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haha, seriously? taxes??
wait, who does he like?
wait, who does he like?
I can't tell you that. It's a secret.
But yeah taxes and because I don't want anybody giving me shit about having to marry someone and neither does he.
So we get married when we're old enough and then we pretend we can't have kids or something and we never have to bother with how stupid all that is.
It's not like you could ask me though anyway since we're both girls.
But yeah taxes and because I don't want anybody giving me shit about having to marry someone and neither does he.
So we get married when we're old enough and then we pretend we can't have kids or something and we never have to bother with how stupid all that is.
It's not like you could ask me though anyway since we're both girls.
oh lame :( lol i'm just kidding
i don't want to get married either
[ There's a long, long pause. A very long pause. For a good while, there's just:
A few times it disappears and then starts up again. Finally, after what seems like ages, ]
girls can date other girls
i mean not us
we would go as friends
only if you wanted
i mean next time, since im going with bill now.
but girls are allowed to date girls.
my best friend at home only likes girls. she doesnt like boys at all
sometimes ppl give her crap about it but shes very tough so most ppl leave her alone
shes like the coolest person i know
and my other friend back home is a boy who is in love w another boy
[ Oh god okay she needs to stop typing before she throws up. Her hands are all shaky. ]
i don't want to get married either
[ There's a long, long pause. A very long pause. For a good while, there's just:
A few times it disappears and then starts up again. Finally, after what seems like ages, ]
girls can date other girls
i mean not us
we would go as friends
only if you wanted
i mean next time, since im going with bill now.
but girls are allowed to date girls.
my best friend at home only likes girls. she doesnt like boys at all
sometimes ppl give her crap about it but shes very tough so most ppl leave her alone
shes like the coolest person i know
and my other friend back home is a boy who is in love w another boy
[ Oh god okay she needs to stop typing before she throws up. Her hands are all shaky. ]
i know about gay people Brianna
[That's as far as she gets at first, because she's gone from... angry at Bill or Eddie maybe, or maybe even Brianna, to angry at Brianna for probably thinking she's stupid now, to... mostly angry at herself for being so stupid.
It takes her a while too, to figure out what she wants to say in... her own defense, maybe? Bev doesn't know what she's trying to do here and the not knowing just makes her more frustrated.]
I didn't mean
It's not the same thig for girls
I mean I don't care if people are gay I really dont. It's just if other people know it or if other people can't pretend they don't know it they'll get killed or worse
People said the Tracker brothers were queers but nobody had proof so they left them alone
And people said all kinds of crazy shit about the bar next to the bus terminal by city center, I don't know if it was true but
I guess I didn't think about it cause people don't talk about it as much when girls are
When girls like other girls.
I've heard words and shit about it before but it was like
On the news like everyone was talking about the gay disease killing guys on tv I only heard stuff about girls like that too at school. Like insults and shit.
Especially since nobody could fucking decide if I was a slut or a dyke or whatever but anyone having proof if some girl was like that? I dunno if she'd even survive
Just cause they can doesn't mean they are ALLOWED it has nothing to do with what like it's just how everyoe else is gonna treat it like they do with aids and everything like how they said it was god doing that to kill them all, it was all over the kissing bridge too at home
Even at school here in Deerington I hear shit about gays and stuff but if someone said shit about
someone I cared about who was like that
I'd make it so they couldn't anymore okay. Cause I know people who are gay and I wouldn't let anyone hurt them for it cause thats bullshit
[This now has 0% to do with the dance at all, apparently. It's all just backpedaling and haphazardly explaining like any of it even matters to two girls who ostensibly don't even want to go on a date anyway.]
