magnificent sadness

Intro/headcanons

@dounerdebby​

“Debby! Just the person I wanted to see!” Belle said, hopping down from the ladder she had been on to put the new books away in her shop. “We have to pick next month’s book club…book. And go through the request box. And have lunch because I don’t know about you, but I could use something to eat.” She smiled at her friend. “How are you doing? I feel like we have so much to talk about. I can leave Randall in charge so it’s just us all afternoon if you aren’t busy.”

Debby was surprised that Belle had been wanting to see her, giving her a smile as she watched her hop down from her ladder. “Lunch sounds nice. I’m sure some food will help us think of an idea for the next book options,” Debby agreed. “Oh, I’m doing okay.. I’m really never too busy. Grading papers can always wait until later.”

angelo should be handling this better. billy was (kind of) his friend, and he should be taking more of an interest in the things going on in the kid’s life. but the second he finds out billy got married, all angelo can think of is finally being granted a moment of peace. if he was married he’d just have to go move in with his wife — right? well of course billy didn’t quite see it that way, and that leads angelo here: looking for the only reasonable person he lives with, debby. “debby,” angelo nods, reaching down to pet Dolores where she’s sitting at debby’s feet. “i need you to back me up on something. if someone in this house gets married, logically speaking we would assume they’re moving out. right?” @dounerdebby

“if anyone can handle it — it’s you.” and even if his words are wrapped together with a small laugh, angelo does mean it. of all their friends the least likely to try to kill each other when left alone for too long is debby and joy (or so he likes to think.) when debby agrees to make him something he wants to let her know that he wasn’t entirely serious when he’d asked, but curiously at what she comes up with wins in the end. so he keeps his mouth shut. “sounds about right.” of course Dolores rips the hat off the second it’s on her head, and if he were a cat he’d honestly do the same thing. hell, he’d still do it as a human. “but i believe in you guys you’ll get a picture, even if it’s not the greatest one.” joy’s persistence was obnoxious and exhausting but it got the job done. at the offer to talk, there’s an instinctive part of angelo that wants to brush it off and tell debby it’s not that serious. but he called her for more than talk of crafts and cats. he called her because she was the one most likely to actually offer good advice. so, with a heavy sigh he just barrels right into it unsure of how much time they really have before joy wants debby back or poppy wakes up. “poppy told me she loves me out of fucking nowhere.” and as soon as the words leave his lips all that stress from earlier is back. maybe they should have just kept talking about hats for cats. “she was half asleep when she said it but still.”

@dounerdebby With her pen leaving light marks, Marinette let her eyes close as the cool breeze rushed across her face, a surprised humming escaping. Eyes opening she dropped her pen when the wind brought strands of her hair forward. Some being easy to move back, but the ones closer to her mouth making her face heat up.

As Debby was walking by, she felt a gust of wind blow in her direction, followed by the sound of a pen falling nearby. She turned her head to see a younger woman with her hair slightly disheveled from the harsh breeze. “The wind can be so inconveniencing at times, don’t you think?” Debby asked the woman as she kneeled down slightly to grab the pen for her. Holding the pen toward her, she gave a small, friendly smile. “I hope it didn’t mess up what you’re working on.”

“Doesn’t seem all that fair that dogs get all the love when Dolores is right here,” he mutters softly under his breath. And then suddenly it comes to him, the most brilliant idea he’s had yet. Eyes growing wide, face brightening, it’s like a lightbulb suddenly goes off in his mind. “Should we start a new business?” he asks excitedly, the idea already starting to form. “Imagine how cute it would be if we made little cat costumes! All the cats on the island deserve to dress up in little sparkly outfits.” Of course no one said anything about sparkles, but they have to be stylish and that’s the most stylish thing he can possibly think of. “And then Dolores would be the model of course.” That goes without saying. It’s not the first time Billy’s had what he believes to be a brilliant idea pop into his mind, ready to run with it until someone with good sense puts a stop to it. “Hmmm you’re right. You’re so smart,” Billy adds, always amazed at the way Debby has the good sense to be the voice of reason. “Maybe we can celebrate with her tomorrow.”

