open | station log

[spikedbats]

CHARACTERS: Steve Harrington & YOU
LOCATION: here and there around the station
DATE: post-mission
CONTENT: a simulated swim, a long walk through the sunlight room, and a really terrible attempt at making music
WARNINGS: Poor coping mechanisms, references to PTSD, more warnings to be added in subject lines as they come up.



i. simulation room

[ The first few months saw Steve resolutely avoiding thinking about home. What was the point, if he was stuck here for as long as it took to obtain enough orbs to reverse his regret? But now that he's been gently encouraged to reminisce, nostalgia has taken its hold on him and the sim room takes on a familiar shape.

The lake seems to stretch for miles, and at first Steve can be seen just staring at it from the shoreline. He seems to go from contemplative to impulsively stripping to his underwear and diving right in. For a simulation, it feels pretty damn real, and he does a simple breaststroke to reach where he vaguely remembers the gate to the Upside Down should be. He closes his eyes, tensing as if bracing himself for something, but nothing -- nothing comes.

Which should be a relief, but something about it frustrates Steve. Almost like he wants the damn experience to happen again, the tentacle to pull him under, down. But hey, at least there's no panic attack this time. That has to count for something, right? ]

ii. sunlight room

[ It's a far cry from Hawkins, but the sunlight room does the trick every so often when Steve thinks about home. And with the chill in the air and snow on the ground, if Steve closes his eyes, he can almost imagine himself bundled up in all his winter gear, coffee in his hand while grumbling about being made to chauffeur a bunch of young teens to the frozen pond for ice skating.

Today, though, he simply walks, letting himself be alone with his thoughts, shoving his hands into his pockets and humming a song under his breath. While he has been preferring to keep his own company for the most part while outside his room shared with Finn, if approached he would happily strike up a conversation. Almost as if he would rather not be alone with his thoughts, but feeling as if he needs to from time to time, to remind himself why he's here in the first place. ]

iii. ximusic room

[ Steve has been doing a lot of thinking lately.

Which is probably dangerous given that it's Steve, but it seems like that's all he has time to do lately, is think, when he's not busy on a mission, or busy training, or busy distracting himself with workouts, or --

The point is, thinking has lead him to the ximusic room, and specifically to the guitars. Does he know how to play guitar? No. Is he going to make excruciating attempts at mimicking the music he's heard Eddie play, as well as other songs on the radio in some bizarre attempt to connect with a ghost?

It's probably not the worst coping mechanism he could have.

If someone were to walk into this room and survive the assault to their ear drum, maybe Steve would stop and talk about the importance of music, of how it had become a weapon against a madman. Or maybe he'd ask if they know how to play the guitar and avoid outright asking if they could teach him.

Or maybe they just want to sit and listen, until Steve eventually gives up and focuses on singing instead, since as it turns out he can actually do that. ]

I'd ask if you have any requests, but then I'd ruin your favorite songs and that'd just be sad. [ Ah yes, self deprecation. The ladies must love that. ]

iv. wildcard!

[ please feel free to throw out your own starter if none of these prompts spark joy!i can be reached at aoneknifestand if you want to discuss beforehand. ]

Comments

1. sorry, three for three water simulator

[swordandshield]

[As much as Felix hated the idea right now, he needed a few hours out of the armor every once in a while. It kept him a little more level headed to feel like a real human being rather than a warrior encased in shiny exoskeleton. He preferred the sense of strength and superiority the armor gave him but he knew all too well where that path led him last time. Besides, there were certain things he couldn't do while wearing the armor. Like maintenance on said armor. Which he had not done in a while on his own. His partner...

Well, his partner wasn't here. He would have to deal with it on his own. He'd requested the necessary parts from the station AI so now all he had to do was get down to business. Instead, he was procrastinating by heading for the simulation room. Though he wasn't certain whether he wanted more to relax or do some damage, he would decide once he got to programming. He could work on the armor afterwards once he blew off some steam in one fashion or another.

Except when he got to the simulation room he realized it was already occupied. The door wasn't locked, however, so he let himself in. The scene before him wasn't exactly something of his personal choice but he could feel the vibe of it slowly leak the tension out of his shoulders as he began to explore. The country woods scenery was more or less easy to relax in.

It was when he came upon the lake that his curiosity was truly piqued though. Because that was when he spotted the first sign of whoever had programmed the simulator. The clothes abandoned at the side of the body of water drew his attention from their crumpled forms and immediately towards the calm waters as his eyes searched for the person that had left them there. It took him a moment to spot the body floating in the middle of the water. He watched in stillness, matching the listless body out in the lake.

