Of what it is, of what it was

CLOSED MUMU PENNED BY TASHA How can anyone know what to do in a world where everything is different? In a world where everything has changed. Keep spirits high. Keep driving down that road. Keep taking the next step. Keep moving forward. Only, which way is forward?

[alltangledupxmumu]

nowhremumu​:

“Right?” Jackson asked, grinning back at the other. His grin soon turned into a pout and a wistful sigh at the realization that he was right, they didn’t know if there was a taco bell around, and if there was if it would even be open. Probably not, since they would have disappeared with everyone else. “You’re probably right. Where should we go first?” he asked curiously. “I’m starved, and I don’t know where anything is,” Jackson admitted to the other with a laugh. “Oh! I don’t think I did either,” he said when the other introduced himself. “I’m Jackson, but my friends just call me Jax,” he told the other with a smile. “S’nice to meet ya, Charlie. This is Stumpy,” he continued, introducing the dog to Charlie. “Don’t worry, he’s like super friendly.” 

“Maybe if we can’t find one here, one of the rest stops later will have a Taco Bell. Now I’m craving it.” That was, if they could ever find the bus driver. “I mean, there’s pizza across the street. I haven’t really gone very far into town though, I don’t know what they have. They could have a Taco Bell.” He shrugged, brushing off his pants once he’d stood up. He eyed his luggage for a second, hesitating. If no one had shown up yet, it was unlikely that someone would come along and steal his stuff, right? So, he decided to simply grab his camera bag, not willing to leave that behind. “Nice to meet you too.” He gave the other a smile, before his eyes fell back down to the dog. “He seems great. I don’t think he barked once that entire bus trip.”

[alltangledupxmumu]

artxfsurvival​:

Alix didn’t like to think of herself as a pessimist, or even a person who gave up on something easily, but the last few weeks had be particularly difficult and she didn’t particularly care for much else besides getting as far away from Salt Lake City as possible. So, when she found the bar empty, she didn’t put much energy into her search outside of the calls. Staring at the boy for a second, she loosed a breath, then jumped off the bar stool and started making her way behind the bar.

“I don’t know,” Alix said softly, her gaze sliding to the abandoned keys once more before she started to search for glasses. “I mean, it’s a small town, so people could be off doing some small town event or whatever.” If she was being honest with herself, she didn’t know much about town events, but what she did know was that there was always a town outsider or a town hermit that moved against the flow of the crowd and that she had yet to see someone like that. “I just feel like we would have seen someone by now…”

Charlie kept his eyes on the other, watching as she moved around the bar. He hesitated, briefly wondering if he should stop her - but he supposed he was already halfway through the bowl of peanuts, he shouldn’t be the one casting stones. He was just starving... the pizza he’d gotten the previous night was good, but not so filling that he didn’t need to eat breakfast. The fact that there was no one around really just meant he was going to end up with the stale pack of poptarts in the motel vending machine.

“I guess... but on New Years Day? You’d think there would be some hungover people wandering around.” He said thoughtfully. “Or maybe they’re just running from the queer guy staying in their motel. It’s a pretty small town.” His tone was humourous this time. Honestly, if the bar had other people in it, he probably wouldn’t have even joked about it. “Yeah, that’s what’s weird. Like, someone. Even if it isn’t a motel worker or the bus driver.”

[cedricpb]

[alltangledupxmumu]

nowhremumu​:

Jackson was sitting outside for a while, needing the air and Stumpy was getting just a stir crazy in the motel as he was. They needed the air and the sun, even though there was still the chill of winter in the air. He buried his fingers into Stumpy’s fur as he continued to run his mouth to the person beside him, knowing he was one of the other passengers. Considering they were the only ones left behind by the others to wherever everyone else had gone. He had a bit of a talent to talk a lot about absolutely anything at all, after talking about the guitar for a while, it had shifted right now to original cheezits versus white cheddar groove cheezits. Was this possibly because Jackson was starving and had run out of his own snacks that he always tried to keep handy? Quite possibly, but he wasn’t quite so desperate that he had started to dip into Stumps’ snacks. “Dude, same,” Jackson replied with a groan and nodded eagerly in agreement. “I could really go for some Taco Bell right now…” he said wistfully, not knowing if there was one nearby, or if it would even be open with anyone inside. “Lets find something to eat,” he said, standing up and dusting himself off before hooking Stumpy’s leash back onto his collar. 

