09/11/2022 02:38 PM  September Activity Check: As Will and Max walked down the narrow hallway, Will turned his head to the side, looking over at his new friend as she spoke to him. Nodding his head in agreement, he shrugged his shoulders minutely. “I don’t think that matters to them, unfortunately.” He began, sighing slightly, even as he could feel more stares glaring daggers into him. It seemed even him making a new friend was something that others would look down on him for.  The bullying had been relentless since his return from the Upside Down, and his mom and even Jonathan were getting to be more and more worried about that fact. Being called Zombie Boy was just the beginning of it. “After I came back, it just got worse. I’m used to it at this point.” He muttered quietly to her, even as they continued walking down the heavily crowded halls of Hawkins Middle School. The more that Will saw people staring at him, however, the more closed off he seemed to get, as if the anxiety and the stares from the onlookers were finally starting to get to him slightly.  No matter how much he said that it didn’t bother him, the truth would almost always show eventually.  Seeing them approach one of the large stacks of lockers, Will stopped beside Max, knowing almost immediately that it was her’s, before he began to look around. Even though the hallways were bustling with students, Will couldn’t spot Lucas, Dustin, or Mike anywhere, no matter how hard he looked. It seemed either his three best friends were already at lunch, waiting on him, or they had been held up at one of their own classes. Either way, he would eventually run into them, and introduce Max to the three of them.  At the most part, Max already knew Dustin and Lucas, he had already heard them gush about her the moment they had met up, but Mike was a whole different story. He hadn’t heard anything from his other best friend about meeting Max already, and he hadn’t heard it from the red haired girl either, which begged the question: How would Mike take to meeting Max, especially after El had sacrificed herself in order to save him and his friends from the threat of the Demogorgon? He was almost terrified to find out. Will and Mike were the two people in their group that were hard to open up the most, between the four of them. Maybe the fact that she had already become his friend so quickly would help Mike do just that, however.  Listening to what Max was saying, he looked back at her in surprise. “You were bullied too?” He asked her, his voice showing some sort of disbelief. To know that Max had been bullied in her other school was shocking to him, especially since she showed that she could fend for herself. He guessed that she had to, in order to deal with the bullying she had been put through previously. “Why would they do that to you? You seem like someone that others would get along with.” He finished, tilting his head slightly to the side.  Listening as she continued talking to him, he stared down at the floor, even though everything that she said was true, he couldn’t help but feel at a lost cause with that. He was the shy person of his group, he didn’t normally talk to many people, besides Mike, Lucas, and Dustin. The fact that he had become such quick friends with Max in such a short amount of time, had baffled him to no end. “I don’t know, I’m not like that, I guess? I just keep quiet, and hope it eventually passes. It didn’t get to be this bad until I came back anyway.” He finished, talking in what seemed to be a whisper.  He didn’t like to talk about his time away, especially with someone as new as Max, who didn’t even know about the Upside Down. It was different when he spoke about it with those that knew what he was talking about, and why he had vanished into thin air. The current excuse had been that he had been kidnapped by someone. That the person had broken into his house, and taken him before he was found a week later. But that was so far from the truth, and it showed from the jumpiness that he exhibited whenever he heard the sound of a creak, or the snap of a breaking twig from within the woods.  What he had dealt with in the Upside Down, would forever affect him, no matter how hard he tried to pretend what had happened, wasn’t real.  “Of course! I can introduce you to them. You already know Dustin and Lucas.” He began, even as Max finally shut her locker and they began to make their way to his own. Reaching it, Will quickly unlocked it before placing his books and notebooks inside, before shutting his own door. “Mike will be there too. They’re probably at lunch already waiting for me, so we’ll have a table ready for us.” He said, a smile seeming to take up his face as he thought about hanging out with his friends, even if it was for a short amount of time.  With that being said, he led her to the cafeteria, where they grabbed their lunch before making their way over to the table where Mike, Dustin, and Lucas were sitting at. Seeing them approach, Mike’s gaze landed on Max immediately, before flicking his gaze over at Will. “Mike, this is Max. Max, Mike.” He introduced quietly, trying to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation. He could understand trying to make new friends, especially at a brand new school. He just hoped everyone would get along. 0 Comments