He knew the body wasn't in peril or anything. The person simply wasn't moving more than necessary to keep afloat. So Felix simply stuffed his hands in his pockets and waited. They couldn't stay out there forever. Eventually the person would have to come back to shore and retrieve their clothes before the simulation ended. So it happened, and Felix watched as the figure began to take familiar shape as it neared the shoreline. An amused expression crept onto his face as he stared at Harrington climbing out of the water.]

Seriously? Whitey-tidies? Couldn't come prepared, Harrington? ...Or finish the job completely?

[He raised an eyebrow in challenge as he said the last sentence, expression bordering on mischievous as he teased the younger man.]

[spikedbats]

[ Steve should probably have seen this coming. Had he thought all of this through, maybe he would have considered the possibility that his little attempt at letting go of the past would end up being interrupted. Attempt being the key word, because he knows it'll take more than one half-hearted session to let him really get rid of his fears.

Out of everyone to be the one to interrupt him in this state though -- ]

Felix. [ Punctuated with a sigh as he fully emerges, shaking his head to and fro to get the excess water out. Had he been back in Hawkins, he might even feel some sense of shame for being caught without his hair styled just the way he liked it. But everyone has seen him in various states of dishevelment by now, so he's finding it a lot easier to roam around while not looking his best. ]

Hilarious. To be honest, I didn't really know what I was gonna do when I started up the sim. [ Besides, it had seemed cathartic at the time to strip down at the time. Now that he feels like he's being ogled his self consciousness is slowly starting to leak back in, leading to him hugging himself. He'll blame it on the cold. ]

[swordandshield]

[Felix's little smirk stayed etched across his features as he moved forward, eyes lingering on Steve until he finally stepped up besides the other man and then shifting to look out across the lake as if his intention had always been to get closer to the water and admire it. His movement had sent him close to Steve's position, perhaps a little too close, where he lingered just beyond touching at Steve's side. The mercenary was close to the water's edge and he looked down at it for a moment before glancing back up and out, then swiveling his head to look at Steve while he spoke.]

That doesn't excuse the fact that you failed to keep your modesty despite clinging to that last piece. [He teased. His tone changed as he continued more levelly.] So what, you just thought 'I'll go with a lake for the hell of it'? What else are lakes good for besides swimming or fishing? And I don't see any fishing rods so you clearly weren't thinking about that when you programmed the scenery.

[His tone dipped into neutral despite the sardonic nature of the words themselves. His head tilted slightly to the side and his eyebrows rose again questioning Steve's choice. His expression leveled out but he kept staring at Steve as he waited for an answer. He was clearly interested in what Steve wasn't saying. It felt like there was something here.]

[spikedbats]

[ If there's one good thing about Felix's sudden disturbance, it's that it's managed to distract Steve from his earlier feelings of failure. Instead they've been replaced with something else, something not entirely terrible, though Steve cannot say for certain what it is Felix does make him feel. He should be shying away with how much closer Felix is now, but unlike back in Hawkins where it's almost compulsory to make sure you're not within an inch of another man, Steve doesn't automatically retreat.

He brings up memories of Eddie Munson crowding into his personal space just then, and it causes Steve to forget how to breathe for a moment, though he tries to recover quickly, before Felix catches on. The last thing he wants is for Felix to think he had any effect on, well, anything with Steve. ]

Yeah, well, I'm always doing that, apparently. [ For your modesty echoes in the back of his mind, and somewhere in the universe there's a denim vest with his blood on it. Maybe when he goes back home after the orbs he'll find it, clean it up, wear it in Eddie's honor. ]

For your information -- [ he turns his attention back to the lake, gesturing at it. ] This is where I almost died. Kind of? I was swimming and got pulled through into another dimension, almost eaten alive by a bunch of demonic bats. So...yeah. [ Somehow it sounds lame when he says it out loud. ]

[swordandshield]

Oh? [Vague interest and subtle amusement to the one syllable utterance. It was tempting to make another joke at Steve's expense to see if he could get the younger man to blush but he refrained. The mood wasn't swinging that way despite the subtle signs Felix read from Steve about what his proximity and words were doing.

The mercenary was rewarded by the confession Steve made seconds later. It took a moment for the information to really sink in. His expression changed slowly as it did. Until it finally settled on incredulous.]

Did you just say... 'pulled into another dimension' and 'almost eaten alive by a bunch of demonic bats'?

[Because seriously. What the fuck.]

I'm sorry, I thought you were just a normal kid from the suburbs. Do you wanna try running that by me one more time?