aliasmultimuse

[aliasmultimuse]

Something that Skizzo himself would have called a frown but that would be described as a pout spread across his face at Bailey's sentence. That she would leave his sorry ass to die wasn't surprising; he didn't expected anything else, truly, and the feeling was pretty much mutual. Still, she didn't need to be such a little bitch. He let out an exhale so big all of his body seemed to momentarily deflate, puffy oversized coat and all. ❝To the power plant,❞ he replied, pulling his gun out of his back pocket to check the magazine. He then did the same with the sniper rifle he carried across his back.

❝You noticed we don't got any electricity anymore, yeah?❞ It stopped working long before Bailey had arrived to camp, together with hot water and assorted amenities. They had a diesel generator, an old, faulty piece of junk they had hooked up to the infirmary (stitching wounds and checking for Cordycept infections was easier said than done in only candle light), but fuel was always hard to come by. ❝We've been working on fixing that for a while.❞

Cautiously, he approached one of the horses stationed near the gate. The animal flicked its white tail, nostrils flaring as they took in the smell of Skizzo's expired aftershave, of his musty old coat, but remained calm. ❝Dunno what the hell happened in there, but the place was overrun with fucking infect. The people that went in there didn't come back.❞ Torres and Evans were far from his best men but Skizzo had deemed them capable enough to deal with the situation. Apparently, he had overestimated them. Or maybe it was worse than it looked from the outside.

❝I sent a group to take care of the situation, lure the infect out and get rid of 'em. Now the problem is, place is still full of corpses and fungi and shit. 'S full of spores and the men I sent in there had the last of our respirators.❞

continued from an ask with @aliasmultimuse 🤪

She could leave on her own without someone breathing down her neck. She was better alone, anyway. It's always easier to go alone; you have no one to worry about, no one to slow you down and more importantly no one trying to tell you what you can and can't do. What's up with that?

He never said she'd be a nuisance... Out loud. Playing hero wasn't really her style, not unless it was for someone she cared for. Why risk your life for a stranger who likely wouldn't think twice about killing you? But she knew that coming from him likely didn't mean much. It was probably more to save his own hide from any trouble, he didn't actually care if she got hurt, did he?

❝ Right so if you get into any trouble out there, I'll just turn the other way. That's so much easier. ❞ She beamed, though the shining grin on her face was more smug than anything else. Now she would never actually do that to him, but that didn't mean she couldn't tease. ❝ If you're done lecturing me, can we leave? Where are we even going, anyway? ❞

[aliasmultimuse]

✏ I would love to write Hunter and Skizzo during some of the major turning points in days gone/skizzos character arc in the game. Especially Hunter learning about iron mikes deal with the rippers

Oh god, absolutely, I would adore that too! I'm definitely sliding in your DMs 👁👄👁

[aliasmultimuse]

Send “ ✏“ plus a scenario you’ve always wanted to rp with our muses and I’ll tell you whether or not I’m interested!

(If you cannot see the emoji send “Pencil” plus a scenario.)

[aliasmultimuse]

You remember those honest trailers? I think we should start an honest promos trend. Here's mine:

@aliasmultimuse: independent, private and selective blog of canon menchildren, wrangled by a good looking* mun with chronic writer block.

*being good looking serves no purpose in a writing partner but I just wanted you people to know because it's my redeeming quality, xoxo

[aliasmultimuse]

"came back wrong" this "lived wrong" that, what about dying wrong. my death will forever cling to you, leaving behind a slimy trail and a metallic taste in your mouth. my soul will forever drag you down like the heavy corpse of a long-dead god, who somehow still grants wishes. you can't tell which one of us is the one not letting go. you know not even your own death will end this.

[aliasmultimuse]

One detail in Cyberpunk 2077 I really like:

Johnny Silverhand's Silver hand was made, at least in part, by Arasaka. You can see their logo on his arm, but since he fucking hates Arasaka, he seemingly tried to scratch it off

It's hard to see, but you can definitely make out the very distinct "S" from the Arasaka Logo

I also don't think it's wear and tear, considering all the other logos on the arm are almost fully intact.

His own arm, his very namesake, is a reminder of Arasaka...

