#handyman daniel

[onboardsorasora]

something something Daniel is the handyman/contractor that Vic calls after Max hammers holes in one of his doors to free his cat. He comes over while Max is showering maybe. While Daniel is gone for tools, Vic yells through the bathroom door that they have company and Max should wear clothes.

Anyway, he totes doesn't listen/remember and walks out of the bathroom in just a towel to see Daniel in the doorway across from him on his knees (he was unscrewing the lower hinge). Cue mutual surprise and blushing and Daniel being ultra focused in finishing the job while Max not so secretly watches him.

Vic rolls her eyes

[beechersnope]

omg trick or treat red light spells danger 🏮

regretfully i do not have anything new from that verse prepared, but i do have a few other anons clamoring for max or maxiel content, so i shall offer a ghost town fic that is a bit longer than most of the stuff that i've posted for the trick or treat fills

***

The sun had already set behind the black ridge of the mountains when Daniel finally pulled onto the stretch of rough dirt road that led into the town of Coldspring.

Calling it a road was a kindness it didn’t deserve, Daniel decided after bouncing along in his truck for nearly half a mile before a haphazard collection of buildings in varying states of disrepair came into view. He felt practically an expert on the subject after spending the last fifty-odd miles on a relatively well-maintained gravel road that ran north-south between Highways 6 and 50. If he’d known what he was in for after that, Daniel might have taken the long way around—but eager to get to Coldspring before dark, he’d opted for the more straightforward route.

Daniel didn’t know much about Max Verstappen or her ultimate plans for Coldspring even after countless emails exchanged over the last three months in addition to a handful of curt, to-the-point phone calls in the last two weeks. But he did know that she would be driving a truck almost identical to the one he’d picked up in Vegas after he’d landed a couple days ago, and when Daniel pulled up alongside the only vehicle in town—a rusty pickup with a bed cap that might have been white, once upon a time—it became immediately clear that Max wasn’t here.

As soon as Daniel hopped out of the truck, his boots crunching loudly through the clumps of gravel and sand, the door to the building he was parked in front of swung open to reveal a grizzled old man in plaid and overalls, a cowboy hat adorning his otherwise bald head. His beard was halfway down to his gut, and everything about the man’s appearance set off alarm bells in Daniel’s head. He didn’t have much Este that Max had done her due diligence in making sure the former owner of Coldspring wasn’t a serial killer. At least he’d had the presence of mind to buy a gun before hauling his ass out to the middle of the desert, though he hadn’t ever really planned on using it.

But surprisingly enough, the man paid Daniel barely any attention at all. “I was expecting a lady,” he said in a gruff voice with a similar cadence to the way country folk spoke back home. His eyes moved straight past Daniel and off into the distance, like he was expecting to see Max’s truck trundling up the road any second now.

“I know her flight landed in Reno this morning,” Daniel explained, “but I haven’t had any cell service the past couple hours, so I’m not sure where she is. She should have been here by now. You haven’t seen her?”

The man shook his head. “I’ve been waiting here nearly all damn day, and I ain’t seen a soul.” Finally, his eyes drifted back to Daniel with a suspicious glint. “You the handyman she mentioned?”

“Yeah,” Daniel replied, nodding. He wasn’t sure where the man was headed with that line of questioning, but he was starting to wish he’d put on his holster as soon as he’d stepped out of the truck, just so everyone was on the same page.

The man seemed wholly unaware of the effect his presence was having on Daniel as he responded. “You’ve got your work cut out for you,” he said with a derisive snort. “That’s all I’ll say.”

Daniel had figured that, seeing as Max had bought the place for a fraction of what the land should have cost—regardless of the level of disrepair the buildings appeared to be in. Evidently, the man in front of him had been desperate to rid himself of whatever burden owning this ghost town had become.

The man seemed just as eager to get the hell off the property now that Daniel had shown up, despite the fact that Max was the one who should have been there for the passing of the torch, as it were. But after fifteen minutes of the two of them standing there in uncomfortable silence, waiting, as the sunlight rapidly waned, it became clear that something was gonna have to give.

“All right, why don’t you show me around,” Daniel finally offered. “I’ll go into town tomorrow and make some calls if Max doesn’t show later tonight.”

“You know where town is?” the man asked in a skeptical tone.

“Keep going north, right? Until you hit the highway, then west for a few miles.”

The man nodded, seemingly impressed. “Y’all did your research, at least. Don’t see how it’ll help you much with this dump, but God bless you for taking it off my hands.”

Daniel was tempted to ask why the man was so desperate to sell, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to open that can of worms with a stranger who seemed like he wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of dodge.

The man—whose name Daniel still couldn’t remember from the sale documents though he’d been wracking his brain trying to recall it since the second he’d pulled up—took Daniel’s silence for the cue it was and started to walk up the dusty road that used to be the bustling main street of a turn-of-the-century gold mining town.

Daniel was surprised by how many structures were still standing even though practically every building was crumbling at the foundations, so ill-cared for in the century since the town’s abandonment that it was a wonder there was anything left. There was a bank, a schoolhouse, a jail, a handful of residences, and a brothel, all nestled within the narrow valley that sloped up toward the crown jewel of Coldspring: its namesake—a deep limestone pit with clear blue water that lay at the base of the mountain in the north end of the valley.

The man stopped where the road had been overtaken by sagebrush just a few hundred yards from the limestone caldera of the spring. Behind it, Daniel could just make out a dilapidated wooden path that meandered up into the mountains, where the great yawning mouth of a mineshaft stood starkly amongst the vegetation even in near darkness.

“Well, that’s the lay of the land,” the man told Daniel, his eyes flitting toward the mineshaft up on the mountain for just a brief moment before returning to Daniel’s face. “If you or Ms. Verstappen have any questions, you’re welcome to call and ask, though truth be told, I’m rather relieved to be done with this place for good.”

Once again, Daniel made a conscious decision to keep his mouth shut, instead of asking the question the man almost seemed to be daring him to ask. “Where do we sleep?” he inquired instead. He’d had a long drive after all, and for all of Coldspring’s charm—or lack thereof—Daniel wanted nothing more than to crawl into his sleeping bag so he could get some rest. He didn’t harbor any delusions about sleeping in an actual bed.

“The saloon,” the man said before starting a quick pace back to their trucks, both parked in front of the building in question. “It’s really the only building still fit to live in. For now, anyway.”

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

Once the former owner had raced down the valley toward the main road, leaving Daniel on his own in the growing darkness, the magnitude of his decision to take this job finally started to set in.

When Daniel had first responded to the listing, which had asked for someone with a litany of skills better suited to a contractor and his entire crew, he hadn’t taken more than a few minutes to look up where the hell Coldspring was before deciding that the job was his.

The strain of the pandemic that had led Daniel to move back in with his parents now had him desperate to get as far away from Nashville as possible. Running away to the middle of the desert and getting paid to do it had seemed like the perfect solution. It wasn’t until after he’d actually gotten the job and signed the paperwork that Daniel even bothered to research why this particular ghost town had died.

In Coldspring’s case, it was literal. The entire town had perished without warning in the late 1800s from an apparent mass poisoning. The prevailing theory was arsenic contamination of the groundwater supply caused by a mining accident, though no definitive evidence to that effect had ever been found.

While that hadn’t been enough to scare Daniel away when Max had booked him a one-way ticket to Vegas, it was the only thing he could think about now as he unpacked all his necessaries from the truck and brought them inside the dusty saloon, which didn’t appear to have a single working source of light. Thankfully, Daniel had come prepared.

Daniel set up camp behind the bar, his lantern perched on the countertop near the windowsill as a beacon of sorts, though he wasn’t expecting Max to come strolling in any time soon. There was a deadbolt on the inside of the saloon door and a more elaborate padlock on the outside. Daniel removed the padlock and secured the deadbolt once he’d retrieved everything that he thought he might need, and then tucked himself into his sleeping bag, the lantern still sitting on the bar top casting the rest of the space into shadow. Daniel stared into the patch of darkness in the corner for a moment before finally sitting up to turn off the light entirely.

