racing through 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏

what impression do you think you give when someone meets you?

“ if i’m lucky, they’ll think of me as the kind of person who would bring them chicken noodle soup when they have the flu… but also the kind of person who would tell them the truth when their boyfriend is an asshole and they need to hear it. ”

what are your views on romantic relationships? do you see yourself growing old with a significant other?

“ they’re nice until they’re not. i like the part where everything is dreamy and sweet, but i hate the part where you realize you can’t stand each other’s families and don’t agree on anything that matters. it turns out, liking the same fleetwood mac album isn’t enough to base a relationship off of. but just because i haven’t found the right person, that doesn’t mean i won’t. i’m not exactly looking for them, but if they’re out there, i do hope i find them. someone who enjoys putting up with me, who will cook with me, who likes the things about myself that even i don’t like… it sounds like a dream. ”

what would your younger self think of you now?

“ my answer on this changes daily. sometimes i think she’d be proud of me for sticking around and seeing things through here, rather than leaving when i was supposed to and bailing. other times, i think she’d be disappointed that i stuck around and didn’t leave, even when things settled down. i didn’t get to do a lot of the things that she wanted to do, but i’ve also done a whole lot of things that she was too much of a scaredy-cat to try. i think she’d be excited about that. or horrified, but i’d take my chances. ”

hi-diddly-ho, neighborinos ! your friendly neighborhood maeby (26, she/they, mst) coming in hot and so stoked to be here ♡ i’m bringing my sweetest pea, alice ! without further ado...!

given name: alice adela alvarez nicknames: al, allie birthday: july 17th, 1997 zodiac: cancer sun, sagittarius moon, libra rising sexuality: bisexual, biromantic hometown: stars hollow, connecticut hobbies: weekly film club, baking more and more elaborate pies, being the mom friend, ice skating, drunken karaoke, getting fed up with her sourdough starter, horror movie nights favorites: white chocolate, s’mores in the winter, autumn leaves, period romances, roman holiday (1953), shades of burgundy,, old denim jackets, federico garcía lorca, every dog character inspo: ruth jamison (fried green tomatoes), rose dawson (titanic), sally albright (when harry met sally), sally owens (practical magic), ramona flowers (scott pilgrim vs the world)

BACKGROUND

(tw illness)

there is no such thing as an accident in the alvarez family. every blessing and every hardship had its purpose. like the secret to her father’s world famous sweet & sour sauce and all four of her siblings, alice was a happy surprise. there was never a dull moment in the alvarez household. a moment alone to collect your thoughts? never heard of it. their home brimmed to bursting with loved ones, thundered with voices and children's footfalls, and filled itself with unlimited love. anyone who expected anything less from the proprietor and namesake of al’s pancake world was lying to themselves.

no matter the time of day, there was always something on the stove and in the oven. if someone in town needed help, alice’s parents showed up armed with a week’s worth of food. it made sense that their kids were the ones standing up to bullies on the playground and sharing their lunches when their friends forgot theirs. but while the rest of her siblings grew into attitudes and rebellious phases, alice stayed sweet. she gained a reputation for being a do-gooder and a goody-two-shoes, but never let it bother her. much.

as hard as they tried to make it a reality, there’s no such thing as a perfect family. a loud home meant loud fights. too many teenagers in one place meant tensions ran high. a restaurant in a small town meant money troubles as far as the eye could see. if anyone could survive on love alone, it would’ve been the alvarezes. then alice’s mother got sick. with her two older siblings away at college, alice took it upon herself to be her caretaker. her father was deeply in denial, busying himself with work and the restaurant, but alice gave up everything to care for her mom.

headstrong and bullheaded as she was when things got tough, there was no convincing alice otherwise. it took everything they had to keep her from dropping out of high school. for three years, until she was twenty-one, every day was taken up by her mother’s recovery. she wouldn’t have had it any other way. and the day the color returned to her mother’s face, alice was, to this day, the happiest she’s ever been. but those crucial years were gone, her motivation to go to college and leave stars hollow gone with it. where some dreams were lost, countless others took their place; smaller, safer, but dreams nonetheless.

with her mother’s illness behind them, alice was free to let her friends drag out her to bars and brunches and bachelorette parties, which they took full advantage of, shoving years’ worth of just being young into a few months. alice saw all the things that had seemed so trivial for what they really were: an excuse to have fun. it took it being pried out of her, but she learned to let loose. do-gooder, goody-two-shoes alice alvarez was hung up for a while. the girl who replaced her danced and laughed and got into trouble and made mistakes and learned to let herself.

the woman who replaced that girl is the product of their small town. she’s had her heart broken by hometown sweethearts, she’s broken the hearts of just as many, and she keeps falling anyway. she’s a hypocrite to her friends – saying yes to everything they want, telling them to go for things, and giving advice where she has no right to – but never taking big risks herself. people have expected her to take over her father’s pancake world for so long that she sort of expects it, too. despite it all, she’s happy waiting tables, balancing the books, and trying over and over to perfect her pop’s recipes. but at the same time, a familiar thought runs through her head:

is there more to life?

WANTED CONNECTS

friends from high school

drinking buddies

roommates

a bad influence

frenemies / enemies

vacation buddies

exes in a small town