Paradise City - Guns n Roses

[playingtough]

WHO: Billy Hargrove & Open
WHERE: The Warrens
WHAT: Various things Billy is doing
WHEN: During the event
WARNINGS: Nudity because shower

["Captain America's been torn apart"]


Our House - Madness

God he is so tired. Tired of walking, even tired of talking. Everything that had transpired between himself and the other Hawkins people was a weight and Billy just wants to sit and sleep. But he can't, because he's gotta find a spot to make his own. Which he does, finding a spot away from others (IE: Away from Eddie and Steve) before heading back out to see if there was anything to eat.

But instead of doing that, he just sits with knees bent and legs falling out a little as he tenderly checks his nose. It's massively bruised from Eddie's well aimed punch, and very tender. Hell, Billy's sort of tender all over, and not in the fun way. He hisses when he presses, tryign to see if it was still broken or not. All he gets is a little trail of blood again and he sighs, pressing his hand to the nostril.

"Fuck."

Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell

Billy stares at the water of the shower. This was the only option because the sauna wasn't an option. Just feeling the humid heat of it was enough to make him turn right back around and go to the little room he had claimed. But he was disguisting and his hair needed some sort of a wash. So off come his clothes to shake out before going in.

It takes a few minutes. Billy scrubs the dirt from his hair and the last of the lingering blood off of his bruised up nose before it hits.

The way the sun had burned his skin while sitting in that lifeguard chair. Managing to get back to the shower room to douse himself in cold water. Then Billy screams, clamping his hands to his ears. The Mind Flayer was gone, with the help of that girl in the mall, but his body remembers. His mind remembers. He remembers the pain of being connected, being smothered in his own head and watching from a distance.

Billy's breathing is ragged as he pulls himself out from underneath the spray, convulsing and shuddering like he was going to be sick.

Funkytown - Lipps Inc.

Well Billy's bored.

Usually that means it would be everyone's problem, but Billy's not doing that this time.

During the times he can't sleep, or when there's nothing else to do, he's been... wandering. With a dining knife. Not to hurt anyone, but to carve into the walls as he explores. It's hard work to carve into the metal walls, but he manages with stubbornness determination. People will find that the halls leading to their rooms have names now, carved into the walls. Marking the way for people to find others without getting lost or wandering. Some are just names, others are slightly mean-spirited (it's only Steve's, with 'hairyton').

The knife scratches against the stone as he pauses at a crossroads further away from the Warrens.

There are various other names, ones he knows from San Diego. El Cajon, Landis, Meade, Morley Field, just to name a few.

It's keeping him busy, keeping him focused.

Comments

Somebody Indeed

[doubled_speed]

Even as sluggish and as messed up as he is, Tommy reacts to certain things in very specific ways. One moment he’s walking slowly toward the space he’d reserved for himself (an out of the way corner he can just curl up in where he hopes no one will find him), and the next there is a noise.

It doesn’t matter that he’s undernourished and that means his body is tired to boot, he just moves. Screams are trouble. Trouble needs him. He runs and…

Yeah, he’s there and for a moment while he’s still in his full speed he takes in the scene and he doesn’t understand it. Moves past Billy in the seconds that are hours and passes his hand through the drops of water from the shower that are stationary in the air. Cold but not corrosive or damaging. An allergy maybe?

Whatever, not important. He circles around to the still form of Billy, hauls his own hoodie off of his shoulders (less food means his body is running poorly and he feels so very very cold) and drapes it over Billy’s shoulders.

Only then does he drop back into a ‘normal’ speed to let himself interact with the other guy.

“Hey there, Curls. You’re gonna be okay. I’m here. How can I help?”

[playingtough]

Billy doesn't know that Tommy's there for a minute. Maybe two. The flashback is harsh, harsher then he ever remembers feeling one. Maybe it was because of the cold water?

His right hand scratches at his left elbow. The scratching turns into clawing because he can see what's not really there. The creeping in of the black, like veins filled with poison becoming visible on his skin. He screams again as his nails finally break the skin but his blood is red. It's not black.

It's not here. He's not Flayed, Billy's still in control.