It wasn’t until he was lying there surrounded by the pitch black and the overwhelming quiet that he realized he’d never asked the former owner where he was supposed to go if he had to take a shit.

Daniel woke up bright and early the following morning from a sleep that had been fitful at best. It was difficult to get used to the change in the ambient sounds. Gone was the frog-song that had lulled him to sleep since he was a baby; in its place the rhythmic instruments of insects hiding in the brush, their melody muted now that fall was in full swing.

Daniel’s mind was busy as well. Max still hadn’t shown up, which meant that he had a long drive ahead of him before reaching the nearest town, Austin, and even then, there was no guarantee he’d have cell service. Or that Max would, for that matter.

But luck was on his side. Daniel made it up to Austin just in time for mid-morning breakfast, and his signal made a reappearance almost as soon as he crossed into town. Max answered on the first ring and out came a long, rambling explanation for her absence which boiled down to her car breaking down somewhere just outside of Fallon, where she’d spent the night, and that she was on her way to meet him in Austin as they spoke.

Satisfied with her assurances (for now at least), Daniel strolled into the little diner on the side of the highway in the center of town and sat down for a bite to eat.

There was a waitress at the head of the table almost as soon as he slid into a booth, a broad bucktoothed smile on her face as she greeted him. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Just water, miss, thank you,” Daniel replied. He didn’t like to rely on caffeine to keep himself going. “Do you have any breakfast specials?”

“Eggs and bacon with toast or a short stack with fruit,” the waitress recited easily. “But if you’re looking for something a bit more substantial, Pierre makes a mean chicken-fried steak.”

Daniel thought it over a minute. “Yeah, all right,” he decided. It would give him a reason to hang out in this diner a little longer, at least. “Side of scrambled eggs with that, also.”

“You got it, boss,” the waitress replied with a flirtatious little wink before sauntering back to give Daniel’s order to the cook.

Daniel watched her walk away with a bit more interest than he’d shown before and made a mental note to try to get a look at her nametag, assuming this place had the budget for something like that.

It did, as it turned out, and when the waitress came back with Daniel’s glass of ice water, he discovered that her name was Este. When Este came back with Daniel’s chicken-fried steak, slathered in thick white gravy that had his mouth watering before the plate reached the table, he also discovered that Este liked to gossip.

“You planning to stay in town long?” she asked, nearly leant up against the table while Daniel cut his steak. He couldn’t really fault her for hanging around, seeing as he was the only customer in the whole place, but he had to wonder just what she meant by it.

“In the area, yeah,” Daniel replied.

Este scoffed. “There’s not much else ‘in the area’,” she countered playfully.

Daniel took a careful bite of his steak, chewed, and swallowed. “You know where Coldspring is?” he asked her.

All the color drained from Este’s face. “You work for Don Stevens?” she asked in an almost breathless rush, her tongue stumbling over the words. “Don’t tell me he’s planning on fixing up the place.”

“Was that the guy who owned it before?” Daniel clarified. “No, I work for the person who just bought it.”

“Someone bought it?” Este sounded utterly incredulous. “You’re not staying there are you?”

Daniel nodded. “Through most of the winter,” he replied, “long as the weather’s mild enough to work.”

A taut expression took over Este’s face as she drew back from Daniel’s table, her eyes darting toward the door, where another customer had finally come in. “Well, I’d rethink that plan if I were you,” she snapped before rushing away like her ass was on fire.

Daniel had to suppress the urge to laugh out loud.

He thought Max might find the anecdote amusing as well, but when she finally showed up a few hours later, it was clear that the young woman was in no mood for ghost stories. She looked uncharacteristically frazzled when she burst through the door of the little diner, her long blonde hair knotted up into a messy bun atop her head, and she blew straight past Este without a word, her fiery gaze fixed solely on Daniel.

“Nice to meet you,” was the first thing she said, her consonants sharp and carefully enunciated, though beneath that Daniel could still detect the remnants of a lisp. The second was: “I didn’t get ripped off by that Don guy, did I?”

Daniel shook his head. “Long as you knew you paid for some rundown old ghost town in the middle of nowhere,” he told her.

Max rolled her eyes. None of his previous interactions with her had been what Daniel would consider the height of professionalism, so he wasn’t really taken aback by her attitude, but it was a whole other thing in person, that was for damn sure.

“All right, let’s hit the road, then,” she said, gesturing for Daniel to follow her back outside.

Daniel climbed to his feet a bit reluctantly. He was sort of hoping to grab lunch before heading out to the boonies. “You don’t want to grab a bite first?” he asked. “I don’t know about you, but I didn’t exactly stock a gourmet kitchen when I packed.”

“If gourmet’s what you’re looking for, I’m pretty sure you’re in the wrong place,” Max replied with an unjustified sneer before storming out the front door.

They caravanned back to the saloon in Coldspring at a slightly quicker pace than Daniel would have liked, though even Max for all her impatience couldn’t maintain the same speed once they reached the rugged trail that led up into the mountains.

It wasn’t until they parked in front of the saloon and Max hopped out of her truck that Daniel finally took real stock of her, realizing almost immediately that this woman did not seem well equipped for living off-grid over the next three to six months, or however long she expected this damn project to take.

But he had to give her credit where it was due: as soon as her designer leather boots hit the dirt, she was already rolling up her sleeves and getting right to work.

That work consisted mainly of surveying the entire property from top to bottom and making a list of everything that needed to be done. Daniel followed along, letting Max know exactly what was required for each task in the way of supplies and manpower, and the whole time, watching the grimace on her face deepen ever-further with each new item added to her notebook.

“What exactly are your big plans for this place, anyway?” Daniel asked after they’d combed practically the whole town top to bottom—with the exception of the mineshaft looming high above them and the spring below.

“Tourism,” Max replied vaguely. “People love ghost towns.”

Daniel wasn’t sure that even the most hardcore would-be ghostbusters could be convinced to come all the way out to Coldspring to get their rocks off, but he just nodded and let Max keep believing that all of this wouldn’t just be one massive money sink in the end.

“First snowfall could be right around the corner,” Daniel pointed out to her as Max leaned down over the bar top to jot something else down in her notebook. His eyes dropped to where the first few buttons of her shirt were undone. Her fair skin was already starting to burn. He forced himself to look away. “We might not have much time to work on the exteriors before winter makes things harder than it needs to be.”

Max glanced up sharply, but if she’d intuited the focus of Daniel’s gaze, she didn’t make any indication of it. “I guess we better get started, then,” was all she said in reply.

Over the next week, Daniel managed to make significant headway on repairing the foundations of the major structures in town, though he still wasn’t convinced some of the smaller residences could actually be saved. Max was a surprisingly big help throughout the whole process; Daniel had anticipated more traditional foremanship on her part, but when it came right down to it, she didn’t seem at all afraid to get her hands dirty.

With another human being sharing the saloon floor—albeit on the other side of the bar, out of view—the town didn’t seem quite so threatening at night. Daniel slept well after each day of strenuous manual labor, and with Max keeping them supplied with fresh food from town, Daniel was missing a lot fewer creature comforts than he’d expected.

By the end of the first week, the days started to blend into each other. Without being able to rely on his phone, which had been tucked into his backpack turned off since the last time Daniel had gone up to Austin with Max for gas and propane, there wasn’t much to keep him tethered to the trappings of the outside world as he worked. It was everything Daniel could have hoped for and more. Complete and utter freedom.

But Daniel couldn’t quite seem to shake the sense of unease that came over him every time he caught a glimpse of the abyssal void of the mineshaft in his periphery. Sometimes he forced himself to stare up at it for minutes at a time, squinting against the wind that howled through the valley in the late afternoons, trying desperately to convince his subconscious that whatever movement he’d thought he’d seen in the darkness was just a trick of the light.

