Faultline

Hudson "Lee" Lawrence

[solsolsolitude]

Abraham smiles and nods, happy that Lee can be lighthearted and not hard on himself about it. Abraham allows the silence to stay as long as Lee lets it, studying his body language to learn little ticks and habits he might have.

Then Lee breaks the silence and Abraham straightens in his chair, ready to return to business.

"Abraham is fine," he insists. "Though if you're not comfortable with it yet, I understand. We still need to get to know each other. Dorm, yes you will have a dorm. I've set a single for you in the Captain's Hall just down the hill if you'd like. Or you can join a fraternity and their housing. Alpha Nu Gamma would probably be the best fit."

He stands and steps back to his desk grabbing a folder with information packets he'd set aside for Lee. He hands them over.

"And then there's the main reason why we're meeting. We have a mentorship program where students work one-on-one with teachers or staff. Considering our similarities, I felt it only made sense for me to be your mentor. We'd hone your skills in a more focused way than you will get in your classes and if you have any issues, you'd have a direct line to some authority to help you."

He sits back down and offers Lee a smile.

[notmyfaultline]

"I'm not the frat type," Lee assured him. "Their guys are hot, their parties are fun, but me and following strict social procedure or being asked to humiliate myself are just not a good mix. I'll happily take a single." Honestly, he expected to have a roommate, so he was already winning.

"So my Caretaker and my Mentor??" he says with a jaunty attitude, smiling crookedly as he flips through the pamphlets and info packet. "I can't say I disagree. We don't crack the earth in the same way, but I doubt anyone here comes closer to my powers than you. It's a good idea." Lee nods, the decision seeming practical and simple to him. "But don't say I didn't warn you when I'm a lot to handle, Abraham." Lee tested out the first name. He hated saying it to someone who he clearly should have manners for...but Abraham had requested it. It was also good manners to call people what they wanted to be called.

"Anything else? It feels almost too easy, coming into The Headmaster's office, getting a bunch of advice and a mentor, and then walking out scott free. It is not a situation I've been in often." Lee's recklessness usually led to headmaster's offices where more...corporal...interactions took place.

[killertwhips]

"I'm not cheating. I'm simply using the tools I've got at my disposal." Perry counters with a saccharine smile, squatting down so he can get a better look at Faultline. He scans over the student's features, scouring through his own fragmented memories. Perry vaguely remembers a boy with the power to control the earth and his volatile temper. "Ah, I remember you." Realization hits him like a truck. He frowns down at Faultline, suddenly sympathetic for his plight. "You were one of the Tantalus kids." Perry reaches down to scoop Lee up and off of the ground, holding him upright beneath his armpits. "No wonder you hate me." He tosses Lee up and onto his shoulder so he can walk them to a nearby bench. Planting Lee onto the bench he joins the disgruntled student. What can he even say? Lee had known the version of Gossamer who was downright cruel. Perry drums his hands on his thighs, trying to disperse the awkward energy that now sat heavily between them. "I'd say I'm sorry but I don't think you'll ever forgive me." He casts a glance at his captive audience, "I was a different person then. Trying my best to impress the Mind Melder. That life was all I had ever known, and nothing I can say now will make up for it. But I've changed." He says, knowing that wouldn't be enough to convince Faultline. "--But I understand if you can't find it in your heart to give me a chance. I know I wouldn't. If I were you I would kill me in my sleep."

[notmyfaultline]

"Whoa hey!" Lee said, disliking both being lifted by his armpits (humiliating) and being flung over evil spider-man's shoulder 9emasculating). He jerked his body as much as he could, which was to say he gently flopped like a fish. Eventually he was dumped onto the bench, and he was able to stay sitting by leaning against the arm rest.

"Then you understand why I don't intend to forgive you." Lee had to work hard to enunciate. The paralytic was making it hard to do anything. "Not until I've kicked your ass for every time you kicked some little kids' ass. At my count that'll be...ah, right before the heat death of the universe." Lee wanted to sound more intimidating, but his head flopped forward as he talked, unable to hold itself up on the bench.