[aliasmultimuse]

Johnny outstretches his right hand to interwine his fingers with Kerry's own, in his other hand he's holding an half smoked cigarette, the light tip reflecting off his metal fingers. ❝I know,❞ he replies, with a tone that doesn't really communicate anything. It's a statement, one he doesn't necessarily believe. He trusts Kerry, of course, trusts him with his life, but that's hardly the point.

The point is that Kerry knows him more than anyone else, understands him like no one else could. He's his best friend, his irreplaceable bandmate, his only confidant, lately his lover. Does Kerry understand the enormity of that? Of course Johnny is scared, especially now that the balance between them is so fragile. Johnny is terrified of breaking it.

@aliasmultimuse : “ it’s kind of scary how well you know me, sometimes. ” -johnny / i'm paying attention love language prompts.

in the dark of johnny's bedroom, kerry fiddles with his bracelet and frowns. the air smells like cigarettes and sex, and off to the side out of reach, a radio drones quietly on. they'd spent the better part of the afternoon and evening occupied with one another and only now, in the twilight hours, have they taken a break to rest. and talk.

it's rare to hear johnny sound so vulnerable, scared by the enormity of kerry's familiarity and of what and who they are to one another.

i love you, kerry thinks, and you're my best friend. of course i fucking know you. he doesn't say so, though.

"you're safe with me, though," kerry opts to reply, speaking softly to the shadows. he need not say anything else.

[aliasmultimuse]

💔     HEART     ACHE     SENTENCE     PROMPTS    !  

❝ You are a victim of your own broken heart. ❞

❝ You’re breaking my heart.  ❞

❝ The heart is just a muscle, isn’t that right? ❞

❝ You’ve left a void in me that cannot be filled. ❞

❝ Time does not heal a broken heart as they say. ❞

❝ How do you cope when the love is with somebody else? ❞

❝ Well, you can’t have heartbreak without love. ❞

❝ Love is supposed to heal, to be your haven from misery. ❞

❝ My heart no longer felt as if it belonged to me. ❞

❝ There is an ocean of silence between us… and I am drowning in it. ❞

❝ Raw love, like raw heartache, could blindside you. ❞

❝ I was born the day you kissed me, died the day you left me.  ❞

❝ I’ve fallen victim to love once in my life, it was enough for me.  ❞

❝ I think perhaps I will always hold a candle for you – even until it burns my hand. ❞

❝ I would have followed you to hell and back… if only you’d lead me back.  ❞

❝ I had fallen but you were not there to catch me.  ❞

❝ This pain has not passed, this pain, I’m afraid, it will never pass. ❞

❝ A broken heart can be as lethal as a bullet to the brain. ❞

❝ As if you gave your heart to autumn, for what it destroys never blossoms again. ❞

❝ A single heartbreak teaches you more than what a lifetime of schooling can. ❞

❝ You taught me how to live with you, now tell me how to live without you… ❞

❝ You hurt me and yet I cannot stay away, I am miserable either way. ❞

❝ Do you know why he did what he did to you? Because he could. ❞

❝ I have been bitter since the day you broke my heart. ❞

❝ Today is just another day of trying to get by without you. ❞

❝ An entire world of people can never replace the one that I’ve lost. ❞

❝ I cannot carry on with my future when I am stuck in my past. ❞

❝ Many things we die but this love I have for you will not. ❞

❝ I could never love another as I do you, even if I wanted to. ❞

❝ This heart break will be the death of me. ❞

❝ I still fight and I don’t know why. ❞

❝ If our love is tragedy then are you my remedy? ❞

❝ When you’re ready, come find me, my heart is open. ❞

❝ Love is both, the strongest and the weakest thing you can have in life. ❞

❝ Black misery painted on a blood red heart. ❞

❝ You make me feel like a firefly. Trapped in a belljar; starved for love. ❞

❝ Sometimes your eyes are not the only place the tears fall from. ❞

❝ My heart does not beat, it aches, for you. ❞

❝ Do you even know how you make me weak? ❞

❝ If you lose your one and only, there’s always room here for the lonely. ❞

❝ Part of me aches at the thought of her being so close yet so untouchable. ❞

❝ Sometimes it feels like love and sometimes it feels like the death. ❞

❝ I don’t know where your heart is but mine is bruised. ❞

❝ I tried to wash the scars and marks from under my skin but you’re etched in me like stone.❞

