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[satanicpanics]

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666 – 3473

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[♫ It's just this.]

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Text From: 678 – 9829

[valle]

Hey.
You're still alive, right?

[satanicpanics]

as far as i can tell??
yep
still in one piece
i'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're not messaging me from beyond the grave yourself

[valle]

Spooky ghost noises.

Still kicking. Technically.
Wanna go bowling?

[satanicpanics]

hell yeah i do

though i have to warn you
i'm pretty amazing



...ly bad
should be an easy win for you

Action

[smilefornow]

[It has been an utterly miserable month or two. Arthur has never had a very solid sense of time, and it's gone even further to hell here. So, it seems has his life.

Between losing the only thing he really cared about in this world, and the whole burning alive fiasco, it hasn't been a fun time for him of late. But! He'd made a deal, and a project is just what he needs right now. Something to keep him busy. He's drawn up some basic blueprints for what he has in mind, and it shouldn't be too big of a project.

And Eddie will be a great deal more comfortable when it's done. Particularly if cold weather follows the warm. One needs a proper bed and insulation when it gets cold.

He pulls up to where they've agreed to meet, his own mini bus looking much better than it had the last time Eddie saw it. Arthur's been working on it in his spare time, when he's felt well enough to.]

[satanicpanics]

[ The van is an incredibly sad state right now; nothing but a lumpy mattress, a pile of blankets and poorly folded clothing, and a guitar still without an amp. Eddie makes due with the situation, but he has to admit that it would be nice to have something a little more comfortable, especially with the weather beginning to turn. ]

Hey, man.

[ He grins and essentially swings out of his shabby vehicle, waving to Arthur as he does. Clearly, he’s having at least a slightly easier time of things than Arthur. ]

Thanks again for doing this. I have a couple ideas and some cool things I found if you’re open, but uh, if the artist doesn’t accept backseat work, by all means…

[smilefornow]

Of course. Here, come round the back, I'll show you what I've drafted up and we can see what we can do about your ideas.

[Arthur gestures with his hand for Eddie to follow him and heads to the back his little bus. He opens the doors to show his cheery yellow interior - a chest bed, a row of sunshine yellow cabinets with white trim, a hot plate and tea kettle. He grabs a handle at the foot of the bed, just beneath the 'mattress', and gives it a tug. A smoothly polished board slides out - an improvised desk.

He's rather proud of his own little set up. It's nice than some of the bunkers he's stayed in, though that's a terribly low bar.]

You can see what I've done with mine.

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie is more than happy to follow, and when he ducks his head into the microbus, his eyes light up. It’s a little too bright and cheery for his own personal taste, but that’s fine. This is Arthur’s space, not his, and it looks fantastic. It’s tidier than the whole of Eddie’s room back home, and the craftsmanship is genuinely impressive.

He grins as the improvised desk makes its appearance, and he claps politely.]

Holy shit, dude. This is amazing. You seriously did all of this yourself? Like--just you?

Action :))))

[idolatrized]

[Ah, a nice, peaceful night.

Eddie is just vibing in his van from his driver's seat and listening to some of his sweet tunes — as one does when they're a little metalhead. Long day, huh? Sure would be a shame if someone abruptly scared the shit out of him.

...

Anyways, time to scare the shit out of him.

Suddenly, there's a POOF! — then a rush of air in the passenger seat alongside pink smoke that smells faintly of a campfire. Jinu appears beside Eddie with his arms folded behind his head, casual but ready to duck and weave any panicked fists (as people sometimes love to throw in their fight or flight).]

What's up!

LMAOOO bless u

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie isn’t just vibing. He’s full on jamming out. He has a tape on that he’s just uncovered--a little, obscure, new-to-him band that he just missed back in ’86 called Guns n’ Roses. His seat is reclined and his guitar is in his hands (albeit not plugged in) as he attempts to mimic what the hell kind of magic this guitar player is making.

Of course he thinks he’s alone. The doors are locked and the windows are up to keep out the increasingly chilly air, who could possibly approach without him knowing?

Well…lucky for Jinu, Eddie tends to lean more into the flight side of fight or fight, especially when there are no broken bottles in the vicinity. And that’s why he shrieks. It’s loud enough and shrill enough to wake the dead, and all he can do is hug his guitar tighter until his fear clears enough for him to realize that he knows this person. ]

Jesus Christ!