"How do they even let you work here? I mean fuck, I only came cuz they wanna fix me. But they put you in charge??? How? Why?" He had to close him eyes and focus, but after a couple moments, the park bench began to vibrate more aggressively than could be normal. He didn't have the strength to rip it apart, but he could puff up like a puffer fish at least a little. God, he hated being helpless in his own body.

[boysappetit]

Harris Dickinson 🕳️👅

[mythosope]

magic pulses beneath slender fingers, curling up from fleshbound pages in tendrils of glittering black. words are whispered, so faint that only the most discernible might make them out.

hup gn'thh ph' Y' l' uln ymg' gof'nn hed ya uln mgepogor r'luhhor b'st ymg' favor l' ya inside of the dome of eden, lovecraft was opening a portal to a plane long forgotten by the gods. night had fallen, allowing the hero to practice his magic undisturbed and away from the prying eyes of his classmates. his magic slithers in the air, roiling into a ball that grows steadily as lovecraft recites his ritual. lovecraft opens his eyes upon finishing the spell, watching as the ball of magic floats away from him before sinking onto the floor. it vanishes into the tiles of the dome and brings with it an unsettling stillness in the air. lovecraft taps his foot impatiently, tucking the necronomicon against his side. where the ball had vanished a puddle forms, growing in depth and size rapidly. it's large enough now for something to crawl forward from her depths. lovecraft steps closer, peering over the roiling edges of the portal where he meets dozens of shimmering eyes peering up at him. Deep Ones. The very first creatures he had summoned forth were staring up at him expectedly. They floated in place, knowing they hadn't been the one selected to come forth. Something shot through the crowd of Deep Ones, climbing through the portal with clumsy excitement. Lovecraft quickly takes a step back as a webbed claw slaps down upon the tile. Its followed by another before the head of the creature appears, staring and chittering up at Lovecraft. "Kevin!" He greets the Deep One with fondness that is returned as the creature surges forward, resembling a puppy reunited with its owner. It approaches, awkward on land as ever to affectionately nuzzle Lovecraft's shoulder. "Hello! I missed you." He tells the abomination who purrs fondly in response. Lovecraft is so engrossed with his Deep One that he doesn't notice another person entering the dome. They must have heard his chanting, compelled by the sudden seakissed breeze in the dome. Kevin and the other Deep Ones are the first to notice the intruder. Those out of sight rise to the edges of the portal, eyes shimmering an eerie gold in the dim light.

Lovecraft gives a small wave to the man who had stumbled upon his ritual. "Hi." He looks between the intruder and his creatures who have all continued to stare. "Nothing to see here. I'm just....practicing."

[notmyfaultline]

TUMP! Tump. Tump. Tump. TUMP! Tump. Tump. Tump.

Lee's feet were keeping pace with the softer guitar rhythm in his ears, and his breathing was puffing out with some sign of labor as long legs and pale thighs ran along the trails near the edge of campus.

Running was a good way to get his vibrations out so they didn't feel so destructive. He each footfall was a little bass drum, pushing the pulses into the ground somewhat harmlessly. What was one more crack on a paver anyway?

At some point, Lee realized his rhythm wasn't following the rhythm of his song anymore anymore. Amy Lee was still singing about landslides, but his feet were pounding to something else. So he started to follow it.

Eventually his feet brought him to greenhouse, and he witnessed an unknown man doing..."What the fuck..." he whispered, tugging a headphone from his ear. Fleetwood Mac faded to barely anything as he watched this student hugging a fish-like entity. It made his spine shudder. He was still outside of the dome, technically, when the guy inside spoke to him. Between glass and the running music, he tilted his head. "Huh?" he said out loud.

