ofthedespondent - Tumblr blog

[ofthedespondent]

troubledsouls​:

taking a sip from the glass, mike wondered how he was meant to go about this. did he just out and out say that he thought the guy was flirting with will? it wasn’t his place to get annoyed with that. (was it?) but what if will chose to walk away and go find that guy again? no thank you. this was their thing, their night. nobody else needed to get involved!

“maybe he was flirting.” mike did his best to sound disinterested by the fact. it didn’t work. his voice sounded moody and his voice didn’t come across as anything other than grumbling. he put his arm around will’s shoulders. “was it some old creepy guy? that would be kind of funny, actually. i think i would like it more if it was some old, creepy guy.”

now it was will’s turn to furrow his eyebrows, confused as to where this sudden change in mike’s tone was coming from. he certainly wasn’t acting like this when they first came in or when they were getting ready, if anything he’d say they were having a really good night! but there was something that happened between will volunteering to get them drinks and then him getting them for free..

oh. oh. was mike jealous? no, there wasn’t any reason for him to be jealous! it wasn’t like they were officially together or anything either, mike literally called their costumes best friend costumes. which, they were best friends right? will had spent enough time convincing himself of such after the nights where mike called him his boyfriend. “no, not some creepy old guy. he was older than us, maybe in his late 20′s? he was nice.” he explained with a small shrug, leaning against mike a bit with his arm wrapped around him. 

[ofthedespondent]

troubledsouls​:

jonathan rolled his eyes. of course the question had been a ridiculous one, but will didn’t have to point it out as much as he did! reaching over, he smacked him gently on the back of the head. yes, will had drank in the past. yes, will was probably drinking tonight. he would have done the same at his brother’s age. he had to think of things that way.

“stupid question then,” he breathed out as he leaned up against the wall. “you don’t have to make it so obvious that i’m being… overprotective.” it tended to happen with will, whether he wanted it to or not. it was like a reflex. blinking and treating will like he was still a kid.

“hey!” he objected when he felt jonathan smack him on the back of the head. not that it hurt by any means, but it was the thought that jonathan had put behind it. he was just trying to ease his brother’s peace of mind, because did he really want to know that will had a fake id that was obtained in a very sketchy manner? no! he wouldn’t want to know that. but maybe will didn’t have to be so obvious about it, that he did deserve a smack for. 

“what, you? overprotective? i truly can’t believe that.” and okay, if jonathan smacked his head again he wouldn’t blame him. will would blame the alcohol that he had been drinking instead, he’d lost count on the drink he was on at this point. “i get it though, but just know i’m being like.. super safe.” 

[ofthedespondent]

rhiagillenkerk​:

“It’s tequila, have you ever tried it before?” Rhia asked, generally curious. Will didn’t really strike her as the type of person to be a huge partier, which she couldn’t blame him. While her goal tonight was to completely let loose and maybe even be a little messy. But, she wasn’t going to force anybody to take a shot if they didn’t have it in them. “No pressure though, really. I would hate for Jonathan to think I’m a bad influence on you or something.”

“yeah! i’ve tried it before.” despite how he may have presented himself and his interest, will was a bit more of a partier than he seemed to be. or at least he drank a little more than one would expect, even if he wasn’t technically the legal drinking age yet. and he was already having a great night anyways, why not make it even better with tequila? will thought that was a win win situation. “eh, i’m actively trying to make sure he doesn’t see me tonight so how could he know that you gave me tequila?” 

[ofthedespondent]

thefreakmunscn​:

“ how the hell does anyone deal with keith ? seriously ? i don’t know one person that likes him. ” he mumbled, grabbing another box of donated records and flciking through them. robin was good company …. damn good company. she was the type of person that could make you forget all the shitty things you were going through, just with her ramblings. between this maniac being on the loose mixed with his ever confusing feelings towards a certain family video worker, he couldn’t be more grateful that she happened to pop in when she did.

on the topic of family video, should he ask about steve ? this was something all too new to him. sure, robin knew about his feelings, but did he want to ouright ask her how he’s doing ? the last thing that he wants to come across as is desperate. “ and how’s steve ? ” he asked, voice steady as he continued to flick through the dusty records.

