#i mean if you want canonical support for j/p it's that she laughs at that joke
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grissomesque · 2 years ago
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Tom Paris + making the captain laugh
STAR TREK: VOYAGER 5.23 "11:59"
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spooky-scary-imagines · 6 years ago
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Just poppin in to say that Chop Top story was 👌 and I’d love to hear a continuation. He’s gotten himself and the reader into quite a mess considering how Drayton reacted to Bubba and Stretch, and now you’ve got me all curious about how they’re gonna get out of it.
((You are very correct. Meeting the family on the first date? Lord knows what he was thinking. AND GUESS WHAT! I saved this bad boy so it’s my 69th post. *smacks lips and looks at the camera* Noice. It’s what Chop would have wanted. Also, I am trying my best to stick to the canon story-line like I did in the first part but like…the canon story-line as is does not allow much wiggle room. I’ve cranked the forced 70’s slang up to 11 so I hope the context clues work. ;P Also, it’s pretty much canon that Chop only listens to shitty “experimental” prog-rock.  In any-case, thanks so much to all of y’all who’ve encouraged me to write the sequel as well as write in general. Your support means a lot to me. TW For Drayton being…the way that he is. Most of his dialogue is straight from the script but if that’s upsetting feel free to skip this one. Tagging: @i-cant-get-with-it
From outside, the abandoned theme park was just an empty husk of long-forgotten family trips and worn plastic over a warped metal skeleton. Inside however, the old Texas Battle Land had found a second life as home to some of the most wanted people in Texas. When the youngest members of the Sawyer clan arrived home, it was just as they had left it. Fluorescent lights casting a dull glow over the filthy environment, made even more unpleasant by the ever-present smell of decayed flesh and dried blood.
As they carried the bodies they’d gotten earlier inside, the older of the two stopped his brother before they entered the threshold. “H-Hey Bubba, I, uh, I’m just gonna take this one alright?” he asked, gesturing to the body whose head wasn’t a gross mess of blood and pulp. The younger, Bubba, looked at his brother curiously, and while it was impossible to tell from beneath the mask, his eyes conveyed that he definitely was raising an eyebrow at this behavior. Chop-Top fidgeted under his gaze, “I-I g-got a, er, project I wanna do with it.” Bubba just shook his head and shrugged the limp body off his shoulders, into his brothers arms. He grinned up at Bubba and turned to walk away before quickly whipping back. “W-Wait!” he held onto Bubba’s arm, “Don’t-Don’t tell Drayton about this one, ya dig? He’s joanin’ on us enough already.” Bubba nodded solemnly and he and Chop parted ways down into the labyrinthine tunnels.
When you finally woke up, you had no clue where you were. Your first instinct was t scream but you held it back as you tried to analyze your situation. The room was dark and looked like the inside of the Devil’s Shaggin’ Wagon. The walls were lined in colorful, yet dingy carpets and miscellaneous oddities, ranging from bones, to old and blurry Polaroids, to worn and torn band posters, and age-bleached centerfolds of woman and men, naked as they day they were born. After quickly taking in your surroundings, you groggily moved to stand up, but were cut short as you finally took notice of the rope tying you arms and legs to the chair you sat in. You instantly wanted to panic, memories of what happened suddenly flooding back. But you knew that, whoever these people were, you were at their mercy, and it was in your own best interest to just try and play along. Just thinking like that was frying you, but you had to keep it together, or you didn’t have a chance
.After what felt like ages of waiting for a bomb to go off, the door directly across from you opened up to reveal the pale face of the man from the radio station. His glasses and wig were gone revealing an exposed metal plate embedded into his skull, the edges where it met skin were raw and torn, indicating they had not been allowed to heal. He turned to you, and when his eyes met yours his face lit up. “Y-You’re awake! I-uh, well, groovy!” he said, scrambling over to you. He sat beside you, and started messing with your still-trapped hand, picking at the skin and bringing it to his face. If you remembered right, this man mostly responded nicely to you, so he was probably your best option.
  “Um, hey man, not-not that I can’t dig it but-either I’m tripping or you’ve got some ‘splaining to do Lucy.”
  The man laughed at that and moved away, crossing the room to a shoddy looking record player. “You-You like At-t-tomic Rooster?” the man asked, though the record was in place before you could answer. Distorted keyboarding and some bitchin’ guitar riffs blared through the tinny speakers as the man bared his teeth in a manic grin. “Th-this one’s called Ger-Gershazer,” at that word, he started giggling to himself. Disappointed, you tried again.
  “So is this your pad?”
“Damn straight!” the man yelled before more quietly adding, “Well, I-I don’t live alone…But-But I paid for this place!” He pointed at the metal plate, “What I got for this chrome-dome ‘Nam gave me?”“You…you were in Vietnam?”
The man’s eyes got a weird glint to them and his head whipped back in a loud cackle, “NAAAPALM! FIRE IN THE HOLE! The ole’ AGENT O!” He gripped your shoulders tightly, “It’s the dream baby, Nam Land!” You just stared at him in a mix of shock and horror. Before you could respond, from somewhere outside the door, you could make out the sound of a someone yelling. The man’s eyes narrowed and whipped towards the door. “Just-Just w-wait here. Don’t bug out on me now,” he said before bolting out the door. You didn’t bother to mention that you couldn’t even if you wanted to, well, of course you wanted to, it’s just…it doesn’t matter. There’s certainly nothing you can do right now. Worry about your apparent susceptibility to Stockholm Syndrome later.
  When the trippy hippie finally returned, he wasn’t alone. “Hey sunshine, he crooned, seemingly having gotten over whatever caused him to freak-out last time, “I got someone I want you to meet…” He gestured to the other person revealing a gnarled old corpse wearing a camo army jacket, and you bit back a scream. The thing was on the rough side of decomposition and looked like a prop from the guy who did Dead of Night. The man broke into a near falsetto and reached the corpses hand out as if it were a puppet, “H-Hi my name’s Nubbins! You’re-You’re a r-r-real f-fox.” Despite the horror of the whole situation, you couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. The man swatted at the corpse and turned to you, with a noticeable pink to his cheeks that wasn’t there before, “J-Just ignore m-my brother. He’s a j-jelly brain. 
You decided not to address the obvious taxidermied elephant in the room, “So you two are brothers?”
