you taught me the courage of stars before you left

greyson michaud. 29. father of a four year old girl and tattoo artist with a passion for music. 

[greysonmichaud]

closed: greyson & @skyehenderson​ location: greyson’s apartment at aurora apartments

⏤★

Metallica thumped against the walls of his apartment. It was four o’clock in the evening, and his neighbors were used to him playing music obnoxiously loud at random intervals. Though most of them were at work. He’d taken the day off to spend a day at the park with his daughter, and now she was with his mother for some ‘girl time.’ He’d had two shots of Jack Daniels and was nodding his head along with Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters as he finished putting the dishes in the dish washer and running a cycle. This was how he liked it. Loud music blurring out his thoughts. 

When he was done, he sat on the couch and listened to the rest of the song. But as the vinyl finished and spun to a stop, he felt utterly and completely bored. He hadn’t had adult company in a while, and to be honest, he could use it. So he ended up scrolling through his phone, finding his friend and neighbor Skye’s name, and decided it would be easy for either of them to stop over at each other’s place and hang out. If she weren’t busy. It wasn’t long before she’d agreed and was heading over, bringing wine. He had a pizza ordered and Pink Floyd’s Brain Damage now filled the air around him at half volume as he started another record. Hearing the knock, he made his way towards the entryway and swung open the door. He smiled softly as his blue eyes met hers, and moved out of the way to allow her entrance into the apartment. “Hey,” he offered, smile still pulling at his lips. “Rare occurrence that we’re both child-free for the evening...” he said lightly. “Pizza should be here in 20. Make yourself at home.”

[greysonmichaud]

text ✉️ greyson and skye

SKYE: too lazy to press stop, huh? pizza sounds amazing right now. give me half an hour.

GREYSON: Hey now. I don't know if I'd say lazy, more like, in a zone. 🤪 But alright, see you soon.

[greysonmichaud]

obscuredeliights​:

“Mh. Tinder, yeah, mostly. Grindr sometimes, although I don’t use that one as much anymore since I’m not really lookin’ for a root around the sack, and that seems to be the prevailing activity favored over there.” Maybe in his younger, freer days, Taka would have appreciated the app’s existence. But whatever his direction in life was now, it wasn’t that. “I’ve tried a few other apps too but there seem to be more women on them, and I’m really not lookin’ for a sheila.” A small smile tugged at the corner of pouty lips at the recognition. “Yeah, actually. I play the drums.” The band wasn’t big by any means, merely a local small-town act, so very much a passion project. Taka didn’t mind them not being particularly popular, but he was pretty certain his fellow bandmates often became frustrated with it. Had anyone else been recognized specifically from the band, they probably would’ve been over the moon. “Nah, it’s not annoying at all. It’s kinda fun when people remember us. I know we’re not really everybody’s vibe so the others will be right stoked to know we’ve got ourselves a fan.” Their pop-punk sound definitely wasn’t everybody’s favorite, but it was what they liked, how they wanted to sound. Taka nodded slowly, brows raising slightly. “Yeah? That’s cool. I’ve tried learning some guitar myself but I haven’t been able to wrap my head around it. I’ve been playin’ the drums for so long that trying anything new now feels so hard. I did used to play the clarinet in school though.”

~

Greyson nodded along with what the other was saying, and he probably should have thrown in that he wasn’t looking for anything himself, but he left that out, not wanting to have to say that his girlfriend lost her life four years ago and he swore he’d never love again. He’d have drunken one night stands, but besides that, he always felt too scared to do anything more than that. He didn’t even know how to wrap his head around the idea of dating, ever. So maybe he was a little broken. At least he was pretty certain he was. “I mean, I prefer ‘70′s metal myself, but pop punk is a second, and you guys have a unique sound. I love it,” he said honestly. “I’ve played for some spare change here and there but besides that?” He shrugged, turning his head to the side briefly, not feeling he needed to finish his statement. He loved music, but it would never become his career. “The clarinet! That’s cool, man. I can play the piano decently, but my fingers seem to want to play a guitar and sort of relax more with it,” he explained. He lifted his drink only to realize it was empty, then turned to order another Jack from the bartender. “You want anything else?” he turned his head and asked Taka. Taking in a deep breath, he let it out in a sigh as he let the music from the bar fill his ears for a moment, just silently nodding his head along with the beat. “Man, maybe I do need this. I don’t get out much, to be honest. Unless it’s with my daughter. Which...you know, I love time with her. And sometimes my friends drag me out, but... shit, it’s been too long.” A look crossed his face, but no one else would be able to pick up on what the emotion was behind his look. “I need to get out there more.” Eyes locked with the bartender upon her return and he took the drink, thanking her. 

