#post brought to u by that fuckin song being stuck in my head

[so-very-small]

thinking about a middle aged borrower carefully leaving the bed he shares with his wife. tiptoeing past his kids bedroom, through the walls, to the giant’s bedroom. they were lovers, once. the giant sleeps like he doesn’t have a care in the world. the borrower can’t bring himself to wake him, to talk to him. not since he got married. Lips of an Angel is the soundtrack

[nagdabbit]

a song that will dig into my bones (4/?)

Chapters: One, Two, Three, Five

words: 2.9k

jon moxley/bryan danielson, eddie kingston

(only slightly edited from the snippets that have already been posted. the day i run out of stuff to post and actually have to wait on myself to write is gonna suck for me)

also on ao3

.

It took him a couple weeks—a month and a half, maybe—to even notice. It didn't feel new, not really. It felt like a piece slotting into place. But even that wasn't quite right. Bryan didn't feel out of place in the shop to begin with. He didn't feel like an interloper, an intruder. Not to Jon. He barely noticed the change because it felt right to have Bryan there. 

Much like the rest of Jon's merry band of babysitters, Bryan tended to show up unannounced. Wandering through the alley door some Saturday afternoons, showing up with coffee and rolls on a random Thursday morning. He'd just sort-of appear in the shop, like he worked there or maybe never really left, already futzing with his calendar and looking through orders without even needing to be asked.

It was kinda nice.

He didn't loudly announce his presence, not after the first time. Hell, sometimes Jon didn't even realize he was there, not until he forcibly pulled Jon's chair away from the desk and thrust a sandwich into his hands.

He was quiet, where Eddie was loud, and was a little stoic, where Wheeler was all enthusiasm and sunshine. But he wasn't disruptive, not in any real way. He didn't try and change Jon's routines, didn't get in his way—deliberately or otherwise. He was a quiet kind of comfortable to be around.

Not that he couldn't be a shit-stirring little prick when he wanted. He absolutely could be, and he seemed to relish in it. But he tended to save that for people who weren't Jon.

Like Eddie, for example. Eddie was fair game.

He heard bickering before it really registered to him that he was listening to people. Familiar people, at that.

One voice was snotty and condescending, the other brash and gravelly, both of them growing louder by the second. He shoved his glasses up onto his head and pushed away from his desk, ambling toward the doorway. He trusted the poultice to do its job, because apparently he couldn't trust either of them to.

He found Bryan perched on the counter next to the register, calmly pretending to read, while Eddie was pacing as he absently sorted the carts into some kind of order. They were bickering, loudly, about the audacity of Bryan to bring his smug fuckin' face out here where he wasn't wanted.

Jon rolled his eyes and interrupted, dryly, "If you two are done, I got shit that needs shelving."

"Yeah, Kingston, get to work," Bryan snipped and went back to his book. The fucking brat. He wasn't even reading, he was just staring at the page for the sake of pissing Eddie off.

"Nope, you take classics," Jon announced, snatching the book from his hands. It was a ratty thing, something that had been brought in a few days before. A well-loved book on rooftop gardens. He'd kept it under the desk, thinking it might be useful one day, when he had the time to do anything with the empty rooftop upstairs. Not that he could keep any kind of plant alive, but he was willing to try. "C'mon, move your ass."

Bryan narrowed his eyes, "Who'll watch the register?"

"You got a good vantage from classics, and you'll hear the bell." Jon rolled his eyes and shoved Bryan off his perch. "C'mon, off you go, stop being a dick."

"I'm taking my break," he argued, but—didn't actually push back, he willingly went where Jon pushed him. Even Wheeler liked to fight back, sometimes.

Eddie squawked out a laugh from the other side of the store, "Ha! He still thinks he gets breaks!"

"He's right, breaks are for employees only." He gave Bryan a shit eating grin, just because he'd kinda been caught. Bryan was stuck, now. Had his own little home-away-from-home there, in the stacks. He couldn't back out, even if he thought Jon's jokes were stupid. 

Bryan grumbled and narrowed us eyes, "You're buying lunch."

"Sure, sure. Gotta earn that, though."

"Don't make shelves these out of order," Bryan threatened, claiming his own cart to drag off into the books. "I'll do it, too!"

"Just because you're not an employee don't mean I won't still fire you." It was a weak threat, but it made Bryan's lips twitch upward.

"I hear Barnes & Noble is hiring," Bryan shot back, unable to hide his small, sharp grin. "I hear they've at least got a benefits plan."

Jon pressed a hand to his heart, gave Bryan the most obnoxiously wounded look he could manage. "Words hurt, Bry."

He scoffed, but he still wore one of those little, smirking grins.

Eddie, when Jon turned to go back to work, looked disgusted. He raised his eyebrows at Jon, mouthing, "Bry?" at him. 

Jon shrugged at him, because even he didn't know where that came from. Eddie grimaced and flapped a hand at him, waving back toward his work. 

Yeah, not a thing was out of place. 

They didn't bicker loud enough to distract him, which was thoughtful of them. They still shot the occasional insult across the store—not that Jon really thought they’d actually stop—but they traded off customers without needing to argue about it, so Jon figured that was all the cooperation they were capable of. Besides, it was a funny soundtrack to have. All that squabbling.

When he'd got the call—that Mr. B was gone, that he'd left the shop to Jon, of all fucking people—and moved back, the place had been eerie and silent. It had been awhile since Mr. B was able to spend long days working, and the place showed it. It was fucking—awful. None of that warmth that Jon remembered. Just a cavernous shell of what it had been, enough space of all his guilt and shame to echo around in.

Now it was filled with laughter. Even when no one was there with him, it didn't feel empty or lonely or cold. 

He liked to think Mr. B would've been proud of him, what he made of the place. Hoped he would be, anyway. 

 .

 Bryan startled him out of his work, a hand heavy on his shoulder. "Hey, c'mon, come see some sunlight," he murmured, giving Jon a small smile. "I got lunch."

His eyes were—nice. Pretty blue, little slivers of gold. Still unnerving as all shit, but pretty. "Uh. I'm kinda busy."

"Uh huh, and it's 3 in the afternoon," Bryan said, dryly. "You haven't moved in at least four hours."