“Yeah. We’re twins! But I got the good looks.” the man argued. Given the state of the other one, you’d have to agree. “Ya see those pictures on the wall?” You nodded. “Nubbins is the one who took them. He always liked artsy stuff…” he drifted off, lost in thought or perhaps memories, of a happier time you couldn’t picture. You were about to offer some comfort when the door slammed open, revealing the giant from before. “DON’T YOU EVER KNOCK!” the smaller man shrieked, leaping up to try and block the other from you. You heard the masked man mumble indignantly. “SO WHAT IF I DON’T USUALLY CARE!” Despite the hippie’s best efforts the large man pushed past him and was struck dumb when he saw you. He turned to the other and yanked him off to a somewhat separate part of the room. While you couldn’t tell what all they were saying, you could tell it was a heated argument.  Before they could return to you, the yelling voice from earlier called for them both and you were left alone again.
Drayton was on one again, this time, he was convinced that there was some intruder in the house and had been yelling at the two of them to FIND THEM DAMN IT. Finally Chop-Top and Drayton caught up to where Bubba had some girl cornered at the end of a tunnel. It wasn’t surprising to find a cave-in or a dead-end and end up lost for hours. “What the hell’s going on here?” Drayton looked from Bubba to the young woman, confused and angry, “Bubba, you nap-haired idiot. Get out of here. Who’s this? I get it. Are you the saboteur that’s fucking up our house? Tryin’ to put me out of business? Thousands of dollars lost. You got that kind of money?” “No!” the woman finally responded, and Chop-Top finally recognized that voice.
“It’s the DJ. My faaaaave.”
“That dirty thing?” Drayton sneered, “Told me you boys got her!”
“Well, yeah,” Chop butted in, “Leatherface killed her once already tonight. But look, she’s red-faced. Bubba’s been playing with her. Bubba likes her!” With a exaggerated gasp, he broke into an obnoxious chant, “Bubba’s got a girlfriend. Bubba’s got a girlfriend! Bubba’s got a girlfriend! Bubba’s got a girlfriend!Bubba’s got a girlfriend! Bubba’s got a girl-BLEAH” he jumped and erupted into cackles again.
  “Is that what this is, Bubba?” Drayton asked, “The old cock-and-cunt swindle, huh? S-C-E-X. Sex. And you had to find out about it, didn’t you? You just couldn’t leave it alone. If you wanted to know about it so bad, why didn’t you ask me? You wanna know about it? Ask me. Ask me! It’s a swindle, that’s all. So don’t get mixed up in it…”
Bubba grunted angrily and pointed to Chop-Top, who had lost his playful expression. “What are you going on about?” Bubba communicated in his own way what he had seen in Chop and Nubbin’s room. “Cheese-eating fink…” Chop-Top mumbled under his breath. Drayton threw his arms in the air, “Are both of you falling for it! What would Grandpa say!” Bubba hung his head sadly and Chop just rolled his eyes.  Drayton sighed, “Alright, Chop-Top, take this one away,” he thumbed towards the DJ and glared at the his second-youngest brother, “Then we’re going to see this little cock-monger of yours!”
After a more than awkward first meeting with the eldest of the Sawyer clan in which he called you every name under the sun, you were brought to a large dining table and were sat across from Vanita. She briefly stopped screaming when she saw you and sobbed, realizing the fate she had doomed you and L.G. to. You tried to comfort her but there was only so much you could say over Drayton raggin’ and monologuing his totally square life story. “There’s Grandpa now!” he crowed as the two other Sawyers brought in what appeared to be a decrepit corpse in on a throne like dining chair. As Drayton began rambling again about the man “Grandpa” used to be, you noticed that the thing in the chair wasn’t a corpse at all! “Refracto…” you muttered as you watched the ancient man move, albeit slowly. The man who had captured you, “Chop-Top” you had heard the others call him, kept scrambling around, alternating between taunting Stretch and nuzzling against you. “Get the hammer!” the cook squawked and the hippie scampered off. Drayton ordered them around, yelling to “Just get on with it!” and soon they had a small tub set down in front of the old man.
  “Wait, uh,” Chop spoke up, “Maybe we ain’t g-gotta kill ‘em.” He looked nervously back to you, “I mean, at least n-not both of ‘em. Mine ain’t gonna be an-any trouble. A-And I’m the one bankrollin’ this place! I should decide!”Drayton sneered, “I can’t believe both you shit-heads are gonna pussy-out on me at the last minute. You know the country’s in the shitter when a man can’t even rely on his own family! The plight of the American businessman! Quick fucking around and bring them down!”  The two younger brothers looked at each other, neither moving. Slowly, the larger one, Bubba, hung his head and starting walking towards Stretch who started screaming again, pleading for him to let her go. You were too scared to scream and could only watch as Vanita was dragged from her chair and made to bear her head over the bucket at Grandpa’s feet. Chop muttered something into your ear about “Not tripping” and “Just letting him handle it.” But something told you it was gonna take a miracle to get you out of here alive.
  That miracle came in the form of a disembodied voice singing “Bringing in the Sheaves.” From your position at the table you couldn’t really make out what was happening, but you could hear Drayton talking to someone, apparently some competition in the catering biz? You heard Stretch pitifully say “Lefty…” Wait, wasn’t Lefty the name of the guy you two were waiting at the station for? Before you could even call out to him, everything exploded into chaos. All you could hear was chainsaws revving and the screams and yelling from the whole family. You saw Stretch run past you into the tunnels, Chop-Top hot on her heels. Bubba was chainsaw-dueling with a guy who looked like a love-child of  Sheriff Buford T. Justice and Major Kong. Drayton was nowhere to be seen. 
In all the excitement, they seemed to have forgotten about you. You seized your chance to escape, wiggling out of the ropes Chop-Top seemed to have purposely tied a little loose.
  You made your way through the seemingly endless tunnels, finally making your way outside. As you finally reached the surface, you realized night had turned to day. Exhausted on all levels, you collapsed inside the metal tunnels leading to the main body of the park. You heard the sound of explosions, chainsaws and screaming in the distance, but they barely seemed to break through the daze you were in. You had no idea how long you sat there, but you were suddenly broken out of your stupor by a gangling shadow looming over you. 
You looked up, only to see the grinning mug of that crazy Head you just couldn’t seem to lose. He looked more than worse for wear, blood dripping from his neck and a gaping hole in his abdomen. Despite everything he had put you through, you found yourself still feeling pity for him. “Hey, rock b-bunny,” he crowed weakly, “Figured you’d blown this p-pop-stand.” You couldn’t bring yourself to respond, instead leaning in to look over his wound. He brushed you off, “Don’tcha’ know?” He grinned, “Sawyers are like cockroaches, it’ll take more than a lil’ rough stuff and and a wayward Smokey to take us down. Now c’mon.” He held out a hand to help you up, then started off back towards the park, “Let’s go round up the rest of ‘em.” You took one last glance behind you towards the horizon, your freedom, the rest of the life you had always believed you wanted…then turned back and followed your new life into the caverns. Into his, and now your, hell, or perhaps…heaven.
