IF duffers could make will awakening powers+ give us overdose of byler scenes in JUST ONE FUCKIN EPISODE IN VOL 1 (EP 4) THEN I WILL STAY DELULU AND CRAZY BELIEVING THEY COULD MAKE BYLER ENDGAME IN THE LAST FUCKIN EP (EPISODE 8 VOL 3 HERE I'LL GOOOO)
why i think there's still some chance of byler becoming endgame
i know how queerbait-like vol2 made byler, but i think there's still hope left, so let's talk about will's coming out scene.
it was uncomfortable, awkward, and definitely not something that would aspire the queer youth to come out.
we start off by will talking with joyce. he is scared, but in a way most people do the first time they actually about to admit their sexuality to someone. (it's especially hard for him, as the show is set during the aids epidemic, in a small town in indiana. him being terrified is more than understandable.)
but despite the fear, him coming out to her was already planned.
in the beginning of the volume, robin told him that before she got together with vickie --and this conversation was started by will, who again, asks her about how did she get together with her girlfriend - at this point, he's definitely not over mike, he's hopeful, even-- she tells him that first, she had to find someone she could come out to, someone who would support her
this step is a must before being in a relationship. will tooks her advice and he's already thinking about who he should tell it.
so the part of him coming out to her wasn't directly forced by vecna, it was in his mind before him.
as he is about to confess, the very person that a big part of this conversation was about to be, (-she cares about him soo deeply, even if he wouldn't have outright say it, joyce would've figured out that he's in love with him-) mike wheeler, interrupts the scene.
he would leave shortly after but will stops him, saying he should hear this too. i think that in that moment, he actually thought about confessing to him, but something stopped him. but what? - he was positive about his feelings being reciprocated until now, he was still thinking about getting together with him when he was speaking with robin in the beginning of the volume.
whatever vecna showed him, it made him think that mike doesn't love him back, and this was the moment that this truly hit him, actually made him realize it in a deeper level.
what he saw might be false, but it feels very real to him - we know that some things vecna shows are becoming reality, like for nancy, her family getting attacked. (i feel like it's also important to note that vecna showed every family member's suffering to her, and it all became true - except for mike's, which could be a nod to what he made will see; with the future regarding mike being portrayed falsely. or it is yet to be solved, which would mean we will have a mike centered finale.)
it is now canon that music isn't the only thing that can save you from vecna, but instead your connection to the real world is the person most important to you (lucas for max, mike for holly - i think holly the heroic helped her because she got it from her brother as a way of him appreciating/praising/showing affection to/etc… her)
if vecna showed a future where mike would leave will, it would takes away the most important person from him, making him more vulnerable than ever.
will, knowing that a connection is able to save him, is desperate to get over his 'friend'; he forces himself to just shut his feelings down, reducing the love of his life only to a silly hallway crush, and speaking in past tense to convince himself that mike is now only just a friend.
what i'm trying to say is that he still wants mike to be his 'most important person' and he doesn't think that he can change that, 'just' the way mike is important to him. if he isn't in love with him, he can't be reject by him.
(but this is exactly what vecna wants, for him to push mike away.)
so right after asking mike to stay, he quickly, without actually thinking it through invites everyone else into the room to make his feelings for mike less obvious to him. this leads to an intentionally uncomfortable and weird coming out scene.
and i'm saying it is intentional because this show knows how to write good coming out.
the robin and steve scene in season 3 was absolutely beautiful, and even though i was pretty young and wasn't actually in the fandom at the time, i'm sure it helped to a lot of people, just as her speech in volume one did to many more (- including myself).
she also stated that will is the third person to know she's a lesbian, and she's hoping to double that number by the end of the year. so the writers are aware that coming out isn't something that can just be done in one sit with more than a dozen of people watching you.
even their placements made it feel like will was cornered, with everyone else facing, and a lot of them looking down at him. that's because he is; him coming out is an indirect and direct consequence of vecna messing with his mind, threatening to out him and lying that him mike would leave him.
will tries to take back the control; he'd rather tell he's gay to random strangers he met seconds ago than having vecna out him to anybody.
