turtlenecksandtea

You’re walking back to your place when you see him, contorted into an ill-fitting cardboard box in the alleyway. Your first instinct is to hold your bag a little tighter, drift to the other side of the street. It’s gray and rainy and you don’t want to deal with any hobos pan-handling right about now, because you always feel bad and your wallet is always empty. But this guy...he doesn’t even approach you. In fact, it’s the opposite: when he sees you, he clutches his arms around his knees tighter, making himself even smaller. His eyes stare down, at a piece of trash by the box. And as you turn to look, feeling gui

You can’t take it sometimes, honestly. How she talks. Nasal, whiny, biting, presumptuous. You know she watches you. Her eyes burn like chunks of steel into your back as you walk. Well, you wouldn’t complain except that she’s a bitch. An absolute one. Awful. Just awful. Which explain why you two are best friends. Because, you know, you’re weird. Terezi’s room is painted in eye-watering shades of primary colors, with clutter and hand-sewn dragon toys everywhere. When you go over to her house, sometimes when she leaves the room, you just stand there and smell the air. Chalk and deodorant and formaldehyde. While

You like flowers. You like them a lot. That’s why you work at Gravity Falls’ only greenhouse-boasting nursery (very well the only plant-selling place that wasn’t a) advertising their carnivorous tendencies or b) run by a clueless, Portland-runoff college alumni). Working outside means you get to do two of your favorite things: watching people as they pass by and being around plants. Which is how you ended up realizing that one of the two people who worked at the tourist-swarming Mystery Shack, whom you could finally add to your list of “townspeople noticed while working”, was actually...well, the fact that he wa

You like flowers. You like them a lot. That’s why you work at Gravity Falls’ only greenhouse-boasting nursery (very well the only plant-selling place that wasn’t a) advertising their carnivorous tendencies or b) run by a clueless, Portland-runoff college alumni). Working outside means you get to do two of your favorite things: watching people as they pass by and being around plants. Which is how you ended up realizing that one of the two people who worked at the tourist-swarming Mystery Shack, whom you could finally add to your list of “townspeople noticed while working”, was actually...well, the fact that he wa

You don’t remember the real reason you signed up for volunteering as a counselor at Camp Skaia--you aren’t particularly good with children and you don’t really like the outdoors. Probably for the volunteer hours, originally. You went through the ordeal of papers and driving and then they made you pick a camp name, which seemed to have been designed to be as stupid and cringe-inducing as possible. (You're "Harry Potter". Go fucking figure.) And after all that codswallop was done, you had hoped that you would get assigned to a teenage cabin, so you would have as little work to do as possible. But no, you ended up with the eig

This troll kid, he seems determined to shatter your heart in as many ways as humanly (or should you say  troll-ly ) possible. Roxy seems to share your sentiment, because she clasps her hands to her heart and lets out a squeal. “Hang on right here,” she says, standing up with a flounce. “I’m going to get this little guy some actual clothes.” She darts out of the room, leaving Cronus to waddle off to the kitchen, where you just now notice an inflatable pool filled with water sits. He slides into the water and beckons happily for Kankri to follow, but Kankri clutches your knee and shakes his head lightly. “I

Her knees touch yours and you flinch, sitting on the curb. (y/n) laughs and leans in closer to you, brushing your shoulder with hers and offering you a peach. You hesitantly take it, biting into the sweet flesh, feeling the juice drip down your hand. “It’s great to get some real sun,” she says, chomping on a fruit of her own. “I can wear shorts and a tank top for once.” You pant slightly in response, wiping the sweat off your tan face with your free hand. (y/n)’s invited you over again. Her mom knows you well, considering all her “friends” seemed to generally be “too busy”. You kn

“And THAT’S how I ended up in a police cell,” you inform the wall dully. There’s no one else in your cell, because you were allegedly “dangerous” and “unpredictable”  and “fit to be culled”. Never mind the “poor boy” that broke your nose and made half your slate skin bloom bruises in the colors of the hemospectrum--all he had was bruising on his stomach and legs--suddenly, because of the horns drooping from your skull, you’re stuck in here for...how long, again? The officers seemed a little scared of you and were considerably unfriendly, to say the least. You didn&#

You lean back on your pillow and wipe the tears away from your eyes, satisfied now with the hiding Kankri has had to endure from you and Aranea. It is 5 pm, after all, and you’re tired after talking to Kankri. At least he attempted to feel remorse. You’re starting to think it’s not actually possible for him to experience emotion like a normal human being. You rest your head on the pillow and pull the blankets up to your throat, yawning widely. The knocking on the door scares the shit out of you, because you are almost entirely asleep. It takes you a moment to get over your initial terror before you remember that a) your pa