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write-havoc · 5 years ago
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Of Sons and Daughters Ch 11
Summary: Arthur is tasked by Dutch to watch over a young woman who had just lost the last member of her family she had left. That young woman just so happens to be the daughter that Dutch told no one else about.
This is a non canon AU with no major spoilers
Fandom: Red Dead Redemption 2
Pairing: Arthur Morgan/Original Female Character
Status: Ongoing
Contains: swearing, PG 13 smut
Intended for readers 18+ of age only
Masterlist in my bio
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Several days pass as the gang comes to terms with Micah’s betrayal to them. With what Charles had told them about what he had seen, it’s evident that after Micah’s plan to get Dutch out in the open to meet with Colm had failed, he went out to that train station to telegraph Milton. Once the agents arrived, Micah must’ve told them Dutch didn’t take the bait. Milton’s impatience apparently had gotten the better of him because he then decided to just raid the camp instead of going about contriving another plan to get Dutch away from everyone to arrest him.
During these days, Emmeline settles in more. She tries her best to do jobs around the camp at Shady Belle. Laundry, mending clothes, washing up, none of it is really new to her, anyway. Once the sun goes down, she starts to help Lenny in his pursuit to teach Sean how to read. The Irishman seems more inclined to listen to Emmeline than Lenny, so he actually makes progress.
“The... dog... j-j-“ he reads along as he points to the words on the page with his finger.
“Sound it out,” Emmeline says in support.
“J-um-p-ed. Jumped!” he calls out excitedly. “That fucker jumped !”
Emmeline and Lenny both laugh at his reaction.
“You’re doing good,” she comments. “See, you’re getting it down. You’ll be reading novels in no time.”
Karen, who is close by, decides to see what all the hubbub is about. “Who jumped?” she asks as she comes to stand by Sean.
He points to the illustration of the little puppy in the book that Lenny had borrowed from Jack. “The dog!” He follows the words with his finger again as he reads. “The dog jumped!”
“You can join us, Karen,” Lenny mentions. “If Sean can learn, you surely can, too.”
She thinks it over a minute. “If I learn to read, Mary Beth will be shoving those stories she writes in my face all the time askin’ if they’re any good.” She moves to sit down next to Sean. “But I guess I ain’t got nothin’ better to do right now.”
Soon enough, Abigail and Jack join in on the lessons, though Hosea has to be recruited to help out with the teaching. It helps to keep spirits high in this time of uncertainty. Arthur often sits next to Emmeline as she continues to help, though most of the time he’s sketching in his journal instead of helping out.
“Who taught you to read, Emmeline?” Abigail asks one of the days they’re all sitting around the fire.
“Both my parents loved books,” she answers. “They didn’t send me off to school, but they both taught me all they knew. Taught me to read and write. How to add numbers. Even had me read some history books, too. They wasn’t really educated, but they did their best.”
“Well you’re loads smarter than Arthur, here,” Sean calls out at Arthur’s expense. “How’d you manage to convince a sweet girl like that to be with you.”
Before Arthur can respond, Emmeline steps in to defend him. “He didn’t have to convince me. Arthur is sweet and kind. And he ain’t dumb. He’s taught me a lot.” She looks over to Arthur and smiles.
“Ain’t that sweet!” Sean razzes him further.
Karen slaps the back of the Irishman’s head. “He’s a better man than you, Sean.”
“Aw, you love me. Give us a kiss.” He leans into Karen, his lips puckered.
“I don’t love you, you pig!” Karen calls out, but everyone knows she’s not serious.
About a week after they had moved into Shady Belle, Arthur finds Dutch standing at the back of the property looking over the swamp.
“Whatcha doin’, Dutch?” he calls out as he approaches.
The older man doesn’t even turn around, though he does answer. “Watching the alligators,” he says with very little emotion in his voice.
Once Arthur comes to stand next to Dutch, he can see blood in the water and an alligator moving around underneath it. “They fighting or something?”
“I watched a boar walk over to the edge of the water,” Dutch starts, eyes still fixed on the swamp. “I watched as one of those gators silently swam up to it, the boar none the wiser. Only took but a few seconds and that gator had that boar in its mouth, dragging it in the water as its meal.”
“Shit,” is all Arthur can think to say.
Dutch lets out a sigh. “All this time, I thought I was the alligator. Turns out I’m the boar.”
Arthur could tell that Dutch hadn’t been taking Micah’s betrayal very well. He had shut himself in his room, barely talking to anybody, which isn’t normal for him. This is actually the first time Arthur had spoken to him in days.
“Now come on, Dutch,” Arthur replies gently. “You ain’t no boar. You’re a man. And men make mistakes on occasion. I know that more ‘n anyone.”
“I’ve been thinking about... him ,” Dutch says, refusing to use Micah’s name. “About everything he’s done. Everything he’s said.” He lets out a heavy breath and casts his gaze to the ground in front of him. “He played me, Arthur. Like a fiddle. Told me everything I wanted to hear. Then he tried to get me to turn on you.” He finally looks over to the younger man. “And John. And Hosea. I nearly fell for it.”
“But ya didn’t.”
“But I nearly did. And everything I’ve been working for would’ve been lost .” He lets out a sigh. “I’ve just been trying so hard ,” he brings his hands up and clenches them into fists in front of him, “to hold onto everything. To keep everyone together. Not to fall into the trap of this...” he waves his hands around, “ civilization .”
“I know, Dutch. We’re still here. We’re still with you.”
Dutch turns his body to face Arthur and places his hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “But for how long?” He doesn’t stay to get a response, instead, walking past him toward the house.
Just a little while later as almost everyone is eating their supper, Sean calls out, “Hey, English!” in Arthur’s direction. Bill is walking next to him, which can mean nothing good, most likely.
Arthur lets out a sigh, causing Emmeline to chuckle beside him. “Yes, Sean?” he replies, already exasperated.
“Me and Bill was ‘avin a drink at some saloon in San Denis when we hear these two blokes talkin’ about some train that’s s’pose ta be carryin’ a lot of gold. Apparently they gonna be movin’ money outta the bank fer some reason.”
