positive vibes

this is a roleplay account

[seuper-mario-bros]

rowanwang‌:

“So I was talking to Jen O’Connell at MIT last week and it’s sounding like they have a secret weapon this year,” Rowan said in the middle of reviewing the rules and rubric for their upcoming robotics competition in Chicago. Although she appreciated Landon taking on more responsibility last semester, she was ready to push the team harder than before. More than that though, she was ready to fully have control over something in her life again.  “Maybe, they’re trying to psych us out, which is oddly flattering.” MIT had been their biggest competition for years.

@seuper-mario-bros

​

Landon looked up from his laptop, he’d been reviewing all of their paperwork to make sure it was all in order, from the van rental forms, all of the team’s permission slips, their entry paperwork, their registration paperwork, and all the other various forms he’d collected to make sure everyone would be able to compete. He also had their information sheets and scouting papers for the teammates as well as scoring grids so they wouldn’t have to wait on the judges to tabulate. “I’m sure they have something they’re calling their secret weapon,” Landon responded, a small confident smile settling on his lips. “But I think our robot’s in really good shape this year! A few more tweaks and I think we’re good to go for Chicago”

[seuper-mario-bros]

jasper-hutchinson‌:

“Yeah, I’m a little late to the game here but might be good for me to be part of a team or something, I don’t know.” Jasper had been trying to lessen everything on his plate these days and replace it with a few things that would help keep him slightly sane and on the path to healing. “Are you apart of it? I think i’d like that. Being part of a club and also having a buddy, both sound ideal.”

“There’s a ton of options and a bunch of running groups. Some that run and then grab a beer, some that are all training towards a marathon, some that are more like accountability partners, there’s a whole bunch of options if you’re looking for more organized running!” Landon, truthfully, hadn’t gotten involved with as many of the groups he’d mentioned. Throughout college, he’d been so focused on running for the team and then conditioning on the off seasons that he hadn’t really engaged with as many of the ‘fun’ clubs. “Yeah, I try to run 5 or 6 days a week! And most of the times it’s with the guys, except when I have to be somewhere earlier than usual, in which case I’ll go running by myself. But 5 is usually early enough I can make it to class and everything in time!”

[seuper-mario-bros]

jasper-hutchinson‌:

“I never really thought..athleticism suit me but running long distance it’s kind of liberating if not, tiring to the point that I sleep soundly at night. Do you have to be like good good to run Cross Country or just like..decently good? My breathing is shit but I could work on it.”

“In high school almost anyone can get on the team!” Landon said, trying to lead with the good news. “At Ravenwood, you do have to try out, but most of the guys run in kind of an informal club thing, if you want to join! You don’t have to come every morning but most days someone’s running, so you’ll always have a buddy!”

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

She was mostly sure that the reason he’d won over her grandmother was because he’d been a fish out of water. How sweet the victory had been when it had become clear to everyone that the two of them had become the kind of team that were extensions of each other. Bunny had been thrown in the deep end and rather than being the brick tied to her feet, Landon had become her life raft. If that wasn’t the first in a long line of fuck yous she hoped to deliver to her grandmother… “You–” her expression was something between confused and entertained, combined with the sadness of having to say goodbye, “you read it wrong? The best friend I’ve ever had came around because you applied for the wrong job?” Bunny couldn’t stop the tear that rolled down her cheek, though her hand instantly came up to swipe it away, “I’m never gonna get more lucky than that. Well, unless you decide you hate your new job and want to come back.” That wasn’t going to happen though. Landon was going to be so much more than an assistant, it would be an insult for him to regress. “Come on, in my world there’s always a ledger. Just… tuck it away for a rainy day. There’s no expiry date,” she smirked, and took the chance while they were still in the tunnel and away from prying eyes to rest her head on his shoulder. “At least now we won’t have to do that whole boss/employee act and I can tell people you’re my best friend and I love you even if you can’t dress yourself to save your life.”

