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drivingsideways · 3 years

Note

For the ship and one word thingy, of you're still doing it(and thank you!) . Seunghyo and Seunwoo, exhaustion.

Hi anon! Sorry this is a bit late, and I'm not sure this will quite be what you were looking for, but I hope you'll enjoy the snippet. Once again, I'm setting this in my "Where Your Treasure Is" 'verse, but this works as a prequel to the first part of that series and is gen or pre-slash if you squint (or have read the rest of the 'verse!)

This is set post-canon, premising that Seon-woo gets a life-saving surgery, and Gu Seung-hyo is still with Hwajeong group but in an overseas posting. He's also dating Lee No-eul.

cw: mentions of physical disability, depression

The nurse is carefully unstrapping the prosthetics when there's a knock on the door, and a quiet voice says, "May I come in?"

Seon-woo looks up, startled. In the doorway is the last person he'd expected to see this morning, or indeed, for a long while.

"Gu sajang," he says, surprised. "Good morning," he adds, belatedly remembering his manners.

"Good morning, Ye Seon-woo-ssi. Is this a bad time?" Gu Seung-hyo asks, "I can come by later."

"Almost done," Seon-woo says, gesturing for him to enter. "I've just finished my exercise round for the morning."

The second leg is off now, and the immediate lessening of the weight makes him sigh unconsciously in relief, as he leans back into the pillows. It's been a month into the physiotherapy with the prosthetics, but he's still not used to it- neither to seeing the world from a different height, nor the strain on his back. He much preferred the chair still.

"I'll see you at 4," says Nurse Jang, with a smile, and he dredges up one for her. She's his favourite: a real sweetheart, with deft hands and a wicked sense of humour. She bows politely to Gu Seung-hyo, who bows back, before he takes the chair by the bed.

"I didn't know you were in town," Seon-woo says, "I thought No-eul-ssi mentioned you were in Indonesia."

"I have some meetings here this week," Gu Seung-hyo says, "And some free time. I hope this isn't an imposition on yours."

"My time has less value than yours, Gu sajang," he finds himself saying, "It's very kind of you to come by."

He curses himself inwardly the moment the words are out of his mouth. That had been well short of the inane courtesy that he should have responded with; that kind of self-deprecation wasn't as harmless with Gu Seung-hyo, as it might have been with another, less perspicacious man.

"Kindness has little to do with it, I'm afraid. I've been given a task," Gu Seung-hyo says smoothly, "I'm merely an errand boy."

He rises, holding out a brown paper that Seon-woo hadn't noticed before, toward him.

"From No-eul-ssi," he says, "Since she's unable to visit this week."

It's cherry tomatoes, which he knows come fresh from the little vegetable garden that No-eul's got going in her backyard in Gangneung.

Seon-woo smiles.

"Please help yourself," he says, holding out the bag to Seung-hyo, who looks hesitant but then picks one out, gingerly, as he seats himself again.

"You don't like them?" Seon-woo asks, as he roots in the bag, looking for the ripest one.

"I'm don’t usually snack in between meals," says Gu Seung-hyo.

Seon-woo nods; somehow that seems entirely in character. "It's nice though," he says, "To break the rule once in a while."

"Yes," Gu Seung-hyo says, and the corners of his eyes crinkle a little as he continues, "Though, as you know I'm rather fond of keeping them."

Seon-woo can't help chuckling at that, and the crinkles get more pronounced.

Silence reigns for a few minutes as they munch on the tomatoes; sweet with just a hint of tartness beneath. Gu Seung-hyo studies the room as he takes a second tomato, when the bag is proffered. It's not very large, but there's a long window which overlooks the garden of the rehab facility, and lets in the warm sun in the afternoons. The window sill and the small desk is covered in the detritus of Seon-woo's stay: books (from Choi Seo-hyun, mostly), a stuffed toy (No-eul), board games (which he plays with Jin-woo during his daily visits, flowers and snacks (eomma), a picture of the three of them taken at a cousin's wedding three years ago.

"This is a nice place," Gu Seung-hyo says, thoughtfully. "A good location, and they have good staff and equipment, it seems."

"Yes," Seon-woo agrees, wondering if Gu Seung-hyo's ever-ticking brain was thinking of a business opportunity. "I was lucky to get a place here after the surgery, it's always full, because they're competent but not very expensive. I have Chief Joo to thank for it, he pulled strings on my behalf."

"Did he?" Seung-hyo says, neutrally. "I'm glad it worked out."

Seon-woo nods, and attempts to concentrate on the sweetness of the tomato, and not the bitter aftertaste of pity.

