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mackenziesss​:

“that’s what everyone keeps saying,” he exhales, resisting the urge to roll his eyes once again, “but i don’t think i buy it.” everyone wanted him to relax, to take things day by day, but how did they expect him to do that in a place that he’d always felt so trapped in? sure, it’s okay now, with everyone home. but what happened after the holidays? when all of his friends disappear back to their lives and he’s left alone, missing out. what happens then? “it doesn’t get a whole lot easier, but no one wants to say that to your face,” he shrugs, “enough about me- what’s going on in LA?” 

“ i don’t blame you, ” thea admitted. she could hear it even as she said it. knew the way it would drive her crazy to hear someone say this was where she was meant to be. “ what about florida ? it’s like retirement central, right ? just remind me to never hire you as a life coach, mac. ” though thea was pretty sure hiring ANY life coach and admitting life wasn’t perfect would be the worst thing she could do in her mother’s eyes. overshadowed only by moving away from LA and giving up. cue the bright smile she’d rehearsed for any kind of question along the lines of what she’d been up to. “ what isn’t ? there’s, like, always something happening. ” for better or for worse when thea was expected to tag along to everything her crowd did. “ and work has been pretty good. i mean, i still haven’t been paid to make out with one of those hot superheroes but my last costar wasn’t unattractive. still sounds like heading in the right direction, don’t ya think ? ”

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osclosure​:

“you caught me. they’re actually made of flash paper, and this has all been a rouse to ruin your reputation with arson. no, you goober, it just reminded me of you the entire time i was reading it, so i had to make sure a copy found it’s way into your hands. no notes necessary.” with thea having slipped from her position atop his display, oscar also returns to a (mostly) standing position, peeking over her turned back to try and catch early glimpses of the owl he was now absolutely sure was meant to look like him. the lady doth protest too much, and all that. “i don’t believe you for even a second, i’ll have you know.” 

oscar fetches a letter opener to slice the packing tape, delicately removing the owl — which, for the record, definitely looked a little perplexed, and oscar thought, at least, had a similar browbone to him — from it’s bubble wrap with a small, soft grin. “thea.” the bar between them is too wide; that’s her problem now, as oscar simply holds his arms out in demand of a hug. “i wanted so badly to pick a fight over something, just to be spiteful, but alas, the spiritual connection is too strong even for sarcasm. it’s adorable. thank you. it’ll fit right in with the others in the collection, don’t you think? bram stoker’s dracula is being kicked off the island next to make room.” 

“ all part of your master plan to force me back here full time again, right ? ” though thea always acted like she wanted to wash her hands of lake wisteria, there was something about a part of her remaining through her friends that she found reassuring. kind of like some part of her ‘ genuine self ’ in a time capsule. “ you thought of me, huh ? ” even if it was just for the roles she was playing now.

“ can i really be sure that wasn’t sarcasm ? ” thea gently took the globe from his hand, placing it down next to them before she threw her arms around oscar. “ people in LA don’t hug enough, ” she mused, half the words probably lost to the crook of his neck as thea mumbled. at least, not the people she hung out with in LA. instead of giving oscar another sappy reminder of how much she missed him, thea was the first to pull away. she could only indulge the fantasy of all her close friends in one place and the casual affection so much before the plane back home felt like a curse rather than the blessing she’d spent so long hyping it up to be. “ should i be cutting down on the globes ? you know, since you’re running out of space. dracula doesn’t seem like the kind of dude i’d want mad at me for being the cause of his eviction. or should we get you another display cabinet to put somewhere ? ”

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mackenziesss​:

“did you ever know me to think of a grand idea sober, thea?” he scoffs, his own eyes rolling to match hers, “no. because i never have. and straight edge is boring. especially being straight edge in this stupid fucking town.” he’s being dramatic, any amount of time with dorothea seemed to bring that out in him, but there’s truth in his words. he used to have plans, big ones, none of them including serving coffee to his former teachers. he softens at her touch, a forced smile on his lips, “don’t be too proud, it’s only been a few months.” 