❝ You call it love, but still you hate me? ❞

❝ You’re the pain and the medicine, one taste and I’m numb again. ❞

❝ With you next to me, there’s no darkness I can’t overcome.  ❞

❝ They don’t love you the way I love you. ❞

❝ What a wicked way to treat the one that loves you. ❞

❝ What’s worse, looking jealous or crazy? ❞

❝ There’s a fire starting in my heart, it’s bringing me out the dark. ❞

❝ The scars of your love remind me of us. ❞

❝ Tears of blood fall from my broken heart. ❞  

❝ Never mind, I’ll find someone like you. ❞

❝ When it’s all said and done, I’m still in love with you. ❞

❝ I want you to know that I’m all yours. ❞

❝ You could break my heart in two but when it heals, it beats for you. ❞

❝ The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it…  ❞

❝ Jealousy is just love and hate at the same time. ❞ 

❝ I know you still think about the times we had. ❞

❝ I’ve been so selfish because I love you so much. ❞

❝ You’re just like a pill, instead of making me better, you keep making me ill. ❞

❝ I bet you start loving me as soon as I start loving somebody else. ❞

❝ Do you ever think of me when you lie? ❞

❝ I fell for your lies, you hurt me, all the time. ❞

❝ Despite everything, I still remain loving you. ❞

❝ I’m waiting for the one day to come, when I can look at you and feel nothing. ❞

❝ Love creeps up on you, you never know how hard it’s there until they leave.  ❞

❝ I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for just how badly I broke you.. ❞

❝ What chance did we have against fate? ❞

❝ Be careful when fixing broken people. You may end up cutting yourself. ❞

❝ Every other lover will always be compared to you. ❞

❝ I would recognize your heartbeat from the ends of space. ❞

❝ Even in dreams, ghosts of former happiness haunt me. ❞

❝ You should see me when my heart is broken. I don’t grieve, I shatter. ❞

❝ Love, but don’t fall in love because everything that falls breaks. ❞

❝ If my love was a war, you only fought for the glory of winning. ❞

❝ How many hearts have you collected? How many chests have you left aching and empty? ❞  

❝ I have not broken your heart - you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine. ❞

❝ If it’s a question of my heart, you’ve got it. It don’t belong to anyone but you. ❞

[aliasmultimuse]

which tragic death do you suffer?

Jason: the prophetic hero

you die saving the world, as you were always supposed to. peace comes only with your blood. the world will remember you for centuries. they will write poems, create art, and film movies all about you. no one will remember what you were before your death. maybe you don't even know it either. you have spent so long saving the world time after time that there is nothing left of you except the heroism. you die never knowing love.

Johnny: the betrayal

you die at the hands of the person you love most. maybe there are tears in their eyes as they drive the sword into your chest, maybe there is none. there are certainly tears in yours. your mouth will open to ask 'why' only to spit blood instead. you will die never knowing if they loved you at all, wondering if you could've done something to prevent this, or if it was always going to end this way.

Skizzo: the sudden

it happens so quick you won't even realize it. like being hit by a car, or having a heart attack. one moment you're here, the next you're not. you don't get to prepare. your family will spend months sifting through your belongings, not knowing what to do. your friends online will never know why you don't come back. you die thinking you're alive, face still preserved with your last emotion. you don't get to say goodbye.

Tagged by beloved @propheresy

Tagging @axeattitude @fiinalgiirls @neuroslayyer @touchedsky @breakthings

[aliasmultimuse]

@eisiramdeus said:

“Come on. Stop struggling.”

At those words, spoken too close to his ear, a hot shiver runs down Jason's spine. He all but doubles his efforts, struggling to break free from Alex's grasp, perpetually bruised hands sinking in dry sand in a useless attempt to push himself up. The violence with which he struggles is irrational, primal; nothing to do with the methodical violence he and Alex inflicted on Buck, just hours prior. Jason struggles not to be let free but because he feels compelled to match the other's aggression in kind, match every push and shove (because Alex keeps pushing and shoving and has pushed him past his limits several times now).