It's hard though, getting harder every day, to not—

Gu Seung-hyo's studying the view from the window now, peering through the glass, hands shoved in his trouser-pockets. He's dressed in his customary three-piece suit, this time a light grey with a fine pattern, over a crisp white shirt and a navy tie. Conservative, reliable. Seon-woo wonders whom he was meeting today- some oldish government type, he assumes.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" Gu Seung-hyo asks, suddenly, turning back to Seon-woo, startling him out of his thoughts. "Sorry, " he adds, taking in Seon-woo's surprised expression. "But I thought it was better to ask it straight, than attempt to infer."

"It gets better or worse," Seon-woo says, "but there's always some. It's—" he shrugs. "I'm doing as well as could be hoped, at this point."

"The prosthetics—"

Seon-woo shrugs. "They'll take time to get used to," he says, "It still feels strange. The ones I'm trying out are among the best on offer, but the cutting-edge stuff is only available if you're in some clinical trial."

"Who's doing that here, in Korea?"

"SNU, for one," Seon-woo says, "They're really out there in terms of their ongoing projects. But it's hard to say when one of those will become commercially viable."

Seung-hyo nods, thoughtfully.

He smiles at Gu Seung-hyo. "But it's boring to talk about me, you should tell me the news of the wide world."

Gu Seung-hyo's sudden smile reminds Seon-woo that he's a handsome man.

"Do I need to? Isn't that what the internet and that tablet by your bed is for?"

Seon-woo acknowledges it with a half-smile. "Then tell me stories," he says, surprising himself, "Of your adventures in the wild jungle of corporate life. I suppose the new assignment must be a relief after the drama at Sungkook."

"It's more what I'm used to," Seung-hyo acknowledges, and then easily, as if they were friends, "but I admit I miss the challenge of dealing with the eccentricities of top-notch medicos."

The crinkly-eyed expression makes a reappearance. The man was quite unfairly charming when he chose to be, Seon-woo notes; he'd forgotten that, somehow, in the year since he'd last met Gu sajang.

"Your successor isn't faring much better, I think, the last I heard."

"No doubt your brother has nothing to do with that situation," Seung-hyo says, gravely.

Seon-woo laughs, "Nothing at all."

Talk drifts from Sungkook, to other things- Seung-hyo's new role, Korean chaebols, the economy, the Blue House's current occupant and the prospects for the next elections which are less than a year away, books that they discover they're both fond of, and music, and somehow, before Seon-woo realizes it, it's lunch time. There's a knock on the door- it's the kitchen staff with a tray of food. The young woman pauses when she sees Seung-hyo and asks if they'd like another tray.

Seon-woo, mortified by the realization that he's probably upset Gu sajang's schedule irrevocably, is just going to decline, when Seung-hyo says, "It looks delicious, I think I'll have some, if that's not a bother."

"No problem at all," says Min-joo-ssi, with a pleased smile, "We have extra trays."

After she leaves, Seung-hyo says, "Do you feel like having lunch outside in the garden? It's a fine day. I noticed there are some tables set out."

"Uh," says Seon-woo, "I've already made you late."

"Not at all," says Gu Seung-hyo, blatantly lying without missing a beat- another talent that Seon-woo had forgotten he had- "I'll call someone to get a chair."

He's already at the desk phone, quickly dialing the extension after a quick check of the list tacked on the wall, and somehow, before Seon-woo can quite process it, they're outside, under the shade of a garden umbrella, watching butterflies flit, and the bees stagger, punch-drunk, among the roses that are in outrageous bloom.

Seung-hyo eats heartily, Seon-woo notices, without affectation.

He looks up at that moment, to meet Seon-woo's eyes. "You must be bored of the food here," he says, looking a bit rueful.

"They try their best to vary it," Seon-woo says, "and eomma always sends dinner or breakfast with hyung, so I don't have too much to complain about."

Seung-hyo nods, though something flashes in his eyes, that Seon-woo has no way to parse.

A silence falls between them, as they finish the meal. It's not an entirely comfortable one—and Seon-woo feels compelled to occasionally make a remark of some kind to break it, as he becomes more and more conscious of the passage of time. Gu Seung-hyo doesn't look at his watch or mobile even once.

"Do you mind showing me around the grounds?" Seung-hyo asks, after they are done.

Seon-woo looks at him in surprise. "There's not much to see," he says.

"A walk might do me some good," Seung-hyo says, "I'm afraid I might have overdone on the meal."

"You should snack more often," Seon-woo says, smiling at him, "That might prevent these situations from arising."