[greysonmichaud]

jadenlapointe​:

a hand waved to silently indicate that what was written in jaden’s notebook wasn’t important . if anything , it was more legible with beer stains ; it was a relief he worked in IT and didn’t rely on written communication when it came to his day-to-day roles . “ the clue is in the name , bud , but you’re right , the wild pony is pretty unhinged this time of night . not the type of place to come and doodle , or write , which we’ve found out the hard way , “ the crashdown was open until late in the evening and served limitless , albeit crappy , coffee – the wild pony was a change of scenery to the usual but , next time , he’d choose the old faithful . butterflying the notebook pages jaden upturned the book to allow the pages a chance to dry out , to crisp at the ends , home to a rorschach test of bleeding ink . “ a tattoo , huh ?? that’s pretty cool . i know it’s probably blasphemous to you , but all my tattoos have been done with sewing needles and indian ink on couches and kitchen floors . “ rolling up a sleeve , he revealed the slanted ‘ j ‘ which bloomed beneath his skin , terribly done but meaningful . 

“ jaden . “ he countered , the ‘ j ‘ arm reaching to shake the other’s hand , “ i’m sure we’ve crossed paths before . i’m always around . “

⏤★

Greyson laughed and clicked his tongue softly as if to say, no judgment here. “So I guess I wouldn’t have done any of your tattoos at Black Box then,” he mused. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to start talking myself up about how you should let me tattoo you,” he laughed, returning to his seat and taking a swig of his drink. “It’s still neat though,” he said, eyes flashing over to look at Jaden’s tattoos one more time. “Counts just as much as body art as it would had you done it anywhere else, and I’m sure there are good meanings behind them?” he wondered. When Jaden said he was always around, Greyson shrugged and let it go. “I’m not,” he murmured with a quirk upwards of his lip into a small smile. “Mostly just hang out at home and work, unless I’m taking my daughter out somewhere...”

[greysonmichaud]

spruce-in-the-wild​:

Spruce cleaned the fabric with the piece of cloth. “Maybe I should change my wardrobe for this type of encounter,” he noted, with a grin. Though he liked that his tattoos were usually visible through the light fabric in the summer. He felt cool with them. 

“Spruce, they/he,” they said in return, “Nice to meet you too!” They held out their hand. They looked back down at the shirt. “It’s probably the one thing that saves me, in this case. I am sure I can get it out… and else… new cleaning cloth.” 

~

“I think you look fine,” Greyson commented, a smile on his lips. It came out more like a flirt. Even if Greyson didn’t consider himself to be ‘looking’ for anything at any point in time, he still couldn’t help his naturally flirtatious character. “Greyson, he/him,” he returned, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. “Can I buy you a drink, since we both happened to land in this situation together?” he grinned softly. 

[greysonmichaud]

text ✉️ greyson and skye

SKYE: she's at mums. you wanna help me finish off this bottle of wine? 🍷

GREYSON: yeah, you want to come over here so i can keep my metallica record playing? 😂 i ordered a pizza too if that sounds good?

[greysonmichaud]

chandlernotbing​:

“Bars aren’t really conducive to art, no,” she mused, resting her elbow on the bar and placing her chin in her hand.  “The whole point is to drink - probably too much - and talk to people around you.  Not a good place for introverts,” Chandler chuckled a little to herself, nodding a little.  “That’s nice that you’re doing that for her though.  Rarely do I see anyone get as excited for the holidays as kids.  Everything is still magic to them.”  She hummed a little, shrugging.  “Not too bad, all things considered.  My brother came to visit for a couple days before Christmas - that was a lot of fun.  Otherwise, just blasting pop punk records to piss off the neighbors and trying to explore areas I’m not allowed into - the usual shenanigans.”

