#cantxswim

[thesoulofasurvivor]

a plotted starter for @cantxswim​ 

One, two, three — eventually it was enough tries that she had to come to the realization that her lighter was out of juice and no matter how many times she cursed at it, swiping her thumb along the button, the fire wasn’t going to appear. Great. Seemed like all the wood they gathered was all for naught. 

❝ Fuck. ❞ She sighed in defeat, leaning away from the fireplace, a frosty breath of air blew through pursed lips. ❝ This isn’t going to work. ❞ She finally admitted, eyes blinked up at the girl who accompanied her on the floor. ❝ I don’t know how to make a fire with sticks, so we’re shit out of luck if you can’t either. ❞ That was a skill that never really clicked in her head, which is why she always kept a lighter or two on her. 

This place was a wreck but it was one of the only more-intact homes in this neighborhood. The roof was caving it, the windows were all smashed which meant the cold air was blowing in and some snow had fallen in. But the doors locked and the ceiling downstairs was intact... So it wasn’t all bad. They would just have to bundle up in the blankets they found in the house. 

A new lighter added to the list of shit they needed. Ellie needed a new coat, she ripped hers. The only good thing about all this snow is being able to eat it, but some actual food would be nice. And a better place to stay than this hellhole. But it would have to do for tonight. Just one night. They’d leave in the morning. 

The dead lighter is tossed aside and her arms press up against her body in a momentary shiver, ❝ You won’t freeze to death on me, will you? ❞ Joshed Bailey, a slight smile in the corner of her lips. 

She’s known Ellie for only a few days, but she happened to enjoy her company. It’s certainly not often that she meets someone her own age. She reaches over to grab a few blankets and a pillow to offer them over, keeping a couple and a pillow for herself. It could be worse. 

[ireallymisscoffee]

@cantxswim​ hollered: 

Cue very bad and dissonant guitar plucks and strums. "Ugh, god. damn it. How the fu-, how are you supposed to make your hand curl up and hold all these down?"

“practice.” soft noise, gentle smile as he put his own hand over hers, “careful you only hold the one down that you want.” it would get easier with time, it was all just practice. “bend your wrist & only use the tip o’ your fingers.”

[thesoulofasurvivor]

moved x @cantxswim:

They continued their search, briefly splitting up to cover more ground. Old florescent lights sat affixed to the ceiling but none of them worked, and even fewer of them were wholly intact. She scanned the shelving in the isles and along the far wall; she kept an eye out on the floor too, not finding much except things people had already used or eaten. A ragged shirt here, an empty can or bag of food there. She kicked one of the cans; it clanged and skid across the floor before tapping against a wall and coming to rest.

“Nothing,” she replied. She made her way to back to Bailey, on the way noticing old tags on the shelves that were, at one point, probably, bright yellow. Some of them still read SALE in big letters. The sight of warmer clothing sent a small way of relief flowing through her. She thanked her companion and donned the mismatched gloves, one of them pink with flowers on top, the other black and a little thicker, and the winter hat. The hat had a small embossed sun on the front, and on the back, it read GRAND SOLAR MALL. Already, relief was beginning to creep its way back into her fingers and head.

“Ooookay, we look like idiots but it’s better than freezing to death. Can you believe people used to actually buy this stuff. Pff, how lame is that?”

There’s so much about the world before all of this that’s weird to think about. Impossible, even, to imagine. Her eyes glazed over the numerous price tags that were left behind, numbered somewhat differently depending on where you looked, what it was once meant for. Hats, scarves, gloves... People used to buy this stuff, and here they were picking it all up without need to exchange anything in return for it. 

❝ There’s a lot of stuff people used to do that I still don’t understand. ❞ Bailey giggled, shrugging her shoulders, turning away to look down the remainder of the aisle. Her eyes landed on something and she bounced over to approach, a gloved hand coming up to wipe a spot clean on a small mirror. A smile came up on her lips. ❝ I think I look fine. ❞ She looked over to Ellie, the smile replaced with a light, playful grimace. ❝ I can only speak for myself... ❞ She snorted.