"So I haven't burned any calories," Jon argued, forcing himself to look away before he got distracted. It was always overwhelming, meeting Bryan's gaze. "Gimme twenty minutes."

"Nah, I will get a spray bottle, Mox, I swear to god," Eddie grumbled, and shoved Bryan out of the way. He gripped the back of Jon's chair and rolled him backwards out of the room. "It'll keep for twenty minutes."

"You don't know that."

"Nah, but I know you, and you wouldn't be letting me do this if it wasn't true." He paused long enough to smack Jon across the back of the head, then continued his trek. "So tough tits. It's time for lunch."

"You know, most people respond better to classical conditioning, than insults and force," Bryan mused, following along behind them. He had some of those stupid, infuriating look on his face. All kinda smug, full of silent laughter.

"You met this guy?" Eddie scoffed, "He ain't most people."

Bryan's expression widened into a smile, "Yeah, I know."

Jon was kinda getting used to that smile.

Eddie grumbled something under his breath and shoved Jon and his rolly chair into the space behind the counter. There was a whole break room and office in the building, but they never really used either of those for anything but storage. They all pieced together a much nicer space to sit and eat together.

There was a ratty, roadkill armchair Wheeler had dragged in one morning, way back when he'd still been just a part-timer, coming in between training and school. He found it on the way over, one of the many treasures left out of the sidewalk as students moved out at the start of summer. A week later, Eddie had added a small end table.

It kept on after that. There were easy chairs in the kids' section he'd set up, a few roadkill couches hidden in quiet corners, stools and desks hidden throughout the place. There was a stolen park bench Wheeler refused to give the story on, tucked away by the comics. Jon got the feeling it might've been mostly Chuck and Jim's fault, but Wheeler wasn't giving up anything. But there were a few stolen barstools, too, that Eddie refused to own up to.

And each one of them had been refinished and reupholstered by Jon himself. Because he'd learn any fucking new skill to avoid being the one who had to make smalltalk with customers.

It made the place cozy. Lived in. 

Eddie paused long enough to yanked the broken glasses off of Jon's face and drop them into the trashcan, then threw himself down into his new favorite spot, the cushy wingback Wheeler had brought in just a couple months before. Bryan chose the armchair to Jon's right. It wasn't a real comfy thing, but the seat was wide enough for Bryan to tuck his feet up under himself like he felt at home.

"I can't believe you're makin' me eat your fuckin' vegan shit," Eddie groused, glowering at the wrapped bundle Bryan tossed to him. "I get enough a'that shit from Ethan, man."

"You could've bought your own lunch," Bryan said, reasonably. Jon may have struggled to read people at the best of times, but he'd learn how to recognize Bryan's own brand of glee. Lips turned up to one said, eyes crinkling at the corners, gaze intent as he watched for the pay off of whatever he was trying to pull. "I asked if you had a preference."

Eddie just gave him a dry look. "Don't do that. Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you hid a fuckin' dog biscuit in here or some shit." He poked at the package, like he thought it might attack, but hunger won out. 

Jon's own sandwich was close enough to fried chicken that it didn't bother him too much. Texture wasn't quite right, and it didn't really taste like chicken, but—it was fine. Eddie kept watching him, between trading barbs with Bryan, like he thought Jon might have a real problem with it. Admittedly, he wasn't adventurous when it came to food, but—it could've been worse. At least there was nothing on it that he didn't know the name of.

If Bryan caught anything, he didn't say. Had it been the other way around, Eddie with his weird food hangups, he'd have needled just a little. Just because it was Eddie. Jon, though, seemed to be off-limits.

Jon relaxed and let their heated bickering wash over him. Mused on what he could do, in-between projects. There was an estate sale, out about halfway to Pittsburgh. The auctioneer called Jon up any time he had a seller with a lot of books. He had some special orders he should get to finding, rare books that didn’t usually wander into his hands without a lot of effort on his part. He needed to restock his supplies, too, before he ran out. Maybe, finally, think about writing up a new ad and getting someone hired. It’d make Wheeler relax, at least.

He tuned back in at a lull in their sparring match. Bryan was studying Jon, expectantly. Like he'd said something that hadn't been heard. Eddie was frowning, brow pulled low, eyes flicking between the two of them.

"Uh, yeah?"

Bryan's lip twitched, "I asked if you'd be working late tonight."

"Oh, ah. No." He willed down the heat in his cheeks, as much as he could. "Not, too late."

"So I should drag you out before midnight," Bryan joked.

He didn't know what Eddie was seeing, as he looked between them, but he seemed more grossed out than genuinely angry. He was territorial at the best of times, but this was different. Felt different, even to Jon.

Eddie seemed to find whatever he was looking for, and rolled his eyes. "Alright, I know when m'the third wheel," he grumbled, and threw his balled up trash at Bryan's face as he stood. He hooked a hand around the back of Jon's neck and smacked a kiss to his forehead, just like he always did. "M'gonna go bother Yoots, I'll see you tomorrow, Moxie. Danielson, see you fuckin' never."

"What, I don't get a goodbye kiss?"

"Not until they make a vaccine for whatever flavor of jackass you got. I ain't lookin' to catch anything from you." He gave Jon another of those raised-eyebrows-pursed-lips-head-tilt looks, before he turned and made his way out of the shop. 

"One day I'll be friends with him," Bryan murmured, thoughtfully, as he watched over the counter as Eddie ambled off down the sidewalk.

Jon snorted before he could stop himself. "No, you won't." 

"No, I won't, but it'll be funny to annoy him with attempted friendship." Shit-stirring pick. Jon was starting to enjoy having Bryan around so often. He glanced back at Jon, his gaze still so intent. Like being under a microscope.

He looked away, trying to ease that little itch of discomfort. If he could figure out where he took his many spare pairs of glasses were, he'd have something to hide behind.

"You don't actually like eye contact, do you?" 

Jon shook his head, "I hate it. I get the point of it, but it's—it's a lotta things."

He watched Bryan tilted his head a little, like one of those confused dogs. Trying to parse Jon's words. "There are a lot of reasons, you mean?"

"No, I mean—it's a lot. Eye contact. It's overwhelming, I guess."

Bryan hummed a little. "How so?"