“I know …. Too many people just .. dislike cats and love dogs..” Debby loved dogs also, but she felt she identified with the personality of a cat much more. Plus, they were low maintenance and easier to take care of. She immediately noticed Billy’s eyes light up as an idea popped into his head. It wasn’t the first time he had an idea, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Although, Debby couldn’t help but smile at the thought of starting a business that involved Dolores. But she was still hesitant, of course. “Well, starting a business is always risky, and a lot of work …. But .. If we had enough help it could be possible ..” She could sense that Joy and Riley would love the idea, and possibly Diana as well. “Thank you.. I think you’re smart too,” she put a hand on his shoulder supportingly. “We could .. I hope no one sets off fireworks tonight and freaks her out, though … She probably won’t be in the celebratory mood if that’s the case..”

“We really should’ve brought Dolores to this thing,” Billy sighs heavily as they walk into the party, instantly regretting not thinking of this sooner. Sure, bringing a cat to a party probably wasn’t the best idea, but she’s always been a relatively well behaved cat. If they tried hard enough, Billy is sure they could’ve pulled it off. “They probably make little kitty masks, right?” He makes a mental note to look into this for next year. “Do you think she’ll be lonely spending new years all by herself?” // @dounerdebby​

“I was thinking the same thing,” Debby agreed with a similar sigh; though, to be fair, she would think about bringing Dolores to practically anywhere she went nowadays. She’d seen the ads online for the cat backpack carrier so people could bring their cats wherever, which only made her want to take Dolores with her places even more. Dolores was fairly low maintenance, and would easily go along with whatever if Debby did decide to start bringing her everywhere. “Honestly, costumes for pets are more popular for dogs…. But they sometimes fit her if we get the right size… Or maybe we could’ve made her something ourselves,” she was practically brainstorming ideas by this point. “I guess she might get lonely.. but if you think about it, she probably has no concept of time and doesn’t even realize it’s the new year.. To her, it’s just another day…”

“Never a bad thing to stand out in a room,” or at least that’s what Joy told herself since she was constantly doing it. Blame the bright colors and equally loud personality. “It’s hard not to blend together when the color of the evening appears to be black or dark shades of blue and purple.” They all mixed together when they were moving on the dance floor. Honestly, Joy was impressed Debby was still here, “I am…” she answered with a slow nod of her head, “but what about you? I know this isn’t really your thing, Debs. I’m happy you are here but are you still having a good time?”

Debby never liked to stand out in a room, but for Joy, it made perfect sense. “Hm.. I must’ve chose the wrong color then..” She replied as Joy mentioned dark blue being one of the colors that were blending together. Though, Debby didn’t exactly care if she blended in, and also couldn’t have seen herself wearing any other color, except maybe black or purple, the other two blended colors Joy clearly mentioned. “That’s good.. I think I’m having an okay time, actually,” she softly shrugged her shoulders. “Although, it gets kind of lonely when you can hardly recognize anyone here..”

Debby always loved watching movies with her roommates. Movies were something she could easily get engrossed into, and it was a simple way to spend some quality time with the others. Of course Debby couldn’t say no to a classic Christmas film with Billy, though she didn’t expect such a bold idea to come to Billy once the movie was over. “Hmm.. It sounds kind of risky if you ask me..” She trailed off. Debby never really got into pranks, and involving Angelo sounded like a bad call. “I wouldn’t want to upset Angelo.. He can get set off pretty easily.” @bingbongbilly​

moving over to the table that debby was currently sat at, the one that riley had fondly thought of as being claimed by their roommates since so many had stopped at it throughout the night so far, the blonde sat down besides their older friend. “you know i never understand why they have to give fancy names for such simple things,” they comment as they take a bite out of one of the crostinis from their plate. “this is just like.. little bread. why don’t they call it that?” @dounerdebby​

Debby was content where she sat, people watching and spending some time with her roommates. She wasn’t used to dressing up, and also wasn’t much of a dancer, so events like these usually made her feel a little out of place. As Riley sat beside her, she gave them a small smile. “I’m not sure but …. It’s probably to make them seem more appealing…” She trailed off with a small shrug. “Are they good, at least?”