“And...?” Arthur says after a pause.
Bill jumps in. “We rob it!”
Arthur just shakes his head. “I don’t think we should be doin’ nothin’ like that right now. All the heat that’s been on us... we need to lie low.”
“Don’t we need the money, though? To get to Tahiti?” Sean asks, parroting Dutch’s words.
“Right now we gotta focus on not getting nabbed by them Pinkertons,” Arthur explains. “Micah don’t know where we went to, but I’m bettin’ he’s told them agents that we’d head further east once they ran us outta Clemens Point. If we do something big, they’ll know it’s us and it’ll only be a matter of time before they find this place.” Arthur scratches at his beard as he thinks it over. “We need to do shit much more quiet than we have been. No train robberies. No banks or stagecoaches. Nothin’ like that. We send the women into the city to pickpocket some rich folk. Javier and whoever else can rob homesteads as long as it’s quiet. Me and Charles can hunt and sell the pelts. It won’t get us a heap load of money, but it’ll make us enough to keep surviving. For now, anyways.”
Since Dutch is continuing to lock himself away most of the time, there’s no one else giving the gang orders but Arthur and Hosea. They are both in agreement that the gang needs to lower their profile for the time being. Especially until Dutch gets back to his old self. Arthur hopes he’ll come out of it, sooner rather than later.
During this time, Emmeline and Arthur try to figure out what it means to be in a relationship together. She, of course, has no experiences of her own to draw off of. Arthur isn’t much better, though, only having one serious relationship in his life. There are some awkward moments, usually coming in the form of Arthur being teased every time someone catches him even so much as looking at Emmeline. She shrugs it off, but Arthur usually has to try to hide his blushing cheeks.
While he’s never been very comfortable with public displays of affection, he makes up for it in the privacy of their own room. He’s tentative for the first few nights, but with Emmeline’s assurance that she is fine with his advances, he gets more comfortable with her physically. Before too long, he comes to crave the intimacy that she provides. He had long since accepted that he would never have another woman in his life, but then Emmeline showed up and awakened parts of him that had been dormant.
One morning, Arthur and Emmeline are cuddled up together in the small bed in their second floor room. Arthur has been working hard lately, so he decides to sleep in a little today. As for Emmeline, her pregnancy has continued to take the energy out of her, so some extra time in bed doesn’t bother her any.
“You awake, Emma?” he whispers when she stirs a little from her position lying on his chest.
“Yeah,” she answers sleepily without lifting her head. “But I’m still tired. I might just fall back asleep.”
He kisses her crown. “Go on ahead. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
Just a few minutes after she tries to fall back asleep, she’s overcome with a wave of nausea. Thankful that she decided to put her nightgown back on last night after she and Arthur were done with their “activities,” she runs out of their room to try to make it outside before the contents of her stomach could come up. Unfortunately, she just barely makes it out into the hallway before she starts to heave.
Abigail can hear the commotion from her room just a few feet away. She leaves Jack, still sleeping soundly, to see what’s going on. “Are you alright?” she asks Emmeline when she sees the mess at her feet.
Emmeline clears her throat and wipes her mouth. “I’m fine,” she says as she looks up to the other woman, unsure what else to say.
Arthur comes out of the room, having hastily put on his pants to cover himself. He shares a look with Abigail before he gently lays a hand on Emmeline’s back. “Why don’t you go back in and lay down,” he says to her. “I’ll clean this up.”
Abigail’s face suddenly lights up as she calls out, “You’re pregnant! I knew it!” She had her suspicions, but the fact that Emmeline had gotten sick and Arthur isn’t at all worried about it confirms what she had thought.
Both Arthur and Emmeline snap their heads to look at the other woman.
“Keep it down,” Arthur growls out.
Abigail lets out a scoff. “Ain’t nobody up here but Jack. And he could sleep through the end of the world. Even Dutch and Molly are out, for once.” She starts to vibrate with excitement despite Arthur glaring at her. “But it’s true, right?”
Emmeline smiles gently as she nods slightly. There’s no use in lying at this point.
Abigail can’t hold back the squeal of happiness as it leaves her mouth. The thought of having another child in the camp for Jack to play with swirls in her mind.
“Shh!” Arthur pats the air to try to calm her. “You can’t tell nobody, Abigail. Especially not the rest of the girls.”
“I wont.”
“Abigail?” John’s raspy voice rings out from the steps. “You alright up there? I heard you yell.” He starts to come up the stairs before she even answers.
Abigail runs over to meet her husband on the landing. “Emmeline’s with child!” she tells him immediately.
Arthur throws up his hands and rolls his eyes. “Abigail! I just told you not to tell no one!”
“John doesn’t count,” she replies as she leads John over to where the group stands.
“Is that sick?” he points to the pile a few feet away.
Abigail swats him on the chest. “Don’t worry about that! You’re gonna be an uncle!”
“Don’t tell nobody else,” Arthur asserts. “I mean it. Both of you.”
“Alright, alright.” Abigail turns to leave. “I’ll get a bucket to clean up that mess. Then we’re gonna talk all about this.”
John shakes his head and claps Arthur on the shoulder. “Looks like we’re more alike than I thought.”
Emmeline scrunches up her face in confusion at his comment. “What?”
“I knocked Abigail up with Jack on accident, too.”
Arthur shakes his head. “Shut up, Marston.”
She looks over to Arthur for a moment before turning back to John. “But you were happy, right?”
“Little Johnny Marston ran away. Like an idiot,” Arthur answers for him. “I won’t never do that.”
“I came back,” John defends himself.
“It only took four years for you to get your shit together to be somewhat of a father to the boy,” Arthur bites back sarcastically. He had always looked down at John for his decision to leave instead of accepting his role as a father. Now that he’s put himself in the same position with regards to an unexpected pregnancy, he’s focused on not repeating the younger man’s mistake.
Abigail reappears carrying a bucket and some rags. “Stop fighting, you two. You should be celebrating.”
“We ain’t ready to tell everyone just yet,” Emmeline comments. “So I think we’ll have to wait for any parties.”
“It’s your news to tell. But the second you do it, there’s certainly going to be a party.” Abigail bends down to start to clean the floor. “I suggest you nibble on some biscuits to settle your stomach, though. If you start getting sick all the time, people are gonna get curious and ask questions.”
