it's okay if you forget me.

[derangedrhythms]

Their friendship was as intense as it was sudden. They found relief in each other’s personality.

Toni Morrison, from ‘Sula’

[greyingshepherd]

[brittany-snow]

[ily-a]

BARBIE 2023 | dir. Greta Gerwig

[recsbylotte]

A guide to second date sex (2019) ― dir. Rachel Hirons

[coolfilmstills]

LOVE

[joonieversewrites]

& lincoln·:

     THE  MOMENT  THEY’RE  OUT  OF  the  car  lincoln  readjusts  his  tie  and  reaches  out  to  smooth  a  rogue  piece  of  hair  currently  brushing  against  cherry’s  chin.  he  curls  it  carefully  behind  her  ear.  «  we  should,  »  he  agrees,  offering  his  arm  for  her  to  take.

     they  enter  and  for  a  second  it’s  like  they  don’t  exist  at  all.  the  ballroom’s  dimly  lit,  huge  flower  arrangements  adorning  the  sides,  voices  drowning  out  the  soft  piano  jazz  playing  in  the  background.  then  link  starts  walking,  and  heads  turn  slowly  —  some  even  move  away  as  if  staying  in  his  proximity  will  harm  them.  then  again,  it  might,  if  he  wants  it  enough.  «  can  i  get  you  a  drink,  love  ?  »  he  asks  cherry,  offering  her  a  comforting  smile.  link  knows  he’s  gonna  need  one  soon  enough.

     IT  WAS  ALMOST  PERFECT,  the picture they made, so much that cherry for a moment forgot that it was all a lie. she let lincoln lead her, gently stroke her hair, played the part she had been hired with ease. it was easy to pretend. “sure, i’ll have a drink,” she replied sweetly, knowing that was the correct reply. it wasn’t really about what she wanted at events like these. cherry was here to be lead around and to smile rather than speak. soon enough lincoln would be involved in some conversation where all cherry had to do was be enough of a distraction that whomever would be more focused on her than on the conversation at hand.

though cherry hoped that lincoln found comfort in her company as well.

“are people always as intimidated by you ?” she asked with a teasing lilt, observing how, rather than approaching them, the other guests seemed to hover around them to see what would happen next.

[joonieversewrites]

& kira·:

     SHE  DEFLATES  SLIGHTLY  THE  SECOND  he  opens  the  door,  both  out  of  relief  and  embarrassment.  kira  has  nowhere  else  to  turn,  but  the  truth  is  she  has  no  idea  how  to  talk  to  kieran,  and  only  their  parents  are  to  blame  for  that.  besides,  she’d  sound  like  a  prick  if  she  started  complaining  about  failing  her  last  exam.  at  least  she’d  gotten  out.  kira  shakes  her  head  slowly,  not  entirely  convincing.  «  are  they  home  ?  »  she  asks,  panic  in  her  voice.  and  these  are  the  people  who  are  supposed  to  love  both  of  them  unconditionally.  no  wonder  both  of  them  are  a  little  messed  up.  «  please  don’t  tell  them  i’m  here.  you  know  how  they  get.  »

     THERE  WAS  NO  MISTAKING  THE  LOOK  IN  his sister’s eyes as they looked at each other for the first time in months. he chose to ignore that particular hurt. “no they’re not,” he replied bitterly. not that he was particularly torn up about it, but the fact that she even decided to ask was laughable at best. they were never home. and even if they weren’t they had still managed to drive a wedge between the two siblings so deep that kieran wondered if it ever would be possible to salvage their relationship. still, there was a small part of hope and satisfaction in knowing that kira came to him first. “well, don’t worry, no matter what you did i’ll just stand next to you and be the example of how bad things can get.” a small pause. “you wanna talk about it or just ... i don’t know, watch tv ? i’ve got leftover pizza.”

[joonieversewrites]

& ramesh·:

𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃  𝐅𝐎𝐑:  jenna  perez  ╱  @joonieversewrites·. 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:  ramesh’s  office.