"You know when you've got an itchy tag on your shirt?" he asked, thinking back on how he'd explained it to Eddie once, years before. "And it's just kinda overwhelming? Like it's the only thing you can feel. Like you can hear it, it's so itchy. Takes up all the room you got in your head, all your senses kinda dampened."

Bryan hummed again. He nodded at Jon, one of those encouraging kinda ones that Wheeler sometimes used on him. "And eye contact is like that? Loud and itchy?"

"Yeah. It's fine, sometimes. Doesn't itch as much if m'angry. Guess the angers a little distracting, or something." He huffed out some kind of chuckle, "That's probably not normal."

"There's other words for it, but—it's not not normal."

He felt himself make a face and gave Bryan a bland look. "You know, talkin' in riddles is even less helpful than you think it is."

"I'm not trying to be helpful," Bryan snipped back, swatting at Jon's shoulder as he stood and stretched. "I'm just trying to get to know you again."

And that was—something, wasn't it? They hadn't exactly been close, back in the day. They could work together just fine, they could hold a conversation, could stand to travel together if they got stuck riding to the next city together. But Jon didn't always offer a whole lot of himself up, and he didn't remember Bryan ever pushing. He could weasel out all kinds of information and secrets without his target realizing, he was a fucking tactician in and out of the ring. But he'd never tried that shit on Jon.

Must've been something to that. Must've been a reason. Maybe he just hadn't been interesting enough to hold Bryan's attention. At least, not until he'd disappeared. Then he'd been a mystery, a puzzle to pick apart and solve.

And maybe he wasn't giving Bryan enough credit; he hadn't, exactly, gone out of his way to get to know the man either. He could theorize about Bryan's motivations all day long, but that's all they'd be: theories.

"So," he began, pulling Jon out of his thoughts. "I've just been making you extremely uncomfortable every single time I try and talk to you, huh?"

He shrugged, "It's my hangup. Not like you knew."

"But I should've noticed sooner. And, Jon, physical discomfort isn't just a hangup. A hangup is—no, whatever, that doesn't matter. I'm not lecturing you." Bryan sighed, and gently kicked his foot against Jon's. "Next time something… itches like that, tell me."

"S'fine. It isn't like it's life-threatening, or anything like that." He shrugged again, struggling to sort through the words in his head. "It's—the feeling is bad, sure, but the situation isn't always. Getting itchy doesn't mean the conversation we're having is."

"But you're still itchy," Bryan countered, leaning against the counter. "You know you're allowed to feel comfortable, right?"

He frowned. "I am comfortable."

"Are you?" He didn't sound judgmental, but Jon had never been good at reading tone. "Are you comfortable? Or are you just so used to the discomfort that you've forgotten what it actually feels like?"

Which—well.

"Maybe it's not my place to say anything, but you don't have to suffer," Bryan said, his voice low and gentle and warm. He didn't push any further, though. He reached into the drawer, just to the left of the register, and handed Jon an unbroken pair of readers from within. He smiled, just a little quirk of his lips, and wandered away to keep shelving.

[stormyweaver]

Okay so... *ahem* I feel like so far, my lil’ fics I’ve posted have had a decent balance of snz + story, which I personally like to read when I browse through stories in general. But uh... if you’re looking for balance/canon stuff/awesome wordiness, this ain’t it lol. This is pure indulgence that I drummed up one night and swore I would never show anyone. Then I decided ‘Eh, maybe someone else might get a kick out of it’ so! Without further stalling, here’s some pre-season 1 Wa/lking D/ead featuring Rick and Shane during their police academy days. 