(this goes perfectly with vecna as a s/a allegory, with will being the victim.)
and this way, he can tell it to mike too, without making his love for him too obvious.
will goes through with his plan of dismissing his feelings as something long gone and minor, and considers the matter closed.
so we got this awkward speech, (which is also probably the worst coming out scene in television history,) with the whole town and more in the room.
but the focus isn't on them, the people we see the reactions of are the ones actually close to him. by the amount of time the camera is focused on him, It is clear that the most important person out of the others is mike.
we can just look at his reactions, and oh boy, it's obvious he is putting the pieces together in real time. he definitely knows he's the person will liked.
you can see it in his face, as he really, actually looks at his friend and realizes it. the snowball became an avalanche, and it hits mike hard.
he's the last out of the main four to hug will. and no, it's not because he has any problems with him. he's hesitant because he's thinking about how much he misunderstood everything.
i think the following happened to him:
at the end of season 3, when el kisses him and her and the byers family moves to california, he realized that he's gay and is in love with will.
he doesn't exactly accept himself, but he is hopeful about his relationship with will. he doesn't want to break up with el over a letter, as he still cares about her deeply, and always will, but he cannot say he loves her because he knows it's a lie.
he's not comfortable with his sexuality yet, but he's in the right path towards self-acceptance.
he hangs out with 'outcasts', (eddie, for example, who said 'forced conformity is what's killing people' - he looks up to him so he's must be agreeing with this statement,) and he doesn't care about popularity or other's opinion.
then he gets that letter, in which el tells him will likes a girl, and all his hopes and dreams are shattered. if he though about talking with el, and pursuing a relationship with will before, now it's sure not the case. he's goes deeper into the closet than ever before.
when he meets will, he's incredibly jealous and tries to piss him off by seemingly only paying attention to his girlfriend, who he now isn't planning on breaking up with out of spite towards his crush, and fear from his own sexuality.
but then el gets taken away, and without her there, it becomes harder to pretend.
he's desperate to fix his relationship with will. he would might even try to take the relationship further, but the other is so insisted that el and him are meant to be, that if he had any hope left for the two of them, it is gone with will's words. he might even got convinced that staying with el is actually good for him.
he spends the next one and a half year getting over will. (he probably broke off things with el off screen, even if that's a horrible writing choice -it's not like this would be the first in this season- it seems likely. or if not, they definitely not as close as they used to be, and if they really want to make them endgame, i genuinely can't think of a worse way to do so.) he slowly convinced himself he doesn't have a chance, and he tries to leave it behind.
this is why will and him aren't so close anymore - he cares about him deeply, but to get over him, he needs space.
then will talks about pushing people away because of his sexuality, and he recognizes himself.
his brain almost shuts down as he tries to process everything in such a little time, and that's why he reacts to will's coming out later than we would expect his best friend to. because they aren't just best friends, what they feel is so much deeper.
in the final episode, we will see mike's renewed feelings save will from vecna.
and quickly, i want to talk about the duffers' interview, where they stated that will did get over mike.
i think they were thinking that byler is obvious, and they wanted it to be a bigger plottwist.
unfortunately, they overestimated volume 2 every way possible, and what was meant to be a clear byler moment got rushed and lost amongst the many-many other things that were going on.
whether byler will be canon or not, they took away what would make it so important: it would've been groundbreaking, because it would've been happening between two of the main characters.
mike and will got brushed to the side in this three episodes, and i won't have faith in the writers to significantly change this in the finale, no matter how bad i want it.
will's coming out scene was horrible; forcing the main character out of the closet infront of a bunch of people, many of them who he doesn't even know, is just fucked up, no matter how plot relevant it is. they were trying so hard to make tammy into this big metaphor of a gay kid's unrequited love, but it came out so bad for so many reasons.
and now, if they take back what they said, it would be a clear confirmation of byler, and not the plottwist they were hoping for.
no matter what happens, they messed this up so bad. they ruined the holidays, and let the homophobes bully byler shippers for wanting representation of something that the show supposed to be about.
a good captain always goes down with her ship.
if it's not canon, we'll still have fanfictions and it's just a matter of time before someone makes a byler rewrite a million times better than the canon.
but there is still a little hope left, that maybe, byler won't be one of the many queerbaits, and i'm holding into that.