[ Brianna goes silent for a while. She thinks about not answering, but ultimately can't bring herself not to. She needs to say something, because she needs to prove that she doesn't care and that nothing Beverly said just now hurt her feelings. At all. And why should it have? It's not like she's gay. ]
okay jeez
i wasn't asking you out or anything you didn't need to freak out
forget i said anything okay??
sorry your town is so fucked up but its not like that other places
anyway i gotta go
see ya around
okay jeez
i wasn't asking you out or anything you didn't need to freak out
forget i said anything okay??
sorry your town is so fucked up but its not like that other places
anyway i gotta go
see ya around
[Whatever Beverly was looking for, if she even could have found it, this wasn't it.
She doesn't want Brianna to just leave it and her alone, but Beverly definitely, definitely fucked something up and she can't figure out what. And she just feels stupider because she doesn't know why she overreacted or why that even mattered so much that Brianna would just give up on it.
That anger buzzing in her head doesn't know where it's supposed to go. She just throws her Fluid at the wall.]
She doesn't want Brianna to just leave it and her alone, but Beverly definitely, definitely fucked something up and she can't figure out what. And she just feels stupider because she doesn't know why she overreacted or why that even mattered so much that Brianna would just give up on it.
That anger buzzing in her head doesn't know where it's supposed to go. She just throws her Fluid at the wall.]
[ There's a package addressed to Beverly on the front step. Inside is a skateboard. There's no card or anything attached that would give away who the sender is. Happy Hanukkah! ]
[ there's no real warning or reason to expect a visit from richie after his and eddie's fight over group chat. richie's been silent in the chat for hours now, though if she bothered to ask either of them, bev would find out that eddie and bill have been receiving increasingly strange texts from him for a little while now, but nothing has been sent bev's way in that time.
no, much like his previous unannounced invasion of her room, richie tumbles through her bedroom window by accident, somehow even more of a mess and tangle of limbs than he had been when he was delirious with illness. it would take less than a glance to determine that he's drunk. even more so than he had been at eddie's birthday party, tearful and swaying faintly in front of her.
he squints up at her from his painful sprawl on the floor of beverly's bedroom and squints at her from behind his thick, smudged glasses. ]
... why d'you keep switching windows with Eds, Bev?
[ he asks her with slow, slurred speech, sounding genuinely mystified. ]
no, much like his previous unannounced invasion of her room, richie tumbles through her bedroom window by accident, somehow even more of a mess and tangle of limbs than he had been when he was delirious with illness. it would take less than a glance to determine that he's drunk. even more so than he had been at eddie's birthday party, tearful and swaying faintly in front of her.
he squints up at her from his painful sprawl on the floor of beverly's bedroom and squints at her from behind his thick, smudged glasses. ]
... why d'you keep switching windows with Eds, Bev?
[ he asks her with slow, slurred speech, sounding genuinely mystified. ]
[All the Losers get the same thing, just in different colors. There are 12 in each bundle, wrapped with a matching ribbon. Ben, not able to afford gifts this year, went and got creative. He spent some time in his room painting and building and gluing them together, with the hopes that they aren't too silly or dumb.]
[Worried that 'flowers' given to 'boys' might be dumb though, he doesn't sign his name at all. Though it won't be hard to tell who it was from. Instead he just writes on the tag on each one:]
Bev
Spring is memory
Fragrance from a walled garden
Calls to the Loser
Have some Spring in Winter, Merry Christmas
[Found on the front door of Bev's place is this, but wrapped in a ribbon and tag and softly placed there. Right next to a bundle for Eddie. they are orange and yellow colors because that remind him of her.]
[Worried that 'flowers' given to 'boys' might be dumb though, he doesn't sign his name at all. Though it won't be hard to tell who it was from. Instead he just writes on the tag on each one:]
Bev
Spring is memory
Fragrance from a walled garden
Calls to the Loser
Have some Spring in Winter, Merry Christmas
[Found on the front door of Bev's place is this, but wrapped in a ribbon and tag and softly placed there. Right next to a bundle for Eddie. they are orange and yellow colors because that remind him of her.]