“ did you ever know me to settle as anything less than the only exception, mac ? ” thea shot back without hesitation. “ look, i know it’s probably not what you want to hear but i think lake wisteria is... ” she paused for a moment, trying to find a word that got across her point without giving their hometown too much credit. “ good for you right now. not too much, you know ? besides, a few months is still really good. i’m still proud of you. isn’t it like, the first six weeks the hardest ? i tried reading a few articles when you told me but everywhere said something different. ”

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svlice​:

some people might have cared that they weren’t of equal ‘fanciness’ with dorothea, but willow was used to it, and it was almost comforting, knowing she and her friend hadn’t changed that much. “its not lame, dory! it’s wonderful! i’m glad you’re having fun, and yknow following your dreams or whatever,” willow had never been articulate, and that was something that definitely hadn’t changed. “oh, stop it,” she laughed, though she didn’t like the insinuation that lake wisteria wasn’t magical in its own way, “i always thought it was because my winning personality and dazzling smile, but i like yours better.”

“ yeah, my dreams. ” if dorothea focused on the words long enough, they almost turned into some kind of joke. “ everything is super different over there, but like, in the best way ! don’t even get me started on how cool it is getting to travel for filming things. it threw a little bit of a wrench into my routine with nate and our facetimes, but we got used to it pretty quickly. ” willow’s alternate explanation for their connection had thea laughing, an effect they always had on her. “ who said it had to be one or the other, low ? i can love you for more than one reason. ”

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rosemarysss​:

“well, you’re not the only one who doesn’t like to stick around town for too long,” she breathes out, placing the hanger in her hand back on the rack, “it seems to be the consensus these days.” she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t jealous of everyone who’d been able to leave town, who’d seen what bigger and better things were held outside of lake wisteria. the idea had just never been in the cards for her. “yeah, i do,” she forces a smile, “i um- might have a chance at qualifying for the olympic team this year, so i’ve been practicing like crazy. there was a scheduling issue today, at the rink, otherwise i’d be there.” 

“ it’s lake wisteria, can you blame us ? ” dorothea always spoke without considering the fact there were still people that LIKED their hometown. the ones that didn’t want to take white out to their birth certificates and pretend their lives had been glamorous or adventurous from the start. “ the olympics ? no way ! ” it wasn’t surprising with how much time and effort rosemary put into skating. still, it was exciting nonetheless. “ i always found sports kinda boring, but you know i’d totally watch to support you. just like watching all of nate’s games. you guys are gonna be some kind of skating power couple, right ? ”

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mackenziesss​:

mac hadn’t always been one to act out, he’d spent the first fifteen years of his life on the straight and narrow. good grades, a sport per season, perfectly polite in every way. it was a shock, not only to his family, but to his peers as well, when he started acting out. over time it was as if no one remembered that shy boy, just the one he’d morphed into, the one who kept things interesting. “i don’t do grand gestures anymore,” he said with a shrug, elbows leaning on the table between them, “haven’t you heard? i’m straight edge now.” 

“ so what i’m hearing is that i should book my return flight now. should i also block your number for good measure ? ” a roll of her eyes at the reasoning mac gave. “ grand doesn’t mean bad and straight edge doesn’t have to be boring. i would have accepted flowers and a bear hug, but that’s only because you get a special friends exception for me to lower my standards. ” dorothea reached across the table, fingers lightly tracing mac’s forearms as she dropped the playful teasing for a moment. “ but i AM proud of you for sticking with this. ” it took more strength and commitment than thea thought she’s given to anything in her life.

