veni vidi vici

“We did everything adults would do. What went wrong?”

[tristanxbarlowe]

katedeck·:

             ‘  that’s  what  i’m  saying !  ’      katie  crows  in  agreement ,     feeling  rather  vindicated  of  the  situation .    ‘  if  i  do  something  to  help  someone ,   it’s  going  to  be  an  actual  genuine  gesture .    don’t  those  things  just  seem  like  a  lazy  way  for  people  to  boost  their  own  egos ?    so  lame .  ’    how  do  they  even  find  satisfaction  in  that ?  —–   though  katie  is  judging  the  faceless ,    nameless  person  she  imagines  started  the  chain ,    she’s  fully  aware  that  she ,    too ,    is  not  above  feeding  her  own  ego .   (  but  it’s  okay  when  she  does  it !      because  it’s  just  so  cool  when  katie  does  it .   she  is  an  artist ,    after  all .   )    ‘  i  feel  you .    i  must’ve  been  a  politician  or  something  in  my  last  life ,     it’s  the  only  explanation  for  the  amount  of  karmic  debt  i’ve  had  to  pay  in  this  one .  ’

"It's so performative! It's just as bad as people filming themselves doing good deeds for someone less fortunate for no other reason than to get likes and a pat on the back!" Tristan pointed out, perfectly matching her energy. How often has he seen videos of people acting kind to strangers but clearly doing it for the wrong reason? "Look, not all of us are lucky enough to start our life with a clean slate. You might have been a politician, and I'm pretty sure I was a debt collector or something equally as bad, but at least we weren't as bad as the people who make those pay it forward chains."

[tristanxbarlowe]

sdphilcscphies·:

who: open @moorbrookestarters· where: somewhere public

Elijah noticed just a second too late. It was almost as if everything had happened in hyper speed. One moment, Noah was walking calmly by his side, the next his hand was pulling something out of someone’s pocket. “Noah,” Elijah scolded, grabbing hold of the three year old’s tiny hand. “Sorry,” he apologized. “Apparently I’m raising a pickpocket.”

Tristan had been deep in thought, scrolling through TikTok even though he should have been focusing on where he was going. It wasn’t until he felt some strange tugging at his pocket that he removed his earbuds. Quickly, Tristan turned on his heels to face whoever was bold enough to attempt to steal from someone in the middle of the day. “Hey-” He began, but when he noticed who the culprit was, he couldn’t contain himself. His scowl melted away, and a smile took its place. “Oh, he is starting early. Before you know it, he’s six and attempting to rob the Louvre.”

[tristanxbarlowe]

sprklngdimnd·:

zeki was heading home from an early shift at the roecliffe theatre cafe, he had been cut in order to help with payroll for the day. he stopped by delia’s cafe for one of their oven baked sandwiches, ham and melted cheese, before continuing his short walk home. he had allowed his mind to wander on what he’d watch as he enjoyed his late lunch today, but his thoughts were sidetracked when he came across the scene of the guy trying to coax his cat into coming down from the tree he seemed to be perfectly comfortable in. “i have a slightly warm ham and cheese sandiwich, if he’s into ham and cheese, perhaps that could help?” zeki suggests, offering up the meal, “i would help you more, but i’m not the best with cats. ever since i saw one randomly go nuts on one of my friends i have stayed clear as much as possible.”

Tristan’s eyes fell on the sandwich he offered, and for a moment, his gaze darted between the sandwich, the man, and the cat. “He loves ham, but I don’t want to steal your lunch to trick the little asshole.” He let out a small huff of breath that resembled a laugh when he mentioned his fear of cats. “I get it. I’ve never been an animal person myself, or well, I loved them from afar, but my parents couldn’t stand them. Then I got Tonni, and I love him to death, yet he keeps rewarding my love by continually getting himself stuck on top of something or underneath something.” He shook his head at the memory of Tonni being able to crawl underneath the couch despite his round belly and then screaming bloody murder when he realized he couldn’t leave his hiding spot. “But please, some food to lure him down would be more than enough, but are you sure?”

