#IT DIDN'T EVEN SYNCH CORRECTLY

[eldritch-spouse]

https://youtube.com/shorts/hcYYprQExNw this audio but with Morell during regularly scheduled ob appointment-

I regret staying up to do this.

[kaizokuseb]

look... i'm not a youtuber. i had a very brief tiktok phase where i was mainly lip-synching to things in my backyard. so i'm aware this is an experience i don't have, etc... but i really think that if you're going to make a speech, a video, or anything even similar, you need to make sure you're pronouncing names correctly. especially if you're a white guy (like me) talking about people of color! is this really so hard? it happens so often that i'll see a youtuber add a little "i realized later that i was pronouncing this person's name incorrectly." then why didn't you fucking check first??

i just... think we should know better than this. i’ve seen people edit in a robot voice saying the word over every time they said it wrong, and i much prefer hearing that to this little "oh sorry i said this wrong :(" that's a person's actual name! do a fucking google search!!

[macaronsintrees]

hfhfhedhdhj mine is so lame but ill bite So basically for a long time I only played minecraft on my family nintendo which was bedrock edition, meaning I didn't actually have/need a minecraft account. Eventually when I got a laptop and downloaded minecraft on it, I very quickly realized I needed a microsoft account to do so. I made one and that was all fine and dandy and then I needed to actually make my minecraft account. My pfp for said account I got to choose before the actual naming, and since I had been setting it up on my laptop which hadn't synched to my camera roll yet, I had to choose from the options they gave you. The option I picked was a bunch of macarons floating in a pink void. (My gay ass could never NOT pick it). So when I went to name my account I didn't know what to name it and i thought back to my chosen pfp. Along with that I also had the stupid somebody once told me song stuck in my head (specifically the macaroni parody one). I didn't remember the lyrics correctly and bc I was still thinking about my new pfp I merged the two. And hence Macaronsintrees was born. (I still have no idea what the lyrics to that song was but I SWEAR it talked about a tree at some point). When I actually made my account on tumblr I decided to stick with the username bc my original persona was based on my minecraft skin.

For my pookie wookie: @f1ngerprintt who I only just realized was on tumblr lmao (i dont have a ton of moots but i was called to reveal my secrets- feel free to participate even if you aren't tagged tho!!)

Tag game🎉

Tag your moots and ask them where they got the idea for their tumblr accounts name!

For my name it was a nickname I was giving back in middleschool! One of our teacher had a system where we worked with 'wifi' eachtime we talked in class we lost a bar of the "wifi" (was a weird joke and we never held count on that) All the kids usually joked if they needed 'wifi' , they would borrow mine if they wanted to talk more. (I was incredibly shy in middle school, I only talked to like 3 people at school;^;)

They called me Ms. Wifi because of that. I just thought it would be funny if I put 'miss' instead of 'ms' because of my terrible actual wifi connection I have at home lol.

That's my story! Now moots, only if you guys want to, tell us your story.

Tags-> @slipping-lately @firequeenofficial @noagskryf @twinklstarrrr @halfbakedspuds @polterwasteist @rokushi-san @mygedagtes +anyone that sees this and wants to do this as well

[imaginarypeteel]

Really Kal?

Kal Sharma x reader

Warning: Cussing, spoilers

Word count: 2k

You were waiting for Kal and Dru to reach the school impatiently. You had been sick for some time and were utterly creeped out already. This girl who was walking to school in front of you suddenly froze. She didn't respond when you asked if she's okay and few seconds after, just kept walking forward like nothing. Not to mention Regan was standing and guarding like a hawk.

You raised your brow as you saw Kal riding his bike faster than ever. He did a dramatic brake near you. "Y/n!" he called, smiling.

"Kal, what the hell? Why are you cycling so fast? Actually how are you cycling so fast? And where's Dru?" the boy's face dropped at your last question but he wiped it off quickly.

"Yeah, i wanna know too, where is Dru?"

asked Chloe as she ran over from her place beside Regan.

Once again, the grin that made you want to smile oh so stupidly fell and he clicked his tongue. "i don't know, probably in the library," he replied.

"Try the library!" yelled the ginger to the 'leader.'

You couldn't help but roll your eyes at her action, Kal seemed annoyed as well.

"Anyway, I have been working out. Ya like it?" he grinned like a shit fox, placing his bike away and flexing his arms a bit.

"Yeah, sure, you became Usain Bolt within the few days, i was away. What's going on? Everyone's so weird and haven't even had one class yet."