“Yeah, I thought it was a network admin position. I thought I was going to be your IT guy, basically,” Landon confessed, his voice beginning to sound more thin. The darkness obscured his view, not able to fully see Bunny’s facial expression, but from the change in timbre of her voice, he was pretty sure she was getting more choked up. He’d already been teetering closer to the edge himself, hearing her getting upset only made the lump in his throat grow and his breath grow more shaky. “It was the best misreading I’ve ever made.” It had lead to a lot of confusion, especially his first few weeks. But he’d learned with how much work there seemed to be and how quickly he had to do it, that there was no time to question what he’d been given. “If you get really lucky, maybe they’ll decide they hate me,” Landon suggested, a bit of dark humor coming out in the sadness. He swallowed a few more times, trying to focus his breathing in an attempt not to loose it. In through the nose, out through the mouth. He had been doing so well, but hearing her upset made him start getting upset. “There isn’t in mine.” He didn’t plan to use the favor, but didn’t want to make Bunny believe her concern went unappreciated. “Maybe I’ll find some space for it in my lock box, though.” He tried to cracks a smile, but was thankful the dark masked what was a quivering smile that seemed to fall at the sound of his own sniffling nose. “Yeah,” Landon agreed, with the intention of saying more, but his words got caught in his throat. He would’ve killed to hear that before. That they didn’t have to put on an act, that they were more than just boss and employee and that she loved him. Just, he’d always dreamed in other contexts. But things had changed, he’d missed his chance. His hesitation had left him here. He was happy with this, happy to be her friend and happy to see her doing well, but with his official goodbye, the weight of the what ifs weighed on his shoulders. “I’ve gotten better now.”

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

Bunny knew it was dramatic to be so affected by Landon’s news. He wasn’t even leaving town so it wasn’t like she’d never see him again. She would see him significantly less because she was always so busy, but he would still be there. There never seemed to be space for logic when it came to matters involving the heart though. It wasn’t the end of everything, but it was the end of something special. He’d been there through the hardest period of her life when she’d had no one else to turn to, he’d juggled both working for her and being her only friend, and whatever more they’d been for that brief blip of time. She wouldn’t allow him the credit for her making it through because she knew that was down to her own strength, but she certainly wouldn’t have made it through with even a shred of her heart left if he hadn’t been thrown into her life when he had. Part of her was legitimately scared of who she’d be without him by her side– and it wasn’t often anything could shake Bunny. “Don’t give me ideas,” she tried to smile, but it wasn’t entirely convincing. “You know… when you first got the job I would have done anything to get rid of you,” she admitted, “My grandmother was testing me. I hadn’t had my position for long so I was still learning the ropes. I should have had an experienced assistant, someone who already knew the company, but she gave me you.” Grateful for the dimmed lights, Bunny looked upward in an attempt to stop herself from tearing up. Not so much for her own sake, but because she knew if she started it would likely set Landon off and the last thing they needed was for the whole town to see them getting off the Tunnel of Love ride bawling their eyes out. “I know it’s corny as fuck, but you were there through the darkest moments of my life and you kept me from going so far I couldn’t come back. I owe you more than I think you realise, maybe even more than I’ll ever be able to repay, but I’ll always be here for you, okay? If you need anything, and I mean anything. A Chadwell always pays their debts,” she chuckled, hoping it might ease the tension that had formed in their little boat.

Landon felt a weight on his chest and he wasn’t sure if it was foretelling he would cry, if it was the anxiety of knowing he was causing all of this, or just a crushing feeling of loss. Maybe if he was lucky, it would be all three. He’d been looking for other jobs and internships for so long, Landon had almost forgotten that he might’ve actually gotten another offer and what that would mean. Back when he’d first started searching, he’d had an entirely different vision of how this discussion would go. In that vision, they would’ve been happy. Maybe he’d been too idealistic even then, maybe it was never going to go well. “If it doesn’t go over well, hand sanitizer seems to remove sharpie pretty well.” It wasn’t a great joke. Well, it wasn’t really a joke, just a fact he’d learned from writing himself reminders and accidentally removing them only a few hours later. But it was meant to be in the context of trying to train a new assistant. Landon’s lips twisted into a forlorn smile as he remembered back to when he first started working for Bunny, before he realized just how important she’d come to be in his life. He remembered the fruitless errands, the tasks he was pretty sure were set up to be nigh impossible, and the incredibly rare ‘thank you’s. “I don’t know what I did to impress her so much. Especially since I think I read the job description wrong.” Landon confessed, his smile turning to amusement only for a flash before it returned  to it’s more somber form. “And then when I got the job, I thought you were going to fire me almost every time you called me into your office.” Through the weight of the situation tugging down on his lips and his heart, Bunny’s small joke made Landon huff with laughter, a smile pulling up on his lips. “You don’t have to repay me for anything, Bunny. You’re one of my best friends. There’s no friendship ledgers here.” He wasn’t even quite sure what he’d ask for. A ride to the airport? To borrow a nice car to pick up a girl he’d met on Hinge? It all seemed frivolous and not necessary. Bunny didn’t have to pay any debt. They were best friends, helping friends is just what you did. 