Well hello there Simon (we love a good victim archetype)
My poor boy doesn't completely understand the situation I'm afraid
Ofc he's really scared but kinda has this fantasy that now he will save everyone on the island and become hero
Actually does his job, so the others make him do theirs too - he's watching the fire 24-7
Either has a breakdown or the time of his life it's changing in every minute
founder of the "This is a good island. It's a good island.[..]" tm
Boka
Gets elected to be the boys' leader in the first hour
He's basically Ralph, he thinks about the fire and shelters etc, but with the advantage of not being chronically blond, he can actually manage to sort of prevent civil war
He's kinda like Piggy if he was charismatic
Internally freaks out but tries to seem calm - tries to think about famous historical figures who went through similar things and hypes himself up as much as he can
Csónakos
second and last member of the "This is a good island. It's a good island.[..]" tm
Generally has a stoical mindset regarding the whole plane crash
Builds sand castles with Nemecsek and let's the littluns to burry him in sand
Swims a lot too, forgets not to go into the sun in noon so he gets sunburned in the first 12 hours
Radiates enough positive energy for the whole group
Sings random scout songs
Csele
Oh boy he does NOT have fun
His hair is matted and greasy, his whole body is sticky from the seesalt, and he has to walk on sand and he hates that because of the texture.
Spends all his time out of the Sun so he wouldn't burn
He's tweaking so hard
At some point he has some kind of spiritual enlightenment and starts to pray so they can get home faster then pretends it never happened after half day of it's not working
(he would believe in the beast, he would see that pighead and he would set the island in fire)
Not completely useless, he's also with the fire 24-7 'cause god forbid it goes out .
Kolnay
Is very-very pissed about the fact that out of all the possible people he got stuck on an island with Barabás
At least there's no school yeyyy
Keeps saying things like "See they could have taught us survival skills in school but nooo we just had to have physics instead"
Has fun for like 1 day then starts to get irritated after he has to eat the same fruit as for his previous three meals
Brought a little putty with himself but he let it dry out so now there's a whole litigation about wether is it forgiveable given the circumstances or not
Towards the end he really had enough and really wants to ho home
Barabás
At first he's done, complete apathy
Isn't even mad about Kolnay being here and that bugs the other so much that he fabricates a random argument just so they can fight about something again
That actually helped him, but now everybody has to listen to them fighting which is really annoying bc now they can't even just go home
Towards the end he kinda starts liking the place too, not just to poke Kolnay but like for real (that too but that's not the point)
Joins in on the school hate club
At the meantime he just goes around and does a bunch of mildly stupid things he's parents wouldn't let him (Boka stops him and the others if it's too risky)
amugy csonakos az a type akinek a fule mogott mindig van cigi
- 🩷
nagyon real, bro úgy ül be órára is. csak azért nem szállt még fel a buzzcut vonatra mert akkor a haja nem tudná elrejteni a tanárok elől.
ez annyira mindennapos, hogy egy időben amikor a többiek úgy döntöttek hogy innentől kezdve nem hajlandóak adni barabásnak, mert ő nem hajlandó ezért fizetni úgyhogy mindig mindenkit csak leteker, az úgy élte túl hogy rendszeresen kilopta csónakos füle mögül miután leitatta, hogy ne vegye észre.
csónakos végül összekötötte a pontokat (cselének véletlen eljárt a szája) és inkább csak elkezdett adni neki mert nem akart megválni a védjegyétől.