(Bev will find a small silk bag dangling from her doorknob outside of her room one day. A simple tag tied around the bag lets her know that the gift inside is from Eddie. On the back of the tag is a small note:
This isn't to encourage you to keep smoking, just so you know, but this thing might be useful for you in a place like this.
QUIT SMOKING. I love you
-Eddie
Inside is a rose gold lighter with the inscription "For Mrs. Thunderfuck" on the bottom.
This is an enchanted zippo though. The zippo never runs out of fluid, can never be damaged, and the zippo has to physically be closed for the flame to go out. It can't be blown out or put out with water. However this is just the flame from the zippo. Any fires started using the zippo can still be put out as normal. Zippo will also magically somehow always be right where Beverly expects to find it.)
This isn't to encourage you to keep smoking, just so you know, but this thing might be useful for you in a place like this.
QUIT SMOKING. I love you
-Eddie
Inside is a rose gold lighter with the inscription "For Mrs. Thunderfuck" on the bottom.
This is an enchanted zippo though. The zippo never runs out of fluid, can never be damaged, and the zippo has to physically be closed for the flame to go out. It can't be blown out or put out with water. However this is just the flame from the zippo. Any fires started using the zippo can still be put out as normal. Zippo will also magically somehow always be right where Beverly expects to find it.)
[ There’s a box wrapped in gold paper and inside is a set of movies; Mona Lisa Smile, The Devil Wears Prada, Legally Blonde, The Runaways, and Brave. There’s also a basket of movie snacks to go with it. ]
[ A box wrapped in gold colored paper is left by his doorstep. Inside is a slingshot and many silver pellets. The slingshot is engraved with the words 'Losers'. There is also a box of ammunition for her weapon and a box of cupcakes. Attached is a small card that says:
Bev,
First weapon I ever used was a slingshot, and I've had a fondness for them ever since. People underestimate a slingshot, so they have no idea how powerful it can be. Kind of like your little gang. Let me know if you need any help using it.
I know what it's like being the only girl in a group full of boys, so you stay strong and if you ever need anything from a woman, you come talk to me. In the meantime, enjoy the gifts.
~Ashe
P.S. The cupcakes are from B.O.B. he enjoys baking.
First weapon I ever used was a slingshot, and I've had a fondness for them ever since. People underestimate a slingshot, so they have no idea how powerful it can be. Kind of like your little gang. Let me know if you need any help using it.
I know what it's like being the only girl in a group full of boys, so you stay strong and if you ever need anything from a woman, you come talk to me. In the meantime, enjoy the gifts.
~Ashe
P.S. The cupcakes are from B.O.B. he enjoys baking.
Edited 2019-12-26 06:11 (UTC)
[ richie hadn't hesitated to give bev her main present of the emoji yoyos along with a shirt boldly declaring anxiety in whichever style is preferable to beverly, the way he'd been delivering everyone else's gifts with a little note that just said:
teach me your ways some time, yoyo master ;).
he had another gift though that required a conversation with bev first. something of a followup to the drunken mess of a confession/apology session he'd had with her roughly a week before.
hopefully, this one goes easier than the last. richie even makes a point of knocking at her bedroom door and waiting instead of just barging in through her window like he has for every other desperate, terrible conversation he's had with her in deerington so far. ]
teach me your ways some time, yoyo master ;).
he had another gift though that required a conversation with bev first. something of a followup to the drunken mess of a confession/apology session he'd had with her roughly a week before.
hopefully, this one goes easier than the last. richie even makes a point of knocking at her bedroom door and waiting instead of just barging in through her window like he has for every other desperate, terrible conversation he's had with her in deerington so far. ]
Edited 2020-01-01 02:38 (UTC)
I think I'm gonna put a sign outside mine.
[Beverly might sound a little more clipped than usual. She's always been one of the quieter ones for the most part, within the group at least, and maybe Richie is too... whatever it is this time to notice.
Though that doesn't stop Bev from checking him over, crouching down to put a hand to his forehead to be sure.]
