notofthisearths

[notofthisearths]

likenewsnow‌:

“Interesting,” Trish started, no sarcasm or malice in her voice despite the subtle rejections. “Is that a little fun fact or a personal analysis for me?” She leaned against the bar, soft eyes giving all their attention to Theo. “Sure it would. First change would be the fact I’d text you.” 

At the neutral response, Theo’s eyebrow raised questioningly, locking eyes with her. “You don’t want to get me started on personal analyses." She muttered quietly into the rim of her glass with the shadow of an amused smile. If only Trish knew. Theo couldn’t help but smile at the irony. “That doesn’t guarantee a reply. Especially when you left me with your number in the first place.”

#( ch: theo. ) #( theo x trish. )

[notofthisearths]

likenewsnow‌:

“Sweet of them to come,” Joey told him, her smile only partly forced. At least being sent off by a caring group like that meant he wasn’t just some burnout using this place for a change of pace, knowing full well he’d go back to it as soon as he was out. Joey had encountered that person way too many times for her liking. “They have this really great tactic here to ease you into rehab. I’d call it throwing you into the deep end and doing nothing. I could show you around.”

“Yeah, they’re the best. We’ve been through a lot.” Luke nodded quietly to himself. “That would be great.” He added quickly, keen to have someone as stable and knowledgable as Joey to help ease him into this experience. He was determined to do this right, to get well, for his family. Especially Nell. “How long have you been here for? How long have you been clean for? Are you actually a delusion I’m having from this kick?”

#( ch: luke. ) #( luke x joey. )

[notofthisearths]

“If not strong, foolish, at least.” Theo answered curtly. “We find ourselves in the same place, because humans are creatures of habit. We do what is comfortable.” And intimacy was anything but comfortable for her. Her gloved fingers curled tighter around the cool glass of her drink. “Wouldn’t have changed anything, if you think about it.” She shrugged, her gaze falling to her emptying glass. She feared the conversation would continue, that she’d have to let her dalliance down. Gently, if she could.

“Is it coming on too strong if I call this chance reunion some kind of divine intervention?” She hadn’t planned on seeing the other girl again, yet they somehow found themselves in the same place once again. “I was kicking myself for not getting your number last time,” Trish admitted.

#( ch: theo. ) #( theo x trish. )

[notofthisearths]

likenewsnow‌:

“No need to be nervous. Everyone gets it. We were all newbies once,” she told him, trying to keep a cool about it rather than admit she was being kinder than most would. Head down and focus on getting better was most everyone’s motto here. “You’d say we’re close?” She teased, cocking an eyebrow. “I know I started the twin joke, but you gotta take it slower.” A soft chuckle escaped her lips before she spoke again. “Which one?” she asked, assuming he was thinking about the family that had just dropped him.

Beyond arriving at rehab, Luke hadn’t thought deeply enough about the experience to set his expectations of what the people he’d be recovering along side would be like. It was safe to say, the way Joey treated him was far outside his expectations. He had met addicts like himself in the past, none were particularly caring, too caught up in their own lives to show the compassion he was being shown in that moment. “Right. Yeah, sorry.” He offered with a sheepish smile, relieved to hear her quiet laugh to melt away the last of his residual tension. “Nell was the last one I said goodbye to.” And the one he dreaded to farewell the most.

#( ch: luke. ) #( luke x joey. )

[notofthisearths]

basic statistics

name: luke crain

age: twenty-one

gender: cis male

nationality: american

birthday: 21 february

sun sign: pisces

residence: boston, massachusetts

alignment: neutral good

sexuality: bisexual, biromantic

occupation: art school student, aspiring artist

character inspirations: cameron (10 things I hate about you), barry allen (the flash), scott mccall (teen wolf), isak (skam), ruby (on my block), tbc.