Early one morning, Emmeline takes Abigail up on her advice. Once her stomach starts to roil, she sneaks out of bed quietly enough not to wake Arthur to head down to Pearson’s wagon in search for biscuits. The sun isn’t even up yet, so it takes her a few minutes in the dark to locate the small tin on the table.
After eating a few of the biscuits, she decides to head over to where Miss Susie is hitched at the edge of camp to visit with her for a moment.
“How ya doin’, girl?” she asks as she pats the horse on the neck.
Upon hearing a rustling behind her, she flips around just in time to see Kieran exiting his tent not far away from her.
“Miss Emmeline?” he croaks out, his voice still tinged with sleep.
“I’m sorry, Kieran. I didn’t mean to wake you. I honestly forgot your tent was over here.”
“That’s okay.” He moves to the other side of Miss Susie, petting her on the nose. “It ain’t too much before I’d get up anyway.”
“I need to thank you for taking such good care of her,” she says as she continues to stroke the horse’s coat. “I haven’t gotten the chance to take her out much lately.”
“She’s a real good horse. Very friendly. I must admit that she’s my favorite to ride out of all of them.”
She smiles. “Really?”
“Most of the other horses only accept one rider in the saddle. Miss Susie here don’t mind me taking her out at all.” He pats her neck. “I’ll get her a couple of carrots for a treat.”
He starts to move further away to where he keeps his supplies while Emmeline continues to pet her horse. Suddenly, there’s a scuffle and when she turns to look, she sees a man in a green vest grappling with Kieran, trying to pull him off into the woods.
“No!” she screams at the top of her lungs and instinctively runs toward the man that she realizes must be an O’Driscoll with what Arthur has told her about them. She doesn’t have any weapons on her and she’s only in her nightgown, but she doesn’t let that stop her from trying to help Kieran. Jumping on the O’Driscoll’s back, she forces one arm around his neck and tries to pull him away.
Unbeknownst to her, the O’Driscoll hadn’t arrived alone. His partner roughly grabs her by the shoulders and throws her off the first man and onto the ground hard. She’s stunned for a moment, but once a gunshot rings out, she comes to just in time to see the man on Kieran crumble to the ground.
With the O’Driscoll’s plan well and truly bungled by the surprise appearance of the raven haired woman, the remaining man can only think about making it out alive. He quickly pulls the woman in front of him up by the hair and holds her to his chest, using her as a shield.
“One move and she gets it,” he calls out to Bill, first and foremost, since he’s the only one close by with a gun. That’s not going to last for much longer, though. He can hear everyone else in the camp stirring at the noise. And with the sun starting to bathe the landscape with light, he no longer has the cover of darkness on his side.
“Let her go,” Kieran pleads.
The O’Driscoll knows he has to make a run for it now before he has more guns trained on him. He figures that the only chance he’ll get is if he kills the girl, catching them off guard enough to make his escape. He cocks his gun then a shot rings out.
Meanwhile, Arthur is pulled from sleep by the sound of Emmeline screaming “No!” It’s faint, but it’s like his mind is attuned to her voice. Without much thought, he grabs his gun belt and runs out of his room in only his union suit. As he’s running down the stairs, he’s bucking his belt around his hips and drawing his Schofield, ready for a fight. The sun is just barely up, but there’s enough light that he can see a man on the edge of camp holding Emmeline to his chest. Their right sides are facing Arthur so he gets a good look at the gun the O’Driscoll is holding to her head.
Arthur runs full bore at them. Without slowing even a little bit, he readies his gun to shoot the man behind Emmeline. Despite everything going on around Arthur, he somehow sees the small movement of the man’s thumb pulling back the hammer on his gun. Time seems to slow as Arthur lines up his shot to the side of the man’s head before he can fire his gun. Arthur wastes no time in pulling his own trigger, sending a bullet straight into the O’Driscoll’s temple, dropping him.
Emmeline thinks she’s been shot for a moment. She waits for the pain to radiate through her, but it doesn’t come. The only feeling she gets is the cool morning air rushing over her back, signaling that the man that had been holding her isn’t behind her anymore. Before she can turn to see what had happened to him, Arthur rushes over and turns her back to him.
“Don’t look, sweetheart,” he says hurriedly.
Bill’s voice calls out, “We got more bastards coming!”
Without a thought, Arthur picks Emmeline up, cradling her to his chest and runs back to the house. Gunshots start to ring out as he gets closer to the front doors. Before he can open them himself, Dutch bursts through them, both of his guns in his hands.
“Get her in here with the women!” he calls out to Arthur then starts shooting from the porch.
Arthur deposits her just inside. “Run upstairs to Abigail.” He places a kiss on her forehead then turns to go back outside.
Emmeline does as instructed and rushes up to the Marston’s room. She finds Abigail cradling a crying Jack to her chest on the bed.
“Get in here!” Abigail holds her free arm out to Emmeline and she huddled up next to the woman.
Though they’re about the same age, Emmeline allows Abigail to hold her as if she were her mother. She wraps one arm around Abigail’s back and places the other around Jack as an added layer of protection for him.
Outside, the firefight is intense. Round after round of O’Driscolls come at them. It has to be every single member of the gang, Arthur reckons. He sticks right beside Dutch as the man takes down his fair share of enemies. That is until he hears Sadie scream from behind the house.
“Go,” Dutch calls out unprompted. “I’ll cover you.”
Arthur runs around the house as Dutch takes down any men that might shoot at him. When he sees Sadie, she’s pinned down behind one of the buildings in the back. He fights his way toward her, then the two fight their way back out, clearing out all the O’Driscolls that had flanked the house. Soon, the gunshots fade as the few remaining enemies retreat.
Arthur doesn’t even give himself a minute to rest before he’s rushing back into the house and up the stairs. John is hot on his heels as he’s thinking similarly to Arthur in wanting to check on his family. Both men come through the door to the Marston’s room and see the women and Jack sitting on the bed, still cuddled together.
Upon seeing Arthur, Emmeline jumps up and runs over to him, enveloping him in a hug. “Are you hurt?” she asks into his shoulder.
“I’m okay.” He pulls back to look at her. “You okay?”
She nods, her eyes still watery with unshed tears. The battle had certainly shaken her up.
He pulls her back into him and cradles her head to his chest. “It’s alright. It’s over now,” he whispers to the top of her head. After a moment, he looks over to John, now sitting beside Abigail and Jack, his arm around them. “We need to get out of here,” he says suddenly.
John looks at him confused. “What do you mean?”
Emmeline backs up to look at Arthur as well. “Are they coming back?” She takes his statement as meaning that they need to clear out the camp again.