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

The variable Landon had forgotten to include was whether or not Bunny actually wanted Sabrina in her life. Sure, she wanted peace for Pink’s sake, she knew how important his family was to him, but she was the kind of person who found it much easier to cut people out. She was a busy woman, she didn’t have time to be going around in circles over something she’d made her stance clear on. If Sabrina wanted to keep up with the snark and tantrums then good for her, Bunny was too busy being successful to care. At least she had Landon there to pull her out of the mood she’d been in, his stories about his attempts at haunted houses making her laugh more than she had since… well, since she’d seen him at work the day before. His mention of romance didn’t slip by her, but she was the master of keeping a straight face by now so she didn’t let it show how the idea of what could have been was weighing particularly heavy on her in that moment. He was right, they’d never make it to seven days without one of them cracking and bringing up something to do with work, but sometimes it was nice to dream. She’d begun to smile, about to jokingly make a bet with him to see who’d crack first, but he’d already carried on and dropped quite the announcement on her. “You’re– you’re leaving?” There was no facade anymore, her genuine expression a mixture of surprise and disappointment. She knew he considered his job with her temporary, a step on the way to the actual career he wanted, but she’d gone and made the mistake of getting attached. He wasn’t just a hired hand, she loved him. In whatever confusing way they’d tangled themselves up in over the years. “Are they good offers? Because you know I’ll never let you go if you’re taking a step down from where you are now.” It had taken her by surprise how much it was starting to hurt, the thought of having to go to work without Landon there, his presence having made her miserable life bearable for the longest time. Rather than let him see it on her face, she leaned over to pull him into a hug, proud of him despite her own selfish feelings. “Congratulations, Landon. As long as I find someone who gets my coffee order right, I won’t miss you that much,” she joked into his shoulder, needing a second before she felt ready to look at him again.

Landon’s stomach dropped in tandem to Bunny’s face. He’d dreaded this moment. Just thinking of it had knotted his stomach and made his chest want to collapse in on itself. There’d been one day, a while ago, he’d had grand plans for a day like this. But their circumstances had changed. Instead, he’d continued applying, but with an increasing sense of dread every time he walked out of a successful interview or received glowing praise from a recruiter. All of these things should’ve been positives, but it had always reminded him of how leaving this job would mean leaving the job working with his best friend. One of the most important people in his life. So, instead of repeating his announcement, he simply nodded in confirmation. It felt less damaging that way, not forcing either of them to have to endure hearing it again. “The pay’s a little bit of a step down but it’s a good offer in terms of preparation for my master’s,” Landon said, his voice picking up in the end, almost as if trying to camouflage an apology into the statement. Ever since they’d stopped... whatever it was they had been last year, physical touch from Bunny took him by a greater surprise. He’d assumed at the end of their physical relationship would come the end of physical affection. He didn’t shy away from the unexpected hug, though, rather leaning into it and wrapping his arms around her in return. A small part of him worried, though, if he started hugging her, would he be able to stop? Would he be able to let go of this part of his life? “If they don’t, I’ll personally visit at least twice a week to write it on the back of their arm with a sharpie,” Landon joked, once again hoping to offset his bad news with a pitiful attempt at a joke. He didn’t like seeing Bunny upset, and he hated it even more knowing that he’d been the cause of it. 

