just another sad musician

how long have you been sober?

i heard the first 90 days are the toughest.

i know it doesn't add up, but i get something from holding onto this.

we're going the wrong way!

oh please, [ NAME ], could you not patronize me?

hey, can you keep it down please?

you know i hate it when you don't take the things i say seriously.

come on sweetheart, i just had a rough day today.

you're drunk, what a surprise!

that's not it, it never is!

you've been saying that for years!

everything looks okay after ten beers.

i could use a little help.

that's a real low blow.

don't you know how tough this is for me?

at least one of us is having a good time.

reminds me of some creepy cult.

this is a valuable, rare, and sought-after collection.

i'd like to have a bath in peace.

the devil himself would struggle with you.

this place is crazy enough without your two cents.

what's all the noise about?

[ NAME ], help! what should i do?!

stop, it's too late!

i'm sure there's nothing to worry about.

there was nothing you could do.

what's happened has happened.

do you trust your head, or your heart?

my advice, for what it's worth, is... to thine own self be true.

i'm not supposed to interfere.

what do you want me to do, [ NAME ]?!

calm down, genius, i already tried making a call.

hey, [ NAME ], how are you doing?

i don't remember being in any crash.

you're probably in mild shock.

i'm fine, thanks for asking.

think of it as a character building exercise.

teamwork at its finest.

i've got no signal either, must be a dead spot.

– and we've already concluded this conversation.

no need for a vote, decision's been made.

we really don't have time to be arguing.

try to be civil, it costs nothing.

try sticking up for yourself sometime.

i'm not wasting another breath on you.

the last thing we need is you causing trouble.

you wanna come along and wait with me?

i still think the smart move is to stick together.

how'd we end up back here?

there's a rational explanation for what's happening.

i'm doing my best to understand this, just like you.

we're trapped in a nightmare.

we have to get outta here right fucking now.

this isn't helping us find help!

there's nowhere else we can go except into that damn town.

i'm not sure this is such a great idea.

we're really going to get into this now?

i need to know 100% that i can rely on you.

we standing here all night or are we going inside?

life moves on, but we don't all go with it.

there's a phone, but it's been dead for years.

anything you can do would be greatly appreciated.

i saw someone in the woods.

nobody would be out here at this ungodly hour.

okay, very good, i'm freaked. who's there?

[ NAME ]? where are you? this isn't funny!

what is your name, sir?

what treachery is this now, [ NAME ]?

[ NAME ], come back here!

how can you not have seen that?!

"stressed", my ass!

you got a better idea?

i'm just gonna say it ... this is exactly what goes down in horror movies.

what the hell do we do now?

i'll deal with this, you stay right here.

who are you? what are you doing here?

what the hell are you? what do you want?!

a black tongue full of riddles, i'll have none of it.

fix your gaze elsewhere!

i am very far from okay ... i'm terrified and confused.

you're blowing this out of proportion, [ NAME ].

fuck that, i'm going another way.

don't you watch horror movies? you never, ever split up.

those movies are dumb.

can we just take a breath and think about what our next move is?

it's not safe for you to be hanging out here on your own.

thanks for coming after me.

the hell are you doing with a gun?

what we don't need is to get someone killed.

make sure the damn thing stays in your pants.

that "terrifying creature" was, in, fact, a cat.

there must be a radio or a working phone inside.

gimme that, i'll smash the window.

if you're feeling under pressure, let someone else do it.

even if you make it, there's no way i'm following.

i might've made a bad call here.

woah, you can't be doing that!

tell me that didn't just happen.

get away or they'll find me!

let's not hang around here, it's time to go.

seriously? you're going in there?

i don't like the idea of being out here on my own.

i'll be as fast as i can, okay?