"Heh, but it is true. I’ll tell you soon. It's nice to see you're okay now Y/n," the Hindi Aussie boy smiled and stepped to your side, awkwardly hugging you.

-------------

"Y/n! You're back! Did you do the dental...thing the school had?" Dru asked as he dashed into the classroom.

"Uh no, my mum didn't allow it, remember? I went to the dentist last week."

Dru's eyes grew wide. "Oh no, listen. Just act like everyone else but get out of here as quickly as possible," the glassed boy rushed out quietly. You slowly nodded, not understanding what he meant but trusting your best friend regardless. He isn't one to make you skip school for no reason. You glanced at his twin who suddenly froze like the girl today and sat in a robot like way. Among others who did the same. By instinct, you mimicked their behaviour and awkwardly lip synched the Mandarin phrase. There was some Chinese boy in front of the classroom who was shifting his eyes around, they widened as his gaze met Dru and yours but he stayed put.

Miss Biggs introduced the Chinese boy before he started asking math questions in Mandarin. You started to sweat a bit, even more so when all of the others answered correctly with perfect pronunciation. What the hell? I thought they all sucked at Mandarin. You thanked Gods of all religions when Dru answered wrongly because now you won't be a complete loser if you're asked.

Luckily you weren’t.

When class ended, you tried to hide between the brothers and managed to slip past teachers long enough to get outside.

"Y/n, Dru, see you," said Jiao as he walked past. Both you and Dru stared after him confusion while Kal pulled you closer to him.

"What does he mean 'see you'. What the fuck is going on?" you grumbled upsetly and rubbed your ear, slightly distancing yourself from the more athletic one of the two.

"We'll explain soon, for now just go to the sewers, you'll be safe there," Dru rushed out as he looked around nervously. You glared at him for his order to go to the sewers but decided to surrender and just trust him.

"Miss Y/n L/n!" called a voice with clearly high authority.

You froze, as did the twins. Though the thing that went unnoticed by you was how Kal slid a bit closer to you protectively. "Yes Miss Biggs?" you smiled crookedly. "Can i help you?"

"You haven't done the dental checkup yet, come with me," she ordered with a sickly sweet smile.

Your eyes widened as you noticed the twins tense a bit. What the hell? "Uh you see, i already had an appointment with my dentist last week," you laughed awkwardly. The ginger woman didn't seem happy with your response.

"Everyone has to do it. Now come to the nurse's office with me, please." Her eyes were a bit slit and you could tell she was getting frustrated.

"Okay, i just need to go to the bathroom first," you excused yourself with a smile.

"You can hold it, the checkup won't be long," she hissed out, stopping you.'

"I'm afraid I can't hold my period. You should know that," you replied politely but anyone could tell you yourself were embarrassed. She can't deny this excuse.

"Fine," spoke the woman as she saw she was defeated.

You hurried to the bathroom, the twins after you. "Y/n!" called Dru when you were almost at the bathroom door. You looked up at him in confusion. "Get rid of your phone as well. Be completely off any radars," you nodded slowly and switched your gaze towards the other brother. Kal smiled at you, a bit sadly you would say.

You entered the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind yourself. You took a deep breath in before walking to the window in the  bathroom. You opened it and climbed outside, slightly hissing as you landed badly on the grass outside. Regardless you started to walk towards the area you knew a huge opening to the sewers was. The wonders of having a little suspicious friends who can't help but be attracted to smoking at the weirdest places. Those friends not being Kal and Dru. At least you hoped so.

On your way there, you snagged a pair of sweatpants from someone's yard that were out drying. You do not plan on sitting in sewers in that stupid uniform skirt. You bought a hot dog and some snacks from a food truck with cash of course.

You slipped past the metal bars guarding the sewers, cussing when your ass got a bit stuck and you had to squeeze it through. The stench of the sewers was disgusting but you tried to ignore it and find a place you could comfortably change your clothes at. You felt your feet getting stuck behind something before an alarm that almost scared you to death blew across the tunnels. You jumped and then froze, e/c eyes wide. "Holy fuck! I am so gonna kill the dickhead who put this shit here." You stepped over the alarm triggering line and kept walking. The sounds had shut off.