Who thought it was a good idea to host a neighborhood sock hop? The place is too damn loud. You hate poodle skirts. And it’s not YOUR fault that your good-for-nothing date decided at the last minute that a sock hop was “too childish” and ditched you after you walked all the way here in your stupid costume. Now you’re sitting on the sidelines, sulking, watching cute couples do swing dances and who knows what else, wishing that you had the courage to go ask someone to hang out with you. “Hey kitten. What a bash, huh?” The voice is unctuous, unfamiliar, with a Brooklyn accent that is just too over-the-top

The apartment smells like mac n’ cheese, and a tiny troll with a mermaid tail greets you as you step in. You feel Kankri’s grip around your neck tighten as the seadweller’s gaze travels up past you and to your shoulders. “Hi?” he asks in a tone of wonder. “Hello,” your troll replies, slightly imperiously, up on his towering 5 foot zero throne. You pry him off your shoulders and set him down on the couch, where the seadwelling troll approaches him in a guarded fashion. “I’m Cronus,” he offers. “My name is Kankri,” the redblood whispers, his voice shaking slightly. Whe

You feel like you should be triumphant. You’ve succeeded in telling Kankri off, and even better, Aranea stepped in to help. She texts you shortly after, retelling dramatically, and you’re very grateful to her. There’s a certain satisfaction in seeing Kankri realize too late that he fucked up bad. So why do you still feel miserable? The next day at school, you avoid the lunch table, but you feel his frosty eyes on you all day. You blatantly ignore his stares, looking the other way with a sour expression. At lunch, he doesn’t try to approach you, and you’re glad for it. Of course you’re glad. He’s a s

tG: i mean i know people sell them as pets but tG: besides the fins cronus is literally a toddler there's no difference tG: they're just different looking humans kS: youre so right this whole thing is making me feel really weird tG: i just bought a child this is so wrong kS: neither of us are qualified tG: it's way better than how the other places were treating them tho? tG: pretty damn sure they were feeding this kid fish food kS: oh my god kS: kankri seems a little twitchy but he doesnt seem like he was abused exactly tG: cronus is moody as hell but thats a toddler thing tG: he seems pretty normal i mean he never shuts up kS: ok thats it im

[arachnidsGrip began pestering causticGeneralization at 1:36 am] aG: Wake up. cG: Aranea, I d9 h9pe y9u realize the lateness of the h9ur. N9t every9ne stays up int9 the wee h9urs of the m9rning, reveling in the c9mpani9nship and adrenaline 9f shared misery. #tw: 69ld assumpti9ns? aG: Okay, you can just drop that shit right now. cG: I w9uld urge y9u t9 tag y9ur slurs. 9ne c9uld 6e very triggered 6y such a statement. Luckily, I am n9t 9ne 9f th9se pe9ple. aG: N9w, may I ask just what y9u are referring t9 in using that particular anaph9ra? aG: I mean that you can stop 8eing condescending and preachy, 8ecause I’m not going to tolerate it

Junior year. You are getting pretty fucking sick of Kankri. He’s only gotten worse, especially now that he’d been made captain of the Debate Club, which you still hadn’t quit because you’re a sentimental loser. And you? Your hair is shorter, your acne is clearer, and your boobs are bigger. Kankri doesn’t care. You have to admire how the 5”3, puffy ginger-haired, sweater-clad junior pretends that he doesn’t care about anything or anyone. Still. You’re not exactly subtle, although you have improved from freshman year. Your “friendship” is starting to fall apart, mostly because now

You two don’t exchange a word as you bundle him back, mostly because you’re not sure how much Kankri knows in the way of English. But finally, as you’re rounding the corner to your apartment, he says in a curious, small voice, “Where are we going?” You almost stop in the middle of the crosswalk, you’re so surprised. Looking down at him, he flinches slightly. “I-I’m sorry!” “It’s ok,” you respond, trying to keep yourself from freaking out about potentially having a conversation with an animal. “We’re going back to my apartment. You’re going to live with

It didn’t get any better, by the way. After that first lunch with Kankri, you two did sit next to each other next to the battered trash can, leaning against the bars above the cafeteria, talking about dumb shit for the rest of the year. And yeah, you were friends. If you could consider one of you talking on end for minutes at a time while the other pretended to listen: you about fandoms and tumblr, him about world problems and social justice. That was a pretty accurate sum of your relationship. It wasn’t coincidence that you joined debate club, though. “Oh, hi Kankri! I didn’t know you were in Debate Club. Haha, isn

You lean against the wall gloomily, picking at your sandwich. You’re upstairs, sitting on the floor above the cafeteria. The trash can four feet away is your best bud these days.  The first month of school has passed, and you still don’t have anyone to sit with. It kind of sucks how much you need human attachment, honestly. You remember the times in elementary school, where you didn’t even realize you only had two real friends until one of them started bullying you. In middle school, you had a group of five that you hung out with, but in high school, all of that went straight out the window, with literally ALL of them going