08/20/2022 06:45 PM  August Activity Check 1 Flashback- Spring 1982   Will sat at the kitchen table, kicking his legs slightly back and forth as they swayed rhythmically. He had a red crayon out, drawing out what he thought his, Mike’s, Lucas’, and Dustin’s characters were in their campaign. Since he was the mage in the group, he drew his own character as one with a staff, with crimson colored fireballs being fired from the tip. The fireballs were being shot directly at what looked to be a dragon that breathed fire down upon them.  In all retrospect, it was an amazing drawing for one so young, but Will was known to be an artist by his family, and even his friends as well. He was fairly shy to share said drawings though, unless he trusted said person. Even as he drew, he looked up, hearing Carol, his babysitter, talking to him. His hazel optics looked surprised that she was asking him about the game, yet at the same time, he was incredibly excited to talk about it to someone else.  “His name is Will The Wise!” He exclaimed excitedly, a large smile, full of innocence, appearing on his features. “He’s a wizard. He can shoot fireballs from his staff, and even protect his allies from danger if he needs to.” He explained to her, making direct eye contact with the girl in question as she looked at him from over her shoulder. “Right now we’re fighting against a huge dragon in our campaign, he’s one of the main bosses. It's called a Thessalhydra.” He finished proudly, smile seeming to grow larger the more excited he got. Upon hearing that she seemed interested in what he was doing, Will quickly got up from his spot at the table, taking his drawing with him. He stopped directly next to her, looking down at the thin piece of paper in his hands, before he handed it to her. “You want to see?” He asked, almost nervously. It wasn’t often that he showed people his drawings, let alone his babysitters, but he was willing to trust her. “It’s not completely finished yet, but I’m happy with how it’s turned out so far!” He exclaimed happily, holding it out further away from himself towards her.   End of Flashback: March 1986. Will should have known that the moment he would step foot into Hawkins, he would get that tingling sensation on the back of his neck again. Ever since they had moved to California, away from everything that had to do with the Upside Down, he had been free of that feeling, that persistent feeling of the Mind Flayer creeping into him, as if the corporeal being was looking down into the very town of Hawkins, and for all he knew, it was. It was an alternate dimension, after all. Who was he to think that it didn’t know exactly where they were at all times of the day? So yes, the moment Jonathan had passed the ‘Welcome to Hawkins’ sign, he had felt that same, creepy sensation he always had. It just wasn’t as strong as it was now. Previously, it had been weaker, but still there, the feeling of goosebumps appearing over the surface of his skin, and the feeling as if he was being watched. But now that the Upside Down was bleeding into Hawkins? It was ten times stronger. The connection was stronger, and that scared him immensely.  It meant that he didn’t have the safety net of saying that the Upside Down was in its own reality, and he was here, in Hawkins. Not only that, but now he had been supplied the information that the Mind Flayer itself wasn’t even the strongest being out there. No, that was now Vecna. And if that were the case, then that meant that Vecna had been the one in control of him, since he was the leader of the entire hive-mind altogether. Knowing that someone who was like El, who had her powers, and could stand on even ground against her, frightened him.  It meant that even though El was on their side, there was still a threat out there that could prove just as dangerous as she was powerful.  Within a few days, Will found himself walking the streets of Hawkins after the earthquake. Buildings had toppled, caving in on themselves, with some of the streets cracked. Even as he walked, he felt the presence of Vecna, always watching, biding his time. He brought his right hand up, placing it on his neck as he felt the familiar goosebumps over his skin, a shiver passing through his thin frame. He hadn’t missed this feeling. It was constant now, not as it had been before, and he assumed it was because of the Upside Down now being on the surface of their world now. Even now, he could see the familiar red lightning streak across the sky, rumbling filling the otherwise quiet atmosphere.  Walking down the otherwise barren streets of the town, Will suddenly froze in his tracks at hearing his name. Sneakers skidding minutely against the concrete, he turned his head, looking over his shoulder in the direction of the familiar voice, spotting Carol. “Carol?” He asked her, instant familiarity shining in his hazel orbs as he fully turned around, watching as she approached him. Feeling her wrap her arms around him, he reciprocated as he returned the hug. He had grown since the last time he had seen her, and now he was taller than her, whereas she had had a few inches on him previously. It was truly uncanny how much time had passed since the last time he had seen her. It had been since his disappearance from the Demogorgon.  Pulling away from the embrace, he returned her smile with one of his own. “Yeah, I just got back a couple days ago. My friends told me what happened here. Your house wasn’t damaged or anything was it?” He asked her, showing concern on his features as he spoke. 0 Comments

