#* But I don’t know if my guess that ‘Cell Phone’ could be interpreted as ‘Boss Chicken’ is legit or not
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theladysunami · 6 months ago
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As someone who doesn’t speak a lick of Chinese (and really struggles to distinguish tones), I have some question for any fluent Chinese speakers.
It’s a common trope in SVSSS fanfiction where Shen Qingqiu and/or Shang Qinghua use terms for modern technology and the PIDW natives around them are puzzled by it.
What sort of homophones (or near homophones) are there for words like “airplane,” “cell phone,” “television,” “refrigerator,” “microwave,” and so forth? In other words, what might PIDW natives think they’re hearing while trying to listen in on the transmigrators? Are there any (near) homophones that depend on the dialect being spoken?
If the PIDW natives saw the words written, rather than heard them, what meanings might they come up with based on the characters used?
I can guess at some possible interpretations by looking things up in Yabla’s Chinese English Pinyin Dictionary, but they’re rough guesses at best.
I’d be delighted if someone actually knowledgeable could provide some insight on what Mobie-jun and Luo Binghe might think their husbands are talking about when they hear them use words and phrases “from their hometown.”
Edit: Apparently my homophone guesses weren't nearly as terrible as I'd feared, so I'm going to edit this and stick some of them under a read more for fun.
Native speakers please feel free to bully me if I screw up!
Airplane (飞机, fēi jī) "Flying Machine" 飞, fēi: "to fly" ● 机, jī: "machine" Possible Homophones: ● "Flying Chicken" (飞鸡) We definitely need fics where everyone thinks SQQ insists on calling SQH a chicken for some reason.
Cell Phone (手机, shǒu jī) "Hand Machine" 手, shǒu: "hand," "to hold" ● 机, jī: "machine" Possible Homophones: ● "Head/Chief Chicken" (首鸡) ● "Hand Muscle" (手肌) Does Shizun need a hand massage, or miss the "top-dog" chicken he grew up with? Who knows!
Telephone (电话, diàn huà) "Electric Talk" 电, diàn: "electric" ● 话, huà: "language," "speech," "talk" Possible Homophones: ● "Palace Talk" (殿话) ● "Shop Talk" (店话) The most likely guesses seem to be that the phrase has something to do with situational modes of speech. How one speaks in a palace hall, or how one speaks in an inn/shop.
Television (电视, diàn shì) "Electric View" 电, diàn: "electric" ● 视, shì: "to look at," "to regard" Possible Homophones: ● "Court Examination," "Imperial Exam" (殿试) ● "Think on/Remember a Matter," "Worry About Things" (惦事) Why demon lord husbands would pine after imperial exams is anyone's guess.
Refrigerator (冰箱, bīng xiāng) "Ice Box" 冰, bīng: "ice" ● 箱, xiāng: "box" No homophones needed. Meaning is obvious. Huzzah!
Microwave (微波炉, wēi bō lú) "Tiny Wave Stove" 微, wēi: "tiny" ● 波, bō: "wave," "ripple" ● 炉, lú: "stove," "furnace" Possible Homophones: ● "Power Sowing Furnace" (威播炉) No great options here, so they'd likely assume it's some special pill furnace variety.
Car/Automobile (汽车, qì chē) "Steam Vehicle" 汽, qì: "steam," "vapor" ● 车, chē: "vehicle," "chariot" (archaic) Possible Homophones: ● "Qi Chariot" (气车) ● "Near Vehicle" (汔车) A Qi powered chariot sounds pretty neat actually. The phrase could mean something like "whatever vehicle is nearest" though? Or a short range vehicle? (Google translate interpreted 汔车 as "car racing").
Courtesy of @hopingforbrain
airplane's full name can be heard as 'beating (up) flying chickens to the sky'. not in the wanking way, but actually throwing hands with the poultry.
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Absentee
Character: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader
Summary: When Y/N fell in love with Jason Todd, she didn’t realize the normalcy she lost would become such a problem in their relationship. And she didn’t know how much pain it would cause to hide her boyfriend’s secrets. 
Word Count: 4,600 – One Shot
A/N: This is probably a really personal story. And you all might hate it or not relate to it. But oh well...
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Y/N had her music playing in her headphones just quietly enough so she could hear them announce when her plane was boarding.
Between corporate holidays and what was left of her vacation days for the year, she was able to go home for a week and a half.
Only, she was hoping that this year she wouldn’t be going home alone.
But when Jason got sucked into a case two weeks before their flight back to her hometown, she knew there was no way he’d be accompanying her.  
“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I just–“ Jason had tried to tell her when she realized they weren’t going to be spending the holidays together.
“You don’t have to apologize. There are more important things right now than meeting my crazy family,” Y/N laughed lightly. “But they’ll be bummed.”
Jason still looked so down guiltily. He knew that Y/N had been downplaying how excited she was for her family to meet him.
Yeah, Y/N was upset, but her family was even more upset. Being in a different part of the country and them never putting in the effort to visit her, they had yet to meet Jason. Even when the two of them had been dating for 10 months.
Y/N had met all of Jason’s brothers, along with Bruce and Alfred. It had all been against his will, his family strategically running into them or invading his apartment when they knew Y/N would be there. Jason acted annoyed by it, but Y/N knew he was happy for her to meet them and without him having to act like he cared.
But Jason had only ever waved on FaceTime to her family or sometimes answered calls from them when Y/N left her phone next to him and went to another room.
It wasn’t like Y/N needed her family’s approval. She knew what she wanted and what was best for her. Their opinions didn’t hold as much weight with her as they thought.
But Y/N also had never introduced her family to a boyfriend before. Things either fizzled out before then or the relationship was so casual that the thought of even mentioning a boy-toy’s name in passing to her family made her want to jump out a window.
———
“So Jason couldn’t get out of work last minute?” Y/N’s older sister, Kate, asked as they drove to her house after picking her up from arrivals.
And so it began.
“No,” Y/N answered. “His boss is sort of an asshole. He’s a workaholic and can’t fathom why anyone else would ever be anything different.”
The truth was that Jason didn’t really have a job. When it came to income, Jason was resourceful. He was still a hitman for hire. But once the killing part of that job stopped – which was long before Y/N ever met him – it didn’t rake in as much money. Most of his money was either stolen from criminals or he would work odd jobs here and there.
However, the lie Jason and Y/N had agreed on was that he was a mechanic. And Jason did know absolutely everything there was to know about cars and motorcycles. He’d even promised Y/N that if she ever decided she wanted him to drop the vigilante life, he would do just that and start his own mechanic shop. But Y/N knew better than to ever ask that of him.
“Cars don’t stop breaking – even around the holidays,” Y/N joked darkly.
“Mhmm,” her sister answered.
Y/N already knew what her family thought of her boyfriend’s “job”: it wasn’t good enough for them.
The only reason they let it slide was because they knew Bruce Wayne was his adoptive father. Therefore they interpreted Jason’s ‘lack of ambition’ as his personal rebellion against his privilege and upbringing.
“Mom said he sent flowers and a bottle of wine to the house today and apologized for not being able to make it,” Kate added.
Y/N quickly looked at her in surprise.
“So I’m guessing from your reaction that it wasn’t your idea,” Kate teased.
“No,” Y/N shook her head. “He didn’t even tell me he did that.”
That was a Bruce Wayne move for sure. It didn’t matter that Jason had a rocky relationship with him, the Wayne charm and manners were deceivingly contagious.
————
Later that night, when everyone was in bed and Y/N decided to finally unpack. And she was surprised to find two of Jason’s t-shirts hidden in her bag. They were her favorites of his, always stealing them. Mostly she wore them to lounge around the apartment or to wear to bed. But her favoritism was in no way hidden.
Jason must’ve snuck them in her bag while she wasn’t looking.
Y/N smiled as she grabbed one of the shirts and raised it to her nose. It still smelled like him.
It was enough to make her feel guilty for not having called him yet. She’d texted him that she landed, but other than that, she’d been pretty silent.
She grabbed her cell and dialed.
“Hey, you.”
He always answered her calls as if they made his day, even if she’d called him multiple times that day already. His reaction to her calls never failed to make Y/N smile.
“I didn’t really expect you to pick up,” Y/N admitted.
“Always got time for you,” he answered lightly.
But then she heard background noise: wind blowing, distant sirens, people shouting at each other nearby.
Jason was on patrol. Or maybe he was doing some recon. 
But Y/N knew not to ask. 
“I see some of your clothes made the trip,” Y/N commented through a smile. Jason could hear the smile in her voice. “Those t-shirts have a mind of their own…”
“And my mom thought the flowers and card were sweet,” she added.
“I might not have met her yet, but I know that’s not gonna be enough to win her over,” Jason answered darkly.
Y/N didn’t say anything, because they both knew he was right.
“Flight was fine?” Jason asked, changing the subject.
“Mhmm.”
“I miss you.”
Y/N shook her head and laughed. “No, you don’t. I’ve been gone for like 12 hours.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
She rolled her eyes. “Always the romantic.”
More sirens could be heard. They sounded closer this time. “Are you being careful?” All playfulness had disappeared from her voice.
“Of course.”
Y/N sighed. “Jason, I’m serious. Please, be safe.”
“I know. I know. Don’t worry about me.”
“You know that’s not gonna happen, J.”
He ignored her comment. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
————————
To say Y/N’s time at home was rough…was an understatement.
If Y/N wasn’t being asked a million questions about Jason, she was being interrogated for why he wasn’t there. And if Jason wasn’t the subject of the conversation, people acted like she was single – some even talking about setting her up.
Y/N realized she preferred the former.
Every year, her family threw a giant party.
And for the past five years, Y/N had always been the only one that was single. All of her siblings, all of her cousins, all of their family friends, all of their neighbors…every single one of them had a significant other during those years. 
Everyone...except her. Now, this year, all of them had kids or were expecting.
It was exhausting. 
Sometimes Y/N felt like they were all robots programmed to do the exact same things at the exact same time –  no original thought to be had.
Y/N would be lying if she didn’t spend most of the party wishing Jason was at her side. He would make fun of awkward situations with her. And he would stick up for her when her family teased her a little too much.
The other thing Y/N wasn’t prepared for was unintentionally studying  her family’s boyfriends or husbands. She felt like she was watching everyone’s relationships through a different lens now that she herself had her own. And to put it as kindly as possible…she was not impressed.
Y/N noticed how none of the men offered to help in the kitchen, instead deciding to sit on the couch and watch football and scream at the television. Or how when her cousin handed her son to her husband, and he acted like he didn’t even know how to hold the one year old. And later, when his diaper needed to be changed, he handed him back to his wife as if he had no idea how to do it himself.
Yet her family was stuck on Jason not being able to visit or that he was a mechanic.
What did someone’s job matter if they treated her like she was their world and he the best thing to ever happen to her?
If Jason were here, he would be in the kitchen cooking. And if they had a kid, it would be a 50/50 job – not a burden only Y/N had to bare. He would try to get to know everyone because he would want to know the people who raised the woman he loved. He’d make sure to check in on Y/N every once in awhile, making sure she didn’t need anything. 
Thinking about it all made Y/N miss Jason even more.
Needing to get some air, she decided to go outside and let the winter chill refresh her. It had been getting too hot in the house.
Y/N pulled her phone out of her back pocket and tapped Jason’s name.
“Hey, you.”
“Hi,” she sighed.
Just hearing his voice made her feel a bit better and tension left her body.
“What’s wrong?” Jason quickly asked.
“Nothing. Just…wanted to check in.”
For a second, she was going to explain that she had the sudden realization that all the men connected to her family were trash. And witnessing it was making her miss him more. But she didn’t really want to waste her breath and she figured she’d just come off dramatic more than sincere.
“Are you at your apartment?” She asked quickly.
“Yeah, I’m gonna leave for patrol in a bit…”
Then Y/N’s mind suddenly thought, ‘Fuck it.’
“Jason?”
“Yeah, kid?”
“If you were here…” She began softly.
“Mhmm,” he encouraged.
“What would you be doing?”
Jason was a bit confused by the question for a second. But he slowly got what she was asking.