"C'mon man, quit fightin' it!" "Shade, I swear to God I'm gonna... g-gonna..." "Gonna sneeze again? Hell, blind man could'a told ya' that," While a grinning Shane leaned against the end of the bed, Rick reclined off the side, hands shakily hovering over his nose. He'd had a cold for the past three days, and it finally made a head the day BEFORE their fucking latest physical test was scheduled. He could deal with the fatigue, aches and general malaise - he’d pushed through worse - but did he really have to sneeze every other minute?! "Ugh, n'do, I'mb-- hih!" Rheumy eyes glazed over, close to slamming shut as his nose twitched, tingles running rampant along the lining of his sinuses. He could fight it, he could, he just had to concentrate... "Swear to God, man, you look like you're about to cum," That- that did it. "hhiiIh-- ihhTSCHH! Hih'TXSHH! iiHHSHH! ih'SHH! 'TSHH!" The fit landed into his cupped palms point blank, each one spilling out until his body figured itself satisfied. Groaning, Rick grimaced at the mess left behind on his palms, leaning over to pluck a tissue from the box on his nightstand. "I'b blamig' you for that," Meanwhile, Shane merely side-eyed his friend, a light smirk on his lips."Told ya'. Bless you, anyway, like - times five? Shit, never could keep count with you," Teasing Rick had to be his favorite pastime, even vying for first with boning the hot chick from the local bar on the weekends. He was just too easy to get under the skin of, especially with how pathetically miserably he appeared. Though, Shane couldn't deny that, this particular jabbing session had an underlying purpose. After spending the last couple of days with a walking germ incubator, he'd already begun to feel a sore throat coming on day two. Now, there was a distinct heaviness lining his lungs, a sluggish lag creeping into his bones, and damn if he didn't wanna claw his own sinuses out. But like hell would he ever let Rick onto that fact. No willingly giving ammunition for being harped on, it simply wasn't allowed between them. The sound of Rick gently blowing his nose caught Shane's attention, another chuckle passing through his lips. "Can't imagine how you're breathin' through all that gunk, man," Going back to his book, Shane flinched as he felt something soft, papery and distinctly damp land atop his hand. Gagging, he quickly flicked the used tissue to the side, "Oh, fuckin' sick, asshole!" Turning around to reach up, he grappled for Rick's flannel to pull him onto the floor, but the other wasn't going without a fight. "Take's one to know one!" he shot back, shifting so he was on his belly and pushing himself back off the edge and out of Shane's grasp. Even the slight tousle had Rick coughing into his fist, but Shane didn't back down. Closing his book, he crawled atop the bed, taking the momentarily preoccupied Rick and pinning him down -- wrists in hand, knees locking his legs into place. Grunting in defiance, Rick shot daggers at his friend, not enough to really show anything besides a large irritation, though. "Dick," Shane merely shrugged, leaning in a bit to sing-song, "Take's one to know one~" with a snicker. Rick could only roll his eyes, sniffling heavily as he-- Oh, shit. He was gonna sneeze again. Though it would have been the ultimate revenge, the merciful part of Rick really didn't want to stack up the odds of his friend catching this. After all, Shane fit the mold when it came to who was a bigger asshole between them. Couldn’t go ruining that dynamic. "Shane, lem'be up," he insisted, shifting his hips between Shane's fucking thunder thighs as he wrinkled his nose tight. "Uh-uh, not 'til you say you're sorry 'bout tossing your snot rag at me..." His tongue prodded the inside of his cheek, "...aaaand you admit that I'm better at puttin' together a Remington. 'Cause you know it's the truth," Snorting, though Rick couldn't identify if it was indignant or reflexive, he began to squirm in earnest, shaking his head. "I-I'm serious, man, lebbe up, I gotta..." Rick felt his lungs begin to spasm, breath catching on the last word. Still clueless, Shane rose a brow at his friend, "What’s more important than tellin’ me I’m right? Nice try, but, nah. Jus' say it an' I'll let ya' go, brother," A sudden huff exited Rick's lungs, and this time his eyes rolled up in preparation of the sneezes just itching to barrel out of him. Shit, he had to move--! "S-Shane, I... I gotta... hiihhh!..." Oh, screw it, he wasn't gonna go through this again. Maybe it was time for a little bit of payback for all that teasing. It seemed by the time Shane had put two and two together, brows raising just as Rick tilted his head back, flared nostrils exposed and damp. "hh'ITSHH'uh! ih'TSHHH'uh! hih'ISHHU!" Whether it was shock or slowed reflexes, Shane got hit smack in the face with the first one, raising an arm to shield himself from the next pair. He groaned in tandem with Rick, who allowed his head to fall back with a thick snuffle. "Ugh, damb that felt good," and a mildly satisfied smirk. Wait, his hand was free-- YES! Ignoring his streaming nose with another sniffle, Rick took Shane's momentary stunned state and flipped him onto his back, reversing their position in under two seconds. "You fuckin'--!" Shane started, attempting to break free from Rick's grasp, but even with a cold the man still knew how to pin someone down. Nostrils flared, Shane sighed and glanced off to the side, swearing again before peering up at Rick with a grimace. "Seriously couldn'ta warned me before ya' sprayed all that shit on my face?" A scoff flew past Rick's lips. "I tried! You wouldn't listen, stubborn ass," Sighing, he glanced down between them before giving Shane an exasperated look. "What, you wanna get me back?" Well... maybe it was kinda too far. Definitely gross. Shane had asked for it, but, Rick honestly hated seeing that hurt puppy dog look on the others face. Damn struck sympathy chords. "... Alright here, you can punch me in the arm, alright? That make ya' feel any better?" Before he could get an answer, Shane had been silently fighting an internal battle of his own. While Rick tried and failed miserably to stave off his fittish sneezes, Shane had actually been doing a fair job of ignoring the tingling within his own crooked nose. But with all the rough and tumbling, and surprise from being sprayed in the face, tingling had morphed into an all out itch. His expression was already going slack, eyes lidded as his lips parted to suck in air so as to fuel the inevitable sneeze. Rick, knowing that expression all too well by now, groaned and tilted his head to the side. "Jus' make it quick, man," Shane managed to gasp out a chuckle, bunching his nose up and down as the tickle worked his sinuses. "T-tryin', man," Fuck, he had to sneeze so bad, why wasn't it coming out?! He sniffed, heavily, feeling his chest expand beneath Rick -- and then nothing. Groaning, he squirmed a bit under Rick, his left leg beginning to job from the anxiousness of waiting. "Fuck, man, i-ihhh... i-it won't come out!" He gasped in disbelief, feeling ridiculous as his expression twisted all from a stupid tickle in his nose. Oh. Oh, geez. Rick glanced back to Shane in a mixture of awkwardness and pity - he knew how much a stuck sneeze sucked ass. And as much as his friend deserved at least a part of this, he wasn't a complete jerk. "Alright, alright hold on," Letting go of his wrists, Rick leaned over and yanked another tissue from the box, trying to ignore how... weird it felt, having Shane kinda writhing underneath him. "Tried this the other night, an'... look, it's weird okay?" He sighed, fingers twisting the tissue until it reached a fine point, "But it works so, jus' shut up and lemme help ya'," Shane wasn't about to say no - he'd wanted to sneeze in the first place, now this was just getting ridiculous. "I-I'd try snortin' p-pepper at tthis point," But, he reckoned a tissue would be a lot less painful. He tried not to tense up as his friend brought the implement to his nostrils, but he couldn't help seizing up once it slid past the rim. "huuhh--uhhh-uuUUH--" Still, nothing but build up, and he let out an audible groan. Rick tried not to wince at his friend's obvious discomfort, biting down hard as he attempted to wiggle the tool deeper into his nose. "Jus' try and relax, s'what I had to do. Uh... t-think of somethin' that makes ya' sneeze. Like that one girls perfume, last month, remember? Shit, thought you'd just about sneeze out the entire club that night, firin' one after the other. Think'a that, okay?" Oh God, that... Shane could recall with almost perfect clarity that night, not too long ago. Whatever cheap, heady scent the girl had on, it did NOT agree with his sinuses. Shane had little problem sneezing then, barely able to get a word in-between, and Rick all but led him out into the night air. But, it stuck with him, all over his clothes, his hair... so tickly... and he'd been so.... so fucking sneezy... "Hhhhoooh God, R-rick...! T-t-think it--  think it's wuhh-huh! w-workin'..." Shane's head had tilted back as far as it could go, and this gave Rick better access to really work at his nose. He wiggled the tissue,  giving twists as he slid it in and out of his friends nostril. Just seeing the way his expression was falling almost made Rick's own nose twinge in sympathy. "Uhhh-UHHH---!" He'd hit the spot. Rick assaulted the area as best he could, hand clenched onto Shane's shoulder as he encouraged him. "Jus' ooone more..." With that, he flicked the spear, twisting it twice before sliding it out, slowly, from Shane's nose. And that seemed to do it. "huuhh--hHHUUUH---HHH! HH! HHHUURRRUUSHHHOOO!" Shane finally released, so powerful a sneeze that he rose and bumped his forehead against Rick's with the force of it. "Ghh--!" Rick staggered backwards, falling back onto the bed with a hiss as his fingers rose to massage his temple. "Shit," he chuckled, cracking an eye open to glance at Shane, "Damn, when I said fire, I didn't mean liter-- Oh..." Anyone could tell by the hazy desperation on Shane's expression that he wasn't yet finished. Hitching softly, he brushed the knuckle of his index finger against the tip of his nose, a shudder running down his spine before he sneezed again, openly. "hhHUURUSHHHH'UHHh! hHHAHHH'KSHHH AAHHH'SHHH'huh!'hue... Ohhh, fugck," Shane moaned, ignoring the ache in his head in favor of massaging the sides of his nose. It still felt like he could sneeze his brains out, but a little less insistent than before. He sniffled, yes, full on sniffled, feeling tears trickle from his eyes and sighed. "... So, uh... think ya' mighta' got m'be sick," he mumbled stuffily, sniffling again and scrubbing at the side of his nose with a finger.

