revivalproject | +1 Babysitter

Entry tags:

+1 Babysitter

WHO: Steve Harrington
WHERE: Wandering in town and at the diner
WHAT: A Babysitter named Steve enters the chat
WHEN: Post sports day. He'll be devastated he missed it
WARNINGS: S4 Stranger Things spoilers but nothing else.

[Welcome to Even Stranger Things]

Steve still wasn't entirely sure what had happened to him. One second he was asleep in the hellscape that was now Hawkins, and then he was in some sort of alien city? The floating orb thing had explained it to him, kind of, but he didn't know if he could trust that information. After all, why would a group of aliens looking to hurt them just outright say that? It would be stupid. So who fucking knew what this whole thing was about.

Not to mentioned they were all kidnapped. That didn't seem like great behavior, all considered. Definitely not a super first impression.

But it didn't seem like he had a lot of say on it. He was here now and it was up to him to make the best of it. At least he had his bat. Steve rested it against his shoulder as he walked around the area, just getting the layout. Not that he was absorbing all that much, of course. He kept stopping short, seeing some sort of weird animal or strange looking building. Finally though, after his wandering, he saw something that looked more familiar. Someone to talk to, maybe. Another hostage?

"Hey! Wait up!" Steve runs to catch up. "Hey, I'm new here. Are you...uh. Kidnapped too?"

[Boy's Gotta Eat]

It's been a long few days of trying to get his bearings and settling in. Steve finally stopped bringing his nailbat with him but that didn't mean his guard is down. He'd had enough moments of thinking things were fine only to have a monster pop out of nowhere to ever be truly relaxed. Besides, he is still a hostage, nevermind that the aliens are pink and sort of adorable in an oblivious, Eleven sort of way. Have to stay on his toes.

And that means he really needs to get some food.

Steve saw the diner on the map and ventures out early in the morning. He isn't sure how he is going to pay or what sort of food will be in there, but he's finished the protein bars he'd gotten from the replicator and is starving. Beggars can't be choosers.

"Hello?" He walks inside and looks around. "Uh. Here for the food? As long as it's not like, alien worms or something like that?" Although he's hungry enough that it maybe wouldn't matter.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Probably not the future of your world," Gladio said with a shrug as they reached the diner door. His hands seem full, don't they? He gestures with his wrist and the book in his hand disappears in a burst of blue sparks. Weird, right?

"Only Noctis and I come from Eos so far, and your name definitely isn't much in line with names from there. As for VHS tapes, where I'm from they've been replaced. VHS, they're magnetic strip stuff, that breaks down. They get worse and wore quality over time. So instead people moved on to CDs, small compact discs. Those got replaced too by DVDs, same profile, more size and quality. Then those got replaced with blue-ray, same profile, more size and quality again. But mostly where I'm from it's all digital now."

Holograms earns a chuckle as he pushes the door open.

"Nah, we don't have that yet, and we aren't going to be making any real tech advances for a time."

Steve blinks through the whole explanation and then finally frowns. What do they mean VHS have worse quality and wear out? Eventually, maybe. If you watched it a million times...

"If you make sure to use a good rewinder and don't like, leave it out in the sun, it's fine," Steve explains with a bit of a huff. He likes his tapes, thanks. And what the fuck is a compact disc? A small frisbee? How would that fit into a tape deck? And why did it have to be blue?

"And what do you mean, 'digital'? Like it's...green and shit? Like those clocks?" That didn't sound like an improvement. It sounds pretty dumb. Steve's almost pouting as he rushes forward to hold the door open for Gladio and keeps thinking about the frisbees and stupid digital movies.

Time is a thing, kid. You'll watch it a hundred times and the quality will diminish every time. It's just how things work.

"Yeah, we found out that wasn't true at all. And most VHS players had rewind functions. You didn't need a specific device."

Though he laughs at the clock thing.

"You check out your communicator yet?"

He moves confidently through the diner and heads right for the kitchen. He'll need to go into the back room from there to get these things dressed.

"See..." Okay, here is where he can shine. He knows his shit here. This is his moment. "That is where people are wrong. If you use the on-deck rewinder, it can actually mess with the tape. Too many times and you risk it crinkling or getting some damage. If you use the special rewinder, you preserve the tape for a lot longer. It's all about that extra care..."

He follows Gladio, trying to get the doors or whatever else he can as the guy moves.

"And yeah, I used the communicator. It's pretty cool. I don't know how it works but the talking and seeing people at the same time is definitely like, 2000 stuff."

