someone you can't save

isabella bristol, as penned by allison. it's all you have, it's all you hate, it's all in vain. mn

[bellabristol]

calvinwriteshobbes·:

Calvin was relieved that the woman wasn’t upset with his son and smiled at her. “Thanks. He’d got all my charming personality, but definitely looks like his mom.” He chuckled. “Looks like she and Anthony would get along. He’s a little social butterfly himself. And he’s five years old. Hard to believe he’ll be startin’ kindergarten soon. How old is your daughter?” 

The smile stayed on Bella’s face as the man spoke. “He’s adorable,” she said. “Most definitely. Mia seems to get along with everyone, except sometimes me.” She let out a small laugh. “She’s six. They grow up so fast. I was shell-shocked when she started school. She cried when I dropped her off, and I cried the whole way home. But watching them come home just knowing new things is priceless.”

[bellabristol]

tempestlaurens·:

“My mom does a lot of travelling to different museums to teach what she’s researched and put into her papers. She also attends lectures by archaeologists and such. Stuff that would bore me to tears.” Tempest shrugged as he laughed a little. “I would be honored to do your next tattoo! Your ink is so beautiful already.”  Her laughing got a little louder a moment as she heard the question. She was always ready with this story. “You know Patrick from Spongebob, right? That was my instant no. Not because of Patrick, but a very odd place he wanted Patrick tattooed. Plus, the guy was way too drunk.”

Bella grimaced ever so slightly as Tempest spoke. “Yikes,” she said, “I can’t say I blame you for not wanting to follow in her footsteps. Not that it’s not interesting--it’s just...not for me. It sounds busy, though. I like busy.” She smiled. “Thank you. It took a long time to pull everything together. I wanted everything to mean something.” Bella immediately laughed out loud at the other woman’s story. “Oh my gosh, I do not want to know where he wanted Patrick. I can think of some really bad places. That said, I don’t know that there’s a good place for that.”

[bellabristol]

henrycolemanhq·:

“That’s not such a bad idea. Not just for you, but for anyone. Unfortunately the worlds not always a safe place”. He commented before quickly adding “not to scare you or anything”. He paused briefly before answering “I’m alright I suppose, been better, been worse, how about you?”

“Don’t worry,” she said, “I’m easily startled, but I’m not easily scared. And you’re absolutely right. There are too many awful people in the world to not be on guard all the time.” She thought for a moment, then answered his question. “The same, I guess. My daughter is sick, so I’m a little worried. It’s just the flu, but my poor ex-boyfriend had to talk me out of going to the hospital.”

[calvinwriteshobbes]

Usually, his son was well behaved at the park. That was until he’d decided to stray from the tree they were reading under in the one moment Calvin looked down to reject a call. This was family time. Whoever calling was less important. “Hobbes!” He called out as he got up and quickly grabbed his son’s bag while rushing to find the boy. It was luck that the small child ended up by the nearby water fountain and looking up at an adult, tugging lightly on their shirt since he was still too short to reach. “Hob–Anthony, little man, what did we talk about? We don’t run off or tug on people’s clothes.” An out of breath Calvin put his hands on his son’s shoulders while the child’s tiny hand let go of the fabric, looking up to the other adult. “I’m sorry. He just gets headstrong sometimes.”

[bellabristol]

Bella was standing towards the edge of the playground, keeping an eye on Mia as she ran around. She was almost ready to call out to her that it was time to go when she felt a gentle tug on her shirt. At first, she was alarmed, but she spun around to find a toddler looking up at her. A smile spread from ear to ear. A man she assumed was the child’s father was close behind, and she waved away his apology. “Please,” she said, turning as she spoke so she could still see Mia, “Don’t be. He’s adorable. And my daughter is just like this, always trying to go see everyone and talk to them. How old is he?”

[ginweaslay]

Kaya Scodelario

[bellabristol]

thatszander·:

“ Well I hope it happens for you and I hope you find someone, you seem like a really good catch to me!”

“Why, thank you. As do you. I think your boyfriend would be lucky to marry you. What is he like? Oh--and my name is Bella, by the way.”

[bellabristol]

tempestlaurens·:

“Exactly. I never did get the notion of the family business unless it was something that your kid has shown a genuine interest in. Which, history is cool and all, but there’s no way I can remember all those dates. Besides, only the revolution is of interest for me. I had an ancestor who fought in it. History would be the family business. But like, my mom does world history.” She explained. “I am sure your daughter appreciates every bit of time you spend with her and she will appreciate your hard work when she’s older.” Tempest paused a moment. “It’s nice to meet you as well. “I’m a tattoo artist, but I draw all kinds of things.”

