LIFE'S SO FUN!

LAUREN WATTS . . . is the only child of a roadie father and a failed pop - star mother. desperately looking to succeed where her family couldn't. a headstrong, cutthroat, and business - oriented frontwoman who manages to be charismatic and authentic despite her colder demeanor. protects her bandmates with her life, but tends to expect too much of them. primary vocalist and songwriter with a skillfully hidden softer side that peeks through in her lyrics.

she / they pronouns, late - blooming lesbian, ex - girlfriend of andie. a scorpio through and through. fc. k/atie g/avin.

ANDIE KING . . . is a multi-instrumental musical prodigy who was awarded a full college ride to pursue their dreams. quiet, sarcastic, and hard to get to know, but harbors a deep warmth. intensely loyal to the band and does "it" for the music, as well as for the fans that they grew more attached to than they thought they would. not as cutthroat as lauren, but not as passive as paris. always the smartest in the room. keyboardist, bassist, and producer that occasionally offers backing vocals.

they / them pronouns, knew they were queer from a young age, ex - partner of lauren. textbook definition of a virgo. fc. n/aomi mc/pherson.

KENNEDY DELUMEN . . . is a legend in the entertainment sphere. originally a singer - songwriter, she pivoted to talent management after realizing how much she detested the spotlight, choosing instead to help acts like herself navigate fame. saves SILK from ruin re: paris - related scandal during their second album cycle, becoming a member of the family in the process. sharp and no - nonsense, with eyes only for her clients' success.

she / her pronouns, deeply queer, married to london. queen of the capricorns. fc. l/ucy d/acus.

LONDON MANDALL . . . has been on the road with some of the biggest bands in the world since she was young. as the daughter of a lifelong roadie, she learned every trick of the trade from her father, earning an impressive reputation of her own that landed her the gig as SILK's tour manager. known for cracking jokes and lightening any room's mood, as well as swiftly adopting an all - business demeanor to get a job done when the time calls for it.

she / her pronouns, lesbian, married to kennedy. the most noticeable leo in the room. fc. j/ulien b/aker.

GEORGETTE "GIGI" CARLSON-WATTS . . . is lauren's half - sister, born to their mother, alyssa, and a man she was briefly engaged to. her father, an actor, got her into the industry young through commercial work, and now she's best known as an hbo darling for playing the lead in a widely popular series (think: a more supernatural euphoria). she has since expanded her work to include modeling. sweet as pie on the outside, with boldness, ice and ambition rivaling her sister's underneath.

❝ who the fuck styled you tonight ? ❞ is how she greets mina, a glass of what may just be pure liquor in her hand. lauren doesn't wait for an actual response before downing a gulp of said liquor, wiping her mouth, and continuing. ❝ the makeup they do for us . . . you know they want to make us look forty - something years old. like fully - grown, old women. ❞

she thought life in the capitol jewels would be so much different than this. yes, she looks expensive, but the adoration that once made her intent on volunteering for the games is just another crumb of propaganda she was stupid enough to believe back in 1. mina is one of the few people here that she can stand . . . and now she's next in line for a life of opulent misery. what a damn shame.

andie doesn't know if now is too soon to start talking strategy. on one hand, the raw wound of the reaping is still extremely fresh . . . as a mere twenty-four hours ago, they were standing onstage in district 5, twin hearts falling to the pits of their stomachs at the sound of her name. on the other, they know it's much better in the long run if they start ASAP. like . . . for her survival. with their packed schedule, time seems more fleeting than ever.

they wish she were a nobody to them. that would make this so much easier. what are the odds of the odds being in her favor like they were in theirs ? having to be a mentor often makes them wish they had been killed.

andie has never wanted to fully melt into the ground and disappear from the mortal plane more than they do right now. back to the entrance of mina's apartment, hand lingering on the doorknob, hair and whatnot still slightly disheveled from walking down the streets of new york city in a rush . . . they were praying the whole way back that she would be asleep by now.

it takes approximately ten seconds for her to deduce what they were off doing. andie isn't sure if she's figured out just who yet, but that's really neither here nor there. nothing serious. nothing like what andie really . . . wants. if anything, their time here has confirmed what they already know: they can't do the casual thing to save their life.

not to say that it wasn't . . . nice. but nice isn't the most accurate descriptor either. it just kind of was; it just happened, and now it's done.

❝ oh, uh . . . thanks. thank you, ❞ they're painfully aware of how formal they sound. how formal and how awkward, like they're a child who's been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. they never once snuck out as a teenager, and didn't expect for a moment like this to occur with mina rather than their parents. ❝ it was just— it wasn't really a thing, y'know ? or like, it's not gonna become a thing, i don't think. ❞

why the fuck is their face beet red ? don't people their age usually live for this kind of shit ? to get home after a sexual encounter, as mina had so delicately put it, and debrief ? they've always felt like a bit of a sore thumb . . . and it seems like they always will.

and mina . . . well, she seems more excited than they do, and she wasn't even there.

