who: @libertyloulogan
what: TALK TO ME
Where: Don’t ask questions like this
Okay so maybe his first attempt hadn’t gone as smoothly as he would have liked for it too. But in all honesty, could it ever have? He showed up because of a drunk dial. She could have called anyone in the world. Any of her friends. A new boyfriend perhaps? Sabrina? But she didn’t. No. For the first time, in three years, Liberty Logan had picked up her phone and called him. And left a message that practically sent chills down his spine. Something was deeply wrong and he hadn’t been there to do anything about it. And while there was a high possibility that she likely didn’t even remember leaving the message in the first place, could she really have missed his number dialed in her phone? Did she really not know that she was the reason he’d come back? Of any of it, he really couldn’t be sure, but after Holly’s speech he couldn’t help but hope that maybe… just maybe she’d be a little more receptive to him this time. A reach really but he was gripping to it almost as tightly as he held his drink as he looked around the room, hoping to spot her in the crowd. His eyes scanning the way they used to when he’d play a show back in San Francisco in hopes of finding his aunt in the crowd. Luckily the practice paying off as he finally spotted her and made a b line in her direction. His steps slowing a little the closer he got so as not to totally scare her off.
“Look who it is, if it isn’t miss holly jolly Christmas herself. Was almost positive you’d be dawning those little reindeer antlers we used to wear when we were kids. The ones that lit up. It’s a missed opportunity Bert.”
★ ⌒ ☆
It was a night that Libby remembered in small, shattered-glass pieces.
Glimpses of tears and bourbon splashed onto her cheeks. Shimmery little bits of pathetic heaving, and futile dreaming, and wishing that she had something to cling to. It was an evening pickled in salt, and liquor that was as old as she was; the hurt of it all was splintered beneath her skin and too small to dig out.
She’d have to wait until the slivers of glass-sharp memories showed her their own mercy.
There was one thing she could remember clearer than the rest. Surely, that wasn’t saying much, considering the haze that had been cast over the whole night - if a mistake cast in a moment of desperation was still just a glimmer, what did it matter? Still, it was the only memory that she wished were a little fuzzier.
She knew her Aunt Odessa’s phone number by heart, even if her fingers had slipped and slid over the keypad on Leo’s ancient phone as she dialed it. She so quickly had devolved into screaming and blubbering when all she had meant to do was tell him that she was sorry... In the sobriety that followed, she wondered if she was sorry, or if she wanted a sorry, and the embarrassing ache that it left in her chest was enough to make her want to forgot the whole thing.
When Luca showed up, barely even weeks after the whole ordeal? It was enough to make her want to curse the night, and never let bourbon make her decisions for her ever again.
“Don’t call me that. Only my friend’s call me that.” Libby’s voice came out more painful than she had expected it to. Sharp, like her shattered-glass memories, but the sound of ‘Bert,’ falling off of his tongue like they were kids and nothing was wrong hurt enough to trigger her Fight or Flight response.
“And you know -- I guess things change!” And they had. The last time Libby could even remember running around the holidays like the life of the party was when Luca was still there, and she didn’t feel so in-half. How was she supposed to care about antlers, and merriment when her twin had thrown their entire world to the wayside? How was she even supposed to breathe? “Brothers leave, and people fall apart, and Christmas freakin’ blows. You wouldn’t know anything about that, though, would you?”
who: @libertyloulogan
what: save me from this shit hole
Danny wasn’t sure how much more mingling he could take. He’d made his rounds the way he’d been instructed. Offered a variety of tours around different parts of the mansion, shared about 100 times what part he was currently playing in the H.A.H, and at least 20 times had to remind the citizens of Cherry not to call him Daniel. It was a silly pet peeve, but a pet peeve nevertheless. And when he’d finally had enough, when he didn’t think he could take one more handshake, or fake grin, he made his way towards the backyard where he knew they would most likely be. Which of course he wasn’t wrong. The majority of people his age seemed to have spread out amongst the yard. Some sitting on the swing set where he and his brother used to play in the rare moments they ever did get along, some sitting by the pool, but alas the one who caught his interest was the one spending her time sitting beside the pool house that he’d spent hours turning into a small clubhouse that hadn’t been used in years. His approach slow as he stuffed in his hands in his pockets to appear somehow less interested than he was as he moved to sit down beside her. “You my dear, could not have picked a further table away from the drinks. Which means if I’m going to grab us one, I’m going to have to cross all the way back across the backyard to grab them and come back. Why would you do this to me?”