“maybe his mom does, i would hope that he would have at least that going for him. what’s that saying... a personality only a mother could love? i think that’s keith’s own personal slogan.” and of course keith wasn’t bad all the time but he was annoying more often than he wasn’t. so in robin’s eyes, he was pretty much awful through and through. as eddie went through the records, robin couldn’t help but curiously glance through them too. she did come here for new music after all! and someone else’s trash could be robin’s treasures soon enough. she just hoped they didn’t sound as distorted as that madonna one did. 

she nearly missed his question about steve as she was looking through the box along with him. robin shrugged a little, glancing up at eddie with a bit of a curious gaze. “he’s steve, you know - pretty much the same as always. i nearly took his head off when i climbed over the counter the last time we worked together so i think he may not be too crazy about me right now.” she teased with a laugh. 

[ofthedespondent]

rhiagillenkerk​:

Location: The Hideaway

When: Halloween Bash

Status: Open to everyone!

“You look like you could use a shot!” Rhia giggled, turning to the person nearest to her. The bartender had just slid her two shots of tequila and the girl was in the sharing mood. Tonight was going to be nothing but good vibes (or so she hoped). Already rather tipsy, the oldest Gillenkerk wanted to be a bit more loose before the band went on stage to perform their set. “Don’t chicken out on me dude, please.”

he had wandered off to the bathroom and lost track of where mike was and before he could even try to find him again, he was being offered a shot. and well, will was never one. to turn down a free drink. plus, he wasn’t nearly as tipsy as he would have liked to of been so this was definitely a win in his eyes. “me? chicken out? never!” at least he wouldn’t tonight. 

[ofthedespondent]

troubledsouls​:

@ofthedespondent​ 

jonathan didn’t necessarily expect to see will at the party, but maybe he should have. his brother was nineteen. of course he wanted to come to this sort of thing. will wasn’t going to be a kid forever and he hadn’t been for a long time. it didn’t mean jonathan didn’t still see him that way. he wanted to continue to see him as a child, but it was becoming more and more difficult to do so.

walking over to his brother, jonathan watched the boy for a second. “you don’t… have a fake id, do you?” were they id-ing people here? he doubted it. and where would will get a fake id? he didn’t know. how was he supposed to know? why was he asking when he didn’t want to know in the first place?

running into his brother shouldn’t have been as big of a shock as it turned out being. it was a big party in the town, of course jonathan was going to be there. but at the very least, he thought he could be a bit more clever in avoiding him. but the more drinks he got into his system, the more lax he got about the things around him. so much so that will didn’t register jonathan coming up to him until he was face to face with his brother. well, shit. 

“what, there’s alcohol here? i’ve never had alcohol before in my life.” he said with a soft gasp, covering his mouth to really sell it. but he couldn’t help but wonder if his brother could see right through him, he always tended to have the ability to do so. especially considering that will did have a fake id, but that was besides the point! 

[ofthedespondent]

troubledsouls​:

the best part of parties was going to them with will. was that a weird way of looking at things? he didn’t think so. they were best friends! of course he didn’t want to do things without will. and if he was clingy tonight, he could blame it fully on the alcohol… like he usually did… oh well. if there were consequences to that, he hadn’t come to notice any of them.

as he waited for will to return, he looked around. were they a little overdressed? maybe, but will had been so excited, so mike had said yes to everything - like he always did when it came to will. at the other’s words, he angled his neck slightly to listen to what he had to say about the drinks. he accepted the glass from will with his brows furrowed. “was it a guy?” was he jealous? he didn’t think he was jealous, but there was a frown on his face as he asked.

as soon as mike agreed to doing a costume together, maybe will had gotten a bit too carried away. but he had just watched beetlejuice a few nights before he found out about the party and he was inspired! and once will gets a bit of inspiration, he has to bring it to life before he loses his mind. and he had to say, he was pretty impressed with himself on how it turned out, even if the makeup was bound to leave a mark on everything they came into contact with, even each other. but it was totally going to be worth it, will was sure of it. 

mike accepted the cup that will had extended out to him, though he didn’t seem as excited to start drinking as will would have thought he’d be. he raised an eyebrow curiously to combat mike’s furrowed ones, a bit confused as to why he was asking that question to begin with. “yeah it was, why do you ask?” 

[ofthedespondent]

thefreakmunscn​:

“ oh ha ha. ” he deadpanned, playfully rolling his eyes at his friends comment. “ kind of funny to believe that anyone could take crown from eddie the banished. ” he chuckled, placing his hands on his hips. eddie was grateful to have someone like robin in his life. she was the breath of fresh air that eddie needed tonight. between the news talking about this girl that had been discovered, to his even more confusing feelings towards steve …. robin was just the distraction that he needed. she and gareth were some of the only people that knew just how to distract eddie from his racing thoughts and bring him back down to earth.