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

“Me, scream?” Bunny side eyed him because when was she ever one to break her icy facade? The slight upturn at the corner of her mouth might have given him a different answer though, not that she was going to elaborate. “We were closer. I know she was hurt that I stayed away from her family after he left but I had my reasons, and she knows them yet still wants to make me the villain. Like, come on, wake up. As if any of this would have happened without Pink working his ass off to win me back.” There were so many details left out, but Landon’s optimism was a nice change of pace from the rest of her night and she didn’t want to swell on the awkward run in she’d had. “The fact that you’d even go in there might just make you the bravest person I know,” she smiled, both at the thought of him bouncing around in the funhouse like a pinball trying to escape, and because he’d actually turned to check no one was following them. “Ew, gross,” she wrinkled her nose at the water in the bottom of the little boat, and immediately lifted her legs over Landon’s knees to keep her shoes dry. “A karaoke boat ride does sound kinda fun, you have to admit. Maybe even more romantic than just sitting in silence in a poorly lit tunnel and waiting for something to happen.” It was then that she looked at Landon, and the whole vibe of the ride suddenly made sense. “So–” she exhaled quickly to change the subject, “not to bring work and play together but since you’re here; I’m going to be taking a short vacation toward the end of the summer to celebrate my graduation and the end of Pink’s book tour. I’m going to give you the same days off - paid of course because you’re basically on call 24/7 and you’ve earned it, my mind is made up so don’t even think about arguing - that way we can both start fresh coming into the fall. I don’t know the exact dates yet, but I’ll let you know, yeah? Imagine that, a whole seven days without me blowing up your phone…”

“Well, if you guys were close once, I think there’s probably a chance you could get back to that place one day. But maybe it’ll take a little longer than expected.” A lot longer than expected, if he was to go by Bunny’s tone. Though, he did know she occasionally had the tendency to be a little pessimistic, so perhaps the situation wasn’t quite as bad as the catastrophe Bunny described, but if i was even close...A little longer was probably accurate. A bashful grin spread across Landon’s face as he shook his head, “If you think that’d be bad, I should see if any of the guys recorded part of the haunted house we went to. I thought I was going to go grey that day.” That may have also been part of the reason why he’d sounded hoarse that one monday last October. Landon’s eyes darted down to her feet as she rest them on his legs. When they first met, it might’ve caused Landon to faint (or at the very least feel like he might), but now, it was only a slight increase in heart rate and more of a comfort in it. “It’s not too romantic with my singing,” Landon hedged, smiling a little at his own joke. He wasn’t the worst, he wasn’t totally tone deaf, but he was a far cry from any sort of singing besides perhaps karaoke with friends after a couple of drinks. Besides, it felt wrong to joke about anything romantic with Bunny, now that she and Pink were together and so visibly so. “No, it’s okay, mix away,” Landon said, always one to perhaps over focus on work and school work himself. Besides, it was probably good she was mentioning the end of summer and moving into fall. Landon hadn’t been sure how to bring it up. He hadn’t been sitting on the news long, in fact, it had only been a couple of days that he knew. He’d had a half-written draft of his letter to tell Bunny this fact for nearly as long. The words had just never come to him quite right. And they weren’t tonight either, but if they were talking into the fall, it felt rude to not bring it up. “Seven days seems like a long time, I feel like one of us will probably break before then,” Landon remarked, trying to cushion the news with a small joke first. “I, uh, actually wanted to talk to you about the fall. And, I have everything,” or he would, “and I’’ll make it official on Monday, but uh, a couple of places I’ve been interviewing with extended some offers, and I think I’m going to take ‘em up on it.” He already had accepted, but it felt softer to say that he thought he was going to. “I could maybe make part time work, like on weekends. And I refuse to let anything slip through the cracks during all of this,” Landon said, trying to add as many caveats and cushions as he could to the news. He’d never been this...close to a boss before, it had never felt like something that meant anything to anyone. 

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

Bunny could only smile fondly as she watched Landon apologise to every person he passed in the line with the kind of sincerity that couldn’t be faked. It wasn’t like it mattered that he was cutting, no one else was going to be getting onto the ride with her, but he was still so sweet and it spoke volumes of the kind of person he was. “I’m fine,” she assured him, “the scariest part was probably bumping into Pink’s sister. I’m so tired of her acting like I’m some sort of she-devil who stole her brother’s autonomy.” Bunny waved a hand dismissively, not wanting to bury Landon under all her baggage. The whole point of getting on the ride had been to relax, not work herself up even more. “The chainsaw! That was the worst! I fucking hate jump scares and that guy dropped from the ceiling, I swear to god. That’s why I’m here, I need to bring my blood pressure down and a poorly lit tunnel playing slow jams is about as close as I’m gonna get to some peace and quiet in this place. You wanna come with? I need protection in case the chainsaw guy followed me…” she glanced over her shoulder as if she were paranoid, mostly just appealing to Landon’s caring nature.

