whumptober day 26: “Sometimes I get so tired; I don’t even know myself.”
fandom: power rangers (2017)
ship: trimberly
note: Set vaguely in the universe of such a beautiful disaster. You don't have to read it to follow this, but you should! (and I'm gonna work on updating it)
tw: drug use mention, super angst
Kim had good days and bad days. Then she had very bad days. She was over the withdrawal of the drugs, but her mental health wasn’t good. It was like everything she had suppressed with cocaine was finally rising from the water. Trini could handle it all though. She loved Kim and anything Kim brought, Trini was there. But the very bad days were hard for her. It was like there was nothing she could do to console her girlfriend, and it angered her. She wasn’t angered at Kim, but at the whole situation.
Kim going through withdrawal and starting life without drugs had taken a toll on Trini. She tried so hard to be strong for Kim, but some nights, when Kim was able to fall into a deep sleep, Trini cried. She mourned for ther Kim before the drugs, and she mourned for how broken Kim was still. But she powered through it, kept it to herself, and kept going.
Trini was sitting on the couch in the living room. Kim was taking an afternoon nap, and as much as Trini wanted to join her, she just needed a break. So she called Zack and listened to the phone ring.
“Yo, Trini,” he answered.
“Yo,” Trini replied with little energy.
“You okay?”
“I don’t know,” she said. She didn’t often talk about everything with Zack because it was Kim’s business. But sometimes she needed to let some of it out, and she couldn’t with Kim. So Zack it was.
“What’s up?” He asked in concern.
“I’m just…tired,” she said with a sigh.
“Are you sleeping?”
“It’s hard to sleep. I lay there and worry about her, and…it’s like, if I sleep and something happens…”
“You gotta take care of yourself, too,” Zack said.
“I don’t know,” Trini said. “Sometimes I get so tired; I don’t even know myself.”
“I say again, take care of yourself.”
“Yeah,” she said distantly. Then she jumped because suddenly Kim was in the room, and she didn’t look happy. “I gotta go,” she told Zack. She hung up and looked at Kim. “You okay?”
“I’m a burden on you,” Kim said softly. “You don’t sleep because of me.” Trini closed her eyes. Kim wasn’t supposed to hear that.
“Princess, you’re not a burden. Never.”
“You just told Zack I am,” Kim said with a stubborn tone.
“I didn’t.” Trini got up and walked towards Kim to take her in her arms, but Kim pulled away. “I don’t care if I never sleep again,” she said. “As long as I’m taking care of you.”
“Yeah,” Kim huffed. “Then you’ll pass out or something and it’ll be my fault. Just…forget about me, okay?” She turned on her heel and went back into the bedroom to slam the door shut behind her. Trini immediately followed and tried to turn the knob on the door, but it was locked. She started to panic. A locked door was bad. She knew Kim was clean and was working hard to stay that way, but a locked door scared Trini. She had no idea what was going on behind it.
Trini’s whole identity had become taking care of Kim. She was on sabbatical from work so she could be there 24/7. And all that time together often led to fights. At least, on Kim’s end. Trini tried to acquiesce and not fight back. She didn’t want to fight with Kim. She didn’t want to make things worse for Kim. So she felt like she was disappearing. Everything that made her her was gone, because all she was, was Kim’s keeper. And she wanted it that way, but it was difficult. She was overtired, burned out, and depressed. She just didn’t let that show in front of Kim.
“Kim,” she called through the door. “Open up. We can talk.”
“I don’t want to talk!” Kim shouted back.
“I need to talk to you.”
“To talk about what a burden I am?” Kim said with a growl.
“You’re not a burden!” Trini shouted, losing the control she tried so hard to have around Kim. The door swung open and Kim glared at Trini.
“Yeah, it’s my fault you’re not sleeping.”
“No, it’s my fault,” Trini argued. “I’m the one who makes myself stay awake as much as I can. I’m the one who’s in control of that. I’m the one who decides to do that.” Kim looked at the floor, crossing her arms. Trini tried to approach her again. She put a hand on Kim’s arm and looked at her, even though Kim didn’t look back. “I love you. So much. I just…can’t help worrying about you.” Kim kicked the floor with the toes of her foot and her frown deepened.
“I don’t want you to worry about me so much,” she said quietly.
“Well…I do,” Trini said.
“You don’t have to,” Kim said. “I can go stay somewhere else and you can sleep and…not think about me.”