The next time Daniel went up to Austin on a supply run, he bought a calendar from the gas station and started marking the days.

It was a Tuesday when something finally happened that Daniel couldn’t explain, nearly two weeks after his first arrival in Coldspring. He was doing measurements in the old jailhouse, flummoxed as to how to begin restoring the damn thing without just knocking it down and starting all over, when he heard it.

“What?” Daniel called out frustratedly. It was the fifth time Max had called his name in the last twenty minutes with no additional response. After the sixth, Daniel finally threw down his measuring tape and notepad and stalked out of the building to see what she wanted. But when he walked outside, Max was nowhere to be found.

It was only after he turned a full one-eighty degrees that he spotted her, sitting out on the porch of the saloon where she usually hung out when she was thinking over a problem. The only thing was, Daniel could have sworn he’d heard her calling him from the opposite side of town.

Daniel slowly turned his head again, his eyes drifting upward to the mineshaft that Max still hadn’t made any mention of in her grandiose plans for restoring the town. He squinted hard as he stared up into the darkness, half-convinced that if he tried hard enough, he could make sense somehow of the disquiet that fell over him every time he remembered the source of Coldspring’s demise.

“What are you doing?” Max asked.

Somehow, she’d managed to come up behind him without making a sound. Daniel whirled around to face her, and then glanced over her shoulder at the place where she’d just been sitting to find the chair on the porch empty, though he wasn’t sure what to make of the relief he felt at the sight.

“Were you just calling my name?” Daniel wondered.

Max shook her head. “No, why?”

“Nothing,” Daniel replied. “Don’t worry about it.” Then he put the whole thing out of his mind and got back to work.

By the end of the third week, Daniel was positively certain he was going stir crazy.

He hadn’t had any more auditory or visual hallucinations, or whatever the hell it was that he’d experienced the week before, but he was waking up every day painfully hard in his sweatpants with no hope of release. It didn’t help that he was spending each night in the saloon just a few feet away from Max, who hadn’t shown the slightest bit of interest in Daniel since they’d met—and honestly, Daniel was kind of grateful for that, but it didn’t help him address the more immediate problem he was facing, and that was that he desperately, urgently needed to get laid.

Per their agreement, Daniel was entitled to a full two days off of his choosing every week. Today was a Friday. Barely five minutes after waking up, Daniel had decided that he was going to make a trip up to Austin that afternoon to see if Este was maybe a little bit interested, even after their sour farewell at the diner that Daniel had been carefully avoiding since their first encounter.

Este wasn’t interested. Georgie, a tall English tourist who was dressed more appropriately for mid-July rather than late-October, was.

“Please tell me you have a hotel somewhere around here,” Daniel muttered against Georgie’s sweat-soaked skin as he pressed her up against the cab of his truck. He had a knee wedged between her bare thighs, and he almost felt like he would die if he didn’t get inside her in the next five minutes.

“I have one of those van conversions,” Georgie replied with an awkward giggle. “Got a whole mattress in the back. We could really make my bed rock, you know?”

Daniel nodded, barely registering a word she was saying. He was pretty sure he would have followed her off a cliff if she asked nicely enough in that moment, but when he finally pulled away from her so they could do just that, it wasn’t Georgie’s face looking back at him. It was Max’s.

Then Daniel blinked, and like that, whatever he’d seen was gone. But the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach was only growing stronger.

“What’s wrong?” Georgie asked, reaching forward to pull Daniel back in.

He dodged her and stumbled back a few feet. “I have to go,” he said, mouth dry as he fumbled through both pockets before remembering that his keys were attached to his belt. “Sorry, I—”

Daniel didn’t finish the sentence before climbing into his truck and speeding away, leaving Georgie and the rest of Austin behind.

But when Daniel finally made it back to Coldspring about an hour later, Max’s truck was gone. She hadn’t said anything to him when he’d left that morning, but a cursory examination of the saloon revealed a note hastily written and taped to the bar top. Went 2 Fallon for more supplies. That was it, no further explanation of when she planned to be back or why it was so urgent that she’d left midday for an errand that would take her at least six hours of driving to complete.

Frustrated with Max, but more-so with himself for letting this damn place get the better of him, Daniel buried himself in his sleeping bag and screamed into his pillow until he tasted copper in the back of his throat.

It was dark when Daniel woke up on the floor of the saloon, and it took him a moment to realize what it was that had woken him. Usually, on nights where the moon was full, as it had been the past two nights, the light shone straight through the saloon windows, illuminating the entire space with an eerie glow. But when Daniel’s eyes opened, all he could see was blackness, and there was a disorienting period of half-awake confusion before it finally dawned on him that the shape obscuring the moonlight belonged to a person.

Daniel’s blood ran cold. Instead of opting for fight or flight, his body simply froze.

Daniel watched as the shadow moved, completely silent, with none of the tell-tale creaking of the wooden floorboards underfoot that had become the de facto confirmation of either his or Max’s presence within the saloon. He held his breath as the shadow drew closer, and then—

“Max?”

She put a finger over her lips and moved closer as Daniel sat up in his sleeping bag.

“What is it?” he asked, in a whisper this time.

Max answered with a press of her lips against Daniel’s, surging into him, forcing his mouth to open to the insistent pressure of her own. She tasted metallic, but her hands against Daniel’s thighs were electrifying, distracting him for the moment from the strangeness of the encounter.

Then he remembered himself—remembered that Max was his boss and that there couldn’t be a worse idea.

Daniel pulled away sharply, and as he did so, he caught a glimpse of a face that wasn’t Max’s face, desiccated and bone white. But when he blinked, the apparition was gone, and it was Max staring back at him again, though there was still something about her that seemed…off. Different, somehow.

“If we’re going to do this,” Daniel started to say before just as quickly backtracking. “We shouldn’t,” he finished, though it felt like he was trying to convince himself more so than Max.

Once again, Max didn’t respond, but when she leaned forward to kiss him again, this time, Daniel didn’t put up a fight. He tangled his hands tightly in her long blonde hair as she laid a trail of bites along the hollow of his throat and down his chest, his other hand struggling to find a way to take off whatever it is that she was wearing. A nightgown? Bloomers? Before this, Daniel had never seen her go to bed in anything less than a crewneck and sweatpants, but maybe that was the reason she’d gone to Fallon, to plan for this—whatever this even was.

 Finally, Daniel managed to literally tear the undershirt off of her. With it gone, he drew back to appreciate the way her breasts were illuminated by the moonlight. Under other circumstances, it might have all been very romantic, but as it was….

Daniel quickly flipped Max over onto her back, temporarily getting himself tangled in his own sleeping bag before managing to break free. She stared up at him quietly, her expression calm and supplicating. The silence was a bit unnerving, but it wasn’t hard to ignore now that Daniel had his thumbs tucked into the waistband of her lacy bloomers. He slowly pulled them down, savoring every centimeter of skin revealed to his eyes. He was surprised to find a full thatch of dark blonde pubic hair between her thighs, but he certainly wasn’t disappointed.

When he ducked his head down to press his mouth against her cunt, Daniel was startled once again by the sharp metallic taste, the same as her tongue. It took him a moment to get used to, but then it faded quickly, and all Daniel could taste was a familiar mix of sweetness and salt.

Max sighed quietly when she came with her thighs flexing against Daniel’s face. He sat back, fingers shaking to unknot the front of his sweatpants, his cock so hard it almost hurt. Condoms, he remembered belatedly. There was a stash in his backpack on the other side of the bar.

“I’ll be right back,” Daniel reassured Max before running around to the front of the saloon to grab his bag.

The condoms weren’t in the pocket he remembered putting them in, which led to a frustrated scramble as Daniel searched every pocket and seam for them before finally finding them tucked between the pages of his notepad. He breathed out a quiet sigh of relief as he tore one away from the rest before hurrying back to where Max was waiting for him.

Only she wasn’t there.