"Shall we?" Seung-hyo asks, rising from the chair. "Where do I put away the trays?"

So they make their way toward the rear entrance of the kitchen to hand over their trays, Seon-woo wheeling his own chair, and Seung-hyo keeping pace with him. After, Seon-woo directs him toward the southern end of the property, toward the area where there are some tennis courts and even a basketball court set up for the residents who might be able to play.

It's just after lunch, so the courts are empty.

"You used to play," Seung-hyo says.

"Yes," he says, surprised.

"No-eul-ssi mentioned it," Seung-hyo says, "She said that your brother and you made a formidable duo on court."

"Is that so?"

Seung-hyo slants a smile in his direction, "Well, her exact words may have been that you were both bastard cheaters."

"Sore loser," Seon-woo says immediately, "She hated it when she lost."

"She's surprisingly competitive about some things," Seung-hyo agrees, and the accompanying smile is a revelation, starting up an ache beneath Seon-woo's ribs.

"I hope you'll be able to play again soon," Seung-hyo says, "The next time I come by, we should have a game."

"Sure," Seon-woo says, "Next time."

"Seon-woo-ssi," says Gu Seung-hyo, "You can say no, if you don't want to."

Seon-woo looks up, startled.

Seung-hyo is smiling wryly. "I'm quite good at it, so I should warn you it won't be an easy game. You should consider it carefully."

"Is there anything you aren't good at?" Seon-woo says, a trifle acerbic.

"Cooking," Seung-hyo says, immediately, and then adds, reflectively, "And the care of tiny creatures."

"What happened to the dog?" Seon-woo asks, immediately concerned. He's seen enough photos of the creature thanks to No-eul to justify the feeling.

"Oh nothing, Nighty is, as the kids say these days, living his best life. He's eomma's dog now, barely acknowledges me."

Was that a hint of petulance? That was unexpectedly amusing. But there was something a little wistful in it, as well.

"You aren't home," Seon-woo finds himself- consoling- the man. "It's quite natural."

"I'm aware," Seung-hyo says, "And it's fine. It's good, actually. Like I said, caretaking isn't one of my talents."

Unlike compartmentalization, Seon-woo thinks. I wish I had that.

"Shall we head back?" Seung-hyo's voice breaks in. He hadn't realized that they'd been standing there in silence for a while. "You seem tired."

There's something oddly gentle about the way he says it, something that makes Seon-woo both want to punch a wall, and break down crying.

It takes him a minute to gather himself, before he nods.

"Seon-woo-ssi," says Gu Seung-hyo, "Is there something you want to say?"

Seon-woo looks up at him.

Gu Seung-hyo's face is watchful, cautious, but not closed off.

Seon-woo looks away, across the empty basketball court.

"I regret the surgery," Seon-woo says, aloud, for the first time. "I wish I had never let myself be talked into it. I should have had the courage to—let go."

Seung-hyo doesn't respond for a long minute. Then, with a sigh, he says, "But there's so much to let go of. And why should you?"

Seon-woo turns to him, but Seung-hyo isn't looking at him either. Instead, he squats, running his hands over the rough grass at the sidelines.

"I don't suppose you could understand," Seon-woo says, softly.

"No," says Seung-hyo, "You're right, I don't. But it's not your disability or its consequences that I don't understand. It's that I've always wanted everything that this world could offer, and I'm determined to have it. Whatever it takes. I don't accept any other possibility."

He turns to Seon-woo after a minute of silence.

"An uncle of mine once told me that it was better to be alive than dead, and to be born than not at all," he offers.

"Was your uncle a priest?"

"A foreman in a factory that made precision tools. He worked forty years there for the same company, before he retired to a fishing village."

"Close," notes Seon-woo, and Gu Seung-hyo gives him one of his genuinely warm smiles, that he's only seen in photographs No-eul had sometimes shared.

"I'm selfish," he says, "about the world, and my place in it. I have an outsized ego, perhaps, to insist on my significance in the face of the vast unknown. But I am convinced that there's one thing only I can do, and that is to live my life to the fullest."

"The universe has been benevolent to you," Seon-woo says, "You're her favourite. You know, as a pep talk this is remarkably bad."

Seung-hyo smiles, a quicksilver flash of amusement.

"If you wanted a pep talk, you'd talk to your psych," he observes. "Or someone who's invested in keeping you alive, for one reason or the other."

"I'm exhausted by people trying to fix me," Seon-woo admits. "You're a nice change."

"I don't think you need fixing," says Gu Seung-hyo, "I suspect you have problems that need to be fixed. Like the rest of us."

"Is that how you see yourself?" Seon-woo asks, diverted. "As a problem solver?"