Riley’s excitement only grew at the confirmation that the sweaters were indeed for all of them and then on top of that personally picked out to match their own styles and interests. “What’s mine look like?” they ask before quickly adding on an afterthought. “Unless they’re supposed to be a surprise. That’d be fun too.” At the thought of any of their roommates refusing to wear the sweaters on Christmas a small frown grows on Riley’s face before determination kicks in. “We’ll find a way to convince them - don’t worry.” Diana and Angelo might be a little hard, but between the two of them they could figure it out.

Debby was glad to see Riley so eager about the sweaters. She gave Riley a knowing look before answering her question. “Well, you know I don’t really like surprises, so you can look at it.” She handed Riley’s to them with a small smile as she added, “Plus, I want to make sure I got you the right size.” She didn’t think that it would be that simple to convince some of their roommates, but she liked Riley’s determination with the idea. “If you’re helping me convince them, then we might get lucky... At least we know Dolores can’t say no to her sweater.”

“i’m surprised you’re not sick of joy,” angelo grumbles, letting out a short, quiet laugh as he thinks about it. as much as he loved all of his friends, there was no doubt in his mind that joy was probably the hardest for him to deal with. their personalities were just on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, and he’s certain he gets on her nerves as well. he couldn’t imagine debby annoying anyone though – she was far too calm and soft spoken. “make me something i can display in my office?” he asks jokingly, though…knowing joy and debby they probably would do exactly that. not that he would truly mind all that much, even if he grumbled and pretended to be annoyed about it. “send me a picture…if you can get her to keep it on for more than three minutes.” he could always show the picture to kitty, certain that she’d appreciate it. when debby asks how he’s doing though, he can only sigh, slowly pacing the open space of the living room as he thinks about it. “i’m…fine.” he lies, tension clear around his words, and in the end he sighs knowing that debby knows him better than that. “i don’t know…it’s…complicated. i’m physically okay though, that count?” 

Debby couldn’t help but laugh at Angelo’s response, shaking her head. “Mm, I haven’t gotten sick of her quite yet. We’ll see how the rest of the night goes,” she answered, partially kidding but also a little serious. It was only a matter of time before Joy and Debby began to get a little stir crazy from being stuck in the house together for too long. She was surprised to hear Angelo wanted them to make him something for his office, but she tried to hide the surprise in her voice. “... I don’t see why not. Might as well while we have the extra free time.” She wasn’t sure what they could make for Angelo’s office, but surely her and Joy could come up with something creative. “Well, that’s the tricky part, we’ve realized… She uses her claws to rip it off as soon as we put it on her,” she explained with a small smile present, still finding the thought of Dolores with the hat on amusing. “But you know Joy, she won’t give up on the idea, so we’re still trying to get the perfect picture.” Her eyebrows raise slightly as she hears his sigh from the other end of the phone, now laying across the couch as she listened to Angelo’s answer. She could sense that something was off right away. “Complicated, huh? I’m sure I could handle complicated,” she answered knowingly. “It counts for something, I guess, but .. If you want to talk about it, you know I’m a good listener.”