Rick could only huff out a congested sigh of his own, gazing at his friend with a small, apologetic smile as he passed him the box of Kleenex. “Misery loves company,”

[polygarnstars]

part 1: 4, 12, 15, 18, and 19

If you think I’m going to have common sense and not answer all of these in a single post, I have Bad News lmao

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you? Smart, mostly. “Gifted”. This very much Did Not Last lmaoooo

12. name of your favorite playlist? I literally never make playlists I’m a stupid fuck who uses their spotify premium to skip freely through all my thousands of liked songs on shuffle until I find something I want to listen to lmaooooo (Having said that: Rey and I put together a playlist for some characters we were entering a contest to win last fall which I titled Story and Song after the TAZ arc and also because we wrote Way Too Much for it and I’m Very Proud Of That)

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment? Okay upon reading this I initially genuinely couldn’t remember any of the books I read in school because for the last several years of my schooling I just fuckin Sparknotes and TV Tropes-ed everything lmao... having said that, I do remember enjoying Maus! It was neat having a graphic novel assigned amongst all the “literary classics” that I couldn’t sit through a sitting of without falling asleep, and it may be the furry in me but the depiction of the characters/people as animals was Good :0c See, if all history was depicted with methods like this, I’d maybe actually be able to remember it ghfdjhgjfkdl

18. ideal weather? Depends on the day, but generally: Between like 65-80°F, not humid, not a lot of wind, and either sunny, partly cloudy, or drizzly but not outright storming. Basically decent temperatures without feeling like I’m walking through soup because of the humidity and weather that’s not completely gray and boring. Aka what Maine basically never is lmaoooo

19. sleeping position? I change positions every five minutes I swear to god (don’t take that out of context gfhdjbhvjd). Usually with at least one arm draped over a pillow that is Definitely Not Being Mentally Portrayed As A Character I Like To Supplement The Fact That I Did Not Get Enough Affection To Be A Functional Adult As A Child ghfdjknbhgfjdk

21. obsession from childhood? bold of you to assume i don’t still obsess over nintendo games (and just video games in general tbh)

23. strange habits? OKAY I COULDN’T THINK OF ANYTHING FOR THIS AT FIRST BUT I HAVE ONE NOW: MIDNIGHT FRIES

28. five songs to describe you? Speeding - LightsDaydreaming - ParamoreMusic - Mystery SkullsNo Lullaby - SIAMÉSLonely Dance - Set If Off+Bonus because it came up on Spotify while I was shuffling for songs for this and it’s a Mood: Pineapples Do Not Belong on a Pizza - Vargskelethor

29. best way to bond with you? I don’t know I usually just scream about ocs or video games with people and suddenly it’s been a year??? @riskreyes how has it been a year since we started talking but also how has it only been a year??? Wild bvhfdjkbhvgfjdk

30. places that you find sacred? Lmao I’ve never had anywhere like that really. Need a goddamn lock on my door :p I guess... the woods by my house? As a little kid before things got shitty my neighbor’s cousin or niece or something would go out there wandering around catching frogs and stuff in the spring or almost falling into the frozen streams during winter. When things started to go to shit in my life as a teenager I would hide out there to get away and nobody would find me. I haven’t been recently but the last time I did my friend and I walked along the train tracks and dove off into the woods by the side to avoid the amtrak coming by, it was great lmao. Uhh, other than that... I dunno, Boston and New York and New London all make me feel good to visit. Probably mostly because during those trips I don’t feel trapped in a dying land like Maine feels like bgvhfdjkhvgfjd

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names? ......my entire wardrobe is my work outfit, excessive graphic tees, and jeans. So uhh... I dunno. I guess my NWTB shirts are pretty rad, I’d kick a dude’s ass wearing Nate’s merch

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head? if i have to see another ad for some fuckin branch of the us military while i’m just out here trying to watch people play video games i swear to god-

