thisavrou | video 01 | Aortic Aneurysm

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video 01 | Aortic Aneurysm

(You know who is not going to react to this situation decently no matter how many times it's explained to him? Eddie. You know who doesn't have a good game face against fear? Also Eddie. He's alone, he needs an adult, and he's pretty sure they don't restock on inhalers here. He knew he didn't need it, not technically, but he also knew that his lungs were contracting at a rate that lead to hyperventilating and as far as he was concerned, that was exactly what an asthma attack was all about. He was having an asthma attack. Maybe. His body was thinking about it.

By the way, he's definitely just been staring at the video for a couple of silent seconds, his jaw working back and forth as he just tried to remind himself that he was actually capable of breathing. This kid......)

My mom's going to fucking kill me.

(The words are whispered under his breath and he would think twice about swearing if he realized how many adults might be watching this video. He was enough of a loser that he could get the whole communication device thing, really, that was fine. But he wasn't quite able to wrap his mind around the full extent of it all.

After a second, he decides fuck it. He needs his inhaler. It goes up, he gives it a few shakes, and takes a deep, deep breath in with it. Holds. Holds.

Then his whole body deflates, his eyes rolling up. He closes his eyes and thinks about how he would talk to the police in Derry. Ha. If that wasn't the biggest fucking joke ever. When he speaks next, his voice is pitched higher than before, that typical 'I'm trying super hard to be polite and endearing' voice that he uses to call his mom 'mommy' when he's real apologetic. He's not even trying to be a suck up. The kid's just scared.)

Um. My name's Eddie Kaspbrak. I'm Sonia Kaspbrak's son and I definitely need to be home for dinner which is like, in an hour. So if anyone can help...I would really appreciate it.

.....God, I really hope this isn't that creep who was taking all those kids.

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[Scared kid? Time for instant Responsible Adult Mode.]

Hey... hey it's all right. Your name's Eddie? I'm Shiro. You can hear me all right?

[Keeping his tone calm and measured. Reassuring and steady. Normally, he'd suggest taking a deep breath, but -- hey. Inhaler. Probably not the best course of action.]

Did you just arrive?

(Eddie has deeply mixed feelings about adults. He's at the age where they still had that Authority over him and yet he knows enough to realize that not every adult meant well for kids.

But this guy is talking in one of those nice voices that Eddie knew not all adults had. The kind of nice voice the cops on tv had. He clutches his aspirator hard.)

Yeah, Eddie. (He swallows around that little ball of iron-clad fear that had notched itself at the back of his throat.) It's um- it's nice to meet you, Shiro. I can hear you all right.

(Not tinny at all like when he uses his mom's house phone. He could see him in color too. Pristine color.)

Yes. They fixed my arm. It was broken-.

(It didn't matter anymore, not really, but he couldn't get over that almost more than he couldn't get over the whole space-time jump thing.)

Is this- are there other people here? Are there a lot of kids? (He should probably ask that. Just in case.)

Good, the network's been a little unstable. If I lose you, just hold on a second, and I'll try and get the call back. [Mostly because he can't just leave a frightened kid to struggle on their own.] Can I ask you what happened to your arm?

[Better to phrase it that way than as anything like an order. Thank you conversations with Chara.]

There are a lot of other people here, Eddie, don't worry. There's humans, and some nonhumans. But we're all stuck here together -- trying to figure this place out, and how to get home again.

There's... a few kids. But you're not alone here, one way or another.

...Why's it been unstable? (Was this like one of those situations where technology had been taken over by the robots in charge of everything?

He's quickly pulled out of those thoughts though at the question. His memories were starting to fade but not enough that he can't remember Henry Bowers shoving gravel in his face and twisting his arm up. He grabs at his arm and stares down at his shoes. His quiet is a sullen one.)

This jerk from school broke it.

(He doesn't expand much beyond that. Bullying was a bitch and it was an even bigger bitch when the bully in question was a genuine psychopath.

Eddie looks back up and he mostly just looks moody until Shiro specifically says non-humans. Okay, sure, obvious, space stuff usually included aliens but that's definitely not where his mind went to. He can't explain why he suddenly feels dreadful. It expands tight in his chest like a balloon. The boy's gone pale.)

What- what kind of inhuman?

(That silver suit-

The memory slides away from him and Eddie wants to pinch himself for being such a baby. God.)

So no one knows how to get home? Not even the adults? (Was he really surprised?)

But my mom isn't here. Who's...('Going to take care of me?' doesn't quite leave his mouth. Kid from 1958 isn't going to wrap his mind around that level of independence so easily.)