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claire--li​:

if claire was being totally honest with herself, sometimes it seemed like dorothea was living in another planet. hell, LA might as well be. especially with what she was rambling to her about. a response was formed in her head, and then dorothea said something else, and then another thing, and claire took another drink of her coffee because christ, she needed it for this conversation. “I.. yeah.” she said when she was done. “LA flings sure sound a whole lot more complicated than east coast flings.’ she finished her drink, “isn’t it easier to just.. talk to someone and if it goes well, you do something about it– if it doesn’t, you don’t do anything ever again?” she mused. “yeah, you could say that.” she chuckled. “definitely something. computer science.” she explained. “he does say a lot of things, doesn’t he? but it’s basically the opposite of what oscar’s studying. really hard to explain otherwise. I graduate in may, and then who knows what. my plan is to figure that out after break, much to my parents dismay who want an answer now.” she ran a hand through her hair. “and what are you doing, miss LA? besides leaving boys on read?” sure, she’d seen dorothea’s carefully crafted instagram uploads, but claire really hoped she was doing more than sitting on her phone and posting pictures that showed only the best of what she did.

“ i wouldn’t call it complicated. more strategic than anything. ” everything felt like it was some kind of career connection over there, whether you liked it or not. “ there’s too much of a gamble when you do it that way. ” the way a relationship was meant to be formed. “ at least i have the control in my style. except for that guy, but he was an exception. he was also more than one date so, if anything, my point has been proven. break the formula and it will bite you. ” because god forbid thea ever genuinely open up to anyone over there. “ oh, computer science ! ” she repeated as if that meant anything to her. “ like the hackers in those spy movies, right ? ” and even if she was wrong, that’s the explanation thea settled on. “ parents can suck. my advice, ” that was not asked for, “ take an entire gap year. make them really wait for that answer. ” at claire’s question, hair was tossed over her shoulder and a bright smile plastered onto dorothea’s lips. “ only the best and brightest ! some ads here and there. started to break into the movie scene with some love interest roles, but they’re getting bigger and bigger. better ads and a few music videos for the rock star i was telling you about before. i just took a little break to come see my mom — and you guys, of course — for the holidays. ” or in reality, the project she was meant to be working on now fell through, and nothing was keeping her in LA until the next audition she could land. “ but i have a good feeling about the new year ! like, main character good feeling. ”

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mackenziesss​:

closed starter for @cameraflcshes​

dorothea was one of the few people mac was actually happy to see had come home for the holidays. the two of them had been close since high school, with mac always pulling dorothea into one of his schemes. they’d even planned to go to prom together just to stir things up, but that… hadn’t exactly gone as planned. “well, well, well, look who it is,” mac started with a grin, “surprised you didn’t stand me up this time.” 

mac was practically synonymous with bad decisions. it was what drew thea to him in the first place and probably what had him forgiving thea when she left him alone at the prom. though probably not the best, it worked. “ i thought about it, but i just couldn’t pass up whatever grand ‘ welcome home, thea ! ’ gesture you had planned. there is a grand gesture, right ? ” she asked, slipping into the chair across from him. “ so far, you’re disappointing. like, ‘ go back to LA and completely cut ties ’ kind of disappointing. ”

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natesquinn​:

nate offered the redhead a sincere smirk. being reunited with dorothea was like a dream come true, one he probably wouldn’t have even considered a month ago when they were recounting their days, nate’s winding down and thea’s barely getting started. as much as some people might believe that time zones make keeping in touch hard, nate and thea happened to be an exception to the rule. “i don’t know, your gentle persuasion was little aggressive, don’t you think?” he teased, trying his best to keep a straight face ( but of course, he was unsuccessful ). “i will, however, take you up on that offer. but i won’t get emotional or scared. as long as they never make an episode as depressing as that one again, we’ll be fine. – wow, i can’t believe we’re planning to hang out in the future and not actually hanging out right now. the town is our oyster, thea, let’s make the most of it while we still can,” he mused with a wink.

