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

[oorah]

[ frank gets caught up in every tiny detail will deems to add to the mural, thinking of princess movies and books his lisa used to love. he bites his lips against an audible sigh. when will finally spots him and signs, his smile only widens and he shrugs in a half-hearted apology. then he opens out his banner he made for castle byler: it reads иσ мσυтнвяєαтнєяѕ with a giant skull he painted in the background. he's not as artistic as will but hopefully he approves???? ]

[deadboywalking]

[Never in the history of the entire world has a scrunchy >| face turned so rapidly into a :D face before. It's like flipping a switch, and Will almost falls off his chair in his haste to get up close and examine the banner with giddy delight. He's literally bouncing on his heels, so pleased by the entire thing. Skulls! Mouthbreathers! Cool signs! A person tall enough to hang it! Best day ever!]

[oorah]

[ he aims to please okay. frank doesn't think he's ever seen will so happy and it's definitely contagious. he lifts the banner and looks around, as if to ask will where he wants it. frank was honestly going to plaster it on the front of the house with no direction though. ]

[deadboywalking]

[Thank goodness you ask, Frank, because Will has Design Ideas. Can't ruin the feng shui of the tweenage boy house. He hops off the chair, sticking the yellow-tipped paintbrush behind one ear (and getting paint in his hair), then waving Frank out to the front of the house.

Hands on his hips, he considers the door and the "Castle Wheeler-Byers" sign already hanging out front, before finally pointing at a spot up and to the right of the front window. Riiiight there. Subtle positioning, not too obtrusive.]

[oorah]

[ frank follows will out without commenting about the paintbrush in his hair or any of it. it's oddly endearing really. he nods to show he understands, then ducks back inside the house to find adhesive of some kind. not eve a minute later he's outside with a box to stand on, climbing on silently and holding up the banner where will had pointed. then he turns to look over his shoulder so will can tell him if it's crooked or if he wants to move it before frank tapes it up. ]

[deadboywalking]

[Fortunately Will's silence points went towards buying every art thing, so in addition to a quadrillion pints of paint, boxes of crayons, colored pencils and markers, there's masking tape, double-sided tape, duct tape, scotch tape and glitter tape. Take your pick, Frank.

In the meantime, Will's standing on his toes to make sure there's no dust or debris that'll make the tape have trouble adhering, straightening the "Castle Wheeler-Byers" sign so there'll be a nice symmetry. Then he's scurrying back a few feet, squinting thoughtfully at the sign, then pointing to the left. Just a biiiit that way...liiiittle more....then he gives Frank two thumbs up. Perfect!]

[oorah]

[ this kid's serious direction is killing him, but he does as instructed, adhering the banner to the house exactly where will wants it. frank gets down and puts the crate over his shoulder, offering up his OK symbol. he is going to make sure this house is the coolest house in the neighborhood, that's for sure. ]

[deadboywalking]

[Will responds with an emphatic two thumbs up, bouncing forward like he's about to fling his arms around Frank and squeeze him in excitement. He stops himself, though, just in time. Not quite at that point of affection, it seems.]

[oorah]

[ frank sees his approach and stops, waiting to see what the boy will do. when it's clear he isn't coming any closer, frank holds out his free hand in a fist to bump, smiling softly. ]

[deadboywalking]

[Oh, okay, that's an excellent compromise. Have the tiniest of fist-bumps, and another of those softly adoring smiles. Why are you the best Frank?]

[oorah]

[ that smile means the world to him, and after the fist bump he'll follow will back inside to watch him paint some more. it's not a bad way to wile away an afternoon, all things considered. ]