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 Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:53 am
Quote: Event Prompt 1 of ??? You come home one afternoon to find a package waiting for you in the mailbox. It’s a small parcel with only the image of a smiling, friendly jack-o-lantern where a sender’s address should be. When you open the package, a porcelain pumpkin bearing the same smile as the sender’s image falls into your palm. The only other thing that you can find in the package is a small business card with the name Perniciousa inscribed in gold lettering. When you google the name, nothing comes up but you’re pretty sure you recall seeing a new store pop up with that name on the outskirts of the shopping district of Destiny City. It must be some sort of advertisement for the holiday season - neat! The store doesn't look quite open yet but hopefully it will be in time for the holiday! Anyone who makes use of this prompt is allowed to save the little porcelain pumpkin for display! Besides, who knows what secrets it may hold!
When pulling the mail from the box, Paul had paused at the curb of their house, staring down at the collection of papers in his hand. There was a small package from an unknown sender, addressed to a Mr. Jones and no other descriptive measures as to figuring out who it was from.
Well, that was ********' helpful, wasn't it?
Paul didn't remember ordering any package. The large man stared at it as he set it down on the counter top in the kitchen. He could open it, but if it was something Noah wanted to keep private, there was no doubt he'd be furious at the older Jones for opening his packages.
Then again, what the ******** would Noah be ordering that he wanted to keep private? He wasn't keeping secrets from his own husband, was he?
Still, Paul managed to suppress the urge to investigate and preemptively open what could possible be an early birthday present for himself (though what the hell with the pumpkin return address label?) and chose to wait for his spouse's return home from work before bringing attention to the parcel.
"You got something in the mail."
He tried to act casual, though curiosity was getting the better of him as he eyed the package from where he sat on the kitchen table, pretending to play around on the laptop. He simply prayed it wasn't anything he'd ordered for himself and inconveniently forgot about.
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 10:17 am
It was a rare afternoon where Noah didn't have to spend too long at the office. At least two of his cases had wrapped up and he'd gotten paid, their bank account creeping towards the quadruple digits for the first time in a while with the deposit from one of the checks. The other one had been cashed and the cash had been stored in Noah's safe space, for emergencies.
He was in charge of the money and finances, Paul didn't need to know where all of the money was.
Keys were hung on the hook by the garage door and he was peeling off his coat when his husband commented about a package. Immediately Noah was scowling, because he hadn't purchased anything and he crossed the room almost immediately.
"You order yourself s**t without telling me?" He asked, looking over sharply as he fished a box cutter out of a drawer.
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 10:48 am
Like a scolded dog folding his ears, Paul's head bowed down slightly, almost a flinch, at the accusation.
s**t.
If Noah hadn't ordered anything (and clearly wasn't trying to hide any sort of birthday present), then it must have been something his own dumb a** had ordered a while back and forgotten about. Fingers anxiously rubbed at the sides of his laptop as he watched the younger man grab a box cutter, taking it to the tape. Did he get something for the house? For himself? Something utterly stupid altogether?
Hopefully it wasn't anything too pricey. The last thing he ******** needed was the redhead getting on his case about dropping dough on s**t they didn't need.
"Not that I'm aware of," he finally replied, almost a little too cautiously.
Maybe he'd be better off hiding out in a different room, for the time being.
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:11 pm
Noah held Paul's gaze for a moment before nimble fingers were pulling the box open and the redhead was squinting at the box. It was mostly empty, paper and bubble wrap taking up most of the space, but he kept digging until he pulled out...a porcelain...pumpkin.
"What the ******** is this?" The question was rhetorical, because it was obvious what it was, what wasn't was why they had received it in a package.
"You know I think Halloween is a waste of money." Decorations were largely a waste of money. Well, holiday ones were a waste because they never stayed up long enough to be worth anything and then just sat, taking up storage space.