“History?” she asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, what is the family business, exactly? I always wondered what history majors end up doing, if not teaching history.” Bella smiled as she thought about her daughter. She hoped the woman was right. Maybe Mia was too young to appreciate their time together, but when her daughter hugged her or told her she loved her, she felt more appreciated than she ever had before. Her eyebrows raised as Tempest told her what she did. Her own tattoos covered her arms, but she was always ready for more. “I’ll have to come to you for my next one, then. Once I figure out what I want it to be. Have you ever had anyone come in wanting a tattoo so stupid you had to turn them down?”

[bellabristol]

Text | Open

Louisa: Yeah, I'm scared of losing him more than anything I guess. And it feels like if I tell him, maybe he'll end it and I'll have to hurt regardless. It almost makes being in limbo something I can appreciate in a weird way.

Bella: Schrodinger's relationship. If you don't look, the relationship still exists as much as it doesn't exist. I just don't want you to find out it's dead and get hurt.

Bella: If you tell him, the worst case scenario is that he ends it. You eat some ice cream, cry on your friends' shoulders, and then you're free to find someone who can give what you're looking for.

Bella: Best case scenario? He feels the same way, shapes up, tries to be what you need instead of just a fling.

[bellabristol]

wendydagger·:

“I just like talking to people so I hope I didn’t offend you. It’s hard for me to recognize that people aren’t also like that.” Wendy had no concept of boundaries. She was very much an in your face type of person. There wasn’t a single person that she wouldn’t talk to. “Oh no, I choose not to take days off. I love performing. I couldn’t even imagine not doing it. But yeah, I think my parents would be so disappointed if I didn’t follow through with this. It’s in my blood honestly. My mother’s a sword swallower and contortionist and my dad’s the one who taught me how to breathe fire. I mean, they’re like semi-retired I guess but you know.”

“No, not at all. Actually, it’s kind of nice spending my commute talking to someone instead of just wrapped up in my own thoughts.” And she found that that was true. Maybe it was just because she’d happened to stumble upon an interesting person. “Wow. I work a lot, and I adore my job, but I can’t imagine loving it that much.” She often felt like she should be working 350 days a year, but at the pace she worked, she knew she couldn’t keep up with that. She would stick to her 6 days a week. “Ah, so it’s the family business,” she mused, “I wish my parents had passed something cool like that onto me. How long have you been practicing?”

[bellabristol]

henrycolemanhq·:

Henry looked at the other woman as she gasped “oh I’m terribly sorry I didn’t mean to startle you”. He paused “next time I will have to announce my prescense”. He said with a small smirk

Bella began to relax, and in place of her look of shock she gave the man a small smile. “No need to be sorry,” she said, “I’m just easily startled, I think. Maybe this will teach me to be more aware of my surroundings.” She thought for a moment, considering--she was already speaking to him, so it was only right to be pleasant. “How are you?” she asked.

[bellabristol]

wendydagger·:

“That’s fair but then if we lived in a world of people like that, no one would talk to each other, huh? Sometimes you have to be the conversation starter, you know? All it takes is a simple hello.” Wendy offered the other a small smile. “Yep! Every single day, 365 days a year. Well maybe like 350 give or take a few days but you know. I was pretty much born into this. Could you imagine how embarrassing it would have been if I had become like a lawyer or something? That would probably be a huge let down for my parents.”

l“I think, technically, I started this conversation, even if I didn’t mean to, so maybe I’m not a lost cause. You’re right, though. If people didn’t talk to me first, I wouldn’t talk to anyone.” And maybe I’d like it that way. She pushed away the thought. She didn’t have many people close to her, but she couldn’t live without the ones who were. “Really? That’s a lot of hard work to be doing every single day. I know it’s a show, but they should still give you some days off.” She laughed at the woman’s next comment. “Very embarrassing. But I can’t quite tell if you’re being sarcastic. What do they think about it?”

[bellabristol]

xyla-v·:

Xyla could not suppress her laugh as the woman said ‘productivity apps.’ Shaking her head, she turned in her seat and pulled out her own phone, showing off her own collection of productivity apps that hadn’t been touched since the day she downloaded them. “I feel that. But also, Candy Crush is my shit. I feel like a 50 year old mom whenever I play but I’m on level 477 and I’m never stopping,” she laughed, shaking her head at her confession. “But yes, definitely back your things up before it’s too late.”