“Did you scream? Because you know, we all get surprised sometimes.” Landon’s grin giving away his joking. “I’m sure it’s just a small hurdle you guys will cross over at some point. It’s probably just growing pains, right? What was your guys’ relationship like before all of this? Like, when you and Pink were dating the first time?” he asked, trying to look on the bright side for Bunny. She’d already been through so much, he had to believe that something would work out right in the end for her. “The chainsaw always gets me. I scream every time,” Landon confessed, laughing a little at his own reactions, his eyes darting down to his feet as he did so. Bunny had seen enough movies with Landon to know his reactions, but he wasn’t exactly proud of them. Even though he could tell Bunny was joking, he almost instinctively turned to look behind her, following her gaze.  “Yeah, sure,” Landon agreed, glancing at the attendant and the line, not wanting to hold them up any longer, and then back to Bunny, nodding. Landon stepped into the cart beside her, looking down at the water that had pooled at the bottom of the cart. He wasn’t quite sure how it got in, he didn’t imagine this to be a particularly wild ride with drops or splashes.  “But if Marvin Gaye starts playing, I might have to start singing along.”

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

Bunny Chadwell going on an amusement ride on her own was one of those scenarios that people would scoff at because, well, she and Pink had hardly been discreet about their relationship since their little spat with her grandmother a few month earlier. Yet there she sat, needing a minute to herself after the shit show that the fun house had been– and where was the most private place in the whole amusement park? The notorious Tunnel of Love, of course. She’d been fully prepared to sit back and take a breather, maybe send Pink a text to check in with him, when she’d seen Landon walking past the entrance to the ride. It was a stroke of luck that they’d seen each other, and she didn’t hesitate to beckon him to cut the line to join her. The whole aura of the ride hadn’t even occurred to her, she’d just wanted to see her best friend, and there he was, always appearing when she needed him. “Take a break with me?” she asked him, scooting over so he could squeeze into the purposefully cosy boat next to her, “The fun house was a total nightmare, I almost knocked some ghostface looking miscreant on their ass, it was so stupid.”

@seuper-mario-bros

Landon hadn’t originally planned to go to the carnival tonight. He’d thought he was on the work schedule tonight at Dairy Queen. However, upon arriving, he realized he’d accidentally been looking at last week’s schedule and he had the night off. With the whole evening to himself, Landon wasn’t quite sure what he was going do with his newfound freedom, but a randomly happened upon poster put the idea of carnival food in his head. So, upon arrival, he’d been heading towards the food court area, but keeping his eyes open around for any vendors along the way that might’ve been selling funnel cake. That was the reason why he’d been looking around and managed to catch Bunny’s gaze. And with it, his own heart caught in his throat. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes glancing up at the ride’s name and back to Bunny. Of course, with Landon’s knowledge, someone who hadn’t been watching where they were going bumped into him, the idiot stopped in the middle of a busy walking path. “Sorry, sorry,” he apologized before he began cutting his way through the line to catch up with his friend, repeating the apology to every person as he cut through. “Is everything okay? You didn’t actually punch someone did you?” he asked, his eyebrows raised in concern. “Did they get you with the chainsaw that has the chain removed?”

[seuper-mario-bros]

[seuper-mario-bros]

rosie-kang‌:

“hey, what are you talking about? they’re all black.“ 

“First of all, all of those are not black. You have obsidian, onyx, and midnight all on that one page. Second of all, you say that like you don’t have access to someone who has far more than black in his closet. Third of all, if you’re only finding shades of black tuxes, you’re looking at the wrong designers.”

[seuper-mario-bros]

rosie-kang‌:

“do you think anyone would know the difference between a tux from Macy’s and a tux from one of these catalogs?” max asked, flipping over pages and pages of designer men’s wear. “they all look the same!” 