“ although this album does sound quite metal, huh ? ” he joked, picking up the warped record and throwing it in the trash. “ i will never understand how people can listen to that shit, and then chastise real music like iron maiden. ” he rolled his eyes. “ i don’t even know what the hell she was saying. ” he added on, running a hand through his tangled locks. “ hows the family video ? keith still being an absolute prick ? ”

“i’m going to find a way to do it one of these days, munson. you won’t know what hit you when it happens.” she grinned, though she knew it was entirely impossible to do it anyways. eddie was like super into metal, in a way that robin knew that she would truly never understand. but it was still rather enjoyable for her to tease him, someone had to keep him on his toes right? and it was truly what she did best anyways, if it was a sport she was sure she’d get a gold medal. 

“i think she’d have a very successful career change if she decided to do a 180 and make metal music instead. material girl? what about metal girl?” she mused, though she had a feeling that eddie would not be as amused byt that idea as robn was. she wasn’t all that picky when it came to music, unless it was country. robin fucking hated country music. “it’s all about perspective, i guess. whose to say what real music really is? for all we know, real music is the sound of a bird chirping annoyingly in the morning.” but at the mention of family video, robin groaned, leaning back against the counter. “of course he is, every day i think he can’t get worse and he manages to find a way to outdo himself. can you believe that shit?” 

[ofthedespondent]

troubledsouls​:

was that her way of calling him childish? did she think it was going to aggravate him? it was a good theory considering the fact that it worked. furrowing his brows, tommy shook his head. there was no way she actually believed that and he didn’t need to waste his time with this. and the internal argument he was having with himself in reference to it.

“this is why you don’t have a boyfriend. because you’re like this. if you were more likable…” was there a way for robin buckley to be more likable? he doubted it. they were extremely different people. like for the fact she was a freak and he was perfectly normal. “are you going to help me or not?” he asked with a raised brow. “because i could complain to that one weirdo who works here with you. what’s his name… kyle?”

her efforts to explode tommy with her mind didn’t quite work in her favor either, despite how much she was glaring at him. it was like he wasn’t even getting the hint! but that shouldn’t be too surprising, it was tommy after all. she remembered him being this bad, if not worse, when they were in high school. and maybe it just went to show that some people never truly change, go figure right? and she knew that she should just suck it up and put on her best customer service attitude but tommy made her want to do the exact opposite of that. 

“is that why you don’t have a boyfriend then?” she challenged with a raised eyebrow before rolling her eyes. and the last thing robin wanted was definitely a boyfriend, the idea of that was enough to make her vomit. so she was not going to be subjecting herself to any of that. “i don’t think i will help you, no. you’ve got to go find a boyfriend right now anyways.” she said, waving him off a bit. “yes, his name is kyle and you should definitely call in tomorrow and ask to speak with kyle. ask him on a date while you’re at it.” 

[ofthedespondent]

troubledsouls​:

a smile tugged at the corner of jonathan’s lips at emery’s reaction. this was one of the reasons he got along with her so well. there weren’t many differences between the two of them. in fact, there were more similarities than either of them would admit. of course, that meant they shared a lot of the same flaws… which was exactly the reason he showed up with food in hand.

“obviously. don’t worry about that sort of thing. i got it handled!” he liked to handle things on his own. it was something that tended to annoy certain people - particularly his mother - but he liked to think he could do most everything on his own. “so yes, i have enough food for the both of us. i had it planned out. don’t worry.”

the day had been a bit crazy for emery, not that she would ever complain about it because she loved what she did. but she had a few rough appointments today, one of them being putting down of an animal. and that was never easy but they also had their kids with them as well. and if emery was tearing up a little bit with the family, no one had said a thing. but everything else was good and now that jonathan was there it was even better! 

“of course, i should’ve known better. jonathan byers always has everything handled.” she said with a smile, though she wondered if he was still putting too much on himself. she’d let that conversation come up another day, she wasn’t about to ruin the nice gesture that he’d given her. “i will put all my worries away and instead enjoy the food i was given.” 

[ofthedespondent]

closed starter for mike wheeler / @troubledsouls​

not only did mike want to go to the party at the hideaway with will, but he also wanted to do matching costumes with him. even if mike considered those costumes to be ‘best friend’ costumes, he was still going to consider it to be a big win. they would take what they could get at this point. and once mike confirmed his interest, will knew he’d have to get to planning their costumes almost immediately. and maybe will had gone a bit overboard, but it was totally worth it! it was going to be a great couples best friend costume! 

and that’s how they found themselves at the hideout, with mike dressed as beetlejuice and will dressed as mister argentina. everything was going so great for the two of them and to make things even better, he ended up getting a free drink as he went up to the bar to get some more. something about how they liked his costume, which they should because will worked very hard on it. as he went back over to mike, he handed him one of the drinks with a smile before fiddling with his jacket just a bit. “got the drinks for free, someone liked my costume.” he told him as he slipped the money mike had previously given him back into the other’s pocket. 