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school? Oh boy I don’t know how weird these are but do you want a list??? I can give you a list hang on- In 4th grade we had a day of class where we all just had a party and ate chips and salsa and stuff because the pats won the super bowl and our teacher was Obsessed- In middle school my math class started working out of college textbooks, which is a bit much when you’re 11, advanced classes or no. Yet somehow none of the other students had any problems with this- Also in middle school, the school counselor really wasn’t very Good at his job so I usually just ended up playing Rock Band in his office instead of talking out any of my Many, Many Problems. I played the drums, for the record- Also in middle school, one time I straight up fell down a flight of stairs? Like, a full flight of stairs. Fuckin somersaulting down the stairs. The binder I was carrying broke open, papers went everywhere, my arm got cut open somewhere along the way and started bleeding. I get to the bottom, the other students are staring at me in horror, aforementioned counselor fuckin steps out of his office which is, of course, right at the bottom of the stairs, all concerned because what the fuck a kid just fell down the stairs, right? And so I, laying on the floor disoriented and laughing, declare, and I quote: “That was fun, let’s do it again!”- THE MOTHERFUCKING MAC AND CHEESE MUFFINS IN HIGH SCHOOL. Macaroni and cheese baked into the sweet batter of a muffin. I refused to touch the stuff but a friend of my did and it was bad enough he had to go to the trash can and fucking empty his stomach in it.- SAID FRIEND ALSO MANAGED TO GET A CARTON OF MILK THAT EXPIRED A MONTH BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED AT THE START OF ONE OF OUR YEARS IN HIGH SCHOOL and if I didn’t trust cafeteria food before that sealed the deal on me Never Trusting It Again- OH BUT SPEAKING OF CAFETERIA FOOD one time in the old school before the renovation, in like freshman year I think? I laughed so hard a piece of spicy chicken strip flew up my windpipe and got stuck in my nose and it was too big for me to snort out so I had to suck it back down and for the rest of the day all I could smell was burning- ON ANOTHER FOOD RELATED TOPIC down in the library I was on my iPad and 3DS because I had Long Since Given Up On School and some asshole dudes threw a rotting orange at me and it splattered all over the screens of both? So I picked up the remains and chucked it back at them and yelled “Do you wanna fucking NOT?” and they all ran off. The librarian heard me yell and saw me throw the orange back at them and she just didn’t give a fuck lmao- The librarians at my school were cool as shit really during one of our years we had to do x hours of volunteer work so I did some adjustments to the library catalogue for mine but the thing is I was fast enough at it that there really wasn’t enough to fill up my required hours so instead of giving me more to do they just sort of let me and my friends hang out playing Yu-Gi-Oh and called that good lmao. (For the record I only had one starter deck so I let my friend pick half of the cards and I would use the half she didn’t want. I managed to fuckin WRECK her with throwaways it was Iconicque)- OKAY ONE LAST LIBRARY STORY on the last day of finals I was hanging out in one of the smart tv rooms in the library right? My last finals weren’t for a few hours and lord knows I wasn’t gonna study, ADHD ass couldn’t do that and I’d already given up on school lmao. So I fucking... I brought my Wii U to school, hooked it up to the smart tv, and just started playing Splatoon there in the library. One of the librarians walked past to check on everyone, stopped at my room, watched me play for a minute (I noticed her and just sort of nodded and waved like ‘Sup’ so she Knew what was going on), and then just LEFT. Like, she didn’t give a fuck. Shoutout to the librarians, the Chillest- ALRIGHT LAST STORY LAST STORY I straight up never got all the credits I needed to graduate lmao. I was missing half a credit but they let me go anyway and to this day I cite the reason as being my high scores on the SAT/PSAT? I was the first student at the school in like, a decade, to have gotten an award from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for my performance on them, and I guess they must have thought that me failing to graduate on time would look bad on them because, uh, yeah, it would, if people found out their teachers couldn’t handle a ~smart kid~ to the point that they did poorly enough to not even graduate with the rest of their class nobody would be willing to send their kids there lmao. And that’s the story of how I graduated when I wasn’t technically supposed to!!!

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have? That’s a good fuckin question hey shit memory what was that thing that made us laugh so hard we couldn’t breathe again?...Don’t remember? Yeah I thought so lmaoI dunno, probably a joke in some let’s play? Or... god. Now that I think about it was probably the Slicer of T’pire Weir Isles moment actually. Holy shit, that was good.

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried? That I’ve ever tried? Jesus, I dunno, I have issues with texture more than flavor. I Refuse to eat my mother’s stuffing because it’s literally just soggy ass bread. In terms of pure flavor alone? Her shepherds pie. It’s just... there is no flavor. It’s like eating cardboard. I’m begging you, De, use seasoning. If I ever have to eat shepherds pie that just tastes like tin from canned peas and vague hints of unseasoned beef again I’m going to go on a murderous rampage.That said? F in the chat to Cameron for that mac and cheese muffin. Rest in pieces

73. favorite weird flavor combo? GVFHDJBVDN JUST GONNA MAKE ME SHARE THE DILL PICKLE/CHOCOLATE PUDDING PACK COMBO FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE HUH

93. nicknames? Gar, Garn, Lane, Bill, Master, Pants, Shortpants. The first three are self-explanatory, first two are shortenings of my name and then my masc/surname. The latter four come from usernames of mine - Bill from Bill Ciforce (If you stack a Bill Cipher on top of two other Bill Ciphers, you get the Ciforce), Master, Pants, and Shortpants from MasterShortpants in reference to one of Link’s nicknames in Skyward Sword

95. favorite app on your phone? Does the internet app count? No? Lmao. Spotify I guess :p Need me some Tunes

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #238

“crimson calligraphy written on the trees, creature from the grave, headless and hellbent for me.”