[tristanxbarlowe]

caseyowensfm·:

Casey look at the size of the tree before looking at compared it to the size of the man near him. “You look like you can’t rip the tree out of the ground with roots and all with that broad chest.” Climbing it, however, Casey agreed. He didn’t know if the branches would hold Tristian’s weight. Casey was athletic and slim and would probably be able to climb the tree with absolutely no problem as long as he watched his footing and made sure each branch could hold his weight. “Hopefully, that won’t be the case. I’m usually quick and nimble when doing this kind of thing.” Casey knew as long as he was the careful than everything should be alright. He just needed to be precise instead of guessing which branch to step onto next. He was just about to climb when Tristan’s hand pressed against his arm to stop him. “It’s fine, dude.  I use to do this shit all the time when I was a kid.” He started to climb up to the first branch. “Sir Harrington - was it?”

“Yes, Sir Harrington, but I call him Tonni when he isn’t misbehaving.” He grimaced at the strange name he had given his cat. When he first got him as a kitten, he hadn’t exactly considered that he might have to shout that name in the middle of the street where everyone would hear it. “I know it’s weird. I named him after my grandpa. They have the same temperament, and no one has mastered the judgmental and disappointed stare of the late sir Harrington Barlowe quite as well as Tonni.” In response, Tonni spared them a glance showing his signature ‘why are you standing there and not feeding me’ look before he meowed at them. With a shake of his head, Tristan turned his focus back on Casey. “I swear, if you get him down, I will name my firstborn child after you or at least buy you a drink.”

[tristanxbarlowe]

philcscphies·:

“Why wouldn’t they be normal,” Tony asked incredulously. He’d considered the safety concerns, of course, but they’d been a miniscule worry in the grand scheme of things. Tony had simply been caught up in the romance of the entire situation. “I’m still working on the business model,” he admitted, “and I appreciate you worrying. Yo know,” Tony’s brow raised, a teasing tone entering his voice, “this would be safer if a friend just used my services.”

Tristan already had a long list of reasons why someone using this service might be shady, but he knew better than to mention it since Tony seemed invested in the idea. “You know I would ask you to be my fake boyfriend to bring you to my family over the holidays, but I’m planning on spending Christmas at home with my cat, box of chocolate, and some lousy Christmas movie.” He admitted. Sure, he could go to the Barlowe's for Christmas. They had already sent him an invitation to their famous Christmas dinner, but he hadn’t spent any holiday with them since he was eighteen, he would much rather spend it by himself. “I mean, I could bring you to see my cat, but I doubt you’ll like it since he usually doesn't like the guys I bring home.”

[tristanxbarlowe]

sprklngdimnd·:

“hey, don’t even try to come at me like that, i’d like to see you tell the old man where to shove it. it’s a lot harder than it sounds,” he replied in defense, huffing a little. old man or not, though, sebastian was a pretty nice guy who normally caved into things others wanted him to do more times than not. “i was definitely frightened of him,” he jokes, “the way he was waving his cane around i was having a hard believing he even needed it in the first place. i bet he uses it to bully all of moorbrooke shop owners into decorating their shops.” sebastian lets out a light laugh before walking towards the comic shop’s door, but pausing when he hears the other’s comment on his decorating, “well, excuse me,” he replies, feigning offense, slowing turning around to face tristan again, “so now i have to endure bullying from even you, tristan? wow. i don’t know what this world is coming to now, it’s madness.” another laugh falls from his lips as he leads the way into the warmth of the coastline comic shop, the smell of freshly brewing coffee filled the air the moment they stepped in. “first, would you like a cup of coffee? i could also warm you up some water if you’re interested in tea or some of that swiss miss hot chocolate.  after that, please, enlighten me with your ideas to make this place pop with christmas spirit.”

Tristan badly wanted to laugh at Sebastian’s description of the old man. He tried to refrain from laughing, he really did, but when he mentioned the cane, a soft chuckle escaped his lips. The truth is Tristan knew he would have also been terrified of the man if he had been the one who faced him. He probably would have ended up with the most decorated store in Moorbrook to escape his wrath. “Oh, how much I wish I had been a fly on the wall.” Though he could already imagine what Sebastian’s face must have been like when he had to deal with the terrifying man with the monstrous weapon. Grateful for the warmth of the comic book shop, Tristan entered the store, and right away, he shook off his jacket and tossed it over an empty chair behind the counter as he usually did whenever he visited Sebastian while he was at work. “I am the only one allowed to bully you and old men with canes because that’s hilarious.” His smile only grew when Sebastian offered him a drink. “Oh, coffee, please. I need caffeine if I’m going to survive the decoration planning.” He told Sebastian over his shoulder since he had already turned his focus on a new comic book. “Now, what decoration do you have that we can use?”