“No. I don’t know.” Arthur shakes his head. “I mean we ,” he gestures between himself and John, “should leave.”
“What are you saying?” John bites back.
“This life ain’t no place to raise a family, John. We all know that. Jack shouldn’t be raised like this.” He looks over to Emmeline. “No child should. Both of us need to seriously start thinkin’ about leaving.”
John stands with a huff. “All the shit you gave me for leaving and now you’re suggesting it?!”
Arthur takes a step towards the younger man. “You didn’t just leave us . You left them .” He gestures to Abigail and Jack. “Your responsibilities to the gang are one thing, but you left your responsibilities as a father. That’s what I gave you shit about. That boy needed a father. Still does. And this life more ‘n likely is gonna end in him losing you. Or bein’ an orphan.”
“Arthur’s right, John,” Abigail concurs as Jack still clutches his arms around her, though he’s cried himself out and is now falling asleep despite the voices around him. “We can’t keep doin’ this forever. Jack’s getting older and he’s gonna be aware of what we do pretty soon. What you do. He’s a good boy. Smart, you know. He could do so much more than either of us.”
Emmeline feels a bit like a third wheel in this conversation. Though, undoubtedly, she’s one part of the subject of the conversation, everyone else besides her is dealing with a history she’s not involved with. Arthur and John have lived together for over a decade as brothers, for lack of a better word. And Abigail has been with the gang for a few years as well. The decision whether or not to leave the group certainly must be a difficult one for them. The input of a person that’s only been there for a few weeks probably won’t be very welcome at this point, so Emmeline keeps her mouth shut.
John looks from Abigail to Arthur then flicks his gaze over to Emmeline. “You plannin’ on leavin’ with her?” he asks Arthur.
“Don’t have no plans, really.” Arthur runs his hand over his beard as he lets out a sigh. “That O’Driscoll had his gun to her head, fixin’ to shoot her,” he says as he gestures to Emmeline. “In one second she coulda been gone. I coulda lost that chance to...” he swallows roughly at the thought, “to be a father. All because of some old gang feud she ain’t had no part in.”
Not knowing what to say, Emmeline just takes Arthur’s hand in hers. Truth be told, she was specifically avoiding thinking about how close she came to death. And how close Arthur came to it as he battled outside. This whole situation is something she’s never had to deal with before.
Heavy footsteps echo in the hallway outside the room causing everyone to look in that direction.
“Arthur, John?” Dutch’s voice calls out as the footsteps grow nearer.
“In here,” Arthur answers.
A moment later, Dutch appears in the doorway, looking more lively than he has of recent. “Everyone alright in here?”
Everyone nods.
“Good,” Dutch continues. “No major injuries on our side. It seems the O’Driscolls plan was thwarted thanks to you, Emmeline.”
“Oh?” she replies. “I didn’t really do nothing.”
“You alerted us,” Dutch says, pride in his voice. “And Kieran told me you went after the man that attacked him. That was very brave.”
Arthur whips his head around to look at her. “You what ?”
“I just reacted,” she answers. “I saw someone hurting Kieran, so I tried to stop it.”
“You can’t do that,” Arthur asserts.
“Now, son,” Dutch interjects, “she most certainly saved that poor boy from a grisly fate. I think she deserves praise for that.”
Emmeline gives Dutch a genuine smile. Despite the fact that she hasn’t known the man that fathered her for that long, she’s not immune to his charms. Much like the way he’s fostered loyalty in Arthur over the years, she feels a sense of pride that the man is complementing her.
Arthur, on the other hand, is not happy. “I don’t think we should be encouraging her to put herself in danger.”
“It’s not encouragement, Arthur. Just acknowledgement.” Dutch pauses then lets out a heavy breath. “That’s not why I’m here, anyway. Javier caught one of the O’Driscolls before he could run away. I thought I could use you two,” he gestures to Arthur and John, “to interrogate him. See if he won’t tell us where that bastard Colm is so we can return his hospitality .” The word is laced with venom.
Arthur and John share a look before nodding.
“I gotta get dressed first,” Arthur says as he turns to leave with John and Dutch.
“Meet us in one of the buildings in the back,” Dutch calls out as he an John start to descend the stairs.
Emmeline follows Arthur over to their room. “Did you really mean all that?” she asks while he gathers some clothes from his trunk. “About leaving?”
He pauses his motion and turns back to her. “I’ve been scared since... the doctor told us we was gonna be parents, really. Scared what kinda father I’d be. Scared what Dutch is gonna say. Scared about it changing everything here, my whole life, everything I’ve ever known. But all of that weren’t nothing compared to how scared I was when I thought I was gonna lose the two ‘a you. And I don’t wanna leave you a widow, neither. We both need to get outta this. Together.”
She gives him a soft smile as she looks up at him. “That’s what I want, too.”
Over the last few weeks, Emmeline has come to care for the people around her in the camp. All she’s seen is people working together in a normal way, doing everyday things like tending the horses and cleaning up. But this burst of violence is unlike anything she’s ever experienced. She’s never been so close to gunfire, never seen anyone be fought with or shot. Now that she has, she wants nothing more than to never experience that again. If that means leaving everyone here... it’ll be hard, but she’s fine with it as long as she, Arthur, and the baby are safe.
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im-no-jedi · 7 years ago
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and now I’m going to answer some OC questions I reblogged a while back and never got around to doing until now LOL. these are gonna be for Fae first:
What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do? - not very long, she’s always gotta be doing something or she goes crazy LOL
How easy is it for your character to laugh? - VERY easy
How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?) - she falls asleep very quickly most nights, she’s just gotta put her head on the pillow and she’s out haha
How easy is it to earn their trust? - pretty easy, unless you’re a Galra :P
How easy is it to earn their mistrust? - if you do anything she deems out of line, you’re outta there buster
Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable? - she tries to adhere to most laws, unless she deems them inhumane. she’s very flexible though and will do as she’s told by her superiors 
What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling? - Shiro reminds her a lot of her brother, so she’s very attached to him. she has a lot of good memories of her brother, and Shiro will often trigger those memories for her. unfortunately though, whenever anything bad happens to Shiro, that also triggers memories of the day her brother was killed so...