Sand sticks to his skin, to the inside of his bloodied nose (he is entirely at fault for that, he knows, he got too distracted - by Alex's bare chest or his own grim thoughts, it's hard to tell). His head spins and pulsates with the heat, with rage and arousal and grief, those feelings threatening to burst his skull open if he doesn't kill them first. Jason addressed it before: how that Island, that situation, Alex make him feel alive in a way he's never felt before, but that's nearly too much. A wordless sound escapes from his mouth and suddenly he's pushing not against Alex but into him. ❝Yeah, okay,❞ he finally concedes, breathless from his struggle. His head bows, forehead pressed in the sand, baring his sweaty nape. Not a victory but not a defeat either, really.

[aliasmultimuse]

Forever — The Art of Murder  {Sentence Starters}

“May I stay?”

“Do not gloat.”

“I’m not here…”

“Was she pretty?”

“She wasn’t always…”

“Coffee. Lots of coffee.”

“Why weren’t you there?”

“He, um, couldn’t make it.”

“Lucky for him, he’s dead.”

“If only it was her funeral…”

“Morning. You look terrible.”

“I, of course, can never forget.”

“Well, to begin with, she’s dead.”

“Everything is forgotten in death.”

“I’ve only seen that in old movies.”

“I’ll do anything to fix this. Just tell me.”

“Wow, you are pretty when you’re mad!”

“Will anyone be spared your ire tonight?”

“Nothing in life is certain, especially this.”

“Some, we think of fondly. Others, less so.”

“Try not to make any more headlines today.”

“Wow, you really do have an issue with this.”

“I guess blue bloods bleed like the rest of us.”

“You know I figured it out. I know your secret.”

“You’ll find with me that’s not usually the case.”

“I’m afraid an apology must be made standing.”

“Someday, I’ll be gone… and you’ll still be here.”

“How can I tell you to stay? You’re not even here.”

“Okay, spill it. You’re acting stranger than normal.”

“One thing’s for certain, this wasn’t a natural death.”

“But, I apologized. I’ve extended my hand, surely — “

“There’s no way of knowing there was someone else…”

“Okay, before I tell you, I’d really prefer you don’t get mad.”

“The good memories, those are the ones that hurt the most.”

“We’re not afraid of dead bodies. We’ll step right over them.”

“You can’t plan for everything. Sometimes it’s good to be rash.”

“I don’t know what the future holds. But, as long as I’m alive, I will always love you. Forever… Will you marry me?”

[aliasmultimuse]

2001: A Space Odyssey  {Sentence Starters}

“Oh, we’re going home.“

“See you on the way back.”

“Can you hold it a bit closer?“

“Well, who’s taking care of you?“

“I’m sorry. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“I think you’ve improved a great deal.“

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Where the hell did you get that idea?”

“I can see you’re really upset about this.“

“You don’t mind talking about it, do you?”

“I’m sorry, I’m simply not at liberty to say.“

“It can only be attributable to human error.“

“Something like that. Tastes the same anyway.“

“You guys have really come up with something.”

“I won’t argue with you anymore! Open the doors!“

“Does this ever cause you any lack of confidence?“

“I know I’ve made some very poor decisions recently…”

“I don’t know, that’s a rather difficult question to answer.“

“I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.”

“Unfortunately, that sounds a little like famous last words.“

“By the way, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?“

“This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.”

“Don’t suppose you have any idea what the damn thing is, huh?“

“This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.“

“I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it.“

“I’ve still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you.“

“I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.”

[aliasmultimuse]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Season 7  {Sentence Starters}

“We saved the world.“

“Have you Googled her, yet?”

“I don’t have anywhere else to go.“

“I’m beyond tired. I’m beyond scared.”

“I’m here to kill you, not to judge you.“

“I deserve a lot worse. I killed people.”

“She’ll tell you. Someday she’ll tell you.“

“I don’t have that much power, I don’t think.“

“You think I want this? You think I don’t care?“

“Reality just shows up sometimes, doesn’t it?“

“You may not see it, but I do. I believe in you.”

