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itsobnoxiouslove · 6 months ago

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I was Headin’ Back Out East

The second fic for @zanibot ! For the Lord Huron Secret Santa hosted by @tinylongwing.

Summary: After the events of Vide Noir Buck returns to where he found Johnnie. A conversation ensues.

Content Warnings: Cursing, smoking, mentions of gun violence references to using alcohol as a coping mechanism. Canon typical Vide Noir album and movie content. There are also spoilers for the movie. If I missed a warning, please let me know!

Notes:

-Disclaimer: I don't think Buck is good person this story is written with the characterization that he doesn't believe he's in the wrong (mainly with Lee.)

-I would love to work with this concept more in the future! If you have any requests for scenes message me and I'll try to write them.

-If you want to expand on what I have written yourself go ahead!

-I don't own the characters/canon or any Lyrics used within the fic

Buck found himself back in the desert where he found the ghost of an Ender on his way out of the city. With the possibility of the cops or Z'Oiseau’s goons on his tail he was quick to drive out of the city.

Once the gravity of the situation caught up with him he had to take a break from the road and think things over.

He knew things weren’t looking good for him. Lee knew what he had done and since she didn’t love him there was no reason for her not to send someone after him if she desired. He wanted to make sure he was far away before that happened.

Buck himself needed some more time to reflect than what he could by the river so he was sitting on the hood of his car. He would’ve been leaning against it but leg wouldn’t let him stand on it much. Even without much weight on it ached. More so now that most of the adrenaline from the night’s events was gone. His head was starting to hurt but he could deal with the pain.

It was quiet. Unlike the last time he was there, the sky was clear. No storms rumbled the sky, hardly a breeze could be felt, just a clear sky full of uncaring stars. Looking towards where he came from the lights from the city lit up the sky the green of the Emerald Star. Was his exposure to Vide Noir the cause of the color or was something about the place he fled just not quite normal? Part of him leaned towards it being Lee, her lighting up the sky,the true Emerald Star.

“Hey Bub! Long time no see!”

Buck jumped, wincing as he put too much weight on his leg. He turned to be met with a particular Ender. He looked the same as he did the last time they met, not a surprise to Buck. Part of Buck’s mind still thought the other man was a figment of it.

Even if he wasn’t he was still dead and unlikely to change much in the time Buck was gone.

Both of them just stared at each other for a couple of moments, obviously shocked to see the other.

“Hey man. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Same with you bub.”

Another bout of. The two debating of what

"Bub! What's your name? I didn't get it last time."

“Buck.”

The ender chuckled realizing that his nickname wasn’t too far off from Buck’s actual name.

“Johnnie.

The two shook hands. Johnnie’s hand was ice cold, yet it felt solid, real.

Johnnie scrutinized Buck for a moment.

“Huh. You came back from the edge.”

“Look man, I don't know what you mean by that.”

“Ya know back from the dead! Zazo getcha?”

Buck wincing as he put too much weight on his leg, “Yeah some of the bastard’s goons Blackbrianed me.”

“Man, the one thing I told you not to do!”

“Not like I wanted my mind to go through… that! I wasn’t being careful and I made some enemies! I made it out alive so I don’t think it really matters.”

“You’re a lucky son of a bitch aren’t ya?”

Buck shrugged, he guessed he was lucky. Nothing was in his favor, yet he didn't die. In the end dying would’ve not changed a thing for his now ex fiancée. Leigh would just live her new life without even thinking about him. She moved on.

Johnnie, much like their last meeting, was filled with more life than a dead person should have, way more than the living Buck. Heartbreak and his injuries not doing anything to help him feel better.

“Did ya get your girl back?”

Johnnie studied Buck’s car figuring out the answer before Buck could say a word. Still Johnnie kept his mouth shut, waiting for Buck to answer.

“No.” Buck sighed, “As it turns out she never loved me.”

“Damn. That’s gotta suck.”

Understatement of the year buddy. He even fought death to get her back, fought death for no reason at all. He sighed, “I was a fool. I should’ve known when she left that she didn’t feel anything about me. ”

And when the fortune teller who was scarily accurate told him to stop. Hindsight was a powerful perspective. Too blinded by his love he never realized the neon signs blinking the message, she doesn’t love you.

“Got a smoke?”

Buck nodded, needing one himself, pulling out two cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. He handed one to Johnnie and the two smoked in silence.

Finding himself smoking with a dead guy on two separate occasions was not an outcome of his journey he was expecting but it was a welcome one. Considering how bad things were going it was a nice change of pace.

“Did you get to The Enders?” Johnnie’s voice pierced the silence between the two.

“Yeah. I wasn’t able to get to your brother. The cops showed up before I was able to talk to him or anyone really.”

Truly it was partly before Buck could work up the courage to approach him and was able to diffuse the situation he was getting himself into.