“Maxwell Beauregard Kang. Don’t you dare tell me you’re wearing some basic bitch black tux”

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

“She’s in good hands,” Bunny kept reassuring him quietly. What else could she say? It didn’t feel like a moment for talking, none of her words offering the sort of comfort he needed. That was one of her downfalls, that she was so inexperienced at providing comfort since it wasn’t common practice in her life. If it had been her in his place, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t have gone back to work the next day just because she would have had no idea how else to cope.

It wasn’t the first time they’d hugged, but it was the first time Bunny had been the one to initiate it, and she could feel his pause as if he wasn’t sure how to react. That saddened her for the both of them, that they were so broken by everything around them that they couldn’t even hug without it being a milestone. For a split second she was going to look at him to judge whether he was just agreeing so she’d stop bugging him about it, but he beat her to it with his confirmation. “I know you know I don’t hold my tongue for anybody so just know when I say this that I’m saying it because I care about you and I’m worried about the way you’re talking right now– but what’s the point in hanging around here if you can’t see her? Do you think she’s going to want to have people streaming through her room seeing her at her absolute worst the minute she’s well enough to have visitors? I mean, the girl has four sisters and I doubt they’re going to leave her bedside for a second. If they say you can’t see her tonight then you being here is achieving nothing except allowing you to wallow in the world’s most uncomfortable chair.” Bunny sighed, worried about how affected he was, because it didn’t even sound like it was about Tessa anymore, but rather something within himself. She kissed his forehead, the sweetest gesture she could think of, “Thinking like that is a great way to drive yourself crazy, believe me. Focus on what you can do for her and her family moving forward from now. That part you can control.”

Even coming from one of his best friends, the words stung slightly. Luckily, she couldn’t see his face when he winced slightly. She wasn’t wrong, though. Logically, it made sense. What could he possibly do that the doctors or someone else couldn’t? What could he offer? In any other sort of emergency situation, his immediate response was figuring out how he could help. He’d made countless dinners for people, cleaned plenty of homes, and taken care of people however he knew how. But in that moment, in this very situation, he was stumped for how he could do so. The shock and the magnitude both had tripped him up. It had left him feeling immobile, not sure where to go. Or maybe it just reminded him that he never had known. Now, it was just particularly severe. 

“I appreciate the honesty,” Landon said, somberly. Even if it hurt, he supposed it was a good thing to hear the truth. Especially in a time where he felt so lost to his own imagination of images of horrible things dancing through his head. But he wasn’t quite sure he agreed with everything she said. At his absolute worst, he would’ve killed to have someone be there. To have someone even see him. And part of him hoped that he’d see her and immediately know the best way to help. In the sobering light of Bunny’s comments, he wasn’t quite sure that would happen, though. “I don’t know what to do.” His voice sounded even quieter, like he didn’t want it to be true, and if he said it too loud then somehow it might. “What if she doesn’t make it? What if we leave and she-” He didn’t want to finish the statement. He opened his mouth, breathing in like he was about to say something, but closing it a moment later, shaking his head, and hoping to shake the thought that almost prompted him. He took a few more deep breaths. “What if I get home and I can’t figure out how to help?”

[seuper-mario-bros]

tessa-lisbon‌:

She’d woken to visitors a few times, but this was the first time it was for someone that wasn’t one of her sisters. Her nurses had taken time to explain here and there how exhausting her recovery would be, but they’d failed to mention how much of a toll it took seeing person after person walk into the room and cry because of her. Of course, she wouldn’t blame them, if any of their positions were switched, god forbid, she knew she would have been a blubbering mess too. That didn’t make it any easier watching Landon try to hold himself together at her bedside.

“You don’t look very happy,” she murmured, trying to smile. It had always been a habit to be a source of warmth, and it seemed even her current situation couldn’t dampen the urge to try and coax a smile out of her friend. “A playlist?” she asked, curious about what he might have put on there for her. It had to beat the silence of the room, either way. Thinking about music was a sore spot - one of many, at that point - because her hands weren’t in great shape and she’d learned that her violin had been lost in the fire, but maybe listening to something would soothe her aching heart in a way that modern medicine couldn’t.

“I know,” he said, smiling slightly as he wiped away another tear that began to run. “It’s mostly happy tears, though. I promise.” He tried to smile harder this time, his smile almost looking normal, if not for her eyes. He decided it was probably best not to tell her or remind her of all of the less happy reasons he was crying. She didn’t need that now. He moved in further into her room, pulling the door mostly shut behind him before he sat down, his coat tossed sloppily on the chair behind him. How his coat was laying was hardly of his concern, when his best friend was finally awake and not dead in front of him.