The station's over three hundred years old, according to their records. Any network that old is bound to be a little unstable.

[He's going to keep up that same easy tone. Supportive. Hopefully not going to frighten the kid any worse than he already is.]

I'm sorry -- but I'm glad they were able to fix it for you. [Still calm. Still genuine. Which ends up being a good thing as the boy goes pale.] Easy. Just aliens. I didn't want you to run into one and panic.

Is there anything in particular you're worried about?

[A slow shake of his head.] No, we don't. I'm sorry to say that. Is... there something you need right now? Maybe I can help.

That is pretty old.

(By a twelve year old standard's, it may as well be ancient.

Eddie merely shrugs. Henry Bowers was a fact of his life that wasn't going to be as simply forgotten as other things. Bullies existed.

Aliens. Now that gets his attention. Monsters was the first thing he thought of- not aliens. Which was stupid now that he thought about it. Space had aliens more than it did monsters.)

Are they like- really weird looking? (He seems calmer for a split second but then.

Shiro asks about specifics and his mouth clips shut with an audible click. A look comes over Eddie's face. It's not just the simple fear of something unsettling. It's not even the kind of fear that was present in his video. This fear is something intangible that grabs around him like a vice and for a moment, he can't think of anything at all. Anything in particular?

There's something, oh God, there is something, but his memories aren't doing him any favors and the most he can think of is the trickling echo of a carnival tune and the smell of popcorn.)

....No. (He finally says, coming back to himself. Despite the moment of fear, it's equally clear that Eddie seems to think that no, he doesn't know anything in particular. Nothing he can remember anyway.)

Um. I don't know. I've never really been on my own before? Not like this. Is there a store or something here? Like a drug store or something?

Not... really? A few look human for the most part.

[Allura and Alfor, to be precise. Nihlus doesn't look human in the slightest, but Shiro's never had a problem with the guy. He's only seen a few others on the network, but nothing horrific.]

[He'll wait, though, until Eddie is ready to speak up. Something is wrong here. Or at least, definitely off. But he doesn't want to make it worse.]

[He nods, instead of pushing for now.]

Okay -- if anything comes up, you can call me, if I don't answer, ask for Team Voltron. Commander Shepard is another good name. She's not one of my team, but she'll help you if she can.

As... far as drug stores, no. Not really. Just the medical ward and what we've been able to find so far.

(It helped a little to know. It would maybe keep Eddie from shrieking anytime he saw someone remotely weird looking.

Something is definitely off, no doubt, and it wouldn't be the first time someone would think that around Eddie. Eddie himself somehow remains oblivious to his own changes.)

Team Voltron? (He had met Shepard. She seemed like a nice lady- even if he kept saying 'Shepherd' in his head by accident. To hear another secure-sounding adult credit her with being good, it makes his trust grow that much more.)

I just- I have a lot of medications and I don't know - should I go to the medical ward then if I need to get this refilled?

(He waves his inhaler about. Did they even have space inhalers?)

Yeah. That's the name of my team. Probably easier to remember one name than overloading you with all of them.

[He smiles a little as he says it. Encouragingly. Hoping it comes across.]

[But on the subject of medications... he's not sure. Maybe Lucio would know. Or one of the other medics.]

You could try. I haven't spent much time down there myself, but maybe someone's found a stockpile.

Lucio might know -- have you met him yet?

(A weird name but a weird name meant it would be pretty easy for him to remember at least.)

What are you a team of? (Was this one of those super hero things? For a moment, Eddie looks a little bit enthralled by the idea.

Eddie's about to have one of his aged moments, one of those moments where it's really obvious he's from a completely different time period because he just blurts out:)

He's black, right? (Eddie barely knew any black people. This was a very defining trait for this white-suburban kid from the 1950s.)

I talked to him a little.

Defenders of the Universe. Got armor and everything.

[There's definitely some pride in the words. Though it's directed toward the people on his team. More than anything. They deserve it.]

[It... also probably says something about how long he's been around said Defenders that when someone asks a question like that, his first thought is the color-coded, giant robot Lions. Instead of... what Eddie means.]

Oh -- Yeah, that's ... yeah. [Nice save there, team leader.] He worked a lot with the doctors before we got here.

That....(Deep breath.) Sounds so cool. Does that mean you know how to fight? Do you mean the whole universe?

(Excuse him because he is almost about to nerd out. His arms are even thrown out to exaggerate when he says 'whole universe'.

If Eddie knew about the color-coded giant lions, he'd flip with joy. This kid is a total mecha-kid even if he doesn't know it yet.