“Come for the food, stay for the dismemberment.“

“So, everything’s okay, right? C-can we rest now?“

“So peachy with a side of keen, that would be me.“

“Tell anyone we had this conversation, I’ll bite you.“

“I dreamed of killing you. I think they were dreams.“

“We’re gonna have to fight to the death, aren’t we?“

“Poems. Always a sign of pretentious inner turmoil.“

“They’re cautious. I’m sure you can understand that.“

“I can barely live with what I did. It haunts me. All of it.“

“And I put a sword through his heart because I had to.“

“Oh god, she won’t understand, she won’t understand.”

“God, that phrase is never gonna be usable again, is it?“

“You feel really responsible? You are really responsible!”

“Human rules don’t apply. There’s only me. I am the law.“

“If you knew what I’ve done, what I’ve let myself become…”

“You can’t help me. I’m not even sure there’s a me to help.”

“There is something bad down here, possibly everything bad.“

“Can’t run, can’t hide… can’t pretend it’s not the end, ‘cause it is.”

“I want you to know that I’m, I’m really sorry for letting you down.“

“You know, you were a lot more fun when you didn’t have a soul.“

“You learned the entire Klingon dictionary in two and a half weeks.”

“You risked everything to be a better man. And you can be. You are.“

“I heard a lot of rumors about you back then. You were all mysterious.“

“I need to fix this. I don’t usually get a heads up before somebody dies.“

“I’ve seen things you couldn’t imagine, and done things I prefer you didn’t.“

“I don’t want to be this good-looking and athletic. We all have crosses to bear.“

“That’s not why I need you here… Because I’m not ready for you not to be here.“

“It’s all connected. You’re connected to a great power, whether you feel it or not.“

“Oh, my name will be on everyone’s lips, assuming their lips haven’t been torn off.“

“I told you get that thing out of my face! Now get out of here before I tear your head off!“

“I’m standing on the mouth of Hell and it is going to swallow me whole. And it’ll choke on me.“

“We need to stick together, okay? We’re stronger that way. We cannot afford to fall apart, now.”

“It is always different! It’s always complicated. And at some point, someone has to draw the line and that is always going to be me!”

“I’ve seen your kindness, and your strength. I’ve seen the best and the worst of you, and I understand, with perfect clarity, exactly what you are. You’re a hell of a woman.“

[aliasmultimuse]

lord huron : long lost album … sentence starters 

“Mmm, I lied.”

“I ain’t lonely, are you?“

“I don’t want to lose you.”

“I ain’t lonely, I’m long lost.”

“Do you love me anymore?“

“Oh, where did the time go?”

“I’ve a tale or two to tell you.”

“There’s a secret to this town.”

“Don’t laugh, you’ll make me cry.”

“There’s a debt or two I owe you.”

“In my mind, you’re mine forever.”

“We’ll go wild and seize the night.”

“Come on and meet me in the city.”

“I ain’t never seen you look so sad.”

“All messed up, with nowhere to go.”

“I went looking and it drove me mad.”

“I made a life out of chasing a ghost.”

“If forever gets lonely, take my hand.”

“Taking it slow, but it all goes quickly.”

“You and me are gonna paint this town.”

“Everybody lies, but I’ll never doubt you.”

“I swear, this time around, I’m gonna stay.”

“Get your courage up and drink this down.”

“What does it mean if it all means nothing?“

“Try though I might, I was never a believer.”

“If you ever get lonely, please let me know.”

“Am I not the one you wanna love forever?“

“You look like hell and you smell like death.”

“Forget the life you had and don’t look back.”

“I can’t erase the day that I went and left you.”

“Oh, we really should have left here long ago.”

“So much to say, but my words mean nothing.”

“I dream most every night that I never left you.”

“Am I not the one you’re dreaming of, my angel?“

“The sky doesn’t care what my poor heart wants.”

“I’ve been lost before, and I’m lost again, I guess.”

“Get your courage up and take the highway down.”

“Send me to the mountains, let me go free forever.”

“I don’t want to lose you. I would change it if I could.”

“I’ve got a place in the world, and I found out where.”

“Gonna fly through my life ‘til  I crash into the ending.”

“I’m going way out where the world will never find me.”