Daniel stared down at the imprint in his pillow where Max’s head had just laid, his mind conjuring up a vivid memory of her moonlit blonde hair standing out starkly against the black fabric. He stood up slowly, examining every corner of the saloon for any sign of her, but she was just…gone.

“Daniel.”

He turned his head to find the door to the saloon hanging open on its hinges. Through the darkened entryway, he caught a glimpse of something out in the sagebrush, a distinct silhouette with bright eyes, reflective like an animal’s, but whatever it was he’d seen, it disappeared too quickly for Daniel to get a good look at it.

Daniel slowly stumbled over to the open doorway. He peered outside cautiously, taking note of his truck, which was parked on its own next to the vacant spot that Max’s vehicle had occupied before he’d left for Austin yesterday. It didn’t make sense. He should have heard her pulling in, loud enough to wake him, or at the very least, driving off again. Had she parked further down the road? How had she gotten out of the saloon without him seeing her?

Daniel swallowed, trying to clear his throat so he could call out to her, but as he stared out over the lonely valley, his vocal cords seized up, a paralyzing fear suddenly washing over him like a tidal wave. Daniel stood there just a moment longer, and then reached forward to slam the saloon door shut. His fingers were trembling as he secured the deadbolt. It was a long time before he managed to fall asleep.

Daniel woke the next morning to the sound of tires crunching against the gravel outside the saloon. He ripped himself from his sleeping bag immediately and stumbled out into the daylight, his eyes slitted against the sun’s late-morning brightness as he watched Max hop down out of the cab of her truck, looking for all the world as though she’d had a perfectly peaceful evening.

“Where the hell did you go?” Daniel demanded as she walked over to the front door of the saloon.

Max paused, looking a bit startled by the venom in his tone. “Didn’t you see my note?” she asked.

“I mean last night. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Max countered. “I left yesterday right after you did. I just got back. And good morning to you, too, by the way.” She stormed past him into the saloon with a quiet ‘asshole’ muttered under her breath.

Daniel remained standing there on the front porch for a minute or two, he wasn’t quite sure. When he finally came back inside, he walked straight past Max and into the backroom, which might have served as living quarters once upon a time before the gaping hole in the wall had rendered it unusable. The mirror still worked, though, for all its spiderweb cracks and layers of dust, and Daniel approached it with a trembling hand pressed to his collar.

Daniel stood in front of the mirror for a few seconds, just staring at his own reflection as if to reassure himself that he was still real, and then at last, tugged down the neck of his t-shirt to reveal a pattern of pale white marks that trailed down the side of his throat to his sternum, tracing the exact path of Max’s mouth the night before. They weren’t bruises—the exact opposite, in fact, as though the pigment in his skin had literally been leached from the places where she’d marked him.

All Daniel could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears as he stared at the marks. Then something—a face in the mirror that wasn’t his own. Daniel whipped around to find nothing waiting over his shoulder, just the same gap in the wall that had always been there, opening up onto the sagebrush-covered landscape, illuminated fully under the bright sunlight.

But Daniel could have sworn he’d seen something.

When he finally emerged from the backroom a few minutes later, Max was standing at the bar, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Are you feeling okay?” she asked him.

Daniel nodded. “Fine,” he lied. “Just a little….” He paused and swallowed hard. “Have you noticed anything strange lately?”

“Strange like what?” Max asked.

Daniel just shrugged.

Max laughed. “You should really stop letting the locals tell you ghost stories about this place,” she advised.

Daniel forced a smile and nodded. “You’re right,” he told her.

“Come on, then,” she said. “Let’s get back to work.”

[msfbgraves]

I wish CK would end with Daniel giving up Miyagi-do and teaching, leaving LaRusso Auto to Amanda, and just becoming a full time stay at home dad. He loves family life and homey stuff, and he always seems happiest and most content when he’s at home with his family 💕 I genuinely believe Daniel isn’t ambitious and would have been perfectly content being a househusband. I don’t think Amanda would mind either since she seems to be the one who runs the business and Daniel there just to help her out and charm the customers.

speaking of careers johnny needs to go back to being a handyman and like, actually try and be a dad to robby. his “karate” is better off as a hobby and certainly not something miyagi-do needs to be associated with.

So you feel there was zero character development for either of them Nonnie? Pretty damning on the writers 🤭 I didn't use to think Johnny was a bad sensei, but contrasting him with Miyagi-Do doesn't bring out the best in him. Sam and Miguel said they wanted the All Valley to be able to compete safely, to prevent injury, with the possibility to safely back out of a fight and if Johnny doesn't understand that Tory was at serious risk to hurt herself and Sam, after what had already happened to Miguel when Robby got like that, he's no better than Kreese.

As for the business - Amanda needs Daniel there as a front man. It's cars, the sexism must be rampant. I'm sure he already gets as much time as possible at home but without him, they would lose out on customers and contracts. I said what I said. The likes of Cole would really be like: "You're buying your cars from a chick???" The presence of a man legitimises a woman to those kinds of people. There also must be a reason why they focus on foreign brands, Daniel probably feels familiar and less aggressively Murican to those suppliers. I know for Americans, Johnny Lawrence may feel mainstream but to Europeans at least all the flag waving and bigger-is-better feels pretty foreign. Daniel of course to us is still very obviously American, but less loud, so he can close certain cultural gaps more easily. As long as he defers to Amanda behind the scenes, this model works very well. There would simply be too much stigma if Daniel stayed home permanently. I bet Amanda always closes up and comes home to a home cooked meal with Daniel having picked up the dry cleaning. It's the best this culture will allow.

[landslided]

Do you have any headcanons for Johnny’s life between the end of tkk and beginning of ck? The show gives us a lot of background for his life before tkk but not so much after that

ANON IM SO SORRY I FORGOT TO REPLY TO THIS!!!

but omg, yes of couuuurse i do.

as a slight warning: canon is my sandcastle, i get to reshape it as i please, this might not be totally accurate to the info given by the show but i! don't! care!

tw: alcoholism, sex work mention, sickness

johnny did graduate high school but it was very precarious. bobby and jimmy pulled through in those last months by making the three other boys study as much as they could, tommy and johnny managed to graduate but dutch dropped out at the last second (and got his GED later, in prison).

johnny enrolled to business school because sid told him this was all he would pay for. he was more interested in a sport related career but sid told him trying for sport coach or exercise physiologist would just be a waste of time.

the cobras had a shitty rock garage band from 1992 to 1994, there are extremely cringe clips robbie would have definitely found and left anonymous hate on. johnny played the bass and sang. (robbie was upset that, yes, it was cringe, but his dad was kinda good)

johnny had messy MESSY relationships for whole of his twenties and the start of his thirties. he had a pretty serious girlfriend after his short time at business school but they broke up because he absolutely did not want her to meet his mom and it started a huge fight.

johnny also DID have relationships with men because i am of the #BiJohnnyAndAwareOfOIt school at least as he got older. he was extremely repressed in high school but had an awakening in his twenties. he and the cobras did fool around when they were younger but only johnny really seems to have stuck with it. (take that as you want)

(meanwhile to ME daniel larusso was aware that he liked men as a teenager but it didn't really become an issue until he was an adult and he is now creating levels of repression totally unreachable by the common man)

okay back to the question: johnny dated/slept with a few guys, mainly it was casual sex because he accepted he wanted to fuck men, he less accepted that he could also fall in love with them. he did have a pretty serious boyfriend who broke up with him to get married to a woman and it made johnny SO FUCKING UPSET (he couldn't really??? express it?? like yeah okay dude, it's chill we basically lived together but yeah go marry her i mean it was just fucking around right?) that he crashed the avanti. when he asked sid for money to fix it, sid said no and took the keys.

johnny had a bunch of jobs going from handyman to server, to basically anything under the sun that could pay his rent once sid threw him out. i do believe jhnny was a type of sex worker for a while although im not sure what and i don't think he stayed long.

johnny and laura were very close but as he got older, he started looking more and more like his father and it upset laura a lot.