triggers: drug tw, death tw

physical traits

height: 5'9" 

weight: 150 lbs 

eye colour: brown 

hair colour: light brown 

tattoos: none

faceclaim: tom holland

relationships

parents: hugh and olivia crain 

siblings: steven, shirley, theodora, eleanor

children: none

significant other: none

friends: joey

pets: stevie (unknown breed, collie cross)

headcanons

his earliest memory is drawing with his mother in her drawing room. whilst olivia drew up plans for hill house and their forever house, luke would draw pictures of their family to fill the house on the scrap pieces of paper she would give him. she’d hang his pictures around her drawing room.

it’s a twin thing was a phrased first said by olivia, but repeated by nell until luke also begun repeating it. olivia used it jokingly to hugh, playfully reasoning why the twins would often share the same mood.

luke doesn’t remember much about the final night at hill house. he remembers the tea party, and his mother acting strangely, and abigail getting sick. he remembers his father running in, and ruining the tea party, before pushing his mother away and to the ground. he and nell were carried out of the house, luke crying and calling for his mother. he remembers seeing abigail in the window whilst waiting in the car (though he thinks this was something he imagined as a kid to make himself feel better). at the motel, he tried to stay up with nell, but he fell asleep before his father returned.

he is ambidextrous

tbc.

#( ch: luke. ) #( luke* )

[notofthisearths]

likenewsnow‌:

She was so tired, leaning against her brother like she had deflated. All of the exhaustion pushing down on her and she crumbled beneath it. “I thought she was a part of Hill House, but what if,” Nellie paused for a moment, a mix of willing herself to put this possibility out into the universe and fear it could be the final straw. He’d call her crazy too. No, not Luke. Never Luke. Anyone but Luke. In fact, everyone but Luke. “What if this is about me? She followed me, Luke, what if she wants to hurt me?” She had read about demons attaching themselves to people. Hill House proved to her there were more possibilities than she had ever thought before. “The entire night?”

Luke couldn’t deny the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. A thought that had scared him since he was aged six. Even now, the thought of a world without Nell seemingly stopped his heart, and stole his air. He swallowed hard, tightening his arm around her. “We don’t know, Nell. Even if she followed you, she’s not getting any chance to hurt you. Because I’ll stay here, she’ll have to go through me.” He nodded, the words blurred the line between reassuring his sister, and reassuring himself. “The entire night. Promise.” He repeated, offering the pinky of his free hand to curl around hers. “You should sleep, I know you’re tired. I’ll be right here.”

#( ch: luke. ) #( luke x nell. ) #( opp: nellie. )

[notofthisearths]

notofthisearths‌:

likenewsnow‌:

Nell listened to her brother’s soft reassurances while she tried to calm herself down enough to speak and breathe without the sobs inferring. Her other hand came up to touch his. Anything to have as much contact with her brother as she could. Prove he was here and he was real. “I saw her, Luke,” she explained in a soft whisper. “She was here. She was right here. Just staring at me and I couldn’t breathe.” She knew she could tell Luke everything without fear of being judged or branded crazy. He knew she wasn’t just a nightmare. “Why won’t she leave me alone?” she asked, desperation clear in her voice as she looked up at her twin.

It was ever the oddity for Luke to acknowledge that his sister could experience something, something so terrible, that he could not. He had seen the things he had seen in Hill House, his own ghosts had followed him, but the Bent-Neck Lady was simply a burden he could not share with his sister. It never failed to make him feel helpless. He curled one arm around her and held her against his side, his other hand gripped hers firmly, in an attempt to keep her grounded. His thumb rubbed gentle circles on the back of her hand, “I don’t know why, Nellie. But I’ll stay here. And we can talk, or we don’t have to. You can try and sleep again. She won’t bother you when I’m here, because I’m your big brother, remember?”

