it's all too much

Species: Demon Sexuality: Homosexual Pronouns: He/They Favorite song: Overwhelmed — Royal & the Serpent Big three: Virgo sun, Cancer moon, Scorpio rising

//closed starter @paulpanics​

Hopper nodded his head as Paul spoke, a bit drunk with worried looks in his eyes. "I understand your concern over Megara. Though I assure you, the both of you are given a lifeline.“ He spoke in a calm voice, lifting his hands as if to dissipate the thoughts running through Paul’s mind. He could tell that he had much to talk about, and Hopper was intrigued. He could sit around this time, patiently waiting for the truth to settle on his lap as needed. "What do you mean, you wanted out? I understand you both work for Harold, and I’m aware of the fine print.” He added, calming the other man’s concerns. He could pick up on words like soul, underworld, and hell, in all of his sentences, and yet Hopper understood none of them

Hopper stood from his chair and held Paul on the shoulders, slightly shaking him back to his senses. “Tell me. What do you and what do you want? What is this underworld?” He looked at him directly in the eye, this time quite annoyed. “You want to leave, is that what you mean?” He asked, trying to find some clarity. 

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Paul had been seeking an out from Harold for quite some time, for more reasons than one. They knew their brother would kill him, if not Harold himself, if either of them found out that Paul had been sneaking around. Perhaps Paxton would be understanding of the circumstances, though. Hopper seemed like a respectable guy — he was similar to Harold in the way he was intimidating, but it was obvious he has no connection to the underworld. That was what Paul needed, really — even if they really had no idea what this guy was about, he seemed like someone who could genuinely help, and not just for himself.

They’d been rambling on and on, losing track of some things he’d already previously said but doing their best to answer the man’s questions. It wasn’t until they felt two firm hands on their shoulders that he was snapped back into focus, forcing something coherent to finally be said. “Yes. We want to leave. D-Do you know anything about magic? Demons? Any of it? If not, we’re gonna be here awhile,” he began as he let out a nervous breath. “I’m from there, but Megara’s not so it’s — it’s complicated. I know Harold wants to go back, b-but I don’t want that, and who knows if he’d drag Meg there..”

It was a risk to ask Claude such a question, but Paul couldn’t help it. Perhaps it was the liquid confidence that pushed it, or maybe it was his conversations with Meg and Blaise. Regardless, they didn’t want to play guessing games with Claude forever. They wanted to know where he stood. “Hey, neither of us had anything bad to say,” Paul chuckled, noticing Claude’s discomfort at the thought. “If Meg’s got a man, I had to meet him, y’know? Just happened to be your best friend too..” They were still getting used to that, how both their worlds seemed to collide the way they did. 

Paul nodded in agreement — they were both very guarded, but Paul had good reason. Being a demon and working for Harold surely would make anyone that way. They weren’t entirely sure Claude’s reasons, but he was sure there had to be one deep down. Claude’s next question made Paul immediately take a swig from his drink, needing it to tell him what Blaise had asked. He wasn’t sure he was prepared, himself. “He uh ...” they chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of their neck with their free hand, “He asked if you were in love with me or something. I didn’t — didn’t know what to say, obviously. It’s a touchy subject, I think ...” He took another swig to help with the tension, clearing his throat. “But uh ... yeah. Blaise is a ... a pretty straightforward guy, huh? He really wanted to get straight to the point ...” @claudecogsworth​

“I don’t see why not.” Tim chuckled, any reason he could find to give his friends and regulars a discount, he would take it, but he definitely appreciated the lunch invitation. He didn’t have much of a social life these days, so any excuse to get out of the house or the garage was a good one. “No kidding? You got anything in mind yet?” As much as he loved cars, it was probably odd to some that he had never traded his own for something newer, but that was just Tim. He didn’t see the point in replacing something if it wasn’t broken. And every time his truck had broken, he’d been able to fix it up again.

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Paul wasn’t one to jump into things quickly. They liked to test the waters and think it through clearly when making a big decision, especially with something like buying a new car. “No clue, actually. Definitely something used, good gas mileage...” he started listing his preferences. “I don’t hate my car right now, you know, it’s always gotten the job done, but I’m probably spending more money taking care of it than it’s even worth. I think I’ll see what my brother thinks about it, too.”

