i mean they did also kill jesus. that was a pretty significant thing that happened. like i understand where youâre coming from here but they very much did kill jesus.
David is over a hundred years dead, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten all of what came before.
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So, this one was very fun to write, and includes one of my personal favorite headcanons that I'm still tickled that the fandom has adopted a few times: David is Irish! Or, at least, the son of first generation Irish immigrants to America. And for context: a waulking song is a song typically sung while beating clothing like tartan or tweed, 'waulking' it, against a table to help fell and shrink it to help it repel water.
As always, thank you!
At first, Michael thinks it's another dream.Â
The darkness of the room is velvet around him, the sleep still heavy in his body and eyes. The bedsheets under Michael's cheek are a bit stiff, smelling distantly like plain detergent that the motel uses. The line between waking and not is fuzzy, and even as sensations of the real world filter in, he feels liable to slip back into unconsciousness.Â
In sleep, there are normally bodies tucked next to him, the room only having two beds. Michael's dreams are usually his own, all of his own mind. Nonsense fueled by stress or boredom, or whatever made the brain tick. Sometimes though, even in sleep, the dead moved. Rolling closer to him, brushing the skin of an arm or hand against his without knowing, and his mind would feel it. Their dreams were like a distant voice from another room, and if he were conscious, he'd only have to step forward to hear them all clearly.Â
Michael rises back to the world of the waking to a soft, lilting voice filling the silence of the dark room. He thinks that too may be the last moment of a dream he is not having.Â
But there are no bodies beside him now.Â
Michael languidly shifts on the bed, arm pulling out from under a pillow to curl against his chest, and legs stretching out to feel the lower part of the mattress. He's kicked the blankets off halfway, as he usually does. Heâs wearing a loose tee and sweatpants under the covers. Comfortable and warm.
He's alone on the bed. The space beside him where Marko had been, and at the foot of the bed where Thorn had been sleeping, is empty. Michael blinks his eyes open, and even in the darkness, can see across the room. That bed is also empty - Paul and Dwayne gone as well.Â
There is a small line of light from under the door to the bathroom. The hiss and dribble of the running shower comes into focus as a backdrop to a quiet, singing voice.
Realization shocks through him, and Michaelâs eyes widen, sleep dissipated. Itâs.Â
Itâs David.Â
Even through the wood of the closed door, under the running water and the hum of the bathroom fan, Michael can hear him. His low voice, murmuring out the words.Â
Michael canât place the tune. Itâs not the hard rock or screaming metal that heâs used to Paul and Marko blaring out, or the older, meandering songs and beats that Dwayne likes, and not a bopping pop earworm that they all get annoyed about. Hell, for a moment, as he listens, Michael realizes itâs not even in English.Â
âTĂĄ ceann buĂ Ăłir ar an dĂșlamĂĄn gaelach. TĂĄ dhĂĄ chluais mhaol ar an dĂșlamĂĄn maorach.â
Davidâs voice curls around the words in unfamiliar patterns. Long, weaving vowels and harsh breathy stops that never quite leave his throat. The pattern of the lyrics to a very different time signature that Michael cannot help but lie still and listen intently to.Â
DĂșlamĂĄn na binne buĂ, dĂșlamĂĄn Gaelach. DĂșlamĂĄn na farraige, b'fhearr a bhĂ in Ăirinn.â
âŠRussian? No, Michael had heard enough of that on TV to know at least the sound of it. Certainly not French, and it definitely wasnât Spanish.
Continuing to listen brings him no closer to an answer, but Michael finds himself relaxing on the bed again. Eyes on the door. Just letting the words and Davidâs voice pass over him. Some phrases are more clear than others, David repeating them a few times, while others he barely mumbles, maybe forgetting the words, or losing his train of thought. Michael canât help but pay attention to it all.Â
DĂșlamĂĄn na binne buĂ, dĂșlamĂĄn Gaelach. DĂșlamĂĄn na binne buĂ, dĂșlamĂĄn Gaelach. DĂșlamĂĄn na farraige, b'fhearr a bhĂ in Ăirinn.â
Eventually David trails off, the words turn into humming and the water patters harder against the tub basin. Rinsing off. The water shuts off, and Michael hears the rustling of a towel. A huff of breath.Â
Michael, in a fit of sudden self-consciousness, ducks his head back down. Hiding half his face in the pillow. The door swings open and the motel room is bathed in light as David steps out of the bathroom.Â
As quickly as it had come, the light shuts off. It might not have been the sun, but vampires didnât prefer bright lights and the afterimage hazes in Michaelâs eyes for a moment. In the wake of the all-consuming focus, Michael feels the silence like a blanket over his ears.Â
David moves to the other bed, and Michael watches him. He is bare, save for the damp towel around his hips, and when that is removed, Michaelâs gaze flickers away. Until David pulls up from rummaging in the bags stowed on the floor. Until there isâŠat least one layer over pale, naked skin. Itâs not that Michael had never seen David undressed before - living how they were, between stripping off bloody clothing and the lack of room and the mental closeness, there simply wasnât space for that sort of modesty - but it wasnât often that David took off so many layers all at once.Â
He watches David slip on the dark pants, an undershirt, a tee shirt. He leans back to sit on the bed, to put on socks.Â
âWhat was that song?â Michael asks.Â
