#blcsscdson

[flowingstar]

-- @blcsscdson liked for a starter .

" my gosh . . . you still look awful , " gale muttered , exhaling a stream of smoke as she studied her older brother . the cigarette dangled lazily between her fingers , its glowing tip briefly lighting up the growing dusk .

she never could help being a little harsh with him . maybe it was habit . maybe it was the only way she knew how to show she cared . either way ;

she took another drag , narrowed her eyes , and added , " what happened to you all these years ? "

[nuclearspring-a]

@blcsscdson / it occurs to him as the gecko steak sears in the pan (cookware courtesy of an abandoned house a few miles in the distance) that he will indeed need to take his helmet off to eat. there is nothing wrong with this, except that he's had too many mentats and is certifiably antsy. half expects to be shot in the head the moment he shows his face.

steak is done. he shoves one helping off on jack, and then, after lengthy hesitation, begrudgingly removes the helmet. hunches a little bit in his irritation (though the paranoia is a factor as well). eyes jack, eyes their surroundings, eyes the moon, the fire. waits for movement.

[redemn]

❝        your  ma  would’ve  done  worse’n  kill  you  ,      son  ,        ❞        arthur  shoots  back  ,      with  as  much  lightheartedness  in  his  voice  as  jack’s  grin  is  toward  him  .        ❝        and  she  would’ve  killed  me  for  laughin’  ‘bout  it  like  i  am  now  .      but  you  ?      you’re  good  at  that  stuff  .      you  really  grown  ,      jack  .        ❞        he  gestures  ,      skin  of  his  bared  forearm  simmering  warmly  beneath  the  southern  sun  .      his  face  already  sports  redness  from  the  burn  .      it  may  not  be  mexico  here  ,      but  the  midst  of  the  summer  brings  a  heat  to  it  arthur  appreciates  more  than  ever  .      he's  not  cut  out  for  the  cold  ,      in  spite  of  his  upbringing  amongst  the  harsher  northern  climates  of  america  .      down  south  is  where  he's  always  belonged  .

just  not  quite  as  south  in  the  world  as  jack  has  been  .      a  learned  young  man  ,      no  longer  the  little  boy  he'd  known  .      of  course  ,      jack  has  spanned  more  years  between  now  and  the  last  time  he'd  seen  arthur  ,      and  though  it  feels  strange  ,      arthur's  grown  accustomed  to  most  things  about  him  .      still    …

❝        you  really  grown  ,        ❞        he  repeats  ,      squinting  against  the  sun  .      a  moment  later  ,      he  tilts  his  head  down  ,      letting  the  brim  of  his  hat  hide  the  vision-stunting  shine  .        ❝        i  learn  somethin'  new  aboutchu  every  day  .      all  these  words  i  ain't  never  heard  in  my  life  .      you  sound  like  a  real    …        ❞        he  clicks  his  tongue  ,      chewing  at  the  inside  of  his  cheek  .        ❝        you  got  any  more  tricks  up  your  sleeve  ?        ❞

@blcsscdson . / continued .

[redemn]

it’s  strange  ,      how  fifteen  years  can  change  a  person  .      even  moreso  a  child  .      he  still  remembers  the  little  boy  who  leapt  at  the  opportunity  to  go  fishing  and  spouted  off  so  many  italian  words  he’d  begin  to  doubt  his  own  ears  .      but  here  he  is  ,      faced  with  someone  so  much  older  ,      with  so  many  more  shadows  in  his  face  :      a  face  that  looks  so  uncannily  similar  to  john’s  .

@blcsscdson . ❝ since that day, so much has changed for me. ❞

❝        when  i  was  a  kid  ,        ❞        arthur  starts  ,      not  knowing  where  he’s  going  ,        ❝        i  watched  my  daddy  die  .      we  wasn’t  as  close  as  you  and  your  pa  was  .      in  fact  ,      i  didn’t  feel  much  sadness  at  all  ,      watchin’  him  go  .      i  felt  more  relief'n  anything  ,      but  …        ❞

he’s  gotten  off  track  ,      but  he’s  quick  to  orient  himself  again  .        ❝        what  i  mean  t’say  is  ,      i  seen  more’a  my  own  die  through  my  life  than  most  people  should  ,      i  think  .      the  worst  part’s  knowin’  the  world’s  gonna  keep  on  goin’  ,      and  the  days’re  gonna  keep  passin’  with  or  without  them  .      but  you  learn  .      you  can’t  go  makin’  dumb  decisions  ‘cause  you  can’t  think  straight  .        ❞        he  reaches  over  ,      rests  a  gloved  hand  on  jack’s  shoulder  .        ❝        doubt  your  momma  and  daddy’d  want  you  gettin’  yourself  killed  so  young  .        ❞

╰ ゜TLOZ : TP STARTERS.  /  𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐.

[coyotlindo]

"The drinks were a bit on the warm side."

the emperor's new groove prompts ( not accepting ) / @blcsscdson

" well, guess it just ain't america. " he jokes, half - heartedly. to any outsider, his tone would sound casual, a simple man joking with a fellow patron about the quality of the drinks in the establishment. but there is so much underneath. a storm behind the hollow eyes above pale eyebags as they scan the younger man, so much left unspoken. he's staring. giving that uncomfortably unblinking stare that only old men can do to people that have not asked for it, entirely clueless of its oddity. in his youth, javier had been stared at that way a lot, by people that wished him gone and out of their country, out of their sight, but not daring or caring to utter a single word. did he avoid their gaze then? or did he stand his ground, staring back defiantly. . . ? he doesn't entirely remember now. things get fuzzy when it's so warm and the drinks are plenty.

finally, he offers a gentle but self - conscious smile, unsure if it is even appreciated. but he's become a melancholic old fool, slowly drowning in the regrets and bitterness that come with age, entirely embracing its vulnerability, despite himself. " 'sides . . . just is warm here, no ? "

[nuclearspring-a]

@blcsscdson / "i'm not here right now," says arcade, for he has recognized jack out of the corner of his eye and has decided to opt out of whatever is to come on principle. "and feel safe operating on the assumption that if you were dying, you'd have collapsed into someone else's arms on the way here. probably julie's. she's got quite the reach."

he doesn't manage to stand his ground for long, because here he properly looks at jack, standing in the doorway of the tent, and this is enough to wrestle his conscience out of hiding. "what do you need?" he asks tiredly. "if it's just a rest you're after, feel free to take advantage of the beds. i won't stop you. but i need the light to read."