Paul kept thinking about that first conversation they had with Blaise — the question in regards to Claude’s feelings toward him had certainly thrown him for a loop. Paul wasn’t sure what Claude’s feelings were, it was so hard to read the guy. Would it be so bad if they did have real feelings for each other? Paul had been wanting to find something like that for awhile, but it seemed too good to be true. Regardless of how Claude felt, though, Paul knew that he certainly had growing feelings he was attempting to hide. Too bad he wasn’t so good at that. Blaise’s laugh caught them by surprise, an eyebrow quirking up in interest. “What? Did he — Did Claude say something?” They asked, intrigued as they quickly sat down beside Blaise. “Come on, you can tell me — the guy is pretty much the opposite of an open book whenever we talk.” @blaiselumiere​

It was usual for Blaise to step out of the restaurant in the middle of the day for a quick smoke. He tapped his pocket, realizing that he had no more sticks, so he took off his apron, placed it on the counter, and made his way outside to buy some more. A weird guy called out to him—an introduction he didn’t quite enjoy. “Pardon?” Oh, he hated the word “famous,” and he hated the fact that people had the guts to actually say that he was famous when he knew for a fact that it was always for the wrong reasons. Blaise paused, looking at the other man with an obvious look of annoyance on his face. He wasn’t wearing an apron, and he wasn’t exactly in a mood to be nice. “Who are you?” He called out, though he was quickly surprised to be welcomed by an extended hand. ‘Meg’s dude’ he heard, which made Lumiere’s head tilt sideways. He piqued his interest, for which he took the hand and shook it firmly. “Yup. Meg’s dude.” He repeated. He liked that title better, suffice it to say. At least by now, people knew. Blaise could work with that. “Oh, shit, you’re Paul? You mean THE Paul?” He laughed, tapping the other man on the shoulder. “You should have said that sooner, or else I was about to punch your face.” He said it jokingly. “What’s up?” Blaise nodded when asked for a smoke, since he badly needed one. “And yes, you know Claude. I know.” Lumiere laughed mockingly, looking at Paul mischievously. “Is he in love with you or something? He’s not spilling me anything, and I hate it.”

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Paul never did well with first impressions unfortunately, so it came as no surprise to see Blaise’s annoyed and confused expression at first. Maybe he shouldn’t have come off so ominous, but he wasn’t sure how to correctly approach Blaise in the moment. At least once he mentioned Meg, he seemed to ease up. They smiled, surprised to be recognized by Blaise. “The Paul? Does that mean Meg actually talks about me?” Oh, he couldn’t wait to go back to Meg and talk about this. He let out a laugh, shrugging his shoulders. “My bad, I wasn’t even sure if you’d know who I was or not.” Paul didn’t think that other people talked about them much, so it was an interesting surprise to learn otherwise. “Nothing much, just wanted to put a face to the name, I guess. Between Meg and Claude, I’ve heard quite a bit about ya.” More so Claude than Meg, but he didn’t say that aloud. He handed a cigarette to Blaise, his own already lit and resting at the corner of his mouth. Blaise’s next question was the last thing he expected, almost choking on his own cigarette smoke as they tried to process that loaded question. Coughing and pulling the cigarette out of his mouth, he replied, “I-Is he in love with me? Fuck, I-I don’t know. I don’t think so. He doesn’t tell me anything either, man. Is he just always like that?”

Paul smiled, knowing Paislee was teasing him. Maybe they were playing off that he was doing better than he actually was, but that was okay. It felt good to put Paislee in good spirits, even if they weren’t doing as well as they claimed. Charlie’s advice still lingered and lingered, and it only pushed Paul to be more, well, unhinged. They’d been drinking more than usual and avoiding any and all responsibilities. “Uhhh .. I-I mean, there’s not really much to say,” he chuckled, running his fingers through his curls. “But I can hang around, sure. Shouldn’t business be picking up soon, since it’s about to be that time of year for all the mushy-gushy lover shit?” Paul couldn’t stand Valentine’s Day, clearly. “Guess you better enjoy the slowness while you can.” @pomegranatesccds​

Claude wasn’t sure what they were suggesting, but he certainly had no idea who the person behind the blog could be. If he did, he would’ve stopped them from printing things about he and his friends. “The timing is awfully strange, but I wouldn’t think anything of it. There are eyes and ears everywhere–it could’ve been anyone.” He was used to it by now, but Paul clearly wasn’t. It had taken him a long while to become accustomed, but it seemed like they were both just victims of who they kept as company. “You know, I haven’t ever seen him so … domesticated, I suppose. Also, happy. She makes him happy.” He was right: it would be far worse if the Cogsworth name had been tarnished any further. “I can’t imagine. I can hardly keep up when they’re just friends. It has gotten in the way of business, though.”