“I told you I could never love somebody else, but I lied.”

“If you ever want to see my face again, I want to know.”

“It’s hard to make friends when you’re half in the grave.”

“I tried to change my ways and walk the line you follow.”

“If you never want to see my face again, I’ll understand.”

“I swore that I’d become a better man for you and I tried.”

“If our love is so wrong, tell me, why does it feel so right?“

“I told you I’d be coming back, again, for you, but I’m not.”

“I have travelled many miles, I don’t wanna walk no more.”

“Love me like you used to, and I’ll praise you like I should.”

“I got along for a while, I guess, but it took everything I had.”

“When I open up your door, will you know me from the rest?“

“Love me if you choose to, though you say that I’m no good.”

“Every road and every highway led me right back to your door.”

“I’ll be running through the forest, dancing in the fields like this.”

“Leave me where the light pours down through the trees like rain.”

“Lay me in the tall-grown grass in a shallow grave. Let it have me.”

“I might stay in my mind just for a couple of years, face all my fears.”

“Let it wash over me like a flood, let it ease my pain. Let it drown me.”

“Lord, I know I’ve made mistakes, but I am different now, I’ve changed.”

“I gotta find a way out of this mess. I’m in trouble and it sure looks bad.”

“You’re tired of me, I’m tired of you, so turn around and leave me to myself.”

“There’s a reason why I’m still living here, though I can’t think of it right now.”

“Wasting my days with my mind on the future, and my past like a chain that won’t ever let me go.”

“All of the joy I’ve known, the ways I’ve grown, the loves I’ve shown my heart to, I’m gonna get it together and live forever.”

[aliasmultimuse]

It flashes across their adjoined minds, a fantasy of smoky stages, of spotlights shining down on Mina, warmer than the summer sun. A sea of bodies in front of her, sweating and writing in almost erotic ecstasy. She thinks about after parties where she's the main attraction, of adoration bordering on worship. Then that though is forced down, strangled into nothingness before Johnny's mind eyes. Mina's hands ball into firsts and when she addresses Johnny it's between clenched teeth. He must have hit a sore spot.

She bites back, for the same reason Johnny initiated things: they're like two frustrated animals, stuck together into a too tiny cage. None of them is at fault for their condition (and if they were, it would be in equal parts) but they still snap at one another. And while he knows it's nothing personal, it's Johnny's turn to get irked.

❝You took action,❞ he parrots, tone derisive. He flicks away his cigarette and it disappears mid air, to the same nothingness it came from. ❝Out of the two of us, only one stormed Arasaka tower. Twice.❞ Johnny's metal hands comes up to tap the center of his chest with a thumb.

❝You've taken them on in their playground, by their rules.❞ Corporations own the net, trying to rip it from their clutches is rotten work; Bartmoss understood that decades ago, that's why he tore everything down. ❝For every data you can erase, alter or encrypt, they got backups. You can release all of their secrets to a world they got firmly by the balls. You think any of that makes a difference? You may end the careers of a few big name employees but, at the end of the day, that's the same as cutting a hydra's heads.❞

@aliasmultimuse || Cont. For beta editor

"Excuse me?!" Mina's head whips up to look at Johnny. Her face has in a matter of seconds become beet red, flushed from both irritation and now embarrassment from his last statement. "Not that it's any of your business but I can get plenty on my own, thanks."

Even still Mina can't help but imagine for a moment what her life would be if she had been a rocker like him. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Parties that would blow anyone's mind. Dedicated fans fawning over her. The fame, the influence...the attention ---

No. No no. She won't entertain that thought; won't give him any ammo to feed his ego. Of course, he'll know. They are tethered together, connected like conjoined twins at the brain. "How about you and I just don't even touch the subject of my sex life, yeah? It doesn't concern you." Mina hisses out, holding back the urge to slam a fist down on the keyboard of her cyberdeck.

To add insult to injury, there's also the fact that he's shrugged her achievements against corpo assholes as nothing more than the equivalent of school yard bullying.

"And for the record, you and I are nothing alike." Sure they shared some of the same ideals and beliefs but what they did in terms of those was completely different. Mina stands up, kicking away fallen weapons and starting to navigate her way through the stacks on corpses and back towards the entrance of the now cleared out building. "I actually took action, unlike you."

