into the black.

yearbook awards meme: anonymous asked boardwalk empire + best dressed ↳ holding on to what you have, that sounds like a good idea.

dialogue prompts from sunburn by chloe michelle howarth.

i am at a very tricky age.

feeling adult was everything to me.

i function far better with you than without you.

you're so cute. everybody likes you.

you're always looking at me like you hate me.

i want you to feel understood.

the silence says a lot.

i've never known a person like you.

it was easiest just to hate _____.

i suppose it's nice to live somewhere quiet.

stories carry weight, even when nobody really believes them.

being busy isn't the same as being satisfied.

you're not as harsh as you seem.

i need to stop acting my age and grow up.

i wouldn't make sense without _____. i might not even exist.

i pretend so well, i almost believe myself.

we all have secrets. everybody is hiding something.

there is no more room for grey areas.

sometimes i just hear what i want to hear.

do you even realize all the things people say about us?

it was a human mistake.

all i want is to avoid how i feel.

i can't say the things you deserve to hear.

i would like you to know me authentically.

you could do worse. you have.

you belong everywhere you go.

what a wonderfully big heart you have.

you are just so easy to look at.

the way i feel about _____ isn't the way i feel about anyone else.

i've always seen what i want to see.

i like you. that's all.

i can't believe you stood up for me.

do i even have the right to be angry?

in every life but this one, we would probably be together.

you are such a cure.

this is no time to be afraid.

why won't you look at me?

if you want me, i'm yours.

i used to stare at your mouth so much.

i don't know if i've ever felt so secure with another person. with myself.

i didn't realize this feeling existed. i didn't realize how badly i needed to feel it.

it just felt so good to know you were there.

a few minutes of you would really be enough to keep me going for years.

i don't know where you end and [name] begins.

i didn't realize i was ever unhappy until you made me this happy.

just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't happening.

normalcy is something i can't afford.

be honest: how long did you fancy me before we got together?

it costs nothing to be nice. that's what ____ says.

chaos always begins with peace.

i need to get out of this house.

when are you going to grow up?

you look unreal in [color].

there's nothing to do now but hide and wait.

i love you a lot more than i know how to say.

it's easy to be a hero when you're not around enough to be a villain.

it feels so good to hug you again.

we both have parts to play.

it might be nice if we didn't talk tonight.

i don't want to be anybody's ____. i want to be my own person.

do you want to be safe and secure, or do you want to be happy?

sometimes the best thing to do is the hardest.

i know what loving you can do to a person.

you're so amazing. i don't tell you often enough.

you deserve all the love in the world.

i'll look after you, and you'll look after me.

i'd never be safer with anybody else.

darling, please stop talking.

can we just be happy for a few days, then?

for a little while, it really was bliss.

you have been wonderful all your life.

it's nice to see some life in you.

i'd like to clean the house for you. make you dinner.

i can't wait any longer for you to be brave.

you've existed without me before. you could do it again.

i've seen what being motherless can do to a person.

you are the first and last thing i want, but you are not the only thing.

why are you making small talk with me?

even when there's nothing there, it's so hard to go.

i'm so tired of disappointing you.

i've actually never done this.

i was trying to be another person.

don't rush to figure yourself out.

i've decided never to fall in love again.

i always let myself go too far.

i was always endlessly impressed by you.

before today, i was doing really well.

not everything is a symbol.

i ought to feel guilty, but i don't.

you are the sun. you always have been.

i don't even have the same heart anymore.

you wouldn't love me if you knew me now.

hate me, if you want to hate me. i'd love the attention.

all ____ ever wanted was to disappear.

i wish it was different. i wish i was different.

dialogue prompts from eskew productions' our wars have ended.

the living go on living.

do we have a future here?

new prospects can blossom in the most unexpected places.

you're an optimist.

how long did you last?

it's not true, what they say. that the dead are cold. they're nothing but yearning.

sounds like you've learned to live with it.

we've learned to live under its shadow.

every chance they get, they remind us of what it means to be powerless.

don't expect a man with a full purse to walk towards a hard fight.

it's a life. i can speak to that.

better to die in a bed than on the road.

i suppose a soldier learns how to march.