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Paul wasn’t accusing Claude of anything, though maybe it had initially come off that way. If Claude’s friend, and himself, were both victims of this too, there was no way Paul thought of them as a suspect. His words only eased their nerves a little bit — while him saying not to think anything of it was relieving, the thought that eyes and ears were everywhere wasn’t. Paul didn’t want his dirty laundry out there in the open. What if Harold somehow found out about the conversation they had with Paislee? Meg hadn’t seemed too worried or surprised by it, either, which was probably just Meg being her typical self. God, he wished he could be as calm as the others around him. “Yeah? That’s interesting, actually. Meg doesn’t really seem like the settle down type, either,” they admitted, a smile forming at the thought of a happy couple coming out of all the craziness. Good for Meg, he thought. She deserved to be happy. “The posts probably get in the way of business too, huh?” He asked curiously. “Have you ever thought of like, trying to figure out who the fuck it is?”

Harold was always able to keep tabs on the people he kept close. He had more eyes around town than any of them knew. He kept his knowledge to himself, only releasing anything that he knew to benefit himself, or blackmail. What Harold didn’t know what that Paul and Paislee had had a little chat. He was curious, and annoyed, that Paul had been fairly absent and seeming like they were avoiding Harold. He hadn’t expected Paul to walk into the mortuary that day. When he spotted them his brows rose and he crossed his arms like a stern father. “And why not, my loyal friend?” he asked. “Do you not expect me to be at my own business? That doesn’t seem likely.” Harold dropped his arms to his sides and stood up straight. “Haven’t seen him since this morning. He’s off running some errands for me. The real question here though is what brings you here other than your brother? Surely not to see your ‘ol boss.” Harold took a few steps closer to him, but kept a distance. “You been busy with somethin’ else lately?” he asks with pursed lips. “We’ve been missing your smiling face around here. Or is there something else I should know?”

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As soon as Paul saw Harold, he knew he was fucked. He couldn’t just escape the guy, at least not easily. His mind was suddenly racing with all sorts of worst case scenarios as he stood in front of Harold, like a child about to be scorned by their parent. They watched his arms cross intimidatingly, gulping nervously and forcing out a chuckle. “Right. S-So stupid of me, huh? I-I guess I’m just — distracted,” they tried to brush it off easily, though they knew it was unlikely to brush past this without repercussions. If only his brother actually kept him in the know, then Paul wouldn’t have had to stop by here at all. They lived together, sure, but their communication was God-awful. “No, no, that was ... That was all I needed, you know how Paxton is, never answering his damn phone and —” but he stopped mid-sentence as Harold stepped closer. Fuck. “Busy? Sure, I mean ... Busy living, if that’s what you mean,” they chuckled again, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “Uhhh, not that I can think of. I-I guess if you need something while I’m here you can just — lay it on me, boss.” God, he caved in so easily. So pathetic. “D-Did I mention you look good today?” They added for good measure. “Did ‘ya start going back to the gym or somethin’?”

CLOSED for @paulpanics​ WHERE: wonderland

Neither of the Hemlock siblings were exactly Tyler’s cup of tea, but he didn’t so much mind them. Tanner seemed to have the stronger opinions about the other set of siblings, and while Tyler was always inclined to have a protective streak for his brother and join in dislike anyone who seemed like a threat – he was starting to see the other side of a lot of things. It was yet another distant reminder that they were growing apart, that they were no longer the two little chaotic boys who agreed on everything and lived in each other’s minds. He tried not to think about it much.

It seemed easier to push away melancholic thoughts of his brother while he was at Wonderland, at least, always nursing a drink or focusing on work. Tonight, he’d joined the crowd just outside the doors for some fresh air, cigarette hanging from his lips. He patted his pockets down and, with a dissatisfied grunt, realized he’d left his lighter inside. His eyes searched for only a moment before they landed on the familiar head of dirty blond hair, and he swooped closer unceremoniously. “Got a fire for me, blondie?”

