, his voice in his ears had pulled Will back to reality.

Now isn't much different -- he can't hear Mike, but he knows the grip on his arms, knows the intense, frightened tremor in those hands. He lifts his head, wrist dropping from between his teeth, eyes bright and teary and terrified.

But they focus on Mike, and Will swallows back the gasp of relief, leaning forward and grabbing onto Mike, clinging as tight as he can. Mike's alive, Mike's okay, the monsters didn't get him too. He's okay. He's all right.]

ii. un: slothbaby

[morphogenia]

I offered up some entries. Is any time good?

un: willthewise

[deadboywalking]

yeah, of course! the door should be open. the house kinda smells like paint right now so i'm trying to air it out.

i

[oorah]

[ the only reason will and mike living alone doesn't terrify the shit out of him is that he can see the edge of their shack from his veritable compound, so frank is just going to pretend this is normal. which as far as this place is concerned is probably the only effective coping mechanism available. so here he is, fully healed from vaccine bullshit, and carrying a roll of canvas that doubles as their housewarming gift.

frank creeps into the house silently, eventually coming upon will. what he sees makes him immediately break out into a bright smile. he'll just hang here for a while and wait to be noticed. presents can wait. ]

[deadboywalking]

[Wow, dad, where's the trust, they're the most responsible kids in the entire world.

It takes a full three minutes (count them, three minutes, 180 seconds) for Will to even realize Frank's there. He's too busy outlining a few of the stones in his castle with green, making them look cracked and mossy, leaning in with an intensity that most kids his age haven't learned yet. In fact, that's the constant with all the murals -- they're detailed, intricate in a way that thirteen-year-olds don't usually have the patience to be. All the trees are gnarled and craggy, all the blades of grass are individual brush strokes, all the leaves are carefully tipped with darker green.

It isn't until Will turns to refresh the paint on his brush that he notices Frank, jumping in his seat and just barely managing to keep from gasping aloud. He has paint all over his hands, so he can't really use his device to type, but he signs, quick and clumsy, hands green and blue and gray:] Rude!

iii

[clussy]

(The switch in houses hadn't gone unnoticed by Eddie. It was pretty obvious when there wasn't too much to do around town and suddenly you saw a transition happening right out there in front of you. Especially when that transition involved kids his own age. So he knew where Will and Mike lived now, simple as that, and so it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to be wandering over one day. It was with the simple intention of asking one of the boys if they would like to play. Eddie was still just a kid, and having other boys his own age here meant having friends to play with on the boring days.

He's got his hands in his pockets, walking quietly along the sand trail, and he had his earbuds in, a more modern song playing softly. Since Richie had been so astonished by the ipod, he thought it would be cool to show Will. Will who turned out to be sitting out in front of his house. At first, Eddie began to smile, his pace picking up, only for it to slow down a couple seconds later. Eddie knew that position intimately. It was a position he himself often curled into and it made anxiety twist his gut up into a knot.

Eddie's first instinct was to turn away and leave. To let Will be by himself. He had Mike here to take care of him, and so that was that, right? It would be okay. What if Will didn't want some rando know-nothing kid like Eddie walking over?

But the idea of leaving Will alone when he looked...

That soured Eddie's stomach worse than the idea of confronting Will when Will might not want him to. Taking in a tiny, silent breath, Eddie stepped forward and moved to kneel down in front of Will's feet. He sees what Will is doing and instantly is reaching forward. He gently grabs Will's wrist, and his other hand goes to his cheek. He rubs his thumb just over Will's cheekbone, a quiet motion, and his fingers curl snug but not too tight over his wrist, giving a tiny tug. Stop that.)

Shh.

(His voice is barely audible, something tucked inside itself, where the Sound Eaters couldn't find it.)

[deadboywalking]

[It's likely just an automatic physical reaction to the touch on his face, the tug on his hand, but Will's jaw drops open and his hand moves, vivid red marks standing out on his arms, dots and dashes. Like some sick kind of Morse code. It's not the first time he's done this either -- the bruises are layered. Sometimes you want to scream so badly you have to do something else, something hurting to keep from doing it.

His eyes are very big, glassed-over and lost and completely lacking in recognition when he lifts them to Eddie. Eddie doesn't fit in the flashback he's having, not in the lab, not in the field, not in the shed. He's not one of the monsters, he's not one of the devoured. He's other, a puzzle piece Will can't place for a long, heavy moment.

Then, silent, lips moving on the syllables without sound, he mouths -- Eddie.

That's right. He knows. He knows you.]

un: touched

[waystation]

_{[He hasn't seen it in person yet but Castle Wheeler-Byers sounds pretty awesome, won't lie.]}

Hey, Will. It's Jake.

I already draw them a lot, so I have some pictures to go with the entries I gave Mike. _{[Animal-headed taheen, mostly. And demons like the one he and Roland encountered in the forest. He's had a lot of practice putting their likenesses to paper.]} Do you want them for the book?