Lee reached for the handle of the greenhouses, tugging the door open. "What did you say?" he called into the humid space. "Shit it's hot in here. Is this a greenhouse or a jungle?" He took the moment to lift the edge of his tank top, wiping the sweat from his face.

[solsolsolitude]

"I prefer 'caretaker' over 'cool professor,'" Abraham admits. "'Cool professor' makes me sound desperate for approval."

Abraham listens to Lee, noting what he brings up without much prompting. Seems he's a little insecure about his powers, not just because of his control issues.

He also chuckles at being "earthquaked," even feigning like he got hit before returning to his position.

"Well, even if you're not an earth-bender as you call it, there is still some overlap between our powers and I think I can help. I caused a mudslide when I was your age. Caused some serious damage."

He remembers those months after being freed from Mind Melder. Isolating himself and still causing some earth shakes or bringing up giant schist pillars where ever he walked.

[notmyfaultline]

"I figured a hero school was the right place to be. I don't, uh, I don't tend to quake accidentally, I'm just a little..." he paused to chew over the right word to use. "...short-sighted." He finally answered. It wasn't his powers he lost control of. It was himself. "I tend to leap before I look. I cracked that pavement on purpose. I didn't crack the tanks underneath on purpose."

He paused, then grinned a bit, "I guess that technically is a lack of control. If I were more precise then I could've only cracked the concrete." The thought seemed like it hadn't occurred to him before. "Hm."

He let them sit in silence after that. Lee didn't mind the long quiet moments stretching between two people. The best people could enjoy just existing together. With each breath, the slow rumbling sound in his chest filled the space. It sounded like stones sliding against each other. His body vibrating under his skin.

"So what happens next, Caretaker?" Lee asked after a good couple minutes of quiet contemplation. "Do I get a dorm? Are there roommates? I feel a little old for roommates."

[fortidudes-deactivated20260131]

For a while, Lachlan just laid in his tent, eyes closed and soaking in the peace of the outdoors. Out here he didn't have to wake up the sounds of yelling, too-loud music, hyena-like laughter and arguing like he did at the Alpha Nu house. He was quietly grateful for Lee and his invitation to take the weekend away from campus. Lachlan was a city boy, but the peace out here was undeniable.

And the sun. It warmed his skin, made him tingle all over. His body absorbed the rays, recharging something deep within in. When he finally decided to get up, he undid the tent flap and stretched. He was dressed only in a loose pair of athletic shorts, hanging precariously on his hips.

His eyes fell on Lee and he smirked, seeing just how...free the other was. A little laugh escaped him and he stepped out of the tent, bare feet on the undergrowth and grass. "Tea sounds great, yeah." Lachlan nodded. "I feel overdressed. Didn't know there'd be such a lax dress code on day two."

[notmyfaultline]

Lee seemed confused for a couple moments, eyebrows quirking with a tilt of his head. Then the meaning settled in, and Lee's entire posture shifted immediately. "Oh shit!" he said prompting launching a hand down to cover his cock and balls while he turned to hide his bared ass from Lachlan. "I completely forgot. You know, after a while it stops feeling risque and just starts..." his stomach clenched and released, visible due to his lack of clothing.

"I...I can put something on if you just..." Lee looked around for a good place to set his tea down. He stole a too-hot sip, unable to resist, before just setting the mug into the dirt next to the fire, rising up to his full height and letting his second hand also cover his crotch. "...I can just head back into the tent and get my backpack if you're...uncomfortable..."

He paused, words slowing down as his nerves settled down. Lachlan was between him and the tent, and he hadn't said anything that made him sound horrified. So Lee began to slowly move his hands away from, exposing the rest of himself. "...unless you're good?" He slowly turned back to the tea materials to make him a cup, as if waiting for permission.