⏤★

“Neither was the empty apartment,” he chuckled with a soft sigh. “I’ve done some sort of weird things to try to get past creative’s block,” he mused, a smile pulling at his lips as he remembered some of the things he’d tried. He nodded at her comment about the holidays being magic to them, reminiscing to when he still felt that. “I miss that,” he murmured. He didn’t teach his daughter to believe in Santa Claus, but nonetheless, she still felt that everything was magical this time of year anyway. He supposed that was just how it was when you were young. “Mm. Yeah, same, to the first part, at least. Except I’m blasting hard rock records most of the time. I haven’t had a pissed off neighbor in a little while, though. I think they’re all getting used to it. That and I’ve stopped playing them late at night,” he grinned. Pop punk was definitely one of the genres he appreciated too, though, but he more commonly listened to ‘70′s metal and rock bands. "What are some of your favorite bands?” He asked the bartender for another drink, turning to Chandler. “You want anything? It’s on me.”

[greysonmichaud]

text ✉️ greyson and skye

GREYSON: I'm without child for the evening/night. What about you?

[greysonmichaud]

skyehenderson​:

“Ooh milkshakes.” The enthusiasm came from Skye, opposed to her daughter, and then she laughed. She was pretty sure Greyson was aiming to excite the girls with that statement, not her. But still, she may not have been the biggest fan of the food, yet she loved their milkshakes. “New with me? Swamped with work, but then, what’s new? I thrive for that,” she answered him, shrugging. “How about you?”

“They’re just as appealing to us as the kids, I think,” he commented with a chuckle. “I think this just speaks to our inner child. It’s a good thing we haven’t stifled it.” He shook his head in thought as he continued at a relatively slow pace towards the diner, his daughter looking around in wonder as she took in the scenery. “Are you good? Not too cold?” he asked Arianna, who wrapped her arms around herself and shook her body from side to side, in a dancelike fashion, excited. “Yeah, I’m good. Can I get cookies, too?” He reached his hand out for his four year old girl who took it happily. “I think we can probably do that, as long as you have a proper meal, too,” he responded, looking over at his daughter and then Skye with a smile. “So you’re enjoying work then?” he asked Skye when they were able to continue their conversation. “Stuff at the tattoo shop is going well. Besides that, I’ve had a bit more creative luck lately, been, uh, doing a lot of drawings.” 

[greysonmichaud]

obscuredeliights​:

“If I wanted to wear tie-dye, I would’ve done so in the first place. Ultimately, I lose either way. Were I looking to bathe in alcohol, I would’ve gone with expensive champagne and gotten the clothes out the way too.” He wasn’t the type to cause a scene when something like this happened (not anymore, anyway) so Taka was content enough to just sit here and complain. “What if I told you that isn’t the first time that’s happened, me getting catfished like that? And it probably won’t be the last, either. Just says a lot about my luck, I guess.” When his drink was set in front of him, he took a long draught of it, lips still pouting. “At this point, I’m kinda lookin’ forward to someone pullin’ a reverse of it. Guy uses photos of his hot dad, turns out to be younger and even hotter. Wouldn’t that be somethin’?” Dark eyes inspected the offered hand, and Taka gave it a short but strong shake. “Takaharu. But you can call me as you’d like.”

⏤★

Greyson chuckled a bit, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Fair enough,” he said, his tone still friendly. Letting him complain, he listened freely, turning his head to look in the other’s direction when he mentioned that this wasn’t the first time that the catfishing has happened. “Is this happening on Tinder or something? ” he wondered. He’d briefly downloaded the app as a result from pestering from his best friend, but he deleted it because going on a date was unimaginable to him, even four years later. One night stands, he was interested in some of the time, but he preferred to be heavily tipsy. Greyson matched the other’s strong shake, offering him a smile. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Takaharu. Even under such circumstances. Although,” he paused a moment, studying the other, a hint of recognition setting in, “you do look familiar. Fish Brains?” Greyson loved music and was familiar with even the local bands, though he loved blaring 70′s rock bands over his vinyl. “Sorry if that’s...annoying,” Greyson added, chuckling. “You probably get asked that a lot. I can’t help but appreciate good music when I hear it. I play guitar myself,” he offered a bit of information.