szíve szerint csónakos kőbányait tenne a füle mögé de az sajnos nem fér el ezért jobb híján be kell érnie a cigivel
amúgy tegnap voltam színházban, első sorban ültem, és a medveczky balázs játszotta a mc-t szóval nagyon visítottam lélekben
csónakos poénból venne egy labubut nemecseknek és magának. vagy egy fugglert aminek a fogai közé berakna egy cigit
nem tudom hogy ez hogy jutott eszedbe de 100% hogy megtörténne
((és most egy picit tekintsünk el attól a ténytől hogy én még nem láttam fiút labubuval, and let them be silly;))
a vörösingesek lényegesen gazdagabbak és általánosságban jobban alávetették magunat a fogyasztói társadalomnak, ezért az első pár hét leforgása után már nincs közöttük akinek ne lenne egy
a lényeg hogy a pál utcaiak először általánosságban magasról tesznek rá
viszont páran közülük is vettek egyet, de a pásztorok elvették einstand keretei között
kivéve kolnay meg barabás akik összevesztek azon, hogy értelmesebb -e megvenni egy márkás terméket drágán, vagy egy knock-off-ot olcsóbban
a gittegylet így átmenetileg két részre szakadt
csónakos egész nyáron szabad volt, és igazából nem tudott jobbat kitalálni, szóval úgy döntött be kéne osonni a füvészkertbe, és ellopni párat
ő a sidequest friend btw
magával hívta bokát, cselét, és nemecseket, de csak az utóbbi ment, az első kettő úgy gondolta az egész téma túl nagy baromság ahhoz hogy őket foglakoztassa
azért a kapitány az áldását adta az akcióra, szóval szabad a pálya
tehát nemecsek és csónakos beosontak a füvészkertbe, és elloptak pár labubut amit a vörösingesek hadgyakorlat alatt a fegyverek helyén tároltak
másnap futva érkeztek a grundra, és azt ordibalták, hogy megvan a skalp, mert az egyiknek leesett a feje és csónakos azt pörgette a fülénél fogva
ezt a fejet később feltűzték a zászlóra
kolnay meg barabás kiegyeztek azon hogy tulajdonképpen így éri meg a legjobban
egy labubut odaadtak játszani a kutyának, aki széttépte, és egy két héttel később már az összes többi is ilyen állapotba került
két passzoló darabot azért megtartottak maguknak emlékbe
warnings: mentions of death, brief description of healed frostbite
summary: Jack meets a musher girl on his first day in Alaska.
word count: 2826
a/n: I am actually extremely proud of this so I hope somebody reads it haha
Living in the Yukon, you get used to craving. You crave warmth, food that doesn’t come from a can, a bed with a real mattress and a roof over it, the sight of a fresh face and fresh conversation. I had been out there for nearly seven years by the time I met Jack Conroy, and nearing my seventeenth birthday too. I stood at the edge of our camp, watching the prospectors stumble out of the narrow passage at the top of the pass, like rats spewing from a drainpipe. He caught my eye then, beet-red and fresh of face, dressed warm, but not warm enough, his eyes glazed with exhaustion and wonder. He reminded me of myself the first time I climbed the Golden Staircase, back when snow still glittered like pixie dust, and my father’s promise of a gold seam to call our own didn’t ring hollow as the wind through an empty mine. I knew Conroy instantly; the mirror of his father, the man who raised me better than my own. I kept my head down as he looked around, knowing he was there for Alex, but not wanting to face it. The Yukon would turn that boy hard as ice before long, and I didn’t want to watch it happen.
As he traipsed over to us, I crossed my arms and glared at him. Go home, Conroy. I thought. Go shack up somewhere warm, and be happy. He didn’t look at me once, so consumed with his mission. I shielded my face and retreated to the tent. The coffin was easier to face than Alex breaking his heart. Despite my reluctance, I knew I would not have minded taking him on. There were few young people so far into the mountains, except the few kids at the Tlingit village along the trail, but we never stayed long enough to get to know them. The boy could become my companion, of sorts. We would take him north-west from Dyea to Klondike, then set him loose to find his way to the Conroy claim to spend a few months frantically digging into the hill; and go home colder, hungrier, and poorer in spirit. I wouldn’t even have to see it break him. Alex wasn’t like that. He was a pragmatist. He and Skunker knew how to mush, and they took me on because I was the best scout you’d ever need, thanks to my daddy’s training. This boy was a city slicker, and the best he could offer the team was a morale boost, and Skunker was already too cheerful for Alex’s liking. We couldn’t take him. He’d be a dead weight. I tried to close my ears to his charming, eager voice as he tried to butter up old Larson. Soon enough, Alex stepped into the tent and nodded for me to help him lift the coffin. I set my teeth and heaved it. ‘Heavy’ doesn’t begin to cut it.