#( ch: luke. ) #( opp: nellie. ) #( luke x nell. ) #putting these in order now

[notofthisearths]

ofmuseisms‌:

likenewsnow‌:

As soon as the visions released Nell from their vice-like grip, she bolted upright in her bed. All the struggle she’d given before now flung her forward. Her throat was no longer constricted, the screams and desperate cries for help now fell out of her mouth. It felt like the first time she saw her all over again. She used to be ready for her. At least then she knew she’d be coming. Coming to live with Aunt Janet meant leaving the ghosts and ghouls of Hill House behind, but they followed her. Had she been sitting in the car with them the whole time? Lurking in the shadows of the hotel room and waiting for Nell to fall alseep instead of waiting up for her dad. The presence of something else in her room now had anxiety building up in her chest. How many of them came? She forced her eyes up and the sigh of relief came in the form of a soft sob pushed out. It was family. Her saving grace. “She’s here,” Nell cried out, holding her arm out towards her sibling. 

Luke had awoken with a suffocating start. Undue panic had shaken him from his dreamless sleep, with seemingly no source. His eyes darted around the pitch black room. The stillness was unsettling, particularly without his contacts in. Though they had left the hauntings of Hill House behind more than a decade ago, in the night, in the dark, Luke was haunted. He strained to listen for any disturbance, but nothing could be heard past the rushing blood and thumping heart. But despite the lack of disturbance, his panic did not settle. The instant it clicked, he was on his feet, stumbling with stiff limbs in the dark toward his door. It was Nell. It had been years since such an unexplained panic had struck him during the night. He had reached the hallway when he heard the screams and cries ring out into the house. He gripped the door handle and burst through the door clumsily, eyes wide in shared terror. The words needed no clarifying, perhaps it was part of the twin thing. His feet padded quietly against the floor as he approached her bed in silence, letting the words sink in. “I’m here, I’m here, Nell.” He repeated softly, taking her outstretched arm with a gentle hand. “Its been a while, hasn’t it? But I’m here now, she won’t come back.” Luke had always believed Nell, and he always would. At six, or at twenty-one, Luke knew they were haunted. “What… What did you see?”

#( ch: luke. ) #( opp: nellie. ) #i put it on the wrong blog like an idiot #( luke x nell. )

[notofthisearths]

likenewsnow‌:

“I mean, I could call you Joey, but we’d have the same name. Which you might totally be into. Get some matching outfits too. Go all ‘creepy twins from The Shining’ on them all.” Humour was her coping method. She was just hoping it would work on this guy too. See him smile instead of just staring at her like a deer in headlights. “Luke,” she repeated, storing it to memory. “You gonna introduce me to your friend too, or do I have to do it myself? she asked, nodding over his shoulder where he had just glanced.

Luke couldn’t contain the nervous laugh that escaped him at her joke. Though his heart was still racing, and his palms were still sweating, he appreciated humour. There was so little of it since they had left the House. The few memories of his mother he had were filled with smiles, laughter and dreaming. He had seemingly left much of that behind with his mother that night. “I’m sorry. I’m just a bit nervous. Newbie, like you said.” He acknowledged with a nervous, tight smile. “I...” He began, following her gaze over to the doors he had looked to just a moment ago. “It’s a twin thing. I don’t know how to explain it. We’re very close, you could say.”

#( ch: luke. ) #( opp: joey. ) #( luke x joey. )

[notofthisearths]

likenewsnow‌:

“We’ve missed you,” Nellie told him with a bright smile. The pen was dropped onto the desk and she was wrapping her arms around him within seconds. “I’m so happy to see you. I just know Luke will be too. Twin thing.” When Steve mentioned the letter, Nell shrugged her shoulders slightly. Something about letters just drew her in. “You lose so much over the phone,” she told him. “I can change my pen based on mood or draw little pictures on the letters. My handwriting is a little piece of me.” Plus it reminded her of good times. Her mother’s puffalopes. Her dad teaching her to write. Steve taking over to teach her how to spell when they lived with Aunt Janet. “I like writing letters.”