[killertwhips]

"It isn't. Not by a longshot." Perry replies with a look of amusement. "But it is the most interesting, for sure. It's not everyday I get attacked on campus by a student. There really is a first time for everything!" He chirps, glancing around to ensure that nobody had been injured by Lee's antics. Beneath Perry's outstretched hand the wall gives way, exploding into debri which catches the spider off-guard. He jumps away with a flourish before shooting another line of webbing. Perry lands on a building opposite of Lee where he quickly goes to work. Reaching for his web-shooters he switches out the cartridge, replacing the web-formula with his very own toxin. It was made to incapacitate and had been a favorite tool of Gossamer to quell particularly troublesome subjects. "Attacking staff members and destroying property is against the rules, young man." Perry lifts his wrist, taking aim at Faultline.

"This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you." He presses down on the button affixed to the center of his palm, shooting a barb of venom straight into Lee's neck. Perry didn't question if his shot had found its mark. He had been trained to make particularly difficult shots in dire circumstances. "Don't fight it. Just let go." His venom was only deadly in large amounts and Perry only ever used enough to debilitate his foes. Lee would feel his limbs begin to grow heavy, as if somebody had shut them off entirely. He would remain conscious and capable of speaking. He approaches, keeping a respectable distance to avoid any physical attacks while close enough to observe the effects of his venom. Only when Perry is certain that Lee is down for the count does he approach. "Now you're going to tell me who you are and why you're so angry with me."

[notmyfaultline]

Lee felt the wall crumble; knew he'd hit it dead on. It was like when you popped a particularly stiff joint and felt the release. His vibrations tumbled free into the air, and he terminated them. Then the bastard of a spider flung himself to another building, and Lee turned to face him, sliding his foot across the ground to find the next viable path for his vibrational deconstruction.

His foot moved slowly.

"Bullshit," Lee cursed in confusion. His powers could cause him to move sluggishly if he overdid it, his own vibrations fucking with his muscle tension. He wasn't anywhere near his limit, though. He'd fired two relatively small bursts of energy. So why was his arm rising so slowly...

Lee collapsed to the ground without ever noticing the needle in his neck. He couldn't see it, and now his head felt heavy and unwieldy as he feebly tried to swing it around to keep track of the spider-fuck.

"Cheater." Lee spoke with a low raspy voice. He wasn't entirely sure who he was blaming. Probably his own powers, although he was clearly beginning to expect foul play. He didn't flail about, or even try to expend his energy wildly. He was surprisingly calm for the intense outburst he'd just exhibited. His stomach heaved and fell in controlled breaths. It wasn't until Perry's face is back in view that the anger comes back.

"Fuck you, Perry the Platypus." Lee smiled at his own reference, and tried to sit up only to have his muscles slip. He collapsed back onto his back. "Go beat up some kids. Or die. Either would be good."

[notmyfaultline]

@fortidudes

Lee was staring off into the distance, listening to birdsong and the trees cracking gently in the morning breeze. Black tattoos drawled across his skin, which he turned to the sun to bask in its warmth. It would be too cold to do this soon, although if he kept bringing Lachlan they could extend that date for several weeks.

He was alerted by the bubbling of his pot over the fire, and he turned back with an excited smile, rubbing his hands together as he skipped back to the firepit. He picked up the pot and squatted low so he could gently pour it into his teapot, where his black tea blend was just waiting to steep.

This was how Lachlan would find him. Naked, hunched over a tea kettle, and humming a little song to himself. He whipped his head around when Lachlan emerged from the tent, all smiles. "Morning! You want some tea?" He lifted an empty mug in offering.

[solsolsolitude]

Abraham looks up from the desk and sees the man poking his head in. He chuckles and waves him in.

"Ayodele," he corrects politely. "But Abraham is just fine. Please take a seat and shut the door behind you."

Abraham finishes a signature for some papers then puts all his focus onto Huds- Lee. He'd been looking over his file so much that Hudson had been beginning to stick. Abraham stands and moves around to sit in the chair next to Lee rather than across a desk.