Seung-hyo shrugs. "It helps me to think of the world that way," he admits. "A series of problems that I can apply my mind to."

"Sounds exhausting," Seon-woo says, not quite kindly.

Gu sajang seems unperturbed. He shrugs out of his jacket and spreads it on the grass, before sitting down on it.

"It is, sometimes," he responds. "But there's that ineffable component called luck," he adds, "Sometimes the problems sort themselves out."

"Hashtag blessed," says Seon-woo, "Do you have a social media account?"

"I've hired a very competent firm to run my PR," Seung-hyo says, "Though they insist that I post at least one cute picture of my dog or my mother every day. I believe I have a respectable number of followers."

Seon-woo laughs.

Seung-hyo looks up at him, with a raised eyebrow.

"Likeability is a problem that's not too difficult to solve these days," he remarks.

"Another win for the universe's favourite," Seon-woo murmurs, "Hurrah."

The silence that follows lasts a while, but oddly enough, doesn't feel awkward.

"Thank you," Seon-woo says, finally. "For your time today. I'm afraid I've messed up your schedule."

"You were the only meeting on my list."

"You're dressed to meet a government bureaucrat type—" Seon-woo starts, incredulously- and then stops, outraged.

And this smile- pure mischief, that makes him look ten years younger- is something he didn't even know Gu Seung-hyo was capable of, he thinks, and close on the heel of that, he looks like someone I could be friends with.

"You didn't mess up my schedule," Gu Seung-hyo says again, "I don't have those kinds of luxuries in my life."

Seon-woo huffs, looking away. He feels hot under his collar, and it has nothing to do with the afternoon heat. He wishes he had more experience in dealing with this kind of thing- the kindness of strangers was one thing, but Gu Seung-hyo's place in his life was ill-defined.

What rot, says a voice in his head, he's the enemy.

It sounds suspiciously like Jin-woo hyung.

But Seon-woo doesn't have that kind of luxury in his life, either, or the inclination for it. Whatever lay between them- Gu Seung-hyo's time at Sungkook, his ongoing relationship with the love of Seon-woo's life- that was a past perhaps best laid to rest. Life was constant turmoil, and to fight against the current of it in this matter seemed a pointless waste of energy he didn't have.

"Tell me more about this research they're doing at SNU," Seung-hyo says after a minute, and Seon-woo takes the out offered. Sooner than Seon-woo had thought, it's almost time for his second round of physiotherapy.

"I have to get back," he says, "I don't want to make Nurse Jang wait."

"Of course not," says Seung-hyo, as he rises, folding his jacket neatly over his arm. "Shall we?"

They head back, slower than strictly warranted, as the conversation continues.

Nurse Jang is waiting for them at the door.

"Ah, Ye Seon-woo-ssi, I hope you had a good day today," she says, "with your friend."

It seems pointlessly rude to correct her; what was he going to say anyway—

"Yes," he says, not looking at Seung-hyo, "I did."

But he can't resist a glance, and catches quietly pleased look on his face, though, perhaps, to a stranger, it wouldn't look any different than his normal expression.

Somewhere between strangers and friends, he thinks, that's where they were.

As Seung-hyo makes his farewell, Seon-woo says, impulsively, "Next time, we'll play a game."

"Sure," says Seung-hyo easily, "Basketball?"

"Hmm, I prefer strategy games."

There's a glint in Gu Seung-hyo's eyes that Seon-woo finds highly entertaining.

"Loser pays for a meal," he says, recklessly.

But there was something, Seon-woo thinks, to be said for making plans for an unknown tomorrow.

'Deal," says Gu Seung-hyo, holding out his hand, " I'll be seeing you then, Seon-woo-ssi."

"Yes," says Seon-woo, as he shakes the proffered hand, "See you soon."

#jtbc life #writing things

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ashleyisdeviant · 5 years

Note

I had a dream the other night where Arin was a sex worked and Dan hired him bc he wanted to experiment with guys... I would write a fic about it, but I’m afraid of writing smut owo” so you can use the idea if you want!

A/N————————————

First off, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING ME MY FIRST PROMPT!

Second, I’ve already gotten a little too carried away with this so I’m probably going to post it in sections because it will be at least 4 parts or longer at the rate it’s going right now. For some reason I’ve gotten so lost in this prompt.

I love the idea and I love you for sending it to me.

There isn’t any smut in this part of the story but there will be plenty in the next.

So without further stalling, here is the first part of what I’m calling...