[ The actual…appearing in the van without even having the open the door doesn’t really faze him. He’s used to weird, magical shit by this point, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be startled… ]

What the hell, dude?! Try knocking!

[idolatrized]

[Eddie has the pleasure of being the first full-bellied laugh Jinu aims at some other poor soul in this city, probably. No look that Eddie gives him will make him feel bad for it, either; totally needed that burst of good fun. As he turns slightly to face Mr. Van Dweller in full, he looks unfazed, like he didn't just jumpscare the man on purpose.]

Why take the most boring route when you've got others?

[As he says it, he leans in to pop Eddie's current musical choice out of the tape deck.]

Anyway, quiet down and listen to this.

[So fucking rude of him. Just bursting into the van like he owns it. But as he removes one tape, he takes another from his jacket pocket — slightly battered, but still working, he checked! — and presses it into the player.

What, what... what's that?

The sweet, sweet allure of building drums and guitar...

Enter the Sandman begins its dramatic entrance.]

[satanicpanics]

Hey, hey, hey—! What the hell, dude?

[ It’s really fucking rude of him! And so much is happening all at once, it’s like a whirlwind has just stormed into his van. Eddie scrambles to retrieve his tape, only to be silence immediately as the new tape begins. ]

Wait. Shut up. Wait.

[ Jinu hadn’t even said anything, but Eddie is immediately locked in. He pauses, eyes narrowing as he strains to listen closer. He’s listened to enough Metallica to think he recognizes the guitar and drums by tone and style alone, but confirmation comes with the familiar, growling voice of James Hetfield.

Back home, he’d devoured all three of Metallica’s studio albums, front to back, note by note. Their most recent had only come out about two weeks before he arrived here and he’d already memorized it. He’s kind of an expert, and yet he’s never heard this song. ]

Dude.

[ His eyes are enormous and he’s obviously in complete and total awe. He obviously knew that he could find music here from beyond his own time, but new Metallica is kind of a special kind of magic to him. ]

This--where did you find this?

Delivered Anonymously Around Christmas

[idolatrized]

[Delivered to Eddie's van is a small giftbox wrapped impeccably with red handkerchief.

It's a little old-fashioned, but he thinks it looks nice!]

Click to unwrap!

A set of glowing guitar picks!

[A small piece of paper inside reads: 'It's not much, but it'll help you show off and double as a glowstick.']

Text from: 611 - 3918

[micycle]

[ Around 3:00 a.m., a couple of weeks after that horrific, heartrending talk in the van: ]

home still sucks

[satanicpanics]

[ Of course he's awake at this hour too. No good sleep allowed. ]

never changes

[ Hey, wait, hold on-- ]

you too???

[micycle]

[ A good half hour passes before the next reply. ]

yesterday

[ Followed up by: ]

nov 87

[satanicpanics]

jesus

[ More than a year since Eddie died. It's an odd feeling, knowing that life just has just gone on without him. He couldn't have expected any differently, but actually witnessing it in real time is very strange. ]

you alright??

477 - 6790

[carmesi]

hey. how are your stitches?
we got dropped off some guitar strings at the store. boss insists i find that "nice young man with the guitar" and ask if you want them

so.

( she's asking. )

[satanicpanics]

[ He almost responds with "which ones?", because Eddie is officially held together with thread at this point. But he refrains from mentioning that for now. As far as his missing kidney goes... ]

healing
not infected i think??

holy shit
your timing is incredible
i actually really need some new strings
current ones are pretty dead

[carmesi]

you better not let my effort go to waste.

i guess you got lucky about this. i'll put them away so that no one else buys them before you.

( "buy"... silvia is so enamored by this young rocker that she'll have wanda give them to eddie for free. not that wanda cares. )

have you thought about recording any songs?

[satanicpanics]

of course not
what do you take me for??

[ Man who gets targeted by organ harvesters, obviously. ]

my band and i recorded a demo back home
didn't really get us anywhere but
that was just attempt number 1

how much am i paying for these strings?

833-5948

[bestbabysitter]

Hey, I met someone who can heal. You want to try and see if she can help you?

[satanicpanics]

depends
what's she asking in return??

[bestbabysitter]

I offered her the 20 Joolies I had.

[satanicpanics]

steve

[ That's nice of him. That's really nice of him. Too nice, really. ]

if you can confirm she's not gonna take my other kidney AND you let me pay you back??
then you can tell her she can try