The look Alex Redmayne gave him still sent chills down his spine whenever he thought about it.

Buck wasn’t going to tell The Ender that. He wouldn’t see the end of it. Johnnie didn’t seem to understand that strangers wandering into a place filled with criminals didn’t work well Chances were it would only hurt him more.

The younger Redmayne's entire demeanor shifted. The endless energy he had moments before seemed to drain from his body. He looked up into the stars where his mind was sent to die with a distant look in his eye.

Quietly he sneered, “Those bastards.”

“I was able to get your handkerchief to another Ender. She said she would give it to Alex for me.”

This brought the energy back to the Ender, “Who was it?”

“I only know her as Lady MoonBeam. She never told me her real name.”

“Oh her! She’s somethin’ isn’t she?” Johnny hummed with fondness in his eyes.”Thinks she ain’t nothing but a fraud, yet has her way of predictin’ futures.”

“Follow the Emerald Star.” Buck murmured.

“Is that what she told ya?”

“Yep. She also told me to stop looking for Leigh before giving me another hint.”

“So did ya listen to her?”

“I followed the Emerald star and I didn’t stop looking. She was right about the Star and she must’ve known Leigh didn’t actually care about me. That or she’s just smarter than me.”

“She very well could’ve predicted it. Really if a dead man like myself can walk and Vide Noir can sling shot your brain through the cosmos seeing the future doesn’t sound that far fetched does it?”

“No it does not.”

Sirens in the distance perked Buck’s ear. For a moment it sounded like they were getting closer. Buck didn’t know what was worse, the thought. If Z'Oiseau’s goons black brained him again the outcome would be different.

Buck was certain the mission to find his fiance was what pulled him back, he had a reason to be too stubborn to die; love.

With the illusion shattered he had nothing to really fight for, nothing to pull him back from the edge if he found himself there again. It just didn’t seem worth the effort. He relaxed when they finally faded into the distance. Johnnie of course picked up on his unease.

“So, what did ya do?”

Buck glared at the Ender, not saying a word. If he tried to lie and change the subject he knew Johnnie would pick up on it.

“Really man don’t play dumb. I’ve found myself on the wrong side of the law many times! Besides, what am I going to do? ” He gestured to his torn up face driving home the point he wasn’t exactly alive, “call the cops on ya?”

Buck sighed, getting the point. “I shot at least two men. I don’t know if I killed anyone but I did shoot at them.”

Johnnie on the other hand treated the news by howling with laughter “There ya go bub! I knew you aren’t a coward!”

Buck wasn’t an Ender so shooting a person, regardless of who wasn’t as much of an honor to him as it would be to Johnnie, but the enthusiasm did help him feel better, “ I guess I’m not.”

“Was he one of Zazo's?”

“Yeah. I might've gotten Zazo too,” Buck’s mind didn't want him to recall who was caught on the wrong end of his gun,“ I don’t really wanna think about it anymore.

Johnnie’s face lit up with the news.

Once more he howled with laughter. While Buck shot to save his ass, possibly Lee’s and only a little out of anger over Lee herself, to Johnnie who wasn’t there was a different meaning to his actions.

Frankie Lou and Johnnie were both wronged by the man and those who worked with him. Buck himself being crossed by man. He felt better thinking about his actions in the light of it being revenge for the two.

“Well Buck, what are ya gonna do now?”

In all honesty Buck had no clue what he would do with his life. His only solid idea was just to get out of the city. Even returning to where Johnnie was found was a risk with Z'Oiseau using it as a dumping ground.

He didn’t even know where he would go once he got out. Maybe a motel or a quiet place to sleep in his car undisturbed. With his leg still not feeling better, maybe a hospital visit or somewhere with medical supplies.

Returning to Detroit after that seemed appealing. Buck shared a place with Lee. He could continue living there or easily move to a new place. Life in some way could continue on like it was before, just without Lee in it.

“Drive back to Detroit, and hope this all blows over.” Drown himself in alcohol in the process, saying it out loud would’ve been too sad.

“That’s it? Just do nothing interesting. Sure, ya didn’t get ya girl back but so what? What’s the fun in that? You fought death and got a second chance! You can’t sit around and do nothin’ with it! I went over this with you! You Bub are not a… ” Johnnie held out the last word.

Buck rolled his eyes “Quitter. I’m not a quitter.”

“There ya are! Do something fun! Make comin’ back worth it!”

In response Buck got to thinking.Going back and laying low for a while was still in the plan, his leg needed time to heal. Instead of drowning himself in drink once he would just write music . His odyssey could make a good story, something people would be willing to tune into. Drugs with connection to the cosmos, defying odds and beating death. It was hell to go through but if he couldn’t get Lee back he could at least use his journey to make a living for himself.

“Fine, I'll write some music, do a small tour eventually. Is that a better plan?”