————Finding myself in you————

(Part 1)

“What the fuck am I doing?” Dan questioned as he fingered the rim of his mug, fighting the urge to look up at every jostle of the bell above the door. He was in his favorite coffee shop, having some hot herbal tea, waiting on a man he’s never met before to come through the doors. Nerves were getting the better of him and he found himself slowly loosing the battle within as he wondered how the fuck he let himself get to this point.

He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Everything was completely legal and he paid in full for this service. He felt an involuntary shudder at that word. “Service” made him feel like some kind of man whore or pervert. Still, that’s what it was. They were a company and they needed customers. He was just one of their customers

Another flow of hot tea passed his lips and warmed his throat as he thought about the man he had yet to meet. Dan wondered what the man would be like. The company he used had the option to request specific people based on their picture and a short description, but Dan chose not to do that. He wanted a genuine blind experience to really get an idea as to what he was feeling as of late.

Dan had always been one to try and be as truthful with himself as possible and lately he’s been feeling things changing about himself. Or rather, changing about what he was interested in. He has never be one to shy away from the thought of being gay or bisexual or anything like that, he had just never been interested in anything but girls so he always assumed he was straight. Lately he doesn’t know if that’s completely true anymore.

It started with a stirring in his stomach when he caught a glimpse of his band mate’s bare shoulders and back, broad and strong, muscles rolling beneath skin as he pealed off one shirt to replace it with another. He found he liked the feeling of a strong arm grabbing his shoulders. He shivered when a large palm pressed firmly on his lower back, warm and secure. It all got him thinking, got him wondering, got him wanting.

Dan bit his lip as a slow shiver worked it’s way up his spine. Glancing down at his cup he wondered what the man would look like? What would he sound like? The only pictures that would come to mind were very fit very muscular men, the kind that you would likely see at a male strip club or something. At that Dan felt his chest clench.

It’s not that there was anything wrong with those kinds of men, but he was having trouble seeing himself over top of one, or beside one, or maybe under one...

Dan was rooted so deep in that thought that he didn’t even hear the chime of the bells above the door, or see the figure of a man walking in his direction.

“Excuse me?”

Dan whipped his head up at the sudden voice.

“Yes?” He asked as his eyes were met with a warm brown stare.

“Are you Daniel?” The long haired man before him asked.

Oh shit, Dan thought as he realized who this man must be. He looked nothing like Dan would have thought a male sex worker to look like. He didn’t have rippling muscles or a short fancy hair-do. This guy was by no means chubby, but he had a fuller more delicate figure. His jaw wasn’t chiseled but rather soft and dotted with a thin layer of copper colored hair. His rich brown hair fell to just past his shoulders and he sported a light blonde streak. Full, pink lips curved into a humored smile as Dan finally snapped to attention.

“Uh, yeah.” Dan replied, wiping his palm roughly on his jeans before reaching across the small round table to offer up a hand. “And you are?”

The younger man hesitantly accepted Dan’s hand, giving it a small shake. Dan tried not to focus too much on how soft the other man’s hand felt in his.

“I’m Arin, I was sent by Evening Elation.”

“Right.” Dan said awkwardly.

A few silent seconds ticked by as Dan mentality cursed himself. He wrote music for a living. He studied improv. Why is it now, all of the sudden, Dan couldn’t think of a single thing to say?

Arin shifted his weight back and forth for a moment, then loudly cleared his throat.

“So, is that tea or coffee in your cup?”

Thank god they weren’t both idiots.

“Oh, it’s tea. This place has an amazing forest blend. Dan said as he picked up his cup and gave it a swirl. “Helps to fight off this cold weather.”

Arin nodded.

“Would you like something?” Dan asked gesturing towards the counter.

“Nah,” Arin declined as he made himself comfortable in the chair across from Dan. “Thanks though.”

The tightness in Dan’s chest eased as the conversation began to flow more naturally. He took a long sip from his cup.

“Oh dude, is that a mega man T-shirt?”

Dan glanced down at his oldish looking navy blue mega man shirt, the figure starting to peel off slightly.

“Oh yeah man, that games a classic.”

“It’s my all time favorite game.” Arin added as he shifted in his seat. Dan caught a glimpse of the shirt he was sporting beneath his grey jacket and couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Hey, your shirts pretty sweet too.”

Arin glanced down at himself and placed a hand over the print of two anime style girls in pink and blue fighting attire.

“Oh, thanks man.” He looked a little bashful as he added. “I drew them myself.”

“No way! Really?” Dan leaned closer to get a better look. “That’s so cool.”

He heard Arin give a breathy chuckle.

“Yeah, I wanna create an anime for them one day. I think they’re really cute.”