“Yeah, it’s not my usual vibe. I tried to find some of the songs I’ve heard you play. Or ones I thought I’d heard you play before, but I might’ve just been remembering a commercial or something. Which, uh, by the way, Shazam isn’t good for classical music by the way, if you’re just trying to sing it. There’s also some songs that just reminded me of you. It’s not really that good, but, I dunno, it helped fill the time.” Now that he’d started thinking about the playlist, he suddenly felt more self-conscious of it. He wasn’t sure if it was good enough to play or the right thing to play or if he should just lie and play one of his normal playlists that he’d made in a less upset state. 

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

She felt like she was learning all kinds of things about Landon that she wished she didn’t have to– the way he looked after he’d been crying, how quiet and vacant he became when he was distressed, the fact that he was so familiar with the ‘secret’ spots to sit and wait. Logistically she wasn’t sure she should have gone into the hospital with him, it had put her behind on her work, not to mention that she was robbing herself of her most precious hours of sleep. One glance at Landon reminded her that she’d made the right choice though. Work be damned, he needed someone to lean on. If there was one positive to all of the shit she’d been through it was that she knew how important and how helpful it was to have someone on your side. “There’s no way you would have been able to negotiate with that nurse on your own,” she shrugged it off, not thinking much of what she’d done. “Try not to let it get to you too much, okay? She’s going to need you to be strong for her.” Bunny stopped at the bench in question, but didn’t sit. Instead she pulled Landon into a hug and rubbed comforting circles on his back. “I can’t say all night, but I’ll stay until they let you know what’s going on, okay? You should think about coming with me. There isn’t anything you can do just sitting around here.”

“It’s kind of hard not to.” The whole ordeal, while it came as a shock, it also seemed to serve as a brutal reminder of the callousness of death and tragedy. Maybe it was because he was back at the hospital again, but it kept reminding him of his own mother. How sudden and upsetting it had felt as a child. How hopeless it had felt some nights. And perhaps, worst of all, it brought back a sense of guilt. As if, he’d distanced himself so far from his own mother’s death that he’d managed to forget the true fragility of life. She’d died so young and left such a wake behind her, he shouldn’t have to have been reminded, and yet he felt no more accustomed and no less bewildered that such a thing could happen to his friend.  Luckily, with the confirmation from the nurse, Landon felt slightly less shaky, but no less disturbed.

After so many years of being the one to hug others, it almost took Landon by surprise that he was being hugged. He paused for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Bunny, holding her tight to remind himself. He was here, she was here, and they were lucky to be present and safe. Landon nodded at the suggestion. On the one hand, sleeping in an actual bed might do him well at a time like this. On the other, he wasn’t sure how well he’d be able to sleep, anyways. There was always the chance that his dreams would be haunted by smoldering walls and chasing after ambulances. He could always ball up the sweatshirt and jacket he was wearing and use those as a makeshift pillow and blanket, if he decided to stay the night. “I’ll think about it,” he agreed, nodding, “Seriously.” He knew that Bunny knew him well enough to know that he might’ve just said he was thinking about it without doing so because the guilt would weigh on him, but he was earnestly trying to weigh the options. “First nights always seem like some of the hardest,” he mused, unprompted. “It’s that uncertainty. If they’re okay, if a treatment will take...And then later you have to relive that first night when you start questioning those decisions you made. If you’d done something different, could you have changed anything?” He wasn’t quite sure if he was making sense to Bunny. “I just don’t want to regret anything.”