[greysonmichaud]

skyehenderson​:

When the pair fell into step, Skye allowed her shoulders to lift and fall in a gentle shrug. “Good to see you, too,” she answered. At his question, she pondered it for a moment or two, realising where they were heading wasn’t exactly that important. It wouldn’t be until school started back up again in a couple of days. “We’d love to join you!” Her words were echoed with a rather enthusiasm “YES!!!” from Amy. “

⏤★

A large smile spread across Greyson’s face from the enthusiastic ‘yes’ from Amy, and he held his daughter’s hand as they crossed the street, reaching the pavement to begin walking. “Do you want to just walk aimlessly? Or maybe we could walk to the diner and get milkshakes,” he said, specifically towards the kids, and Arianna’s face lit up with excitement. The diner was a mile away, but it was something they could definitely walk. “So what’s new with you?” he asked once they settled on a destination. 

[greysonmichaud]

quinnsfm​:

 Quinn starts to furiously dab the napkins onto the dress, still muttering under their breath about the confusion, but is quick to realize that the man seems more pissed off about it than them. Which is surprising considering her ability to constantly find herself in fights and arguments. “Oh, uh, don’t worry about it.” She presses her lips together into a small smile, trying to assure him. “The dress will survive some liquor being spilled on it, I’m sure of it. The designer would be a pretty shitty one otherwise.” Of course, she’s already stressing about finding a good dry cleaner for her dress but decides it’s best to keep her cool for the time being. “How about we get some drinks to forget about it, huh? The first round can be on me.”

⏤★

Seeing that the other was okay with the dress, and wasn’t as upset as he thought so, he calmed down a bit, trying to put things into perspective. Okay, so he had a drink spilled on him. It really was not that big of a deal at all, and normally he would just brush it off like it was nothing. So why was he feeling so pissed off? That wasn’t like him. Giving her a smile, he ran his fingers through his hair to try to calm down, then agreed to her offer. “I’d love some drinks,” he said. “Sorry. I’m not normally so... flustered? Angry? I dunno. But normally I’m not like that. Just was kind of deep in my thoughts when I felt the alcohol hit me,” he told her. “I’ll take Jack Daniel’s, neat. Thank you, by the way. I’m Greyson.”

[greysonmichaud]

obscuredeliights​:

Dabbing frantically at his shirt, the fury seemed to radiate off of Taka. Just one thing after another. “I guess I should be grateful that I’m not at Planet 7 since this drink would’ve been brightly colored, right?” The sarcasm in his monotone was thick, coupled with his already-strong Aussie accent heightening in his frustration. When he finally looked up, he took a slight little pause. Well, hello there, pretty boy with pretty eyes. And with an apparent need to be sweet, as well. Were Taka more of a natural, confident flirt, he would have made an attempt, but he’d never been very good at it. The decision was made to flirt in the only way he knew how, by covering the other’s tab; if nothing else, it would’ve also been a sufficient thanks for the kindness. “Sure,” he finally spoke, flagging down the bartender once they were free and requesting a whiskey sour. “The bloke I was meeting up with tonight turned out to be catfishing me with pictures of his fucking son,” Taka explained, the disgust palpable. “I don’t mind an older man, but a bloody liar? What’d he think was gonna happen when he showed up instead of his son, I’d fall into his fuckin’ arms anyway?”

⏤★

“I think brightly coloured is better than the dark color of whiskey,” he offered, a small smirk turning his features before he shrugged. “I mean... add some blue or green or purple, and you’d practically be tie dyed... but alas, straight whiskey,” he chuckled. Greyson was happy to have some company, even if he cursed himself at the fact of having to interact with anybody during time he wanted to dedicate to his art. He was, after all, out at a bar. And in all honesty, Greyson was a very friendly guy, and he wouldn’t be rude to even a stranger. “That’s kind of sick. No, extremely sick,” he commented, making a face. “Sorry you had to experience that. But at least you know now, so you can find somebody else who’s not a bloody liar,” he offered lightly, a small smile on his lips. He downed his drink, letting it burn down his throat in the most numbing but comforting of ways. At least for that moment. He might regret it in the morning. “I’m Greyson,” he said, offering his hand to the other. 

[greysonmichaud]

delafucnte​:

  the familiar face taking a second to register with her but once it had, greyson, rang in her mind. she’d seen him around the building but she couldn’t remember if they had a real conversation other than a hello at that. “go for it.” she lifted the pack so he could swipe one, knowing well what he meant. although when she was attempting to have a good time mari preferred to sit somewhere, most of the time it was a place with a view but currently it’d be the bench outside the bar. “i would say this is just the beginning of an interesting night… not to be weird but you live over at the apartments right? just trying to make sure i’m not crazy, i’m mariana i think we’ve spoken before.”