Dan’s eyes flicked back up to Arins.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Arin shrugged a little. “I do a little bit of animation and I really wanna try it out.”

“You animate?” Dan asked as he leaned back in his chair. “That’s really cool. Me and my band mate Brian are thinking about getting a portion of our next music video animated.”

It was Arin’s turn to be impressed.

“You’re in a band?”

Dan chuckled a little and shrugged.

“Yeah. It’s a comedy band. Just a bunch of silly music and dirty jokes. Not what you would normally think of when you hear the word ‘band’ I’m sure.”

“That’s even better.” Arin grinned. Dan couldn’t stop the smile that split his own face. Arin really was kind of beautiful. “Do you mind if I look you up?” Arin asked as he pulled out his phone.

“I don’t mind.” Dan said truthfully. “Just don’t feel obligated to or anything.” Arin shook his head.

“No, I’m really interested.”

Dan placed his elbow on the table and laid his chin in his hand as he watched Arin. The younger man’s hair slowly falling down around his face as he leaned towards his phone. He heard the sound of his own voice singing as Arins mouth turned upwards into a smile. He bobbed his head in time with the beat and occasionally let out a small laugh.

“This is really good, Dan.” He praised. Dan felt his heart warm.

“Thanks so much.”

“Woah, check out that view count!” Arin snapped his eyes up to Dans overtop of his phone. “You’re a bit of a YouTube star, dude.”

Dan didn’t really know what to say to that so he nodded and dropped Arins gaze. He knew that Arin was still staring. He felt it like a hot iron on his skin. Eventually Arin slid his phone back into his pocket.

“So what other games are you into?” Dan asked to fill the silence. Arin took a moment to think.

“I like the first Zelda game pretty good. Recently played shovel knight and really enjoyed that.”

“Punch out?” Dan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I haven’t actually played that one yet,” Arin confided. “But I really want to.”

“Oh dude!” Dan beamed, a smile spreading widely across his face. “That’s my favorite game! I have it at my place. You should come by and play it.”

That’s when Arin’s posture changed. It was only slightly but it still caught Dan’s attention. Arin’s smile slid into something more practiced as he nodded.

“Yeah man, I’m ready to go when you are.”

For just a moment Dan was confused in the sudden change in the air between them, then he remembered why he was even talking to Arin in the first place, why he was even sitting in this coffee shop right now.

“Oh.”

Dans stomach began to feel heavy again with nerves. He could back out right now if he wanted to, just tell Arin he changed his mind. But then he thought about how that might hurt Arin’s feelings. He really didn’t want to do that, and there was a huge part of him that still needed answers. Dan took one more steadying breath before standing and offering a unwavering hand to Arin.

“I’m ready.”

—————————A/N————————

There you have it. I hope you enjoy it and what’s to come! I will update within the next few days.

💋

#egobang #story prompt #alternate universe

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inmynoggin · 4 years

Text

‘SALEM’S LOT BY STEPHEN KING

As I’ve said before and will undoubtedly say again: Stephen King NEVER fails. I realised about a week ago that it had been a while since my last King novel and I was instantly drawn to ‘Salem’s Lot. This is partly because it was the only “classic” King novel I hadn’t read yet. Being his sophomore novel, it retains the oldish style King that is instantly recognisable for someone who has read Carrie (his debut), for example, and then one of his latest ones, like Mr Mercedes, for example. It is a quality that undoubtedly adds to his work. That doesn’t mean, however, that I believe that his work gets worse in any way as time goes on. Rather, as he got older and more experienced as a write, his books take on a different feel. It was a fantastic display of King’s imagination at work, with the number of interesting characters and subplots reminding me why he’s one of the greatest storytellers.

I think that King’s ability to birth whole towns, with a broad cast of characters included, is one of his greatest talents. Like many of his other books, (Needful Things, It, Under the Dome, etc) he is able to really flesh out his fictitious town and make so that the reader almost lives there for the period in which they are reading. Jerusalem’s Lot was very interesting, as a town in itself, because it played such a pivotal role in the plot. It seemed to be like its own character, contributing just as much as Ben Mears or Matt Burke. In this way, Jerusalem’s Lot appeared to be the real antagonist, rather than Straker and Barlow.

