tspud animatic idea I have to spit out rq
yk the song 'running up that hill' by Kate Bush. well that trending audio clip where it's like
'if only I could,
I'd make a deal with God
And get him to swap our places.'
well.. what if it's a Stanarrator moment. Where Stanley has grown so tired of the parable and so tired of everything and The Narrator wishes he could make it all go away or even swap places and let himself experience all the torture and have Stanley be up here safe.
But instead he's stuck here. He's stuck, watching as the higher ups torture him again and again. And he can't do anything, can only follow the script until they're gone, and hearing Stanley's pained cries does little to help his fraying sanity.
Oh, he'd oh so gladly sacrifice himself and swap places with Stanley if he could. Give him a break, anything. Break his own mind for him. But instead he's stuck, his hands tied behind his back, unable to do anything but watch. And watch. And watch.
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Lucky Jacket
Word Count: 1060
CW: implied child neglect
Summary: Bill gives Glenn his jacket, Glenn pretends like it means something.
Glenn Close had fallen asleep in an empty apartment, as he often did, and awoke the next day to someone gently nudging at his shoulder.
“Hey kid,” a hushed voice said, much softer than anything he was accustomed to, “Glenn?”
Glenn opened his eyes slowly, and squinted through the haze of sleepiness that clouded his vision. “Dad?” he asked quietly, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. He rubbed at his eyes, half expecting for his dad to be gone the next time he opened them, but his dad remained crouched in front of him. He looked tired, deep bags under his red-rimmed eyes, but he was smiling at him nonetheless. (Glenn liked when his dad smiled at him.) “What time is it?”
“Um…early? I don't know, who gives a fuck,” he said with a shrug, “I've got the whole day free, I thought we could like. Hang out together, or something.”
Glenn’s eyes widened, his sleepiness clearing away into excitement. “Seriously?” he asked as he sat up, his voice low and. Careful. Because he knew getting his hopes up when it came to his dad was never really the best idea.
His dad grinned and nodded. “Yeah, seriously. Now hurry up and get dressed so we can get out of this place.”
Glenn grinned and nodded as he stood up from his bed. His dad stood as well, and looked down at him with something like amusement (later, Glenn would convince himself that his gaze held the sort of fondness that all other people seemed to hold for their children.) “Hell yeah, I'll be ready in a bit.”
“See you in a few, little man.”
_
The day was, by all means, entirely unremarkable.
His dad seemed to have a killer headache (“Long night, y’know?” he said with a smirk, and Glenn pretended to understand exactly what he was talking about), so the day was. Slow. Quiet. Nice in a way that was simple and calm. (Which was, admittedly, unusual for his dad.)
But to Glenn, any time spent with his dad was remarkable anyways.
“I'll make up for the lame day next time,” his dad muttered at the end of the day, when the sun was beginning to disappear over the horizon, and Glenn was excited at the idea that there would be a next time, “I'll show what it's like to have some real fun.”
“Hell yeah man, we’ll fuck some shit up.”
His dad laughed, and Glenn grinned proudly. “Now that's my kid,” he said as a hand ruffled Glenn’s overgrown hair. Glenn gently swatted at his dad's hand, groaning exaggeratedly about the mess of his hair, but he couldn't help the smile that lingered on his face afterwards.
The world around them darkened slowly, and the wind grew colder. Glenn began to shiver, he tried his best to keep his dad from noticing.
“You cold?” his dad ended up asking anyway, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
Glenn took a breath and shook his head. “Nah, nah, I'm cool,” his voice came out more shaky than he had intended. He sounded so stupid and lame.
“Yeah, I can see that,” he said with a small chuckle. (And as the memory of this moment changed and faded, the small chuckle turned into something soft and fond. He has never been able to entirely convince himself that that was the real sentiment behind it.)
His dad took off his jacket and draped it over his shoulders. It smelled like smoke and cheap cologne (a faint floral scent also lingered). “That'll keep you warm,” he said before beginning to walk away in the direction of their apartment. “Let's start heading back. It's getting late, think I'll crash with you tonight.”
Glenn nodded and followed behind him, holding the jacket close to himself. The jacket was well worn and entirely too big for him, but he felt cool wearing it. And it was warm and comfortable, it felt like safety and home.
He thought it reminded him of his dad, because he really wanted that to be true.
“You got the keys, right?” his dad asked as they stood in front of their apartment door.
Glenn nodded, and his dad let out a breath of relief that was entirely exaggerated. “Thank god, mine are still lost. Good looking out, little man.”
“Yeah, no problem dad,” Glenn said with a smile as he unlocked the door.
His dad took a step inside and yawned loudly. “I'm gonna hit the hay. You should probably get something to eat before that though, and don't stay up too late.”
“Wait,” Glenn took off his dad’s jacket and held it out to him, “you can have this back now.”
His dad paused and looked between the jacket and Glenn for a few moments, his brows furrowed as he got a bit lost in thought. “Nah,” he said after a moment, smiling faintly, “you can keep it. You'll grow into it eventually.”
Glenn frowned. “But you always wear this jacket. It's your lucky one.”
His dad shrugged. “Yeah, well I want you to have it now kid. I don't need luck,” spoken with an overconfident grin that he shared with his son, “And it looks better on you.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, sure,” he said with a nod. He walked back to Glenn and ruffled his hair. “You're a pretty cool kid, you know? Why don't we hang out more?” It was the sort of question that wasn't directed at anyone, the sort of question that would receive no sort of answer. Glenn wished he had an answer.
His dad yawned again, and turned away from him to make his way to the bedroom. “I'm gonna sleep, but we should totally hang out again sometime soon, okay?”
“Okay,” Glenn said with a nod, a small smile on his face (too hopeful, too happy, too genuine).
His dad gave him a lopsided smile and nodded once, before disappearing into his bedroom.
That night, Glenn fell asleep in his dad's jacket. (It was a habit that would persist for several years. Whenever he felt alone and lost, he would hold on to the old jacket, run his hands along the worn leather, and pretend like it actually meant something. Like it was his dad’s way of being there for him, like it was his dad's way of saying "I love you".)
The next morning, Glenn woke up to an empty apartment, as he often did.
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