You put a chewie in your mouth since you were getting bored just walking and getting lost in the stinky tunnels. Now that you think of it, you should've left a sign for the boys to find you. You cuss as you turn around to go back a bit and stay closer to the entrance but then, you were grabbed and a bag was put over your head. "OH WHAT THE HELL?! BUGGER OFF DICKHEADS! YOU FUCKEN' SLAGS, LET ME GO!" you yelled, thrashing around but it wasn't much use.

---------------

You glared at the three girls and the guy who were keeping you here. "Can i at least go change out of this skirt to the sweatpants?" you asked upsetly. They exchanged looks with each other before nodding. You stand up and walk to a corner in their little hideout, they too gave you a bit privacy. It was weird to change but you sighed in relief when instead of the skirt, comfortable sweatpants were hugging your lower body. Even if they weren't your own. "Alright. Fine. I'm Y/n, what's your names?" you asked as you sat back down on your former place. They communicated in silence with each other again which made you sigh. "Look, i have no clue what's going either. I'm just here because my two mates told me to come here, so the school wouldn't do this dental thing on me," you explained, rolling your eyes.

Their eyes widened, "Your mates, are their names Dru and Kal perhaps?" asked the girl with more Asian looks.

You narrowed your eyes at her words. "How do you know them? Whats going on anyway?"

"Ah, Y/n, i was hoping you'd find them," said a familiar voice from the mouth of the room or so. "Let me explain but first, here, Kal wanted you to have this," you closed your eyes as a black-and-white hoodie was thrown at your face. Kal's black-and-white hoodie. You took the hoodie to your hands and rose a brow in question. "I'll explain what's going on and you'll understand why he couldn't give it himself." The tan boy sat down beside you ans started explaining. "So..."

-------------

"So what you're saying is that this company that wants to show themselves as child friendly kid helpers is actually enslaving all the kids and making them into robokids with an implant they put into jaws during that dental checkup?" you asked with a disbelieving face.

"I know it sounds crazy but you saw what the others were like today. Have you ever seen Kal learn a word of Mandarin?" That was true, you had never seen Kal learn anything except new ways to piss Dru off.

"Fair, okay, i get it. What will you tell my parents though?" you asked, chewing your lip.

Dru looked at you with sad eyes, "For now, nothing." Fuck.

---------------

You stared at the walkie talkie with teary eyes as you listened to how Kal was speaking with Regan. You looked down sadly. These implants were really changing him. Dru had ranted to you before on how much he had changed ever since he became an Elite. You thought before that it was just the twins getting annoyed of being with each other all the time but now you could see what he was talking about.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," said Jacob as you leaned your head against Dru's arm sadly.

I want my Kal back. You thought as you closed your eyes and a single tear escaped your eye.

---------------

Kal tongued his cheeks as you once again escaped from interaction with him. The only contact the two of you had done was when he had fallen on you in the tunnels because he was close to losing consciousness. After that, nothing. You had stayed behind to watch over Regan with Kymara and now you were all out and this part of the mission to take GCI was done.

"Y/n," he said firmly. You froze and turned towards him, avoiding eye contact. "Why are you avoiding me?"

You gulped and your eyes met with his chocolate ones for a moment and you were surprised to see the sadness and angst in them. "We heard you, I heard you," you replied quietly.

"What do you mean? What did you hear?" he questioned nervously, hoping and praying that it wasn't what he thought it is.

"With Regan, this Eliteness has gotten to your head, Kal. I mean, you were a dickhead before but you were my dickhead, the one i knew i could trust with my life. The one who traded spots with his brother because he was afraid of something. The one who despite being a jocky like asshole helped others regardless of their status. Now you're just, just..." you pressed our lips in a tight line and turned away. "I'm sorry you're just, I just..." you stopped talking completely and walked ahead without another word, following the rest of the Unlisted. The implanted twin stared after you sadly.

-----------

You and Dru caught Kal as he fell after the device was destroyed, you hissed at the pressure your injured arm was put under. While trying to stop Kal from chasing after his brother, he had roughly pushed you against the stone wall, a sharper point in it tearing an ugly wound on your arm that you had shielded your head with. It was probably infected by now.

"Ow, my head," groaned the boy who was just released from the control of Emma Ainsworth's despicable gadget. He tried to stand up by himself but wobbled right back into your embrace.

"Kal! Relax, you can lean against us. We'll help you. I promise," you said softly. He smiled shakily and rolled his head against your neck, still conscious but weak. His soft yet hot breaths against your skin made you turn a bit red but you ignored it. The two of you helped him outside where Dadi and rest of the Sharmas were waiting for you.