he and shannon met in a bar, she was scamming guys out of their money at the pool table, johnny saw her and was like... i need to know her.

they WERE in love, it was genuine and real for a while but very quickly they understood they were too similar and couldn't have an actual relationship without devouring each other. they did continue to have sex for a long time because they trusted each other and stayed friends... until robbie.

when shannon got pregnant there was a moment they didn't know if it was his and johnny was like, even if its not mine i will help and it would have probably been easier for him to step up if it hadn't been his kid. shannon did a test, robbie was his kid and the mess started there.

laura got sick and it was long and agonizing. johnny tried to save face but that's truly when he started drinking (he always had a drink problem but this was the breaking point), shannon had robbie and johnny crumbled.

shannon and johnny tried to get back together for robbie but they did end up doing what they were afraid of doing: destroying each other.

for a while johnny was forcefully admitted to a psych ward by bobby and it worked as rehab for about six weeks but the moment he got out, it got worse.

meeting miguel is what saved johnny's life in many ways, however, meeting daniel larusso back in high school and then seeing him again at the dealership is what gave him the drive to keep trying (absolute spite)

[apoptoses]

♜ Interior decorating aesthetic (for Daniel)

☹ Response to a leaky faucet or other household problem (for Armand)

♜ Interior decorating aesthetic (for Daniel)

God this one is hard because it raises so many questions for me like- did Daniel live alone at the time he met Louis? Did he have roommates? He spent years in hotels, and then lived with Armand, and did he have any input on the decor when they were living together? Did he even care that much?

We know that he loved Night Island, that the mix of old and new there was gorgeous, that his room had renaissance paintings alongside modern decor. That he loved luxury. And to an extent I think that's still true, that he likes having nice, interesting things around and isn't like and HGTV trends guy lol

But part of me also thinks about Armand's collecting stuff phase and how he literally filled some apartments to the brim with his computers. How Daniel was probably too exhausted to clean up after their messes most of the time. And like how people who have lived in hoarding situations (or just messy spaces in general) come out preferring minimalism, as little clutter as possible on surfaces and few knick knacks.

And I think Daniel would be somewhere in the middle. All vampires have an attachment to the time they were turned, so he's got a retro-eclectic vibe going in his spaces with some 80s inspired pieces. He probably still leaves his shit laying around like his clothes and half-read books but Trinity Gate and Auvergne have cleaning staff to take care of that. For better or worse he grew up in the era of wall to wall carpet and still prefers that over a hardwood floor. And I see him as a physical media kind of guy- he's got a sick vinyl collection, he still gets VHS tapes and DVDs of movies he liked, his media is pretty organized and nicely displayed. Get a nice comfy chair in there and he's set.

His craft space is a fucking wreck though lol But that's okay because he can close that door and pretend that mess doesn't exist when he's not in there.

☹ Response to a leaky faucet or other household problem (for Armand)

Oh lord in DM era it's one of three options:

Demand Daniel go to the hardware store with him so they can experiment with fixing it themselves (Daniel's least favorite option, there's bound to be cussing and at least three trips back to the store even though Armand can afford to buy literally every fucking possible thing needed in one trip)

Call a repair service and pay double for the middle of the night handyman work, while he sits and stares and creeps the guy out with his observation (Daniel's preferred option, he tips the workers extra for dealing with Armand's questions)

Say fuck it and rent a new place to live (inevitable, sometimes, when the DIY option goes very very wrong and they wind up with severe water damage that threatens the safety of the residents below them, oops)

Now at Trinity Gate? Unfortunately I think Benji's the mature adult in that household, he's got task rabbit loaded and ready to hire someone before the problem can get out of control. Because god knows Louis can't maintain a home, and frankly someone's gotta protect the peace and keep Daniel and Armand from bickering all night again about whose fault it is that the dish washer broke ("We don't even use fucking dishes, Armand, what did you put in there??" is NOT when he needs in the background he's trying to record a podcast tyvm)

[puella-peanut]

Teenage tramp Daniel has the hots for handyman Kreese lmao. Thots?

Gorgeous, seventeen year old neighborhood tramp Daniel LaRusso is…mad. Big Mad to be exact. 

It’s all because his attempts at seducing the local, rugged, handsome neighborhood handyman have…fallen flat. Failed to lift off. Closed on opening night. Houston, we have a problem, and his name is John Kreese. 

Thing is, Daniel’s gone all out. Taken out all the big guns. Brought out the big, flashy, show-stopping numbers. He’s been coy, coquettish. An innocent and not-so-innocent tease. Sweet and shy. Sassy and spunky. A bonafide ingenue to the Lolita of the Valley, and all around the block and back again! 

Jeeze, he’s never worked this hard for a lay in his life!

See now—he’s worn his tiny band crop tops. His tiny tank-tops cut to show plump, caramel nipples. His even tinier, cut off jean-shorts that hardly leave anything to the imagination. 

He’s boosted himself up on the front of John’s battered Ford pickup, just to criss-cross those long, bare, coltish legs of his. Straddled (and stolen) ladders John’s been using while he works, to display parted, slender thighs. (And show off how limber he is. How…flexible.) Reached up to grab at nothing on his toes to show off a waist so small and trim that a pair of (large, callused, rough) masculine hands could span oh-so-easily. He’s bent himself over convenient surfaces—countertops, couches, tables, wobbly banisters and kiddie coloring tables for crying out loud!—to show off his sweet, juicy ass. The lush cheeks that spill out. The roundness of it all. 

He’s brushed up against John, sat touching him knee-to-knee, fallen across him “accidentally”, faked a sprained ankle in the hopes of a bridal-carry, and still—still goddammit!!—John hasn’t paid him any attention!! Not the slightest bit. 

All Daniel has gotten in return is: ‘Hey, you’re in my way.’ To, ‘Put some clothes on, Prima Donna, it’s January, and your sneezing is unhygienic.’ And even a, ‘Join the Service, kid. That’ll whip some sense into you.’

Ugh. 

Ugh. Ugh. Ughhhh. 

…Why, by this time with his other conquests, he’d gotten railed twice over! All stupid, annoying, teenage boys; simple schoolboy, after-school flings to pass the time. Like that total brain-dead bimbo Johnny, or violent karate bad-boy Mike. To foreign exchange student Chozen, followed by future sociopath Dutch. A real slick wannabe named Ponytail got him next, then sweet preacher’s boy Bobby. Jimmy and Tommy had tag teamed him after, and then finally that dorky piano nerd, rich-boy Twig (he’d gotten real maid service, a night in a mansion, and breakfast in bed for that one!). Between all of them, Daniel had gotten laid in six months more than some people did in an entire year! Lifetime even! Yeah, yeah, the lays themselves didn’t rank too high on the scale of one to ten (some far lower than others!)—but a fucking was a fucking, and he had been sixteen and desperately horny. Besides it had been summer, and California had made it too hot to be too fussy. 

…Except that now he is, because there is something about this Kreese that gets him all hot and bothered. Something about those sinewy, hairy, muscular arms. That solid, sturdy body. The heavy booted footsteps. The worn jeans and faded flannel. The fluffy, sandy hair (and matching, coarse stubble). The hairy, broad, hard chest. The squareness of his jaw, the strapping height. The surprising brightness of his blue eyes. The sudden, rare smiles. The fact that he is older, is an adult. A full grown man. That he can do anything to Daniel, and, smitten boy that he is, he’d let him. 

Yeah, Daniel wants him like one would want a cool drink on a hot day. He has it bad. But things have to get worse before they get better, right? And all fevers must run their course. 

And boy, what a fever this is!

(And may he never recover!)

…

Meanwhile, our John has indeed been stoic in the little tease’s presence—but, thing is, the moment he’s alone, tucked away safe in his bed or in the shower or even that one time in his kitchen for fuck’s sake—John has spent nearly every spare minute in his day jacking off furiously. Getting his sheets, tiles—even kitchen countertop—all sticky with jizz like he was fifteen again, and had seen a pair of breasts for the first time in a dirty magazine. (But those thoughts of his former teenage fantasies have nothing on the centerfold that is LaRusso.)