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

Remaining cool under pressure was an ability that had been instilled in Bunny her entire life. To some it might have been misconstrued as being unfeeling, but god she was so far from it. There was a job that had to be done, she had a friend who needed her, and she’d be damned if she let her own emotions get in the way of her objective. In any other circumstance she would have given Landon a surreptitious little taunt about the fact that he’d just blatantly lied, but it only proved to her how much this friend of his meant to him that he wouldn’t sit around and wait for scraps of information. “You–” Bunny caught her tongue and only glanced at him instead, clearly having missed the part where he’d been there. She turned back to the nurse without skipping a beat, suggesting that she at least nod if Tessa was alive. Thankfully the woman wasn’t heartless, and gave a slow nod. Not that it was an all clear, but it was something. Bunny told her that they’d be sitting down the hall away from everyone whenever she had a moment to give them a brief on Tessa’s condition. As much as she knew Landon wanted the information immediately, she wasn’t about to hold up one of the women in charge of keeping his friend, or someone else, alive. Plus, Tessa’s actual family were presumably there somewhere in the hospital as well, and she wasn’t going to try and wrestle priority away from them. “Come on, let’s find somewhere quiet to sit,” she prompted him, admittedly nervous to try and handle him in such a state because it wasn’t something she was good at, but she was going to try.

He glanced over at Bunny, one short nod. He could’ve sworn he’d told her that part, or at least mentioned it. Well, he thought he’d had. But, the boundary between his imagination and reality seemed to be so fragile, so fluid, that his entire existence seemed to now solely reside in that liminal space. Maybe he’d ventured too far into imagination when he thought he’d told her, and in reality, stayed silent. He tried to smile a thank you at the nurse, but his smile was rather small and weak. Many weeks later, he would probably bring a gift for the nurses. After losing his mother, he was very aware of the importance of nurses. However at this moment, he wasn’t able to muster much more. His entire body felt fuzzy, like everything was about to fall asleep, and his mind felt heavy. So, he nodded in response to Bunny’s suggestion. He turned to look around. “There’s a bench just past the vending machines that no one usually sits at.” Or, they hadn’t about 10 years ago, but he doubted much had changed since then. The technology, sure. And a couple of the rooms had different wallpaper, but the worried faces and thick air were the same. He was sure the seating habits would be the same. He pulled on her hand, leading them towards the bench he was talking about. “Thanks for coming in with me,” he said, his voice quiet, but sounding slightly further away from the edge of crying than it had in the car.

[seuper-mario-bros]

beautyqueenbunny‌:

In her world, Landon’s compassion was nothing but a weakness, something to be used against him. To her it was inspiring. Of course she would never wish such suffering on him, but the fact that he cared so wholeheartedly… Tessa was lucky to have him as a friend, she had no doubt about it. Bunny was worried too, obviously not wanting to be met with awful news for the poor girl’s sake, but mostly because she didn’t know what she would do if she had to watch Landon break under the weight of something so earth shattering. Mentally she crossed her fingers as she walked inside, happy to take the lead for him as she sought out someone who would be able to tell them what was going on. The scene in the waiting room seemed promising at least. It was sombre, of course, but of the people there she couldn’t pinpoint anyone who seemed to be grieving a death. As she approached the nurse’s station, she took Landon’s hand again, to anchor him no matter what they were told. When she asked for a Tessa Lisbon, the look on the nurse’s face wasn’t promising, but she said she couldn’t say anything. Bunny didn’t want to snap, knowing everyone had rules to follow, but she wasn’t leaving until Landon had his answers. “He’s family, surely you can let him see her, or at least tell him she’s alive.” So, maybe a lie, but she’d lied about worse. She gave Landon a prompting nudge, to try and get him to back her up.

Landon’s eyes were almost glazed over, as he seemed to be focused on something in the distant, and seemed to trail behind Bunny, almost meandering. He was focused so hard on keeping it together. On not falling apart as the grim atmosphere set in, the distant memories of this very waiting room, and the reminder of the severity of the situation. He didn’t want to fall apart here or now. And especially not in front of Bunny. He’d wait until he was alone again. His eyes darted down as he felt her hand grab his and suddenly felt more aware they were approaching the nurse’s station. He didn’t know if she was grabbing his hand to get his attention or to comfort him, but it was nice. He wasn’t used to the gesture. Or at least, not in times of true tragedy and concern. Usually, he spent so much time trying to take care of everyone else, there was little time for affection. Something about holding his hand, the care behind the gesture... if he hadn’t been focusing so hard on trying not to cry, it might’ve started something else. He barely heard Bunny talking to the nurse, everything sounding like he was underwater. But upon prompting, he nodded. “I’m her cousin,” he said. Normally, he’d feel guilty about lying like that, but every other emotion seemed to be drowning out the guilt. “I, uh, I was one of the ones on the scene. The police interviewed me.” That part was true.