glittery cinnamon

i'll still smoke it if it's crushed; stomach empty, would you dry my sweat? i've been burning up a twenty, and my health won't change, i don't pay attention. i feel no pain, i just can't let loose.

[judedubois]

closed starter ft. @strikercannon​​.

With the freak storm still raging on around them, things seem to have only become more complicated, and Jude finds themself not really knowing what to do when the water in their place is cut off and they don’t have anywhere else to go. That’s exactly how they had end up out in their truck, maybe heading towards Ender’s or Jurriaan’s or wherever they end up being able to get to easier or first. They aren’t one hundred percent certain either of them are better off with it, but it seems like the obvious thing to do when they can’t take a fucking shower or do anything at all really. Only of course, their truck decides that today is the day it’s going to give them trouble, and when they’re a good distance from their apartment, they hear the engine start to sputter and give out. 

This is how they find themself standing on the side of the road, frantically waving someone down that they vaguely seem to recognize, but more so are hoping will be able to do something more than Jude can right now. Irritation is written all over their features, and the cold has them blowing into their hands, feeling overwhelmed and aching. “Hey! You. Old guy I saw get punched in the face last week at The Wild Pony? Pretty sure that’s you. You look like you want to either fix my truck, or give me a ride.”

[judedubois]

marinera-stella.

It was standard procedure to remain calm amid emergencies during flights. Had her kids been with her or had she known for certain they were out of harm’s way, she might’ve been able to mask her worry better, but she didn’t know. She couldn’t reach her ex, but frankly, she was on the verge of tears in her restlessness, worried about the safety of Dea and Xavier, in the middle of a heavy traffic jam ( unaware of fallen pylon way up ahead ). As she turned up the radio station for updates, she tried to send another text but — nada. “A buena hora, dios mio,”  she mutters under her breath, switching her phone off to then curse. “Me cago en diez.” And while it might’ve not been the smartest move, she steps out in her turmoil, locking her car in the process, to call to the nearest person and ask, “Oye, you wouldn’t happen to have a signal booster, would you?” It was a long shot.

Nerves aren’t something that normally show with Jude. There is a sort of baseline confidence to them usually, a certainty that makes them appear borderline unshakeable, and unfortunately they seem to be very much lacking that right now. Nothing about this situation is okay with them, and as much as they wish they could just fake it ‘till they make it like they usually do, not being able to get in touch with either of their cousins is really shaking them up. Worry has made a home in the crease between their brows, along with the nervous, jittery energy that surrounds them like a haze. Jude leans against the back of their truck, having long since turned off the ignition with the knowledge that nobody here is going to be driving home anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean they can’t find a way out of it. They’ve been in worse situations. Far worse. it’s just... storms freak them out, a bit. Just a bit. “Lady, if I had a signal booster, we’d both be a lot happier right now.” They don’t mean to come off stand-offish, but they also don’t particularly care about how they sound either. “Seems like none of us have service anyway. There isn’t much of a signal to boost here.”

[judedubois]

closed starter ft. @jurriaan-knight​.

Since moving to town, Jude hasn’t explicitly been avoiding anybody, but nor have they exactly gone out of their way to seek certain people out either. This is less a vacation for them and more somewhere that they’re doing research, and after hearing about the place in detail from their cousins, they had sort of fallen in love with the idea of using it to inspire the setting of their next game. Still, after the week that they’ve had, it seems only fitting that they would call up Jurriaan and beg him to let them drink him out of house and home. He always has all the best alcohol, after all. Who can blame Jude? 

Setting down their laptop bag along with a dog-eared book that seems to consist of detailed accounts of alien sightings and abductions, Jude flops onto Jurriaan’s sofa, completely lacking of their usual grace. “I have a block. A creative block. I literally haven’t been able to make any progress in, like, two fucking days or something.” Which obviously means that they need one of his piña coladas. Do they even need to say it?

[judedubois]

closed starter ft. @bridgetfm​.

Unfamiliar hands frame the scene at near half-past two, clumsy and without practice, but with a perspective that’s more elevated than necessarily askew. Bridget’s camera is over-stated and clunky in Jude’s grasp, and they can’t help but think that it comes across as almost as pretentious as she does, a fact that has made them laugh more than once since meeting her earlier tonight. Maybe it’s weird, the feeling of inevitability, or maybe it just has more to do with the little tab they’d placed on their tongue over an hour ago than they’d like to admit. Either way, it’s starting to seem a bit like somebody turned off gravity, and as Jude studies her through the lens, they imagine her floating. Bridget in the sky with diamonds. That’s how it goes, right?

“I respect your artistic integrity when it comes to using this fuckin’ thing, but it’s a little inconvenient, don’t you think?” Although their words come off as crude, their tone is docile for the most part, teasing if nothing else. Jude leans against the tailgate of their truck and gently sets the camera down in the bed, bringing the joint already lit in their opposite hand up to their lips shortly after. They had set out to find aliens, but so far, all they seem to have found is a whole fucking lot of empty space. It feels vast, out here, in a way that’s borderline overwhelming. After spending basically their entire life in a major city, the juxtaposition makes them pretty uncomfortable. It’s been hard to sleep here in Roswell. Funny, because they remember it being hard to sleep in LA, too.

Holding out the joint, Jude folds an arm over their middle, looking up at the sky now instead of at their companion. “Well... at least we know there’s no goddamn way there are any life forms higher than us out there right now. What a fuckin’ bust.” Pun completely intended, but delivered with enough dryness to be questionable. “If I drive out to the desert in the middle of the night with a person I barely know, I at the very least expect to get abducted. Aliens have no taste.” 

[judedubois]

fervvor.

“m’coming down with something,” with a celery stick mack points to his bloody mary, as if to say obviously. as if it’s strictly medicinal. “and you’re…,” he gestures the celery conversationally before taking a chomp, “what, loitering? get the novelty margarita, with the bacon or something. get some protein in.” gruff, passive. but his head cants in mild humor. “who says you can’t have a four course meal at the bar?”

“Gross.” Scooting a little bit away from the stranger, Jude props their head up on their hand and gazes dubiously at his... dinner? Drink? Who knows at this point, but they’re definitely not going to risk getting sick. They hate that shit, and they always turn into a big-ass baby over it, too. God knows Ender doesn’t need to be roped into taking care of them (again). “Maybe you should worry less about me loitering and worry more about you spreading your nasty germs everywhere. Nobody needs that.”

[judedubois]

httpbryce.

it’s totally fine for bryce to flirt with a pretty lady while on the job, right? employee rights or whatever. nonetheless, they have to shift their attention when a customer pops up. “hello, what drink can i get for you?” if he sounds a little bitchy, don’t take it personally. he’s just unenthusiastic about customer service on principle, but really, shouldn’t we all be?

“Huh? No, it’s fine, I was actually just waiting for my turn to be flirted with. I mean, that’s what people come here for, right? Fuck a drink when the bartender’s got those big brown eyes.” Mostly joking, Jude doesn’t even bother to feign interest in their tone, gaze still flitting about with the same almost perpetual boredom they always display. This town might be a whole fucking vibe in terms of inspiration, but Jesus, they’re practically going out of their mind some nights. 

[vandell]

Justice Smith for Flaunt Magazine