In relation to the characters, I thought it was very crucial to note how the novel’s heroes played different roles in the town but all had a strong connection and deep understanding of ‘Salem’s Lot, which gave them the ultimate advantage. Mark Petrie, one of the most likeable young characters King’s every written, is important as he provided the initial connection to these vampires, what with his encounter with Daniel Glick. Ben Mears had a childhood connection to the Lot, however he was immediately seen as an outsider by the Lot’s natives. However, his nightmarish tethering to the Marsten House from his youth provided the group with the will power to stop the creatures that were inhabiting the town. Matthew Burke was the local teacher and brains behind the operation. He ultimately served as a director and educator to the group. Jimmy Cody M.D., was the local doctor and was just an all-round good guy really. His connection to Burke and his willingness to accept the unacceptable was very important in building this team. Father Donald Callahan, local priest, was important in terms of the lore behind vampires. He held a certain quality that shielded the gang from the unholiness. At least for a time. I suppose in the gang one could include Susan Norton. She was a local through and through and, although this sounds like I’m minimising her importance, her outcome ultimately gave Ben a reason for revenge. She was important in her own right but, considering she didn’t contribute much when it boiled down to it, her importance was more to do with giving an incentive to fight on. The important thing about all these characters, as I’ve said, was that they were all local.

King’s imagination was truly at work with this and the image of Jimmy Cody’s grizzly death provided material for future nightmares. I remember reading Danse Macabre before this and King describes for a few paragraphs that very scene. Although I tried to dance my eyes over it as I didn’t want to spoil myself, I couldn’t help it and the image was deliciously cruel for my horror-loving mind. Overall, a definite page-turner. A very good Stephen King novel and a very good novel in general. Although, I would recommend reading this around Halloween time, as I wasn’t able to get the full effect due to the fact it’s March.

#stephen king #salems lot

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doomedandstoned · 6 years

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CHAINED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN!

~Interview by Shawn Gibson~

Forward by Billy Goate

At Doomed & Stoned, we live for moments like these, when we discover a band that isn't just good, but remarkable. Meet the savage four-piece act Chained To The Bottom Of The Ocean from Springfield, Massachusetts. If you missed their crushing September debut, 'Decay and Other Hopes Against Progress' (2017), I suppose you could be forgiven, seeing as how packed a year it was for compelling releases. Plus, it's not like the band is itching for the spotlight. Their monstrous release kind of flew under the radar, as it wasn't accompanied by the usual hype and hoopla that a band is expected to expel nowadays in order to grab hold of the coveted PR cycle. It seems CTTBOTO are content with the small, but steadily growing, fanbase they've nurtured thus far. In fact, they were surprised to hear from Shawn, who hunted them down for a rare full-band interview. The transcript of their conversation below has been lightly edited for clarity and flow. Enjoy!

Decay and Other Hopes Against Progress by Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean

There’s a lot of despair in that name, Chained To The Bottom Of The Ocean. Reminds me of Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire or Dragged Into Sunlight. Where did that come from?

So we're just gonna answer questions as a group, because the music, for us, is more collaborative and not about the individual person. We feel more comfortable answering questions as a group, [thought it’s] not like our total personal views on everything, for sure. We can tell you it’s a THOU song and we do derive a lot of influence from them. I think it's more the imagery that those words portray that gives us a lot more depth and meaning.

It's an amazing name! Makes me think of doom, terror, and depravity. You dropped an album last year called, 'Decay And Other Hopes Against Progress.' What’s the significance that title?

Generally, it's just progress against disruption. It's kinda where we're at currently. Feels like everything's kind of falling apart.

The band’s slogan is, "Send every God and King to the Gallows."

Yeah. I think the way I interpret that is, a lot of political figures, entertainment figures, and people have become adulterated. There's an undercurrent taking everyone down a peg.

Your artwork is as spectacular as your music – the picture of a lion holding swords. It almost looks like a tarot card.

Thank You! I think we attempt to as much of our endeavors, into art. We don't create it ourselves, we try to find artists, tattoo artists, design artists, locals on a small scale. We give them a concept and let them run with it. For sure, there was a tarot card in describing what we wanted, referencing the nine swords and all of that, as well as a lot of undertones of medieval woodcuts. I guess we warned to go with a simple, aggressive, oldish design – that sort of feeling.

The pin itself looks fucking regal! Pretty dignified thing to have on your jacket. Proud to wear it!

The pins came out a million times better than we thought they would.

They shine! They're on point! And your cassette tin, is that lavender in there?

It is indeed lavender. We didn't really anticipate this going as well as it did, so we wanted to make a special version of Decay And Other Hopes Against Progress that really gives the effort that it deserved. Ultimately, we'd like to press it on vinyl, but I guess that's a less intimate version of like doing a deluxe cassette, where we sat down and did everything ourselves and made all the decisions. The idea was to convey like a lot of intimacy with people who share our music. They're willing to support us and spend money on us, so we're willing to put in the work and make something unique and nice for them.

