MIDNIGHT MASS SENTENCE STARTERS, PT. 1 OF 4 ;
E01 - ❛ Book I: Genesis ❜ and E02 - ❛ Book II: Psalms ❜ // 79 starters. CW: alcoholism, cussing, religion (general, bigotry, trauma). Feel free to change words and pronouns as needed!
“Is she okay? She’s gonna be okay?”
“You didn’t invite _____, did you?”
“Fine, fuck him. Fuck ‘em all. Fuck the sheriff.”
“You’re not gonna tell, right?”
“Uh… I thought I saw something.”
“Let’s get you fed. You gotta eat.”
“What did you do to me, _____?”
“You said you were being followed by a giant albatross.”
“Hey, what’s that, _____? You wanna speak up?”
“You just ignore her, buddy. She’s just mean.”
“I’m sorry for the hassle. I mean it.”
“It might bother me, if I gave you much thought.”
“You don’t know what it’s like these days.”
“This isn’t a community anymore, _____. It’s a ghost.”
“Things have changed for me, _____. I’m not… That’s not me anymore.”
“People have been seeing him wandering around at night. Late at night. Like, midnight.”
“It’s not funny. It’s not funny at all.”
“I don’t care if your heart’s not in it or the mood doesn’t strike you.”
“I’m so relieved you’re okay. I waited for you this morning.”
“Don’t be scared, _____. It’s just me.”
“I know I’m not who you expected to see this morning.”
“That got rather quiet, didn’t it?”
“You’re the prodigal one. I’m just the black sheep.”
“Look at us, back where we started. The one place we swore we’d never end up.”
“I’m supposed to be the godless heathen, and you the altar boy.”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect that anyone would notice.”
“Well, in the future, let me know if there’s an issue. That’s what I’m here for.”
“So, I mean, you came back… here. Like, you came back here on purpose. Why?”
“I just exist now. That’s it. I have… absolutely no purpose at all.”
“I’m sorry. For what you’ve been through. I’m really, really sorry.”
“You should stay back till I know more, _____.”
“You said some kind of disease or infection? You think so?”
“I don’t think the folks are gonna much like that. That seems a little drastic.”
“A place like this, someone tries to stay separate or isolated, it just hurts the whole.”
“Wowsers, you ever seen something like this, huh?”
“I don’t… I don’t know what I saw.”
“Hey, sorry about last night. I just wanted to apologize.”
“It all worked out. You found your purpose.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
“Where were you before this?”
“That’s the thing about where we’ve been. It’s important, sure. But it’s not as important as where we’re going. And every place I was before I am now, well, they were just leading me here.”
“Are you really walking by without saying hi?”
“Wow. It’s been a long time since anyone’s asked me that.”
“See, for those reasons, I am out.”
“I feel like I need you again.”
“Time used to move softly when I was at home.”
“Even out of blackness, love rises again.”
“It’s great you’re here today, but please keep coming back.”
“That’s what it means to have faith. That in the darkness, in the worst of it, in the absence of light and hope, we sing.”
“That same hand that dealt you your hardship, that same hand will make you whole.”
“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
“This used to be quite the event.”
“Well, don’t look now, but I think we’re upsetting your clergy.”
“I’ve always preferred Easter, even to Christmas, if I’m honest. This is my favorite time of year. Renewal, resurrection.”
“Everything has its season.”
“Well, I appreciate your time, _____. But I bet there’s a lot of other people around here who’d like your company too. I don’t wanna hold you up with the town pariah.”
“Can you imagine that? Just the good you could do?’
“What happened? Who did this? Who did it? Who did this? Which one of you?”
“You don’t like me? That’s fine! Shit I done, I don’t care about me so much either.”
“I just want to be of use, _____.”
“My goodness, you startled me. What on earth brings you here?”
“Well, I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself.”
“Not his fault he was born woefully fuckin’ unfunny.”
“Now that changes everything. Why didn’t you just fucking say so?”
“You’re a smart man, _____, but in this case, you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. So let’s just leave it there.”
“I gotta say, to be honest, I hadn’t really considered how awkward this would be with just two people.”
“Yeah, I’d rather not go too far down that road tonight.”
“I mean, you seem like a nice guy. You’re doin’ me a favor. I just would not want to offend you.”
“Being your own higher power, how is that working out for you?”
“God can take that pain and turn it into something good. Something with purpose.”
“Suffering can be a gift. It just depends on us. What we do with it, how we react to it.”
“Alcohol isn’t good or bad. But the version of me that would come out when I had enough to drink, he was bad. He was selfish and careless, and he ruined my life.”
“And God? He just kind of let it happen, didn’t he?”
“The only thing, the only fucking thing that lets people stand by, watching all this suffering, doing nothing, doing fucking nothing, is the idea that suffering can be a gift from God.”
“I believe God can take our work, even our awful works, and turn them into something else. I know He can find the good in them, and find the love in them, whether we see it or not.”
“I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“No, stop it. That’s cruel.”
“If this is a joke, _____, it’s not funny…”