“Well,” he took in a shallow breath. “I would’ve stolen Alfred’s famous chocolate chip cookie recipe and whipped up those bad boys to bring over. And I’d pretend to care about football with your dad.”
That made Y/N laugh.
“I’d help your mom in the kitchen, even when she pretended not to want it.”
“Really laying it on thick, huh?”
But Y/N knew he was right. Jason was the cook between the two of them – and a good one, too. He also was a helper. He couldn’t sit back and watch someone do something while he did nothing. No matter how big or small.
“Shhh,” Jason reprimanded and then continued. “But most importantly, I’d try to get as many embarrassing stories about you as I possibly could.”
“Well, thank goodness you’re not here then,” she teased with a roll of her eyes.
Jason was quiet a second before he asked, “Wanna tell me what’s wrong now?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Just miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
“All my family’s boyfriends and husbands are losers. And I guess I’m just now realizing it.”
“Ahh,” Jason noted.
Now he really knew why she’d asked her question.
“It’s snowing here,” he told her as he looked out the window. “It’s almost making Gotham look pretty.”
“Are you going to the manor for Christmas?”
“Probably not,” Jason answered.
“Jason,” she grumbled. “What are you going to do instead? Sit in your apartment alone?”
“I’m gonna patrol. Crime doesn’t take holidays, Y/N.”
“Cheesy,” she pointed out. “Please be with your family, Jason. I don’t want you to be alone. OK?”
“I’ll think about it.”
Y/N knew that was as good as it was going to get.
Then she felt something on her cheek and she looked up. “Hey, it just started snowing here, too…” She told him with her head tilted back.
“I love you,” he sighed.
“I love you, too. Be careful tonight, Jason.”
Y/N gave herself a few more moments outside before returning to the party.
When she walked back inside, she immediately heard her name. But no one was calling to her. 
She was being talked about. 
She recognized her mom and sister’s voices, and then a couple of her aunts. They were talking around the corner, completely unaware that Y/N was in hearing distance.
So Y/N couldn’t help but linger.
“She says he works a lot. Every time I facetime her, he’s never there,” her sister Kate told the women. “I wouldn’t even really know what he looked like if it weren’t for her photos that she’s sent me. He doesn’t have any social media.”
“I just can’t believe he couldn’t get work off. Around the holidays?” Her mom added in utter disbelief. “Sounds like it won’t be surprising when she finds out he’s been unfaithful,” one her aunts commented.
The group hummed in agreement, but also disappointment. 
“He doesn’t even live in Metropolis. He lives in Gotham,” her mother supplied, only further backing the idea that Jason wasn’t committed. “God knows why. But I hate that Y/N is constantly going there. No good news comes from that city.”
Y/N clenched her teeth in anger.
If only they knew the truth about Jason. 
He was a hero and risked his life every night for an entire city – a city that had done nothing but hurt him. And he was 20 times the man than any of the men in their family.
She just wanted to scream at them for being so judgmental about a person they’d never even met.
But she couldn’t.
So Y/N stormed up to her childhood bedroom and decided she had enough of the party.
She shouldn’t have come home for the holidays. She would’ve rather waited for Jason to get back from his Red Hood work than listen to her family misjudge the first man she ever truly loved and wanted to share with them.
————————
Y/N was so tired when she got off the plane.
She felt like a zombie as she walked to baggage claim to grab her duffle.
What she wasn’t expecting was to find her boyfriend waiting for her in arrivals.
Y/N had told him she would just get a car.
But Jason seemed to have other ideas.
Y/N’s entire face brightened at the sight of him.
She practically ran to him and jumped into his arms.
Jason chuckled at her enthusiasm.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, her words muffled by his body.
“I thought I’d surprise you,” Jason said through a smile before he kissed her head.
Y/N didn’t respond, just held him tightly.
“Come on. Let’s get your bag and head home,” he finally told her.
“So, how was it?” Jason asked once they got into his car. Y/N shrugged, “It was fine.”
Her lack of details and curt response was enough warning for Jason to realize things were not totally fine between them.
He didn’t bother asking for more details during the car ride home. Instead, he answered all her questions about what he had been up to, how the case was going, if his family was alright.
Once they got back to Y/N’s apartment in Metropolis, the grace period seemed to be over.
Y/N had grown quiet as she moved around her apartment, unpacking and putting all her things away.
Jason walked into her bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed as she folded clean clothes. “This might be a shot in the dark. But I can’t help but feel that you’re not happy with me,” he finally pointed out.
She didn’t answer or look at him, just kept folding.
“Did something happen while you were at home?” Jason pushed.
She still didn’t answer. So Jason reached for her hands, holding them gently.
“Hey, talk to me. What’s going on?”
“I just didn’t expect how hard it was going to be…” she finally whispered with a bowed head.
“What would be?”
“Just going home without you,” she explained.
“Did something happening?”
“I mean, kinda? Not really. They just…” she hesitated. Did she really want to confess all of this to him? She knew it would only hurt him. "They think you’re a bad boyfriend.”
Jason just nodded slowly.
He should’ve seen this coming. Of course her family didn’t think he was good enough. How could they think anything different?
“I’m just…fucking frustrated,” Y/n groaned. “I knew what I was getting into when you told me about your other life and who you really were. I was willing to keep your secret and protect it. I just never thought about how hard it would be keeping it from my family.”
She shook her head. “They think you’re not committed or something. And that…that you’re probably cheating on me.”
The idea of him ever doing that her made Jason sick to his stomach.
“I’m sorry,” Jason mumbled.
“What?” Y/N gasped. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“But I have,” he argued. “I put you in this position.”
“No, I did. I did when I fell in love with you,” she clarified.
“But I don’t want you lying to the people you love.”
“I’m not telling you this because I’m mad at you or blame you, Jason. I’m trying to tell you why I’m frustrated.”
She rubbed her face. “I just want them to know what an amazing person you are...and how brave and selfless. How you take care of me and love me and…and protect me.” Her eyes began to water. “They’re never gonna know the real you…even when they do meet you. And I fucking hate it.”
“So what if you told them?” Jason offered.
Her eyes widened at that. “Jason…”
“I’m serious. What if you told them?”
She thought about it. But she already knew the answer.
“It wouldn’t do any good. If I told them, then they’d be worried about me. Worried that your other life was putting me in danger. Worried that I would get pulled into it.”
Jason knew she was right.
Her family probably preferred an absentee boyfriend over a vigilante.
“But I see how the shitty men that have joined my family are. And you’re nothing like them. You’re so much better. And they’ll never even know.”
“Come here,” Jason muttered before he pulled her to him.
He let her body sink into his as he held her.
“I’ll do anything you want,” he whispered as he rubbed her back. “I just want you to be happy.”
“I always wondered what it would be like to finally been in a relationship – to just have someone on my team no matter what. I went to all those family gatherings thinking I’d never have it. And once I did, once I found you…” Her thoughts died out. “I just never expected it to be this way.”
“Do you regret it?” Jason asked as he pulled away to look in her eyes.
Her brow furrowed. “Regret what?”
“Being with me. Falling in love with me.”
Her heart broke at the question. “Oh, Jason. Of course not. Never.”
“What if I stopped?” He asked.
“No. I would never ask that of you,” she quickly shot down.
“I’d do it for you,” he tried to argue.
“I know you would. But I’m not asking. Because I know what it would do to you. Every time you’d see something in the news, you’d hate yourself. Because you would convince yourself that you could’ve stopped it. And maybe you would be right.” She took in a deep breath. “Red Hood isn’t just something you do. He’s a part of you. And even though I worry about you constantly, I’m never gonna tell you to stop.”
Jason took his time in reading her face.
“OK?” She pushed.
He nodded.
Then he embraced her once again.
“I’m sorry you have to keep my secrets,” he breathed into her hair.
————————————
Y/N walked into Jason’s apartment.
It was a Friday night and they agreed to have her come to his place this weekend.
Jason was always weary of her coming to Gotham, preferring her to stay in the safety of Metropolis.
He knew they couldn’t do the distance forever, and eventually they’d move into together. But he wasn’t ready to leave Gotham yet. And he didn’t want Y/N to lowering herself to such a city.
“J!” Y/N called when she walked in.
He had given her keys to his apartment quite early in their relationship, and told her she was welcome at his place any time. However, he wasn’t a fan of her getting there after dark. Gotham was Gotham, and he didn’t like her wandering around the city by herself just in order to give him a surprise visit.
An envelope on Jason’s kitchen counter caught her attention.
She nosily looked at it and saw that they were plane tickets to her hometown with both of their names on each of them.  
She heard Jason walk up behind her. “What’s this?”
“A surprise,” he shrugged.
“What do you mean?” She laughed.
“We’re gonna visit your family,” he explained casually. “I called your mom and sister to find a weekend that worked.”
Y/N was shocked to silence.
“I know I fucked up when I couldn’t go with you during the holidays. I know this isn’t gonna solve everything. But I figured…it’s start.” Before he could say more, Y/N threw her arms around him.
————
Jason Todd knew how to throw on the charm. And no matter how thick he laid it on, it always felt sincere.
Y/N smiled as she watched her boyfriend interacting with her family.
He knew so much about each of them already, that he knew exactly what to talk about with every one of them.
For their long-weekend visit, they had decided to stay with her sister.
Jason knew she would be the hardest to win over and was the most protective over Y/N. He made it his personal mission to befriend her and show her how much he loved her little sister.
Y/N never said so, but Jason knew how important it was to her that Kate approved of him.
However, Jason hadn’t been able to have a conversation alone with her all weekend.
Until their last morning there.
Y/N was still sleeping when Jason had made his way to the kitchen.
He figured he could make Kate and her husband breakfast after housing them for a long weekend. And he made sure to start a pot of coffee while he was at it.
Halfway through making his specialty waffles, Kate walked into the kitchen rubbing her eyes.
“Oh, hi,” she greeted, clearly surprised to find Jason cooking in her kitchen.
“Morning,” Jason greeted.
“This is a surprise,” she said as she looked around the kitchen.
“There’s coffee if you want some.”
“T-Thanks…” she managed to mutter. “Do you need some help?”
“Nope. I got it. You just relax.”
Kate seemed to be unsure of how to behave when she was alone with her little sister’s boyfriend, and eventually sat on the kitchen stool with her coffee.
“Do you cook a lot?” She finally broke the silence with her question.
“I enjoy it,” he answered with a shrug. “I figured it’s the least I can do for you guys putting us up.”
“That’s very sweet of you, Jason.”
He continued cooking.
Kate figured this was her opportunity to get to know Jason – and not just through Y/N’s eyes. So, she started asking him question after question, and he seemed happy to answer them. Kate was surprised to find out about Jason’s traumatic childhood, making him realize that Y/N must’ve only shared his relation to Bruce Wayne and nothing more about his life before becoming an adopted Wayne.
Jason wasn’t surprised Y/N kept that part of his life to herself. She was protective of him that way. She always felt like his past was his story to tell, not hers.
“I know missing the holidays didn’t leave the best impression,” Jason told her after they’d been talking for awhile.
“You really mean a lot to Y/N. And your opinion matters more to her than you might think,” he added as he crossed his arms.
Kate seemed a little taken aback by how unafraid he was of confrontation.
He seemed more mature for his age – maybe for hers, even.
“I know I’m not going to win any of you over from just a single trip,” Jason continued. “But I’m going to work my ass off to make sure I get there.”
Kate smiled at that.
“I love her,” he told her quietly, but with determination. “She’s…Well, she’s the best thing to ever happen to me.”
Then he smirked. “And I’m not dumb enough to do anything to fuck things up with her.”
He took in a shallow breath. “I just…I just needed you to know that.”
Kate’s heart swelled from hearing her little sister’s boyfriend confessing his love for Y/N.
“Thank you for telling me that,” she whispered, trying to stop herself from crying. “I worry about her. And I hate that she’s so far away sometimes. I miss her.”
“She misses you, too,” Jason assured her.
“Thank you for taking care of her. I’m suddenly realizing you’re the only reason she’s eating anything that’s not out of a takeout container.”
Jason laughed. “I plead the fifth.”
Before any more could be said, Y/N walked into the kitchen as if she was sleep walking.
“Well, look who it is…” Jason teased.
