puzzzlepieces

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Tough day?

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an appreciation post for every the walking dead character; michonne

                                              “my shit never stopped being together”

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The one thing you had going for you is that you’re all woke and shit. Kind of counters the whole lame virgin thing.

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the o.c. rewatch:        ↳ stydia + sethummer parallels

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HAWKEYE (2021) dir. Bert & Bertie

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Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter Scream VI (2022) dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

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A PLEASED SMILE folds its way onto gabriela's lips for the first time in hours and possibly the first time ever around ADAM . " call me a bitch again . " she says , voice delicate , yet with purpose . her eyes slide to him , for once her body is relaxed - not ramrod straight , waiting to be called to attention .

as he takes another shot , gabriela can physically SEE the dark cloud hanging over him . if anyone seemed deserving of being at oblitus , it almost seems like ADAM found his exact calling . " i didn't take you for a small talk kinda person . " she pauses . " can i say that , or will it offend you more ? "

He rolls his eyes at her comment. And while usually words had next to zero impact on him overall, tonight was different. It was heavy and he was already working overtime trying to make everyone feel less fucked. He'd tried with her too, only to be met with disdain. "Men like me don't usually drink with stuck-up self-righteous bitches either but...here we are, first time for everything..." that may have been harsh, but he was tired -- tired of being painted as this self-absorbed asshole just because he had confidence and didn't cry, or worry, over every single fucking thing like the rest of them. He spent half of his night out there running, saving people off the street, blood staining his shitty uniform and for what? It was clear he'd never earn respect, never be good enough for the rest of them, and it actually fucking bothered him. So he drank a shot he'd originally poured for her and left it at that.

His smile is now all but gone, and he can't really bare it to look at her so he'll answer in the same tone she'd asked and light a poorly dried cigarette. "I don't know, where you're from, how you ended up here...that sort of thing. 'Less it's the sort of thing you'd never share with a man like me..."

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SID FEELS A PANG OF GUILT , a missed opportunity , within him . he shakes his head , shaggy hair falling over his forehead which he impatiently pushes back . " no . no , it's not that . " he really needs her to know it's not that . " i'd be . . . a blind idiot to reject you . " sid gives a soft self-deprecating laugh . he doesn't know what he's trying to say , so how the hell is he meant to say it ? " i just . . . " he glances over her shoulder , to the boarded up windows . " people really got hurt tonight . me getting my rocks off doesn't really seem fair . " sid doesn't know when it MIGHT BE fair , honestly . he's so far removed from thinking about sex that he feels his head swim , light , at even the vague aspect of it . sid pulls a face . " i actually always thought being an author would rock . all the glory without people chasing you down a street , yeah ? " he shrugs one shoulder , eyes meeting hers .

sid lets out another quiet laugh again as she questions the INTEGRITY of what he's rolled . " hopefully nothing wrong with it , except it being mystery spliff generally . " he teases , finding her an easy person to relax with . to THINK about teasing and joking with . " i don't really smoke as much anymore . " what sid means is : i don't smoke here . there's a lot of things he doesn't do in oblitus .

" my songs ? " he repeats , slightly taken aback at the question . the STUDIO songs were about love and travelling . SID'S SONGS were rarer and inbetween . " they're about being unsure about yourself . " sid admits , unsure of how else to even try and explain it . he leans back , watching as she inhales and takes a hit of what he's rolled her . it seems to do just the trick as words begin to pilfer out of her mouth at the same time . he listens carefully , his eyebrows fully raised by the time she's done . " whoa . " sid comments . " your nightmares . .. what maria told you . . . that was this place ? " he doesn't even know where to begin with this . it's like a giant ball of yarn , muddled together . sid wants to dive right in , but knows he needs to spend time patient , unplucking .

She practically sat in his lap and handed him a pack of condoms and yet, it seemed he was not all that interested in reciprocating whatever intentions she was putting down. So she backed off a bit, moving slightly away to give him space, assuming he was either gay, committed or otherwise uninterested and she didn't really need to find out which one. He was too nice to hurt her feelings, too much of a good guy to reject her upfront and -- well, she appreciated him for it. Though she couldn't help but feel slightly silly, her own cheeks now flushing red. "You can relax." she'll brush a strand of hair behind her ear but feel a little nervous to find his eyes again. "I can come off strong sometimes, I'm sorry." she hopes that'll spare him the need to 'um' the silence away. "Not as lucky as I am, I mean, band beats author any day..."

She watches as he takes a hold of the joint, ponders it, observes it and then hands it back again. And her brows will furrow in confusion as she takes another hit, making sure the joint stays lit "You don't smoke?" he was full of contradictions, and it ignited a strange sort of curiosity. "Something wrong with it?"

Her lips curve into a soft smile as his hand runs through his hair and he honours her with an actual answer. "What are your songs about?" she wanted to hear it, to dive into all the thoughts he would ever dare put on paper. But she knew by now, asking him to reveal so much of himself would be futile. Even if this had truly been their last night, she had a feeling he would sooner die a stranger, than let a stranger in.

"I uh...not quite." the story of her book had been a long one, she was not lying about that. But it was also confusing, and terrifying and she did not want to ruin the mood, dive into details of it all. "I used to work as a carer for this...this hospice facility back home. There was a woman there, Maria..." another hit, long exhale. "She used to tell me stories about a tree in the road, and a town where monsters came out at night...and no one could ever leave. Soon after I started...I started having these dreams, these...vivid fucking nightmares so, I just wrote it all down..."