"Welcome to Fortitude Hall. I hope you're adjusting well. I wanted to meet with you as soon as possible because I, well, selfishly, I'm interested in how your power set resembles mine."

[notmyfaultline]

"Ah, so you're the cool professor who lets students call him by his first name." Lee didn't say that sarcastically. He seemed to mean it, a smile on his face. He closed the door and took a seat, trying not to look like he was at dentist's appointment, or something unpleasant.

Professor Ayo Abraham seemed to reinforce that coolness when he sat beside him rather than across from him.

"Ah. Look, the gas station was an accident." Lee immediately went into apology mode. "I didn't mean to blow it up. I accidentally ruptured one of the storage tanks under the ground when I cracked the pavement." It was the event that had put him back on Fortitude's radar. The reason they brought him in after fifteen years on his own. He just assumed they assumed he'd turned rotten.

"I know everybody thinks I'm an earthbender but I'm not. Trust, it took my parents way long to figure out how my powers worked too. I just push vibrations from my body into stuff I'm touching. Most of the time...that's the ground. So it looks like earthquakes. But I'm not really an Earthquake guy." He held out his hand and pushed in Abraham's direction. "I can't just decide, 'Bam! You are Earthquaked!'."

[killertwhips]

Perry didn't remember Lee. Nor did he remember any of the Dark Children rescued after the death of the Mind Melder. They had all been expendable, serving as cogs in a machine that had long since been destroyed. Having proven himself as highly capable, Gossamer was tasked with training countless test subjects, forcing them into rigorous training that pushed them to their absolute limit. Most of them had been plucked off of the streets, making them inferior in Perry's eyes who had been created from scratch to the Mind Melder's specifications. No matter how much they were experimented on, trained, or tortured, they would never be good enough.

That had been fifteen years ago. Gossamer was a teacher now with a much more gentle approach, handling his students with a firm yet gentle hand. He looked back at his time during the Initiative as one would an embarrassing memory from middle school. It was an unfortunate circumstance that was beyond his control. Perry hadn't been created to coddle or soothe. He had been a heartless killing machine, enacting the will of his master without care of discretion. So Perry couldn't feel guilty. He wouldn't and couldn't be sorry. "Hey asshole!" The voice calls out to him but Perry doesn't hear it. He's on the phone with Legion, asking if he wants him to pick up anything enroute to the man's mansion. Suddenly a tingle starts at the base of his skull, forcing Perry to freeze. He hangs up the phone just as the ground beneath him opens up like a ravenous beast. Thwip! Perry shoots a line of webbing to a nearby building, attaching to the side of it with ease. Canting his head to the side he fixes his eyes upon the culprit, still just as confused as he had been moments before. "Hey, buddy. You okay?"

[notmyfaultline]

A crooked, ruinous line sliced through pavement and grassy knoll both. The ground opened inward, and a few people leaped back from the opening fissure. Thankfully, the fissure was only about eight or nine feet deep. It took Lee longer than that to open up to something dangerous. Unfortunately, the agile man leapt off to the side of a building, dodging the opening volley entirely.

One had to wonder about Lee's choice of tactics. If he had really been trying to kill him, he wouldn't have warned him with the yell. Then again, any warning would've been moot because Perry would've sensed it. So maybe it wasn't a sign of weak intent. Maybe he just wanted to kill him and insult him.

Perry landed on the wall and decided to talk, so Lee turned and immediately lifted a palm, gripping at the air like he was trying to crush it in his hand. The problem with his power was that it was wildly destructive but not very fast. It was the same problem he had as a kid. Not worthy of weaponizing if it wasn't quick enough. Nothing seemed to happen at first. Lee locked eyes with Perry while pressure built up and the loose earth around Lee's feet started to pop and tumble around.

"Aw come on. This isn't the hardest thing you've done today." Then the second line raced out from where he stood. This one stayed thin and wiry, lancing up the side of the building to where Perry was attached. Then it exploded the section of wall into a webbing of cracks, and pieces of the wall began to rip free from the building, right where Perry had put his web.