And, damn it, he spends far too much of his day dreaming about that full, red mouth. The glossy, floppy hair. Those long-lashed big brown eyes. The perky brown nipples, the slightest swell of the soft chest on that tiny, fragile body. The endless, shapely legs. The endless, tan skin. The endless smoothness of it. The curve of that plump ass. The bounce it had, the little tormenting jiggle when the boy walked with a spring in his step. The sweet little puckered cunt hidden between those slim thighs. How it would drip and spill and gush out all that John has to give the little shit. Is dying to. 

Oh, John’s got a calendar counting down the days until the boy is legal, until he’s all of eighteen and the law can’t save him—and then John’s gonna fuck him into submission, rail him into obedience. Pound that tight, juicy, boypussy raw until LaRusso can’t think for how good John’s giving it to him. 

And then he’s gonna make the little shit his, because fuck it all—the little Italian brat has made him fall for his charms big time.

Only a matter of time kid, John thinks later, watching the boy work his bag of tricks with a stoic, calm expression. Though he all but grins (inwardly) when the boy fumes in frustration at his non-reaction.

Just you wait, Prima Donna, John promises.

You’re mine. 

[bubblegumflavor]

I once drew this fanart of Johnny and Daniel, where Johnny is wearing a LaRusso Auto shirt and Daniel wears his Metallica shirt and it was originally for my first LawRusso fanfic but Jon Hurwitz picked it from my Insta and shared it, I said I was happy he liked it and he said It's great! XD So... ever since I wonder if we would ever see Johnny work at LaRusso auto and I am super twisted about this. On the one hand I think he would fit in, the path for the possibility is laid out since Daniel knows he knows a lot about cars and he is a handyman and all.

And damn would I love to see Johnny wear a shirt that said Johnny LaRusso XD

But... here's the big 'but':

First of all Daniel being Johnny's boss would crush him. It's not like Daniel was above him in any situation possible, he got the girl, the good dad-sensei, the win, the family, the fame, the money and Johnny always feels defeated by him in any situation. He hates taking charity from him or anyone.

And I fear... if we follow that stupid plot with Carmen and the B*** and her wish of a house with a garden and all.... I fear that Johnny could be pushed further into the situation that he sees no other way than take the job our gold-hearted Daniel *affectionately* offers him and work below him to get everything right to feel worth of Carmen's love as always. (Did she ever say she loves him, yet? I don't think so XD)

I talked with my mom about it the other day and she also said it would be terrible if Johnny had to work for Daniel and I agree. I think it can be cute for a fanfic scenario, though at this point I wouldn't write it again because the thought of Daniel being Johnny's boss is just a personal no-no for me now. But if they do it in the show, it would be so bad, imo. If Daniel wouldn't offer Johnny to be an equal partner (imagine LawRusso Auto canon hrhr I would die for it XD) or have like his own workshop at the dealership where he's his own boss, it wouldn't work for me.

Maybe nothing of this will be addressed at all in the show but I think a lot of possible scenarios and this seems not too far fetched? Maybe? ^^;;; I just hope if any of this happens in some way they will let Johnny have dignity because he suffered enough.

[seesternsstuff]

Prepare yourself for a long babbling session with me:

Daniel became a doctor ( a physiotherapist? Or maybe Kinesiologist?) after KK3 he’s done with martial arts and went to college, he’s divorced and a single dad.

Johnny is a popular carpenter in the area, after losing the ‘84 Karate Tournament to Larusso (and almost dying choked by his sensei) he decided to take a break from karate and started some carpentry classes or yk handyman work, he’s divorced and a single parent too.

NOW WHAT I WANT YOU TO IMAGINE IS:

They met again after thirty something years, how? Probably Johnny fell off his stairs while doing some work or maybe got a killing cramp in his leg idk, the details are not clear. They met at the hospital, Daniel it’s assigned to take care of a patient (Johnny) that had some absurd accident.

They looked right into their eyes, you know that phrase “When you meet the love of your life, time stops”? Well that’s what happened to them, at first glance Johnny doesn’t seem to realize that it’s Daniel the little punk that stole his girlfriend and trophy Larusso (But Daniel does, he knew right away)

Anyhow, Daniel did the normal procedure and run away from that room (not from Johnny, how dare you) and that’s all, Johnny it’s free to go home and never ever see that cute doctor again.

Now that led me to my last point ☝️I’ve been hearing this Spanish song since I was a kid and I heard it a few days ago again and now I can’t stop:)

It’s called “emergency call” and please hear me out ‼️ Johnny it’s head over heels for that doctor, so with the help of one of his friends (let’s say Bobby) started hunting him down (obviously at some point Bobby told him it was Daniel Larusso and Johnny had a mental breakdown) but at the end of the day he was at the hospital with some kind of wounds and Daniel lecturing him about it.

One day Johnny was at the Diaz’s house (yep Miguel, his abuelita and Carmen) installing a water system and the teenager boy was playing this song and Johnny just couldn’t help himself from laughing and ask him about the lyrics, Miguel translated some parts:

“The paramedic have to come, I need you to give me electro shock oh oh of your love”

“A serum of your love is what I need, I want you to give me mouth to mouth and may the medical stretcher be our bed (wink wink)”

“Come here quickly, come here and save me. It’s an emergency call”

Obviously Johnny said to himself “That’s the perfect song ever to serenade” and then you have him singing (with a poor and atrocious accent) in Spanish in front of Daniel’s house 👍🏼 waking up Daniel and his children.

THAT’S ALL FOLKS! Sorry if it’s too long or doesn’t make sense 😭 it’s just a silly thought of mine.

[onboardsorasora]

Victoria saying “how very cliche of you to fuck the handyman”

To which max has to tell her that he is unfortunately not fucking his handyman

He absolutely would be fucking the handyman if he could. So far he hasn't been able to get that far.

He hasn't actually asked Daniel out or truly propositioned him. He's totally thought about just coming out and telling Daniel he wanted him, but when he opens his mouth to say it, Daniel does something incredible sexy to Max and he gets distracted.

[nagdabbit]

This isn't a prompt or a request, but hear me out Dags. What if you remixed Lamp Bright Rind but made it wrestlefic? Who would you cast, what would you change, what would you keep? Consider it a thought experiment

don't do this to me, don't you dare do this to me. shit. fuck. balls

like. for those not coming from the st fandom, i once enjoyed the show and fandom and wrote a massive harringrove fic where billy was a disgraced chef trying to reinvent himself, and steve was a corporate lawyer trying to get out from under his family's shadow and do as much good as he could. they live across from each other, they can see into each others kitchen windows, steve cant cook and shows up unannounced to get cooking lessons, and it's cute as shit from there. there's misunderstandings, there's mistaken identities, there's healing from trauma and growing up and not realizing that their entire friend group is a circle. im proud of it

now like. fuck. shit. thought experiment my ass. this is gonna consume me.  fuck you man

my first instinct, bryan the chef. not disgraced, not exactly, but tired. thinks he has nothing left to make, but is determined to start a new restaurant and do something different. yuta as his neighbor, starving, stressed college student who would eat more vegetables if he knew how to cook them. renee is his restaurant partner, and her husband mox is his best friend who is there to give him shit and pep talks and shitty peptalks. bryan doesn't like jons friend eddie, who tags along when they go out, but eddie sometimes make him get out of his wallowing. and sometimes bryan has to get eddie out of his own wallowing about his on again-off again relationship with claudio, bryans foh manager. bryan already feels weird falling in love with the college student he's teaching how to cook, but then he finds out yuta is like renee and moxs adopted son he'd never met before, because he's always so busy with school

but i have an instinct i like more, actually. remix my remix.