Eddie blinks owlishly at Shiro because that right there is the mark of sheer ignorance.)

Oh. He seems nice enough. (Eddie says thoughtfully because, really-) Nicer than the other doctors I've met anyway. He doesn't seem like he's full of bull-uh.

(Shiro still strikes him very much as Adult and maybe like he shouldn't swear around him. Eddie might not have a dad but his friends sure do and he's familiar with that sort of...Fatherly vibe some people have.)

It does, and I do. Our whole universe, anyway.

[There's many... many universes out there, but now isn't the time to get into that in detail. He does smile a little more, though, at the kid's enthusiasm.]

He's very nice. I'd trust him with anything I needed done in the medical bay. [He'd trust Lucio a lot, really. A good friend.]

... you know I'm not going to stop you from cursing, right? [This isn't Pidge. He has no place to lecture anyone who isn't on his team about their language choice.]

What do you mean 'our'? Isn't there only the one?

(Oh, Eddie. He doesn't know it and never will, but he's not from a universe anyone else in this world is from. That Macroverse was something else.)

Is he one of those doctors who tells you it's only going to hurt a little but then suddenly you're on the floor with pain? (Because Eddie finds that's how most doctors worked. They were natural born liars. Nice =/= trust worthy in his books. As nice as nice is. And he meant it when he said that Lucio doesn't seem full of bullshit, but it was always safer to ask.

Eddie looks a bit like he got caught red-handed, looking a bit nervous.)

...Really? Even if I say really bad words? (Because this kid, despite the whole cute-freckled-big-eyes-squeaky-voice thing has a monster of a mouth sometimes.)

I guess a better word would be... "our reality". [He grimaces, before adding:] Ever heard of a wormhole?

[Because that's probably the best way to go about explaining things. Even if someone like Hunk is better suited to it. Hunk could explain it to anyone -- so could Pidge, but her tech jargon might not help here.]

No. Never. He's always been honest with me, and everyone else he knows. If it was going to hurt, he'd tell you.

[The most honest man Shiro has ever had the privilege of meeting, really.]

Hey, I'm not your father, and you're not my teammate. I can't tell you how to talk.

I take it you don't mean worms like squirmy things in the ground.

(He doesn't know what a wormhole is, nope, but he can at least deduct that much. Give the kid an award.

Eddie nods and he looks genuinely relieved about that. A part of him still would wait to see it for himself but at least he could go to Lucio a little less nervous.)

If you say so. Adults seem to like to sugar-coat things to kids too much sometimes.

(Sometimes it was good. Other times...Not so much.

Eddie cracks a grin and there's a sort of gleam in his eyes.)

No shit? (He tests out the water, just to see Shiro's reaction. Not that 'shit' was a particularly bad word but hey.)

Nope. I mean holes through space. And... time, occasionally.

[Maybe if he pages Hunk, his teammate will save the day. But he'll try. It can't hurt to, right?]

Nah, he won't. If you ask him to, he'll tell you straight what needs to be done, and what he can do. He's always been honest with me.

[Aaaand there's the Language. He just sighs. But, as promised, he's not going to say anything.]

Unless you want to join us, then, no. None at all.

Holes in time?

(Now that was a wild theory that Eddie would have to work at later. It sounded pretty complicated at the moment and he wasn't so sure if it could be constituted as wholly useful information.

Like math or social studies. Good to know, maybe, but daily application? Psh.)

You're an adult though. Adults are always more honest with other adults than they are with kids.

(Adults always felt like lying to kids was protecting them and frankly? Eddie is extremely done with ever being lied to by an adult again. Not that it can be helped but this kid isn't going to take any future lies too well at all.

Eddie's grin turns into more of a smirk and all right, not the most innocent kid after all it would seem. At least he's not Tozier.)

I don't think I'm qualified to join any teams. Why don't you like swearing?

(It was an honest question. He had always wondered why adults don't like swearing when they themselves usually did it too.)

Time and space, yeah. Either you end up on one side of the galaxy, or ... another reality entirely.

[Or both. Usually it was the former, though. Allura and the Castle had more control over it than any human tech ever hoped to.]

Lucio will be honest with you. He might warn you something's going to happen, but he won't lie. He's a good man.

[A good friend. He can't think of any time he's heard Lucio tell an outright lie. Teasing? Sure. Exaggerating? Yes. But not flat out lies. Honestly, Shiro doesn't think Lucio has it in him.]

Swearing just... doesn't really fit the image of the Defenders of the Universe. We're supposed to be role models.

[~~and the show's rated PG~~.]

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video 01 | Aortic Aneurysm

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