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
✧ ✧
“Believe it or not, Danny Holly, but we don’t all yearn to cater to your every move. I know that can be majorly world moving, but just try to, like, breathe through the shock, okay?” Libby rolled her eyes, her smile hardly there beneath the snark... but how could she help herself? She was Libby, after all.
It’s not like it had any real weight between them. If there had been any real distaste in his company she wouldn’t have made the room for him to settle in the chair beside her, and she wouldn’t have given him the time of day. She would have hissed, and pawed until her left her alone, and she would have stewed in the misery of loneliness afterward... Danny was a welcome distraction. One of the few that she could actually speak to without feeling the itch in her nerves that usually tickled at her self control centers.
She hadn’t been planning on coming to ‘The Holly Jolly Holiday Party,’ this year... Maybe ever again, if there was a chance that she was going to run headfirst into Glenda. Leo had promised she wouldn’t be there, though; he had begged and pleaded for her to come along with them, and as stubborn as Libby was, she just couldn’t seem to get herself to say no. And she trusted Leo! She felt safe - that wasn’t the problem.
It was the fact that the nostalgia was sort of eating her alive. Wasn’t it just, like, a few years ago that she could pretend that she, and Luca, and Sabrina were all living a semi-happy life? Wasn’t it just a few years ago that she could have smiled, and laughed, and had enough to pretend that she wasn’t totally hating every second?
God - how time changed.
“And if I knew you were joining me? I probably would have picked a better hiding spot,” Libby sighed through the dizzying wave of anxiety that nearly shook a tremor through her; tapping fingers worked through the spike in adrenaline. “Unless you don’t need a break from...” Libby waved a hand toward the party. “All this?”
“Like, no offense, but this party is totally soul crushing.”
-TRAITS: jealous, immature, dramatic, short-tempered, picky, panicky, cynical, a little abrasive, chronically upset
MOOD: Libby is honestly usually in a pretty touchy mood. She can usually be found sighing the woes of her discontent, and it’s pretty hard not to catch her rolling her eyes if she’s not particularly enjoying the conversation. Libby is so done, it hurts.
FEARS: glenda logan, being left behind, never knowing what love feels like, songs from music boxes and toy pianos, being replaced, being honest, touching dirty dishes that have been sitting in the sink, losing her temper
HOBBIES: surfing, stealing from her friends, eavesdropping, creating new personalities, finding something to complain about, jumping to conclusions
HABITS: lying, arguing, crossing her arms over her chest, pouting, playing with her ponytail, reclusivity, overthinking, pushing people away so they can’t hurt her
ZODIAC SIGN: Libby Logan is fully a cancer. She’s hyper-emotional, temperamental, and a little spiteful. She likes to hide from people who care, and from her own feelings… but despite that she’s devoted, and extremely protective of the people that she does let in - sometimes to an unhealthy degree! But what can Libby say? Once she decides to love someone she’d do anything for them - it doesn’t matter the price.
MBTI: ISTP
RELIGION: The Logan girls were all raised in a compulsory Catholic household - but it was always more for show than a sign of faith. Libby has never believed in god, but worship music is basically all that she grew up listening to, and she can quote bible verses in her sleep - not that she would. Ew. But still. Escaped and Recovering Catholic is probably a good way to describe it.
LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: Libby felt trapped in the Logan house all her life until Glenda Logan finally kicked her to the curb. She now lives in Mackenzie Walsh's childhood bedroom Leo Walsh’s guest room… and though she’s bitter as can be, her soft spot is definitely still there when it comes to being at her new home. She's never really had a parent who cared about her - or a father who paid attention to her, like at all - but Leo Walsh is showing her what family looks like, one step at a time. Or, at least, he’s definitely letting her follow him around like a lost puppy for now.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
CLOTHING STYLE: Libby had always been dressed by Glenda Logan. She and Sabrina were always more like dolls than daughters, and thus, tennis skirts - knee length, obviously! - sweater sets, and white sundresses were a norm for Libby… but summer was kind of always the exception. Maddie Wilson had a huge impact on Libby Lou, and over the summers when Glenda would hardly see her - Wilco Wilson’s house was her safe haven - she could basically only be found in shorts and t-shirts, and overalls: anything that Maddie would toss her way.
She built up quite the wardrobe ( of Maddie’s clothes ) over the years that only saw the light of day during the summer, but once Glenda kicked her out - with only a backpack full of the found shorts, overalls, and etc - they basically became Libby’s every day fits… along with choice selections of Mackenzie Walsh’s T-Shirts from Middle School. Nobody tell him, though - she usually hides those under sweatshirts when she can.
USUAL EXPRESSION: Libby, no joke, is usually frowning unless given a reason not to. She hasn’t really always had resting bitch face, but a bitter bitch isn’t complete with a bitter little frown on her face… and she’s been through some shit, you know?
HEALTH
TW: eating habits, addictions
SLEEPING HABITS: Libby’s had a lot of weird dreams since she got kicked out of the Logan house... Like, weird enough that she doesn’t exactly get rest. She spends most of the night watching TV on the couch instead - something she never got to do back at the Logan house - and is usually found asleep in the early mornings to the tune of QVC shows. She’ll usually move herself back to her room before sunrise… if she manages to get up in time. But her hours on the couch is the only consistent rest she really gets.
EATING HABITS: Libby be snackin’. She never really got to eat freely at home - Glenda Logan loved pre-portioned meals - and her siblings would sneak as much as they could to the youngest Logan. Now that she lives at Leo’s house, though… she’s truly discovered the joy of processed foods.
EXERCISE HABITS: Libby’s default is being in a constant state of motion. She’s got serious ADD, and has been on a constant prescription of Ritalin since she was, like, 12 years old… During the summers, she was on a skateboard nearly constantly - a skateboard that became her right hand man over the last year - and she’s always one of the first out on the beach when she hears the surf is going to be good.
Libby doesn’t really exercise to exercise - she does it because sitting still for too long makes her feel like she’s going to run wild.
EMOTIONAL STABILITY: It’s not good! Libby Lou grew up feeling unwanted; she was an afterthought unless Glenda saw something wrong… and then Libby was the focus of her whole world as the woman picked her apart from the seams. She got locked in her bedroom on more than one occasion. She got screamed at for even the slightest of infractions - laughing too loud, pulling her skirt up a little too high on her waist. She was dressed like a doll - unallowed to choose her own clothes, or hairstyles, or make up.
She found reprieve in her twin - they at least could fight against the chaos together… when Libby was strong enough to fight, at least. But after losing Luca? Libby gave up the fight altogether, and gave into her mother’s every whim. Why shouldn’t she try to be everything her mother ever wanted?
Glenda always called her a Classic Beauty unless she was telling her that nobody could ever love someone like her. She always told her that she envied the likes of Ingrid Bergman and Audrey Hepburn - then in the same breath would lash out on her daughter like a jealous child. It all boiled up in Libby’s psyche. It all turned into a girl who didn’t know who she was; who didn’t know how to be herself if she tried. Libby knew she had the looks to get what she wanted - but she never felt beautiful. Libby knew men would fall for her - but Glenda’s voice always crept into her head to remind her of just how undeserving she was of love before she let herself get too far, or feel too much.
Growing up, Libby always took cues from Classic Stars - or at least what she thought they might be like… It’s not like Glenda let them watch very many movies or TV shows. But, she’d flash coy smiles when someone held the door open for her; she used to bat her eyelashes when she asked for favors. Touch someone’s elbow, and whisper in their ears when she needed a ride home. Everyone knew that she wasn’t interested in anything more than some light flirting - she wasn’t a bombshell or anything. She was the girl next door. Stuff like that always took so much out of her: made her feel like an imposter in her own body… But it’s the only way she knew how to be liked.