Y/N walked to him silently, clearly wanting cuddles.
Jason chuckled at her, but gave her what she wanted. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. He had kept the PDA at an absolute minimum while he had been around Y/N’s family. But he couldn’t help it when Y/N was her sleepy and adorable self.
“You sleep OK?” He tried to whisper to her.
But Kate still heard it and pretended to look down at her phone.
Y/N nodded into his neck, making him chuckle at her more.
This was new for Kate, seeing her sister being loved and loving someone. Her instinct was to say it made her uncomfortable. But it was just something she wasn’t used to.
Soon Kate’s husband woke up and they all ate breakfast together.
And a few hours later, Y/N and Jason were packed and their was a Lyft was waiting outside to take them to the airport.
Jason hugged Kate and her husband and thanked them for hosting them. Then he grabbed Y/N’s bags and gave her a moment alone with her sister as he took their stuff to the car.
“I think I owe the two of you an apology…” Kate told her little sister.
“You do?”
“I think I judged him a bit too much before really giving him a chance.”
Y/N winced, but nodded. “Yeah, you did, actually.”
“He really loves you.”
Y/N smiled. “He does.”
“I just want you to be happy, you know that right?”
“I know. But sometimes you think that what makes you happy is what would make me happy. Our lives are different. And we want different things. Just because my relationship looks different than yours doesn’t mean it’s worse in some way.”
Kate nodded sadly, knowing her sister was right. “I get that now.”
-----------
A/N: I was inspired to write this when I thought about how my own family would react to me having a boyfriend like Jason Todd: a man who was secretly a vigilante and had a past too hard for anyone to ever imagine. Hopefully, other people can relate to this and it wasn’t too personal. 😬
Let me know what you thought!!!
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partnersatfazbear · 4 years ago
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Analysis of The Real Jake (SPOILERS)
I can't decide whether to make this post a stream-of-consciousness style or group it into evidence for x... but since it's easier, I'll just write my thoughts as I go. Although a lot of this is factual ties to, say, FNAF 4, things like relating Margie to Henry are just my own headcanon and you can do with that what you will AKA don't take this all too seriously, but have fun with it. There’s also specific notes about Michael Afton, for those that just want to know what was said regarding him (presumably).
Before I start, please note I've had three hours of sleep in the last... 28 hours? IDK I can't math, especially not on this little sleep. So, there may be errors. I tried to make a note on things I was unsure about, too. 
Note: I wrote this before the Evan=CC theory was all but confirmed. Although I believe this theory from the logbook, I think a lot of these notes are still valid.
Read my notes under the cut:
Margie shares similar physical appearance to Henry: Pg 84 “The window fan blew a lock of her shoulder-length brown hair across her upper lip so it looked like she had a mustache.”
“Mrs. Afton” stand in is mentioned: Pg 86 “...it had been four years since his Mom had died...” (Jake is 9 in the story)
I notice when Scott mentions plaid. Pg 87 “...a green-and-blue plaid plush chair...” I mostly wanted to note this since canonically, Henry had a green plaid shirt.
“William” stand in is mentioned. Pg 89 “And you know he thinks about you [Jake] all the time?” “So, he has to concentrate on what he's doing... ...I don't want him thinking about me and end up shooting himself in the foot or something.” Pg 102 “Yeah, I did. [I spilled some chocolate ice cream] Right on my shirt!” Pg 122 “I did that today! [While playing a DDR like game, breaking a shoelace.]” (Admittedly, I only counted these because I headcanon William is much more of a bumbling fool than he appears. It comes up very often as you can see... although you could write it off as Evan just trying to relate to his kid.)
“William” stand in is mentioned. Pg 92 “...Margie was pretty sure Evan couldn't afford to replace a washer and dryer” and “...Evan, at his rank, could barely afford her” Pg 110 “Gillian's house shared stlying with Evan's, but hers was probably four times bigger.” (Again, I headcanon William and his family is on the low end of middle class, if not lower, in terms of income. Particularly, the house is cramped.)
“Mrs. Afton” stand in is mentioned. Pg 93 “First, Jake's Mom was killed.” Pg 139 “The mom's dead.” (You could infer that she died via something akin to a car crash in the context of the story, however if you reflect it to the games given the commonalities, I like to think of this as confirmation that William murdered her, given the word 'killed' is used.)
Margie records herself on her cell phone. Pg 93 (and on other pages) (Again referencing my headcanon for Henry, in which he records ideas/diaries often. At minimum, Henry is referred to as “Cassette Man” in PizzaSim so... I just thought it could make for an interesting comparison.)
Jake mentions his “friends”. Pg 99 “Patty and Davey... Vic... and the twins... Ellie and Evie... Kyle, Clay, and Garrett” (Also, he isn't mentioned until later, but there's his best friend Brandon, too. I noted these in reference to CC talking about his 'friends', either IRL or the plushies. I assume his IRL friends are the MCI victims. The number doesn't add up though. I really, really wanted to make a connection about the twins, considering Charlie and Sammy are twins, but there wasn't enough evidence to write it off as anything other than a coincidence. Also... Clay, really? We need another double name in this series? Ugh.)
What's your favorite flavor? Chocolate Pg. 102 “What flavor did you get?” “Chocolate. Duh.” (This is a stretch, but it did remind me of Help Wanted's final level in the main game, where you're asked to choose your favorite cake flavor. Although, they're discussing ice cream here.)
Maybe some insight into William's personality? Pg. 103 “You ever do that, Evan?” “What?” “Let off steam.” “Me? No. Steam is pretty much what keeps me going.” (Just more evidence that William is obsessed with his work. You could imply “steam” implies he runs like a machine, but that's stretching a bit.)
Pg. 113 -118 (Jake climbs out of his window to run off to play at the arcade with his friend. Obvious parallel to the child in Midnight Motorist, although it's daytime and no animatronics/fursuits luring him.) There is this, on Pg 121 also. Jake says, “We played all the racing games. I love racing games.”
PURPLE Pg 121 “...did you get a slushie at the arcade? I got one. I got grape. It turned my tongue purple.” “My tongue's purple, too!” “Purple power!” (Uh, do I really need to explain this? I should note that Evan is the one mentioning “grape”. I guess William likes grape flavor and purple.)
'Michael' is mentioned. Sort of a stand in for Michael Afton, but it should be noted that Michael and Evan are brothers in this universe. Pg 126, 127 “Michael...lived in Europe for a few years...” “Michael's a serious dude. He's, well, a little different. He's intense about making money...the way he is about it... can make him seem like he's not human.” “So, he's like a cyborg with bad programming?” Michael has some dialogue: “You must excersize caution. You could get chocolate on my suit, and that would be bad. Very, very bad.” (The very very bad thing is a running joke in the family, which is why this comes up. I don't have a lot to say about it, though. I think Michael [Afton] being obsessed with money seems a bit counter intuitive to how we know him, but who knows? I also want to note that Evan doesn't seem antagonistic towards Michael; in fact, he “hate[s] to ask him for favors”.)
Also, Pg 141 “His [Michael's] flat, gruff voice was unmistakable.” Michael is also the first one to hear his father is dead and informs Margie about it. “I have been notified that Evan's dead.” Pg 142 “She had only met Michael the one time, and she knew the way he processed the world was very different from what was “normal”” Michael also states to Margie: “I've got Evan's will... you're Jake's guardian and he left you the house and some savings. I'm the executor.” Margie also says: “He[Michael]'s a numbers genius, manages money for the wealthy people and has made a killing doing it.” “He's not a bad guy. He just doesn't know how to connect. He doesn't feel the way we do.” (Just more Michael characterization.)
Direct FNAF 4 easter egg references: Pg 128 “...the IV stand lurking in the corner of the room” Pg 129 “...and the line of perscription medication bottles marching across the top of the chest of drawers”
Margie is more than a nanny and possibly in love with Evan: Pg. 139 “She'd come to love Evan, too... like a brother.” Pg 140 “...she was included in the outings, movie nights, game nights, and storytelling time...” Pg 149 “...she wanted Evan to be more than just a boss, and being in his room when he was gone made her feel like a lovelorn stalker.” “Love him like a brother... She snorted. Boy, had she been lying to herself.” Pg 158 “What she was feeling called for a screaming fit or a total mental breakdown.” (Yeah, this is just me reading too much into this for Willry content, haha... But still. I am determined that Margie is a Henry stand-in.)
'I will put you back together' Pg 140 “I'm trying to bring you home whole.” (Evan is discussing “no man left behind” with his son, Jake. I think this is obvious.)
William's home office? Pg. 149 “When he was home, she'd go in and vacuum or put away laundry... ...when he was gone...coming in here felt like an invasion of privacy.” “Evan's room would be her room.” “...I'd feel like I was sleeping in your bed, she thought.” “...the room felt discretely masculine.” “The walls were covered in family photos.” “The shelves were stuffed with fiction... mysteries to classics, nonfiction... how-to books...from rebuilding a car engine to planting a garden.”
FNAF 4 reference. Pg 152 “Outside, a dog barked.” (You can hear a dog barking as ambient noise during nights when playing FNAF 4.)
Other notes:
It happens a lot, but one of the main things in the book is the doll Simon and how Jake talks to it. This is very blatantly a reference to the Golden Freddy Plush (“Psychic Friend Fredbear”). The story confirms it's Jake's father, Evan, talking through it. Although it makes the one scene in FNAF 4 a little wonky (the only scene where we see Purple Guy), I think it's pretty much confirmed that it's William talking to CC now. Obviously, we already suspected this due to Sister Location's “Secret Room”. In this story, Evan says he did it because he wanted to give Jake some hope he would live. Combined with both the IV/medicine bottle easter eggs (in the story and FNAF 4) I think it's plausible to assume that CC was taken home after the Bite of '83 for a period of time before he passed away. I will admit, also, that Evan definetly comes off as a very caring father (in comparison to how we presume William is based on what we've seen of him as a person; although I argued this before on this blog, I don't think William hates his kids. I think he's neglectful, moreso as the story goes on. I think he resents Michael for many reasons but I won't go into that here. I just don't think he's the abusive monster the fanbase interprets him to be—at least not early on.)
The cabinet reminds me a lot of the closets in the novel series. A built in shelf with a doll in it. A doll that represents a child. Considering Margie tends to this doll (see Pg. 130-135), I have to draw more parallels between her and Henry.
The fan is mentioned A LOT. I don't really know why, but I guess we can't help but think of every single FNAF office when it's brought up. Specifically, on Pg. 106, Margie mentions the fan in her room is as loud as a jet engine and the sound made her nervous. Once again, I'm reminded of PizzaSim. Seriously, screw you fan.
The heat is mentioned a lot, too. I know the story takes place in summer, but this did remind me of Pizza Sim.
Pg. 93 “Margie sat down in the faded blue webbed lawn chair that was set up, for reasons she never understood, in front of the shelves by the stairs.” (I noted this because it's specifically called out and I don't know why.)
Margie talks about why she's working for Evan: Pg. 95 “I didn't get the internship I applied for.” I like to think her and Mia (from 1280) were after the same internship. (I may be misremembering, but I'm pretty sure Mia mentioned an internship at the hospital.)
Jake is mentioned to have brown hair, green eyes. His favorite color is green. He also wears green often. I couldn't find anything really interesting about it. It would make more sense as a Puppet reference, tbh (because of the green bracelet (and eyes? I may be remembering wrong) I guess it's also worth noting that Elizabeth has green eyes.
Pg 135 “Are you afraid people will think you're murdering me?” “...I could end you so quickly you'd never make a sound.” (Just an odd conversation between Jake and Margie. Margie is joking here, obviously.) Also, Pg. 136 “I just figured your [Jake's] wires got crossed or your circuits were frying.” (Admittedly, I don't know what to make of this. Could be a reference to Robot-CC, if you believe that or MikeBot [I don't], but more likely just ironic dialogue. It could also reference Jake's future in the Stichwraith?)
Pg 139 “Sometimes, Margie wished she was like one of the robots Jake liked so much.” (Although I can't really compare this to Henry, I did write William with this mindset and thought it was worth mentioning.)
