Patty Lowell

❝ i'll always protect you. ❞

❝ i never meant to get this close, but now that i have i can't let you go. ❞

❝ i live for the moments when you look at me. the rest of the time i'm just existing. ❞

❝ i don't like how you make me feel. but i like not being around you even less. ❞

❝ i wish you wouldn't look at me like that. when you look at me like that i...it makes me wanna do things i shouldn't ❞

❝ there's no line i wouldn't cross for you. don't you realize that? ❞

❝ i did this for you. no one else. ❞

❝ i don't like it, but i'll do it for you. ❞

❝ i wonder how much of myself i'll have to give to you—how much i have to lay bare—before you realize how much you're taking. ❞

❝ i'm not trying to fix you. i'm just trying to be your friend. ❞

❝ i'm not um, real good at thank yous. or sorry's. but if you ever need me, i'm there. i owe you one. ❞

❝ i've seen you at your worst and i'm still standing here. ❞

❝ you've seen me at my worst but you're still here... ❞

❝ you can be mad at me, i can take it. i'd rather you be angry than shut me out. ❞

❝ i'm not angry, i'm just scared. ❞

❝ i know you love me, but do you like me? ❞

❝ do you think i'm a good person? ❞

❝ do you think i care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference? of course i'm helping you. ❞

❝ tell me what i can do to show you how i love you. i will give you anything you ask for. ❞

❝ you don't have to keep apologizing. just be here. day in and day out and prove that you're gonna keep showing up. that's all you have to do. ❞

❝ i only sleep well when you're next to me. ❞

❝ i don't want an apology i just want to understand. ❞

❝ i could actually use a hug right now. ❞

❝ i want everyone else to go away, but you can stay. ❞

❝ i actually do care what you think about. you're probably one of the only people whose opinion matters to me. ❞

❝ you always seem to know what i need. ❞

❝ you always seem to know just what i need to hear. ❞

❝ i want you to call me when you need someone. i want to be here for you. ❞

❝ you're the one i wanna call when i need someone. ❞

He leans back in his chair, chair creaking under the movement, and gestures vaguely at the surrounding chaos.

"Okay, first of all, this is not a pigsty."

A beat.

A loose paper slides off the desk on cue.

"...It's a strategic mess. Keeps demons guessing."

He kicks the paper back under the desk like that settles it.

Then his grin softens a notch, because Patty's not exactly wrong and he knows it.

"And hey, I do go out."

He points toward the door.

"I go out there. I just usually come back through a wall, or a window, or whatever's left of the building after a demon throws me through it."

He pauses, scratches his cheek, then adds a little more honestly under the humour.

"Bars are...fine. I've been to a few."

A glance sideways.

"Most of them don't stay standing long after I show up, though. Not exactly great for repeat business."

Then he finally looks around the office the way she is, really looks at it this time. The broken furniture, the clutter, the half-lived-in exhaustion of the place.

His shoulders lift in a small shrug.

"As for the rest..."

A short exhale, like he's conceding something he doesn't love admitting.

"Yeah. Maybe I've been a little busy lately."

The grin comes back, but it's lighter now, less shield and more habit.

"Dante, you need to start taking better care of yourself. What's going to happen when...?"

What's going to happen when everyone else leaves?

Her gaze shifts to a pile of books haphazardly stacked in a corner and quickly moves to pick them up.

"I'm being serious! You need to have some sort of social life. You can't just be sitting here like some sort of recluse... And no, Trish and Lady don't count."

Dante glances around the office, the busted jukebox, the stack of unpaid bills, yesterday's pizza box that's become today's coaster.

"...I go out all the time."

He counts on his fingers.

"Demons knock down a wall. I go out."

"Somebody screams. I go out."

"Lady wants me to do her job for her. I go out."

"Trish says it'll 'only take five minutes.' I definitely go out."

He shrugs.

Patty sighs and brings up a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "No, Dante, I mean get out more outside of work. Do you people not go to bars to unwind? You need more friends."

1. is your muse able to keep a secret?

2. is your muse skilled at using technology?

3. how skilled is your muse at communication? 

4. who would your muse consider their best friend?

5. are there any fears your muse still holds from childhood? 

6. what is something that ticks your muse off, no matter what?

7. what clothes does your muse feel most comfortable in? why?

8. how many fights has your muse been a part of? how did they fare?

9. does your muse have any nervous habits? (biting lip, fidgeting, etc.)

10. how often does your muse find themselves daydreaming? what about?

11. how often does your muse cry? do they cry silently, privately, or out in the open?

12. what is a lesson your muse’s parent(s)/guardian taught them that they still hold onto?

13. is your muse proficient at any musical instruments? how long did it take them to learn?

14. does your muse prefer cooler or warmer weather? how does the heat/cold affect them?

15. does your muse know how to cook? what is the most complicated dish they’re able to make?

“Where has all the eggnog gone?”

“Do you want to decorate a ginger bread house with me?”

“The older I get, the more I understand the Grinch.”

“I bought matching Christmas pajamas for us!”

“I have wrapped like 200 presents and I am still not done.”

“I think the cat just ate some tinsel off the tree.”

“This is our first Christmas together and I want it to be special.”

“We can add a special ornament to the collection each year. This year’s is for our future baby.”

“Can you help me put the star on top of the tree?”

“What do you want for Christmas?”

“Is this an ugly Christmas sweater kind of party, or do I have to wear pants?”

“Everyone is drunk on rum and unwrapping the wrong presents.”

“If I have to bake one more cookie, I am going to scream.”

“You have sprinkles in your hair.”

“Did you know that candy canes don’t actually taste as magical as they look?”

“Let’s go for a walk and look at Christmas lights!”

“What did you get [ insert name ] for Christmas? I have no idea!”

“Is your family coming over for Christmas?”

“Can you help me set the table? The guests will be here soon.”

“It’s snowing on Christmas!”

“Can we make hot cocoa and watch a Christmas movie together?”

“Please hang up the stockings for the kids, so I can fill them.”

“Go ask mommy/daddy for a glass of milk for Santa.”

“You’re my best Christmas present this year.”

“I think the roast is burning in the oven and grandma is already drunk.”

“How about Christmas in a cabin in the mountains this year?”

“We should do a Secret Santa with the others!”

“TURN OFF THE RADIO, LAST CHRISTMAS IS PLAYING!”

“I’m Scrooge and I expect to be visited by a couple of ghosts tonight.”

“I’m glad we get to spend Christmas together this year.”