❛ hey, can you lend me some money? i need to get the new bundle on fortnite. ❜ what if we were both annoying broke mfs who gave each other migraines?<3
HE HAD, IN A MOMENT OF OPTIMISM, gossamer-thin & teetering on the precipice of delusion, entertained the thought that a position of this alleged calibre might afford him the occasional indulgence. a small slice of pleasure amid the endless grind. perhaps the greasy, unrepentant comfort of a takeaway, gluttonised thoughtlessly, as one might indulge in a guilty pleasure. or the contentment of paying full price for a drink, that ephemeral illusion of solvency — one that evaporates before you can even take an abstemious sip, let alone a swill.
naturally, reality comes knocking on — or in dante’s case, knocking down — his door with an invoice, itemised & insistent. lady’s cut vanishes first like some cheap parlour trick: the sum non-negotiable, handed over with the grim efficiency of ritual, as predictable as the sunrise. the property damages follow in quick succession, subtracted with the cold precision of bureaucratic necessity, as though mere proximity to the adversities were sufficient to brand him guilty. he didn’t cause it, but who cares? what’s left barely covers rent, & the rest? it dissolves into the churn, swept away by the relentless current of diurnal obligations.
splurging, it turns out, is a luxury afforded only to those whose financial acumen does not rest upon the frail hope that their coat pockets are somehow deeper than their mounting debts. speaking of which… ❛ you’re outta luck, gen. spent it all on a new coat. custom made… can’t you tell? ❜ save for a few embellishments — talismans for his particular line of work, others, no doubt, just for ostentatious display — it is, in essence, no different from the last but dante brandishes it like his favourite weapon, ready to be worn with flair. ❛ thought you would’ve had enough of skins, seeing as your last ones came with claws. ❜