things can only go from bad to worse.

we can die by the madness of the old, or the pride of the young.

the pain's easing a little.

am i dying?

did you ever see snow before?

there's nothing waiting for us, is there?

i'm so scared.

you're doing wonderfully. you're doing so well.

did _____ die wise, or foolish?

i can't help but feel a little left out.

how are you feeling today?

nothing needs to be said. i'm just tired.

you're still as good as you've ever been.

i'm who i've always been.

you're needed at home. you have responsibilities.

you don't need to worry so much.

doctors don't worry. we watch very carefully for signs of spreading infection.

what's that ugly smirk on your face for?

we gamble lives, or we expend them.

everything yearns to be what it was.

you're one of the good ones.

one must be pragmatic. one must find a use for every part.

i know losing odds when i'm looking at them.

put hands on ______ again, and i'll kill you.

the war against history leaves a stain on all of us.

it is an ugly thing, to survive.

i've done everything you asked.

my daughter's smile could fix the world.

it'll help with the pain.

i know you're hurting more than you can stand.

i can't stand the thought of being left here alone and going on without you.

you can't leave me alone with these people.

you write a lot of letters to dead people?

everyone must have their limit.

all right. what's the play?

you haven't lived, except in books.

there's a limit to how much i can excuse from _______.

in your mouth, it all sounds so reasonable.

why are you crying?

you saved my life. you probably don't remember.

i need you to smile again.

if we're no longer being polite, i'll tell you to go fuck yourself.

you don't have to listen to _____ anymore.

get to bed. we'll talk more in the morning.

i'm leaving for the day. you need anything before i go?

it's hard to fall out of love with stories, even when they're devouring you.

everything changes, but no one escapes.

sure you weren't followed?

getting harder and harder to keep a low profile.

strange time to be alive.

if we're going to work together, you and i need to reveal to one another first.

you can't be afraid to make yourself a little foolish, if you want to see who's loyal to you.

if i don't know you, i can't like you.

i lack the will to perform for you, but there's nothing in my heart i'm not willing to share.

remember, and remember well: death is no escape from me.

what really happened to you?

what you did was very brave.

none of this has been your fault.

you need to learn how to let go of a grudge.

survival can be a repulsive affair. it has to be, sometimes.

hard to make the right choice in times like ours, isn't it?

no need for sorries. i'm luckier than most.

have you ever left [place]?

you are nervous. i can hear your heartbeat.

i'm not running.

how could i hide anything from you?

all your life, you've feared nothing more than being caged.

i'm sorry it came to this.

i don't have a plan. i don't have anything left.

some part of me always wishes i could stay behind.

it's hard to unpick kindness from spite, isn't it?

you're not political, are you?

that's an evasive answer. well done.

you seem very quiet.

the carrot tastes good. i'm just waiting for the stick.

i don't believe in threatening people. i don't think it gets the best work out of anyone.

i'm not in debt to you, and i'm not beholden to you.

i can't tell you how endearing it is to discover you have such a sentimental streak.

i thought we were done for.

are they listening in, do you think?

( there's a delicacy to it, why you can't simply lunge at a rabbit mid - pursuit. his daddy had taught him that. )

he pries himself from the door, moving carefully to jump on in after her. there's a groan in the framing as he shuts the driver's side; his keys are already dangling in the ignition. ❝ well, it's real nice to finally meet you, tucker. ❞ jedidiah nods, long strands of his hair twitching around his face. ❝ i'm jedidiah. ❞ the rabbit's foot hanging off of the key gives an eager little jolt as he turns the engine over.

floyd, her boss, sways in place; one arm held tight across his chest— phone plastered to his ear.

oh, he was definitely calling the cops.

“so you’re … what? just passin’ through?”

tucker smiles, happy to make conversation with someone not a teenage boy, or an old man, or any man, really, then reaches for another bag, popping it open.

might as well.

at the question, she turns her head, pries the straw out of her mouth and tucks it in the crook of her thumb. ❝ my daddy's got business in the next town over. ❞ fingers press strands behind her ears and she returns the smile. ❝ you live 'round here? ❞

tucker leans down, hands on her knees, to get a good look through the passenger side window.