"My little wombats!" she exclaimed and came running over, engulfing the three of you in a tight hug, you squeezed your eyes shut in pain. "Kal, are you okay? What about you Dru? And you Y/n, are you okay?" she gasped as she saw your arm. "Your arm!"

You ran towards the bathroom after you had heard Kal scream like a little girl. "Kal! Are you okay? What happened? Open the door!" you rushed out. The door opened and your friend stood there like he had seen a ghost. He looked at you dead in the eye as he pointed at something with shaky hands. You frowned and slipped into the bathroom, trying to ignore that he had been in the middle of a shower and just had a towel wrapped around his waist. And then you saw the problem. "Really Kal? You have lived in Australia your whole life and you're afraid of a huntsman? Really?" you shook your head. "By the way, this is Bobby, he is our bathroom spider, if you see one at the toilet, then that's Ronald, our toilet spider."

At his Dadi's words, the former Elite rose his head from its place on your shoulder. "What's with your arm?" he croaked out, searching for the source of the problem. His eyes widened as his gaze came across the wound. "Woah, how did that- Did I do that?" the boy asked, guilt washing over his face. You bit your lip and nodded slowly. You felt bad as you saw the few tears starting to make their way down his cheeks. You gently put the hand of your injured arm on the Hindi Aussie's handsome face, "Hey, you weren't in control. It was Emma Ainsworth, okay? You couldn't've been able to control this dog's breakfast okay? I don't blame you, i blame that slagger who was in a serious need of a wristy," you chuckled as did Kal. "We'll talk more but first we both need a checkup.

---------

"You have two of these things?!" he squeaked out, shuffling further from the arachnid on the mirror. You nodded. "When we get our own place and start living together, you and I are gonna have a talk on this," he said, not realizing what words exactly he had let out of his mouth.

"Oh? You think we're gonna live together?" you smirked, turning your body away from Bobby and towards the handsome bloke with that amazing fluffy hair.

Kal's eyes widened as he realized what he has spoken out and he averted his gaze. "I-I mean uh, I," he stumbled over his words, getting tongue tied and in turn, becoming even more nervous.

"Heh, why not but we'll talk about it after you get some clothes on," you laughed, walking back out. The raven headed boy twisted his face in confusion at your words and looked down before realizing what you meant and hiding himself away.

You were on the couch, trying to choose a movie you could watch. You gave up on the adult and teen account and switched to the kids one. You heard laughing behind you and grumbled. "Ever the mature Y/n, i see." Kal plopped down beside you and 'sneakily' let his arm stretch out behind your shoulders.

"These," you pointed at the TV, "are far more interesting than those 'mature' ones," you argued.

The boy smiled at you quietly, letting you choose anything you want.

Carmen Sandiego

"Le Chevre and El Topo should just kiss already, they're so cute," you squealed as another scene with the two came up.

"Hey Y/n, do you think we would look cute together?" asked your favourite of the two after your words.

You looked up at him, the two of you had cuddled closer during the series binge. The handsome boy had a serious face on as he stared back at you. You smiled and booped his nose, "Of course we would. Do you want to look cute together?" you replied, ignoring how Carmen was beating the fuck out of the A.C.M.E A agents.

Kal grinned cutely. "I do, I really really do."

[manunkinda]

So, I wrote the first chapter for a RK1K (Markus x Connor) fic. I’m not happy with it at all, but oh well. To be fair, it is my first DBH fic and I tend to have some troubles writing the first chapter for anything, It’s an AU. It’s called Dirty Blues.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20101882/chapters/47616835

Chapter One: Smoke And Vinyls

Shit!”

Markus stepped down hard on the gas, his hands gripping the wheel until his knuckles turned white. He was late. His bandmates, mainly North, were going to be pissed at him being late to the venue. Hell, he was pissed at himself. He didn't care if he was speeding on the highway, he just needed to get to his goddamn location.

He knew that sirens were going to tail him. He pulled over with a frustrated groan. He rolled down his window, watching the officer approach from the side mirror.

"Sir?" Markus was suddenly confronted with soft, brown doe-eyes. "You're aware that you were going 62 in a 40 mile zone, right?"

"Uh, yes..." He replied, trying to be as patient as possible given the situation.

The officer pursed his lips, as if he was thinking about something. "Why were you in a rush?"

"Gig."

"May I check your trunk?"