...You're drunk.
[It's not the temperature, but she's familiar enough with the smell.]
[Beverly might sound a little more clipped than usual. She's always been one of the quieter ones for the most part, within the group at least, and maybe Richie is too... whatever it is this time to notice.
Though that doesn't stop Bev from checking him over, crouching down to put a hand to his forehead to be sure.]
...You're drunk.
[It's not the temperature, but she's familiar enough with the smell.]
[ richie is actually pretty well trained to notice the dulcet tones of disappointment or displeasure in a person's voice, thanks to dear old maggs, but he's already so deep in his own self constructed pit of self loathing at this point that it hardly even registers outside of some vague idea that it's the least he deserves at this rate.
he nods along in agreement to her first comment, looking almost pleased with himself as he suggests: ] "Nnnooooooooo Richie's allowed", in letters big enough that even I can see 'em.
[ he leans into her hand like a dog seeking comfort, as brief as the point of contact is, eyes too bright and rimmed with red. far, far too honest in the answer he gives bev for her second observation, voice a low whisper like he's sharing a secret.
because, well, he is. ]
I hate it. The feel of it. I only do it when I hate myself more.
he nods along in agreement to her first comment, looking almost pleased with himself as he suggests: ] "Nnnooooooooo Richie's allowed", in letters big enough that even I can see 'em.
[ he leans into her hand like a dog seeking comfort, as brief as the point of contact is, eyes too bright and rimmed with red. far, far too honest in the answer he gives bev for her second observation, voice a low whisper like he's sharing a secret.
because, well, he is. ]
I hate it. The feel of it. I only do it when I hate myself more.
[Bev softens somewhat now that she's seen the state Richie's in. She herself reeks of freshly burned tobacco smoke, despite having a very strict agreement with Eddie not to smoke in the house.
She figured maybe if she angled it out the window, kept her door closed, no one would notice. But the scent still sticks to her thick sweater, sinking into the thickly knit threads. It outlines the edges of her breath as she sighs, frowning at him.]
Richies are allowed if they knock first. [She stops a moment, and adds:] And probably even if they don't. But I'm still not Eddie, so. Sorry.
[She inhales through her nose a little sharply when Richie leans into her hand, but rather than pull it away, she just leaves it there. Stares at him with large eyes, not in surprise but in a mirror of his honesty.]
That's what I do, but with...
[She gestures vaguely, trying to mime "smoking" without actually doing any of the obvious recognizable movements. It's... not very clear.
The thing is, she's been stressed all month, and so she's been chain-smoking much more than her usual in the moments when she can hide away. Mostly out of habit, because like Brianna said when they first met, nobody really cares too much here.]
... [Beverly shifts around so she's sitting beside him on the floor, making sure he's propped up on the wall beneath her window and not falling all over.] This place is somehow... both better and worse than home, huh?
She figured maybe if she angled it out the window, kept her door closed, no one would notice. But the scent still sticks to her thick sweater, sinking into the thickly knit threads. It outlines the edges of her breath as she sighs, frowning at him.]
Richies are allowed if they knock first. [She stops a moment, and adds:] And probably even if they don't. But I'm still not Eddie, so. Sorry.
[She inhales through her nose a little sharply when Richie leans into her hand, but rather than pull it away, she just leaves it there. Stares at him with large eyes, not in surprise but in a mirror of his honesty.]
That's what I do, but with...
[She gestures vaguely, trying to mime "smoking" without actually doing any of the obvious recognizable movements. It's... not very clear.
The thing is, she's been stressed all month, and so she's been chain-smoking much more than her usual in the moments when she can hide away. Mostly out of habit, because like Brianna said when they first met, nobody really cares too much here.]
... [Beverly shifts around so she's sitting beside him on the floor, making sure he's propped up on the wall beneath her window and not falling all over.] This place is somehow... both better and worse than home, huh?