[deadboywalking]

you draw? really?? [This is the absolute best news ever!!]

i

[gaits]

[ frank has been talking about their new neighbors for a while now and even if he didn't, they're pretty hard to miss. it takes him a while to make his first visit, only because he hasn't met will yet and he isn't sure if the boy would be comfortable with someone he doesn't know in his house. he's met mike earlier, at least, so he's hoping that will at least make this meeting less awkward.

when david finally makes his way over, he comes bearing a gift or two; he's no artist like will is, but he's pretty handy with wire. once he spots will in the living room, he doesn't make to disturb him just yet, content to watch will as he works with a softer smile on his face. the kids here in reims always remind him of his own children back home -- he's never stopped thinking about zach and leo since he arrived, and he doesn't even know what he's doing trying to take care of these kids with frank, but he can only do the best he can to keep them safe. it's what frank wants, it's what sarah would have done, and he thinks it's what zach and leo would have wanted too. ]

[deadboywalking]

[Will is completely oblivious to anyone else being there, intent on using a teeny-tiny brush to outline a few white flowers on the grass, then a couple birds in the sky. He's very still otherwise, completely calm, completely at ease. He hasn't been this calm in...ever. Definitely not any time in the past year and a half. There's splotches of paint in his hair, but he seems serenely unaware, leaning back to examine the little birds he's painted, then nodding seriously. Will approves.

He turns to dip the brush in paint and startles a little at the sight of David, freezing like a tiny deer in the headlights. Then again, he only knows of one really Bad Guy, and he's locked up right now. So it can't be a Bad Guy.

Plus: he has a bunny made of wire. He must be a friend. Will is tentative nonetheless, straightening up and hesitantly waving with the hand holding the paintbrush, flicking drips of paint onto his cheek.]

ii | un: nancy

[unchancy]

[ As worried as she is about Mike and Will, she knows they're the tough ones (and that she doesn't want to start sounding like her own mother), so she doesn't fuss. ]

This is a really nice idea, Will!
Could you do a sign for my room?

[deadboywalking]

[Damn right, they're the toughest kids. Sort of. Emotionally. Physically Will is a pacifist noodle-arm thank you very much.]

yeah, sure. what kind?
no boys allowed? [He's allowed to tease, she's practically family after eight years.]

a late entry for the 17th because that's how i roll

[waystation]

<sub>[These powers of his have demonstrated they're growing in peculiar, unpredictable ways; each day brings something new. Sometimes he can go days almost forgetting they're there (almost, because he'll never be able to forget the circumstances that brought him to this point), while other times they remind him of their presence in glaring ways.

One of Will's bad days is for Jake a sudden stabbing pain in his head that embodies one of those other times.

Hand to his head, it takes a moment to realize the flare of noise and jumbled sensory impressions erupting across his conscious mind isn't an attack. It's not a shot fired across his bow to hurt him on purpose, it's just loud, a cannon backfiring that makes his mental ears ring.

Is that...? He feels like he recognizes its source.]</sub>

( H-hello...? )

_{[He reaches out to touch Will's mind without thinking.]}

aw yisssss

[deadboywalking]

[In the mixed-up, tangled mess that is Will's subconscious, there is a reflexive tensing at the reach of one mind to his own. It isn't the expected, fearful withdrawing of someone who's never experienced the silent touch of mind-to-mind, but rather a practiced thing. Like someone -- something? -- has been in his head before.

So he draws back, mentally, curls in on himself like a fearful, protective hedgehog, spines out, ready to defend himself. The response isn't so much in words as it is in feeling:

NO.

Then, quieter: notagain]

iii.

[hairington]

[ steve hasn't exactly had the time to get as settled as mike and max and will. he goes to his job at the cannery, he tries to sleep without thinking about there being monsters, tries to keep up with nancy, tries to keep jake and the other kids he's now living with somewhat quiet (which is funny, considering they also have a better concept of how not to get attacked by monsters than he does), and - you know - generally try and get acclimated with this hellscape where they've all found themselves.

for whatever reason, he hasn't really had the time to get to talk to will. be it that they never interacted much back home, or that steve's just been a little hesitant. a hesitation he's now decided is silly. so he makes his way over to where he knows will is living in reims and swallows back whatever stupid nerves that this is just going to be awkward and pushes on.

though any and all of those original plans immediately go out the window when he sees will hunched over on the front steps of the house, steve finding himself nearly sprinting over to where he's curled in on himself and kneeling down in front of him. he opens his mouth, nearly whispering what happened, what is it, what's going on and he remembers nancy mentioning something about this, about what stayed with will, what happened on halloween, and steve takes a breath, slowly and gently setting his hands on will's shoulders, just trying to ground him if nothing else.

he needs a second to think - does he take him inside? try and find a soundproof room? would touching will make it worse? he's already crossed that line, so steve really hopes that isn't the case, waiting to see how will reacts before doing anything more. ]

[deadboywalking]

[It's funny, because Will knows exactly who Steve is. Jonathan had told him all about how Steve had helped the year before, he knows a little about the complex, intricate thing that is Steve and Nancy and Jonathan. Most vividly, though, Will knows about Steve because of the Shadow Monster. Every tendril, every vine, every Demodog had been a small part of the Monster, and Will had been tangled right up in the middle of that entire mess.

So when Steve touches him, Will recoils, something instinctive responding to him as a threat, first and foremost.

Which...probably isn't a great reaction.]