Gladio rolls his eyes.

"Maybe in your time," he says with a shrug. "CDs don't degrade like that. And digital, damn, I could probably store several thousand years of movies on something the size of a VHS. But see, that's what digital is like. Smooth images, wherever and whenever you want them."

He's seen plenty on his phone too.

"Hm. Whatever."

Thousands of movies? In a digital? Steve can't imagine it and he's sort of offended on behalf of his tapes, but it's not worth it to fight out. He doesn't entirely get it, anyways. And the tablet did have good images...

"So music is on those digital things too?" He thinks about Eddie and his tapes. "Is there music stored on them now?"

"Yep. And games, of course."

He smiles and pushes into the back room. "All on one device that also allows calls, video calls, maps, GPS tracking, messaging, even shopping."

Kid you're missing out on so much.

"Games? Like tetris and shit?" Steve is just about coming to terms with that idea before Gladio keeps talking and all the rest of that sounds like something out of a sci fi show.

"That device probably costs as much as a damn house. Jesus. Why do you even need all that crap?"

"And FPSes, RPGs, MMOs, and of course, King's Quest," Gladio said. Because any of those letters make any sense to the kid. Now that they're in the kitchen he goes to a big sink in the back and then starts fetching out sealable containers.

"Alright, let's show you how it's done. And it's only a few hundred. Houses are tens of thousands of dollars if they aren't all that great."

FPS, RPG, MMO... What? Steve nods just because it's easier than diving into more of this subject. Something tells him it's not going to help him understand all that much better. Every other thing Gladio says just makes things sound more and more bizarre. Hundred thousands of dollars for a house that wasn't even good? Maybe he should just stay here.

"Uh. Okay..." He stands next to the containers and looks at the dead animals warily. "So. Uh. We...cut?"

"Actually, first we have to get the skin off," Gladio says, reaching into his belt to pull a knife for that. "Watch closely. I'll show you how to do it."

He had too much experience in this.

Steve goes a little green at the view of the knife. Still, he nods, setting his shoulders and paying attention so that he doesn't need to be taught this a second time. At the very least he can be a good student at something.

"Sure..."

Gladio looks to the kid and... Yeah. He sighs.

"Go wash dishes. Or tables. Or windows. This isn't for you."

Steve bristles.

"I can do it! I haven't before but I can figure it out." He puts his hands on his hips, frustrated that Gladio apparently could see his unease. "It's just...hunting and stuff. I can do it."

Really? That was what he was going to claim? Gladio puts down the knife, crosses heavily muscled arms over his chest and stares at the young man.

"You look half sick. Don't push yourself."

He frowns, feeling like he is being a wimp. He's ripped apart monsters with his fucking bare hands. This? This is just butchering. It's a life skill. He can do it. There's no way Gladio is gonna take away from their first meeting that Steve is too fucking sensitive for this shit.

"I can do it," he says firmly. "Just show me how."

Gladio turns to regard the kid fully, arms crossed over his chest. No, he's not doing this right now.

"Some people can adapt to this stuff. Some can't. There's no shame in that."

"You don't know what I can adapt to." His chin tilts up, frustrated now at the perceived judgement being leveled at him. "You have no idea the shit I've seen. I can do this. You don't have to handle me with kid gloves just because I was queasy for a second."

"You could get sick over what other people are going to eat," Gladio counters. "Which is of course bad."

"I bit into an alternate dimension demon bat and tore it apart by its fucking tail. I won't throw up." He extends his hand out for a knife. "We need to take off the fur first?"

Gladio sighs. This kid was stubborn. He takes back up the knife.

"Going to show you first. And bring the trash closer, in case you chuck."

Steve is going to throw himself off a building before throwing up at this point. He rolls his eyes but drags the trashbin closer all the same. Hands on his hips, he stands off to the side and watches. "Go ahead."

Well then, he won't argue. Instead he nods and proceeds to do the first cut.

After the cleaning is done, Steve is greener but still standing and still determined. He manages to do a sloppy job on his own and that's about all he can tolerate before taking a break. He looks at Gladio instead of the animals.

"You must do this a lot..."

"Yeah," he says with a nod. "Easier with small animals, less to work off."

But he was clearly practiced, and was cleaning his hands carefully now that he had the meat packed away.

"Meat is useful here."

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Going to ftb the actual cleaning, for my own sake. Should we skip ahead?

In my head it was a fish, lol. Yes please!

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