thisavrou | video 02 | Alzheimer's Disease

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video 02 | Alzheimer's Disease | Introducing the Losers

(It felt a little bit like a blessing. After losing his memories, getting them back, and going through that alone, Eddie had damn near broken himself down with how badly he had missed his friends. But then they showed up. Not all of them, but the three boys he had been the closest to for the longest, the kind of childhood friends that started out in the single digits. Eddie Kaspbrak was happy. Maybe not perfectly, but for the time being, they were each other's perfect distractions and it was good to have them around.

On top of that, Eddie wanted them to know everything about this place. Including, most importantly, the people who lived there. He could have dragged them from place to place to introduce them to everyone he has come to know and care about, but then he remembered how the device worked and realized how much faster it'd be if he just sent out a video introduction.

So here he was, turning on the video feed and smiling into the camera. Anyone who had seen him lately would have noticed the kid was a bit off, but not here. He might still have bags under his eyes, but there was a brightness in him that hadn't been present in nearly an entire month.)

Hi! It's Eddie. So I know I told some of you about my friends a little bit? And guess what! They're here. Not all of them, but my best buds are- like. Childhood best friends.

(Can you feel his excitement? Eddie is practically vibrating. He's sitting in his room currently, and all it takes is him removing the device entirely from his wrist and turning it around to show Richie Tozier sitting on the floor.)

This is Richie Tozier. He's probably like, my best best friend. You might also notice he has some striking similarities to a trash can.

(He whips the video back around and grimaces a little. Richie was already speaking up with 'Whatever, eds, it's trashcan, not trashcannot.' The quib comes as Eddie's already turned the camera away, and Richie doesn't bother waiting for Eddie to stop talking. Them talking over each other is nothing new, though. Eddie doesn't even hesitate before plunging on.)

Really though, I have to apologize on his behalf for anything stupid he says. And trust me, most of what he says is really stupid.

(And Eddie's up and rushing out of the room, jogging down the hall before bursting into the nearby room that Bill and Stan were sharing. The camera gets whipped around and focuses on Stan. Not looking so amused at the intrusion.)

This is Stan! He's um- the man with the plan, you know?

(Then just like that, he's pulling out of the room, and heading into the main area.

The video doesn't focus on it, but as Eddie slides it across the room, people might notice that the door heading out of their unit is covered in several words painted in black. A large Derry painted over the door, a long list of names down the back of the door, including the Losers' names themselves. And of course, the ominously crookedly written It at the bottom of the door. On the wall beside the door are other words, some sketches, one that almost even looks like a map of something with 'sewers' written over the top of it. But it's a brief passing, something that slides in and out of perspective like a passing thought.

Then Eddie's focusing on a new boy and zooms in on Bill Denbrough's face.)

And this is Bill. He's practically my brother. He is arguably the coolest of us all.

(At first, Bill looks rather grave for his age, waving at the camera for his introduction. But then Richie has to go and jump at Eddie's back, grabbing at one of his cheeks which automatically has Eddie shrieking on the other side of the camera, and at that, Bill starts to laugh. Richie's voice filters through, indistinguishable (probably) insults not easily heard between Bill's laughing and Eddie's whining.

Eddie barely gets the camera back around, his face flushed, and he gives a long exasperated sound. Richie's hand can be seen coming out and grabbing at Eddie's cheek. Again.)

So that's- oh my God, stop- my best friends. So say hi. As for us? Well...We got some uh- stuff to do.

(Is that a small pile of what looks like Kaittan fireworks in the background? Oh boy. Let's just hope those are actually just strange looking sticks.)

OOC | It's completely up to you how you want to interact with this! Feel free to talk to Eddie directly, or make a post directed to all the Losers that they can respond to via separate threads. It's a free for all sort of thing so do whatever.

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I'm near chemistry.

(No, Eddie, you're in chemistry. He's already on his feet, getting his sneakers on. Whoever was in that lab? Totally would have to deal. Eddie was coming in strong.

He smiles stupidly at being acknowledged by a dog.)

I- I am too! I'll be there soon.

(And he is. He jogs out of their unit, and manages to find Hawke pretty soon. His eyes go immediately to the dog, and Eddie can't help but get nervous again. He half wishes he had dragged Richie along. At least then he could have had Richie pet the dog first to see if it really was okay. But he was on his own, and his arms close around his chest, his eyes on the dog.)

What do I do? Do I...Just pet him or?

[Hawke grins and makes her way over to him with Kitty, who is very excited but trying to handle it like a gentleman. ...Gentledog. He drops down to a lying position with his little nub of a tail wagging as if in an attempt to seem smaller and less intimidating.