[aliasmultimuse]

@axeattitude said:

“Before you ask, that fire had nothing to do with me. Well, a little bit.“

❝Jesus, Ker.❞ The confession is unexpected, not because Johnny doesn't know Kerry is the culprit, but because he didn't think he would confess. They had found the scorched remains of the cigar, the kind he and Kerry had been smoking before getting on stage: Arturo Fuente, some ridiculously expensive shit, a single one selling for more than what each of them got paid to perform that night. Johnny had gotten them from a fan, just outside the revenue. For free he thought, but they had ended up costing the band more than their value just to repay the club owner for the damage. On top of that, they still need to replace equipment they now can't afford. ❝What the hell were you thinkin'?❞ he asks but it's a rhetorical question, he knows exactly what Kerry's gonk ass was thinking. He was thinking he could dispose of a half smoked cigar the same way of a cigarette butt: by tossing it to the ground and crushing it under the sole of a beaten up sneaker.

The Porsche drives in front of Captain Caliente and, for once, doesn't stop. It's an incredibly tame punishment for what Kerry's done. Mostly though, Johnny's just not in the mood for food, coffee and assorted pleasantries; he just wants to shower, pass out in bed and forget about that night. ❝Denny's pissed. Rightfully so, she's got a fucking tonsure.❞ The corner of his lips curl up despite himself at the memory. Denny's hair had caught fire as she scrambled to save the equipment from the flames. Nancy had been quick to put it out but, by the time she was done, a whole chunk was missing from the front of Denny's bright red afro. At that point, Kerry was nowhere to be seen. He had only reappeared later, in the vicinity of Johnny's car, chain smoking like an anxious first time father.

❝She looks like IT the clown,❞ he adds and, this time, he can't suppress a half laugh. He supposes it's only fair, after Denny poked fun at his own botched hair, the Oxy bleached, straw blonde mane Johnny had been rocking no longer than two weeks ago. ❝Told her the cigar was mine.❞ She had yelled at him, of course, and would have done more if Henry hadn't dragged her away, but Johnny had gotten off relatively lightly. Like the other band members, with the exception of maybe Kerry, Denny is too intimidated by him. If she knew Kerry was the real culprit, there would be hell to pay for him.

[aliasmultimuse]

@fiinalgiirls

the cigarette was a welcome distraction, as was the company. despite enjoying her reunion of fingertips on strings and the cold, quiet night oregon air–hunter had been alone a long time. more than that, she wasn’t really the type to initiate conversation on her own. despite having been at iron mike’s for a bit, she still didn’t really know anyone. ‘cept maybe abby who’d patched her up a time or too. so she didn’t mind the conversation and felt like, even though she tended to keep to herself, maybe it wasn’t too bad to let someone, someplace know her. especially when no one else in the world–no one living anyhow–did anymore.

“sorta like a ranch.” she nodded, letting out a long exhale of smoke. how to explain back home … she knew it wasn’t normal. no one in pendleton could really understand it when she started working there or taking her mom to the pharmacy when she could sneak her out. and, anyway, it was likely gone now, though the thought didn’t bring her as much comfort as she’d hoped. “i guess folks in town called it a compound, though it wasn’t like some fortress or nothin’–just a farm with some animals. people who liked what my father had to say and moved out there to live some kind of way.” and guns. lots and lots of guns and ammo and preserves. she was sure that, even if the whole compound burnt to the ground, there were enough supplies there to keep this new camp going for a long time. only she wasn’t sure it wasn’t business as usual back home and she could neither investigate herself or send folks to their death (or, some part of her knew, unleash someone on her dad and brother, no matter what they’d done). 