[ NAME ], the door won't open.

woah, hey, take it easy.

can you stop reacting to every setback like a child?

we'll find a way out of here. we have to.

i appreciate you checking in with me.

who would want land in this godforsaken town?

tell me that didn't just happen.

who would say such a thing?

you look freaked, what's up?

you saw something else, right?

we're really screwed up, here.

can you tell me what you're upset about?

what's going on with you?

i'm going to help you out here if i can, but i need to know your name.

you cannot talk of our secret.

we have an understanding, do we not?

what more proof is needed that the devil walks among us?

the devil is here in this very room.

what the hell was that shit? was that for real?

like i say, i have no good explanation.

when you first told me, i thought you were messing with me.

let's try to force the handle.

still think splitting up was the right move?

personally, i think we're in deep shit here.

maybe the answer lies down the one path we haven't taken yet.

this is fucking crazy, we have no clue what we're getting ourselves into.

[ NAME ], you need to see this.

we were never meant to make it out of here.

i can't see for shit.

you keep saying you're in charge, so... you first.

we can't stay here.

you ever have any family here?

it's already been a hell of a night, but i'm sure we'll pull through.

you don't know that it's safe.

let us pray in silence.

i've done no wrong!

i do not deserve death, i beg you!

who are you ? and how come you look just like [ NAME ]?

the devil is in the wind, seeking to help his own.

[ NAME ], let us conclude our business here swiftly.

[ LOCATION ] is already lost, shrouded in evil!

the devil takes many forms, you know that better than any!

while [ NAME ] still draws breath, [ LOCATION ] is beyond salvation.

i don't know how to tell you what i just saw.

give me a moment, will you? i've just gone through something pretty rough.

what the hell is that?!

don't leave me behind!

i'm coming back for you, [ NAME ]! hold on!

reach out and grab my hand!

that was really quite close.

not that there's anything particularly wrong with death.

that gun might prove to be a lifesaver. or the precise opposite.

this must be very confusing for you right now.

i dare say we'll find out, hmm?

what in the name of holy fuck was that?

it was like something from a nightmare, did you see how it looked?

whatever that thing was, it's gone now.

thank god we're okay.

you are going to tell me right now what happened.

let's ... stay away from that.

i'm all for putting as much distance between us and that hideous thing as possible.

can't a guy get some peace around here?

i don't think there is another way.

[ LOCATION ] isn't a place i want to revisit.

i'm taking this to protect you.

why can't you leave me alone?

it could be leading us into danger, even a trap!

stay close ... who knows what's up ahead.

what did they do to deserve that?

a laugh - not exactly joyful, but a real one.

"i was gonna retire, too. i am, in the technical way. but i like the moving around too much. people don't need my problems, and i don't need theirs. but im not gonna be a taking kind of person, if i get one life or a hundred. i don't want to deal out what ive been dealt."

his eyes linger on the radio.

The room had grown quieter since he'd switched the radio off. Not truly quiet. Motels never were. Pipes groaned somewhere inside the walls. Rain tapped against the glass. The vacancy sign outside continued its endless electrical buzzing.

But the static was gone.

And somehow that made Buck's words feel heavier.

Nolan stared at the dark radio for several seconds before finally speaking.

"You know..."

His voice was softer than before.

"Most people who come back tell stories about gates. Lights. Family waitin' on the other side."

A faint shake of his head.

"But every now and then you hear somebody describe what you just did."

His eyes remained fixed on the radio.

"Nothing."

Not dismissive.

Almost thoughtful.

"Not darkness. Not punishment. Not peace. Just..." He searched briefly for the word. "Absence."

The fluorescent light overhead buzzed again.

Nolan finally looked up.

"And somehow that scares people more than hell ever did."

His gaze settled on Buck's face.

Not because of the scars.

Not because of the dead.

Because Nolan recognized that particular look.

The look of someone who had already crossed a boundary most people spent their entire lives pretending wasn't there.

When Buck spoke about not wanting to deal out what had been dealt to him, Nolan's expression shifted faintly.

A tired sort of understanding.

"That's the trick, ain't it?"

He folded his arms.

"Most people get hurt and decide the world's gonna pay 'em back."

A pause.

"Some people get hurt and decide nobody else should have to."

The second group was always smaller.

Always.

Then Buck mentioned her.

The woman.

The one who had pulled him back.

The one who sounded like she deserved neither forgiveness nor fond remembrance.

Nolan let out a quiet breath through his nose.

"Yeah."