Hawke too, can tell Eddie is scared and trying not to be. And there's nothing worse than people poking at those things you're doing your best to hide. So she nods and drops down to crouch next to him so they're closer in height and reaches to rub one of the mabari's soft little ears with elicits some happy panting.]

Just pet him. He really wants to be your friend but he gets a little nervous sometimes when meeting new people. He wants to be a good boy.

(It works pretty quickly. Eddie hasn't seen too many dogs, and definitely none up this close. The dog was maybe smaller than Eddie by a whole five pounds though, and Eddie doesn't need a scale to realize that.

Hawke squatting down helps him even further. He trusts her to have trained her dog well, but knowing that she was right there just in case something happened? It helped a lot.

He gives a shaky nod and takes a deep breath. He squats down himself, which makes himself smaller, sure, but tucking himself behind his knees also makes him feel safer. He reaches out a hand and lets the dog sniff it at first. At least he has that sense.

The moment it's clear that his hand wasn't gonna be bitten off, which is pretty much in seconds, Eddie is gently stroking the dog's head. Eddie smiles up at Hawke at once, his eyes practically beaming.)

He's so soft!

[And Kitty instantly becomes a limp noodle pressing his face into Eddie's lap and lying there like a big oversized stuffed toy. Hawke grins and reaches out to scratch at Kitty's haunches.]

He's just a giant teddy bear that sometimes drools all over you.

[Hawke looks over at Eddie.]

Well, you're not sneezing or breaking out in hives or dying. Maybe not so allergic after all?

(Eddie has been blessed and given the rites of the gods. This was easily one of the cutest and purest things Eddie has ever experienced in his entire twelve years of being alive. He gives a fantastic little squeak of shock when he is personally honored with the dog's head in his lap. At once, Eddie is petting the head with both of his hands, grinning so wide it nearly hurts.

Wait til Richie saw this guy!!)

He's so good! (Eddie gasps, and looks up at Hawke.

Maybe not so allergic after all?

Emotion scratches raw at the back of his throat, and Hawke probably didn't even think about it. Why would she? She didn't know Eddie's complicated history with his mother. But he's been combating this mental-sick thing for a while now, a whole month of struggling back and forth with it. Trying to remind himself daily his mom wasn't there, he wasn't sick, he could do things like pet dogs and let them drool all over him. He did not need to be afraid.

His eyes sting with tears, and he quickly looks down, the back of his neck flushing pink in embarrassment. He sniffs and bends down, pressing his face right against the top of the dog's head and breathes in.

It was one of the most exhilarating things in his life. It was as freeing as running and forgetting that his lungs didn't hurt. Only this time? It was better. Because he wasn't forgetting. He was fully holding onto this idea in a tight, iron grip: HE. WAS. NOT. SICK.

He wasn't sick and he wasn't allergic to dogs. He pulls his head back up and laughs, bright and noisy, and clear. So clear, because he wasn't allergic, there were no hives, no closing throat.)

Not allergic at all. (He finally says this, breathing in a huge mouthful of air, and God....

It was probably one of two, maybe three, times in Eddie Kaspbrak's life that he felt powerful. He smiles up at Hawke, looking viciously proud, the tears gone.)

I'm not sick at all.

[Hawke had only meant to be lightly teasing because Eddie had seemed so ridiculously nervous about things that didn't seem very important, to her anyway. Once you get a few life threatening injuries, allergies don't really seem all that scary. But she catches sight of Eddie's face and can tell there's something more going on underneath.

Don't they all have something more going on underneath they wish no one else would see? For a few seconds, she's frozen. Her instinct is to make a joke because this entire thing is ridiculous, right? And if Eddie was upset she'd just bother him until he got over it. Because that seemed easier than forcing any sort of deep conversation.

But against her own natural desire to pull away, she reaches out and gently puts a hand on his shoulder as if to steady him in his determination so he doesn't crumble to self doubt. Her father used to do that to her and somehow there was so much in such a light touch.

And when Eddie raises his head and smiles at her, she grins back and reaches up to ruffle his hair.]

Nope, you're tragically average. Aaaand- [She moves her hand to protect his mouth from Kitty who is trying to be comforting by licking Eddie's face but being a dog, he's not very precise about it hence dog germs are a serious danger.] And let's keep it that way.

(Just about everything like that was scary to Eddie. Injuries and allergies both. The hospital had become more familiar to him than his own bedroom he had been shoved in it so much, so often. The worst part was always that it had kept him from his friends. Especially since his mom hated his friends too. They were never allowed to visit him and he had always been so alone and with needles sticking in him.