Johnnie shrugged, “Still a bit boring but better.”

Buck looked to the sky. It was still dark out but he knew he was losing time. Until he was certain he wasn’t going to be arrested or Black Brained again he figured traveling at night would be better.

“Thanks. Look I gotta get going. It was nice talking to you again.”

“It was nice seeing ya again Buck.” He paused looking into the sky thinking for a moment. Turning back to Buck he looked nervous, “Will ya ever come back?”

Realistically there was no real reason to return. Buck hardly knew Johnnie and despite having evidence of the contrary couldn’t shake the idea he was a hallucination. On the other hand Visiting Johnnie would be leagues easier than the city itself it wasn’t completely out of the question.

“Maybe one day.” It could be months or even years before he would think about coming back.

“Please bring me some smokes if you do. I will need them.”

“Will do.”

Johnnie waved and Buck gave him one back. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, never saying a word.

Buck limped to the driver’s seat. Staggering into it, he took a moment to breathe. His leg taking longer to stop hurting than the last time. As he started the engine Johnnie called out “Wait!”

Buck’s heart raced as his mind jumped to the worst thing that could happen; Z'Oiseau or the cops tracked him down.

Looking around he saw nothing of note. No cars or flashing lights, it was a false alarm.

“Johnnie? What’s going on? You gave me a fucking heart attack! ”

“Can I join you?”

Buck inhaled too sharply and choked on the air the request coming out of nowhere, “ Can you even leave here considering…” He gestured to the road where he found Johnnie’s body the last time they spoke. Buck was mostly certain he was talking to a real Ghost.

“Course I can! If The World Ender go wherever the fuck he wants then so can I. ”

Buck looked at the Ender as if he was speaking. Johnnie looked at him like he did when Buck admitted he didn’t know the Enders.

“Please don’t tell me you don’t know about the World Ender?”

“As I said I’m from out of town. I know almost nothin’ of your little group and jack about The World Ender whoever that is.”

“Well, If you let me come with you I’ll be more than happy to tell you!”

“Last time we met you seemed happy stayn’ out here. Why all of a sudden you’re so eager to leave?”

“Yeah I was fine here, that was before I realized how fuckn’ lonely it is out here. Ya know Buck, I think you’re the only person who can actually see me.” Buck remembered Frankie from George’s place, the only other ‘ghost’ he believed wasn’t just in his mind. how he was the only person to hear her sing.

Her band not noticing her voice or her being right in front of them. Johnnie was right. If he was able to make it back to the Enders chances were no one would see him, “I don’t think I want to be alone anymore.”

Going from having an entire biker gang to be with to no one was a huge shift. While the Enders scared the hell out of Buck, to Johnnie they were friends, family even. Buck never had many friends; he was even coming back to Detroit with one less person in his life. The loss of Lee’s presence was hurting enough. He could use someone to talk to. Vide Noir wasn’t even a thing out there.

“Fine.”

In the enclosed space he could smell decay coming from Johnnie. Buck, against his effort, made a face.

“What’s the matter?”

“You smell.”

“‘Course I do I’m dead. Nothin’ I can do ‘bout that. ”

“I know.”

He made his choice, and he wasn’t going to ditch Johnnie over the obvious.

He pulled back onto the road and began driving into the emerald hued night.

#lhsecretsanta2024 #buck vernon #johnnie redmayne #vide noir #lord huron #fanfic

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itsobnoxiouslove · 6 months ago

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All is Calm Way Out There

One of two fics for @zanibot ! For the Lord Huron Secret Santa hosted by @tinylongwing. Happy holidays and I hope you enjoy!

I was torn between two of the prompts you gave me so I did something for them both! Story two should either be up some time today or within the next couple of days.

Summary: When the Boys leave the studio for the night Tubbs reflects on the past.

Content warnings: Mentions of canonically dead characters, mentions of smoking and consumption of alcohol (but not in a harmful manner). Basically, canon Typical AFWP and Long Lost Content. If I happened to miss a warning let me know!

Notes:

-I haven't used Tumblr to post fics before so sorry for any weird formatting.

-Since this is the first time I've written for LH sorry if things in either story are too OOC or stray too far from canon.

-The band does show up much like they do in AFWP. this is meant to be a fictional in universe version of them.

-I don't own the characters/canon or any Lyrics used within the fic

It was lonely in Whispering Pines Studios, way out there. Outside of the studio snow gently fell, not an intense storm in the slightest. Tubbs knew it could get worse as the night progressed and planned just to spend the night in the studio.

The Boys were wrapping up for the night, spending most of the day working on their record. He waved to them not really getting a response back from the band. There were times Tubbs didn’t know if anyone in the band was actually aware of him. The thought made him feel forgotten, more so than normal with how disused the studio was in current times. Yet they seemed to hear him following through with song requests and taking his advice when Tubbs gave it.