Charlie’s face broke into a smile when the other said that he was hungry too, and he quickly nodded. “Taco Bell would be amazing... I don’t know if they have one here, though... but like, I’d take gas station food at this point. I’d go to the vending machine but everything is stale.” Honestly, with their phones malfunctioning, he couldn’t even google to see if there was a Taco Bell - all he knew of was the pizza place, the gas station, and the bar. As the other started standing, Charlie followed suit, grinning down at the dog as Jackson attached the leash to his collar. “Oh, I’m Charlie, by the way. I don’t think I said that earlier.” He told him, his gaze returning to Jackson’s face. 

[alltangledupxmumu]

typoqueenmumu​:

open starter for all

“Come on, Seth,” Adam’s voice was strained as he spoke into the phone, swallowing thickly. “I don’t know why every single person has decided to send me to voicemail, man, but you gotta pick up. You always pick up and I’m getting freaked out.” Ever since they’d woken up, Adam knew something was wrong. The six of them being the only people in town, no driver, no townies. Nothing. He’d tried called his mom - voicemail. His dad - voicemail. Every single one of his four siblings - voicemail. “I just want to know you’re okay,” He murmured quietly into the phone, a tear slipping down his cheek. Hearing someone behind him, he snapped the flip phone shut, turning around with an expression much like a deer caught in the headlights. “Uh, sorry,” He cleared his throat, wiping at his eyes. “Everything okay?”

Charlie had been dismissing calls the whole bus trip. Denying them every few hours, seemingly on a schedule - but, overnight, the calls had stopped. Now, he hoped that the lack of calls meant that they were giving up... but when he tried to call his sister, it went to her voicemail. And then, half an hour later, it happened again. It even happened on the payphone at the motel - and after hearing that other passengers were having the same experience, he couldn’t help but feel weird about the whole situation. Especially after finding Alix in the empty bar, with personal items and unfinished food left on tables. Heading back to his room, he bit the inside of his lip as he saw the other on the phone, assuming that the same thing was happening to him. Not wanting to scare him this time, Charlie closed the door, making sure the handle clicked to alert the other that he was there. “Relatively, I guess... we still can’t find the driver. Or anyone else.” He admitted, worry in his voice. “Have you... heard from anyone?”

[flowerais-deactivated20211031]

You’re healing every time you

get out of bed because there’s something you’re excited about.

don’t think about people who left.

clean the clutter in the room and dishes in your sink.

smile at yourself and random people.

do something kind and out of the blue to make someone happy.

work out or meet with friends even though you have no energy to.

calm yourself down when your thoughts race.

remember to drink water.

don’t dwell on things you can’t control.

do things good for yourself, even though you have no motivation.

tell yourself that you’re growing from this, and you won’t feel like this forever.

[alltangledupxmumu]

artxfsurvival​:

{ starter ;; open for mumu }

Once they’d all woken up and waited for the driver that never showed, Alix decided she didn’t exactly want to wait around to find out. With her travel pack slung over a shoulder, she trekked off from the group, deciding to find another way to Philadelphia–even if it meant paying for a taxi to the next greyhound stop. It didn’t take long for her to realize that plan was a failure. Alix stopped once at a gas station, again at a coffee shop, then again at a bar with a sign flaunting a pay phone inside. After being sent to voicemail more than a few times, her mind took note of the abandoned drinks and plates at nearly every table. It was peculiar, especially for a place that likely isn’t busy right before closing–small town or not, bars tended to empty out save for a few stragglers–but it looked like the evening rush abandoned everything at the same time.

Alix wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting at the bar before the door opened, an hour maybe, likely two. She released a sigh and looked up to see another passenger from the greyhound. “No one’s showed up,” she said as way of greeting. “Not the bartender, a patron or even–” Alix waved at a set of keys a few feet down the bar– “whoever those belong to.”