[tristanxbarlowe]

caseyowensfm·:

Casey was stopped in his dead tracks when the name Sir Harrington Barlow was said out-loud. He couldn’t help but to be intrigued and look up and see what kind of person that belonged too. Casey was surprised to find that it didn’t belong toa person at all. It was an adorable looking cat. “No cat treats on me, unfortunately.” He placed a hand over his eyes to block out the sunlight - trying to see how to best climb the tree. The branches all looked sturdy enough to climb up onto. “I can climb up there and see if he wants to come down with me? I’d need you to be ready at the bottom of the tree ready to catch either one of us though.”

With every little movement the cat made, Tristan’s chest tightened, and he had to keep himself from climbing up the tree, but Sir Harrington couldn’t even be bothered to peek down at the two men preparing his rescue. “I considered climbing the tree, but I doubt it will be able to hold my weight.” He confessed as he turned to face Casey. Usually, he would decline his offer because the last thing he wanted was for him to get hurt helping him, but Tristan was desperate, so he nodded, running his fingers through his hair to ease his nerves. “Of course, I will catch you if you fall, but please don’t break your neck or anything. I would rather not have that on my conscience.” He paused momentarily before taking hold of Casey's arm to stop him. "Are you sure? You don't have to do this."

[tristanxbarlowe]

Location: A random street

For: Open @moorbrookestarters​

“Sir Harrington Barlowe, get your ass down right this second. You are making me look like a terrible owner!” Tristan's voice was stern, but his eyes betrayed him. Not that his cat cared about his worry at all, Tonni was blissfully ignoring Tristan while he was busy grooming himself, ironically, on the highest branch of the seemingly tallest tree on the street, oblivious to the fact that he was stuck. “You don’t happen to have cat treats or some magical way of getting the little asshole down?” He asked the person who approached him, knowing fully well that he was most likely out of luck.

[tristanxbarlowe]

katedeck·:

open  starter .

          ‘  hey ,    i’m  polling  for  opinions .    you  know  those  pay  it  forward  chain  things  people  do  in  drive - throughs ?  ’    the  ones  that  probably  annoy  the  hell  out  of  all  the  workers  and  inadvertently  guilt  customers  into  continuing  the  cycle .    sound  familiar ?   ‘  i  broke  one  of  them  in  the  chuckie’s  drive  through  earlier .    to  be  fair ,    the  person  behind  me  had  ordered ,   like ,    fifty  dollars  worth  of  food ,   but  honestly  even  if  they  hadn’t  i  still  would  have  broken  it .    do  you  think  that  counts  against  me  karmically ?     is  it  wrong  to  just  view  it  as  a  gift  from  the  universe  instead  of  an  obligation ?  ’     

Tristan let his phone drop down on top of his chest when he heard the question, and for an instant, he stayed quiet and contemplated his answer carefully. “Perhaps I will sound like a terrible person, but I would never pay it forward in one of those pay it forward chains. Sure, it’s important to help people when you can, but I’m broke, and besides, is it charity if you have to do it out of guilt?” He wrinkled his nose in distaste. “I can’t really speak about the karmically of the whole situation, though. I’m probably the last person who should talk about karma since mine is most likely in the gutter, but I’m sure you’ll be fine for cutting the chain.”