renee the chef. shes always had a great gig on food shows and writing cookbooks, she's beloved. but she's never had her own restaurant before, and she's shit scared about how it's gonna go. her business partner, bryan, knows she's gonna kill it, but also he's an asshole, sometimes, and doesn't know how to give a proper inspirational talk. but he is good at interfacing with their investor while she goes crazy trying to finalize the menu. hell, she doesn't even know who their investor is. they hire yuta in the kitchen, and he's young and adorable and eager and even if he doesn't have the training that they do, she likes him more than anyone else who applied. his mortal enemy, daniel, got hired to the wait staff tho, and no one can tell if they're gonna fuck or fight at any given time. claudio just has good foh manager/host energy, he's personable, what else can i say. eddie is the bartender slash woodworker slash handyman who solves their problem of needing a bartender, needing someone to fix the place they chose, and needing a custom bar installed. also he's funny and he pisses bryan off and makes claudio blush. then there's mox, the burly, rough and tumble famous ufc fighter and window neighbor in the apartment building next to renees. he can't cook for shit, renee has a running tally of the number of times she's seen him throw the windows open to let out smoke. and one night, bored and tired of trying to work on the menu, she takes pity on him and carts a box of ingredients to the building next door, hunts down his apartment and offers to teach him how to cook. then there's the matter of who their investor is, and who the mysterious man all her friends are trying to set her up with is, and the inconvenient fact that she thinks mox is kinda cute and is starting to fall for him

i think that's the one i would write. less trauma this time around, more softness.

also, consider: gruff famous chef ruby, bumbling neighbor ang. up and coming chef hook, weird cabaret neighbor dan(housen). world renowned chef regal quietly trying to start a diner, boring vegan neighbor bryan who only makes salad and it makes regal sad. revolutionary vegan chef sami, and his overworked vet neighbor kevin. chef swerve and poofy haired cowboy hangman next door that he hates, he promises. actually i like that one a lot, too. chef orange, king of simple ingredients and big flavors, and his goofy streamer neighbor chuck. chef willow, trying to make a name for herself, and her weird neighbor kris who thinks she's an alien but we're not quite sure about that or not. 

so many combinations... shit. balls. fuck.

[desolateice]

@macchiatosdumptruck​ thank you for the ask. (hopefully you don’t mind that I moved this over to my fic blog)

How does one do this? Like a car salesman? Let’s see. We all know I love RBF&GT so I’m not going to hype that one this time. Besides cookie already did that for me and people already gave it awards so we’re going to kiss it’s forehead and tuck it into bed and hype up it’s siblings instead. Slaps the roof of a car, can I interest you in monster meet-cutes? 🤣 (apparently my theme)

Konpeitō    

romantic sci-fi Lawrusso comedy. (the karate kid era)

Daniel and his mother move to earth after the destruction of their planet. Love is an important part of their culture and his mother hopes that Daniel can find some earthling to fall in love with, dumping him out of the space ship to essentially hitchhike. He befriends a beetle, dog,  earthling named Johnny and tries to understand what earth is like and untangle the mess of language that is English while occasionally something tries to talk to him through radio frequencies.

California Roll  

paranormal romance Lawrusso (comedy) (the karate kid era but prior to)

Daniel’s walking his bike home through a Newark January along the river when he spots a body on the shore. He runs down to go help whoever it is only to think it’s a dead body and then to see that from the waist down is a tail. He realizes the blonde mermaid is alive and goes through the tedious process of taking him home. He and his mother end up nursing the broken hearted merman back to health, who really just wants to cuddle him for warmth and sleep in the cold until he’s too numb to feel. (If you like the idea of Johnny being partial monster but want something somewhat darker (more horror-esq) I also wrote Snake Whisky where Johnny after TKK turns into a snake and finds out about Terry and Kreese’s plans to hurt Daniel and then slithers off to try and warn him but kind of forgets how to be human)

Semifreddo 

paranormal romance Lawrusso (the karate kid era but prior to)

Sid sends Johnny to Long Island for the summer to clean up an extended family members home after the owner passes, and while there the house seems to have a mind of it’s own and seems to be haunted by a rather curious and friendly seeming ghost who may not actually be fully a ghost. It’s actually really sweet.

Cherry Cordial

romance fantasy (magic) Lawrusso (the karate kid era)

Based off a couple drabbles I did. After the first tournament Daniel can’t sleep and ends up at a shop during a storm where a man gives him a book of magic spells. He uses one to try and ensure Johnny leaves him alone by making a potion and spiking his drink with it. Instead he realizes he might’ve given Johnny a love potion because the guy is opening doors for him and being much nicer than before.

Johnny on the other hand, is a witch whose been ignoring his calling and after the tournament he goes home to the mansion that oozes evil because Sid is a literal demon and decides to use magic to determine what he should do with the rest of his life only to find out he’s a love witch.

I do have more paranormal meet-cutes Umibudo (Chozen/Johnny where Chozen is a merman who runs into Johnny and takes him home because mermaids fall in love easily) and Devil's Food (Cake) where Daniel is a crossroads demon that Johnny visits throughout his life. I also have alternative routes to RBF&GT. But outside of all that there’s two others and I can’t decide which one to go for because they’re both gifts that I adore. So apologies I might do both.

Wisteria Sherbert 

a/b/o Lawrusso with omega Johnny and alpha Daniel (Cobra Kai era)

Johnny gets a new job as a handyman and much to his disappointment nanny for a rich house in the hills, only to learn that it’s Daniel’s home. After some hiccups he settles in, getting along with the kids and Daniel, but he’s hiding the fact he’s an omega. He’s taken a ton of medicine to ensure no one finds out because he’s deep deep in debt to Terry Silver and the only thing keeping him from being mistreated is the fact he doesn’t give off a scent or hasn’t “presented”. But who knows how long that will last.

A Feast for Fools      

romantic drama (comedy?) with Johnny and Terry Silver (Cobra Kai era)

Terry Silver finds out about Johnny’s dojo almost immediately after it opens and his staff recommend he go under cover to figure out why and who brought Cobra Kai back from the dead. Terry poses as a yoga instructor and teaches classes at the dojo and gets to know Johnny and his students. The two end up being good influences on one another and helping each of them heal from the damage left by John Kreese.

[msfbgraves]

From the creators of "Daniel was the real bully all along", aka "Cobra Kai"...

We have Ralphie hinting at a "Daniel second guesses Miyagi-Do, aka Miyagi-Do has always been evil".

Look, Ralphie loves hanging out with Billy for these promos and I love seeing them together because they deserve to have a good time really they do. Yuji, Billy and Ralphie deserve to enjoy themselves because they have brought their absolute A games to the show and it shows and I love them for it.

But ffs, creators. I know you felt so called out by a film about a sweet boy teaching us that bullying is evil and that fighting can be a form of self-expression and helping others rather than a pissing contest in which people get killed you had to make a whole show about why bullies are cool actually, absent fathers are dope and kindness doesn't exist because there is no kindness without an ulterior, sinister motive. Because you haven't been kind a single day in your life and even though some part of your conscience has survived for long enough to understand that there is something wrong with that, making you feel bad, you have spent over six years of your life propping up your ego instead. It had to be somebody else's fault. It had to be Daniel's fault. It has to be Miyagi's fault No way that can't have been secretly evil, and we're going to expose it! Because repeatedly saving someone's life, as Miyagi has done for Daniel, can't not be sus, right? Trying to beat someone to death, now, that is upfront manly behaviour. Saying like it is. All this stealthy defense stuff? There's gotta be something going on there, right? They should have killed Daniel and been on their way in film 1, then the Cobras could have had some sympathising manpain and gotten laid after beating up more people for existing. That is how you live a good life! But no, so now we have to right the wrongs perpetuated by films that tell you that a kind handyman can help you beat up a rich bully while also understanding that this bully was probably a product of his environment he was too young to understand was harmful. Can't have that! That would make them wrong! And they can't be wrong, see? They wrote a story too! So there! Pussies!