The driver nodded, tapping his fingers against the wheel. He glanced at the mirror as the officer opened the trunk, discovering a guitar case. He opened the case and inspected it for a minute before closing the case. He then closed the trunk and walked back to Markus.

"Nice guitar. Sorry, the department have been pulling over cars with Red Ice stashed away."

"It's fine. I understand."

"So, where's this gig?" The officer asked, thumbs hooked in his belt.

"Magic Stick. It starts at eight-thirty. My band's a regular there."

"Ah, okay." The man unhooked his thumbs and pulled out a notepad and pen. "What's your name?"

"Markus Manfred." He told him.

"You're a lucky man, Markus. I'm deciding not to give you a ticket. However, if you speed again, ticket. Got it?"

Markus smiled slightly and watched as he wrote his name and license plate number on paper. "Got it."

"Great." He put the pad and pen away. "I might see your band at the Magic Stick tonight."

"You don't strike me as someone who enjoys rock music."

“I’m full of surprises,” the officer grinned. “See you there?”

Markus could feel his face heat up, and he nodded in return. “Yeah, see you there.”

The nameless officer got back into his police cruiser and Markus started his car, integrating with the others on the highway.

The hard case felt heavy in his hands as he entered the venue. His bandmates were already setting up.

Simon lifted his head up from tuning his guitar, spotting his friend. "Guys, Markus is here."

North rushed out from backstage, holding her bass. “Where the fuck have you been?!" She demanded loudly, clearly angry.

"Cool down, I was pulled over on the highway. No big deal. I'm sorry." Markus countered, walking towards the stage.

"No big deal?" She looked at Simon and Josh, who seemed to be neutral. They knew that not agreeing with North would make this even messier, but Markus had a point.

"Yeah, seriously. Calm down, save the energy for the show." He got onto the platform and went backstage to take his guitar out. As he stepped back onto the stage with his instrument, North threatened to hit him with her bass guitar.

After doing the sound check, the band waited backstage and had a couple of drinks. Markus eyed the clock.

Eight-thirty.

It was time.

Markus found himself in the light in front of the mic, his friends also on stage. He was previously nervous, but all his fright had disinagrated away. "For the returning folks, welcome back. For first-timers, we're Jericho." He glanced at his bandmates to see if they were ready. "Josh, hit it."

The familiar harsh kick of the drums invaded his ears, and the rest of the band joined in, including him. North's bass could be felt from the speakers, and Simon's lead work added little intricacies. His voice was introduced to the wall of sound as they all played their part, yet remained in synch.

Pause.

And the sound shattered silence once again.

The show had ended and people were leaving. Markus was chatting with his friends, discussing tonight and joking around as they got ready to leave. While Carl was doing okay, he wished he was here, and he knew that Carl wanted to come; but he would be able to tell him all about tonight when he got home. He turned when he heard his name.

It was the officer from earlier. He almost didn't recognize him out of uniform.

"Oh hey," he smiled. He didn’t see him in the small crowd, but he suspected that he must’ve been hanging out in the back of the room. "Like the performance?"

The man ran his fingers through his hair, beaming. "Yeah, it was fun. You guys did a good job."

"Who's this, Markus?" Josh asked. Simon and North were curious as well, trying to figure out who the hell this stranger, who seemed to know their lead singer, was.

"This is... Uh..." Markus snapped his fingers a couple times. "I don't think you've ever told me your name."

"Connor." The doe-eyed man responded, straightening his jacket.

"This is Connor. He's the officer who pulled me over for speeding today."

North glanced at Connor, then Markus, then Connor again. Her expression could only be described as mischievous, a playful smirk tugging on her lips. “You know, Markus... You did tell me that you were pulled over today, but you never told me the cop was cute.”

Markus bit the inside of his cheek and Connor cleared his throat quietly as his friends laughed.

“Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Connor.” Josh said. “Glad you enjoyed the show.”

“Yeah, we gotta pack and get home. We all have work or class.” Simon added, wrapping up some cords that were in his hands. “Hope to see you around more though.”

"Markus, you should take Connor to our grub hub for dinner." North suggested.

Markus shrugged. "I mean, it's up to him. Do you want to go eat?"

Connor looked hesitant. "Uh, sure? I was thinking you could come over and we could order takeout instead."

"We can do that." Markus agreed, ignoring North's teasing look. "Just let me put my stuff away and then we can go."

Connor nodded and waited near the door. “I can text you the address.” He told Markus as the other man neared the entrance with his guitar case.

