thisavrou | 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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(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~~.]

video 01 | Aortic Aneurysm

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