[notmyfaultline]

@killerthwips - It's On Sight

Fortitude Hall wasn't big but it also wasn't small. So it was possible for people to pass each other every day and never notice. Hell, Lee and Perry probably had passed each multiple times on different days.

Today was not one of those days.

You'd think fifteen years of age would make someone unrecognizable, but not when your prepubescent brain had seared this person's being into your prefrontal cortex. Lee had memories of the young assassin, and none of them were fond. Sterile walls. Lengthy training sessions. His fucking attitude.

Lee was just sitting on the grass, soaking up some sun, when he heard his voice. Not just the voice, but the smarminess that came with it. And his brain knew. Like when you suddenly remembered the name of an actor you'd forgotten for years. The memory slammed into him and he popped up, finding the voice again. Then it was all too easy to see the physical similarities; the way that boy might've aged into this man. Was he 100% sure he was correct? No. But the rage said he didn't care if he was wrong.

Lee felt his fists clench, but he was on his feet before he could even register that he'd done it. Shirt forgotten on the grass, he marched towards that voice like a lunatic. His whole body was vibrating, literally vibrating. A rivet popped free of one of his jean pockets, pinging off a tree. "Hey asshole!" he rang across the open space. Then he lifted his foot and slammed it against the ground. "Eat dirt!"

The ground split apart where his foot touched down, pavement cracking under his foot as a fissure raced across concrete, aiming to swallow the smaller man whole.

[fortifellows]

Monroe let out a small, loose laugh, the kind that came from finally letting himself unclench. The tension in his shoulders eased as he glanced at the dust cloud forming around Lee’s clothes. Being around someone else, someone real and tangible, steadied him more than he expected. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and huffed another quick laugh. "Wait, they can actually do that? Super proof the tile? I didn’t think about that but yeah that makes sense. I just once I absorb something or make myself heavier as the object I have absorbed I could easily crush anything with my steel like strength or whatever." The words came out before he could soften them and he winced a little, not wanting it to sound like bragging. It was simply a fact he had learned the hard way.

He shifted his towel higher on his hips as Lee peeled off another shredded layer and nodded toward him with a small lopsided smile. "I’m uhm Monroe by the way, or should I say Compound. I’m not really sure about budgets." He could feel the familiar buzz in his chest that came with trying to act normal when normal felt like a moving target. His eyes drifted to the ruined socks and then back to Lee’s face. "If they don’t give us a clothing budget, you might need hazard pay just for laundry alone." He commented lightly, trying to offer a bit of humor as he stepped slightly aside to give the man more room to change. "Just a curious guy, but do you normally get dusty all day?"

[notmyfaultline]

"I mean, you got super-strength guys using these showers every day. It would be silly to use regular tile..." Lee said, but then remembered that every school he'd ever been to had been under-funded. Maybe Fortitude was, too. He'd never considered it, but he did now as he tugged his shirt up and over his head.

It took a second or two longer for Lee to realize that this guy was describing his powers. "Oh your steel-like strength?" he said with a quirked brow and a smirk. "Is this where they got Abs of Steel from for all those infomercials?" He pointed at the other mans stomach rising from the expanse of towel. His abs were definitely defined enough for the title, and Lee clenched his own stomach to try and keep up. "Did you like, touch something steel and then...ya know."

He tried to smile to keep it light, make sure he was joking. But he had to look away to unbuckle his pants and slip them to the floor too, trying to move them slowly so the dust didn't escape. Once he was done, the underwear-clad young man stood up and waved his hand. You could see where the dust cut off abruptly in the shape of his clothing. It was like dusty tan lines. The hidden parts of his body seemed that much more secret, and a slow pink started to spread across the tops of his ears as he realized he was stripping down in front of a stranger.