Bella grinned at the sight of all of the apps on the other woman’s phone. It made her feel a little bit better about her guilty pleasure. “Hey, you do you. But level 477? I must be awful at Candy Crushing. I got stuck on level 121 and got so frustrated I deleted it. You must have some kind of secret.” Or maybe it was more a matter of patience, something Bella didn’t always have as much of as she should. “With my luck, I’ll drop it down a grate or something on my way home from the subway station. --Now I wish there was some wood to knock on.”

[bellabristol]

Text | Open

Louisa: I've had plenty of casual relationships... this just seems different?

Louisa: Previously I really didn't care if they ended. This one I care about. And I want more. He doesn't.

Louisa: He wants every part of a relationship except being monogamous and it makes me feel like shit.

Louisa: About 4 months.

Bella: If you feel like shit all the time, it's just gonna wear you down. Sometimes you have to let go of relationships that aren't making you happy. Even when you really want to keep them.

Bella: If it were me, I'd sit him down and tell him exactly what I want, and if he told me he couldn't give me that, I'd be out. It sounds like this commitment is important to you, and you deserve someone who can commit back.

[bellabristol]

tempestlaurens·:

“It explains a lot of things in my life, honestly. As long as I was a good kid, my mom never really cared, but that doesn’t mean she was the most supportive mother. She wanted me to follow her into the family business. Needless to say, I had no interest in stepping in to fill her shoes. I was that type of kid to make friends with anyone I found interesting. They do say college changes a person, but they never say how. I guess it’s different for everyone. I went to art school. Kind of withdrew into myself because I got so busy with projects.” She chuckled. “There’s always time. It’s good to be reminded of that, old friend. I’m Tempest.”

“I’ve never understood the idea of a family business. Why would you assume that your child is going to want to go down the same path as you, or even that they’ll be good at it?” She shook her head a little, feeling grateful that neither of her parents had expected her to follow in their footsteps. “What’s the family business?” Bella mulled over the woman’s next words. “Well, it definitely changed me. At first I regretted having a child so young. Now I regret focusing myself so much on my schooling instead of my daughter.” It felt weird to be talking about these things, but she found it easier to say these things to a stranger than to someone she knew well. “Nice to meet you, Tempest. What kind of art do you do?”

[bellabristol]

wendydagger·:

“I mean there’s nothing wrong with being judgemental, as long as you don’t let it cloud your judgement or fog up your ability to get to know people. I think that being judgemental is natural. It’s our way of protecting ourselves.” Wendy shrugged. “But yeah! Certified freak show performer. And it’s not that scary. It’s kinda like muscle memory. When you start doing something so much it just becomes second nature.”

“I very much believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt and getting to know them regardless--if they come talk to me. I’m not much one to seek out interaction, really. I guess that’s another way of protecting myself. Can’t be bothered by someone if you’re not talking to anyone.” Bella marveled at the woman’s answer. She’d always felt like she had fun with what she did, but it certainly wasn’t always exciting. “Still, I imagine it’d be difficult to get to the point where it’s muscle memory, so that’s just completely badass. You do it for a living?”

[bellabristol]

thatszander·:

“You could also have children on your own, lots of single women who haven’t had much luck with love or who don’t anyone do it on their own!” 

“There’s always that possibility, yeah. To be honest, I’d be terrified. I already feel like I rely so much on my ex to help me take care of my daughter. But who knows, maybe sometime down the line, when I don’t have to work so much, I’ll feel different.”

[bellabristol]

tempestlaurens·:

“My dad was super strict on the company I kept. He didn’t like me hanging around anyone who didn’t go to church. You’d think being a pastor, he’d be the last person to say that but. My mother didn’t really care that much who my friends were just as long as I stayed out of trouble and did my chores before going out.” Tempest rambled. “There’s nothing wrong with spoiling your child. I think. There’s a fine line between spoiled and spoiled brat in my opinion. I’m not an expert, though. Hopefully my nephew ends up more level headed than her.”

“Ah, a pastor’s daughter. That explains it.” She grinned. “If I were a pastor, I wouldn’t want my daughter lusting after Zac Efron, either. My parents were the same as your mom, though. They cared about what I did, not who I did it with. That said, I mostly surrounded myself with people who were just like me at that age, so there wasn’t much opportunity for trouble. Until I got to college and got knocked up, of course.” Bella considered the woman’s next words. “I suppose you’re right about that. There’s still time to instill some humility. How old is your nephew?” She lowered her voice as she spoke again, just in case there was a chance the aforementioned old couple could hear them speaking. “I’m Bella, by the way.”