     «  I’M  BUSY  !  »  he  shouts  the  moment  he  hears  footsteps  approaching  his  office.  ramesh  is  currently  on  the  floor,  a  neatly  rolled  up  joint  pressed  between  his  lips,  as  he  stares  at  the  ceiling.  it’s  not  that  this  would  be  a  surprising  sight  to  anyone,  really,  but  he’s  already  received  a  less  than  pleasant  warning  by  link,  and  though  it’s  not  like  this  is  ramesh’s  dream  job  it  does  pay  the  bills  —  and  pretty  much  anything  else  he  wants.

     still,  the  sound  of  footsteps  grow  closer  and  ramesh  gets  up  from  his  spot  on  the  carpet,  opens  the  window  and  lets  his  lunch  snack  fly  out  of  it.  «  fucking shit  i  hate  this  fucking  place,  »  he  mutters  to  himself,  even  if  he  clearly  doesn’t  mean  it.  the  door  creaks  open  the  second  ramesh  has  positioned  himself  on  his  chair,  hands  on  the  keyboard  even  though  the  screen  in  front  of  him  is  blank,  and  has  been  all  day.  jenna’s  familiar,  and  welcome,  face  appears.  «  oh,  hi  darling,  »  mesh  greets,  suddenly  a  friendly  softness  in  the  usually  so  gruff  voice.  «  look,  no  offense  to  you  obviously,  but  i  think  we  need  to  get  you  one  of  those  bells  that  are  attached  to  cat  collars  because  i  just  threw  away  a  perfectly  good  joint  and  i’m  devastated  about  it.  »  haters  will  say  he’s  being  overly  dramatic.

     IT  WASN’T  AN  ENTIRELY  UNUSUAL  SCENARIO  jenna encountered as she pushed open the door to ramesh’s office. the smell reached her first, and a displeased frown ( not that different from her usual appearance ) graced her face. “don’t darling me, asshole,” she scoffed and locked the door behind her, preventing any unwanted visitors from entering. “i thought we were supposed to let each other know if we had snack time during office hours. you’re being very bad !” with a heavy sigh she made herself comfortable on the couch while pointing ramesh down onto the floor where he had undoubtedly been only moments before.

“if you ever suggest putting a bell on me again i’ll shoot you and leave your corpse to rot.” it was said void of emotion and with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "anyways, are you gonna share or ? i know you’ve got more hidden around here and i’d like to have some right about now.” her whole morning had been a clusterfuck of meetings, pretending to listen in meetings and, even worse, pretending to be at linc’s every beck and call. “any fun stories to tell me ?”

[joonieversewrites]

& joseph·:

     EYES  FOLLOW  HIS  EX-WIFE,  amusement  colored  on  his  face  as  he  lets  meredith  talk.  she’s  always  had  this  unmatched  energy  about  her.  «  you  know,  i  never  really  understood  what  elijah  meant  when  he  said  you  ask  too  many  questions,  but  i  do  kind  of  see  it  now,  »  joseph  admits,  chuckling  softly.  «  i  ordered  the  chicken  alfredo,  work  is  fine,  new  guy  is  adjusting.  »  he  fills  her  empty  glass  with  red  wine  from  the  bottle  placed  on  their  table  earlier.  «  how  are  you,  meredith  ?  »

     WITHOUT  MISSING  A  BEAT,  meredith reached out and swatted joseph’s arm. “my son would never,” she argued. “i’m taking it you’ve been teaching him these things ?” as joe answered her ( perfect amount ) of questions she nodded sporadically as she stretched her legs, as well as turned off the sound on her phone. “i’m doing alright, i suppose. i have this case that’s been killing me, mostly because the prosecutor is a massive dick.” she rubbed her eyes with a deep sigh, fatigue finally catching up to her as she got her first break of the day. “it’s good to see you. i feel like we don’t do this enough !”