His eyes drifted toward the rain-streaked window.

"People're complicated enough when they're alive."

The neon light flashed red across the room.

Gone.

Returned.

Gone again.

"You spend enough years chasing ghosts and eventually you figure out that being a terrible person doesn't stop somebody from loving you."

His jaw tightened slightly.

"Sometimes that's the worst part."

The words seemed to come from somewhere older than the conversation.

Something personal.

Something Nolan had no intention of explaining.

He looked back toward Buck.

"If she dragged you back because she wanted you alive..." He said quietly. "Then maybe that wasn't a debt."

A beat passed.

"Maybe it was just the last decent thing she ever managed to do."

The motel room fell silent again.

Then Nolan glanced toward the radio one last time.

A faint, dry smile touched the corner of his mouth.

he gestures to his arms.

"plus i have to have some of... well. you get black-brained once, and there's gonna be a part of you seein' stars for the rest of your life. so there's something knockin' around my mind from that. she was patient with that. people get all - nervous when they see a stranger confused, or a bit outta things. could've been worse, though. but that's how it goes, you fuck around and find out everything but the DNA of the universe."

buck kind of flops his hands back to his sides.

Lord Huron Moodboards // It All Comes Back

"oh, this?" he asks. his voice is quiet. "no, this ain't - this one's not from a ghost. unless you'd count me as one. now, witches..." he trails off, his eyes distant. "that's another thing entirely. that wasn't me listening, it was... sometimes somebody gets pulled back from the edge. even if they shouldn't have. and sometimes you owe debts that take damn near eternity to pay off, and sometimes you - well. there i go, talking like a ghost myself."

he folds his arms.

Nolan went still at the word witches.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

Like some internal dial had quietly shifted frequencies.

The rain outside thickened against the motel window in uneven sheets. Water crawled down the glass beneath the red neon glow outside, making the parking lot look submerged beneath something deeper than darkness. The fluorescent light overhead buzzed once hard enough to make the room briefly dim.

Nolan noticed that too.

He always noticed.

His gaze settled again on the runes trailing along Buck's arm. Not with skepticism. If anything, with the exhausted look of somebody mentally rearranging old theories he was already too tired of carrying.

"Yeah," he said after a while. "That sounds more familiar than I'd like."

The static whispered softly from the radio beside him.

Not words.

Not yet.

He leaned back again, fingers drumming once against the arm of the chair before stopping entirely.

"Funny thing about people who get dragged back from the edge," Nolan murmured. "They never really come back alone."

His eyes drifted toward the rain-streaked window where Buck's reflection sat faint and warped in the glass.

"Sometimes somethin' follows. Sometimes somethin' stays." A faint exhale escaped him. "Sometimes the person themselves comes back...incomplete. Like death already got one hand on 'em and just hasn't finished closin' its grip yet."

There was no cruelty in the observation.

Only recognition.

At Buck's last words, Nolan gave a low, tired huff that almost qualified as a laugh.

"You say that like souls are generous."

He rubbed at his temple.

"I used to think people wanted truth. Closure. Meaning. But most of the time?" His eyes lowered briefly toward the radio. "People just want permission to hand their suffering to somebody else for a few minutes."

The static crackled sharply.

Nolan's head turned toward it instantly.

A long silence followed.

Then he reached over and switched the radio off completely.

The sudden absence of sound felt worse.

a laugh - not exactly joyful, but a real one.

"i was gonna retire, too. i am, in the technical way. but i like the moving around too much. people don't need my problems, and i don't need theirs. but im not gonna be a taking kind of person, if i get one life or a hundred. i don't want to deal out what ive been dealt."

his eyes linger on the radio.

after three drags of his nicotine, dude lowers the cigarette to vocalize his thoughts.

The static shifted.

Not louder.

Just different.

Nolan's eyes flicked toward the radio immediately, instinctively, the way other people reacted to their name being called across a crowded room. For a second the room held that strange, suspended feeling right before a storm breaks, fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, rain ticking softly against the motel window, the air itself seeming to lean inward to listen.

Then the sound flattened again.

Nothing.

His shoulders eased only slightly.

