survivor story

pick up a weapon and swing.

[noendings]

a low activity dual-run multi muse for npcs featured in the @swallowrot / @unpossession / @buckhartd / @doehartd zombieverse.

info.

[noendings]

The vampire bar always gets a fuck-ton of art students in it the first few weeks of a new school year. The college nearby is full of artsy-fartsy fake-anarchist kids that dress half-goth and want to try their first sips of absinthe - so when Jay shows up for his usual appointments to check the game machines stacked up in the corner, he expects to see a bunch of kids pretending to have fun, posing for photos next to the neon crucifixes and fake-biting each other.

There are of course exceptions to this rule. Salem, for example, and his roommates. Jay knows them well enough, at least their faces, and is happy to see them sitting at the bar when he arrives tonight.

Creeeeeak. Pull up a barstool.

"@wickdcreatures, my man. Good to see you!"

[thepunkpanther]

MIKE FAIST in THE BIKERIDERS (2023) dir. Jeff Nichols

[jilllovesmike]

New old pics of Mike playing Danny in The Bikeriders

[archvillainofromance]

The Originals 4.07 High Water and a Devil’s Daughter

[buckhartd]

˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗      eyes grow even wider at the mention of peach flavored anything. suddenly he wants it so much more, now — but now daddy has to say yes too – will he? he catches the look on jay’s face and tries not to smile. 

“ if it’s made professionally, with regulations… wouldn’t it be safer for me to try it? ”     naturally, it’s the safety of it that’s important! not the coolness factor or anything!     “ where is daddy? can we ask him? i can ask him. ”

[noendings]

“he’s in the barn, go on and ask him.” willow rolls her eyes, putting her hands on both his shoulders. big kiss on the forehead. “it won’t taste like actual peaches. just so you know.”

jay takes that as the opportune moment to sneak a kiss on willow’s cheek, grab lil salem’s hand and drag him out the house toward the barn, grinning.

“schnapps is what i drank at prom. real teenager shit. your dad’s gonna say yes, kiddo, just watch.”

[buckhartd]

˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗      whatever preemptive wallowing salem had been doing was replaced entirely with curiosity. large, round eyes peer up at jay, then at willow, then back at jay. drinking? he’s never really done that before. it’s far too precious a commodity for the adults to waste it on a kid who might not even like it. 

“ what’s schnapps? ”     but oh he looks curious. and oh is he giving willow a ‘pretty please!!’ face even though he doesn’t fully understand what it is he is asking for.

[noendings]

willow’s eyes narrow at the pair of them, mulling over the idea - he could have really asked her this in private with kenny here, because now her son is giving her the puppy eyes he knows she can’t refuse.

“peach schnapps.” jay clarifies, feeling cheeky.

“it’s alcohol, buck. like what your dad’s been brewing for the party, only made professionally. with regulations.” she frowns. “we’ll have to ask him if you’re allowed any, so don’t get any ideas just yet—“

“if he’s cool he’ll say yes—“

“shut u-uuuhp!” willow swats at him. “no promises, ‘kay, salem?”

jay is winking conspiratorially behind her.

[noendings]

what light, passive laughter jay usually maintains while they're bantering scales up into full blown howling at lil salem's voice crack. he hoots, which earns a raised eyebrow from those in the area, and squats a bit, palms on his knees. laughed so hard he's out of breath.

"you're totally crushin' on her. that's cute, that's cute. you gon' ask her to dance tonight? y'should. never know what might be happenin' next time there's a party like this..." jay doesn't have any regrets. he shot his shot multiple times with his lady of interest. didn't work out -- but at least he can't say he let her slip through his fingers willingly.

he slaps salem on the back.

[buckhartd]

˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗      how absolutely ( and he doesn’t say this word, like, ever ) FUCKING mortifying! salem can feel the weight of everyone’s gaze on them now, but worst of all is when he sees rosie’s eyes turn their direction —

‘lil’ salem grabs jay by the sleeve and pulls him into the farmhouse, his face a bright tomato red. he might as well shrivel up and die right there on the spot! once they are out of range of the others, he turns back to jay with a fiery look in his eyes — one he no doubt inherited from his mother. 

“ dude! what the fuck was that?! if… what if i DID like her or whatever, even though i totally don’t at all…? now i can never talk to her again! ”

how blessed salem must be that this is the the only problem the young man is having after the world ended. he gives jay another shove, lets out an indignant pre-teen growl, and covers his face with his hands. it’s all but over now.

[noendings]

“never talk to again?! salem, kiddo — i was the one hollerin’. next to me, you’re the normal one!” he’s still sniggering, ruffling his hair. “don’t worry. you’ll get your shot. that business i was telling you about might well help with all’o’that—- IF, your beautiful mama agrees, of course—“

because she, willow, has entered the room looking mighty suspicious of jay, squinting with her arms folded until he pulls her in for a hug, wins her over with some flattery.

“agree to what?”

“i found a whole arsenal of booze you ain’t even heard of while i was on my way up here. traded a water filter for a whole crate of that good vintage shit — and some schnapps for the, uh — younger ones.”

he winks at lil salem.