What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child? - she was told early on that she would have to serve the royal family one day, despite how much she wanted to be a soldier in the Altean army
Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word? - LOL yeah, her and her brother pretty much said anything and everything to each other all the time, she learned all the words from him XD
What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them? - she doesn’t really tell lies, she’s very honest. she’ll only “lie” to keep a secret for a friend or loved one
How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)? - she’ll blatantly, but politely ask for clarification, she doesn’t mess around haha
How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach? - she’ll either ask someone nearby to itch it for her, or she’ll take the end of her sword and try to scratch it LOL
What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color? - well she loves the color blue, but she normally just wears her white armor all the time. she would look very lovely in blue tho :3
What animal do they fear most? - no creature frightens her
How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first? - she speaks very clearly and isn’t afraid to speak her mind (unless she thinks it’ll hurt the person’s feelings). she really only stammers a bit when she gets flustered around Keith LOL
What makes their stomach turn? - pointless deaths and stories of betrayals...
Are they easily embarrassed? - nope, not at all. again, she only gets flustered around Keith, but I don’t think she’d ever get outright embarrassed
What embarrasses them? - see above answer
What is their favorite number? - 5 because she loves the five paladins LOL
If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so? - she would say that romantic love is something you feel in your chest or your stomach, platonic love is felt in your entire soul :3
Why do they get up in the morning? - because her sworn duty is to protect Princess Allura at all costs
How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)? - she tries to brush it off and ignore it, but she’s actually fuming inside LOL
How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)? - she tries to be happy with what she has, but if she ever did get envious of someone, she’d just pout and whine a little about it :P 
Is sex something that they’re comfortable speaking about? To whom? - she’s only ever really talked about it with Allura, and she’ll talk with Allura about literally anything
What are their thoughts on marriage? - she would LOVE to get married someday, as long as she’d still get to serve Allura
What is their preferred mode of transportation? - whichever Lion Keith is piloting atm ;)
What causes them to feel dread? - whenever her loved ones lives are at stake
Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth? - no, she’d rather be told something straight to her face than sugarcoating it
Do they usually live up to their own ideals? - she tries to, yes
Who do they most regret meeting? - Zarkon...
Who are they the most glad to have met? - Allura and the paladins
Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke? - she loves to tell stories of the antics her and her brother used to get into together. her and Allura have some inside jokes too LOL
Could they be considered lazy? - absolutely NOT
How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt? - very hard, she blames herself for a lot of things... 
How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive? - she is the most supportive person you will ever meet :3
Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap? - her focus is solely on protecting Allura at all costs, she’s in no rush to settle down or anything like that
Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)? - she has a great memory, she just remembers things without any issues whatsoever LOL
What memory do they revisit the most often? - the day she became friends with Allura and also the day her brother died...
How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people? - she tries to see the good in all people, even the Galra to a certain degree 
How sensitive are they to their own flaws? - very much so, she refuses to have flaws of any sort and tries to ignore them
How do they feel about children? - SHE LOVES KIDS OMG
How badly do they want to reach their end goal? - she doesn’t really have an “end goal” aside from wanting to help take down the Galra Empire, her main focus will always be about protecting Allura
If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so? - uhhh she’d probably just laugh and say “what importance does knowing that hold? I like who I like, isn’t that enough?” XD
and here are the creator questions:
A) Why are you excited about this character? - she’s super fun and adds another layer to the Voltron cast in a positive way imo B) What inspired you to create them? - my initial OCs for fandoms always evolve from self-inserts, so this is just how she turned out! C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story? - not really, I knew I wanted her to be Altean from the start, so I just made her Allura’s bodyguard to make sense of why she’d be there at all LOL D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look? - I only really had issues designing her hair, but I’ve kept the same design for her that I initially gave her so yeah E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you? - oh yes, I’d love to be her friend, and I would hope she’d enjoy my company too! we’d just sit and laugh at everything together LOL F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)? - she makes me really happy, she’s such a fun character :3 G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most? - the fact that she bottles up all her negative feelings and emotions and doesn’t let anybody know when she’s struggling or going through a rough time :c H) What trait do you admire most? - she’s super confidant and physically strong, what I wouldn’t give for that haha I) Do you prefer to keep them in their canon universe? - yes, but she could fit into other similar universes, like Star Wars or Tron (especially if it’s an AU with the other Voltron characters) J) Did you have to manipulate or exclude canon factors to allow them to create their character? - well yeah, I mean, I kinda had to. her being another living Altean directly involved with Allura would change the canon a lot... not too much, but enough that it would be a noticable difference. I try to work all my OCs into the canon as best as I can without altering the story too much
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scarletjedi · 8 years ago
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Do all the fanfic asks you haven't yet! (And for ones that require a specific fic, go with your original stor ♡)
Cut for length
things that inspire you: Good writing in other people
things that motivate you: panic, fear, love
name three favorite writers: Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Gail Simone
name three authors that were influential to your work and tell why:  J K Rawling was a real inspiration as this book, loooooong ago, began life as a HP fanfic. Samuel Delaney was a major influence mostly because he was my graduate advisor and gave me some of the realist writing advice that I'm only now coming to understand. PG Wodehouse taught me how prose could be like poetry--and be cutting and funny at the same time. (Pratchett did the same thing, but I read Jeeves first)li>
since how long do you write? I’ve been writing since I was very wee, with a dedication to writing for publication since I was 16, and a dedication to improving my craft since I was 18 or so. 
how did writing change you? It gave me a greater appreciation of script, and a greater appreciation of the way language works. Anything other than that, I’m not sure because it’s been me for so long. *shrug*
I’ve already answered this :P
what time are you most productive? Morning, which means vacations are not productive because I sleep in. 
do you set yourself deadlines? Nope. When I do, I don’t meet them and it spirals. 
how do you do your researches? google, usually. For something more complicated, I have access to several different academic libraries :D
do you listen to music when writing? I do and I don’t. I do when I need to focus, and I don’t when I can’t focus. I try, and if it doesn’t work I shut it off. 
favorite place to write: My office
hardest character to write: My protagonist, Chris. He’s the main focus, so he has to be perfectly executed, and there’s a lot of pressure. 
easiest character to write: Jamie, his romantic interest. He sprang fully formed into my brain, and he’s a delight. 
hardest verse to write: 3rd? 
easiest verse to write: 1st!
favorite AU to write: TIME TRAVEL AU
favorite pairing to write: Jamie/Chris (my main pairing)
favorite fandom to write: right now, I’m diggin Star Wars - it’s been a love for so long. But I miss LOTR, and I’m trying hard to get the next chapter of WAMW out. 
favorite character to write: Katie, the protag’s little sister. (she’s 16)
least favorite character to write:  Pat, the dad. 