There was no fridge in the motel room, so, of course, that meant that there could be no pizza left uneaten. Unfortunately, that now meant that there weren’t any leftovers left for Charlie to eat for breakfast. It made sense that the pizza place was closed, so Charlie wandered down to where he knew there were a couple other businesses - but they all seemed closed to. Well, that was a waste of time. They couldn’t find the bus driver, or anyone from the motel, which was a little weird... but honestly, he didn’t mind having a bit of a break from the bus. They’d find the driver soon, he was sure of that. 

When he finally spotted a figure inside the bar, Charlie’s eyes lit up, and he rushed to the door. It wasn’t until he saw her face, and realized she was another passenger, that his face fell again. “Wait, really?” He frowned, walking over to where she was seated at the bar. He grabbed the bowl of peanuts instinctively, starting to much on those while he stared at the keys. “Why would someone leave their keys?”

[alltangledupxmumu]

typoqueenmumu​:

All Adam wanted was to be home, not stuck in the middle of literally nowhere, nervously chewing at his fingernails in a dodgy looking motel room. His phone was dead, naturally, and so he was charging it up, staring at the water stains on the motel ceiling. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting there staring into space when he heard a voice, almost jumping out of his own skin. “Oh, hey. Uh, nah it’s alright, I’m not that hungry,” Adam lied, he could eat, but he’d rather not accept hand outs.

Charlie winced when he saw the other jump. “Sorry.” He said first. “I didn’t mean to scare you... I just really needed to get something to eat. That bus ride is really killer.” He babbled on as he closed the door, taking another bite of his pizza slice as he sat on the squeaky bed. “Okay, well, if you change your mind, help yourself. There’s no fridge so I’ll just have to throw it out... which is really dumb. They should have a mini fridge in here.” Maybe that energy drink he’d had earlier was a bad idea, he still felt like he was buzzing.

[alltangledupxmumu]

@nowhremumu​

It had been quite a while since Charlie had been sitting outside. At the beginning of the trips, he’d unloaded two different boxes of granola bars into his bag as snacks, along with a couple bags of chips from rest stops along the way, and wherever else they stopped for meals... but everything he’d packed was gone, by now. And, without having breakfast yet that morning, his stomach had been growling for nearly an hour. Sighing as he glanced over at another passenger, whose name he’d learned was Jackson, nodding along with what he was talking about. He was interested in the topic, relatively - but, honestly, he didn’t know enough about guitar to follow everything completely. He waited for the other to take a breath, before interjecting. “So, I’m starving. Like, my body is going to cave in on itself pretty soon... so I’m gonna try and find something to eat, do you want to come?”

[mndvx]

austnn Singing a tune under these desert stars

[alltangledupxmumu]

tangodancerxmumu​:

”Damn.” Candy moved to sit down next to the kid, not liking the fact she she towered over him like that. Long legs flopped out in front of her as she did, leaning into him a little bit. “I could’ve gotten a bit more sleep. Those mattresses were like rocks, I swear.” She noticed he had his phone out, and she reached for her own, checking for bars. Absolutely nothing. It made sense, she guessed. Middle of nowhere meant shoddy signals. “I’m guessing I shouldn’t call my roommate to check on my cat, right?” She glanced over at him, before her eyes moved over to the people wandering around, looking for people. “It’s New Years Day. He probably got a little too cozy with the locals. Holidays bring that out in people.” It was an easy enough explanation.

Charlie watched her sit down next to him, a small smile coming to his face as she leaned against him. “God, I know. My room was on the corner there,” he motioned with a nod of his head, “and it must have been windy, because branches from the tree kept knocking at my window. It was driving me nuts.” He shook his head, raising his hand to rake his fingers through his hair, messy from the tossing and turning. At her question, a laugh left his lips, and he shrugged. “You do you, but if your roommate is hungover from New Years I doubt they’ll appreciate it.” He nodded, though, at her suggestion. “Yeah, that was my thought too... did you go out and do anything last night?” He seemed to recall seeing at least one person wandering down to the bar, after he’d gotten his pizza - but it’d been too dark to see if it was even another bus-rider.