Finally he looks up and sees Tommy. Sees his mouth moving but the words sound muffled. Like Tommy's trying to talk through a thick blanket. He blinks, stares and finally looks around like he doesn't know where he is.

Then he hears the shower. Feels the hoodie. Hears Tommy talking to him. "...Not here. Still safe." Because being in Temba or at least down here, meant he was safe for a little while longer. Billy's still shuddering, still having light convulsions from the episode he didn't expect to have from the shower.

"...Wanted to get clean."

[doubled_speed]

Tommy looks back over his shoulder at the shower. Wanted to get clean. And something about this was a problem. He frowns. How does he fix it?

“Alright then. We’ll make sure you get clean. Water too cold? Basically had me shivering for hours when I used it.”

He hated it. Ultimately he’d opted for the sauna, even though he didn’t like Reeve. But the fact that Billy’s as here and not there said something. Probably something to do with that door Tommy hadn’t approached. In the mind scape.

“First, let’s stop the scratching. I can go find something to wrap that up with. Then tell me what needs changed for you to feel comfortable getting clean.”

With how this place is, how it makes him feel, having some way to feel useful was going to do wonders for his mental state. Even if it’s a short term task.

[playingtough]

"Too cold. Cold. So cold," and he finally rolls over onto his hands and knees to dry heave. Thankfully nothing comes up. He's safe, he's fine, he's not controlled, he's not dead. His hand scratches at his arm again, whimpering at the memory of whatever that thing had been crawling under his skin. Searing into his nervous system to control him and make him do all those horrid things.

Heather——

"Water's too cold. Can't go to the sauna, too hot. Too hot, too trapped, can't go in there." He'd get a respite and then lose himself again. He'd go after that girl, and Max——

"I just wanted to get clean, Tommy. I can't——" Finally Billy sits up and pulls the hoodie around him, blocking out his nudity where it counts for the moment. He's pale and shaking, clearly working himself through it as best he can.

CW: referenced self-harm that’s clearly going on there

[doubled_speed]

Cold, huh. That is, surprisingly enough, something he can work with. Something he can address. He does, though, reach out to touch Billy’s hand, the one that’s scratching. No more of that, dude. He’s your sponsor, and self-harm isn’t going to fly.

But middle ground, huh? Tommy nods. That he gets.

“Can you stay here for me?” he asks, voice soft. “I’ve got an idea. It’s… It’s not a shower, but it will be warm and help you get clean without being the sauna. I just need a few minutes to get stuff. Will you be okay?”

[playingtough]

The hand goes still under Tommy's gentle one, and he grips his arm instead of scratching. The black marks he thinks he sees start to fade at last, leaving angry welts bordering on bleeding in his nails' wake.

Sitting here like this, all of his scars from the mall are on display for Tommy. Pink, raised, and fresh, a terrible reminder of what he had managed to survive thanks to Kaplan and Tae's work.

A jerky, quick nod. "Y-yeah. I won't move." And the way he pushes his hands between his chest and arms to hold them there, it's clear he's going to try to keep from scratching as well. Cold water drips down his skin and there's no convulsing now. Just cold shaking.

[doubled_speed]

Like scars were ever going to cause Tommy problems. He knows, up close, it’s not hard to see his own. Hell, with his sweat shirt off there’s even a not too old one on his arm, something that was clearly an electrical burn. Something from his own brother, here on Temba.

“Good,” he says with a soft look. After a moment he sighs and takes off his t-shirt too, holding it out toward Billy. Maybe he can’t give the guy much, and he’ll be cold too, but he can do this.

Tommy Shepherd, the guy that will literally give Billy Hargrove the shirts off his back. Then, in a flash, he’s gone. He isn’t back instantly either. Takes a solid five minutes before he returns, and he’s walking in rather than running. He looks… tired. Worn around the edges. But he still holds the bucket up under the shower head to catch the water until it’s nearly full.

“I can warm this for you. Warm, not hot. Uh, then stand outside. Got some small hand towels too, to clean with. It’s the best I can come up with.”

Our House

[butterfly_kiss]

This time she arrives not with the sharp click of heals, but on the soft tread of tennis shoes. Arrives with a small pack over her shoulder and a serious look on her face.