08/20/2022 06:44 PM  August Activity Check Will was no idiot. For his age, he was incredibly intelligent. That had also shown after he had survived in the Upside Down for an entire week, being hunted by a creature that seemed to thrive off of fear and the sport of hunting. Even though he couldn’t keep track of the days, considering time seemed to not exist in the Upside Down while he had resided there, he had consistently been on the run. There had always been some sort of clues that there had been something pursuing him, or lurking in the shadows, waiting for one slip up from him.  There had even been times where he had ultimately thought that he would have perished, and yet the creature had let him go, unpunished and unscathed.  The moment he had returned from that place, Will knew the moment things had just escalated. His blackouts had gone from happening once a week, to two or three times. They were quickly becoming worse, and he knew that his mom and Jonathan had noticed them. Not only that, but he found it almost hard to focus, and concentrate on certain things that he had usually kept his attention. He found himself zoning out, and staring at a page far longer than he would normally, especially during school, and he had found that the teachers were beginning to call him out on it.  Will wasn’t the type of kid who slacked in school. Even Mr. Clarke had commented about how he was an exceptional kid, always paying attention in class, even participating every now and then when his interest was peaked in a discussion. So for him to zone out, and just find no interest in something that had previously caught his attention? That was a definite red flag when it came to most of his teachers, and he found himself being pulled off to the side by many of them, asking if he was okay after the events of being kidnapped.  They were under the guise that he had been taken by a person, not by something other. How was he supposed to articulate exactly how he felt, or why he was acting the way he was, when they didn’t know the whole story? Only a select few people knew of it. The minute he had come back to school, he had been bombarded by people asking if he was okay, walking on eggshells around him, and even treating him in such a way, as if he was made of glass, and would shatter the moment they said the wrong thing.  So when Jonathan had offered him something that was normal, something that would take him away from the attention he was receiving, he took it with vigor. As something to not only spend time with his older brother, but also as an escape.  Seeing Jonathan look down at him the second he had leapt off of his bed in excitement, Will stared up at him, a smile still plastered on his face as he watched his older brother’s hand nearing him before softly landing on his head, and ruffling his hair. He pulled back a few moments later, his hair slightly unkempt, as he listened to what Jonathan was saying. “We haven’t been in Castle Byers together in a while.” He agreed, seemingly sad about that, even as the smile on his face faded minutely. It was true, it was somewhere they hadn’t been too, especially him. The last memories he had of it were of him hiding into the dilapidated pieces of it in the alternate dimension, hiding from the creature. Moments after, he had heard the familiar chittering of it as it neared his sanctuary, before tearing it asunder, grabbing him from within, and entrapping him in a cocoon of its own making.  Shaking his head to get himself out of that thought, the smile reappeared on his face, albeit smaller than it had been previously, before he looked back up at his brother. “Where are we going to eat? Have any ideas? Maybe we can go to the diner close by?” He asked excitedly. The diner was somewhere that they used to eat at a lot before everything started getting out of hand. It was a place where he and his brother had always gone to when it was just the two of them. Not even their mom went there often.  It was a place to call their own, other than Castle Byers.  With that thought in mind, he began to walk closer to the door, passing his brother on the way before he looked over his shoulder. “Race to the car.” He said, smile growing just a little brighter as he bolted through the door, and into the hallway, making his way to the front door.  Needless to say, he was incredibly excited for the events of the upcoming day. He just hoped everything would stay normal.  That was something he longed for these days. 0 Comments