Have you ever played golf? Like, mini-golf. Is there a lake near your house? No, but there's two small ponds down the road. Have you ever made your own pizza or pasta dough? No. Have you ever watched an entire season of a tv show in one day? Uhhhhh how long are the first few seasons of Supernatural? Because Jason and I fucking binged it, and I honestly think that's partially the reason I don't even enjoy TV anymore. Like I liked the show, but jfc it became torture at some point. Not his fault at all, I just never pointed it out. BUT ANYWAY, it's definitely possible we did. What did you have for dinner tonight (or last night)? A ham and cheese hot pocket. Do your parents do things that ‘embarrass’ you? This is so mean, but my mom makes the cringiest jokes and such imo that gives me mad secondhand embarrassment. Do you like any Bon Jovi songs? Yeah, a decent handful. Who was the last person you were in a car with? Mom. Do you give people second chances? Ha, more than "second." How’re things between you and your most recent ex? We're totally great. Really as if we didn't even break up, considering I mean... nothing emotionally has changed. We just know that being together right now isn't the wise decision. It's frustrating as hell, though. We've already established we're not going to "wait" for each other, but neither of us are actively looking for a new partner, either. I want her, and from what I can tell, she wants me, too. We kinda just... don't talk about how unfair it all is anymore because we both get too upset. I was even supposed to go up there with her and her fam for her birthday and Christmas, but that's changed because she and I agree it's too soon after splitting, making it only more difficult to be around each other. We'd want to cuddle and kiss and such by instinct, so we're trying to wait until the wound isn't as fresh. Though honestly, I don't know how visiting period would go consider as said, there has been zero change in romantic attraction. Ugh yeah I just hope she figures out what she wants and all and we can get back together. Have you been to a wedding this year? No. I'm going to my half-sister's next year, though. Are you an aunt or uncle? Yes, and another niece is on her way. :') Do you expect to be married in the next two years? Probably not. What season is your birthday in? Winter. Have you ever been hunting? Fuck that shit. How often do you walk around barefoot? Always in my own house + in other houses if I'm allowed to take my shoes off. When you eat take-out, do you just eat it out of the containers provided? Usually, but it does depend on what food it is. Ex., those little boxes that have rice in them from Chinese places? I'm using a bowl. From the container is just messy. Would you need to sleep with someone before considering marrying them? Nah. Do you carry condoms? No. Would you date someone who has a hearing aid? ... Yes...? "No" is just... so rude?? Like that is something the person absolutely cannot help, nor is it a HUGE thing. It's just a hearing aid, dude. How organized are the files on your computer? Pretty decent. Folders and such. Could be better still, probably. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nah, not my scene. Have you ever brought home a stray animal? Pleeeeenty of cats. Are you physically strong? No, especially not my legs. I've got a newborn fawn's legs, jc. Still working on building the muscle back up. Would you date someone with braces? Oh my god, fuck off. Yes I would. I was the person with braces dating someone without them, so 1.) I obviously can't say shit, 2.) they're taking care of their goddamn teeth, and 3.) I dunno, wearing braces has no goddamn impact on personality???????????? Does scuba diving interest you? Not to an incredible degree, but it'd be cool. Would you ever ask your parents for relationship advice? Maybe for certain topics. Do you think people look up to you? Y'know that "oh no hunty WHAT is u doin" meme??? That's me if someone does. How often do you have trouble sleeping at night? *blinking* There are people who don't??????? Do you blush easily? Ohhhhhh yes. Do you get angry at yourself or at others more often? Hm. Not sure. Can you name five current world leaders? AHAHA nope. How many times have you had the flu? Zero. Do you think imagination is valuable? Oh hell yes. We would be NOWHERE CLOSE to where we are as animals without it. Who or what are you most impatient with? I don't know. When was the last time you mowed a lawn? Never. Have you seen all of the Star Wars films? No; seen only the first three with a friend and saw zero appeal. He didn't either. How about all of the Harry Potter ones, so far? I haven't even seen one. Jason and I started the first one together but. Paid way more attention to each other than the movie lmfao. What part of the newspaper do you typically enjoy reading? None. I collect my school's papers now though 'cuz I'm the photographer for it. :') Have you ever made a website, even a simple one? Four that I remember. The ancient and now-defunct ones were back when I think this site called Wetpaint was a host for simple sites, and a lot of us RPers posted our mob info and stuff there. I had one for Talons, one for Connrads. Ha, out of curiosity, I think I looked for them not all too long ago since I never actually deleted them, but I think the site itself was re-purposed. NOW, I have a Wix site for my photography, and then Kalahari Manor is a ProBoards-hosted site. Which was better: your childhood or your teen years? Jfc, childhood. Teen years were a chaotic and rancid cesspit in terms of mental health. What was your reaction to your first time falling in love? I truly imagine that realizing I was *in love* with Jason surpassed what a high probably feels like lmao. What does it take for someone to win your heart? I'm actually putting thought into this one and I think what appeals to me in a person most is just being friendly with a good sense of humor and obvious, shameless concern for others. AND JFC, HAVE EMOTION. Don't be a brick wall with me. Lacking an emotional side, positive or negative, is such a turn-off to me. I'm not attracted to robots. Being a gentle person is important, and for me personally, you need to actually act like you're into me. Not just between us. Do not make me a secret. AND BE CREATIVE AND WEIRD AND FRESH!!!!!!!!!!! There's nothing wrong with more "vanilla" people, but just for me myself, I need someone who stands out for some good reason. lol okay this answer's actually getting kinda long, I'll stop. There's a number of ways. What is one thing you would rather be doing? Ha ha yo real talk, Sara and I are getting all emotional and deep into our relationship, platonic or romantic, and I want me and her in her bed right now tearing each other up alsdkjfla;kwejre I love her a lot ok. When was the last time you changed your mind about something? OKAY SO I started a new birth control, right? It. Sent. Me. BACK. With my PTSD. How? Idfk, but I was suddenly obsessing over Him again, badly. I stopped that shit, and wha'd'ya know, two days later, I'm like "lol wtf I don't want him why did that just happen hunty was u ok????????". SO YEAH, that was a trip. Do you know anyone with a lisp? I'm not sure. Possibly. How much weight can you lift at once? No clue. Not a lot. Do you ask guys out, or wait for them to ask you out? I've never asked a guy out, but I wouldn't say I wouldn't. Do you like the last person who showed interest in you? I love her. Describe the last person you stared at? I have no idea. Do you like dating one person at a time, or multiple people? I'm personally monogamous. Have your experiences made you more or less sympathetic to others? MORE. Do you find smoking unattractive? I do. Have your parents ever searched your personal belongings? Mom has. Where did you get your last bruise from? ... Well. This is uh. Awkward. Tying into when I was on that medicine that made my libido fucking uncontrollable (thank the fucking lord I'm back to normal), my breasts are lookin rough, sister. Are you looking forward to anything? Nothing in the VERY near future, I think. A bit further off, Christmas. I can't wait to see the kids so excited again, and for once, we come together as a true family. Plus my #1 wish is to have my Mark tattoo improved at an amazing parlor, and I'm pretty sure that'll be happening, just obvs. not on Christmas Day itself. I'll just be fuckin STOKED when I *know* it's happening. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Yes. How much money did you spend today? $1.25 for something from the vending machine. I didn't have breakfast, so I was really hungry. When you’re bored in class, what do you usually do? Try to not doze off. If we're not doing anything, then I'll play around with my phone. Have you ever had a song stuck in your head for more than a day? Oh, definitely. Ever walked into the guy’s bathroom? HA as a stupid elementary school with her friends, we sure did during a work day (my mom used to work with special ed kids at school). We thought we were soooo rebellious. How many wives or husbands do you want? One. What happens if you fall in love with your best friend? Ha, did. I still am, and we hope to be back together someday. Has a teacher ever flirted with you? Not that I know of. Thankfully. Is it okay for friends to kiss each other, as friends? It's not my thing, but sure, if it's consenting and both are aware it's platonic. Do your wishes ever get granted in the worst way possible? Probably in some way at some point I don't recall. How do you feel about your naked body? NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO Have you ever been called obnoxious? I don't think so, anyway. Do you wish you had a bigger family? No. Which friend would you kiss full on the mouth, no questions asked? Sara. Can you do a split or stick your foot up next to your ear? Nope. When was the last time you complained about something? I was venting some mild frustration to Sara earlier tonight. What is your favorite color combination? Favorite is probably pastel orange and light blue. Love it. Then there's pastel pink and purple. Okay pretty much any combination is about the pastels When was the last time you spoke in front of a group? A month or so back when I had to do my Lifeline presentation in FYS. Do you like group projects, or do you prefer to work alone? I strongly prefer working alone. There's no disagreements, compromises, incompetent partners, etc. Have you ever been told you were going to Hell? Yup! (: Indirectly, but. How did you respond? I don't recall, but I wish I did. Who is the most argumentative person you know? She's not in my life anymore partially BECAUSE of that shit. Do you know anyone who is crazy about proper grammar? Yes, but she has OCD as a valid reason. I'm pretty particular about it too to a degree. Who was the last person to make you feel special? Oh my gosh, my therapist told me she was so proud of me and the progress I was making that I just entirely lit up and became a total beaming ball of giggles and "thank you"s. Would you feel funny if you kissed somebody of the same sex? No, I'm bi. If your best friend grabs your hand, what do you automatically do? Squeeze it. What’s something you can cook or bake like a pro? Cheesy and spicy scrambled eggs, man. Also known as the only thing I can properly cook lmao. Do you tend to flirt a lot, even when the person isn’t single? Fuck no, if they're not single. I'll flirt with my s/o when I see it appropriate or relevant, and in a case where we're both single, I'd be very subtle about it because shy. What’s something that you think is really cute? Off the very top of my head, the Ewoks from Star Wars, oh my fucking god. They were the only thing I enjoyed in the movies. What’s a pretty bird? I mean... pretty much all of them. BUT, can we take a moment to appreciate the bearded vulture? like???? they're fucking BADASS???????????? Besides sleeping, what do you do in bed? Almost... everything. It's the reason I endured/am still recovering from muscle atrophy in my legs. Have you ever hacked into somebody’s account? Playfully, back when that was a thing for friends to do and post lovey-dovey stuff about them everywhere. Megan and I, and I believe Mini and I as well, did it to each other. Possibly more. Is having to pee really badly worse than being really thirsty? Oh hell yes it is. The former can get to a point of hurting. Have you ever touched a Qu'ran? No. Do you love animals more than most? Oh definitely. Why do you eat fast food? It's easy to grab when on the run, and Mom has almost zero time to cook. Then we both have school. Most often I just warm things up in the microwave or grab something substantial enough in the fridge. Is there always going to be that one person you and a friend makes fun of? I guess you could say indirectly, yes. Just something she said in a certain way became an inside joke. Her as a person, no, I wouldn't do that. What is a bad habit of yours that you’re actually trying to fix? Having terrible eye contact. I have a very hard time maintaining it, but I've been trying to keep that weakness in mind when talking to people. Do you write out your feelings? That's one reason why I take these surveys, yes. Do you have bills to pay yet? It's embarrassing that I don't. Not saying like, I want to pay bills, what madman would, but I do want to feel more like a proper, independent adult. Will you be changing your hair any time soon? Not the style, but one thing I'm asking for Christmas is a professional to dye my hair silver. I say pro because my hair does NOT hold color, and because of the bleach needed, Mom's concerned I'll damage my hair if I put my trust into anyone less qualified. Does your mom have a celebrity look-alike? I don't think so, but she looks UNCANNILY like her firstborn daughter. It is SCARY. Is there something you wish you could learn to do? There's loads of stuff. Probably above all, cook. Or stop procrastinating. If you could be amazing at ONE thing, what would it be? Drawing precisely what I see in my head. Because of how important they are to me, I would pay BIG FUCKING BUCKS to get how my 'kats look onto paper. What do you wish people would pay you to do? Complain about my weight. :^) I'd be able to just pay for surgery to fix that within a day. Do you take good pictures? I personally think I do. I mean I wanna be a professional photographer. How would one go about impressing you? It depends on the subject and difficulty of whatever. What probably impresses me most would be someone maintaining a mature, peaceful attitude when there is reason to act otherwise. Self-control, that's it. Do you automatically apologize if you walk into somebody? Duh? Tell me a memory of this summer: It was fucking scorching and I hated every minute of it. What’s something that you don’t need, but really want? Hmmmm. OH, HELL YES. IF I had the proper body to even remotely pull them off, I. Would wear. NOTHING. But corsets. Jesus FUCKING Christ they are so hot. What do you draw more than anything else? Just about all I draw is meerkats. What’s the most favorite class you’ve ever had? The Digital Photography course I took in high school. Or Art Honors my junior year. I really enjoyed the stuff I made. For each person you’ve kissed, describe your feelings in one word: Jason: melancholy; Tyler: dramatic; Girt(?): loyal; Sara: ideal. How do you react when you trip or stumble? Gasp and carry on. If it was a more serious trip, I look around at who saw. Are you good at “biting your tongue”? NO. Why do you love the one you do? She's been there for me without fail, has undying faith in me, supports me through everything, is honest, she's funny and very unique, her adoration for animals shows a great level of compassion, she trusts me so much despite her history, she stands extremely firmly for what she sees as right and wrong... okay I can honestly write an essay on why I love her. Would you rather get [another] tattoo or piercing? GIMME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 THE TATTOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111111111111 Do you have long or short legs? I'd say they're normal, idk. When do you listen to Nickelback? *shrugs* When I wanna? Would you rather make the first move, or your crush? Them. I'm shy.