“You’re not leaving,” Trini said thickly.
“You can’t make me stay,” Kim replied. “I’m an adult.”
“You want to leave me?” Trini asked, sad fear in her voice. Kim looked up, her gaze clouded.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you if I did?”
“No! You can’t…would you really do that?” Trini asked. Her brows furrowed and she shook her head. Kim didn’t say anything. “After everything I’ve been doing for you?” Trini was starting to get mad.
“You deserve a break from me.” Kim glanced up.
“I don’t need a break from you. But I do need you to stop assuming what I need.”
“You’re doing too much,” Kim murmured. “I’m draining you.” Trini sighed and nodded.
“Yeah, you are. But I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m tired of being…like this,” Kim said, her eyes welling with tears. “I want us to go back to normal. Before…everything.”
“So do I,” Trini said. “But you still need time.”
“I need time…away,” Kim said, looking away again.
“You’re still in a place where you could relapse,” Trini said.
“I won’t.”
“How will I make sure of that?”
“You don’t have to,” Kim said. “I can take care of myself. I’ll stay with my parents.”
“Kim…” Trini felt hopeless and her heart was breaking. “What…what does that mean for us?”
“It means…we need a break. I need a break. And I think you do, too.”
“I don’t!”
“I’m going to go pack and call my mom,” Kim said, turning to the bedroom door.
“Kim!” Trini moved closer to grab her, but Kim pushed her off. Then Kim went into the bedroom and closed and locked the door. Trini deflated. She stumbled over to the couch and fell onto it. A break? She couldn’t handle a break. She couldn’t handle how much she was going to worry with Kim so far away. She leaned her head back on the cushion and closed her eyes as silent tears fell down the sides of her face. She loved Kim more than anything else in the world. She didn’t care what happened to herself if she could just take care of her. But it was difficult. It was draining. Loving Kim in this period of their lives felt…like she was being pulled in multiple directions while her tooth was being pulled. It was killing Trini. She knew it, but she couldn’t say it. She didn’t want to say it. Kim was going through so much and Trini couldn’t fix it. She often felt like she was drowning. Like she couldn’t breathe. She walked on eggshells around Kim, hoping not to upset her or guide her into falling back into drugs. It was so hard. It was straining their relationship. It felt impossible.
But Trini didn’t care. She would let Kim grind her down into nothing, as long as she could be there. And Kim wasn’t letting her. Kim was shutting her out again. Trini shifted and laid down across the couch, eyes still closed. She curled into a ball and cried. She cried for all the fear and pain she had been through with Kim ever since everything had been off while Kim secretly did drugs. She cried for not being a good enough caretaker which was pushing Kim out the door.
She heard Kim come out of the bedroom and didn’t look at her. The air was thick between them. Trini just wanted Kim to go already. She couldn’t take it. Then, she felt Kim climb onto the couch behind her. Kim’s arm went around Trini and pulled her back against her chest. Trini wanted to pull away. She was sad and angry about Kim leaving. But Kim hadn’t held her in so long. Trini leaned back into Kim. Kim kissed her neck.
“I love you,” Kim whispered. “I’ll be back.”
“Don’t,” Trini begged.
“Ssh,” Kim hushed. She curled into Trini. Trini couldn’t fight it anymore. She stayed silent and sniffed, her face itchy from drying tears. She squeezed her eyes shut and just let herself be in the moment. Kim pressed her lips to Trini’s shoulder and held them there. They lay there silently for a long time, Kim just holding Trini, until eventually, Trini fell into a deep sleep.
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Title: Beautiful Disaster | Part 1: The Legacy Era (part 1 &2)
Reality Show/Kayfabe AU
Rating: M (eventual E)
Pairings: Randy/Cody, Ted/Cody, Mentions of Past Shawn Spears/Cody, Eventual Seth/Cody, and others
Tags: not rpf, meet ugly, hurt/comfort, canon compliant, angst, character study, canon companion, soulmates, more to be added
Warnings: emotional/psychological abuse, emotional manipulation, unhealthy/toxic relationships, canon typical violence, intimate partner/domestic violence (choking), discussion of intimate partner/domestic violence, infidelity (kind of), more to be added
Chapters: 8/? Current Word Count: 51k
"Wrestling is a love story” - Cody Rhodes, Apr 2, 2022
Cody tries so hard to do a good job and be a good wrestler, to climb up the ladder to the top of that mountain but he can never gain a good footing. When he does get some traction it never lasts and he just falls right back down to the bottom. He’s never good enough and it tears him apart. Throughout his whole life, everyone said he was made for this business, born to do it, a Prince destined for a King’s throne- it’s all he’s ever wanted to do. He just keeps trying and failing over and over to make everyone proud, to live up to their expectations, he does it for nearly a decade and he gives it everything he has. It’s just not enough.