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gabriela rubs a hand to her temples , a gesture that seems SYNONYMOUS with cherry . " you know you'd be more believable if you didn't talk so much , right ? " her voice is tired , eyes adjusting to look back at cherry, holding out the bottle with a grin that's meant to be as sweet as her name implies . " i'm not drinking with you . " gabriela says . she's always picky about who she decides to unwind with , and unfortunately - cherry doesn't make the cut . " jesus , cherry , when was the last time you were sober ? " somehow cherry always gets her hands on SOME TYPE of contraband . gabriela might understand the allure if she wasn't so busy trying to make sure nobody else died around her .

CHERRY MAKES SURE TO MAKE HER EYES BIG AND ROUND AND INNOCENT AT THE ACCUSATIONS . " i don't know what you're talkin' about, officer gab . i'd never do any of that shit . i'm as sweet as they come, i don't know where all these damn rumours come from ." she waves her past actions off with a casual hand before she moves to rests her chin in the crook of her palm as she studies gabriela . it's with a raising of her free hand that she adds a drawled, " scout's honour ." cherry was never a fuckin' girl scout . but gabriela doesn't have to know that . it's a moment before she moves to straighten in her seat, moving to grab her glass as she says, " how about this ? i'll stick around here if you sit down and drink with me ." cherry nods to the seat beside her, brow arching and smile growing . " i mean, since you're already here to babysit me you might as well make it worthwhile ." her eyes roll to punctuate the words as she brings her glass to her lips .

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They called you golden boy and pushed you up to heavens to live amongst the stars. But you couldn’t bear the weight of the universe so you crumbled and you fell. And you burned. And you burn.

they don’t know no gold is made without suffering (via fireheartwrites)

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welcome to the wonderful world of not knowing what the hell’s going on.

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MELISSA BARRERA as SAM CARPENTER SCREAM VI (2023) dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett

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GABRIELA PUTS UP A HAND , already anticipating the onslaught of words that will tumble out of cherry's mouth . at the same time that she says ' I'M INNOCENT ' , gabriela can't help but mouth the words along with the girl . " you're always innocent . like the time someone broke onto the diner's rooftop and left cigarette butts all over it . or maybe that time you swiped the last nice bottle of GLENNFIDDITCH despite it being won fairly by someone else . " she gives cherry a pointed look . " just drink inside the bar and we won't have to get into the annoyances of public drunk and disorderly . " this is so BELOW HER PAYGRADE , yet cherry seems to always squeeze that out of her .

STATUS : closed for @puzzzlepieces ! LOCATION : inside lost and found !

" YOU HERE TO BUST ME OR TO TAKE THE EDGE OFF ?" cherry asks conversationally, her brow arching at the sight of gabriela . she doesn't know exactly what to do with the appearance to be fair . after all, things could really go one of two ways . still, cherry finds that if gabriela did have intentions to sit and drink she wouldn't exactly be opposed to the company . but that's probably got more to do with the third shot she's got paused half way to her mouth than any real logical thought . " because whatever those motherfucker's are saying i did, i'm innocent ." cherry doesn't exactly know what anyone is saying she did, but considering that's generally the kinda shit she sees gabriela for she figures she better get ahead of it . she raises her free hand in innocence as if to make a point, brows arched high even as she moves to take a sip off the shot where it's overflowing . " and you've got no proof ."

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he ignores the easy dig with a small roll of his eyes . he's glad for her easy presence though . her calm nature helps sid , who's famously NEVER been much of a calm person himself . " so you're not worried at all ? " sid can't help ask , eyebrows drawing together . he can't stop hearing the screams , the sudden running , the way his chest felt like it might explode . " but people looked like they got hurt . . " OR DIED , but he doesn't add that part . he can't even imagine it . the people he's lost have been in hotel rooms - too much pills and booze , mental health shot to BITS and everyone screaming for a piece of whatever they have left to give .

"you should be happy about the no paps part," she teased. "must be nice." when sid arrived in town a few months ago, it was surreal. not because emerson was a fan, but she didn't live under a rock. though, she did miss out on a lot of news in her three years here so she missed out on his solo rise to fame. now that was shocking. she shrugged at his comment. the truth is, she's been rolling with the punches long before she ended up here. sure, nothing like this level of fucked up, but she's been in fight or flight mode since she was a preteen. she was cool under pressure. "kinda fucked to say it, but you do start to get used to things. sure, we've never seen a storm before, but we know how to handle the night, just tonight it's going to be much longer. but the sun will come out again, then we'll be right back to hand washing our dirty underwear or fighting because colony house is being too loud or something."

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SHE HAS TO TALK HERSELF OUT OF SCOWLING AT HIM . he always looks janky , unattached , unaffected . it BOTHERS gabriela . it rings untrue to the profession . she hates to give his words some credence , yet there is some to it . GOD HE FUCKING TALKS A LOT , gabriela muses to herself . it's almost like he's used to talking so much trash that nobody picks him up on it , and between that trash is maybe 1 or 2 valuable things . it's like playing a TREASURE HUNT with his slew of words . " i don't drink with men like you . " gabriela says it maybe more plucky than she intended , but it's true . she's always known from a young age to avoid men like adam , who wear his swagger , step like him , hell - even talk like him .

she glances at him , momentarily surprised to see him smile at her with an almost sincere effect . she wonders if this is another one of his moves . " what do you want to know ? " gabriela asks back , instead .

"Usually, there's no storm in these parts. Usually, those things stay out 'til night. Usually, the newcomers don't arrive in bulk. There's nothing fucking usual about today, and seeing as it may yet be our last I'm gonna sit back, drink myself fucking stupid and pretend those screams out there are a pack of husky's happy their owner's back from their trip to Target." another shot is down, and he pours her a glass. He did not mean to sound rough, but he also was not gonna spend what might be his last moments, following arbitrary rules that barely served them on a good day.

"Now? Now we drink. Together. Hell, we can even play a drinking game -- I don't really know shit about you." there's a smile, the sort of smile he rarely let show, it felt too honest, too revealing, too much....himself. "What do you say?"