[ the lingering scent of cigarettes is something that richie has long since stopped noticing at this point in his life, honestly. a habit he shares well enough with beverly that he's come to associate it fondly with her. subconsciously.
he knocks agreeably on the floor between them to prove to her that he can. "shave and a haircut", with a little, absent grin. ]
Bev's are still a pretty good surprise, don't feel too bad. More than one eddie would be... a lot to deal with right now. Should probly work my way up to apologizing to him anyway, since I think I owe you one or two. [ since eddie had got him thinking about his old tendency to talk big about girls in a new and troubling light, at least.
richie slumps gratefully against the wall, pressing his head back firmly against it in an effort to work through the dizziness. closes his eyes as he answers her. ]
New problems, self created. Be the clown that ruins your own life, no need to hire out to a third party like Pennywise. It asks for too much on the deposit, probably thinks we should be grateful It's not asking for a leg too.
he knocks agreeably on the floor between them to prove to her that he can. "shave and a haircut", with a little, absent grin. ]
Bev's are still a pretty good surprise, don't feel too bad. More than one eddie would be... a lot to deal with right now. Should probly work my way up to apologizing to him anyway, since I think I owe you one or two. [ since eddie had got him thinking about his old tendency to talk big about girls in a new and troubling light, at least.
richie slumps gratefully against the wall, pressing his head back firmly against it in an effort to work through the dizziness. closes his eyes as he answers her. ]
New problems, self created. Be the clown that ruins your own life, no need to hire out to a third party like Pennywise. It asks for too much on the deposit, probably thinks we should be grateful It's not asking for a leg too.
Apologize to me? Why?
[It's not a loaded question like it could be. One look at Beverly fidgeting with a loose thread on her sleeve, but her attention still wholly on Richie, would tell you that she's genuinely confused by that.
Beverly doesn't get apologized to. At least not until recently. And any slight against her by "boys being boys" when they talk about girls in earshot is so normal to her, she can't even recall Richie doing that when she immediately tries to brainstorm anything Richie should say sorry for.]
We already both said sorry about fighting, like... forever ago. Right?
[But she bites her lip and listens, trying very hard to (unsuccessfully) stifle the reflexive gasp at one of Its names. She should be trying to console him, she thinks, about whatever happened with Eddie for them to end up here again. But she looks away instead, fixing her stare on the opposite wall, her fidgeting fingers no longer moving.]
I think... we still need to focus on how to stop It again. I— We brought It here. And instead of thinking about what to do, we're just getting upset about... relationship stuff.
[She's as guilty of it herself. She knows the Deadlights are here; she was one of the first to find them, even. But she's been keeping silent on it since the day it happened.
She blinks finally.]
Shit. Sorry, I didn't mean to... There's a lot going on for all of us.
[It's not a loaded question like it could be. One look at Beverly fidgeting with a loose thread on her sleeve, but her attention still wholly on Richie, would tell you that she's genuinely confused by that.
Beverly doesn't get apologized to. At least not until recently. And any slight against her by "boys being boys" when they talk about girls in earshot is so normal to her, she can't even recall Richie doing that when she immediately tries to brainstorm anything Richie should say sorry for.]
We already both said sorry about fighting, like... forever ago. Right?
[But she bites her lip and listens, trying very hard to (unsuccessfully) stifle the reflexive gasp at one of Its names. She should be trying to console him, she thinks, about whatever happened with Eddie for them to end up here again. But she looks away instead, fixing her stare on the opposite wall, her fidgeting fingers no longer moving.]
I think... we still need to focus on how to stop It again. I— We brought It here. And instead of thinking about what to do, we're just getting upset about... relationship stuff.
[She's as guilty of it herself. She knows the Deadlights are here; she was one of the first to find them, even. But she's been keeping silent on it since the day it happened.
She blinks finally.]
Shit. Sorry, I didn't mean to... There's a lot going on for all of us.
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