“Who’s in there?” Conroy asked, puffing a white cloud as he tried to catch his breath.
“Name’s Dutch.” Alex caught my eye and nodded in acknowledgement. I said nothing.
As sweet as his cold, dead daddy, Jack Conroy helped me lift the box. He waffled on in a voice tense with effort, about maps and letters, and gold dust in an envelope his father sent him on his deathbed. My heart ached at the thought of kind old Scotty, dying alone in his claim with that grey lump of diphtheria in his throat. We found him frozen one winter a few years past, and I left a bundle of purple lupines on his grave. My eyes started to burn and something in my throat thickened as I finished tying up my corner of the sled. I pushed past Jack to tie his side. He stumbled, his shoes struggling for purchase on the packed snow. Wolfish fury passed over his face as he regained his footing, then he calmed and went back to pleading his case.
“Everybody finds a little gold dust.” Alex assured him. “That’s what keeps you digging. But you have to strike it, and your father didn’t. Go home and find a regular job. You wouldn’t last a day out here.”
Something odd happened then. I caught the boy’s eye, still glimmering with hope, and realised three nuggets of truth at once: one; this boy was no stranger to craving adventure, glory, and a namesake, but craving food, craving heat? He had never wanted for these things in his life. Two; he had that grit in his teeth that showed the true conviction of his words. He would try to journey to the Conroy claim, with or without our help. And three; I had never known craving until I craved him.
“I’m a good worker, and I just want what’s mine.” He insisted, his soft voice strained in earnest as he trailed Alex’s heels. “I’m asking you to give me a chance.”
“Skunker!” I slapped the old man’s feet, sending him thrashing into wakefulness. You better back me up here you stinkin’ old bastard.
“Damn, what is it?” He exclaimed, limbs flailing as he leapt to his feet. “Alex!” He breezed past both Jack and me, still dazed with one foot in a fancy. “I was dreaming you, me, and Dutch was livin’ it up in Frisco! ‘Lil Quinn at a real college, the works!”
“Get the dogs ready.” Alex said coldly. This was his way.
“I hope Dutch appreciates this ride.” Skunker bemoaned, ignoring Alex’s crotchety comment and making no attempt to hide his annoyance for my sake. I damn well agreed with him. “‘Cause you shoulda died at your digs!” He hit the coffin with his fist. “Saved us a trip back.”
“Are you going near my father’s claim?”
“Scott Conroy’s son!” I called after Skunker. He turned on his heels, a half sceptical look on his face.
“What? Lemme see that face, kid.” He got up in the boy’s face and grabbed him by the chin, inspecting him close with beady eyes. Jack held his breath against the smell. “My God, Alex, he’s the spittin’ image of his old man! And I knew ya pa well. Clarence Thurston.”
“Jack Conroy.” Skunker slapped him into a frenzied handshake.
“You throwin’ in with us?” I knew I could trust old Skunker to have my back. I didn’t even have to plead a case for him.
“Yeah, I’d like to.”
“No.” Alex said simply. I knew this wouldn’t be easy.
“No? You’re taking him with you and you’re not gonna take me? He looks half dead already!”
I giggled. The first laugh I’d had since my daddy kicked the bucket. I slapped a mitten over my mouth to hide it and slipped away to wake up the dogs while Skunker bartered some gum out of him as an apology. Our wheelers, Fritz and Fatty, stirred and wagged their tails as I ran my hands through their fur, whining and baring their teeth in greeting.
“Hey, don’t worry about him.” Skunker assured him, waking up Digger and George, our swing team. “He’s just tired, that’s all.”
“Yeah, or he knows there’s gold out there and wants it for himself.”
“Woah, boy! You got the harness on the wrong dog.”