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For how much time Paul had been spending at Wonderland recently, it was a surprise that he didn’t work there by now. They were still stuck under Harold’s wing, though, even if he’d been slacking on his work and avoiding their boss for quite some time now. There was no plan on where Paul was going from here — they were just going with what felt right, and working with Harold never quite felt right to them. Oh well, at least they could fuck around and go drink and smoke in their free time.

Paul was familiar with the Tweedle twins, another pair of brothers similar to himself and Paxton who were from the Underworld. Typically, he spent more time with Charlie when at Wonderland, but he hadn’t seen the male tonight. To get some fresh air, they did their usual and went outside for a quick smoke. He noticed one of the twins making his way toward him ( which one was this again? ), and he nodded as they were asked about a lighter. “Always,” they confirmed, fishing the lighter from his pocket. Paul wouldn’t be caught dead without a light — it was like a crutch to him. As they handed the lighter over, smoke escaping his lips, he asked, “Not working tonight?”

Charlie knew Paul would come to him when the time was right. He couldn’t see the future or anything like that, but even demons were predictable sometimes. Once that itch was scratched at…it consumed them. Charlie would know that better than anyone. So when he asked him to come over of course he made his way, appearing at his front door within minutes. He hadn’t even replied until he was there. 

It was nice to be greeted with a drink and he took it happily, humming a tune only he knew as he sipped at it. “Aww, I was a part of your New Years resolutions? I’m touched, really.” He vanished and appeared next to the man because he could do that and he wanted to shake him up a little bit. “You’re far too powerful for it to bite you in the ass. Unless you’re into that. Some people do like to bite back, you know.” He sipped at his drink a bit more, his eyes gleaming at the ideas Paul could have before he set his drink down. “Tell me, what are your plans? Because I have to let you know now…the best plans are not planned at all. Especially when giving in to your dark side.”

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Paul almost thought that Charlie wouldn’t show up, not seeing a response until the other was already there. That should have been expected though — Charlie loved to just pop up out of nowhere all the time. Still, Paul was glad that he came.

He rolled his eyes, about to make a sarcastic comment until Charlie was appearing beside them. He only jumped slightly, starting to get used to his antics. “I’m not as powerful as Harold,” they were quick to disagree. Harold was the one he was afraid of, unfortunately. He’d always been loyal to him, but it didn’t serve them any good in return. “That’s the thing, there are no plans,” Paul admitted. “I stopped letting my responsibilities control my life, guess that’s a start, right?” Letting out a breath, he took a large sip of his drink. “Now I just wanna .. get fucked up, and stop giving so much of a fuck.”

Way back? Just how far back was that? Had they talked about him at all? He was growing more stressed about it the more that the two spoke, but Claude was trying to not let it get to him. There was no use in stressing about what they had said when he knew that both Meg and Paul liked him. At least, he hoped that Meg did, but it was hard to get a read on that woman. Blaise always did like someone who’s more of a firecracker.

“I had no idea, what a small world indeed,” he remarked, hoping that it came out more relaxed than he was feeling. He certainly wasn’t feeling all that confident about this conversation. “Oh, yes, the post. My friends and I are quite aware of those, given how involved Meg’s boyfriend is in many of them.” If that hadn’t scared off Meg, though, Claude wasn’t sure anything could. “Have you met him yet? He’s a rather … exuberant fellow. My best friend in the world, but frustrates me more than anyone I know. We work together, too. It can be quite complicated to work with one’s friends, isn’t it?”

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Paul was trying to read Claude’s expression, noticing he was looking a little more uneasy than usual. Typically, it was Paul who was the anxious one, but that didn’t mean he was anywhere near calm right now. They weren’t sure if Claude’s demeanor should make him more uneasy or not. He nodded, glad that at least he was familiar with the posts. Paul was still getting used to all of this. “Right, I remember we talked about it before,” they replied, continuing, “Kinda weird, huh? How we were just talking about that, and then .. We were mentioned next.” He didn’t like the connection, feeling like something strange was afoot. “I haven’t. Meg and I work together, but I didn’t even know she had a boyfriend ‘til recently,” they admitted, shrugging. Paul was always just out of the loop, but now they felt like they should start paying more attention. “Oh, yeah. Just be happy he isn’t your brother,” he chuckled. “That’s definitely worse.”