“ aggressive is such an ugly word. i prefer passionate. ” complete with a faux pout on glossed lips. “ you can act all independent, mr tough guy, but i think that’s kinda what they go for. heart breaking, throw away your phone kind of messages. the emotional responses are what makes the show stand out from every other ‘ technology is bad, let’s shame our generation ’ thing. ” thea laughed at nate calling them out for still planning in a hypothetical future as if they were miles apart instead of within arms reach once again. “ maybe i’m just trying to trick you into something a little more long term. ” even though nate was one of the few people thea didn’t feel like she had to jump through hoops to keep around. “ more importantly, do you not class THIS as hanging out right now ? here i was thinking you’d just be happy to see me again but apparently someone’s standards have raised. surprisingly, not mine ! i thought i was the diva in our friendship. okay, you wanna make the most of it ? ” thea thought for a moment, acting like she was coming up with a plan rather than just trying to remember any decent places around town. “ dinner at 22 and then drinks at getaway bar until we’re drunk enough for matching tattoos at golden. go down to the lake to watch the sunrise until cornelia street cafe opens up for a coffee, ” she said, rattling off all the places she could think of. “ should i throw the ice rink in there or will that just throw you into work mode ? ” thea teased with a nudge to his shoulder. “ serious suggestions, i’ll do all of them separately. maybe two if you’re lucky. just never golden tattoo unless i’m moral support for you getting your own. ”

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claire--li​:

if you’d tell claire that she’d end up at a cafe in lake wisteria with just dorothea, in literally any context– she’d laugh at you. and after graduation? even weirder. yet, here she was. even if they weren’t really the best of friends, oscar was claire’s, and dorothea was close to him in her own way. it was bound to happen. dorothea was everything that claire felt like she wasn’t, the girl had ran off to LA after all. very different than brown. but weirdly, they worked. and got alone, and claire kind of found a sense of familiarity in listening to what she had to say. even if she couldn’t relate. she took a long drink of her chai tea latte, her eyes narrowing at the mention of her being single. the familiar pit in her stomach returning when she realized she once again, had to lie about being single. “I don’t know. you sound kind of into him, you know.” she mused with a raised eyebrow and a tiny, barely there smirk,, deciding to bring her attention away from something else but her own romantic life for the time being. she let that simmer for a moment before she nodded again. “yeah.. relationships are just, complicated.” she admitted. no lie there. 

dorothea’s hand came up to her chest, covering her heart in offense that was mostly dramatized. “ do you think that low of me ? there’s no way i’d never be into some LA boy still in his bleach blonde rockstar fantasy. with minimal success, i might add. ” not that dorothea was really THAT out of his league. “ especially not more into him than he’s into me. the text was a trap, y’know ? i send something innocent and then the hot shot wants to one up me and flirt a little. humble them with a left on read so you can be ‘ the one that got away ’ and then douse that bridge with kerosene. boom ! works every time. well, every other time since he had to go and ruin a perfect thing. ” thea shrugged it off as she grabbed the cherry off the top of her milkshake. “ and overrated. go on a few dates for some free dinner and have a few party hookups. just don’t mix the two because a second date is too serious and you should always leave them wanting more on a first date. ” though this conversation had been pretty much just thea proving herself to be a shitty relationship coach. “ enough about that ! what are you doing with yourself now ? studying something, right ? oscar mentioned something, but bless his soul, he mentioned so many things. ”

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banditfm​:

                    joel  paused  at  opening  up  the  back,  biting  back  a  smirk  as  he  maintained  a  deadpan  expression.  after  all  these  years  of  knowing  dorothea,  he  was  used  to  her  antics. if  she  were  to  be  kind  to  him,  he’d  then  be  called  for  CONCERN.  “i  feel  like  i  should  be  offended.  the  people  you’re   seeing  in  LA  ??  i’m  100%  cleaner  than  them.  &&  tested  ;  can’t  say  that  for  a  lot  of  people.”  joel  rebutted,  unable  to  stop  his  usual  smirk  from  breaking  out.  “not  to  mention  you  live  in  LA.  just  as  many  RATS  there  as  anywhere  else.”  following  such  dramatics,  he  opened  it  up  for  them,  kicking  out  the  ramp  before  motioning  to  the  cabinets.  “see  how  i  pushed  out  the  paneling  ??  made  this  baby  feel  even  bigger.  perhaps  even  big  enough  to  please  you,  your  highness.”