The mismatched gloves look a bit funny, but as Ellie put it, it’s better than freezing to death. The extra layers help, but it would be even better if they could find a new lighter or two, an extra wouldn’t hurt. Then they could set up a fire tonight. 

[ireallymisscoffee]

been unable to find the credit for this even through google search. it’s not my art. it just really reminded me of the one troy mentioned in one of his vids, the one he carries with him like, always, soooo. yes. 

[giraffeiisms]

Do you have a green thumb? <3

Munday Questions || Accepting @cantxswim

Oh my god I fucking wish. I can keep everything sparkly clean, but the moment a plant comes indoors? Dead. I have tried everything, done so much research and I can never do it. My girlfriend is the one that deals with the plants.

[ireallymisscoffee]

@cantxswim x:

The smirk hung on her face for just a little while longer. Her eyes drifted from the guitar to the small fire that sat in front of them. Every so often, some sparks fluttered out of the flames and drifted up into the evening sky before going out. Pops and crackles accompanied them as they sat and just relaxed for the first time in what felt like a long time. “Yeah,” she said, “that’d be cool.”

The chill of the night wasn’t too awful but nevertheless, it was noticeable. She yawned and scrunched her eyes up tight before opening them as wide as she could. The stretching felt nice. “Alright. I’m beat.” She stood up from the log and started to unpack her rather ragged sleeping bag. As she laid down she said, “Start thinking of lyrics. We’ll write Jelly’s first song when we get to Tommy’s.”

"it's only gonna work if you're really tryin', but if you do? nothing's gonna stand in your way." fatherly advice? nah. it was true though, ellie could be anything she wanted if she just tried. besides, learning to play the guitar was pretty much the same thing. she'd only really get good at it if she tried. he enjoyed the nights like this. peace & quiet, almost like they didn't live in a hopeless world. almost like it was just a little family out in the woods for a weekend, camping & doing family things. almost like he did with sarah that one summer.

"yeahhh, it's late. we gotta be up early." they had a long march ahead of them & soon they'd move even slower with winter coming closer every day. "no, we won't." he replied in a ...somewhat sing-song rumbly rasp of a response. he kicked a little more wood into the fire & sat on top of his own sleeping bag, a blanket covering his lower half as he leaned against the log. "g'night." he'd keep watch for a while.

[imafirefly]

"You read comics?"

@cantxswim

      "Like comic books? Not really. Usually just stick to books. Unless you can recommend any good ones?"

[imafirefly]

👌 - Gimme that bonding over old rum crack >W> <3

drunk confessions - @cantxswim​

      Abby felt like a horrible influence but it wasn’t necessarily like Ellie was the most innocent either. Their latest adventure had landed them with a half full bottle of rum that one of them insisted it shouldn’t go to waste. No argument from her though. For being so composed and proper the majority of the time, a little indulgence wouldn’t be too bad. Or at least she hoped.  With most of the facility asleep already, the privacy of their room was a safe haven for their questionable decision making.

      With another small swig, Abby grimaced ever so slightly and offered the bottle back to Ellie, brown liquid swishing within. “Take it. I’m good for now, I should have grabbed more soda.” At least if she had grabbed an extra can she could add to it but drinking it straight from the bottle wasn’t ideal. “Sneaking out isn’t so bad when you find stuff like this, right? But I’ve had better when I’m out with Owen.” Oh no. Had she let that slip? She let that slip. For as much shit as she gave Ellie about their decisions to sneak out, the cat was outta the bag. Here she was sneaking out more than admitted while almost scolding Ellie every time the two of them ventured out.

      Her rexpression remained blank and she was hoping that the comment had gone unnoticed but that hope was quickly shot down at the reaction she had received. “I was not supposed to say anything, shit.”