My only hope is that Ralph has directed an episode of this first bunch and has always done his best to keep infusing this garbage fire with kindness. I know Daniel can be a little saintly, but his heart, that's all Ralph. And the love between Billy and Ralph is also incredibly sincere. So I know they'll do their best with it, and Ralph acts in between lines anyway. But the underlying message since season three at the lastest has been so terribly unkind. In a show about manhood, apparently, they keep celebrating

-Not taking responsibility

-Solving every problem with violence

-Equating kindness with either weakness or deceit

And that is how recognise that these are boys who are never going to grow up. Taking responsibility, practicing restraint and choosing to be kind because you understand basic empathy is how you become an adult. That is what the karate kid franchise taught! The value of hard work, taking responsibility, protecting others and choosing kindness wherever possible. To have this so called homage literally trying to undermine that message at every turn, is feeling like some kind of moral injury.

I will always be grateful to the series for introducing me to these characters. But I am so sick of middle aged men taking over a beloved series about what it takes for men to be decent, be it Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who or The Karate Kid, and basically raping it to death in the guise of appreciation.

[ambercast]

❧ Name: Jack Daniels Drake ❧ Nickname: Jack ❧ Age: 30 ❧ Gender: Cis man, he/him ❧ Orientation: Queer ❧ Relationship: Single ❧ Occupation: Handyman ❧ Residence: Commune ❧ Title: The Patient ❧ Faceclaim: Jack Mulhern

❧ Personality -

Resourceful / Patient / Kind / Empathetic Self-Deprecating / Overprotective / Workaholic / Cautious

❧ Introduction -

tw: drug abuse mention, child neglect

Jack Daniels (yes his parents included the S) was born to a pair of drug addicts and alcoholics, which meant his life was doomed from the start. Since he was a toddler he was cleaning up his parents’ messes around the house, always worried they wouldn’t wake up after one of their binges. When his younger brother Jäger was born, the majority of his care fell to Jack, even though he was only four years older. He had to figure out quickly how to change diapers when he was barely out of them himself; he had to learn how to feed himself and his brother and make sure they both went to school on time.

Honestly, it’s little wonder why the two of them were outcasts in school. Jack was always exhausted and could barely pay attention in class as he was often dozing off. He put all his focus, time, and energy into Jäger, which meant he didn’t make many friends. As they got older, Jäger began to run off and do things by himself, and while Jack wanted Jäger to be a kid, he was often worried when his little brother wouldn’t come home. Jack had to stay on constant vigilance between his parents and his brother, and he became rather stunted himself, not able to experience the typical kid and teen lifestyle.

He dropped out of school at fifteen in order to get a job at Pete’s Garage, making enough to keep him and Jäger fed and clothed but not much else. They were often without electricity at home, which meant finding couches for Jäger to stay on, even if he couldn’t stay himself for lack of space.

The paradox hit when he was eighteen, and their parents were some of the first to go. Jack packed Jäger up and moved them into the Commune, knowing they’d be safest there. He continued to work at the garage until it was clear they were overstaffed and there wasn’t much for him to do. He began working as a handyman for Sunflower around the house, also earning extra ration cards around town in the same capacity, keeping the cards hidden so only he and Jäger could use them. It was against the rules, but after so many years having to look after only his brother and himself it was a habit.

Despite being in a better place now, Jack still worries about Jäger and puts his happiness and care over his own. In his mind, only Jäger matters, as that’s how it’s been for the past twenty-six years.

[huntsvillehq]

(Jack Mulhern) [THE PATIENT]. Please welcome [JACK DANIELS DRAKE (HE/HIM)] to Huntsville, WV. They are an [30]-year-old [RESIDENT] who lives in [THE COMMUNE]. You may see them around working as a [HANDYMAN]. They are looking for [JÄGER DRAKE] their [LITTLE BROTHER] Poor unfortunate soul. We’ll see if they survive. (can’t stop won’t stop)

WELCOME TO HUNTSVILLE, WV, jack daniels. Please follow this checklist and submit your account within 48 hours. Do not stay out after dark, and beware the whispers calling you into the woods at dusk.

[choco-bean405]

Welcome Home Ocs

Heyo guys! I'm gonna introduce to you 4 of my original characters for the Arg "Welcome Home"!

Starting off with our resident fitness girl, Marie!

(i have her current design(digital) and her old design(traditional))

She's 16 and the town's resident peppy roller derby girl! Though, she helps out with another one of the neighbors to deliver the weekly newspapers to everyone around the neighborhood. She's a bright, enthusiastic kid that's full of energy and she would have been a partial main character that appears in a few episodes. Weither it be teaching children how to exercise, or showing them how to have fun with the most minimal of items!

Though, she doesn't live alone. She has her big brother, Michael!

He's 18 and the Handyman of the neighborhood! Whilst being the more Quiet and less talkative sibling, he's a sweetheart who loves to tinker and fix things, and building things such as a fence, new flower planters, model sets (e.g. planes & cars). Anything he gets his hands on, he'll be mumbling to himself on how he could improve it or what he could build using said item.

He would have been a similar case to his sister, showing children how working hard is rewarding, teaching people different ways of communicating, and probably showing up in an arts and crafts segment along side Eddie sometimes.

Noww,these kids do have a parental figure they live with, and it's the resident Milk delivery man, Daniel the Dragonfly!

Noww, this sweetheart will greet every person he meets with a smile, Often being considered a time keeper, as he sticks to a time schedule and will often be considered a people pleaser, finding it hard to say no to things at times, so he'll be reminded of that from time to time.

He would be a reoccurring character in the show, teaching kids it's ok to say no to things you don't want to do, possibly health care segments showing how important it is to drink milk. Maybe being included in time related segments, playing "What's the time mr wolf?" With the kids that hang around the place. He loves looking after marie and michael, often asking marie to help with news paper rounds whilst he does his job, whilst occasionally helping Howdy out in his shop as an assistant.

Noww finally, Is our resident jewelry maker, Natalie Barkson!

This sassy squirrel lady is the most thrifty character you will meet in the neighborhood. Often being seen with any sort of bag as she collects her "crafting supplies" from around the town. She may hoard things she finds, but she manages to make the most wonderful things from them. "Another man's trash is another man's treasure" after all.

She would have appeared in the same arts and craft segments that michael would have been in, meanwhile acting as a side character that assists the others where she can can, whilst teaching the young children watching how to reduce, reuse ,recycle.

I hope you all like them! Enjoy! 🥰

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

That scene where the guys knock Daniel down the hill but he hits his head on a rock and he loses his memories. Someone picks him up, drops him at the hospital and they call his mum.

When Daniel wakes up its to his mum and the handyman of their apartment building, though he doesn’t quite realise that initially.

“Oh my baby. Are you ok?” Daniel kinda smiles and nods, though its obvious he’s pretty confused about who tf they are.

It all gets explained, the two help him through his day to day and help him slowly regain most of his memories. Once he’s deemed ready for school they’re all a little hesitant to send him, bit hes determined to make it work.

He gets there, smiling and nodding at everyone who make eye contact with him. He doesn’t understand why they’re all avoiding him as if he has the plague but also doesn’t feel the need to try and find out.

Then there’s a group of guys yelling out his name, the sound of it a mix of confusion, anger and relief. Daniel turns toward them, smiles politely and waves as he greets them.

They all get confused, staring at him unsurely as the Blonde one speaks, “What the fuck is your problem?”

Daniel tilts his head for a moment before his eyes are widening slightly, “Oh are we friends? Sorry, i got into an accident a few weeks ago and lost my memories. I don’t remember much.”

He says it sheepishly, as if its his fault, and the guys all feel a stone drop in their stomachs at the news. They hadn’t meant to inflict any serious harm on the guy, only meant to fuck around and mess him up a bit or put a bit of fear in him cause it was funny.

There’s a moment where they try and play it off, thinking he’s just fucking with them to make them feel guilty but when Ali comes running over calling his name, and he does nothing more than give her the same friendly smile and greeting they know its not fake.