“Conroy.” I spoke up, meeting his hostile stare and forcing a calm over my body despite how flustered I felt. “If there’s one man you can trust in this damn place it's Alex Larson.”
He scoffed, seeming to ignore my words entirely, and rounded on Alex.
“Listen, if you don’t wanna take me, I’ll go by myself. I’ll get rich by myself too.”
“I think he’s crazy enough to do it Alex!”
“Skunker’s right.” I left the wheelers and sidled up beside him. “The Yukon will swallow him whole, we gotta take him.”
“Quinn, we can’t take him just because you think he’s cute.” Alex put on a shit-eating grin and tapped my arm with his glove.
“It’s not jus’ that.” My face heated up, but I saw no sense in denying it if it was already that obvious. “He’s got a musher’s spirit in him, even if he is green as snow peas, and I don’t wanna find him dead in the woods come summer and know we killed him.”
“Come on, Alex, he’s Scott’s boy!” Thank you Skunker! “Look at him, huh? How much trouble could he be?”
He cast a final sceptical glance at Jack, but conceded. Skunker winked. I stared him down for a second, admiring the swoop of his dark blonde hair, then let my lips twitch into a curt smile.
“I’ll take you as far as Klondike. Fall behind, and I’ll leave you where you drop. Understand?” Alex was all talk, as usual. Even if he wasn’t, he would realise soon enough that leaving this boy in the snow would mean signing two death papers at the Klondike post office.
“Yes, sir.” Jack beamed. At the sight of his smile, I felt the craving stir again, paired with a healthy portion of despair. I knew a virile young man like that would never make do with a musher girl who had lived amongst men so long that she had nearly become one, and often felt more dog than person; but to travel beside him for a while would be a gift.
Alex retreated to the tent to nurse his regret, and Skunker went out to the tuck tent to get some minced meat for the dogs. I went back to playing with the pack, settling beside them and letting the six team dogs crowd around me and vie for my attention. Jack came to sit beside me, eying me as cautiously as the dogs. The thin, agouti bitch who laid at the edge of the group got to her paws and came to watch him with her ice blue eyes. Her body was relaxed, though she let out a deep rumble
“Connie.” She turned her ear to me, but kept her eyes hard on the boy. “He’s a fine boy, he won’t hurt me. He’s Scotty’s boy.” Her ear twitched back up at Scott’s name. “Heel, Connie.” She stepped over to me, eyes always trained on Jack. “Sit now, girl.” She did. I reached over and laid a hand on Jack’s shoulder, stroking it like I would a dog. “Now do the same to me.” His eyes flickered to me, hesitant, but he did as I said. Connie cocked her head, then pinned her ears back and wagged her tail. “See girl, he’s alright.”
“Can I touch her?” His voice was full of wonder.
“You have to ask her. Give her your fist. Gentle now.”
Slowly, he raised his fist to her. Their eyes met. Connie froze, and for a long moment I thought she might bite him, but then her body relaxed and she licked his hand, then his arm, and soon she had climbed all the way on top of him to lick his chops. He giggled and squirmed under her weight and collapsed onto his back.
“Connie! Settle down, girl, he ain’t for eatin’! I know he looks tasty.” I wrapped my arms around her middle and lifted her off him.
“Thank you,” He puffed, clambering off the snow. “Um…”
“Quinn.” Meeting his eyes was almost painful. They were so blue, like a clear day when the sky reflects on the snow so bright it’s almost blinding.
“Ah, thank you, Quinn.”
I looked away and stroked down Connie’s hackles. Setting my teeth together to keep from chattering. Nerves make the cold so much harder to bear.
“How’d a girl like you wind up out here?”
“You noticed, huh?” I raised my eyebrows. “Not many folks do these days. I got used to being called ‘son’ years ago, on account of my boyish charms.” To his credit, Jack chuckles, though I was sure that must have been the first joke I’d told anyone but Connie-dog. “Doesn’t help having a boy’s name, neither.”
“I think Quinn’s a fine name for a girl.” He said it earnestly enough that I managed to spare a glance at him. “And I knew you were a girl as soon as I saw you.” I said nothing, only squished some snow between my fingers to hide my squirming. I almost wished he hadn’t seen me at all. “‘Cause I’d never known a boy to be that pretty.”
