( he's still steve. he's still steve because no one else has those eyes and that flop of hair and the energy of that whole hero thing he likes to do like its his job. (would billy have been more like him if things had been different?)
yeah, steve looks different now, the longer she stares. more and more like he didn't just get here, didn't just get here a little while ago like he says and that sinking feeling only dips deeper. different scars, different marks stare back now and what the hell is there to fight here? was it not over? and did he seriously have a sword?
and you're okay? he asks, breaking her out of the line of thinking and she has to ignore the question because how do you answer that? chin lifts and she looks at the people around them, only response a scoff.
in a different moment, she would have said something scathing and slightly mean, something to point out that obviously no, not okay, that they were both in some fantasy town with way too many goats. but she can't even muster that in this moment. the interruption is well timed, then, when he tells her they should walk away from here.
max follows, herded away by a gentle grip as she shakes her head. ) It doesn't feel real.
( max lets silence hang over them as she sticks close. feels childish, in that odd teenager way, worried to admit she's stupidly relieved to not be alone. too stubborn to admit how scared she was, how uncertain, or how she shouldn't be either of those things. even when pulled to a strange new world, there's some knee-jerk reaction to want to be okay when she was anything but.
it is reaffirmed in his question and words wither in her throat, and her pace slows to a halt. she tries to steel herself, tries to — ) Um — I was —
( never mind that it was an odd question. shouldn't he be from the same time? don't be afraid, that monstrous voice echoes and she clenches her teeth. it will all be over soon. max tucks her arms around herself. ) We'd all split up. For the plan, to kill Vecna? ( her eyes are distant. she can't even look at steve. ) We went to the Creel House, and I —
( there's a farmstead in the distance; a passing breeze pushes loose strands of red hair from her face; it's all sensations she should cling to, to try and separate herself, but — ) — the last thing I remember is being in the Upside Down. El was there too. Vecna — he, um — ( voice barely above a whisper. she hadn't wanted to go. she doesn't remember a lot, everything a dizzying, numbing blur, but she did remember that. hollowly: ) — I don't think I made it, Steve.
me tbh
yeah, steve looks different now, the longer she stares. more and more like he didn't just get here, didn't just get here a little while ago like he says and that sinking feeling only dips deeper. different scars, different marks stare back now and what the hell is there to fight here? was it not over? and did he seriously have a sword?
and you're okay? he asks, breaking her out of the line of thinking and she has to ignore the question because how do you answer that? chin lifts and she looks at the people around them, only response a scoff.
in a different moment, she would have said something scathing and slightly mean, something to point out that obviously no, not okay, that they were both in some fantasy town with way too many goats. but she can't even muster that in this moment. the interruption is well timed, then, when he tells her they should walk away from here.
max follows, herded away by a gentle grip as she shakes her head. ) It doesn't feel real.
( max lets silence hang over them as she sticks close. feels childish, in that odd teenager way, worried to admit she's stupidly relieved to not be alone. too stubborn to admit how scared she was, how uncertain, or how she shouldn't be either of those things. even when pulled to a strange new world, there's some knee-jerk reaction to want to be okay when she was anything but.
it is reaffirmed in his question and words wither in her throat, and her pace slows to a halt. she tries to steel herself, tries to — ) Um — I was —
( never mind that it was an odd question. shouldn't he be from the same time? don't be afraid, that monstrous voice echoes and she clenches her teeth. it will all be over soon. max tucks her arms around herself. ) We'd all split up. For the plan, to kill Vecna? ( her eyes are distant. she can't even look at steve. ) We went to the Creel House, and I —
( there's a farmstead in the distance; a passing breeze pushes loose strands of red hair from her face; it's all sensations she should cling to, to try and separate herself, but — ) — the last thing I remember is being in the Upside Down. El was there too. Vecna — he, um — ( voice barely above a whisper. she hadn't wanted to go. she doesn't remember a lot, everything a dizzying, numbing blur, but she did remember that. hollowly: ) — I don't think I made it, Steve.