“ you’re disgusting, joel. you know that’s not what i was asking. ” dorothea couldn’t help but scoff at him as he brought up the dating rumours that had swirled since she’d left town. “ the people i’m seeing ? tell me you don’t believe all that crap. i think my mother would kill me if i got a relationship before my big break. ” not that some of them didn’t ring true for a little fooling around. “ plus, i’m not an idiot. i’m safe and background checks are much easier when someone is all over the internet. ” she watched him point out the newest renovation, taking a moment of faux analyzing the space before turning back to him. “ to please ? i don’t think so. however, it’s no longer as suffocating as it was before. ” if there was a genuine problem with it, thea wouldn’t even be entertaining the thought of hanging out there with joel. if anything, she thought it was cool. not that she’d ever give him the ego boost of admitting that. or the fact there were nights she thought she’d rather be doing what joel was instead of this life that had been picked out for her before she was even born. “ but i will accept the status upgrade. ”

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arthurlee​:

@cameraflcshes​​

it’s more of boredom, rather than a particular bad mood, that has arthur making up an excuse to head over to the local theatre.  today it’s not his nagging parents but his restless mind that throws him off; perhaps watching whatever classic on the old screen can infuse even just a little bit of that saccharine holiday spirit in his step again.

he stares at the sign outside, eyes skimming along the titles.  “home alone, the grinch… and…?”  arthur laughs to himself, says, “well, one of these things does not belong.”

it was that time of year where absolutely everything was festive. bright lights and tinsel wherever you looked. it was almost a breath of fresh air to see at least one movie option that wasn’t some kind of holiday flick. “ not everyone eats, sleeps and breathes christmas right now, y’know ? gotta play the grinch and then something for the actual grinches out there. ” dorothea studied the titles for a moment before her eyes settled on arthur. “ i love christmas as much as the next person, but the day i’m in some shitty hallmark movie is going to be a cry for help. ”

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rosemarysss​:

rosemary stiffened at the sound of her own name, she should have known better than to go out, especially when she knew everyone was home. she considered pretending not to hear her, her expression was unreadable as always, it would be believable. against her better judgement, she turned towards her old friend. “hey,” she said with a smile, fingers now awkwardly toying with the sweater she’d been eyeing, “way too long, i can’t remember the last time we were all home.” a pause, she’d never even left, “how long are you home for?” 

“ ideally not long, ” she admitted. “ not because i don’t totally love seeing you all again. ” in fact, it was the only part of coming home that was actually worthwhile. beyond her mother pressuring her for bigger and better or the old friends acting like someone completely different had come home in place of the real dorothea. “ just, you know, duty calls. you’d know all about that, right? how’s skating going ? ”

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𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖓𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝖌𝖔𝖊𝖘 𝖚𝖕 𝖎𝖓 𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘… @claire--li​

back when they were in school, dorothea thought the limbo of a connection she had with claire was the most awkward thing in the world. spending so much of her time with oscar meant she was inevitably spending time with claire, too. she was a lovely person, but they quickly found out they didn’t have much in common beyond oscar. since thea’s departure from lake wisteria, however, she found that as her new norm. at least now being perched on a stool at cornelia street cafe talking claire’s ear off came easily. “ —  and THEN, get this, he doesn’t respond to my text ! total backfire, right ? i look way more into him. which i’m not, for the record. ” even if claire had stopped listening ages ago, dorothea was still babbling on about the petty drama of LA. “ i think you’ve got it right staying single, c. ”