[buckhartd]

˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗      shock! horror! salem’s head whips into jay’s direction — he’s shaking his head furiously, his little heart beating so fast…!

“ WHAT? n-no! it’s just — haha! ”     oh, the poor boys voice cracks so hard it nearly sounds painful. he’s shaking his head so hard — and is he sweating? ‘lil’ salem doesn’t like telling lies, and he’s no good at tellin’ them, but here he is…

“ we’re just…! friendly! you know, the way that a… that someone would be friendly with their… friend — it’s TOTALLY not like that….! ”

[noendings]

what light, passive laughter jay usually maintains while they're bantering scales up into full blown howling at lil salem's voice crack. he hoots, which earns a raised eyebrow from those in the area, and squats a bit, palms on his knees. laughed so hard he's out of breath.

"you're totally crushin' on her. that's cute, that's cute. you gon' ask her to dance tonight? y'should. never know what might be happenin' next time there's a party like this..." jay doesn't have any regrets. he shot his shot multiple times with his lady of interest. didn't work out -- but at least he can't say he let her slip through his fingers willingly.

he slaps salem on the back.

[buckhartd]

˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗      “ just party prep — it’s been kinda boring, actually. ”     housework, school, more housework. sometimes the highlight of is day is just a super sweet peach, or a particularly smelly stink bug to gross his sister out with. sometimes he wishes there was just a little more excitement around here. 

as they walk to the house, ‘lil’ salem catches sight of miss rosie — his waving and smiling is a little too enthusiastic before his attention is pulled back to jay. 

“ b-but i mean — i’m happy about the party. daddy says he’s gonna play music so we can dance. ”

[noendings]

jay catches that! he can tell a crush from a mile away, and he's much, much closer than that to little salem! he waits for rosie's attention to be elsewhere before shoving salem on the shoulder again.

"and what about all that? you got a hopeless crush on your babysitter there, kiddo?"

[buckhartd]

˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗      salem’s easily pushed back into the grass, giggling with a smile wide and brighter than the sun.     “ doe’s prolly still with auntie tabby. she’s takin’ getting ready for the party real seriously. ”     and maybe he should be too — he’s been practicing all week how he’s gonna try to ask miss rosie to dance with him. his little heart races just thinking about it. 

“ so are you just here today? are you going to be staying a few days? ”     oh, he hopes he’s staying. that would be so fun!

[noendings]

"i'll let her make a grand entrance, then. surprise me." he winks. "gon' stay the night, and then we'll see - depends on how sick of me your parents are gonna be by the end of the party."

more hair ruffling, they walk on up to the house.

"what's up with you? gotta fill me in on all the excitement over here. you're my eyes and ears while i'm away, remember?"

[buckhartd]

˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗      “ you’re late! ”     taller now, since the last time they have seen each other, and his voice has changed too. in the horrible in between period with plenty of horrifyingly embarrassing voice cracks. ‘lil’ salem give him a playful little shove to the chest, barely hard enough to sway him. 

“ you were supposed to be here this morning! that’s what everyone’s been saying! ”     but he’s clearly over the moon to see him. salem gives him a big hug around the middle to prove it.

[noendings]

he pretends to stumble, overpowered by pure pre-teen strength, and grins. he grabs little salem by the scruff of the neck and ruffles his hair as he forces him into a headlock, then pushes him away, back into the soft grass.

"sorry, lil man! i had bizz-niss to attend before comin' 'round here. your ma's gonna lose her head when she sees it." but it's a surprise! for the party! he squints out at the field, looking for other familiar faces. "where's your little sister? bet she's doubled in size too, since i saw 'er last."

[noendings]

"ey, buckeroo!" jogging uphill from his car to the farm, he sees lil salem first as he approaches, then willow in the doorway waving. big wave to her, then all his attention on the momma's boy as they close the distance. "woah! how fuckin' tall are you, lil man? you're almost tall as me now!"

[noendings]

"ex-cuse me, little man! where's my hello kiss?" madge leans to the side, a crimson-painted nail tapping at her cheek gently. "i thought your pa' raised you to be a gentleman like him!"

she loves teasing @buckhartd -- bigger and bigger by the day, she reckons. charming little lad, adores watching him rush past her porch to pick the freshly grown wildflowers and stopping him in his tracks as he attempts to avoid paying the toll.

"you can have one of my butterscotch candies if you do."

[noendings]

“ey, lollipop!” jay’s a little loud for the apocalypse - wide mouthed and grinning, he swings his front door closed with one foot and hurries out to meet willow, grinning ear to ear as they meet halfway and he scoops her up into a hug. “sight for sore eyes, how are ya, princess?”

ruffling her hair, looking her over. “still malnourished. come on inside, i’ll getcha some— oh! you brought a friend.”

he’s not exactly unpleasant, but there’s a slight damper on his glee for a split second before he connects the dots, then it’s all big smiles, masking a little heartbreak.

“you the famous @swallowrot i heard so much about?”

[gogumagirl]

[thepunkpanther]

MIKE FAIST in THE BIKERIDERS (2023) dir. Jeff Nichols