Acting like someone she didn’t know was the only way she knew how to keep her head above water… It also left a lot of pent up rage that Libby didn’t exactly know what to do with.
Now that Libby has been kicked out of her house, she doesn’t feel like pretending anymore. She doesn’t feel like being the Classic Beauty - and she doesn’t feel like being the girl next door anymore. Libby wants to push the whole world away… She wants to know who the hell she is inside, but she doesn’t know how to do it around a town who has always known her as something she isn’t.
Who should she be now? The QVC addict? The Bitter Brat Who Lives In Leo Walsh’s House? Libby isn’t sure, and she doesn’t know how to go about figuring out. She’s just living on the hinge of breaking down until she does.
SOCIABILITY: Libby used to be the girl who planned birthday parties and social gatherings - everyone knew her, because she was always skipping through Harvey’s house refilling drinks with a smile on her face. High School was Classic Libby Prime Time. She was nice, and sweet, and bubbly ( fake, fake, fake, of course! ) - but it’s been a while since Libby actually smiled… or willingly went to a party. Nowadays, it’s usually Harvey Hargrove himself who is dragging her to social events, and having to convince her to leave the confines of Leo Walsh’s home - and she usually finds a place to hide from the general public. Her friends never really knew her anyway, right? The person that they all knew in High School was someone Libby didn’t know anymore - the girl they had known for the last year was spiraling, and breaking down. Useless.
What is there to miss?
ADDICTIONS: Libby loves her Ritalin, but it’s sort of an open secret that she can’t function without it. She’s been taking it since she was 12! She has a prescription! And nobody sees her pop and extra one in the bathroom halfway through the day anyway, so it’s no big deal. She wouldn’t, like, kill anyone to keep the secret – the Candy Girl probably doesn’t even think it’s important enough to hold over her head - but she’s definitely embarrassed whenever the subject comes up.
FAVORITES
WEATHER: Libby loves the summer. It was always when Maddie came to town, and when Harvey was relaxed enough to spend the day on the boardwalk with her when she begged hard enough. There were always Mystic Cherry shows to linger at - god, would she miss the magic of hearing Mackenzie Walsh’s songs written just for her - and bonfires on the beach. It was always the season of changing up her style with Maddie’s wardrobe - a reprieve from the beiges and browns that Glenda always wrapped her in - and best of all? The sand was warm. Summer is everything to Libby, and it always has been... she’s someone different when the sun comes out overhead. This summer seems to be the exception though. Unfortunately.
COLOR: Cue back to the years of beiges and browns, and you have a girl who doesn’t really know what her favorite color is. Libby thinks she might love yellow, or pink - but sometimes she thinks she loves the way that green makes her skin look, and decides that’s her favorite. Sometimes she spends hours in the dead of night looking at the blue hue of Mackenzie Walsh’s walls, and it reminds her of the sky, and she decides ‘that’s it, that’s my favorite color now,’ but then some pretty shade of red rolls along, and she changes her mind again. Long story short… Libby sort of likes it all? When someone finally lets her loose in a mall she's going to come out looking like a carpet in a roller rink.
MUSIC: Libby grew up listening to worship music - you know, with the occasional reprieve of new wave and hip-hop at Harvey’s house, and pop music galore at Maddie’s. Now she basically listens to late 60′s rock all day with Leo Walsh…? But Libby isn’t sure that she’d call any of those her favorite. Spending time at Blossom Records has, at least, given her the option to start listening to new things: so far? Pat Benetar, Blondie, and Heart are basically always on repeat at Blossom when Libby is behind the counter - and she’ll deny turning it on! But it’s totally growing on her.
MOVIES: Libby only really got to watch movies made before 1963 when she lived with her parents. Maddie and her always spent more time outside and dancing in the living room to worry about watching things on repeat - and Harvey basically hated movies! Living with Leo Walsh, though, has led to Libby being exposed to a multitude of new films, and the one thing they’ve discovered? She hates most of them! Unless she’s totally alone... In which case, she’s watched Star Wars, like, ten times? That’s mainly to understand what Mac likes so much about it though.