[joonieversewrites]

& winnie·:

     SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  WAY  matty  seems  to  deflate,  if  only  just  barely,  has  winnie  momentarily  regret  the  way  she’s  handling  this.  to  be  fair,  she  didn’t  think  he’d  have  any  reaction  at  all.  «  well,  it’s  just  lena,  »  she  decides  to  come  clean.  games  have  never  been  her  thing  —  that’s  always  been  left  to  her  sister,  and  winnie  can’t  think  of  a  worse  person.  «  but  yes,  she  is  very  special,  i  suppose,  »  she  adds  with  a  smile.  «  so  these  better  be  the  best  sweet  potatoes  you’ve  picked  in  your  life,  gonsalez.  »

     IT  WAS  STUPID,  the way hope flared inside his chest as winnie confessed that it was lena she’d invited home for dinner ( the two of them were attached to the hip, so it really shouldn’t have been a surprise ). he immediately straightened his back and raised his hand in a mock salute. “i promise you that the sweet potatoes are of the highest quality my lady !” as they moved through the market matty took a chance and allowed himself to fall into step next to winnie, rather than half a step behind her. “so, how’s your week been so far ?” he asked casually. “i haven’t seen you at the bar, which is a shame !”

[joonieversewrites]

& kira·:

𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃  𝐅𝐎𝐑:  kieran  chow  ╱  @joonieversewrites·. 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:  chow  residence.

     THIS  IS  SILLY,  but  it  feels  absolutely  necessary  as  the  taxi  stops  a  block  away  from  her  home  and  kira  drags  her  suitcase  up  to  the  basement  entrance.  she  hesitates  before  knocking,  not  sure  how  her  brother’s  gonna  welcome  her  back  home  —  if  it’s  even  a  welcome  she’ll  get  —  but  she’s  not  even  supposed  to  be  here.  the  truth  is,  college  is  getting  to  her,  and  she  feels  lonely  and  overwhelmed  and  too  scared,  way  too  scared,  to  tell  her  parents  any  of  this.  would  she  drop  out  if  it  wasn’t  for  this  fear  ?  this  incessant  need  to  be  loved  ?  she  doesn’t  even  want  to  explore  the  answer.  

     she’s  not  sure  kieran  will  understand,  but  she  has  to  try.  besides,  there’s  nowhere  else  to  go.  when  he  opens  the  door  her  eyes  are  already  wet  with  tears.  «  can  i  come  in  ?  »

     THE  KNOCK  WAS  SUBTLE,  so subtle in fact, that kieran didn’t let it register at first. he paused the game he’d been playing for the past few hours, squinting at the door. there was no reason for anyone to be coming to see him. his parents were traveling out of state and he hadn’t pissed anyone off in a while. however, the person behind the door was the last person kieran would’ve guessed would be there. he noticed the tears, heard her plea, but for some reason all that came out was, “k ? you’re supposed to be at college.” the statement was stupid, because obviously she wasn’t, and he stepped aside to let her in. “did something happen ?”

[joonieversewrites]

& birdie·:

𝓬𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓭  𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓻  ⤵                           @joonieversewrites·

     SHE  INSPECTS  THE  SCENE  CAREFULLY  as  she  soothes  down  the  folds  in  her  dress,  eyes  soon  singling  out  her  next  target  outside  of  the  night  club’s  door.  birdie  is  well  aware  that  something  must  be  wrong  with  her,  that  somewhere  along  the  way  something’s  been  inherently  broken.  that’s  as  far  as  she’s  willing  to  inspect  it  though.  it’s  true  as  they  say:  mean-hearted  girls  will  kill  their  loves  to  hurt  themselves.  it’s  not  like  she  thinks  she  deserves  anything  else,  and  there  is  no  one  she  truly  loves  more  than  her  sister.  what  a  sick,  sick  game  to  play.  it  makes  birdie  smile.  «  matty  gonsalez,  »  she  greets  the  bouncer  in  that  sickeningly  sweet  tone,  hoping  it  resembles  winnie.  «  you’re  every  bit  as  handsome  as  word  will  have  it.  »

     IT  HAD  BEEN  A  RELATIVELY  calm night so far, which matty should’ve known was a bad sign. the moment he had that thought it usually ended in vomit on the dance floor and a fight between a drunk and the bartender. however, today trouble seemed to sneak up on him in the form of a woman. which ... was way more terrifying. he heard the syrupy siren call from behind him and as he turned around he was momentarily stunned, because for a second he thought it was winnie standing in front of him. ( and wouldn’t that be a twist. winnie showing up to see him. ) but no, this wasn’t winnie, even though the similarities were striking enough for him to put together the pieces. “well, i’m not one to argue with the words of the people,” he replied, giving her a polite smile. “what can i do for ya ?”