David startles. Goes still, rather like a deer in the headlights. His head jerks up, blue eyes flashing just a hint of yellow in the dark.Â
It is only when heâs spoken that Michael realizes that this is the first time in nearly two weeks that he's spoken directly to David.Â
The fight had been bad. Bad by their own standards, at that. Maybe it had been the fact that theyâd not been able to stay in one place for more than a couple of days, constantly moving. Maybe it had been the hunger that seemed to chase them, especially Michael being a fledgling, like a hellhound at their heels. Maybe it had just been a full moon - who knows. But one moment, David had made a comment, Michael had answered, David had countered again, and they were off to the races.Â
At least this one hadnât come to blows.Â
Well. Michael wasnât going to take it back. That would be stupid anyway. He waits.Â
Davidâs mouth twitches, caught between words, or maybe emotions. Not anger, but not comfortable condescension. Michaelâs question hangs in the air like the steam from the bathroom. At first, it seems like David is going to continue his side of the silent treatment.Â
Then, he licks his teeth, a flash of pearly tooth in the soothing gesture before tucking back behind thin lips. He leans forward to resume slipping on the socks and reaches for his boots. His eyes are no longer meeting Michaelâs.Â
âWasnât anything, Michael.âÂ
Michael frowns, scowling a little. âDavid, I heard you. I was just curious.âÂ
David sneers as he laces up a boot. âYou listen to everyone while theyâre in the bathroom? Boy, Iâm starting to wonder just who I let into my pack.âÂ
The growl that erupts from Michaelâs throat is rough with sleep and lack of practice making such a noise. He keeps his mouth closed around his teeth, though. No need to add fuel to Davidâs fire.Â
âFine. Whatever, asshole. I just asked a question, not like anyone needs to actually convey fucking information around here.âÂ
Michael kicks off the blankets all the way, shoving them harshly aside as he moves to sit up and start dressing. Heâd go for a shower himself but that would take time, and he doesnât feel like dealing with trying not to trigger his bane while irritation already simmers in his stomach. Heâs halfway off the bed, preparing himself for another long night of either driving or trying to keep himself busy while going nowhere, when David actually speaks again.Â
â...It was Gaeilge.âÂ
Michael pauses. He looks at David.Â
Heâs got the remaining boot in his hands, but heâs not putting it on. His pale fingers are toying with the laces, running them between the digits. His face isâŠunreadable.Â
âWhat?â Michael asks reflexively at the unknown word. Â
Itâs Davidâs turn to scowl now. âYouâd probably just call it âIrishâ these days.âÂ
âThatâs a country,â Michael says incredulously.Â
Davidâs teeth click as his jaw flexes.
âAh, forgive me, then. Didnât realize I was wrong, thank you for correcting me after a hundred years of stupidity for not knowing what I was even talking about.â
David snarls and stops playing with the boot, jamming it onto his foot. His words are clipped in a way that betrays real anger under the surface of his sarcastic wording.
David was hurt.Â
Much like the realization that it had been him singing in the beginning, the notion that anything Michael could say to him wouldâŠsting him, find its way under some unseen crack in that black shell is. Almost ludicrous.Â
But then, why else would Michael suddenly feel like heâd shoved his foot all the way down his own throat.Â
âIt sounded nice.âÂ
Davidâs back is to him, having stood up and rounded the bed to look through the other bags. Maybe just to give his hands something to do. Michael thinks he wonât respond this time, and maybe heâd have every right to.Â
But David sighs. He raises a hand to his face, and even without seeing it Michael can imagine the way the vampire rubs his knuckles across the bridge of his nose.Â
âItâs just an old nonsense song. Got it stuck in my head.âÂ
Michael nods a little, even if David canât see it. âYou said it was Irish?âÂ
âMm. Learned it from my mother, while she was washing clothes.âÂ
His mother. Michael has to take a moment to even digest the words at all, let alone what they mean. Itâs not often anyone in the pack ever talks about their human lives - Marko being the most common, followed by Paul, but even then, it was usually only funny anecdotes or purely relevant information with little detail or context. Their human lives didnâtâŠmatter anymore. Hazy with the memories of human senses, human emotions, human understanding of the world. For people like David, they were a lifetime away, and a mere extant point in time in the forever of their futures.Â
But David apparently remembers his mother, and a song she used to sing.Â
âWhatâs it about?âÂ
â...Seaweed.âÂ
Michael blinks, and feels a small, surprised smile steal onto his face. âItâs about- what?âÂ
David snorts, but turns to face Michael again. His face is much more open. Amused, even.Â
âYou heard me. I told you, it was nonsense.âÂ
âWhy would the Irish write a song about seaweed?âÂ
David just lazily throws his hands in the air, leaning back against the wall. âWhy does anyone do anything? Are you going to get dressed, or are you going to ask for an entire small countryâs musical history?âÂ
Michaelâs hands are indeed still holding a pair of pants that heâd been in the process of taking out of his travel bags when David had responded to his question, and had simply forgotten them. He considers the jeans, the light denim, his thumb on the fold of the knee where the material had almost worn through. Thereâs a rusty brown patch there. A red stain not yet faded.Â
âIt beats talking about anything else,â Michael says.