“Now, Jack-” I started, my embarrassment trying hard to fester itself into anger. Well, ain’t you living proof to the contrary?
“It’s the truth!” He shifted closer to me, and I shifted away in return, bringing my knees up to my chest and pulling my scarf over my nose. “So how did you end up out here?”
“Mushin,’” I gave him a sidelong glance. “Been out here with my daddy since I’s ten. It’s how I make my living.”
“Who’s your da- your father, who is he?” His face reddened, making me giggle. I hid my face in my knees to cover it.
“Who’s my daddy?” I lean a little closer, enjoying being the one to make him squirm. “Well, he’s a fella by the name o’ Ysbrandt Maarschalkerweerd, but ain’t nobody this side the Atlantic can pronounce that, so they jus’ called him Dutch.”
“Oh.” He took a moment to digest it. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, that’s life.”
“I-I suppose?”
“It is. People just up and die out here sometimes.” I pushed away one of the team dogs from licking up my ear without checking who it was. “It’s not so bad.”
“You don’t miss him?”
“Not as much as I miss yours.” I admitted. “He was more of a father to me than my own ever was.”
“Really?” He leaned in, brow furrowed in contemplation.
“Yeah. He checked on me a lot, and one time- musta been about thirteen- I stayed with him at the claim for nearin’ six months while daddy and Skunker mushed supplies up to Nome. That’s when he bought Connie-dog for me. We went down to Klondike a fair bit to watch the fiddlers, see, and one time there’s a little boy sellin’ puppies. Turns out ol’ Colton’s lead bitch got knocked up by a wolf while they were out in the woods. Cost your daddy a whole dollar, but she’s been an asset ever since.”
“Wow.” He stroked the brindled fur between her eyes with reverence.
“It’s right we take you to Klondike. I think if you live an honest life out here- you stay true, you never rob, or hurt your dogs- your bones turn into a new gold seam when you die. Your pa never struck gold, but he might have made some for you.”
“Huh.” He looked thoughtful.
“Don’t let this place kill your kindness, Jack. You might leave some gold behind.”
“I won’t.” He noticed the scepticism on my face and added more emphatically: “I won’t.”
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Eighteen and still a green lil’ bean.” I shook my head. “You need better gear ‘n this. C’mon.”
He followed me dutifully to the sled where I dug around in my pack and produced my spare scarf, wool trapper hat that I usually wore under my coonskin, and a spare pair of fur cover-gloves to wear over his mittens.
“When you’re out in it, keep a scarf around your nose and mouth.” I pull the glove off my left hand with my teeth and show him the stub of my pinky finger, the missing tip on my index, and the hollow gouged into the pad at the base of my thumb. “‘Else you’ll lose ‘em like my fingers.” His eyes widened. “Wear these gloves over your mittens. I don’t have another coonskin, but you need more’n a baker’s cap to protect your ears. Tie it under your chin so it don’t blow off. You do that, you keep up with the sled, an’ you respect these dogs, and you’ll make it to Klondike with nothing missing.”
“Will they bite me?” He casted a nervous glance at the pack.
“No, but if you try anything abnormal I’ll bite you. They call me Dogtooth up at the Tlingit camp ‘cause a boy tried it on wi’ me and I bit square through his pecker.”
“Really?” He cringed, taking a step back.
“No.” I put my glove back on, smirking. “But you believed me, which gotta count for somethin.’”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“Fightin’ already?” Skunker called out, hobbling along with two buckets full of fish.
“No, Skunker!” I waved him off. “Did too. Now come feed the puppies ‘fore they starve, get in their good graces.”
I turned to walk away, but Jack caught my shoulder and pushed himself flush against my back. I felt my heart quicken in that terrible, delicious rhythm as his lips brushed my ear. Every inch of me trembling with a craving like I had never felt.
jbbartram-illu
blakekathryn
baratheonpilled
stormborns
janainaart
annaxmalina
yousharknotpass