[ofthedespondent]

resonanthead​:

location: the hideaway when: halloween bash

Gareth leaned languidly against the varnished wood of the pool table, hip cocked against it and a cold Budweiser open in his spare hand. It was easier for him not to stress now that all their equipment had been set up for the show, better to move amongst the throngs of people than sit backstage and stew. 

A grinning skull mask had been pulled so it rested to the side and top of his head, a purple hooded robe denoting him to those who knew the show as He-Man’s arch nemesis, Skeletor. He ducked his head beneath the low-hanging Pabst Blue Ribbon lamps. He grabbed the person’s cue, rubbing the small square of blue chalk on the end for them.

“If you make this next shot, I’ll buy you a drink.”

in hindsight, wearing a dress to a bar was not one of emery’s greater ideas. but she had a vision, okay? aurora was the princess who could talk with animals and she literally did that for a living! and she was blond, so it was perfect, right? that’s what she thought would be the case, but she was beginning to regret the dress as it drug across the floor of the bar. though, she was sure that far worse had happened to her clothes so she wasn’t going to think too much about it. it was all about the experience anyways. 

so to take her mind off of it, she opted to instead play some pool. one of her hidden talents had actually been playing pool and she always managed to be a bit deceptive in truly how good she was. it wasn’t that she did it on purpose, it was just that some night emery played better than others. at the mention of a free drink, she perked up a little bit, though she wasn’t sure if she could actually accept the free drink, she feared she may feel a bit too guilty to do so. “yeah?” she asked with a smile, wandering around the table for the best angle. “”you’re on.” 

[ofthedespondent]

stvehrringtcn​:

location: the hideaway 

when: some time during the halloween bash

“okay, is this stuff even safe to drink?” steve stared into the beer he’d gotten from the bar with a skeptical look on his face. he knew about this place, heard about the bums who hung out here and was honestly one of the last places he would have been caught dead at but here he was, for some reason. “maybe don’t answer that. a party is a party, right?” he pushed the sunglasses that came with his genius marty mcfly costume and sighed, leaning against the counter. 

“where is your sense of adventure, dingus? you used to be so much funner.” she proclaimed, eyes rolling as she watched the other inspect the beer that had been handed over to him. and the beer that was given to him wasn’t even anything normal than what he normally drank! so robin didn’t really get what his apprehension was about the whole thing. she adjusted her tool belt she had attached around her waist, pulling out her own beer from it. the belt turned out to be a lot more multi purpose than she had expected it to be. “let loose, c’mon! we don’t even have to work tomorrow, or at least i don’t. but by default you have to party with me it’s like... the law.”  

[ofthedespondent]

troubledsouls​:

@ofthedespondent​​ 

there weren’t a lot of people that jonathan was close to so when you made the list, there were few chances to get off of it. part of him felt as though he ought to warn people when it happened. then there were those who didn’t seem to mind. emery fell on that list. he’d known her since they were kids and after he  

with lunch in hand, he stopped in at the vet’s office she worked at. they were alike in a lot of ways so he doubted she was taking care of herself very well. especially hearing there was a murder recently? seemed like the best time to check in on her. he lingered near the front counter until she emerged, smiling slightly at her. “hey, i stopped by to make sure you ate. since i doubt you keep much track of that yourself.”

when jonathan came into the store, emery immediately perked up.for many reasons, one of them being that the other had become a very good friend to her over the years. she felt comfortable enough to tell him about her chidlhood, considering he went through something kind of similar in his own from the sounds of it. but also because she had not only forgotten to pack lunch, but didn’t give herself much of a break to actually go out and grab something. 

“whaaat? i have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” she said with a grin, though she knew that they both knew better than that. in fact, the two were far too similar for their own good, emery was sure of it. “although, you better have brought some food for yourself too because i’m not eating alone, it’s only fair.” because she wanted to make sure he had a chance to eat too. 