The amusement fades a little from Davidâs face. The sudden break of their two weeks of ignoring each other's existence and the reason why warring with each other.Â
Maybe David would have said something else, maybe Michael would have fallen back into trying not to speak again, but before either thing could happen, the door to the motel room swings inwards. The handle bangs loudly off the wall, vibrating with the force.Â
âOh good, Sleeping Beauty joins the land of the mostly living! Yâall are fuckinâ slow, itâs been past sunset for like, hours-âÂ
Paul bursts into the room in a whirl of blond hair and gangly limbs that he somehow had enough control over to not smack into anything. Heâs at Davidâs side in a second, a body full of energy with nowhere to direct it but out.Â
âItâs barely past nine,â David drawls, taking the bodily hit with barely a blink.Â
âYeah, and Dwayne told me to tell you that if you donât haul ass and meet us at the gas station by the overpass heâs going to strap you both to his handlebars and keep you there âtill we get to Cheyenne.âÂ
Even as heâs speaking, Paul is moving away, reaching down and picking up bags and preparing to leave. He looks over to Michael.Â
âNice hair.âÂ
âThanks, I just woke up.âÂ
Paul doesnât continue the banter. Just shrugs at David, clearly communicating something as their eyes meet, and then slips back out the door.Â
David doesnât look back at Michael, rather crouching to pick up his own pack and straighten his coat from the minor rufflement. Michael sets himself about actually dressing.Â
âIf you want, you can clean up before we go,â David says as heâs walking to the door.Â
âYeah?âÂ
âSure.â David glances over his shoulder. âI promise I wonât listen.âÂ
Guys I fear I might become one of those annoying ass "but in the books!" people about pjotv. PLEASE give Nico his fun and whimsy in s3 it's what makes his character interesting
Reblog and put in the tags: In terms of controversy, discourse, infighting, ship wars, etc., which of the fandomâs youâve been was the most stressful? Which was the most peaceful?
The parallels between Johnny Cade and Bob Sheldon never stop hurting.
Johnny, born into a poor household with nothing but a jean jacket and a switchblade and a paperback book in the end, and Bob born into money with everything he could ever want, grateful for none of it.
Bob, spoiled and adored by his parents, a golden boy no matter what he did. Johnny, neglected and unloved and desperate to be wanted by them, if only for a moment. He was gold too but very few saw him for it.
Bob, whose parents constantly went easy on him no matter what he did and was desperate to be told no, to be yelled at, to be belted just once. Johnny, whose parents constantly hurt him and was desperate to be loved by them, either ignored or beaten or screamed at, so desperate that he almost preferred the violence because at least it was something.
Johnny, who never ever started a fight and felt too much, and Bob, who went looking for them and felt nothing.
Bob, who died violently and alone, his friends running away and leaving him behind. No one stayed for him.
Johnny, who quietly died with his two best friends with him. They stayed with him, fought for him, tried everything they could to protect him from this cruel world.
Bob, who had Randy and he left, didn't fight in the rumble that was in his name. Johnny, who had Dally and he stayed, pulling a blade to get out of the hospital and fighting even though he was hurt, who died for his grief of losing Johnnycake.
Bob, who died a useless death over a drunken grudge, and Johnny, who died a hero, redeeming himself in the end.
The only time their paralleled lives ever met was in moments of violence, Robert Sheldon's fist breaking the lines, rings glinting, and Johnny Cade's blood and blade glinting in reply.
Haven't gotten to watch it yet but I would bet an absurd amount of money that daniel kills or attempts to kill someone. It just feels like the natural progression of things.
Like he was deadass questioning why miyagi didn't kill johnny's coach in kk2 (which I could go on a whole rant about but it's offtopic so I won't) so if he hated someone enough I could see it
Also he chopped through six pieces of ice once through the power of focus, so he could do it. I believe in him
theyâre saying itâs 3am and theyâre so tired and lets just drive and get out of here and then it happens and theyâre like âwell that woke me upâ
#they really said âyou canât use wiki as an academic source-use our garbage AI thatâs even less reliableâ#and you canât even opt out of it
no but you can FORCE it away. use ublock origin and copy paste the blacklist i made into the filters to be able to remove the bullshit AI overview that google forces. it also removes youtube's forced ads (at least until they fix it)
you can also use the ublacklist extension and use this blacklist of AI image generation websites to curate your google image results
there are ALWAYS ways around stuff. it's just a matter of looking into it and asking around