∀live at the ǝpᴉsdn down

E01 - ❛ Book I: Genesis ❜ and E02 - ❛ Book II: Psalms ❜ // 79 starters. CW: alcoholism, cussing, religion (general, bigotry, trauma). Feel free to change words and pronouns as needed!

“Is she okay? She’s gonna be okay?”

“You didn’t invite _____, did you?”

“Fine, fuck him. Fuck ‘em all. Fuck the sheriff.”

“You’re not gonna tell, right?”

“Uh… I thought I saw something.”

“Let’s get you fed. You gotta eat.”

“What did you do to me, _____?”

“You said you were being followed by a giant albatross.”

“Hey, what’s that, _____? You wanna speak up?”

“You just ignore her, buddy. She’s just mean.”

“I’m sorry for the hassle. I mean it.”

“It might bother me, if I gave you much thought.”

“You don’t know what it’s like these days.”

“This isn’t a community anymore, _____. It’s a ghost.”

“Things have changed for me, _____. I’m not… That’s not me anymore.”

“People have been seeing him wandering around at night. Late at night. Like, midnight.”

“It’s not funny. It’s not funny at all.”

“I don’t care if your heart’s not in it or the mood doesn’t strike you.”

“I’m so relieved you’re okay. I waited for you this morning.”

“Don’t be scared, _____. It’s just me.”

“I know I’m not who you expected to see this morning.”

“That got rather quiet, didn’t it?”

“You’re the prodigal one. I’m just the black sheep.”

“Look at us, back where we started. The one place we swore we’d never end up.”

“I’m supposed to be the godless heathen, and you the altar boy.”

“Honestly, I didn’t expect that anyone would notice.”

“Well, in the future, let me know if there’s an issue. That’s what I’m here for.”

“So, I mean, you came back… here. Like, you came back here on purpose. Why?”

“Here… I have nothing.”

“I just exist now. That’s it. I have… absolutely no purpose at all.”

“I’m sorry. For what you’ve been through. I’m really, really sorry.”

“You should stay back till I know more, _____.”

“You said some kind of disease or infection? You think so?”

“I don’t think the folks are gonna much like that. That seems a little drastic.”

“A place like this, someone tries to stay separate or isolated, it just hurts the whole.”

“Wowsers, you ever seen something like this, huh?”

“I don’t… I don’t know what I saw.”

“Hey, sorry about last night. I just wanted to apologize.”

“It all worked out. You found your purpose.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Where were you before this?”

“That’s the thing about where we’ve been. It’s important, sure. But it’s not as important as where we’re going. And every place I was before I am now, well, they were just leading me here.”

“Are you really walking by without saying hi?”

“Wow. It’s been a long time since anyone’s asked me that.”

“See, for those reasons, I am out.”

“I feel like I need you again.”

“Time used to move softly when I was at home.”

“Even out of blackness, love rises again.”

“It’s great you’re here today, but please keep coming back.”

“That’s what it means to have faith. That in the darkness, in the worst of it, in the absence of light and hope, we sing.”

“That same hand that dealt you your hardship, that same hand will make you whole.”

“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

“This used to be quite the event.”

“Well, don’t look now, but I think we’re upsetting your clergy.”

“I’ve always preferred Easter, even to Christmas, if I’m honest. This is my favorite time of year. Renewal, resurrection.”

“Everything has its season.”

“Well, I appreciate your time, _____. But I bet there’s a lot of other people around here who’d like your company too. I don’t wanna hold you up with the town pariah.”

“Can you imagine that? Just the good you could do?’

“What happened? Who did this? Who did it? Who did this? Which one of you?”

“You don’t like me? That’s fine! Shit I done, I don’t care about me so much either.”

“I just want to be of use, _____.”

“My goodness, you startled me. What on earth brings you here?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself.”

“Not his fault he was born woefully fuckin’ unfunny.”

“Now that changes everything. Why didn’t you just fucking say so?”

“You’re a smart man, _____, but in this case, you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. So let’s just leave it there.”

“I gotta say, to be honest, I hadn’t really considered how awkward this would be with just two people.”

“Yeah, I’d rather not go too far down that road tonight.”

“I mean, you seem like a nice guy. You’re doin’ me a favor. I just would not want to offend you.”

“Being your own higher power, how is that working out for you?”

“God can take that pain and turn it into something good. Something with purpose.”

“Suffering can be a gift. It just depends on us. What we do with it, how we react to it.”

“Alcohol isn’t good or bad. But the version of me that would come out when I had enough to drink, he was bad. He was selfish and careless, and he ruined my life.”

“And God? He just kind of let it happen, didn’t he?”

“The only thing, the only fucking thing that lets people stand by, watching all this suffering, doing nothing, doing fucking nothing, is the idea that suffering can be a gift from God.”

“I believe God can take our work, even our awful works, and turn them into something else. I know He can find the good in them, and find the love in them, whether we see it or not.”

“I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“No, stop it. That’s cruel.”

*   warning   :   may  contain  spoilers  for  episodes  one  through  ten .