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𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖓𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝖌𝖔𝖊𝖘 𝖚𝖕 𝖎𝖓 𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘… @banditfm

dorothea was used to people having an opinion on everything she did. not just now that’s she started to step into the spotlight, but gossip in high school was insidious. joel and dorothea only hanging out to piss of parents or fuel some ‘ BAD GIRL CRISIS ’ thea was having were some of the popular consensus. the ones thea would class as surprisingly more accurate than some rumours tend to be. “ you clean this regularly, right ? ” thea asked, hovering by the door to the back of joel’s van. “ like, actually clean. not just toss dirty clothes into a corner. you know i have standards, right ? ”

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osclosure​:

“should i be worried over how you think you could break a paperback book?” oscar had been part-timing at the bookstore long enough that thea’s position on the counter neither frightened nor surprised him. she’d always had an affinity for being tall, from standing on chairs to stages, and oscar was happy to indulge it, with elbows propped alongside her hip to gaze up at both her and the book she holds. “consider it my own selfish pursuit. i hate when actors don’t read the books that inspired their script, and now i’m preventing that. one thespian at a time.” at the mention of a snowglobe, oscar’s gaze ticks up, a soft smile stretching across his visage as he reflexes, “really?” as if this weren’t a pattern; as if he hadn’t cleared nearly an entire shelf’s worth of his less favorite books to make room for dorothea and her traveling snowglobes. “does the owl look really perplexed? is that why it reminded you of me? no, you’ll have to prove it — did you bring it with you?” 

“ it’s paper. i don’t think i need to be any special force of nature to fuck it up, ” thea responded, glancing between the book and oscar. “ unless there’s something you aren’t telling me about these books. ” she nodded along to his explanation and even though thea wasn’t herself a novel enthusiast herself, she’d read the book seriously per his request. “ is this like — is there going to be a test ? should i be highlighting quotes or writing things down ? i haven’t been doing that. ” the smile on oscar’s face as she mentioned the snow globe was contagious and thea was slipping the first bit of paper she could reach from behind the counter into the book to keep her page so she could give her full attention now. rather that than folding the corner of the page — something she expected to have a very similar effect as poking a voodoo doll in the heart. “ it looks like an owl, ozzy. i don’t know what you want me to say. i didn’t stare into its eyes and try to pick out an emotion. ” although she was already planning to assign emotions and looks to all the snow globes in his room the next time she was there. “ besides, i just said it reminded me of you because of a wise owl, not that it looked like you. don’t start a fight if it’s ugly. ” thea teased as she gracefully slid off the countertop and made her way to her bag, a brief moment of looking through before she pulled out the bubble wrapped globe. “ remember you can’t pick a fight if you don’t like the owl. it’s a spiritual connection, not your long lost twin, ” she teased, extending it towards him.

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natesquinn​:

talking with dorothea was always like a breath of fresh air with nate. there was just something about their friendship that made even the hardest of weeks seem just the slightest bit better after an hour long facetime call with one of his closest friends. but now he was standing here, in front of her – something he hadn’t really been able to do in such a long time – and it felt surreal. he returned thea’s embrace, squeezing his arms around her tightly, glad to actually be physically hugging her rather than just air hugs through a phone call. “i missed you too, thea,” he mumbles into her hair before he pulls away slightly, hands still resting on her forearms. his eyes narrow at the mention of black mirror. “i will never forgive you for making me watch that show. i haven’t been able to think about technology or life or anything the same way. i still haven’t recovered from the be right back episode, you know.”

“ damn right you did. ” and though the teasing was evident in her tone, she genuinely liked hearing nate say that. especially in the context of a reunion rather than tacked onto the end of a good night message at two in the afternoon for thea. the key difference being she didn’t have to keep missing him after this. “ hey ! ‘ making me ’ sounds bad. it was gentle persuasion that you agreed to willingly because you wanted to make me happy. i’m an ANGEL, nate. ” a complete lie. “ i’ll compromise with you. ” even if thea’s definition of compromising was loose. “ next time they release some episodes, we can wait until we’re in the same town and actually watch it together. since you need the emotional support. i might even let you hold my hand if you get emotional or scared. ”