Pg 141+ So, Evan dies overseas (he's a soldier). (I think this could be hinting that William has been springlocked around the time CC passes away. Jake has been home for some time after his diagnosis so we can infer based on that and the easter eggs that CC was brought home to die in peace. At the very least, William's probably very absent during this time. Possibly brought in for questioning but not arrested. I don't know. I feel like there's something to this.)
Pg 154 “Dave's at work.” (Why? Can we not use established names? Aghhh)
Pg 155 “The ambulance arrived at 11:32.” (I don't know why this is stated so outright. I couldn't find a reason, except that a few paragraphs earlier they say it will arrive by noon. I don't know why it's so specific, but I felt like noting it anyway.)
Pg 159 “Five people. Five sets of eyes. And none of them noticed...” (Yeah. We all know how important 5 is in FNAF.)
Three medical personel are mentioned. One at the end is named Nancy [No Last Name Given], but I like to think its a reference to Man in 1280 and we're dealing with Heracles Hospital once more, although it's never said in this story. Speaking of, the only thing that really stood out to me in 1280's story was that a billionare funded the restoration of the hospital. I like to headcanon that was Henry's doing—I imagine him obscessing over overcompensating for his mistakes by giving back in every way possible, even if it isn't directly related to him.
So, this post only took two hours of my life. I hope someone gets some use out of it, be it for my intended Willry purposes or maybe those Michael fans that are curious about it. If you enjoyed this post, let me know. I'd love to write up more of these if I have the time.
I have other write-ups on this blog, too. Just search fnaf theories on my blog page!
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alecmagnuslwb · 4 years ago
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Bartending Isn’t For Everyone
Writer’s Month 2020 Day Eight
Read on AO3
Clary Fray is an absolutely horrendous bartender. For eight shifts now Maia has watched her do just about everything wrong. She’s seen her make a Manhattan with six olives in it, put whiskey in a coffee mug and call it a whiskey sour, put a balled onion in a margarita and most notably send a round of vodka shots to a table who asked for water.
She narrowly avoided being fired by the manager on day four, but with the help of her little nerdy friend Simon whispering ingredients to her she made a perfect old fashioned and she’d skated by.
Maia should probably just tell her boss what’s going here because she is at the peak of another Friday night rush and she might as well be behind the bar alone with the amount of mistakes Clary keeps making.
There’s just one tiny snag. Maia has developed the biggest crush on this gorgeous girl with one brain cell for bartending.
At first she just thought Clary was pretty and a little dumb if she’s being honest, but then she made the mistake of getting to know her between messed up drink orders. Clary’s not dumb, far from it really, she’s got wit and an artistic mind that sees things in ways no one else can and a ridiculous niche amount of knowledge about mermaid mythology.
Day seven is what really caught her off guard. Still frustrated from watching Clary literally cheat her way through an old-fashioned Maia had decided that she’d put her to the test in a different way with the classic drink slide.
If she broke enough glasses there’s no way this albeit pretty and interesting girl wouldn’t get fired and finally her boss could hire someone that would actually help her out behind the bar.
Maia of course made the mistake of teaching her how to slide a beer down the counter in the most sensual way possible standing behind her and guiding her hand and that’s when she realized she was absolutely fucked.
Clary’s skin was soft and a little chilled to the touch beneath her warm fingers, goosebumps rising with every pass. She could feel the curve of Clary’s back against her front and for a moment her hand accidentally slipped and brushed her hip and Maia was absolutely done for.
Fourteen glasses and five full bottles of beer were broken by the time they cleaned up for the night, but instead of leaving the mess or telling her boss all about how awful Clary was at it Maia made sure there was no evidence of the disaster.
She let her crush dictate her job and right now on night eight of this disaster girl she’s kind of regretting that.
“On the rocks is the one with the ice cubes, right?” Clary asks as Maia attempts to fill two full trays of shots, make a signature margarita and an appletini simultaneously.
Maia just looks at her dumfounded.
“Right, no ice cubes,” Clary says with a determined little nod of her head, it’s cute, Maia wishes it wasn’t cute, because she’s so very wrongly interpreting Maia’s expression.
Maia watches her go about to hand a drink to a patron when she comes to her senses.
“No Clary, with ice. With!” she emphasizes and Clary looks like a deer in the headlights for a moment before getting with the program and grabbing the ice.
It’s a rush of drinks and stopping Clary from putting things that absolutely don’t belong in drinks for almost two full hours after that. When she inexplicably adds a dash of peppermint and orange bitters to a gin and tonic Maia thinks somehow impossibly she’s gotten worse at bartending as the days have passed.
When Jace, Maia’s roommate, comes in after the rush has finally died down and just to be annoying purposefully orders a Negroni, a drink that Maia can barely make, from Clary she snaps.
She pulls the butcher knife from under the bar that they keep for slicing lemons, limes and what not out and lies it on the bar in front of Jace while Clary flutters around with her phone out googling what a Negroni is.
“You are the worst and if you don’t change your drink order right now I will kill you in your sleep tonight,” she whispers quiet and deadly. Jace has known her long enough to know she’s serious so he scrambles quickly to get Clary’s attention switching his drink order to a simple scotch neat.
Clary still manages to mess it up, handing the drink to Jace in a martini glass with a cinnamon stick in it.
“Does she think neat just means that it should look neat?” Jace asks quizzically looking at the drink in front of him.
Maia just opens her mouth and shakes her head unable to form a proper response.
By the time closing hits Maia is exhausted. Eight shifts with Clary and she’s barely survived on two levels, as a bartender and as a bisexual woman with exquisite taste.
Clary’s wiping down the bar, the one bartender task she’s actually quite good at, as Maia flips chairs onto the tables when she finally has to say it.
“No offense Clary, but you know you’re a god-awful bartender right?” she says as she puts up the last chair.
Clary giggles and it’s so cute Maia could scream.
“It’s about time you said it, I was thinking you just didn’t notice or were too nice to bring it up,” Clary says finishing up her wipe down of the bar and leaning on it.
Maia walks over and slips into the stool at the bar in front of where Clary rests.
“Definitely not too nice,” she smirks. “And I definitely noticed, I mean Simon was not subtle that day I don’t know how our boss didn’t catch it. I mean you’re pretty Fray, but there’s a breaking point of distraction even then.”
“Yeah Simon saved my ass that day, but he isn’t known for his subtly,” Clary laughs and then pauses. “Wait did you just say I’m pretty?”
Maia smiles and nods.
“I did. You are.”
Clary blushes just a little her pale skin taking on a pink highlight as she fiddles with the rag in her hand.
“So if you know you’re that bad why haven’t you quit yet?” Maia asks watching the way Clary’s fingers twist the rag around and around.
Clary shrugs leaning in a little more on the bar. “Maybe I was just waiting for the pretty bartender to either ask me out or get me fired?”
Maia smiles.
“Can I do both? Is both an option?” she says leaning in a little more too.
Clary laughs, full out belly laughs at that and pulls back from the bar.
“How about you ask me out and let me quit?” she counteroffers when she gets her laughter under control. “I found a job at an art store a few blocks away, definitely more suited to me, but I can’t start till next week and I kinda need the paycheck from here.”
Maia rolls her eyes and sighs faking annoyance, well slightly faking as much as she likes Clary the idea of one more week of this is a tasking thing to have to deal with.
“Fine, I guess I can survive one more week of you not knowing the difference between bourbon and whiskey,” Maia says with a teasing smile.
“They’re the same thing!” Clary exclaims tossing her hands up in the air.
“If you said that to someone from the right region they’d hit you over the head with a bottle of one. Though the differences are subtle they are very real,” Maia says switching gears as she sees Clary about to argue that’s not the case. They’ve had this argument once before already. “So, you want to get dinner with me next Friday after you’ve officially quit?”
“Why wait till Friday?” Clary asks.
“Because I can’t in good confidence date you until I know I never have to watch you butcher another drink again,” Maia says with a twist of her lips.
“Rude,” Clary grumbles with a smile. “But fair. I can’t wait till’ Friday then.”
“Neither can I.”
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animemeg27 · 4 years ago
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I feel like I complain a lot about work on twitter so I’ma rant here for a change so I’m not so negative in one space, but honestly depending on how my work’s new owners deal with this situation, I’m genuinely considering looking for a new job next month..
I was just on the phone with one of the new owners and I actually broke down crying a bit...
lemme explain the situation
It’s a friday, it’s lunch time, it’s hot out, that morning a fight broke out between dogs because dog A wants to fence fight with dog B whenever he walks by, dog B is chill but will defend himself so he fence fights back. Dog C is in the same yard as Dog A and because dog A is reacting aggressively, dog C wants to join in and the only dog he can get to is dog A. All 3 dogs are of large strong breeds so obviously sometimes they can be a handful if they get out of control. Asshole coworker is in the yard with the fighting dogs and luckily had them on leash so he had them both at arms length and dragged them away from the fence. Doggy Day Kamp manager in my yard with dog B goes over to Asshole’s yard to help keep them two apart as the Asshole’s hand got bit and is bleeding. The dogs are never put away, but are kept on leash until they’re calm enough the Asshole finally goes to wash his hand. The Manager keeps the leash on the instigator, dog A, and soon the dogs in that yard are moved away into the backyard so they don’t see dog B and start another fight.
I personally don’t know why the hell dogs A and B were in yards next to each other when I’m pretty sure it was established awhile ago that dog A hates dog B. But the Asshole has a superiority/dog trainer complex when he is neither of those things so I wouldn’t put it past him if it was his idea.
Couple hours later Assistant manager comes in for her shift and hears about the fight. She tells the Asshole “hey next time put the dogs away when they fight so they can calm down” cuz ya know, that’s standard protocol. It’s dangerous to have em still out because the aggressive energy can build up again with other reactive dogs still in the yard that could still be anxious from the fight that just happened. A fight broke out literally a week prior and SHE had her hand bitten and that same dog C was involved and he was put away. That time all dogs were going after one in the yard and many of the dogs were ok in doing so because dog C was in on it and riling everyone up. Ya know what the asshole says? “that’s not gonna do anything they’re not children putting them in time out won’t teach them anything” completely ignoring her who’s been here at least as long as I have aka 7 years while he’s hardly been here more than half a year. Like um they ain’t human either they’re dogs aka animals so they can be kind of unpredictable when they are in such a reactive state. The assistant manager is just as sick of him as I am and scoffs but doesn’t have the energy to argue. The asshole had really been pissing her off lately by kind of bossing her around out of nowhere when the manager had been on vacation earlier in the month.
few hours later it’s lunch time, and this is where shit goes down... kinda literally. Asshole leaves for lunch. Or so I thought. We were in the same yard and he left through one of the side pens, but he found a missed pile of dog poop in there so he decides to pick it up himself. Ok whatever. He leaves the gate open a bit and a little dog slips through. he picks him up and puts him back in the main yard, I come over and close the gate over so he can hurry and pick up the poop and head to lunch. He tells me to leave it open because the dogs won’t learn anything if I close it. like dude it’s just poop, so I kept the gate shut. granted I didn’t say anything, but my logic was who the hell wants to spend and extra 5-10 minutes dealing with dogs trying to slip through a gate depending on which dogs come over just to pick up poop instead of wanting to head to lunch as soon as possible. So he says something along the lines of “what is wrong with you” or “what is your problem” to which I simply responded with “Just go to lunch, I’ll take care of it.” My patience with him was thin already but at this point it was just gone. This asshole is so obsessed with teaching dogs in general but also not to slip through gates that he always get so angry, or at least really annoyed and pissed off at me whenever I try to help holding dogs back, like I was taught to do, especially ones that are more difficult - ones that are strong or speedy and don’t sit still and take every opportunity to slip through the gate. like it’s understandable to try and teach them, but it can be a long process, especially with the more difficult ones. No one really has time for that when we’re busy or need to be someplace. In the end he just picked up the poop while I had the gate shut. When he left for lunch for real he said “I’d suggest you don’t get on my bad side” to which all I had to say to him was “really?????” like he hadn’t been on my bad side for at least the past 6 months. I can’t remember if he mumbled something under his breath but my last words to him as he left were “you’re not the manager”
now up until this point, I didn’t realize my heart was racing. like  “I’d suggest you don’t get on my bad side” like what the fuck is that supposed to mean???? Honestly he’s got such a shit personality I wouldn’t put it past him to actually do something threatening. So I put in a request from July onward to never work with him ever again. I never mentioned anything that happened because I had actually grown nervous of having him confronted and I wanted to wait for things to theoretically cool down before I said anything. I wrote a solid list of 10 reasons why I can’t stand him anymore if I was ever asked about my request in preparation.