‘  if  you  were  me ,  you  wouldn’t  be  such  a  fucking  asshole .  ’

‘  the  world  out  there  has  teeth  and  it  is  hungry  and  it  is  stupid  and  it eats  and  eats  mindlessly .  ’

‘  you  listen  to  your  gut .  even  if  it  makes  them  hate  you .  ’

‘  i  am  a  dream  and  so  are  you  and  so  are  we .  ’

‘  you  are  a  looker ,  aren’t  you ?  ’

‘  honey ,  someone’s  in  the  house .  ’

‘  i’m  dreaming ,  right ?  ’

‘  i  just  need  a  little  time  away .  it’s  nothing  more  than  that .  ’

‘  you’re  saying  it  was  an  accident ,  so  you  accidentally  put  your  hand  through  a  mirror ?  ’

‘  i’m  scared .  that’s  all  i  am .  there  is  nothing  else .  i’m  only  scared .  ’

‘  do  you  think  there’s  something  wrong  with  me ?  like ,  really  wrong ?  ’

‘  it’s  alright ,  sugar .  it’s  just  a  dream  —  just  a  screaming  meemie .  ’

‘  we  yield  to  it  or  we  fight  it ,  but  we  cannot  meet  it  halfway .  ’

‘  i  seldom  am  well  behaved .  ’

‘  i  enjoyed  the  conversation ,  but  i’m  gonna  say  goodnight .  ’

‘  did  you  just  punch  me  in  the  boob ?  ’

‘  just  enjoy  me .  i’m  loving  you .  ’

‘  i  wouldn’t  have  changed  a  thing .  i  need  you  to  know  that .  ’

‘  forgiveness  is  warm  like  a  tear  on  a  cheek .  ’

‘  i  loved  you  completely  and  you  loved  me  the  same .  ’

‘  that’s  all .  the  rest  is  confetti .  ’

‘  forgive  a  girl  for  being  lonely .  ’

‘  there’s  nothing  sadder  than  a  cold  bed .  ’

‘  journey’s  end  when  lovers  meet .  ’

‘  journeys  don’t  end ,  not  if  you  love  someone .  they  don’t  end  at  all .  ’

‘  probably  best  you  didn’t  say  anything  to  them .  ’

‘  i’m  asking  you  to  love  me  hard  for  the  next  few  minutes .  ’

‘  i’m  gonna  jump  and  i’m  asking  you  to  hold  my  hand  while  i’m  falling .  ’

‘  i  have  something  that  i  have  to  tell  you ,  but  i  need  you  to  remember  when  i  do  that  i  love  you .  ’

‘  i  wish  i  would’ve  loved  you  better .  ’

‘  pandas  don’t  like  macaroni .  ’

‘  i’m  just  floating  in  this  ocean  of  nothing  and  i  wonder  if  this  is  it ,  this  is  what  death  is .  ’

‘  i  wonder  if  this  is  what  death  is ,  just  out  there  in  the  darkness ,  just  darkness  and  numbness  and  alone .  ’

‘  i  wondered  if  that’s  what  they  felt ,  just  numb  and  nothing  and  alone .  ’

‘  he  was  a  light  in  the  darkness .  he  was  a  life  preserver  in  the  ocean .  ’  

‘  i  reached  for  him  because  i  had  to  feel  something .  i  had  to  feel  anything .  ’

‘  god ,  i’m  so  glad  i  did  it  though .  thank  god  it  worked .  ’

‘  i  felt  scared .  so  fucking  scared .  ’

‘  honestly  i  had  to  do  it  because  it  felt  better  than  feeling  nothing .  ’

‘  that  thorough  fucking  shame  was  so  much  better  than  that  horrible  empty  feeling .  ’

‘  you  have  to  live .  ’

‘  i  don’t —  i  don’t  know  how  to  do  this  without  you .  ’

‘  i  learned  a  secret  :  there  is  no  without .  i  am  not  gone .  i  am  scattered  into  so  many  pieces ,  sprinkled  on  your  life  like  new  snow .  ’

‘  when  we  die ,  we  turn  into  stories  and  every  time  someone  tells  one  of  those  stories  it’s  like  we’re  still  here .  ’

‘  we’re  all  stories  in  the  end .  ’

‘  you’re  supposed  to  protect  me ,  but  you  say  the  meanest  things  to  me  when  i  try  to  tell  you  things .  ’

‘  that  was  really  wild  stuff .  ’

‘  that  was  really  wild  stuff  considering  you  were  asleep  for ,  what ,  like…  ninety-nine  percent  of  it ?  ’

‘  i’m  sorry .  i  should  have  made  more  of  an  effort  with  you .  ’

‘  you  tried  the  best  that  you  could .  i  should’ve  met  you  halfway .  ’

‘  people  fuck  up .  i  guess  you  don’t  get  that  —  you  really  don’t  get  it  until  you  fuck  up .  really  fuck  up .  ’

‘  i  felt…  nothing .  just  nothing .  and  it  spread  everywhere  in  me ,  this  nothing ,  until  i  couldn’t  feel  anything  anymore .  i  was  just  this  dark ,  empty  black  hole .   ’