favorite story you’ve ever written: fanfic - Comes Around Again, though Old Man Luke is creepin’ in and I have a fondness for Pineapple. Original fic, I’ve got a porn ficlet called “Thanksgiving” that may see light sometime soon. 
least favorite story you’ve ever written: It’s not that it’s my least favorite, but I posted “Love Letters” before I was completely happy with it, and it twitches sometimes. 
favorite scene you’ve ever written: In fic: Bilbo recounting the Winter in CAA. In my book: interviewing The Beast. :D
favorite line you’ve ever written: “Everyone in the room wants to fuck me,” Jamie said airily, his smile sharp. “Lesser mortals use Tinder, now.”
story you’re most proud of: Comes Around Again, the BEAST
best review you ever got: I was told my fic, “Drowned in Moonlight” said *exactly* what someone wanted to say, they just couldn’t find the words. 
worst review you ever got: i was told CAA moving towards the movie ‘verse was lazy writing and they “thought better of me” 
favorite story/poem of another author: Sansukh - god, that last chapter killed me. 
hardest part of writing - getting it out initally. 
easiest part of writing - Revision
alternate title for (insert story title) - My book has had several titles, all terrible. It’s currently “The Beast” but it has been both “Weather Magic” and “Breaking” 
alternate ending for (insert story title) the original ending of the book involves a cross-country escape and a full-scale battle. it’s scaled back now, and better for it. 
alternate pairing for (insert story title) - there has never been another pairing for my original fic. Pineapple could also be Obi-Wan/Rex or Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon/Rex
single story or multi-part story? MULTI
one-shot or multi-chaptered story? MULTI
canon or AU? depends on the AU. GIVE ME TIME TRAVEL
do you reread your own stories? On occasion. sometimes, the story I really want, is the story I wrote. 
do you want to be published some day? VERY BADLY. 
which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series. I’d love to see my book on TV. My wife and I talk about fancasts all the time. I think Netflix could do it - they’d make it gay enough without the gratuitous violence (HBO). That being said, the fact that CAA wont be filmed PAINS me. 
one song that captures (insert story title): Uuuhhhh….
do you plan or do you write whatever comes to your mind? I write from an idea, whatever it is, then I plan a bit, then I write between main points. 
would you ever write a sequel for (insert fic title here) My original work is the first in a series. :D
do you write linear or do you write future scenes if you feel like it? I write out of order. Usually, I have an idea, then a moment later in the work (like the climax) that I write out, then i fill in the blanks. 
share the synopsis of a story you work on that you haven’t published yet: BOY DISCOVERS MAGIC IS REAL, the Gods are real, and the world is about to end. Also, he’s bisexual. 
share a scene of a story that you haven’t published yet: Meet my main boys:
Chris sighed, knocking his knuckles against the car window. “You gonna tell me where we’re going, yet?” he asked. Jamie tapped his lips with his finger, humming, and Chris rolled his eyes. “I will hit you,” he said, mild.  
“Sure, why not.” Jamie said at last, and ran his hands over his steering wheel in a quick, practice move. “We’re looking for Burnt Mill Road.”
“Oh, that’s not ominous,” Chris muttered. He squinted to try and make out the writing on the street signs as they passed, but was hard to see; Mid-August rain had soaked the roads, and now it rose as a lingering, ground-hugging fog. That, combined with what felt like two-hundred percent humidity, meant that the letters of the street signs blurred in the headlights and didn’t come into focus until just as they were passing by.
Jamie grinned, his dimples casting shadows in the scruff on his cheeks. It was too short for a beard, but Jamie made sure to keep the edges trimmed like the vain peacock he was. Fuck him, if it didn’t look good on him. Adult. “Are you scared?” Not that he acted like one.
“No,” Chris said, strangled, and he winced. He wasn’t, really, but there would be no way of convincing Jamie that when his voice cracked. He cleared his throat. “How many time have we done this shit? Have I ever been scared.”
Jamie barked out a laugh. “Every. Time.”
Chris sighed. Every. Single. Time. “I’m not scared, I’m cautious.”
“Uh huh,” Jamie said dryly, chancing a glance over at Chris. “Did caution check the flashlights three times? Did caution make me wait half ’n hour while his phone charged?” HIs voice dropped, like he was in on a secret, and he glanced down at Chris’s lap. “Is caution wearing your lucky underwear?”
Chris’s mouth twisted, and he sucked on a tooth. “It’s practical,” Chris ground out.
“You fucking are,” Jamie said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you just admitted it. What’s practical about lucky underwear?”
“Not that!” Chris said, rolling his eyes. He was, in fact, wearing his lucky underwear. They were comfortable, okay? But there was no need for Jamie to know that. “I meant the phone.”  
“Yeah,” Jamie snorted. “If we get a flat tire, not for ghosts.”
Chris looked out the window, conceding the point. He folded his arms. “How do you even know what underwear I’m wearing?” he grumbled.
Jamie sighed, overly put-upon. “Hello?” he said, sing-song, and rolled his hand to gesture at himself. “Gay. What do you think gay-dar is?”
“Knowing who in the room would fuck you?” Chris offered, shooting Jamie a lopsided grin.
“Everyone in the room wants to fuck me,” Jamie said airily, his smile sharp. “Lesser mortals use Tinder, now.” Chris laughed, finally, and Jamie’s grin brightened.  
They drove on, and Jamie ended up behind a boxy old Chrysler, its back end covered in bumper stickers that had been bleached white in the sun. One of them was one of those ribbon magnets, but Chris couldn’t tell which cause it supported. Maybe it supported all of them, or none of them. Schrodinger’s ribbon. A street sign caught his eye, and he frowned.
“How many “Pine” streets are even in Jersey?”
“All of ‘em,” Jamie answered without pause.
Chris crocked his head, still looking out the window. They passed a sign that said Welcome to Atco. What was in Atco? He pulled out his phone, and typed “haunted Atco” in the search bar. Loading. Loading. Loading. Fucking 3G. “All of the streets are called ‘Pine’? or all the streets called ‘Pine?’ are in Jersey?”
Jamie hummed. “I stand by my earlier statement.”
“I request clarification,” Chris said, closing the app and darkening his phone.
“Request denied.”
“Ass,” Chris said, with a crooked smile.
“Ginger.”
how many unfinished ideas/stories are you working on at the same time?: 7!
three spoilers for (insert story title): The boy gets the boy, the Beast Speaks, HE CAN FLY
open question to the writer: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS MEANS I’VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR OVER AN HOUR!!
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