And she finds him, just where she had been told she would.

“I heard a joke one time,” Dr. Tae Takemi says as she comes right up to Billy and sits on her knees in front of him. Takes her bag off of her shoulder and opens it up to take out some alcohol rubs.

“A man goes in to see his doctor about this bad pain in his leg. He says ‘doc, it really hurts when I do this’ and he pokes his leg. The doctor hums thoughtfully and pokes at the patient’s leg. No reaction. Then he takes a reflex hammer and hit his knee. Still no pain. Works for twenty minutes and can’t figure out what is wrong. So he asks the patient to try again. And the patient pokes his leg and whimpers in pain. The doctor sighs, reaches out, and grasps the finger. The patient just about shouts in pain.”

She reaches out with the alcohol rub toward his nose, but doesn’t make contact yet, clearly waiting for permission.

“And the doctor says ‘maybe you shouldn’t do that.’”

Clearly the moral here is ‘don’t poke what hurts’.

[playingtough]

There's a lot of people milling around, so Billy doesn't pay them any mind. It's when Tae sits on her knees before him does he actually look at her, frowning. Great. This bitch. He starts to lean away, then relaxes as she starts her joke-story.

For whatever it was worth, it gets him to tiredly smirk. "Difference is, is I know what's wrong. My hand isn't broken." But his nose and his pride was. The offered alcohol rubs get a skeptical look over before he nods and sits up to give her better access. "Was trying to see if I could tell how bad it was."

"...I looked badass though, with blood all over the bottom of my face." And his shirt, but that was with the rest of his stuff right now. He's still in Eddie's Van Halen shirt.

[butterfly_kiss]

With the permission silently given she leans in to start cleaning. Poor kid. What even led to this? Her informant hadn’t explained that much.

“Given your nose it, I might need to double check that,” she answers, because she does know what tends to lead to that. Young men and their fighting. “If you behave, I’ll let you have a lollipop.”

Had she used some of her replication this month to make lollipops for good behavior? Yes. Don’t judge her. They’re also good for oral fixations ands he wants to get some of these kids off of smoking if she can.

“You look like someone who decided to get into a fight during an emergency,” she says, because it’s better than saying ‘you look like you tripped and fell. Either way it doesn’t matter. “But at least you’ve got a good shirt on. Van Halen is pretty classic.”

[playingtough]

The first press gets a flinch away and a hiss. Another frown and he presses back into it, silently giving that permission again. "Yeah. Good to have someone else check it."

He wonders why she of all people is helping him. Billy knows he was an absolute prick to her on his arrival and hadn't seen her since. But emergencies caused the strangest things to happen and this was no exception to that.

There's a laugh at the lollipop remark. Seriously? She had those here?

"I did," Billy tells her honestly. I got one guy, and the other I wasn't expecting to hit me for it. But he did, got me good." Frowning in disbelief, he pushes her hand away. "You know Van Halen?" An uppity looking looking bitch like her?

[butterfly_kiss]

It hurts, she knows it. So she doesn’t begrudge the flinch or the moving away. Rubbing alcohol was the bitter taste to medication. Sometimes it hurt to heal.

She continues cleaning and smiles as she works. At least he’s not growling this time.

“High stress situations can lead to confrontations like that. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Though I wouldn’t come looking if the puppy’s brother hadn’t asked.”

What were the chances that the growly young man knew that she referred to the other Billy as a puppy? Probably not high. It should be fine.

“Of course I know Van Halen. You children, always being so shocked. That’s classic rock right there. David Lee Roth looked pretty good back in the day too. I may be more punk rock, but I can still appreciate the classics.”

[playingtough]

Less growling this time only because he's so very tired right now. At least they were all finally some place safe. Even if it was a hellscape like Calibrations with more room.

"Excuse you. It's just rock, not classic rock." It wouldn't be to Billy, or the others that were from the era Van Halen was big. Was she trying to say his music was old? Like hell.

He sniffs, and winces at the pain of it and the smell of fresh blood. "What is punk rock? Sounds stupid." Or made up.