❝ i don't think anyone really does. ❞ andie says as they unceremoniously rip the head off of a gummy bear. they're trying to partake in edibles now when they want a fix. management says that smoking can affect their voice, and as much as andie wishes that wasn't true, they know it's a reality they've been ignoring for a long time. teeth gnashing, they continue. ❝ and anyone who says otherwise is like, lying, most likely. ❞

mina's in town for her first batch of shows on the west coast, so this is how they're celebrating: dual existential crises on the venue's fire escape an hour or so after her set. they have practice for SILK's slate of upcoming shows in the afternoon tomorrow, so their night is plenty free for catastrophizing. maybe it'll give them some good songwriting material to use against lauren. god knows it works that way for mina.

they'd congratulated her after the show, obviously. that was first, only to be quickly followed by an ARE YOU OKAY ? because a person writing those kinds of lyrics is probably not. andie can speak from experience, although they lie about their wellbeing all the same.

❝ do you always turn into an eighth grade health teacher when giving relationship advice ? ❞ andie manages a laugh despite the lump in their throat. that little pearl of wisdom would sound ridiculous coming from anyone, but the dryness of ben's tone really sells it. he could have a real career in standup if he wasn't so insistent on staying behind the curtain.

they're more of a crier than they'd like to admit. most people don't know this about them because they're usually able to starve the tears off until they're alone. that skill is ringing true now, as andie's been able to keep all but one from rolling down their cheek while describing the weekend's events to ben. it's clear that he isn't used to this kind of vulnerability, so they try to spare him to the best of their ability. it's just that . . . all of their other friends are from school. the school that both they and lauren attend. they just wanted a party far - removed from it all to talk to.

things with lauren seem to have run their course, at least on her end. she goes from smothering them to being impossibly distant, and it's giving andie motion sickness. they can't understand her, and it's breaking their fucking heart. they were really ready to go the distance in this.

andie sighs deeply, trying to summon some maturity and composure as they sit up. other than their wrist swiping at their nose, they think they do a pretty good job.

❝ oh my god, what the fuck did you take ? you weren't like, part of the pill party in the bathroom, were you ? ❞ gigi does her best to yell obnoxiously loud in valerie's face over the music while simultaneously throwing a hand over the top of her drink. it's important to note that she doesn't know for sure if there was a pill party in the bathroom or not, 'cause it was kind of just a word of mouth thing, but still ! that would explain why she's so fucked up.

she doesn't really know know valerie. she knows her in the way where she's aware that lauren hates her, which makes her temporarily chill in gigi's book. like, if they end up squished on the same couch together at some industry party, she'll say hi. she'll hang out. whether valerie is aware of her relation to a certain SILK frontwoman is up to question.

all that being said, she'd probably be upset if she like . . . overdosed and died in front of her. gigi shoves a guy trying to offer her a water to the side, giving valerie her undivided attention. then, she holds her drink out to her. something fruity, but strong.

kennedy stands, quiet and poised, across the room as mina and company file in. her eyes immediately begin to scan them for differences; for growth. she hasn't seen them, meaning mina and paris specifically, since they left for ohio. even then, their visit was a brief one between the end of mina's tour and a flight to columbus. mina meets her gaze as london sweeps paris into a bear hug.

❝ i did , ❞ the news of gary harrow's guilty verdict is, at its core, a good thing. he deserves the consequences ( life in prison, no possibility of parole, ) he's received for what he's done. still, she refrains from celebrating, from even smiling, out of sensitivity for the grief that remains. instead, kennedy simply opens her arms to mina and allows her to fall into them.

they stay like that for a moment as the others entertain themselves. kennedy's belief that mina needs this is as firm as her arm's grip around her shoulders. despite her career entirely separate from that of her girlfriend's, she is the only person who's been there to support her every step of the way. no one wants to talk about the end of SILK's last tour, and for good reason, so kennedy doesn't bring it up. still, if she did, she'd be sure to mention the way lauren and andie put a collapsing paris on the backburner to shoulder their decade - long drama instead. when paris hit the ground, it was mina that was there to lift her back up. and kennedy can only partially fathom the mental toll of that. of seeing paris in such a state.

❝ well, i don't discriminate, ❞ she shrugs, seemingly very aware of the first impression she's making. by the look on both andie and ben's faces, they've thoroughly prepped him for the experience that is hurricane lauren. ❝ the only reason you aren't under fire is because, well . . . ❞ she gestures from andie to him . . . an implication of a white flag waving.

ben is actually much more tolerable than her partner's other friends, the majority of them fellow classmates in their prestigious music program. lauren feels no urge to rip his tongue out because he hasn't once used it to talk about whatever petty drama is plaguing their campus. he's far removed . . . clearly battling enough of his own demons to have a sort - of dead look in his eyes. they have, like, nothing in common except for the person sitting between them. that, and the fact that he definitely also has a few mean bones in his body. and that's so fucking refreshing, even if she'd call him a washed up loser in any other situation.