Once he got there, the realization hit that Claude could be there, too. Was Paul supposed to just casually go in there? Now he was anxious. He stood outside the restaurant, keeping a distance as he pulled out a cigarette. A quick smoke would calm his nerves, but then they realized they didn’t need to go inside. Someone was leaving the restaurant, and a quick glance had Paul assuming it was Blaise. He just seemed like Meg’s type. He was about to walk past Paul until they spoke up. “So you’re the famous Blaise I’ve heard so much about?” They asked, offering up a hand to show he came in peace. “Meg’s dude, right? I’m Paul, I work with her. And .. I know Claude.” He was hesitant to mention Claude, but surely Blaise had seen the post, too; no point in being shy. They were curious to know Blaise’s opinion on it all. He opened up his pack of cigarettes and held it out as an offering. “Wanna smoke?” @blaiselumiere​

ϟ 

The last thing Meg wanted to do was be keeping up with the latest drama and yet when they all seemed to mention her boyfriend it wasn’t avoidable. She’d been doing her best to not let it get to her head but that was another issue entirely. What she hadn’t expected was for Paul to show up in the mix, especially not being mentioned next to a name she recognized. Meg raised an eyebrow at him when he reacted with surprise. It made sense for him not to follow along but to have not heard about it at all was a feat even for Paul. However he’d been able to keep out of that was surprising but she admired it. “You don’t know about the blog, amazing,” she said through a small laugh. “They talk about all of us, welcome to it.” Meg held out her phone with the blog post pulled up for his reading pleasure. It was weird for her to be showing it someone now, as she did Blaise so long ago before she hadn’t become used to seeing her own name in these. “Also, Claude? Good for him, finally got that stick out,” she said chuckling to herself.

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“The blog?” Paul repeated, faintly remembering something Claude had mentioned about his friend getting caught up in some gossip and scandals. His eyebrows narrowed, taking the phone from Meg’s grasp and quickly skimming through it. Most of the names they didn’t really recognize. “Hey, it’s Harold—” they pointed out as their bosses name appeared, with his own name quickly following within the paragraph. They were suddenly silent, mouth dropping slightly. “Stiff stick? What the fuck?” He’d hardly read what was said about Meg and Blaise, stuck on why Paul and Claude were even mentioned at all. They handed the phone back to Meg. “You know what’s fucked, though? Claude was just telling me about this shit. Are they fucking listening to us?” Suddenly, he was patting himself down, as if someone had bugged them somehow. “I-I don’t like this, Meg. Why — How are you so calm about this?”

closed starter @paulpanics​ location: pais’s flower shop

Paislee always felt at peace when she was at her shop. She could be completely in her element and not have to worry about the rest of her problems. Of course, sometimes her problems came to follow her into her shop, like Harold the other week, but she tries to not let that consume her. She said her peace, he said his, and she was doing what she could to move forward. Jack had been excellent in terms of distraction of the heart, but there was still a part of her that just…sad about her situation. She poured all of that out in the form of love to her plants and tried to keep it at that for now, but when she noticed Paul enter her shop her flowers wilted slightly. She hoped this was a friendly visit and not him checking on her for Harold. 

“Welcome,” she said brightly, bringing the flowers she was working on back to life before looking at Paul. “What brings you to my shop today? Business or…?”

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Paul felt out of their element when visiting Paislee’s shop. He got along with the woman well, but they were still very different. She brought light and brightness to things, including her flowers, while Paul was often surrounded by darkness. They could feel the mood shift as they entered her shop, eyes glancing around at all the different plants she had on display.

“Hey, how’re things?” Paul asked with a slight smile. Even when he felt he was spiraling, Paislee sort of helped to keep them grounded. “N-No, not business. That’s the last thing on my mind,” they admitted honestly. “I’m taking your advice, actually. Y’know, not doing things I don’t wanna do.” It was risky, and it hadn’t been easy avoiding Harold, but it had sort of brought a sense of control into Paul’s life, a new feeling for them. “I was just passing by, wanted to see what’s up.”

It was unusual for Paul to invite Charlie over, but at least Paxton wasn’t home. He usually spent time with the other at Wonderland, the place they always managed to find him. But he wasn’t feeling like being around a bunch of people, not tonight. “You know, I’ve been thinking about what you said before,” Paul admitted, handing a drink to him as they stood in his kitchen. “And I think .. I think you’re right, even if it pains me to admit it.” A soft chuckle escaped their lips, taking a sip from their own drink. Alcohol had become a crutch of his lately. “I guess it’s just like what everyone says — new year, new me, or whatever the fuck. I just hope it doesn’t bite me in the ass later on.” @charliechess​