[joonieversewrites]

& gray·:

     IF  HE’S  HONEST  HE  HADN’T  expected  himself  to  wait  it  out,  to  stay.  he  cares  for  gaby,  sure,  but  enough  to  put  his  reputation  on  line  ?  apparently.  tonight,  anyway.  with  gray  there’s  really  no  telling.  «  let’s  just  say  that  the  diner  doesn’t  really  serve  my  special.  »  said  special  being  the  bar’s  oldest  whiskey  on  the  rocks.  «  you  don’t  look  awful  and  i  will  not  ignore,  »  he  protests,  car  starting  to  roll  as  she  makes  herself  comfortable  in  the  passenger  seat.  «  hope  you’re  hungry.  i’m  making  fried  chicken  and  curly  fries,  »  he  jokes  as  he  exits  the  parking  lot,  the  neon  sign  of  the  diner’s  famous  chicken  dinner  flashing  as  they  pass.  he  figures  more  grease  would  be  rather  unappetizing  for  her.

     EVEN  THOUGH  A  FLICKER  OF  EXCITEMENT  RUSHED  through her at gray’s compliments she ignored them because she had the mirror in front of her, thank you very much. still, it was uncharacteristically sweet of him. with a satisfied smile gaby leaned back against the seat and hid her smile as she looked out the window. however gray was known for his terrible timing and the moment was short lived. “on that note this date is over.” the mention of food still clinging to her hair and clothes made her shudder. she reached over as if to open the door to roll into oncoming traffic. “i hope you don’t think you can seduce me with that. i’m a classy gal !” it was a big, bold lie, but gaby hope that gray would let her have it this once.

[joonieversewrites]

& lincoln​:

     POWER  HAS  ALWAYS  FUELED  him,  and  he  finds  his  power  in  status  and  money.  to  him,  of  course,  it’s  only  natural  that  people  will  find  him  intimidating,  that  they’ll  shy  away  or  look  for  escapes.  lincoln  elects  to  read  it  as  respect  rather  than  fear.  he’ll  admit  capitalism  is  a  damning  factor  to  society,  and  yet  he’ll  be  the  first  one  to  use  it  to  his  advantage  —  anything  to  feel  powerful.  jackson  would  know,  and  whilst  that  whole  ordeal  had  felt  off,  almost  like  a  transaction,  link  has  given  cherry  everything  she  could  need  (  perhaps  except  the  warmth.  the  man  can’t  seem  to  differentiate  between  his  relationships  and  business  deals  ).

     «  that’s  a  good  girl,  »  he  grins,  though  he  knows  this  must  be  odd  for  her.  they  don’t  know  each  other  much  outside  this  arrangement  and  whilst  lincoln   is  happy  to  keep  it  this  way,  he’s  not  sure  he  can  say  the  same  for  cherry.

     IT  WAS  A  TWISTED  SWIRL  OF  EMOTIONS  mixed inside of her as she watched lincoln, almost enthralled by him. she knew that it technically only was a business arrangement but cherry always got turned upside down when she was given even the slightest inkling of a compliment. and the fact that lincoln depended on her, at least somewhat, was exhilarating. in a sick sort of way, she was glad things ended up the way they did. even though it wasn’t up to her.

/

stepping out of the car, her arm linked with lincoln, she was momentarily startled by the amount of eyes suddenly on them. however, she was nothing if not professional and had a lifetime of boring events forced upon her by her parents as practice, so within seconds an empty smile was gracing her face. “should we go inside ?” she asked softly, holding onto him letting him take the lead.

[chewbacca]

The Wedding Date (2005), dir. Clare Kilner

[theguardgifs]