"Why the ******** did you get this? Where did you get this?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 10:41 pm
He held his breath as he waited to see what was going to be pulled out of the parcel, hoping and praying with every fiber of his being that whatever the ******** it was, he wasn't responsible for it. When the pumpkin appeared in Noah's hand, dumb grin shifting as the ginger turned it, he felt a warm sense of relief was over him.
That is, until Noah immediately pinned the blame on him for the gourd's presence.
“I didn't buy that s**t!” His voice hiked in volume as he got defensive, “Why the ******** would I get any decorations? I hate hearing the doorbell as much as you do, <******** from the chair (and failing to push it back), he made his way over to the package and snatched the box, large hand digging through it to search for a receipt.
Nothing.
Nothing but some dumb business card with nothing helpful written on it.
“Must be some sort of ******** freebie or some s**t, wrong order or whatever.”
Violet eyes flickered back up to the porcelain pumpkin before returning to the card. “You can check the credit card statements. Ain't bought s**t.”
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Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:48 am
Noah's expression said he didn't believe his husband. Still, he rummaged through the remains of the box and found a small business card that he could have definitely missed if he hadn't been so keen on getting to the bottom of wherever this stupid thing came from.
"The ******** is Perniciousa." It was rhetorical, again, because he knew Paul wouldn't have any answers for him. "Look it up," he demanded since his husband was the one closest to the laptop.
The card was flicked Paul's way, because his husband knew that he couldn't spell it without seeing it. "You're off the hook this time, but you better not be buying stupid s**t, birthday coming up or not. We're on a tight budget."
A half-truth but not a lie. Noah wanted to pad their savings so he could splurge a little during Christmas, but Paul didn't need to know that. "You know it's harder to get gigs during winter."
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:18 am
Being ordered around didn't exactly thrill the older man, nor did he appreciate have pieces of paper so dismissively discarded in his direction. The business card was slid closer to the laptop as begrudging fingers navigated towards a new tab for the internet.
Typing in the name, he clicked Enter and waited. Google's results turned up with a whopping nothing. The tips of his ears burned a dark pink - maybe he'd ******** up the spelling, despite wandering eyes having used the card for reference.
Picking it up, this time he took extra long time to type in each keystroke, thick fingers moving slowly to get each letter in exactly as it was printed.
P...E...R...N...I...
Still, the search result produced no leads, no website, nothing of use.
"Nothing. Ain't showing nothing."
It was bad enough to be bossed around and accused of ordering stupid Halloween s**t without saying anything but when Noah dragged out the topic of the budget, Paul felt his mood officially plummet. He was more than a tad sensitive about talk of tight budgets, considering the fact that his poor financial choices had put them in their original hole to begin with. It had taken years of careful spending and money allotting to various debtors for them to pull their heads above the figurative water. He'd been the cause of them being stuck in the shithole of an apartment back in NY - he'd been the one holding them both back and being reminded was never a fun journey down memory lane for the older Jones.
"Hey - I haven't said s**t about wanting anything for my birthday."
The laptop's lid was closed harshly, the chair scraping the tile as he pushed himself away from the table, rising to his feet. Anger boiled in the pit of his stomach, churning and twisting around, killing any hunger he might have had for dinner. "S'just another stupid
Pausing for a moment, narrowed eyes glanced at the redhead and his mouth opened to say something else. Shaking his head, he thought better of it and instead, stormed out of the room with heavy boots making pronounced thuds on his way towards the basement.
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 7:29 am
Noah had watched his spouse type in the word correctly the first time. Then again, as each thick finger hit the small keys and there was nothing.
The ginger's already sour mood soured further.
"This must be some sort of bullshit prank." He muttered, more to himself because his partner was growing moody himself . They'd been in the city for almost a year now, maybe someone decided it was time to ******** with the Joneses.
"That's not-- ********, Paul. Don't." Noah groaned, watching as his spouse started to throw a tantrum over something stupid. He hadn't meant it like that, the ******** knew it and yet there he was bitching about how it was just another day and blah ******** blah.
His jaw ticked and Noah gave the pumpkin one last glance over before flicking it into the trash before he went the opposite way and stormed up the stairs and into the bedroom.
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