These days it seemed they were the only people besides Tubbs himself who used the studio. He still had his show. In all honesty he didn’t know who exactly was watching anymore but he knew somewhere people were tuning into WBUB for his show so many years later. Every time when he opened the phone lines for requests they would flood in. It warmed his heart to think people still cared about his show.

The sound of music finned the studio. Behind the glass the music was slightly muffled. Tubbs worked on his list of tasks loosing himself to their songs.

Hearing those old tunes always brought swarms of memories rushing back. Good, bad and everything in between. If he listened close enough he could hear echoes of his long gone peers in their voices. It was why the band was the subject of the upcoming season of his show. Tubbs couldn’t do anything to bring his old peers back but the boys were close enough. Even when not covering a past tune, they were quite the group.

Tubbs knew where those who used the studio were in the present moment. Way out in the desert, in the place where the seeds of Whispering Pines were planted. They were waiting for him to join them. He knew they were. Tubbs was not quite ready to join them just yet.

At the train of thought the blur that was slowly overtaking his face vanished.

They knew who he was yet he couldn’t quite remember all the faces or names, the same blur taking them from his mind.

Donnie and Midge were two he would never forget regardless if their faces have vanished from his mind. The anniversary of that stormy night at the Broken Bottle was coming up. With the Broken Bottle closed he couldn’t visit it to celebrate. He could but once more he reminded himself the cost was something he wasn’t ready for.

Eventually The Boys left for the night leaving Tubbs alone in the now quiet studio. Finishing his tasks the new silence was getting to him.

Slowly he found his way to a cabinet in the corner of the room. It was filled to the brim with records, every one recorded within Whispering Pines and those who appeared on Alive From Whispering pines.

Every single record held a story. Mixed in were things from his non musician guests. Tubbs' focus was music but he admired art even when it wasn’t in music form. His personal favorite being books from when George Ranger Johnson was on his show.

He flicked through his collection half reading the labels until one artist stood out; Frankie Lou.

It was truly a shame what happened to her. He probably needed to tidy up her memorial relatively soon. Tubbs wasn’t a very superstitious man all things considered, but with the subject matter and weirdness around “The World Ender” he found himself taking the dead seriously. Leaving her memorial to collect dust probably wouldn’t make Frankie happy.

Thoughts of the song caused him to flip to The Phantom Riders; they were a hell of a bunch yet they could write a tune. Not exactly what he was looking for after a moment’s thought.

Starting from the top he browsed his records once more.

On his second run through one name stood out; Fleur. It wasn’t the artist's true name, that would be Leigh or Lee Green depending on who asked. She was quick to drop the orgional stage name after her first album and ‘events in her personal life’ she never described to Tubbs.

He quickly moved to where the rest of Green’s work was pulling out his favorite album by her.

Lee was an underrated gem within the studio, never gaining as much traction as other performers under the label such as Quentin King (Tubbs rolled his eyes at the name).Tubbs was fond of the kid’s music from the time he heard it despite the weakness in her debut. He was right, as she grew so much as an artist. He was proud of her work.

Many men pursued her over the years. She was even the subject of many songs from the studio. From her comments about the Buck Vernon poster in the studio it seems there was history between the two. Tubbs never learned the story, he never pressed.

Not being one of those men which is why he figured things were different between them. In return for viewing her as a musician as opposed to the subject of affection she cared about his health.

She left Whispering Pines to pursue bigger things. Tubbs didn’t know where she was now, their last conversation occurred long ago. All that was left of her presence were the records and a picture on the wall next to Boo Boo Slippers’. Tubbs took a deep breath to get rid of the ache in his heart. He was a head of the times with his dislike for clowns but Slippers was always an exception.

He stashed some cigarettes behind there where he hoped she wouldn’t notice. When he switched the photos out years ago with hopes of stopping his smoking habit. That seeing her face would remind him of all of their conversations they had about it. She was so determined to stop his habit. Since that night wasn’t one where he was tempted to partake in it, looking at the photo only made Tubbs miss her more.

Tubbs placed the record on the player and let the music fill the space. Pouring a glass of bootheel he hummed along. He plopped himself down in his chair being careful to not spill his drink. Spinning to face the window he looked out into the studio, without a band inside it was nothing but a dark void. Tubbs wondered if like him the space longed for someone to use it. Being just a room it had nothing to say.

Raising his glass to those long gone he took a sip savoring the bitter liquid. He closed his eyes and leaned back picturing Leigh in the empty studio playing her music along with her recorded version.

“I ain’t lonely, I’m long lost.”

Tubbs hummed along finding himself relating to the lyrics more than ever.

#lhsecretsanta2024 #Tubbs Tarbell #lord huron #alive from whispering pines #long lost #fanfic

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