There are some days that Billy worries that he might have overstayed his welcome at the house, the few days he was supposed to stay turning into months, but he can never bring himself to search for his own apartment. He likes the moments like these with all his roommates far too much, not wanting to give it up until he has to. “He’s not on board yet, but I really think I can change his mind.” Ever the optimist, Billy is sure that if he’s persistent enough Angelo will eventually come around and see how much fun it could be. “If you have any ideas how to convince him though, I’m all ears.” Having only been here for a few months, it’s clear that the other roommates know Angelo far better and likely have plenty of experience convincing him to do things he doesn’t want to do. “I’m really proud of you for getting it all done, though!” He smiles brightly at Debby before reaching another fry and popping it into his mouth. “Oh come on, he could never be mad at you!” Billy insists, not sure how anyone could ever be mad at Debby. She’s so sweet and thoughtful, it would be like kicking a puppy. But even as he says it, he knows that Angelo could still find a way to be mad if he tried hard enough. “We can say Dolores figured out how to open up doors and let me in.” he suggests with a laugh as he formulates a new plan. “She’s too cute. No one could ever be mad at her.”

Debby didn’t have the heart to tell Billy that convincing Angelo to agree to bunk beds was near impossible. Angelo was probably the most stubborn person she’s ever met, after all. “Maybe Joy and Riley would have some ideas to help convince him,” Debby suggested with a small shrug. Not only were those two the most enthusiastic and determined pair in the house, but they also shared bunk beds, themselves, so it only made sense that they could potentially help Billy. “Thanks.. It really wasn’t much though..” She answered shyly, also reaching for another French fry from the bag. She gave Billy a knowing look, shaking her head. “You’d be surprised.. I’ve been on Angelo’s bad side more than once,” she admitted truthfully before eating the fry in her hand. She smiled at his suggestion. “That’s a good idea.. If Dolores did learn how to open doors, I’m sure she would always let you back in.”

Debby felt herself smile at Riley’s excitement, setting the shopping bags on the table. She had been a little hesitant to buy them, but Riley’s reaction was already making her feel like she made the right choice. “Well... I got one for each of us — even Dolores,” Debby answered as she began to pull some of the sweaters out of the bags. “They’re all a little different, you know..  just to make sure they each go with our personalities, of course... I know how picky some of us can be.” Debby had put a lot of thought into each sweater she bought, hoping everyone would be willing to wear them for the holidays. “Well, only if everyone wants to wear them on Christmas, which I hope they do...” @emotionalriley​

Smiling as Debby settles in next to him, he realizes after a moment that she isn’t equipped to be outside. “Here, you’ll get cold.” Unwrapping the blanket from around himself, he keeps part of it on his shoulders, draping the other end over Debby’s so they can share. He may be perfectly content to stay outside, but there’s no denying that there’s a chill in the air now that winter slowly settles upon them. “Oh uh… I don’t actually know,” he realizes, shrugging as he takes one of the fries and pops it into his mouth, chewing slowly as he mulls it over. “One minute I was showing him these really cool bunkbeds that we could get in the room and the next minute I was out here.” Considering Angelo’s obvious aversion to having Billy as a roommate, it shouldn’t be as much of a mystery as he makes it out to be. “But it’s okay! How was your day?”

“Oh, thank you,” Debby smiled as the blanket Billy was using was partially draped over her. It was a small gesture that she appreciated, one of the many reasons why she loved having Billy living with them. She loved every single one of her roommates, despite how different they all were and that some of them struggled to get along at times. As the two ate the french fries together, she listened as Billy explained what happened. “Hm.. he must not be very on board for bunk beds, then,” she answered, knowing Angelo well enough to know that he would not be fond of the idea of a bunk bed being set up in his bedroom. “Oh, it was ... okay. I just had to run some errands most of the day, so it could have been better ..” she trailed off. Debby hated days where she had to get things done and run errands all day, for days like those always left her tired and sad afterwards. That was why she didn’t mind spending time with Billy outside when she got home, to recharge a little bit and be around a more upbeat friend that could lift her spirits a bit. “We can go inside whenever you get too cold, if you want.. Just don’t tell Angelo I let you back in.. I don’t want to be on his bad side.”