07/31/2022 03:10 PM  The Hunted- 1x1 with Mind F*** Will still remembered his abrupt taking by the monster almost a week ago. Sure, he was incredibly young, but he was also very smart. What he lacked in fighting ability, he more than made up for in brain power, and intelligence. The key to his survival in this strange dimension was hiding, and to stay on the move as much as he could. Even though he knew that this monster that had taken him to its own strange home, was in fact, a very good tracker, he still needed to stay ahead of it somehow.  The fact that it had been able to follow him all the way from the lab, and back to his house was incredibly evident of its hunting prowess, which also begged the question for the young kid: Why hadn’t it gotten him yet? On one hand, he was incredibly grateful that it hadn’t done so. There had been many close calls, too many to count. One of which was when he had been on the verge of escaping when his mom had finally seen him trapped on the opposing side of the wall.  Moments later, he had heard the familiar sound of the chittering that the creature made whenever it was near.  The monster, whatever it was called, liked to lurk in the shadows. It was an ambush predator by nature, and it liked to toy with its food. At times, it showed some sort of intellect in how it acted, but on other occasions, it acted like a mindless animal, as if incited by the scent of blood, or something else. But those moments where it was lucid enough to just stop, and bide its time while it hunted him were the worst. Those were the moments where Will truly tried his best to stay as hidden, and as quiet as he physically could.  It was meticulous with how it hunted, and how it moved. It made sure that he knew it was there, that it was constantly watching, and waiting. Whether it was the sound of claws scraping against the rotting tree trunks, or the sound of a distressed and dying animal that was dragged from his dimension, back to this desolate wasteland. It was always there, and it seemed to love to make its presence known in some way, shape, or form. There had been many other close calls he had had with this monster, and most of them had been when he was trying to communicate with his mom. It seemed whenever he used the electricity to talk to her, or even Jonathan, it attracted the creature. Almost always, whenever he would open that connection, it would slink its way over to his location, before he would have to abruptly close the line of connection before it found him, or worse, go after Jonathan or his mom. But one thing that seemed to catch him off guard was when he would hear another pair of footfalls, or even hear the pained shrieks of the creature itself before hearing its pounding footfalls on the decaying leaves, as if it was the one fleeing for its life. Those were moments that both scared him, and fascinated him. Scared him, because he wasn’t sure if whoever, or whatever, had caused the creature to be hurt so badly, would inevitably come after him next. Fascinated him because if there was something stronger than that creature, could they, or it, be potentially protecting him while he was stranded here?  And the last question that seemed to loiter in his mind for long increments of time was the fact of the matter of if they were friend or foe? Could this new person, or even creature, be driving the monster that had been actively hunting him, be after him as well? Even as he found himself humming the familiar tune of Should I Stay or Should I Go, he heard the snap of a twig not too far from where he was staying in this world’s Castle Byers. Immediately, he ceased his humming, not knowing quite yet if it was the creature, or his possible savior, if he could call them that.  He didn’t know who it was, or what. If it was even a person, or a denizen of this world. But when he heard the scuffle of footsteps again crunching on the leaves, it knew that it was a person. Just from the sound of the feet hitting the ground. They sounded different than that of the thing hunting him, and that was all it took as he slowly got himself upward, opening the door quietly as it creaked open on rotten hinges as he peaked outward.  “H-hello?” He asked timidly, scared, his voice showing that as it shook. Even gaining a small bit of confidence in knowing that this wasn’t the creature, but even with that knowledge, who was he to dictate if this person wouldn’t outright kill him where he stood? He knew nothing about this person, and even so, why would someone be willingly here, unless they had been taken by it as well? “Is anybody there?” He asked again, making sure that the door was just partially open in case he needed to slam it shut.  Lot of good that would do however. If the creature wanted in, it would barge in whether the door was closed or not. 0 Comments

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