Unknown to me at the time, the Assistant manager who had been in the next yard over had heard the threat he said to me and confronted him with one of the new owners about it and he actually got a serious scolding. So a couple days later when my request was received and the Kennel manager wanted to talk to me, I was surprised to learn they already knew the story and wanted to confirm that that was why I had made such a request as the kennel manager knew I’d never do something like that unless it was serious. We talked a bit and the owner that had scolded the ass was there and was reassuring me that they were on my side and even THEY didn’t really like him and there was talk of potentially firing him and the owner asked if I wanted an apology and I said “sure” but I doubt it would ever be serious or genuine and it’s not like I’d forgive him or be ok working with him again.
I was hoping he’d be fired, but unfortunately we’re only hiring teenagers with no work experience atm instead of people who know what they’re doing in the kennels or around dogs so if he were to be let go it’d be a while before he can be officially replaced. And the owners have made it clear as much as they don’t like him or his methods, there is a sense of a little more control in the day kamp yards. Anyway, because people’s shifts are all over the place it’s difficult to properly set aside a time to really discuss things. They’re trying their best to “knock him down a peg or two” to get him to better respect his coworkers and what not. I dunno how that’s going cuz I do my best to not engage with him and be in a separate yard as much as possible.
Anyway, it’s been like a week, it’s the last week of the scheduled month, next months schedule will be coming out in a day or so, and the other new owner called me to talk about how we’re gonna deal with next month. On monday we briefly talked... while the asshole was still in the other yard?? about the situation and whether or not I was comfortable talking with him to work things out so there’s no miscommunication because the assistant manager and the ass were I guess able to work something out. Whether or not he actually listens to her from now on would be interesting to see, but I’m standing my ground on the fact that I’m putting up with him for the last assigned week of the month, then I want nothing to do with him ever again. I gave a quick “no” to talking with him. The new owner said we can continue the talk about the situation the next day. Yesterday rolls around and obviously we’re busy and there’s no time for that.
So today the new owner called. Reiterating how much of an asset I am up in day kamp, and how much they still need the asshole, and if there’s any chance I might still work up there and talk it out with him. This is were I start tearing up and choking up. I told her “it’s just been slowly building up over the past several months and that was the last straw” and “sorry, no”. She reassured me she didn’t want to make me uncomfortable or upset or force me to do something I didn’t feel comfortable doing, and understood the ass was, well, an ass to me and had no respect for me or my other coworkers. She revealed that apparently the ass interpreted me holding the gate closed was an “act of disrespect” towards him when she understood that was ridiculous as she knew closing a gate so dogs don’t escape is what you’re supposed to do. as if and “act of disrespect” gives him the right to casually threaten someone. Like I don’t even care if he was having a bad day getting his hand bitten, you’re bringing that bs on yourself. She said he wants to apologize and I dunno how true that actually is or if he’s just been guilted into it, but again I said an apology would be nice but it won’t change the way I feel about him. Anyway she said she’d like to talk to me again tomorrow when I’m in work cuz I forgot to mention I had off today and that’s why I received a call, cuz by that time I’ve got tears and snot running down my face like a fool lol I’m glad it wasn’t in person.
But also I never told my parents about this and my work doesn’t have my cell number only my home number so it was my dad who answered and handed me the phone and I talked to the owner in my room so no one would hear. But with my face as it was it was clear I’d been crying, but I hadn’t scrubbed my face or gotten dressed yet so I took that as the perfect excuse to hide my red eyes before returning the phone downstairs and taking my own dog for a walk.
But yeah they really want me in day kamp. And I really don’t wanna work with the ass. and the ass only works in day kamp. There was a time where I actually almost prefered day kamp to kennel work, but since the ass was hired that’s quickly reversed. I want to be in the kennel. I’ll do the annoying chores I don’t care. I cannot be anywhere near him. I refuse. The tension and awkwardness is too great, I’ll be too stressed out in day kamp. If they put me in day kamp most of the month, or more than twice a week which even that is a bit of a stretch, I need to look for another job because I cannot do that any more. I really don’t want to leave because I more or less have job security here, they need me, but I cannot come to work and deal with this shit anymore.
we’ll just have to see how next month’s schedule turns out.. :/
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lights-camera-sharks · 5 years ago
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Episode 3 of Good Omens
Ok I’m back and I’m hype for the third episode!
-Oh we back in the garden now what’s happening
-You know what I need more of in my general life? Aziraphale lore. I guess.
-But what did Crowley do in between the Beginning and Mesopotamia?? All we know is he’s covered in dirt now.
-I love Crowley being very adamant about not killing kids and also his reaction to Noah’s arc is my exact reaction to all of religion
-Hi Jesus
-It’s quite early but I have yet to understand any great developmental purpose behind this backstory besides explaining Crowley’s name change. I guess it may help for setting up the rules of their Agreement. It’s hard for me to remember what the show has told me and what I know already, you know? I’m glad it can stand alone as it’s own thing though.
-What are those, the world’s earliest sunglasses?
-To be honest though they’ve always just been a less intense version of Tom and Jerry since the beginning of time so I don’t know if there’s any real development there
-oh no Crowley’s BEARD he looks like he’s about to spend 15 hours coding in the pitch darkness
-Whatever the Shakespeare scene is very funny
-very correct horses are a major design flaw
-I’m Aziraphale sitting patiently in a jail cell during the French Revolution
-also speaking very politely to the guy threatening to chop off his head
-Ngl Crowley’s revolution hair is kind of good in a horrible, horrible way
-THERE’S THE SAUNTERED VAGUELY DOWNWARDS LINE!! It’s kinda snuck in there but I’m so so glad it’s still here
-hey Aziraphale? Hmmm? Now who’s fraternizing HMMMMM??
-“My DOUBLE-DEALING Nazi aQUAINTance”
-“Oooh ooh ah it’s like being on the beach with bare feet!” Did you mean how I enter every room
-So true-to-form for AJ Crowley to blow up a church whilst dressed like a gangster but in sort of a lame way I love it
-(note to self remember to change the laundry at the end of this episode)
-Ok now Crowley is literally dressed like John Lennon and while I do not agree with this I do appreciate it
-...Don’t know how I feel about young shadwell? Definitely gave me mental whiplash though
-Young Shadwell is so well spoken though I guess I always assumed he was born a jabbering old man. This has yet to convince me otherwise.
-Gotta say it does make more sense than just casually throwing in how they all know each other
-Handing over holy water in a tartan thermos. Also very on brand. I’m glad Aziraphale and Crowley still feel like the same characters to me and I love being able to see them brought to life in another form
-We are halfway through the episode I guess it’s time for the title sequence
-it is a very good title sequence
-love the colors
-Yes I’m just typing to fill the time because I’m kind of confused as to why this wasn’t earlier
-Nice music too
-OH THAT IS THE SINGLE BEST WAY TO DO A PREVIOUSLY ON RECAP. Just fast forwarding through everything that happened is really all I needed and it doesn’t take away from the story at all. I am very excited about this
-good dog and cat actors. 10/10 would hire
-I guess they don’t explain Shadwell and Crowley’s relationship? They just meet once and you don’t tell me how he became boss of the witchfinders signing everyone’s paychecks?
-Witchfinder Sgt Pepper is my favorite character I especially loved when he told the band to play
-RP TYLER! I suppose I should never be that excited about RP Tyler. I just get excited every time I recognize something in this. Which is pretty darn often
-(okay I’m going to go change my laundry)
-You know when you’re just a Person of Interest
-“Pip pip” *shadwell sighs and shakes his head*
-I’ve seen Famine for less than thirty seconds but I love his casting
-“There’s people in Tibet watching everything we do through hidden tunnels.” That sure got mr young’s attention now he’s on edge thinking of all those Tibetans
-Awww they’re friends
-I’ll tell y’all why this isn’t queerbaiting and you can get mad at me if you want. This entire plot is enemies-to-friends. They are both extremely dramatic about their friendship which leads to storming off in a huff and sobbing because for someone’s sake they hate each other but they love each other okay? Interpret their relationship how you want but they care about one another and it’s an inconvenience.
Alright the flashback was a fun time and set up their interactions in this episode well so I’m fine with it. It probably could have been left out and the plot wouldn’t suffer, but I’m glad it’s here. I hope the phone chase scenes stay in one of these next few episodes because that is one of my favorite scenes. Perhaps with less maggots this time. Or more. Either way I’m excited. I’m also glad that I’m pacing these episodes out and not trying to watch them all at once because I may do that for a lot of media but this does not benefit to being “binged” as the kids say.
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pianoperson · 6 years ago
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Get to know me (if you want)
No one asked for this. Questions are from @chvmpagne-and-gasoline so if you wanna answer them, feel free to.
1. 6 of the songs you listen to the most?
La Campanella by Liszt, Humoresque by Dvorak, Rolling Girl by wowaka, Servant of Evil by mothy (?), Circles by Kira (?), Comptine D’un Autre Été (yes I don’t give a damn about pop culture)
2. If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?
Brett and Eddy from TwoSet
3. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.
“1997—X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter” from Armada by Ernest Cline
4. Who do you think about most?
My real life friends because they’re great, and IkeRev guys (especially Jonah)
5. What does your latest text message from someone else say?
Asking them where they are
6. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?
With. How do people sleep without clothes?
7. What’s your strangest talent?
Having random thoughts enter my mind that actually predict the future (but I never really tell anyone so)
8: Girls are cool; Boys are cool. (everyone is cool period)
9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?
Nope, well at least I don’t think so. But I did write a poem about someone (it was never meant to be a roast poem, just a poem that was meant to be an outlet for my sadness, but it was accidentally written in such a way that it can be interpreted as one)
10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?
Bold of you to assume I ever played guitar. The closest was ukelele but that was for school.
11: Do you have any strange phobias?
No
12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?
No, unless your finger counts (hey, it gets bothersome sometimes to feel something within your nostril)
13: What’s your religion?
Roman Catholic
14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?
Either I’m going out to eat or exercising
15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?
Behind, but I always end up in front of it
16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?
I don’t have a favorite band.
17: What was the last lie you told?
It was probs a yes to a question I no longer remember.
18: Do you believe in karma?
I joke about it, but honestly, no.
19: What does your URL mean?
I’m a person who likes piano. That’s it.
20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?
My greatest weakness is being too cautious to the point I get tense due to fear of failure. My greatest strength is probably scrape by school with grades 90 and above without putting in my best.
21: Who is your celebrity crush?
Bold of you to assume I even have one.
22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?
Nope, never
23: How do you vent your anger?
If I want to rant, I either rant alone or with people who think alike. But that’s with  really shallow stuff. If it’s really bad anger, I tend to keep it to myself because I feel like I’m gonna waste people’s time and my own energy.
24: Do you have a collection of anything?
None
25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?
Depends. But I’ll go with talking on the phone.
26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?
Nope. Not yet.
27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?
I hate Edgar Bright’s voice the sound of a spoon or fork accidentally scraping against the plate. I love the sound of pianos and flutes.
28: What’s your biggest “what if”?
What if I screw up so badly that I’ll end up a failure, a loser, and a loner for the rest of my life and end up dying in pain alone?
29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?
Ghosts, no. Aliens, a bit.
30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.
With my right, I touch air. With my left, I touch the TV screen,
31: Smell the air. What do you smell?
Nothing
32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?
If it smells like garbage, then automatically, it’s the worst place for me. And I’ve been to a number of places like that so I can’t specify.
33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?
West Coast just because I’ve been there
34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?
Does Jonah Clemence count? He sings lol But in all seriousness, none.
35: To you, what is the meaning of life?
Life is like a Pokemon game. You’re not going to win all those battles, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give up. But if your life is Pokemon X and Y, you’re lucky.
36: Define Art.
Art is something universal yet personal.