All for no God damn reason.

So this dog thing? It's a revelation that Eddie wasn't going to soon forget. How could he? He looks up when Hawke rests that hand on his shoulder, and it works, kind of. In a silent, steadying way, and Eddie smiles at her. No. He would not crumble today, and Hawke could be thanked for that. Hawke and her big, slobbery dog.

He laughs brightly because 'average' sounded amazing to Eddie. He's never been anything but below-average.)

You think? (It's rhetorical. He knows she's being serious and it makes him feel ten times bigger. He squeaks as Kitty gets on with the doggy kissing.

It's not until then that Eddie finally, finally notices Hawke's cast. He gives a soft gasp, leaning away from both her hand and the dog to look at her with large eyes.)

What happened! To your arm?

Definitely. Nothing but the occasional cold, slightly undercooked jokes, and a knock for getting into trouble. Sounds like an average 12 year old boy to me.

[His smile is infectious and leaves her grinning with a feeling of genuine cheer that is rarely present. And it's nice. It's nice not to have to try to force a smile on her face, whether its to throw someone off guard or just to pretend she isn't feeling anything else.

When Kitty stops getting all of the attention, he snorts softly through his nose and presses it into Eddie's shirt as if to say "I'm here and much cuter than my owner!". Which is something Hawke would definitely agree to, anyway.

At the mention of her arm, she pulls it back away from Eddie's face as something like a sheepish expression comes across her face for instant before dropping into something casually amused.]

I got dragged up onto a stage for a song and had an unfortunate encounter with the flutist that sent us toppling both off stage.

[A LIE. The flutist had an unfortunate encounter with Hawke. But thankfully, Hawke took most of the damage.]

(Eddie winds up smiling even more, mostly because Hawke was the kind of adult who was just easy to be around. Eddie didn't have that luxury too often, and he was starting to realize how much he liked it.

It was true, Kitty was pretty much the cutest thing Eddie has ever seen, and Eddie proceeds to continue giving very thorough love to this God-given dog. He is looking at Hawke still, even as his hands scratch at Kitty.

Oh no way, Hawke. You're not getting out of this one with casual amusement. Eddie removes his hands from Kitty and wipes them off on his pants before crossing his arms over his chest.

Uh-huh.

You're his friend now, and that means you're subjected to this facet of his personality as well as any of the Losers.)

You need to be careful.

(Said with utter seriousness. He points at her cast accusingly.)

Broken arms are awful! Bowers broke my arm back in Derry, and my mom flipped.

(Reasonably, but it had been an exhilarating time for Eddie in a really weird way.)

Are you elevating it properly? You should be elevating it. Also, the cast is totally empty. Do you want me to sign it?

(All said in one breath.)

I'm going to tell you right now, Eddie. [She grips his shoulder as if steeling him for something serious.] I'm terrible at being careful. Even when I try to be careful, I end up in trouble. It's like I'm allergic to careful. Seriously allergic to it.

And I've broken it worse before. There wasn't even any visible bone this time.

[Oh wait. Eddie probably doesn't want to hear that. She swallows anymore facts about previous injuries and instead raises it above her head.]

Elevating it like this? That's going to get exhausting. I'm going to need to hire you to elevate it for me. [She playfully rests her arm on his head for a few seconds.]

You broke your arm? See that sounds terrible. Usually I just heal with magic but the people there shoved me into this thing. It's awfully itchy, I don't know how you survived it. I've thought about taking it off myself.

[Then she cocks her head.]

Sign it?

(At first, Eddie really is anticipating a Very Serious Conversation. But then he gets that, and Hawke is gifted with one of Eddie Kaspbrak's unamused glares.) Well try because I'm not that good at patching people up. And you're my friend which means if you're in trouble, I have to go towards that trouble too if I can help you out of it.

(Eddie has a very loyal sense of justice regardless of his cowardice otherwise. He grimaces at the mention of bone showing through, but he has a surprisingly hardy stomach for someone so horrified by stuff like this.)

That's bad! You could get an infection when the bone breaks through the skin.

(Don't give him early heart failure, thank you. He already has to worry about his friends doing stupid shit- and not even just Richie! Bill could be reckless too sometimes.

Eddie huffs when her arm is propped up on his head- though he does seriously consider doing it for a few seconds. Instead, he gently grabs her arm and just holds it up by his head. Yes. He will do this for a while, okay.)

Just do it when you're resting. It doesn't have to be all the time.