“kinda.” hunter had an idea of what he meant, wrinkling her nose at her own sort of ignorance, though what she pictured was nothing like skizzo likely was trying to illustrate. back home there’d been folks interested in doing business with her father. she’d often been along for security, but never allowed in deals like her brother was. sometimes her father would come back proud of an exchange and others he’d be pissed that his contact was high on meth or up to some other nonsense. she took another drag and fixed her gaze on him. “you ever trade with folks up here? or just down in–” she paused a minute, mulling over a colloquialism for a state she’d never been to. “–cali?”

guns weren’t really her thing. it was a source of pride more than anything else. anyone back home could shoot a gun, though it did require skill to be great at it. the bow and kukri had been her preferred weapons since she was a kid and her father made her blister her hands til they bled stringing her bow. it served her well anyhow. guns needed ammo. she could fashion or recover and repair her arrows. blades only need decent care and sharpening. she’d been lucky for it too, because when the compound had turned on mary lou and hunter andersen they had left with very little to their names. guns never would’ve been part of the deal. not never.

did what i had to get by. now that was something hunter knew well. she’d lived by that sort of mantra her whole life. sometimes it shamed her–like keeping quiet when she thought something was unfair, but was too small or weary to take a lick over it. sometimes it sort of exhilarated her–like the fighting. living people. dead people. it didn’t make much of a difference. she could be sympathetic to a person for a long time, but once that person meant her ill she was done (unless, she supposed, that person was an andersen). 

“guess that’s true of all of us now, huh?” she nodded to herself in agreement and pulling her scarf tighter around her neck with one hand as she ashed her cigarette with the other. things might’ve been harder in a whole lot of ways, but she couldn’t help but be grateful for it all. she was outside of the compound with no fear of being dragged back and she felt compelled to ask him something she didn’t think she could ask most folk. because maybe most folk’d been better before. or liked their lives better. or missed living the way it was, but she didn’t and maybe he didn’t either. fixing him with a discerning gaze, she asked, “you like things better the way they are now? or did you like that life better, y’know, before?”

❝It was some hippie commune, wasn't it?❞ Skizzo asks again, the barest hint of a smile on his face, teasing. It's only halfway genuine. Although he had never seen one with his eyes, he knew places like that existed, at least in California. He could imagine them existing there too, or having existed at some point. He thinks carefully about what Hunter said, both in and between the lines: her father was some sort of spiritual leader, outsiders were wary of them. Could that place still be standing? If it is, would that be a threat or an opportunity?

Cali. The way Hunter says it speaks of how unfamiliar the place is to her, as unfamiliar as Skizzo had been with Oregon, just a few years before. He shakes his head. ❝Nah, never,❞ he replies, flicking his cigarette between his spread knees. His eyes follow the ashes as they fall to the ground. ❝When it happened,❞ he says, knowing there's no need to specify what it means. ❝I was visiting a cousin in Farewell. It was the first time I ever set foot in Oregon.❞ That much is true, the little bit of truth sprinkled on a whole lot of lies to make them more believable. ❝He didn't make it.❞

He gives a bodily shrug and drops the cigarette butt to the ground, crushes it under the sole of a beaten canvas shoe. He's done grieving, has been done for a long time now. Wishing things had played out differently wouldn't make it so, he could only do the best with the hand he had been dealt. ❝Guess I got real lucky anyway,❞ he eventually adds, after a moment spent chewing at the inside of his cheek, gaze cast to the ground. ❝From what I heard, shit went down real fast in the bay area.❞ If he had postponed his departure of just a few days, he wouldn't have been able to leave. The military had first blocked, then blown up bridges and tunnels, trying to stop the swarm of freaks, to stop the virus from spreading. He would have died, like everyone he knew.

Hunter's question surprises him. It says more about her than everything she shared so far. Everyone's life nowadays is split in two acts, the before and the after, and Skizzo has only met a handful who likes things better the way they are now. It's usually anarchists, criminals or pieces of shit like Red Riley, who appreciated violence or were accustomed to it. People who could thrive in a lawless world. Hunter doesn't seem like that. Appearances can be deceptive, though.

❝I don't know.❞ He does but he doesn't want to disagree with Hunter, that would only shut her down and now Skizzo wants to know more. ❝A lotta things stayed the same. People didn't change, either. If anything, they're more like themselves. You know what I mean? With no society to keep them in check.❞ He wonders what that says about him. While he doesn't prefer things as they are now, he has to admit life these days is less complicated. The consequences for an action are fast to come, tangible and often ultimately come down to life or death. In a way, that's freeing. ❝What about you? You like it better now?❞