⎯★

Recognition sunk in and he recognized her as Mariana, and a smile grew on his face. “Beginning? What plans did you have for a continuation of an already interesting night?” he asked, a brow raising teasingly, removing a cigarette from the pack and pressing it to his lips. It was a bad habit, and one he had mostly kicked, but had returned to from time to time. He grabbed the lighter from his back pocket and lit the cigarette, taking a drag. “Yeah, I live in Aurora Apartments with my daughter,” he told her. “I remember you,” he went on, a small smile pulling at his lips as he sat down at the bench next to her. “I could use an adventure, to be honest,” he blew out a cloud of smoke from his lips, watching it dissipate into the dark night. “Why don’t we take that walk?” he dared, a smirk lighting up his features. “It could be fun. Or would you rather go in for a drink?”

[greysonmichaud]

4k likes

greysonmichaud: I love you, baby girl. Happy fourth birthday. You amaze me every single day, with your kindness, your intelligence, your beauty. Your mother would be so proud of you right now. And so am I. You played hard today, and you’re napping now, and I had to capture this picture because you look so happy, and that’s all I want for you. For a while... you know, in the beginning... I thought I was failing. Failing you. I doubted myself for so long, baby. But I’m not anymore, because I know there’s not a single other person that would understand you the way that I do, and there’s not another person who can understand me the way you do. You’re my daughter, my best friend, my light. Happy Birthday. 

[greysonmichaud]

obscuredeliights​:

Despite having lived in Roswell for several years now at this point, Taka was not a regular at the Wild Pony. He didn’t care for the vibes at all, and even stuck out aesthetically with his stylish, flamboyant clothes. But it was where his date for the night had wanted to meet up…and said date had turned out to be a disaster, setting Taka on edge. For whatever reason, he’d decided to stay a little longer, maybe get a sympathy drink out of someone. The only free drink he’d received thus far, however, was actually generously gifted to his expensive shirt. “'Ey, you’d better fuckin’ watch yourself!“ he shouted over the din towards the culprit. But Taka went unnoticed, and he sat back down with a huff, belatedly taking the offered napkins and blotting at his dampened shirt and pants. “This is why I don’t fuckin’ come here,” he grumbled, as if similar things had never happened at Planet 7. “They walk through those doors, and then bam, no bloody regard for anybody but themself. As if the transgressions in the bar don’t count in real life.”

⏤★

Greyson normally preferred Planet 7, but he hadn’t frequented The Wild Pony much and wanted a switch up for the night. He supposed that was a mistake and should have stuck with his usual choice, liking the vibes of Planet 7 more. “Hey, it’s okay,” Greyson stepped in when the other yelled at the culprit who didn’t even notice they’d been yelled at, but nonetheless, Greyson could feel the intense energy of the other and hoped to calm them down without just pissing him off more. “It sucks, it’s an annoyance, but it’s gonna be alright. I kind of wish I’d gone to Planet 7. I like it a lot better.” He continued drying himself off before throwing the napkins away. “You okay? Can I buy you a drink?” He didn’t know what was going on in the stranger’s life and he didn’t want to pretend to, trying to empathize with the anger he seemed to be feeling. 

[greysonmichaud]

roswellwinter​:

a small laugh fell from winter’s lips before she gave a small nod of her head. “i don’t know, it’s crowded, but sometimes… i like the crowd. not when it’s like this, but like… in theory,” she hummed, head cocking to the side just a touch. she liked not being alone, even if she wasn’t speaking with the people who surrounded her. it made her feel better, in a way. “yeah, i’m good- maybe a little sticky, but it’s not the worst thing in the world… but a drink would be great. jack and coke, please.”

⏤★

“I can understand that, I guess. I used to be more like that,” he mused. “It’s kind of nice to have people around you even if you aren’t talking to them.” He shrugged as he pondered, lost in his thoughts for a moment. “Jack’s my favorite,” he smiled before turning towards the bartender. “One Jack Daniels neat and one Jack and Coke, please,” he requested towards the bartender who served it right up and slid the drinks across the counter. He thanked her and downed his shot. “You can put hers on my tab.” Turning back towards the female sitting next to him, he gave a half smile. “I’m Greyson, by the way,” he said, holding his hand out for her to shake.