"I'm Lee," he said with a cough. A distraction from his current nudity. "And yes. Anytime I use my powers..." he reached down for one of his already destroyed socks. He held it in his hand, and at first nothing happened. The locker room was silent except for the stone-on-stone rumbling sound that was Lee's breathing. His naked stomach pushed out, then retracted as he held the sock. Then, slowly, the sock seemed to begin unraveling. No, disintegrating? Deteriorating? It was hard to place the effect, but the edges of the fabric did indeed begin to shrink and turn into darkly colored dust. "Things tend to fall apart into dust, and it gets everywhere."

[notmyfaultline]

@fortuidousfortitude - 1 Year Ago...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Lee cracked open the door to the headmaster's office, backpack still slung over his shoulder and duffle bag still in his hand. He was, for once, not covered in dust. He had been discouraged from using his powers since he trashed that seven-eleven (not his fault...not entirely).

"Uh, Mr.....Ayo-dele?" Lee read the name, in a halting confused fashion, off of a slip of paper in his hands. It housed a crudely drawn map from the campus's clinic to this office. He folded it and shoved it into a pocket on the borrowed scrubs he was wearing. Already they showed signs of wear, a thread hanging loose near the shoulder seam. They wouldn't last much longer.

"I was told to report to you before I did anything else. I'm Lee -er - Hudson Lee. Lawrence. Please don't call me Hudson." Lee didn't know why he was being sent to the headmaster right away. Maybe because he was a late enrollment? Maybe because his grades sucked and he'd dropped out of high school. Really, any number of things could've led him to be here. So many, in fact, that the fact he might be dangerous didn't even cross his mind. Lee wasn't dangerous. Usually.

[fortifellows]

open starter - colosseum: first floor

It felt good to be done, to have a moment where he wasn’t being observed or measured. He slung a towel around his waist and reached for his bag, only to freeze when he caught movement in the corner of his eye. Someone else had come in. Relief loosened his shoulders almost immediately. He lifted a hand in greeting, laughing under his breath as the words tumbled out of him faster than intended.

“Oh good, somebody else. I was beginning to wonder if I couldn’t control my powers in there and turned into water. Broke some tile by grabbing the movable shower head… what limits I’d have to go to for help. But at least I’m not alone. I get that it’s a weird time to be here, but... I’m gonna stop talking now. Hi!”

He grinned at the stranger, trying not to look like someone desperate for normalcy. Heat still clung to his skin from the shower, but most of the warmth in his chest was from simple relief.

[notmyfaultline]

Lee blinked at the sudden and insistent deluge of words. "Uh, yeah. Hi." He said, somewhere between tired and overwhelmed. He was coated in layers of dust. You could see it clinging to the crevasses of his jacket and hiding between strands of hair. There was a suspiciously clean section of his face, and a less suspiciously dirty bandana around his neck that had probably covered his nose and mouth.

"I'm sure the tiles have been super-proofed. And if not, I think a broken shower tile is like, the least of their worries." He reached up a dust-covered hand to pat this new guy on the shoulder. He got close enough to feel the heat lifting off the skin from that post shower glow. Then stopped, and held the offending hand up sheepishly. "I probably shouldn't touch you or anything else until I wash up."

So instead Lee started to tug off the clothes he was wearing. Everything he was wearing aside from the that dust-covered jacket looked like it had been through a tornado of glass. Seams were ripped along his jeans. His t-shirt had a big tear right along the collar so that the elastic looked less like a shirt and more like a collar. He didn't seem to be wearing shoes, and his socks were little more than rags that he took off and frowned at. "Do we get a clothing budget for all this training? I'm gonna ruin so many socks here..."

[p0p-salvation]

Harris Dickinson

photographed by Beau Grealy

[shivyroys]

BILL FARRAH and DARBY HART in A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD (2023-) | S01 E06 "CRIME SEEN"

[zanephillips]

HARRIS DICKINSON A Murder At The End Of The World 1.04 "Chapter 4: Family Secrets"