“Sounds good. I’ll just put this in the trunk. I'll see you guys later.” Markus told his friends. He gave Connor his number and went to his car, putting away his things. His phone dinged, and he glanced at the screen to see an address.

Markus parked in the driveway of the small, one-floor home. He stopped the vehicle and got out, closing the car door afterwards.

The yard was relatively clean, although it was desperate for a cut. The grass was not quite long, but was getting there. He figured that he was too busy with his job to mow his lawn.

The musician approached the door, climbing up the steps. He pressed the doorbell, and after a couple of seconds, the door opened to reveal Connor who invited him in.

The first thing that Markus noticed were the shelves of vinyls, CDs, and cassettes that were on display in the living room.

Damn.

The second thing he noticed was that there were no pictures of Connor’s family as far as he could tell. The atmosphere of this home was a whole different vibe compared to the large, colorful mansion that he and Carl lived in.

“So, any ideas?”

Markus was forced out of observation. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Takeout.” Connor repeated. “Any ideas?”

“Uh, not sure. Just pick whatever.”

The host nodded and took out his phone. “Thai then?”

“Sure. Vegetable Pad Thai please.”

Markus’ mismatched eyes travelled to Connor’s left arm as Connor dialed a number and turned away, his back facing him. Crimson roses, cerulean plumerias, and wicked thorns adorned his entire limb from the shoulder to his wrist.

He was in awe at the complexity of the ink.

Connor ended the call and turned back around. “You know, you can take off your jacket and make yourself comfortable.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks.” He quickly took off his jacket and hung it up on the coat hanger. “Your sleeve tattoo is beautiful, by the way.”

He swore he saw Connor blush. “Uh, thanks. It was just inspired by a family friend’s garden.” Connor slipped his phone back into his pocket. “The food should be here pretty soon. Want anything to drink? I’ve got beer in the fridge.”

“A beer’s fine.” He sat down on the sofa as Connor went into the kitchen, coming back out with two beer bottles, one in each hand. He handed one to Markus and sat down.

The food arrived, and the two men dug in, chatting as they ate. After finishing and cleaning up, Connor decided to put a record on. “You know Bambara?”

Markus leaned back on the sofa. “No, actually. Never heard of them.”

“It’s a good band to get stoned to.” Connor said, rather casually.

Everyone had vices, regardless of their lifestyle. Still, he hadn’t taken Connor for a smoker. Usually, Markus was able to read a person correctly, but Connor was an exception. He would be lying if he said that the man wasn’t intriguing. “You smoke weed?”

“A little.” He replied, guiding the needle to the vinyl and turning up the volume. “For anxiety. As long as it doesn’t interfere with work, I’ll be fine.”

Markus watched as Connor opened a drawer on one of the end tables and took out a small sandwich bag and lighter, sitting back down. The music was already playing.

Connor noticed Markus watching and looked at him, opening the bag. “Want a joint?” He asked the taller man.

Markus shook his head. He personally didn’t like to smoke, but he knew people who did. He wasn’t unfamiliar. “Nah, thanks though. I’ll just stick to beer.”

Connor nodded and rolled up a joint before lighting it.

Neon glowing in the night,

Red words: Red Tide,

Shining in your eyes.

Smoke twirled in the air, the smell of burning paper and pungent leaves invading the room.

A gunshot cracked,

And streaming blood fanned out around its kicking feet.

Dead eyes staring,

Dead eyes staring.

Two bottles multiplied into four, and then eight.

“No one really leaves,”

Jimmy says through a cloud of smoke.

”Where would he go anyway?”

The sun is up and the birds are pecking

Pecking at something lying in the dirt.

Markus was sitting on the floor, lying against the sofa as he listened. Connor was draped on the sofa on his back, his legs hanging over the arm of the furniture. His red eyes stared straight at the blank ceiling, like there was something up there, or perhaps a mural. He noticed the sparse speckles of small moles, or maybe they were freckles, that were scattered across Connor’s face, neck, and hands.

Let’s make something huge and full of rust,

Rebar ‘round my handsome bust.

Broken glass like jagged flowers,

Climbing up a twisting tower.

Markus lost track of the time, zoning out and drunker than he intended to be. How the hell was he going to get home? Carl was going to lecture him on being responsible; he just knew it. The coffee table was almost covered in bottles and Connor was tired.

The town kids smoke meth and drink

Behind the scrap metal heap.

The guesthouse lies hidden...

He would figure something out.