[alltangledupxmumu]

tangodancerxmumu​:

Candy had been hoping to be able to sleep in as much as she wanted on this trip, but when the bus broke down the night before, she knew she’d have to be up bright and early to get back on. And while she’d taken three alarms to do so, she did manage to get out of bed, throw on clothes, and walked outside with her things at a decent hour. The bitter morning air bit at her nose, the air thicker than she was used to back home. Humidity, she found out, didn’t suit her well. She spotted a few people walking about, but as she approached one of the younger men from the trip, she noticed that the bus seat was empty. “I thought we’d be boarding about now, kid,” she told him, her expression warm. “You have any idea where everyone’s wandering off to?”

starter for @alltangledupxmumu​ ( candy & charlie )

Charlie understood why businesses around them would be closed. It was New Years Day, and it was a very small town - and, besides, pizza places and bars usually weren’t open so early anyway. However, the motel’s lobby being unstaffed was weird, and the fact that their bus driver was nowhere to be found was even weirder. Trying not to worry, though, he sent his sister another text, letting her know every hour or so whether or not they had left. Her not having replied was really the weirdest part, since he knew she had to be up by now. When someone approached him, sitting on the curb, he glanced up from his phone to look at her. “I thought so too, but we can’t find the bus driver.” He explained. “And there’s no one at the front lobby, and the phones seem to be down. I think a line must have gone down somewhere.”

[alltangledupxmumu]

adastraxmumu​:

[ nell & charlie ]

After a fitful night of sleep, Nell found herself standing alone in the motel parking lot, tinges of pink from the spectacular sunrise still lingering. Her hand clutched the stair railing beside where she stood, keeping herself upright. Ransom, Kansas was peaceful and quiet in a way home never had been. As she’d stood there, it was as if she was the only person in the world. Well, almost. She yawned, eyes closing, and when she opened them again, she wasn’t alone. She recognized him from the bus; shifting her bag so it was across both her shoulders, she made a beeline for him immediately. His was the first face beside Candy’s she had seen that morning. The front desk had been empty when she had gone to ask for directions to the drug store hoping to pick up a toothbrush before they set out again. “You’re from the broken down bus, right? Do you know what time we’re leaving?”

@alltangledupxmumu

Charlie hadn’t slept very well. Between everything going on in his head, and the noise from just outside his room, he kept sleeping in random half-hour intervals. Definitely not ideal. However, when it was late enough in the morning that he didn’t feel guilty stirring, and potentially waking Adam, he got out of bed and started packing up the few things he’d taken out of his suitcase: toothbrush, clothes, phone charger, etc. After leaving his room, he headed for the front desk, but when he arrived at the unlocked lobby, he was surprised to find no one there. So, he left the key on the desk with a note attached, and made a beeline for the bus. As soon as he got back outside, a smile came to his face, spotting the last bit of sunrise hitting the sky. His hand moved to his camerabag, and he started unzipping it, before he noticed the other. Wow, the lack of sleep was really messing with his observation skills. “I am, yeah,” He told her, letting his hand return to his side, “but I have no idea. I thought the bus driver would be up by now, I was gonna ask him.”

[alltangledupxmumu]

@typoqueenmumu​

When the bus broke down, Charlie was a little embarrassed to admit that the first thing he thought about was getting food. Sure, it was New Years. Sure, that pizza place across the street could very well be closed in the middle of the night - and yet, there was a neon Open sign that he could spot. So, after dropping his suitcase off in the room he’d been assigned, he wandered over to the pizza joint, got himself a pizza, and headed back. Only now, his roommate for the night was in there too. “Oh, hey.” He said first, a half-eaten slice of pizza in one hand and the box in the other. “Do you want some? I can’t eat the whole thing. Well, maybe I could. But I really shouldn’t.”

[alltangledupxmumu]

dont-give-a-fuck-club​:

sorry i didn’t respond im losing my fucking mind

[valtrashen]