Funkytown

[work_wife]

Listen, it's not that she's lost. It's just that she followed some kid in here and lost him and he's clearly the one that is lost and not her so it's fine.

Imagine her shock to come upon Billy Hargrove coming from the other direction.

"Do you know which way is back to the whole core of stuff?"

[playingtough]

The knife glints in his hand and to anyone else with how he looks, Billy might look like a dangerous man. But no, he's just heading off to go carve more walls with street names. "The fuck are you doing down here Robin?"

He shifts the utensil to his non-dominant hand to hopefully look less threatening.

A roll of his eyes and he jerks a thumb over his shoulder. "Back that way. You better not get lost, either." Because he thinks that's all she needs from him. That's all she needs, right?

Right?

He moves past her to find a not-yet-carved crossroads and starts work on it, trying to decide if he should make this Sunset Cliffs, or Pescadero Point.

[work_wife]

Well, yeah, it was all she needed. But now she's here, and she definitely noticed before the guy needs some support, sooooo.

She moves to follow him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

[playingtough]

The word is starting to take shape - he's chosen Pescadero Point. The 'P' is taking shape when she pipes up behind him. The knife carves to a stop and he looks over at her.

"What."

He keeps his gaze on her, grip on the knife loosening so she doesn't get scared or anything

[work_wife]

Actually she has a few questions. But damn the one she really wants to ask seems dangerous to give it of nowhere.

"Where are the names coming from?"

[playingtough]

"Home." A quick answer that he doesn't need to think about. With it answered, Billy goes back to carving, using muscle to dig the blade in to give shape to more letters. "Not Hawkins," he clarifies.

He keeps going. "They're names of streets and places in California. This one is going to be Pescadero Point. It's a pebble beach with decent surfing and tidal pools. I used to drive around to get away from home for awhile so I remember a lot of the names." It wasn't like he had been gone from California long enough to forget them anyways.

Funkytown

[giveusfreedom]

Please excuse Markus, seeing a human with a knife makes him understandably uneasy.

"What are you doing?"

[I apologize in advance for Billy because no doubt he'll be a jerk at some point...]

[playingtough]

He hears the footsteps, but doesn't think anything of them. Probably just another person exploring the area to pass the time. That's what's plausible until it's an unfamiliar voice. The knife stills against the metal that has half of the name 'Pescadero' carved in so far.

The human pulls the blade free and points at one of the walls Markus passed. "Carving in street names, duh. You lost already down here? Or are you looking for something? Or someone?"

[giveusfreedom]

"Just going for a walk."

He keeps his tone neutral, but he still doesn't understand the need to carve anything on the walls.

"Are you sure you wanna leave tracks and signs that someone was here? We should be able to evacuate inconspicuously, if needed."

Sometimes Markus forgets that not everyone is able to tell when a carving has been made recently.

[playingtough]

It's giving him something to do, instead of being a snarling jerk to people in the common areas. And it helps people, hopefully, from getting too lost. He rolls his eyes and looks at the other.

"Bit late for me to take it back now, isn't it? Unless you brought a torch-gun to melt the metal. I doubt there's anything inconspicuous about a group our size living down here anyways, especially with all those little mushroom freaks skittering about like chickens with their heads cut off. And I don't have anything else to do. Might as well mark paths that'll help others not get fucking lost." Those blue eyes harden as he glares at Markus. "Is that a problem?"

[giveusfreedom]

"I hope not."

Markus may resort to violence but he's not the confrontational kind. He just wants everyone under his responsibility - real or perceived - to be safe, and happens to be rightfully.

"Please tell me that's not the only knife you have."

As much as humans with weapons make him nervous, this is an ally, and should be able to defend himself if something happens.

[playingtough]

Markus may not be confrontational, but Billy usually is. He keeps it reined in for now, fingers and palm muscles flexing over the handle. "It's the only one I have with me. The rest I brought from the diner are with the food supplies."

He looks over Markus, then leans against the wall he had just been carving on. "Having fun down here? Were you here for that Calibrations bullshit? This is just like that, without that memory sharing nonsense. I hate this place. I almost wish I was back home instead of having to deal with bunkers and volcanoes."