FAMILY
LOU LOGAN, FATHER, 47, FINANCIAL ADVISOR TO H.AH. GROUP: Libby and Lou have never really had much of a relationship with each other, despite her being named after him. Glenda always kept a wall up between them - forced the unattachment that she felt with her own husband on her daughter too. She could count the times he’s stood up for her on one hand - she isn’t sure that he’s ever going to speak to her again now that she’s been kicked out - but she also isn’t sure it’s going to hurt him as bad as it might hurt if it were Sabrina. Does she love her father? She isn’t sure. Does he love her? Yes. Libby would probably answer, ‘Maybe,’ if someone asked her opinion on the matter though.
GLENDA LOGAN, MOTHER, 46, LIBRARIAN: Glenda Logan always felt more like playing god than being a mother. She liked her pretty little doll children, and she liked them seen, and not heard… Libby tried to be what Glenda wanted, but maybe that was always why she was her mother’s least favorite. Maybe Glenda liked the fight in Sabrina. Glenda hated everything Savannah wanted to be, but at least she paid attention to her. Libby grew up pretending, and being broken down by her mother, and now that Glenda has tossed her out of her grip… Libby almost feels lost, in a way. She doesn’t really know how to dress herself. She doesn’t really know what she likes. She doesn’t know how to cook, or do her own hair, and Libby knows it’s all Glenda’s doing.
Since Glenda kicked her out, their few interactions have been contentious. Glenda drives past the Walsh house to honk in the middle of the night, and Libby has been breaking into the Logan house in the dead of night to steal back her belongings. Glenda has begun to notice - their first screaming match over the theft happened in town square - and it’s only getting worse. Who knows where it’ll all end?
SABRINA LOGAN, SISTER: Glenda always neglected Libby, but Sabrina was always there to fill in the holes in her sister’s hearts as best as she could. When Libby came home with bruises and scrapes, Sabrina was always the one ready with bandaids while Glenda screamed. When Libby had nightmares, or panic attacks - or was sent home without dinner - she could always count on Sabrina to pull her into her bedroom and take care of her, whether that was holding her through the night, or feeding her snacks that were stolen from the kitchen. Libby depended on Sabrina her entire life like a child would depend on a mother, and Sabrina let her… But now that they’re both grown and have gone through the worst? Now that they’re working through the trauma that Glenda sewed into their Doll Children seams? Things are… fractured. Libby is scared of putting her sister through even more disappointment, even if that in itself is disappointing. She doesn’t know how to take care of her sister the way that Sabrina has always taken care of her, and it makes her feel awful, so. For now, Libby has gone down the road of ‘avoid, avoid, avoid!’
LEO WALSH, FATHER-FIGURE, 46: Leo and Libby never interacted that much before Libby and Mackenzie’s Summer of ‘98 - they didn’t interact very much during past the days Libby would hang out in Blossom waiting on Mac, or short little ‘heys!’ in the Mystic Cherry crowds - but when he found her on the curb the night that her mother threw her out? Too distraught to even breathe? He knew he couldn’t leave the kid on the street. She’s been living at his house since February, and though things are still insanely awkward between Mac and Libby - Leo and Libby have settled into a some semblance of a routine. Libby still feels out of place when she eats dinner with him on the couch - sometimes she still feels like she has to ask him to use the washing machine, or if she can turn her music up a little loud ( Leo has obviously never said no to either request ) - but there’s this feeling in her chest that she wouldn’t rather be anywhere else. Leo Walsh put a roof over her head, and clothes on her back: he asks her how her day is going, and wants to help her plan for her future. He hugs her when the pink rim around her eyes gives away the silent tears that she had been shedding in her bedroom. It’s everything that Libby ever wanted in a parent - someone who actually cares and pays attention to her. She’s afraid it might mean never making up with Mac or Sabrina... But for right now? Libby isn’t sure she can give it up for anything.
PET(S): Libby has literally never had a pet seeing as Glenda Logan was vehemently against affection. But she thinks she would probably be a cat person. A dog would show her way too much affection, and she’d basically lose her mind if anything happened to it. Better to stick to things with claws and teeth.