(He explains this with the same tone of patience he sometimes uses with Richie. Which, honestly, is an amazing thing for Hawke. It puts her in a pretty special notch in his heart, really.)

This kid from my hometown broke my arm. After he shoved rocks in my face.

(Then his shithole best friend spat in his face, but Eddie doesn't mention that. Mostly because thinking about that part really made him want to cry. Hawke did not need to see him being such a baby.)

Don't do that before it heals! Just get a stick-. Why haven't you healed it with magic and taken it off though?

(He would do that if he could...

He nods, and taps the cast.)

When you break your arm, if you have friends, they're supposed to sign it. I don't really know why, but that's just what you do. They give cool messages and stuff.

Edited (wooords) 2017-12-04 04:58 (UTC)

No, no, no. Don't go near the trouble. Then I'll have to get you out of trouble. And then I'll be back in trouble. The snake never stops eating its tail. And snake tail doesn't look very appetizing so that snake is really not having a good time.

Also magic only works to fix serious injuries. The rest heals the old fashioned way, especially if you can't get to it fast enough.

[She grins at that tone because it's just so funny coming from a kid. It reminds her of Carver, always trying to curb her more ridiculous notions. So she appreciates it all the same. When Eddie raises her arm, she grins widely at him.]

So can you come and do that while I'm napping. Because it seems awfully hard to do that while asleep. Does everyone who breaks their arm have an official "arm holder" that they use?

[Of course not, it's stupid and she knows it. Her smile falters a little bit at the image of Eddie being beat up. She'd never been beaten up by other children because she'd lived in hiding her entire childhood but that had left her with a similar fear of being attacked for what made her an outcast.]

If he ever comes here I'll light his arse on fire. Have you ever seen that? It's pretty funny.

[She glances down at him.]

So then, are you going to sign my cast?

I can get myself out of trouble. Real bad trouble too. (He actually is pretty awful at all that, but he does his absolute best. He would do an even better job of it if it was to help out a friend too.

He has arguments on what constitutes as a serious and non-serious injury. But for now, he will hold his tongue. It takes a lot of effort to do that, so Hawke should feel lucky.)

Maybe. That doesn't sound like a half-bad idea for an invention. You should um-. What's the word. (He waves his hand around, before snapping his fingers.) Oh! Trademark it.

(Being beaten up by other children, and the occasional child-starved demon, was what Eddie was particularly good at. He had a fat ole target on his entire existence that screamed for that kinda thing.

His eyes do light up at the mental image of Henry's ass on fire. It outright makes him giggle.)

Oh, Jesus. I haven't, but I'd pay to.

(He'd use up all his allowances. He's pretty sure the rest of the Losers would too.

Eddie nods eagerly. He has never signed something before! At least not like this. A very exciting day for him. He pulls out from his pocket a sort of marker thing. It's a space-marker, as he wisely has dubbed it, gotten in trade at Kaittos. It was sorta more of a paint-stick, but hey. Worked.

He holds her arm carefully and considers the cast and what he should put. He isn't artistic. He also isn't as funny as Richie nor word-thoughtful as Bill. He taps the end of the marker against his chin, thinking hard. Probably too hard.

Finally, he writes out a careful, probably-too-large message across her cast of: Thank you.

It seemed really dumb, he realizes, as he signs his name beneath it with a crude smiley face. But that whole allergy thing? He can't...really express that properly. So this was what he could do.)

That's good. I'm good at getting into trouble and then punching my way out of it. If it's trouble I can't punch my way out of then I'm completely useless. Though, I'll keep trying to punch it. Then no one can say I didn't try.

[She grins at him at the suggestion of an invention. Nah, she'll just use Kitty as a nice arm rest while she sleeps.

Hawke watches him sign the cast with a vague curiosity. She'd never thought of signing someone's wrappings but she couldn't deny that it made since in a very sweet way that she wasn't really accustomed to thinking. When he signs "thank you", there's something in her stomach that churns. It felt like it had been so long since someone thanked her. Not since she was just a ruffian doing whatever she could to scrap up some gold. Now it was "Hawke this, Hawke that" and when she did this and that, all she got was "wish you'd done it this way" or another task dropped at her feet.

Now she gets a brief moment of relief and the satisfying feeling that you know you helped someone and they appreciated it. Once he's done signing, she lifts the arm to grip his shoulder gently in a gesture she hopes he sees as grateful. Hawke is usually good with words but bad with feelings so that leaves her in an unusually vulnerable spot.]

Well, it's much less boring than before. Now it's got "personality". You know, with that certain gravitas.

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video 02 | Alzheimer's Disease | Introducing the Losers

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