"Yeah," he muttered. "That's usually how it starts."

Nolan dragged a hand across the stubble along his jaw before looking back toward Buck properly. Not with fear. Recognition.

That almost seemed worse.

The old singer looked like a man standing a few inches out of sync with the rest of the world. Like his body had continued aging long after some deeper part of him had decided to stop participating. Nolan knew the look. He'd seen it in late-night callers who stayed on the line too long. In missing persons photographs taken weeks before somebody vanished.

People already halfway elsewhere.

At the mention of faces not healing right, Nolan's gaze caught briefly on the scar tissue and the carved rune.

His expression darkened faintly.

Not judgment.

Calculation.

"You ever notice," he said quietly. "How the dead almost never shut up once they realize somebody can hear 'em?"

Outside, thunder rolled somewhere far off through the mountains.

He leaned forward enough for the chair beneath him to creak.

"Most folks think hauntings are about fear. Screamin', shadows, things jumpin' outta dark corners." A tired shake of his head followed. "Nah. Real bad hauntings're lonely."

The radio hissed softly between them.

"They follow because they wanna be acknowledged. Problem is..." Nolan's thumb tapped once against the side of the portable radio. "Once something figures out you can hear it, it starts wonderin' what else you might be willing to listen to."

His eyes narrowed slightly at Buck then.

"oh, this?" he asks. his voice is quiet. "no, this ain't - this one's not from a ghost. unless you'd count me as one. now, witches..." he trails off, his eyes distant. "that's another thing entirely. that wasn't me listening, it was... sometimes somebody gets pulled back from the edge. even if they shouldn't have. and sometimes you owe debts that take damn near eternity to pay off, and sometimes you - well. there i go, talking like a ghost myself."

he folds his arms.

( @acurseonme )

The motel's neon vacancy sign buzzed weakly outside the window, flickering red against the rain-slick parking lot in uneven pulses. Every few seconds the light cut out entirely, plunging the room into a dim amber gloom before sputtering back to life again.

The air smelled faintly of mildew, old cigarette smoke, and overheated electronics.

A portable radio sat on the table beside Nolan with its antenna half-extended toward the ceiling. It wasn't playing anything. Just low static crawling beneath the silence like distant surf. The kind of sound most people stopped noticing after a while.

Nolan never did.

His attention lingered on it longer than it probably should have, thumb tapping once against the scratched plastic casing.

Not because he expected a voice.

Because sometimes the silence came first.

"Depends," he said at last, rough voice low from too many sleepless nights and too many cigarettes that were supposed to be the last one.

His eyes shifted toward the old man slowly, measuring him the same way someone might study a storm rolling in across open country.

"You askin' if I've been starin'...or if I've been listenin'?"

Outside, tires hissed across wet asphalt somewhere beyond the motel lot. A distant truck horn moaned through the rain before disappearing back into the dark.

Nolan leaned back in his chair with a faint creak.

"'Cause those're two different problems."

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Not quite a smile. More like an old reflex he forgot how to finish.

"You get good at noticing people when you spend enough years hearing things that ain't supposed to be there."

His gaze drifted briefly toward the motel television, unplugged but still reflecting pale distortions from the neon outside.

buck has an odd figure to him, leaning against the window. not unnerving, and certainly not hostile, but he looks like he didn't quite plan to be in his own skin. didn't plan to be anywhere but years ago. he turns just enough to watch the parking lot.

"it's only a problem depending on who's doing the looking. as long as there's stars in the sky, something can see you."

when he looks back at nolan, he's cracked a bit of a smile.

"that obvious, huh? i mean, they aren't crawling on my back or anything. it's more... a follower. or more, depending on who's around. you'd think it'd be ghouls, spooky specters. but it's just people. they're there, standing, chattering bold as brass. half the time, the only way i can tell they're dead is that no one else sees them, or - y'know, you see someone and their face is all-"

he gestures to one side of his face for emphasis. the light catches something else; the dull shine of scar tissue. a rune carved into his hand.

WINTER HORROR -> A collection of prompts for scary winter scenarios

Change pronouns, etc, as needed. Add "reverse" for sender/receiver roles to be reversed.