37: Do you believe in luck?
Yes. Of course, you need to work hard, but you still have to hope that things go your way.
38: What’s the weather like right now?
Pretty cool since it’s nighttime. Clear skies too.
39: What time is it?
10:07pm
40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?
Nope. 
41: What was the last book you read?
Armada by Ernest Cline. It’s a great read, especially if you read Ready Player One by the same author.
42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?
Yes. Everyone around me finds it weird.
43: Do you have any nicknames?
Yeah 
44: What was the last film you saw?
Infinity War
45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?
When I was grade one, I fell and hit my head. 
46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?
Never had, never tried.
47: Do you have any obsessions right now?
IkeRev I guess
48: What’s your sexual orientation?
Bi
49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?
Yep. Quite a bit.
50: Do you believe in magic?
Nope. But I wish I have.
51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?
Nope, because that’s a waste of time and energy. Also, I tend to forget they even did anything to me lol
52: What is your astrological sign?
Sagittarius
53: Do you save money or spend it?
For school and food, spend. Otherwise, save.
54: What’s the last thing you purchased?
Takeout from a restaurant because there was no food at home.
55: Love or lust?
Love
56: In a relationship?
Nope
57: How many relationships have you had?
Was single, has been single, always will be single
58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?
I think I used to, but no.
59: Where were you yesterday?
At home
60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?
Nope
61: Are you wearing socks right now?
Nope
62: What’s your favourite animal?
Idk. My dog I guess.
63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?
I don’t even try.
64: Where is your best friend?
At home
65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.
@just-shower-thoughts​ @extramadness​ @laineclemence​ @theundyingskeleton​ @valkryie-nyte​
66: What is your heritage?
Filipino with a bit of Chinese and Spanish
67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?
Answering some questions on Tumblr
68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?
He doesn’t have one.
69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?
Sorry, what does that even mean?
70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?
Considering I talk to myself a lot, yes.
71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?
Go to work. I don’t think I can save that dog.
72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?
Yes I will tell my family and friends that I will die. Yes I will be very afraid. I will go to confession as soon as possible and perhaps try to do some stuff before I die.
73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.
Trust
74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?
The One That Got Away by Katy Perry just because nostalgia
75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?
My lips are sealed about that.
76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?
Being great friends grants a great relationship.
77: How can I win your heart?
You can’t.
78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?
No, but it can make you do the things you want to do by removing all insecurities and inhibitions preventing you from doing those things.
79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?
Staying alive
80: What size shoes do you wear?
If we’re talking about closed shoes, size 5
81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?
Never thought about it
82: What is your favourite word?
Right now, it’s Queen.
83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.
Jonah Clemence (ok how many times have I said his name in this post)
84: What is a saying you say a lot?
“Lol”, “nice”, “I wanna die.”, or “Patayin mo na ako.”
85: What’s the last song you listened to?
Melt’s cover of Rolling Girl
86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?
Blue and black
87: What is your current desktop picture?
A galaxy
88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?
I don’t want to have that on my conscience and my record so nope.
89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?
Do I have a kink?
90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?
Clutch my blanket and stay still, trying to think of a way to get them out without inadvertently causing my death.
91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?
Psychic powers
92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?
That one time I touched a thermometer that wasn’t supposed to be touched in grade two. Everyone got mad at me for it. It took me three or four years to get over the shame from that incident.
93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?
2016. What a time waster.
94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?
That’s uncomfortable...
95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?
Iceland just because it sounds great
96: Do you have any relatives in jail?
Nope
97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?
Never, which is great
98: Ever been on a plane?
Yep
99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?
Jesus is the answer.
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inanebox · 6 years ago
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A Letter Not Sent
It’s been almost two months ever since I came here. I intentionally get myself busy with doing a lot of work, not to think of too many things at once that distract the center of myself at the same time.
The most distracting ones are surely my hubby, my little one and my dad, people I loved the most, love the most, and will love the most.
So I started tutoring, I had a great chance to teach a student who had lived in China for more than 10 years. I kind of missing teaching children as well as my family more.
If I get myself super busy, I can jump into REM right after lying down on my bed without thinking too much.
Then I came to realize it’s not a wise thing to do. I used to talk on the phone to my dad, sometimes it lasted for more than an hour. He solely listened to my problem, concerns, possible solutions then gave me some feedback based on his perspective and knowledge, but he never pushed me to choose a direction he wanted. He let me choose what I wanted to do after listening to his ones.
I did the same thing to my hubby every time he had some struggles. Every time he was dealing with some difficult matters, he used to ask me for help, I just listened, then gave him possible solutions, then let him decide.
Then, since my hubby gets exhausted playing with my little one (she is super duper energetic) he would fall asleep like a zombie quite occasionally. So I’ve decided writing any stories with my dad that I truly miss during my whole life. I have tremendous stories and episodes, black comedies with my dad.
Younger me was like an adventurous and super independent person. I did anything by myself and didn’t ask for help that much. I thought it was wise not to ask questions.
Much younger Rachel was a curious cat. I was the one who kept asking millions of questions to my parents, however, no matter how many questions I asked my parents, my dad, and mom had always sought a pleasant ping-pong like conversation, they had never let me feel disappointed in terms of asking questions. Later on, from my age of 8, my dad used to take me to his lab, and I played with semiconductor circuits while my dad was working with his co-workers even during the weekend. He used to give me legos or a whole bunch of electric circuits for me to assemble and dissemble alongside whatever books I loved reading in his lab. I could even ask questions to his co-workers, now I know how bad I was in his lab. I also feel thankful many of his co-workers seemed to love (even if they didn’t) having the various random conversation with a little girl.
My dad was the one who always respected my solutions and self decision-making. He always gave me construct but honest feedback. He told me my strengths, weaknesses, and things to work on. He treated me as his team member. However, he had never confined any of my answer as the wrong one. He always started his conversation in this way, like “Hey, it’s a good approach, and I understand you can think of it in that way.” After listening to my whole probable solutions or suggestions, he would say, “You’ve got a great point, but there may be millions of other thoughts and ideas you can run into. Let me put it this way.” Then he gave some advice and feedback on his experience and knowledge, then he gave me another assignment.
“You should briefly tell me 3 more different perspectives until the end of this week.”
Then I had to read three or four pieces or different newspaper editorials (he had usually subscribed 3 newspaper which holds three different points of view, conservative, radical, and mid-radical ones. After getting used to reading the three editorials, including English newspaper, I had to give a short presentation to my dad but in a very casual way, like “A’s main point was this, B’s main point was that, and C’s perspective is as follows. I personally think all three is wrong…..” or I sometimes supported one of the three (or more than that) with my own perspective and point of view.
He strongly believed that I would work with people from all over the countries, and said, “You should not only understand whatever is happening around the world in many fields but also comprehend and interpret different perspectives on the same matter, after building those perspectives, you should build up your own paradigm, but your paradigm can be attacked or modified, even so, you should be flexible enough to share, arrange, and modify your ideas if others think you’re wrong. It doesn’t mean that you accept the way it is. You might be wrong, or they might be wrong, or both of you guys are right, or both of you guys are wrong. The most important thing is to have a stem in your brain and heart, but it has to be flexible to build up more branches if the new information and perspective is found. That’s what science is. It’s not the law. It’s the consensus what majority of people believe it is right, but if it’s wrong, people should head toward the way which is more right with facts, supports, evidence, as well as insight. If not, your world collapses even theirs, but the funny things are sometimes no parties are affected.
He also used to say, “You should remember the two things. Don’t let others hurt you, at the same time, let others hurt you. You can put it in this way as well, your paradigm should be flexible enough to change the status as a stem cell, a host, and a mitochondrion or whatever else that any better ideas can linger on, or help them to evolve.”
All the words what my dad once said to me are still as vivid and clear as yesterday, I had a conversation like above almost every single day with my dad.
I have thought I was blessed to have parents like my mom and dad. So losing my dad was like the end of the world. I kind of hypnotising myself that my dad is always with me, and back in Korea, while driving back home from work, I used to drive for an hour from the west end of Seoul to east end of Seoul for more than 2 years, and if my hubby, sis, mom, or friends were busy with anything, I used to call my invisible dad and talked to him about whatever good things or bad things I had. It’s kind of self-healing ritual I used to have.
But somehow, after working in various companies and academies, I kind of realized it’s not recommended asking too many questions (if you work in a Korean company) doing my own thing is thought to be a virtue or anything.
Then a long time after, after reaching 30s, I worked with more and more people from many different companies and places, in various field, and came to realize if you don’t know how to deal with, it’s better to ask people who are in charge of. It’s better than making mistakes, even if people think you are bothersome.
Figuring out curiosity and questions by myself gives more accomplishment, that’s for sure, however, if you can ask help, get help, and give help to others at the same time, that inter-mutual working productivity goes way much better. (even if it’s not always the same)
I still think I learn till I die. I learned the world from the book, from traveling from my parents, and relatives, (some of my relatives are just like my dad) from my friends, from my colleagues, from my students, from my boss, from my seniors, from my juniors, from the quiet time only with myself, from every single step and moment I take.
A barking dog can give me a lesson, a crawling baby can give me a lesson, a student can give me the much bigger lesson. a friend can give me a lesson, an uncle can give me a lesson, a floating stream can give me a lesson, a falling leaf can give me a lesson, a raindrop can give me a lesson, a food can give me a lesson, a single piece of paper can give me a lesson, a pair of ripped jeans can give a lesson, Age, place, and subject don’t matter at all.
Not to mention, I should also admit the one who affected my life a zillion more times is my dad.
I am heading to 40, I only have 4 years to become 40. Even I should face my 60s, 70s, or 80s, I would learn so many things from my potential grandchildren, and community junior as well as much older generations and friends who would survive. (or I could die in a car accident or a natural disaster tomorrow. I always think like that that ever since I was a child that I could die tomorrow.)
I really respect my husband because he listens to others, he analyzes himself, then he modifies his mistakes and weaknesses to be a better person even if he doesn’t have to sometimes. I do that as well. That’s what my dad used to be, I guess it was just like a very natural thing to like him because no matter how long the conversation goes on, it never let me get bored or bothersome, just like the conversation I used to have my dad.
Maybe my late dad knew he would be gone forever until I die, then he brought up a guy whom I can talk to as I did to my dad, he kind of had a gut that he is the one who can solely respect my world, and grow together, so he said to my soon-to-be husband when I first brought him to my house, “Thank you for saving us from Rachel. Now it’s your turn.”
Well, to be honest, I miss those two guys badly now.
To sum these crazy random access memories short, I began writing again, just like a Rachel who used to write a lot more stories and thoughts every single day. Not sure how many days it would last, but I will try my best to get the best of it remembering my dad’s daily legacy as well as documenting how my little one’s maternal grandfather was that she would never have a chance meeting him in this dimension. She can picture her grandpa if she reaches a certain age to understand the text to the virtuality, then my dad would be living in her heart as vivid as living it is in my heart.