[an exploration of Cody's career]
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Tag Game To Better Know You! Send this to people you’d like to know better!
tagged by @lithugraph, thank you so much!!!
What book are you currently reading?
haruki murakami’s blind willow, sleeping woman, i started it a while ago and i’ve been re-reading to try and finish it recently
What’s your favorite movie you saw in theaters this year?
everything everywhere all at once, i did my duty as a queer asian diaspora creature and ugly cried at the end
What do you usually wear?
some dark/desaturated shirt or sweater with jeans, one(1) piece of jewellery, bright socks, and sneakers/boots
How tall are you?
5’3.5”
What’s your Star Sign? Do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event?
pisces. i share a birthday with frédéric chopin, kesha, and lupita nyong’o. the articles of confederation were ratified and the sam-il movement occurred on this date
Do you go by your name or a nick-name?
i have too many names, which is what happens when your original name has seven letters in it and you’ve got another name in another language. but usually most people call me by my name and online friends call me by my web-name
Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?
close! i landed in the general vicinity but not exactly the same position
Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?
i am jared, 19
What’s something you’re good at vs. something you’re bad at?
i like to think i’m a pretty decent cook, but i suck at baking. only one friend has witnessed the evidence in real time and they are sworn to secrecy to never speak of it again
Dogs or cats?
cats
If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you created this year?
my rainbow dnd party piece, or ciaran shielding sav’s limp unconscious ass. i don’t want to stick an image file here so have some random dialogue from my less impressive writing out of context instead:
“The prince is weird, and crazy.”
What’s something you would like to create content for?
star wars, lord of the rings, guardian, ghost in the shell s.a.c., kimetsu no yaiba, dragon age, webcomics i read, more sailor moon or vanitas no carte... my ideas are way more multifandom than my posts are
What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?
my dnd campaign and homebrew setting. it has me by the throat on a daily basis
What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?
some of the work parties i’ve gone to, i think
What’s a hidden talent of yours?
i can blow big soap bubbles with my fist
Are you religious?
not at all. i had a lot of christian influences growing up but it never really stuck
What’s something you wish to have at this moment?
a fully illustrated sourcebook of my own dnd setting. also an air fryer
tagging: @digital999placebo, @ellmovy, @rebelsandtherest, @oumaheroes, @thedisappointedidealist12, and @ironic-orange to do if they’d like!
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Seven Sentence Sunday
You'll never believe it, but @goldenretrieverfirefighters tagged me in SSS again. Luckily for everyone, they remembered that I actually wrote this week. So y'all get to see raw footage from the best idea I've ever had in my life.
There was a shift to their left and an ominous scuttling noise echoed through the abandoned mall. Eddie stiffened beside him, gaze darting toward the sound, his eyes narrowed. The scuttling came again.
Thwink, thwink.
Thwink, thwink.
It sounded like cheap plastic hitting poorly carpeted concrete floors. Harsh and muffled.
Thwink, thwink.
Twhink, thwink.
This time the scuttling came from behind them, and Buck whipped around, squinting in the dark at half-filled boxes and overturned trash bins.
Thwink, Thwink.
He spotted a glint of light as something darted across the floor. Swallowing harshly, he tugged on Eddie’s arm, nodding his head towards where he saw the movement.
Thwink, thwink.
It was getting closer. Eddie slowly lifted his flashlight in question. Buck nodded. The beam filtered through the dingy air, passing over broken glass, scattered toys, a pair of kids light up shoes, and a tennis ball. One of the toys moved, its eyes blinking lazily. Buck shifted toward it, catching a familiar glint of light.
“Holy shit.”
“Is that?” Eddie inched closer
“Yeah its a-'' Buck was interrupted as the toy launched itself forward with a rapid Thwink thwink. He and Eddie shuffled back, as the toy opened its mouth, releasing an awful robotic yell.
“FUUUR-BY!”
They turned and ran.
I'm tagging anyone who wants to participate <3
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