So what are some damn good books you guys have read?

I got one. I recently read this book that I'm going to explain very poorly, Candide by Voltaire. What I got out of it, basically, is just because you exist the world you live in is automatically the best world you can live in, simply because you're there. So it's not worth other possible worlds. It’s about how you can live in absurd times, but it’s still the best thing that you could ever experience. To make the best of things, you know? I'm pretty into Vonnegut, too.

When you guys do live shows, do you wear those chains like in the picture?

You'd be surprised how heavy those chains are!

I bet! I saw the picture and I was like, "God damn, that's some hardcore shit!” Bands like Dragged Into Sunlight, they've got ski masks. Void Meditation Cult has the blackened faces and hooded cloaks. If those are real chains, your heads must weight 25 or 30 pounds! (laughs)

I think that set of chains weighed at least 60 pounds.

Shit!

They were old, they were heavy, and they were very dirty. It was definitely more a concept piece.

Is this an effort to preserve the anonymity of the band members?

We're not trying to be anonymous. You can come to our live shows and see who we are and meet us. By no means are we trying to hide our identity. It plays into the concept that we're pieces of a greater whole. It's not about any one individual band member -- where we've been, who we are, where we come from -- it's more about what we do together and what we can create together.

You guys got anything works right now?

We're playing Stoned To Death Festival in March with Black Pyramid. It's in this really pretty church with stained glass windows.

Sick! The band playing any local shows?

We really try to limit ourselves playing locally too often. We don't want to have oversaturation in a small area; could be detrimental.

What’s was one of your favorite shows?

We've had incredibly good shows! A month after the new album came out, we put a whole thing together ourselves, rented a room at this church, and brought bands we wanted to play with. It was really good to play a release for your album surrounded by people you wanted to be there.

I take this question seriously and asked it all my interviews throughout the years: What makes you guys laugh uncontrollably?

Laugh uncontrollably?

Yeah, you chuckle, snort, pee your pants a bit. Something hilarious to you, funny images in your head.

Let me think about that for a second. I'm going to say The Eric Andre Show. (laughs)

Yeah he's pretty funny. That guy gets pretty nuts! Some of it, I think, is dumb, but man he's got some big brass ones! The episode where he has a grizzly bear on his show as a guest, he's like: “Fuck it, I'm out. Skit’s over!" (laughs)

That's a wicked hard question! There's this picture of a Chihuahua and his face is scrunched up it says something like, "How I feel when the sun goes down at four o’clock everyday" or something like that and people send it to me all the time and I lose it no matter what I'm doing.

That's what I'm talking about! I had a very, very embarrassing moment in high school, in a 10th grade biology class. The substitute teacher and assistant principle walk in the room and announce that our Biology teacher had passed away. I burst out laughing! It was a nervous laugh. The whole class turns in the chairs, staring at me. I felt so terrible, literally like a Southwest Airlines commercial, I wanted to get away!

This is going to be a dumb answer. I don’t know how old you are or if anybody else in the band remembers, but there used to be this show where comedians get up and do two-minute sets and the point of show was if you could make it two minutes without laughing, you'd move on to the next round. I think that had a serious detrimental effect on my young age, because I find a lot of things not funny and I'm able to not laugh aloud. I end up laughing at a lot of things that shouldn't be funny, though, like violent scenes in movies that weren’t meant to be funny, end up making me chuckle.

That's all I have for you guys, do you have anything else?

We'll probably be recording some songs in the next give or take, two months, it's not super out there, but one of the songs is a Devo cover.

Oh wow!

After that, we're pushing for a full-length and see where we go from there, but we're not going away!

Hell, yeah! You've just had your first record come out in September and you're already talking about another on. Great news!

We're doing stuff, playing shows, we'll be around! How'd you come across us?

Through Bandcamp. I'm a big fan of BC and found a lot of bands that way. When I had my radio show, I'd be on BC until 2 or 3 am scouring for bands.

We looked on Bandcamp real quick under the discover tab -- didn't realize we're #4 under all metal!

You are?

Yeah, what the fuck? (laughs) When the album came out, we were at #7 under doom metal and shit. We were wicked stoked, because the Primitive Man single was close to us! I can’t believe we had our album logo next to it. It's remarkable.

You're up there, dude. You got the goods, you're going to Hollywood! I'm proud of you guys for that.

Thank you very much!

Thank you for your time, I appreciate it!

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#D&S Interviews #Chained To The Bottom Of The Ocean #Springfield #Massachusetts #Doom #Metal #Doom Metal #Shawn Gibson #Doomed & Stoned

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