“You blindly follow what you believe to be good, without looking at what they’re doing to innocent people - yet, I’m the bad guy”
“What are you even talking about [villain] ?”
“Your ‘team’ is fucking hurting people ! They’re doing harm to the people you so claim to want to protect and you call yourself a fucking hero — OPEN YOUR EYES !”
“regardless, could be you just married the wrong woman.”
“it goes to show, people will up and go mad when they believe their life is over.”
“well, do what you think you should.”
“frankly, i think it’s because he’s dumb as a bag of hammers… but he makes up for it with enthusiasm.”
“you two actually look relaxed.”
“people don’t want to die ignorant, i guess.”
“but at least you have the common sense to listen to a man giving you advice.”
“sorry? your son is alive. you don’t get to be sorry!”
“you’re gonna whoop me? you and what homo parade?”
“maybe you’re a murderer, but i don’t really care.”
“why don’t you want to talk about your family? do they like… hate you?”
“…you have a boyfriend?”
“there’s no happy ending to this.”
“you’re a good man.”
“god bless you.”
“i’m not letting somebody else get eaten today… especially not a good friend.”
“you like my daughter?” “her dad tried to kill me so…”
starved for help
“he was never going to survive.”
“god help us.”
“go ahead and run! we ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
“jesus… there’s a kid mixed up in this?” “was, more like.”
“you’re not men, you’re monsters. all men are monsters.”
“take a can of beans, take a little girl. it’s all the fucking same to you.”
“i’m putting this arrow right through your BALLS.”
“jesus, man! i’m from florida! crazy shit just comes out of my mouth sometimes… sorry.”
“it’s always something with this guy.”
“you’re all sick… sick in the head!”
“what the fuck… the fucking… what fuck?!”
“i’ll kill you!”
“you’re not worth to energy to hate.”
“you’re already tainted.”
“who the fuck do you people think you are?!”
“it’s over!”
“they’re not coming.”
long road ahead
“we just lost everything.”
“get the fuck over it.”
“i’ll die out here!” “i don’t care.”
“i don’t have anything left.”
“dead get ‘em?” “no.” “ah, livin’ got ‘em.”
“he’s out of time.”
“wake the fuck up, man.”
“how the fuck do you calm down after a day like today?”
“you’ll fucking lose everything acting like this!”
“what a mess.”
“i could kill you!”
“i had to tell someone…”
“that’s what everybody says.”
“oh, so he gets to swear.”
“god, you’re a real son of a bitch, aren’t you?”
around every corner
“confidence is earned, ben.”
“we are fucked!”
“if now ain’t the time for a drink…”
“i’m not leaving you with ben, i’m leaving himwithyou.”
“have you lost your motherfucking mind?”
“he ain’t shit now.”
“i don’t owe you anything.”
“are we really gonna do this now?”
“this is all i have left of her.”
“shut the fuck up.”
“you little pissant! you’re fucking dead! you hear me? DEAD!”
“my wife?! and child?! YOU GOT THEM BOTH FUCKING KILLED!”
“you can whoop his skinny little ass later!”
“you know she thinks the world of you.”
“she’s my family now. she’s all i got.”
no time left
“please don’t hurt her.”
“you’re fucking dead! i don’t know who you are but i will kill you, do you understand?!”
“if i don’t live through this—”
“we thought maybe we lost you…”
“you lost some blood.”
“i think i just peed myself.”
“why the hell are we letting the one-armed guy do all the high risk maneuvers?” “cause the one-armed guy insists. now shut up about it.”
“i’m fucked.”
“i lived through it; which is a start.”
“this is not happening…”
“everything is so fucked…”
“stop pushing me around and stop wishing i was dead!”
“give me a fucking break!”
“kill anything that gets in.” “you know you’re talking to ME, right?”
“i’m sorry, okay? fuck, we can’t do this!”
“then kill me, you son of a bitch, okay?! don’t even fucking hesitate!”
“is this really possible?”
“i’m sorry.”
“i wasn’t going to hurt you.”
“judging by the decor of this room, i’d guess they were pbs watchers.”
“i could’ve done more.”
“i could’ve been a better husband… a better father… could’ve been a better friend.”
“me and my fuckin’ mouth…”
“it’s just something i gotta do. you know that.”
“have you ever hurt somebody you care about?”
“do i look like a monster to you?” “we all do.”
“i hate seeing you like this.”
“i just miss your smile, honey.”
“i thought you were gone.”
“they’re dead… they really are…”
“i’ll miss you.”
i know this game is ten years old but i just completed all of it for the first time a few days ago so… this is my way of celebrating. this is also my way of coping.
also, the game is over nine hours long, i just knew i could get hella dialogue starters from it… which i did! instead of my usual 25-30 starters, this has close to (if not over) 90!
the funniest part? considering i’m taking these word for word from the game and not thinking of these myself, you’d expect this to have taken a few minutes. this took me 6 hours. today was supposed to be my lazy day but woah.
After learning my flight was detained four hours, I heard the announcement: If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic, Please come to the gate immediately.
Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there. An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress, Just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly. Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her Problem? We told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she Did this.
I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly. Shu dow-a, shu-beduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick, Sho bit se-wee?
The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used— She stopped crying. She thought our flight had been canceled entirely. She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the Following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late.
Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him. We called her son and I spoke with him in English. I told him I would stay with his mother until we got on the plane and Would ride next to her—Southwest.
She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of It. Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and Found out of course they had ten shared friends. Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian Poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about two hours.
She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering Questions.
She pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered Sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag— And was offering them to all the women at the gate.
To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a Sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California, The lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same Powdered sugar. And smiling. There is no better cookie.
And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands— Had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing, With green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always Carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.
And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought, This is the world I want to live in. The shared world. Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped —Has seemed apprehensive about any other person.
They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women too. This can still happen anywhere.
Not everything is lost.
[photos by Annie O'Neill - part of the “Out of Many” exhibit that was featured at the 2018 Festival of Friendship in Pittsburgh]
Whisper of Words is a small and comfy discord community dedicated to writing. 13+ and LGBTQ+ friendly!
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