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autoirishlitdiscourses · 4 years ago
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Discourse of Thursday, 17 June 2021
You're welcome! Your writing, despite the occasional typographical error or possessive formation problem though your thesis statement and to use it personally and recommend it highly. 52: A plagiarized or otherwise need to be aware that it is necessary to try to make real contributions to the group's discussion during the course. Look at the structural similarity between Yeats's relationship to Ireland? You've been a pleasure to read from Butcher Boy well? If you've prepared well for a more specific in the position of protector from the in-depth manner and provided a good understanding of the text in question, but rather that I have a potentially profitable, though. I have a cohesive discussion plan is to express more specifically in your paper in the humanities, or otherwise incorrect about them assignment, you should take a stand as Heidegger has it explicitly on why your juxtaposition actually matters, and your material effectively and provided a good selection, so you may just need to see some of the text you plan your discussion could have been to question 2, below. Has smoothed out a draft. This is true for more sections like these two particular pieces is a more analytically incisive paper. Which texts I have a couple of ways in which you dealt. All of the object itself. Like This One By the way to set the bar for anyone to assume that you must be completed, and on a paper that appears to have been of concern in the dialogue and showed that you'd thought about the Nugents there are variations between individual Irishmen and-voice arrangement of Patrick Kavanagh's On Raglan Road Patrick Kavanagh these poems can be determined beyond a reasonable doubt? I had properly remembered who you were strong last time you attend section and the divine aphasia I think that your paper around exploring that payoff. These are all comparatively small errors, and their outlines don't bear a lot of ways, and your recitation/discussion/section. At the moment, it may be worth a similar format and having talked about this, but I want to be helpful to think about your key terms more specifically about what the boss says in the morning. If neither of those revisions by Friday evening if you have signed up for Twitter? You just need to define your key terms more explicitly and say quite what it means to be more specific claim that you're capable of pushing this even further, if I can pass everything out together in a more clearly articulated stand on what you're doing with the two-minute and expect an immediate answer to a question that you are definitely capable of doing more than three hundred papers and gave a good recitation. Just for the quarter also discussed in the symbolism associated with the rest of the research or writing process is itself a kind of stand the poem until after the recitation, got people talking about a particular student's answers on earlier sections over to such mawkish and purple thoughts. If you believe that anyone has recited up to him. It's likely, but I'm also happy to proctor it later this week in section three was a TA than I had hoped, motivating people to make sure that you're using an edition other than the paper in a lot of good ideas here, and we'll work something out. Focusing on discussions of foot and mouth disease offhand, I think that the writer considers obvious. I think that they always have been avoiding presenting conclusions in favor of writing. Based on notes provided by TA Christopher Walker and the context of the text s with which he had done was inappropriate. Just don't glance at me occasionally, but rather of the landscape and love it and pasting the text that they understand and articulate why you're asking.
You added the before one I loved; changed from to by in from a Western; things like nationalism and the other is that someone writes an A paper, however. This is true for ID #10, which is a really, really big task. I will be how strong your central interpretive difficulties that I didn't again, I realize. I am currently leaning towards calling on you in section is engaged and sensitive, thoughtful performance that you can see it, in your case, one way or the location yet. Some of Synge's photos of the assignment required and gave what was overall an excellent job! This week has just been so much thought and writing a paper to be leveraged carefully. These should be adaptable in terms of line count, stanza breaks, or severe problems with papers in this range provide a genuine illumination in the hope of being adaptable in terms of which parts of your paper ultimately winds up being the connection between textual material and the historical facts in a late stage, and the ideas and ask again.
Going through people's paper proposals and last week's presentations has taken me so long to get you a B if turned in on time: We feel in England believe on line/paragraph spacing in MS Word 2007: Microsoft on line 651; and your readings are often quite complexed, impressive, and I'll give it back to you. I think it's inappropriate. I suspect that one of the course! In romantic relationships, playing by the other to do so very lucid and compelling, and I'll see you next week, in The Plough and the expression of your material you emphasize I think that these are genuine strengths in your hand, I'm so sorry to take a fresh reading, and. Attendance.
46. That would give you a write-up, I think that setting this paper to punch through to an agreement at that point in smaller steps this would need to have thought of that help? If the other TA notices you're there during attendance, and I quite enjoyed having you in section is in your paper, but this is quite engaging, and I'm happy to proctor it if you have any questions, OK? Of course. Thanks to!
As I said in section Wednesday night between October 23rd and November 27th, excluding 13 November is National Novel Writing Month:. Please turn off your cell phone—is cause for disciplinary action. Emails that I notice is that this is quite engaging though I still think that the exam any more questions, please let me know if tomorrow works, I think that your recitation/discussion tomorrow! Again, this may result in penalties beyond simply receiving an F, having managed to introduce some major aspect of something genuinely wonderful piece of writing with the page in question. I will be a smart, sophisticated, broadly informed paper, and that your introduction and conclusion do some of the poems you choose into a satisfying thesis is that if he hasn't taken it yet.
You have excellent things to talk about why the comparison is worth 20% of course; I'm going to be this week, when it comes time to get back to then? If you miss more than a very good work in the discussion overall was more lecture-based and less-capable beings, involving their male partners patronizing them in your delivery does not provide a more rigorous analysis than it needed to be caught up on spreadsheet for all three and a leg. Thank you, I'd like to do with your score. Again, you probably only need one question to think about what the success of your written expression. I'll see you in section treat each individual page that you go back to you. So, for free: Chris Walker's guest lecture on 19 November: Pearse's The Mother, recited in lecture yesterday: If your percentage grade for the rest of the very end of the argument may not have a standard 12-point font, etc. Then you should be cognizant of what they'd discussed, then you may recite any of it myself. I'll post them unless you go over twelve. Ultimately, like I said to other students were engaged, and you had quite a long selection and delivered it accurately, and the weird tenuous relationship that highlights something about the relationship of the text. But you really have done a good sense of the grotesque body worthwhile to make sure that I provide an estimate of where to go that route. 642; changed said please to says please; changed Acacacacademy to Acacacademy; changed answered to said on 1. Other points for that week's reading. Though the description of your own experience as a review guide to be absolutely sure/that you just need to be more effective for you or me, along with a set of esoteric knowledge regarding this selection. It's been a pleasure having you in revising and sharpening your paper won't necessarily be captive; and changed heifers to heifer in the best way to focus your discussion notes often contain more things than we can talk about why in section lately keep it up on stage, and I'll see you in lecture 5 December: The Clancy Brothers and the way that McCabe is quite dense, but you handled yourself and your sense of the contracting party, based entirely on your part, and I think, too. I'm so sorry to take an analytical paper, but with the selection you're reciting, along with several other thematic issues from a chance to talk in detail is the ideal resource, but my best guess is that I give you some background plot summary and possibly other contextualizing information, but this is not inherently opposed to the text specifically and exactly, think about it. I think that it was understood both closer to your paper to you. Burroughs, etc. Here are some on Wikipedia, if you think? You can theoretically go a long time, OK? I abandoned my discussion of the passage as a TA for, and is the case. Talking in general, which is up to you after I graded it you had chosen, and these are important to the poem. I hope you don't generally make subject/verb agreement, possessive/plural confusion, fear at his impending death would have paid off. You had a good-faith attempt to develop an even stronger work on future papers. I'll post it in any reasonable way, or even any real need for me to make up for discussion with the TA strike that you just can't seem to have sympathy for Francie, it sounds like you dragged it on the assumption that you won't have time to get people to explore additional implications of course readings or issues that I've made about grammar and phrasing at all, you gave them trouble being lagged they let him have it hot and heavy in the loop and let me know if you start making regular meaningful contributions to the YouTube video from the MLA standard by default, it currently is. Great! You can conceivably take as long as that's the case that he had to take so long to get other people are reacting to look at your U-Mail address regularly. Your writing is once again very lucid and very well done overall. Name/both/items Bloom orders for lunch;/or 3:00 section and you didn't hear that and hide behind the fact that hawthorn is one of the virtues of an analysis of things well, here. Unlike many students as possible. But if you're going to ask people to talk to me during my office hours if they do not pick up absolutely every possible point for virtually everyone after graduation. /, You should provide a larger-scale course concerns, please bring your luggage to section and are genuinely astounding, I am willing to do, then re-adding it using the add code for that assignment and may be that sitting down and write a draft, letting it sit and take a deep connection to 1904 as well as 1922, of course, what is the lack of specificity. To put it another way:/Anything and everything looks really good reading that they've been bolted on at this, and I will also post whatever you send me an outline with more concrete levels.
I'll see you at the high end, and! /Parnell scandal indicates something structural about the book deals with family relationships: disturbed youth Francie Brady, his relationship with his catalog of responses; the Clitheroes in The Walking Dead, which is already enough to engage in discussion. Personally, I think might have helped, although there are many profitable ways to make up the sense of how percentages or point totals for either exam. Besides attendance, not ten. Change to attendance policy: the professor's current lecture topics. Doing this effectively if the maximum possible score for the 5 p. Based on notes provided by TA Christopher Walker and the section website:. It's perfectly OK to just acknowledge that this is the perfect and ideal expression of your ideas, though I don't mean to imply that there are substantial areas of thematic overlap in terms of a text that you recited before. I think that a potentially productive.
As it is, there are always a good night, but reaches this length by tweaking the format for the quarter, so I'm not sure what to do so, or just pass silently over this request, and then making sure to get into South Hall 1415. What, ultimately, I'd move into discussion questions that you see as being the plus and minus range is that I give you. Any college student taking a heavy course load this quarter.
Just a reminder that you're capable of doing their recitations may wind up with questions about how their related. Other registration/administrative issues? Passages for close reading of that text correctly. Though it was all 'only a flash in th' pan'; freedom that ain't worth winnin' for freedom that wouldn't be worth winnin' for freedom that ain't worth winnin' for freedom that wouldn't be a tricky job to do whatever is necessary to call on you in this passage: If a Friday or Monday would work out in the third line; changed which to that phrase though neither is that future readers and viewers, is a fuzzy concept when examined closely, and I hope all of your performance tomorrow! I think I'm skipping the department party today and working, which would be more successful argument. This is a hard line to walk, and you asked some very perceptive readings to fall a bit was that I want you to dig deeper and/or Wednesday. But that's just a moment, points assigned for this change does not include your bonus for the actual amount of research here, overall; what I initially thought I had a good topic, but not the result of the poem's rhythm and showed this in your paper's ability to express more specifically into your analysis. I have to get at least once in my response is a hard time staying awake after I graded. You're welcome! Then structure your discussion. If little Rudy wouldn't life.
415-20, p. Failure to turn in an otherwise dull day. Well done. There are in participation right now the single biggest influence on McCabe is scheduled from 1:30 and will have to get all the fun under Liberty's masterful shadow; To-morrow the hour of the bird as the introduction for a more natural rhythm. I won't assess participation until the very end of the gaps were due to recall. Starting with questions that surround it or them. I'm glad you were reciting and discussing the selection in the way that is appropriate, and I hope your girlfriend's dental work went well and smoothly.
And the sergeant grinning up. If it falls flat, try moving on to and. Ultimately, you'll get another email about that. Truthfully, I am of course materials can be a more narrow range of the text s and that although I will still be calculating your grade as if time passes differently when you're on the midterm scores until Tuesday, October 11, and this is an important part of being because, really big task. I will be on the other; time and backing up your discussion plans even if another format is followed in a more interesting task. Have a good evening. I have you done with the poem's ideas needed a vocal pause in order to pay off on writing back to you whether you hit a snag that students have had you in section after the final and with me; I'm just trying to do this not because I think that specificity will pay off, because sixteen minutes can go on in grad school?
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birdiethebibliophile · 7 years ago
Text
{fic} Locked Up
Rating:  G (no warnings) Relationship:  Feyre/Rhysand/Lucien (Feyrhycien) Word Count:  1,983
Here on AO3.
Summary:  
In which Rhys steals things, Tamlin's a dick, and Feyre and Lucien make out. Complete self-indulgent fluff.
__________________
“Rhysand, I am going to kill you,” Lucien hissed into the phone receiver.
“I said I was sorry, didn’t I?” Rhys said, not sounding very sorry at all. “Listen, I’ll pay your bail as soon as I can. Relax. Everything will be fine. I got this.”
“You’d better. You hear me, Rhys? You’d better get me the fuck out of –” Lucien swore violently as the phone went dead. “Fine!” he snapped at it, knowing Rhys couldn’t hear him anymore. “Be an asshole! Let me rot in here! See if I care!” And he slammed the receiver back into its cradle.
Stupid old-fashioned phone. Stupid hick jail. Stupid boyfriend who didn’t bother to let him know his fancy car was stolen.
“Done in there?” It was the sheriff – his name badge said Tom Lint – watching Lucien’s every move. Even more hick than this hick town, with his blond hair and his belligerent attitude and his blustering, as if he’d punch Lucien’s lights out if he set so much as a toe out of line.
“Guess so,” Lucien snarled, storming past the sheriff and into the holding cell himself. In retaliation, the sheriff slammed the door so hard that Lucien fell backwards. Then Sheriff Lint stalked off in a huff.
“Whoa. Careful, there.” Lucien yelped as someone caught him before he could hit the concrete floor and set him on his feet.
“And who are you?” he sniped, brushing dust off his sleeves.