[Highway] Sender and Receiver are stuck in their car on an icy highway.

[Cabin] Sender and Receiver have been snowed in in a remote cabin for several days.

[Power] It's snowed so much the power has gone out in sender and receiver's [home/office/school/etc]

[Lost] Sender has ventured out into a snowstorm and is found by Receiver.

[Blue] Sender finds Receiver so cold that their fingertips are starting to turn blue.

[Remote] Stuck in a remote location, Sender and Receiver huddle for warmth against a raging snowstorm and frigid temperatures.

[Miss] Driving through a blizzard, Receiver has to swerve to miss Sender.

[Shelter] Desperate for shelter against the snow, Sender knocks on Receiver's door for help.

[Trek] In need of help, Sender and Receiver have ventured out into a snowstorm to find it.

[Unknown] Sender and Receiver spot something they can't identify in the snow.

[Mountains] Sender and Receiver are stuck on a snowy mountain with only a tent for shelter.

[Barren] Nothing but snow and stretch out in every direction, Sender and Receiver are stranded.

❛  nothing's going to happen to us, right?  ❜ ❛  i'm ... scared.  ❜ ❛  i don't like where this is going.  ❜ ❛  did i ever tell you i'm actually terrified of [the dark / heights / spiders / etc.]?  ❜ ❛  you hear me? we're not going to die today!  ❜ ❛  did you hear that? it sounded like screams.  ❜ ❛  i really, really don't like this.  ❜ ❛  we're completely alone here, nothing's going to happen to us.  ❜ ❛  this place has been abandoned for centuries.  ❜ ❛  whatever happens, keep the lights on.  ❜ ❛  you're not scared, are you?  ❜ ❛  this is like straight out of my worst nightmare.  ❜ ❛  do you believe in ghosts?  ❜ ❛  what are you afraid?  ❜ ❛  what was that?!  ❜ ❛  see, i told you there's nothing to be afraid of.  ❜ ❛  go on, no one will hear your screams.  ❜ ❛  it was a foolish idea to come here alone.  ❜ ❛  no one is going to save you now.  ❜ ❛  don't be afraid, i'm not going to hurt you.  ❜ ❛  you really think you can run from me?  ❜ ❛  it's a shame i'll have to kill you when we're done with this.  ❜ ❛  want to make a deal with the devil?  ❜ ❛  i'm not afraid of you. not anymore.  ❜ ❛  there are figures hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike.  ❜ ❛  this wasn't so bad now, was it?  ❜ ❛  what could possibly go wrong - it's just an old abandoned meaning, it doesn't mean it's haunted, right?  ❜ ❛  face it, we won't make it out of here alive.  ❜ ❛  i'll even give you a choice - it's either you or them. who's going to die tonight?  ❜ ❛  i will haunt you for the rest of your days.  ❜ ❛  don't scream, it will only make this worse.  ❜ ❛  you look so pretty when you're scared of me.  ❜ ❛  i won't kill you ... yet.  ❜ ❛  ghosts and monsters aren't real.  ❜ ❛  i'm not afraid of anything!  ❜ ❛  you! you're sick! you sent me here to die, didn't you?  ❜ ❛  close your eyes. it'll make it easier if you don't see it coming.  ❜ ❛  no matter where you hide, i'll always find you. so you better give up now.  ❜ ❛  i promise i'm gonna be your worst nightmare.  ❜ ❛  it's only over when i say it is.  ❜

@acurseonme - for goddard

@acurseonme ❤️

Goddard looks like she’d gotten hit with the way she reacts to his questions. If robots could cry, she’d be creating a new river of tears right now.

“I’m sorry,” she squeaks out, “I panicked. It just came out and it was mean… but I did not mean to be mean! I did not like what they said to me and it slipped out and I regret it.” Having to be bailed out like that was embarrassing, especially when wearing company clothing.

"wait, no, no - ah, shit. it's okay. i ain't mad at you or anything, just, uh... the wording, that's it. caught me off guard, is all. if anything, i'm sorry about that, yeah."