[ofthedespondent]

troubledsouls​:

@ofthedespondent​​ 

was it weird that mike had a key to the byers’? maybe, but he’d gotten it from will. if he wasn’t supposed to have one, will wouldn’t have given him one. that was the theory he had chosen to run with. it was on his lanyard with the keys to the car he hated driving, the one to his house, and the mailbox key because ted was convinced someone was stealing his catalogs from their mailbox (they weren’t and mike was throwing them out because of an argument they had had). it was important to him the same way will was important to him and for all of the same reasons. he let himself in, noting joyce’s car was gone and not knocking. he didn’t know if she had known about the key he had.

letting himself in, he walked into the kitchen and checked the fridge. he wasn’t sure joyce was much of a cook - not compared to his mom, of course, but he always had to check. nothing. then he wandered over to will’s bedroom, the door sitting open so he knew the other had heard him enter into the household. “hey, you miss me?” he asked, sitting down on will’s bed while the other sat at his desk drawing something.

admittedly, will had gotten himself a bit too wrapped up in this drawing he was working on. but in his defense, it was his biggest project so far and he was only in the drafting portion of it! he just needed to finish this draft and then hopefully he’d be able to relax for a few days after that. though, will knew better and the little bit of perfectionist in him knew that wasn’t going to be the case. if anything, will probably was going to keep working on it until he grew to hate it, it was just what happened every time. 

he had been debating on taking a break when he thought he heard someone come in, he raised a curious eyebrow but the person didn’t say anything. will just assumed that it was his mom having got home from work early, sometimes that happened. so he just went back to his drawing, but the voice that greeted him at the doorway definitely wasn’t his mom. he smiled as he looked up from what he had been working on, turning around to look at mike. “i did, actually. i know i have been a bit of a hermit lately but you know.. the art.” he waved around vaguely. “how are you? what inspired this impromptu visit?” 

[ofthedespondent]

troubledsouls​:

@ofthedespondent​

family video was not tommy’s favorite place. he wasn’t a fan of movies too much. he didn’t like to follow the plot. ones with pretty people and explosions were his favorites. they had enough action and eye candy to keep him entertained. when he had to choose one to watch with other people, that was where tommy faltered. if steve were in, he would have harassed his friend about it. instead, he was stuck with robin who treated him like an idiot. and while she wasn’t entirely off, he thought she was kind of annoying.

he flipped through the action movies for a few moments before going up to the counter. “i need suggestions. are you going to stand behind the counter all day or are you going to help me find a movie to watch? because i’m in need of help as a customer here. isn’t that your job? are you just bad at your job?”

robin was having the day from hell at family video today. the person she was supposed to close with called off and keith couldn’t be bothered to come in, which normally she would rather be alone than deal with keith but it was rather busy at the store. thankfully, she found at least a few moments of peace between the craziness and she was trying to enjoy every last second of it. and as if her day already wasn’t bad enough, tommy fucking hernandez walked into the store. 

and it wasn’t that robin didn’t like him, it was that robin fucking despised him. just the sight of him was enough to make robin want to leave the store, which is saying a lot because she really needed this paycheck. so instead of going to check in on the customer like she normally would do, she waited behind the counter. but even that wasn’t enough to stop tommy, go figure. “i actually was planning on staying back here all day actually. we just freshly ran out of sesame street vhs tapes. and since i know that’s what you’re looking for, you can leave now.” 

[ofthedespondent]

thefreakmunscn​:

status : open for everyone

location : ricks records, starcourt mall

today had been a slow day at the record shop. the most exciting thing was sorting out a new box of donated records only to be less than amused by the amount of frank sinatra, madonna, and disney soundtracks ( seriously …. who wanted the sound of music on a fucking record ?! ) noticing one of the madonna records was in less than …. okay condition, he decided to put it on one of the random players scattered around the shop. 

soon enough the record began to play and of course it was distorted. it skipped, madonna sounded like a vessel for satan, and the player kept making weird squeaking sounds. jumping when he heard the bell go off signaling a customer, he placed his hands up. “ it’s not mine !! “ he blurted out before clearing his throat. “ i mean …. i’m testing this record.i still think madonna’s shit. “ he chuckled.

much like she did on most days she had off, robin couldn’t help but to find herself at ricks records. but she had a good reason to be there! she was in desperate need of some new music to drown out her annoying neighbors who she was convinced were loud just to be loud. they also fought, like a lot in robin’s opinion. straight people, right? but robin knew that joke wouldn’t land well with about 75% of the people she could tell it too, so instead she opted to drown out the noise instead. 

plus, it was always good to give eddie a hard time too. she’s a simple woman! so when she walked in to eddie listening to madonna of all artists, a grin spread across her face. “i don’t know, munson - i think you’re turning over a new leaf!” she called out, making her way down the aisle and over to him. “do i get to take away your metalhead card now? i’ve always wanted to dethrone someone. how to mighty have truly fallen.”