His sister’s head perched under his chin, Steven couldn’t contain the slight roll of his eyes at the mention of the twin thing. He hadn’t expected Nell to have grown out of the phrase, but couldn’t bring himself to burst her wilful ignorance, not when he knew Luke still referenced it too. “Of course you do.” He laughed under his breath with a slight shake of his head. His sister was just as how he remembered her to be. “Should I be checking your spelling like old times?” He teased, reaching over her to take the letter in his hand. The address caught his eye. His eyes darted to the opening address, narrowing in an instant as all the playful energy he indulged her with left the air between them. There was no topic that picked at his open wounds like mention of their father. “Nell, you’re writing to him? Nell, what the fuck?” The edge of the paper creased in his tightening grip. “He has nothing to do with us, he chose that. He doesn’t get to know what’s going on in our lives anymore.”

#( ch: steve. ) #( steven x nell. ) #( opp: nellie. )

[notofthisearths]

likenewsnow‌:

The way his words rushed out only confirmed Joey’s suspicions. Not many people had that many people sending them off after the first time. “Isn’t that why we’re all here?” Joey asked, looking him over with a smirk. “I’m not coming to cause trouble, Newbie.” She remembered feeling anxious and lonely when she first started coming. She may be desensitized to it all, but he clearly wasn’t. “Joey.”

“I.. guess?” Luke posited with a waver in his voice. He was unsure as to whether there was a correct answer, or what that answer would be, but he began to feel more nauseous with each passing moment. Even after the woman had given him assurance, his fingers still twitched as they twisted at the fabric of the bottom of his shirt. He threw a glance over his shoulder reflexively, to check for Nell’s reaction to the stranger, only to be reminded of his isolation. “Oh, it’s not Joey. It’s Luke. You can call me Joey if you want though, I don’t mind.”

#( ch: luke. ) #( opp: joey. ) #( luke x joey. )

[notofthisearths]

likenewsnow‌:

Writing to her Dad had become a tradition for Eleanor. She had to beg Aunt Janet to give her  his address, but she was willing to. It was family. She missed her parents. If she had the chance to talk to the only one she had left, she was going to take it. Nell never explicitly told her siblings she was writing to her dad. Besides Luke, of course. He was a forbidden topic. The new ghost of their house. Except he didn’t create the same anxious pit in her stomach as the Bent Neck Lady did. She didn’t want to upset anyone, so she walked on eggshells. Never lying to them, she wasn’t ashamed of it. Just never bringing him up. The door to her room swung open as she sat at the desk writing her latest letter. It was a surprise to see her eldest brother in the doorway. “Stevie?”

“Surprise.” Steven greeted warmly, swinging open the door to his youngest sister’s room in true Crain fashion, without knocking. It had been years since he had set foot in Aunt Janet’s house. His father had chosen to leave family behind in Hill House, running from the hauntings. For a moment, Steve thought he understood what drove him. But he insisted thats where their likeness stopped, proving it to himself with stepping back amongst the past that haunted him more than he’d ever admit. “I thought I’d surprise you with a visit. Aunt Janet mentioned something about some siblings needing their big brother around, and I’ve got a bit of writers block so..” He spread his fingers in a half-hearted execution of jazz hands. Steven couldn’t help but smile at his youngest sister, more pleased to see her than he could ever put into words. He opened his arms to embrace her. “Speaking of writing..” He mused, glancing over Nell’s shoulder to her desk. “Writing a letter, Nell? That’s a bit old fashioned. Who doesn’t own a phone?”

#( ch: steve. ) #( steven x nell. ) #( opp: nellie. )

[notofthisearths]

likenewsnow‌:

“That was quite a send-off,” Joey commented once Luke was left alone. “You’re a newbie, aren’t you?”

Luke could still feel the warmth of Nell’s hand on his cheek when his family had been ushered away from the reception. Too concerned with embracing them and absorbing their encouraging words to notice anyone else in the world. “I..” He breathed, startled by the stranger who had witnessed his vulnerable departure. “I don’t want any trouble.” His words tumbled out of his mouth in a rush. He was certain his sweating brow and dilated eyes were perceptible to another addict or case worker. “They said it was okay that I was still coming down. I don’t have any on me. I just want to get well.”

#( opp: joey. ) #( ch: luke. ) #( luke x joey. )