[tristanxbarlowe]

sprklngdimnd·:

sebastian gave tristan a grateful smile when the other took the garland from his hands, watching as his friend effortlessly hung it up on the hook that had been giving him so much trouble just seconds before. “how do you have a way with making things look so much easier than what they really are?” he questioned, lightheartedly laughing. the friendship he had formed with tristan had come so unexpectedly for sebastian, but it’s done nothing but grow and blossom from the get go. most people would tease him that the two of them acted like they were the ones about to get married, but sebastian knew between the two of them, it was just a really close, good friendship. “it’s perfect, tristan. thank you for the help,” he looks over to the other male, “it would’ve defintely been lopsided if you hadn’t come along. also, i’m not really becoming festive. to be honest,” he chuckled, “i feel slightly bullied into decorating the shop. one of my regulars, a nice old man, he came in yesterday yelling at me about how my shop is a sore eye and the only one not lit. then he called me a grinch and said i was ruining the spirit of christmas.” he looked back to the shop again, another chuckle escaping, “hopefully this will make up for making him mad. i felt bad, it was like having my grandpa yelling at me or something.” with his hands in his jacket pockets, trying to keep himself as warm as possible, he turns to look at tristan once again, “are you sticking around or are you off to be somewhere more important? because, uh, i wouldn’t be mad if you wanted to head inside..it’s cold out here.”

When Sebastian asked how he made things seem easier than they were, Tristan felt his heart skip a beat. His gaze focused on the garland as if he was admiring their work, but the only thing he could concentrate on was his cheeks growing warmer. By now, he wasn’t surprised by his reaction after getting the compliment from his friend. He had always struggled to take a compliment, even from someone like Sebastian, but at least now he didn’t turn into a blabbering mess whenever he said something nice to him. Though he would have to admit, he wasn’t sure if the decoration was good enough. It definitely needed some lights or color to make the whole store pop. Grateful for the change of topic, Tristan turned to face Sebastian, unable to contain his grin. “Were you bullied by an old man, Sebastian? Did the grandpa frighten you?" He nudged into him gently. "If you have something warm to drink, then I'm all yours. We could even plan the rest of your decorations to make sure you won't get bullied again because the garland isn’t enough Sebastian. I’m sorry, I had to say it!”

[tristanxbarlowe]

thetcsteofink·:

needless to say, lyanna was devastated. completely wrecked. her own eyes welled with tears as she kept looking at the tv and the depressed mexican team upon their bittersweet win. she sniffled and wiped at her eyes. so silly of her to get emotional! but she was. “oh damn it. i know.” she looked over at the man she’d hugged and remembered that she had hugged him in the first place. “oh wow i am so sorry i invaded your personal space like that earlier.” lyanna grimaced. but her eyes lit up and she nodded. “i would love a condolence milkshake. that is so, so kind of you. strawberry please…” her voice trailed off. “you look super familiar and your name is definitely escaping me right now.”

“Invaded my space?” Tristan brushed her worry off with a shake of his head. “Please, I get how emotional people get while watching the game, so you don’t have to worry about it at all.” He assured her. While he might not know anything about sports, he was used to the obnoxious football bros who spent all their waking moments in bars irritating everyone around them, so the little hug hadn’t bothered him at all. With a faint smile, he attempted to get the attention of the person behind the counter who was racing between customers, oblivious to Tristan since they seemed to be the only one working on a day as busy as this one. Eventually, he managed to order a strawberry milkshake, so his attention was back on her. When she recognised him, he began to wonder if he knew her as well. And then it clicked. “Wait...” He began, “Lyvanna?” He hadn’t seen her for years, more like a decade, and it was a miracle he recognised her since he had known her in a completely different life. “It’s Tristan! I can’t believe it’s you.”

[tristanxbarlowe]

philcscphies​:

“Okay, not gonna lie, I totally considered it.” Tony was, and had always been, a hopeless romantic. “My parents had a meet cute moment. Met on a layover flight, hit it off so they kept in touch, and the rest is history. Kinda makes you think that it can happen for anyone.” Not that that had influenced his decision at all. Tony was doing this for purely altruistic reasons. Truth be told, he was both dreading and looking forward to his first Northeast Christmas and he figured meeting new people was a good way to have the best experience possible. “Plus, there are rules and contracts. Not like falling for someone is the worse thing that could happen though.” 

Of course, Tony had considered it. Tristan had known him long enough to know that he was probably waiting for his grand romantic story to fall into his lap. "No, I guess worse things could happen." His voice trailed off as he tried to convince himself that he would be happy for him if he were to end up finding someone to fall in love with, even if the circumstances would be quite irregular. "Though, I can't help but wonder how normal a person would be if they hired you to pretend to be their boyfriend." He instantly raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'm just saying you should be careful."