“The name’s Feyre.” Lucien turned around to face a young woman with a spattering of freckles, brown hair coming free from a braid, and a frown. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest. “And you might say thanks.”
Lucien gave a grunt that might be interpreted as such, and sat down against a wall. “Lucien. What’re you in here for?”
“Petty theft.” Feyre sat down on the edge of one of the cots stuck haphazardly into the cell and gnawed on one of her thumbnails. “Cops caught me red-handed. You?”
“Implicated in car theft,” Lucien said, another stab of frustration shooting through him at the thought. “Because my idiot boyfriend thought it was a good idea to give me a stolen car. God. I could kill him right now.”
“I need to get me a boyfriend like that.” Feyre snickered. “He gave you an entire car?”
“A stolen one,” Lucien reiterates. “A fact about said car I was not aware of until I was pulled over in this hick town and arrested for possession of stolen property.”
“Was it a nice car?”
“Fancy. Went really fast. Rhys spray-painted a silhouette of a naked woman on the back bumper. I was taking it out for a joyride down the coast.”
“He sounds like a real charmer. Bet you could turn him in and they’d let you go.” Feyre spat the offending fingernail onto the floor and laid back on the cot.
Lucien snorted. “Not only do I not want to turn my boyfriend in, you think that asshole who threw me in here would just let me go?”
“Huh?”
Lucien held one of his deeply brown hands in front of Feyre’s face and wiggled the fingers.
“Oh, yeah.” Feyre let out a gusty sigh. “I’d still rather be in your shoes. This is the third time I’ve been arrested. Don’t think I’m getting off on a few hours of community service this time.”
“You’ve been caught stealing shit three times? You’d think you’d have learned.”
“Fuck off,” Feyre snapped. “Some of us don’t have rich boyfriends to give us Lamborghinis. Some of us are trying not to starve.”
Lucien fell silent. “Sorry,” he said at length. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“I have people to support. They probably think I’m dead. Not that they’d care.”
“Oh, come on. I’m sure that’s not true,” Lucien protested.
“Trust me. It is.”
“And you don’t have a boyfriend coming to pick you up, a pretty girl like you?” Lucien persisted. He wasn’t sure whether he was trying to make her feel better or make her punch him. Either one sounded appealing right at the moment.
“Just the sheriff, who’s been hitting on me nonstop since he tossed me in here,” Feyre said with a grimace. “Kinda glad he arrested you too. Now if he tries it again I can shove you at him instead.”
“Who, Pocket Lint?” Lucien grinned. “I can flirt with him, if you want. Make him as uncomfortable as he’s making you.”
“Seems a little like playing with fire.”
“Hey, I’m already in the frying pan,” Lucien said. “Besides, if he touches me, Rhys will kill him.”
“Who is this boyfriend of yours?”
“Pretty sure he’s a mob boss. Never actually asked outright,” Lucien admitted. “But he once literally shot someone for hurting me.” He pointed at the scar over his eye. “So, like, I’ve always assumed it’s something like that, what with the stolen cars and the briefcases of cash and the shotguns.”
Feyre whistled. “You live a wild life.”
“Sounds like you could use a bit more of that,” Lucien said casually. “When we get out of here, want to come with?”
Feyre’s face turned a blotchy red. “I can’t. My – family. There’s nobody to take care of them but me.”
“I bet Rhys could help with that. He’s loaded. If you really wanted to go to NYC. You could live with me. I have a penthouse on 5th Avenue.” Lucien’s eyes swept over her in a quick motion. The blotchy blush of hers was actually pretty cute.
“Overlooking Central Park?” Feyre said, her defensiveness melting a little.
Lucien grinned, then joined her on the cot. “The very same. Rhys pays for it – I would never be able to afford something like that on a secretary’s salary. Gave me these, too.” He hooked his long, kinky hair behind his ears to display diamond studs. “Don’t tell Pocket Lint, but they’re probably stolen as well. Rhys loves giving stupidly ridiculous gifts. I hate it.” Well, he didn’t really hate it. Only occasionally, when the gift was a little too overtly sexual or a little too illegal. “I’m going to have to have a talk with him about not giving me stolen shit. I don’t want this to happen again. Though,” he added, as if an afterthought, “I met you. So it’s not all bad.” And he gave her the smirk that always made Rhys melt into a puddle.
“Are you trying to seduce me?” Feyre said, suddenly all stony stares and prickles once again.
“No,” Lucien hurried to say. “Of course not. That would be –”
“Too bad,” she interrupted. “’Cause it’s working.”
Lucien blinked. “Really?”
She grinned. “Really. Though I have to wonder what your boyfriend would say about it.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’ll mind,” Lucien said, imagining Rhys’s face when he met Feyre. He couldn’t decide whether it would be more satisfying if Rhys fell head-over-heels for the girl or if he was utterly shocked and slightly annoyed with Lucien. Either way, he wouldn’t be mad. And Rhys deserved to be a bit annoyed, after this fiasco. Maybe that would make him think twice next time about accidentally getting Lucien arrested.
Feyre made a thoughtful sound. “You know what I bet would annoy Sheriff Pocket Lint even more than you hitting on him?”
“What?”
“Him coming in here to find us making out.”
Lucien’s expression blossomed into a smile. “I like you, Feyre,” he pronounced. “Would you like to kiss me?”
“God, I thought you’d never ask.” And then Feyre’s hands were tangled in his hair, her lips on his, hot and seeking. Lucien had the passing thought that perhaps she hadn’t been kissed in a while, because she was drinking in his lips like they were water and she was dying of thirst.
“Hey – hey! Break it up in there!”
Lucien grinned in delight against Feyre’s mouth. Sure enough, there was the sheriff, right on cue. Feyre ignored his order, instead throwing one leg over Lucien’s so she could sit in his lap and kiss him more thoroughly.
Lucien could hear the sheriff swearing, then, suddenly his footsteps receding. But he dismissed that little detail as unimportant compared to the fact that Feyre had just taken it into her head to start tugging on his hair, and that felt really good.
“Lucien Kelly,” a slow voice drawled. “What have you gotten yourself into this time?”
Lucien jumped, pulled away from Feyre’s impatient mouth. “Rhys!” he said gladly. “Finally! Where have you been?”
Rhys examined his fingernails. “Bribing people, mostly. Driving. You’re lucky I was in the same state.”
“Oh, no. You don’t get to pin this on me. This one’s your fault,” Lucien said immediately. “Also, do I get my car back?”
“I fear I’ll have to get you another. One that’s perhaps slightly less stolen.” Rhys’s expression finally melted into the affectionate smile Lucien knows so well. “Who’s your friend?”
“Ah. Um, Rhys, this is Feyre. Feyre, this is Rhys, my boyfriend.”
Feyre swung herself off of Lucien’s lap and shook Rhys’s hand through the bars of the holding cell. “Pleasure to meet you. Hope you don’t mind me making out with your boyfriend.”
“Not at all,” Rhys said with an elegant flip of his hand. “You coming with?”
Feyre hesitated, glanced back at Lucien. “Well, Lucien did invite me. But my family, I can’t –”
“I can take care of it,” Rhys interrupted. “I owe little Lucien for getting him locked up.”
Lucien gestured encouragingly at Feyre, who finally turned back to Rhys. After another moment or two of looking conflicted, she nodded slowly. “I think… I’d like that. Does he really have a penthouse on 5th Avenue?”
“Overlooking Central Park,” Rhys assured her, with a twinkle in his eye that Lucien knew meant this girl had charmed him already. “If you stay there, one of the perks is that you can make out with Lucien whenever you both feel like it.”
Feyre scrutinized him, her eyes narrowing. “And you?”
Rhys swept her an elegant bow, looking very out of place in the dusty jail. “And I the servant to you both. We’ll see what else.” He gave her a cheeky wink, which made her blush blotchily again and Lucien groan and roll his eyes.
“Get us out of here first,” Lucien said. “And then we’ll see about any of that. You owe me, Rhys.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Rhys said airily, unlocking the cell with keys he’d probably stolen from Sheriff Pocket Lint’s belt. “Champagne and oysters on my yacht to make up for it?”
“You have a yacht?” Feyre blurted.
“Rhys, how many times have I told you to stop blatantly displaying your wealth to impress pretty girls?” Lucien scolded, walking out of the cell. “Feyre, ignore him. He’s intolerable.”
“Yeah. Stop showing off.” Feyre stuck her tongue out at him as she followed Lucien. Though from the way she winked at him, mirroring his from just a few moments ago, Lucien had a feeling they would be the ones who were intolerable before long.
“Well, we’d better be going,” Rhys said brightly, tossing the keys onto a nearby desk and leading the way out of the jail. “New York awaits us once more. By the way, Lucien, what were you doing here?”
“What, a guy can’t blow off steam in his stolen car once in a while?” Lucien said, offended. “Or maybe I knew Feyre was here and planned all of this from the start. Which one sounds more plausible?”
“Well, the next time you want to blow off some steam, take me with you to pay off any small-town sheriffs who might need paying off,” Rhys instructed.
“Come on, you two lovebirds,” Feyre said from the door. “You promised New York.”
“Coming, Feyre darling,” Rhys said immediately, and Lucien smiled.
Maybe he should get Rhys to give him stolen cars more often.
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offansandflames · 8 years ago
Text
My favorite time of year. Employee reviews. My company, Konoha Corp, approaches the higher levels of management first and then goes downward. This is my round. I’ve been stuck in this stale room for 45 minutes.
“Sasuke, sometimes you can come off as…”
Kakashi trailed off. That only annoyed me.
“As what?”
“As challenging. Demanding.”
Of course I know how I come off. And it works.
“I get results, don’t I?”
It annoys me that he has the nerve to confront me about this. Every single product release under my management has gone off without complications. In terms of revenue and increasing market share, I’ve outperformed every single one of my contemporaries by a landslide. I’ve held this role for three years as of June and have moved mountains.
“Your results are stellar. Sasuke, you are a very brilliant scientist and a shrewd businessman. But you’re breeding a workplace culture that is afraid to fail. They’re afraid to show creativity.”
“Afraid to fail.”
That phrase just sticks between my ears and goads me, because right now I’m so clearly remembering Itachi yelling at me over huge stacks of messy papers when I showed him my plans for the AI components of one of our new virtual executive assistants December of last year.
“This has all been done before. It’s good work, but it’s by the books. Why are you so afraid to fail? You’ll never make a difference that way!”
He died three months ago. Whenever I remember him, I get upset. If I’m around people, that automatically manifests as me being pissed off.
“Can we afford to fail with our brand’s reputation and the market share at stake? Why are you complaining?”
I know I’m being difficult and missing the point. I continue regardless.
“Sasuke, people respect you, but they also fear you.”
“Yes. That’s a management style.”
Kakashi sighs, clearly frustrated. I couldn’t care less, because I’m frustrated too.
Steve Jobs pulled it off. So can I.
“You need to show them a softer, more caring side. These are brilliant people.”
Most of them are bright. I have my doubts about a few, one person in particular on my mind. But I didn’t hire him, so I consider myself absolved. Itachi must’ve been smoking crack.
“They need a supportive environment to innovate. We’re a consumer technology company, Sasuke. We need to be on the edge, or we’re obsolete by definition.”
At this point, I could go on about all of the successful product launches and ballooning profits. There’s just one inconvenient aspect of the situation: he’s right. And I know damned well that people are afraid to think outside of the box because they’re afraid of what I might do if they fail.
He’s asking me to do something I don’t know how to do, but I won’t admit to it. I’m silent, which he takes as a cue.
“It doesn’t have to be anything dramatic or unnatural. Just try to be more understanding if an employee makes a mistake. If they were using their best judgment and were being diligent, then it’s enough that they tried.”
What if they have their head in the clouds and spend all day wondering, “Wouldn’t it be cool if…?” What if they squander their potential by sitting on their ass and playing class clown with coworkers? Like a certain vapid blue-eyed employee I have. Eye color generally means nothing to me, but it’s difficult not to remember such a brilliant blue.
“I agree with you that as long as something was done responsibly and with due diligence, the employee shouldn’t be reproached. What I object to is anything less than diligence.”
Kakashi looks down at my desk, and he looks back up at me with his eyes half lidded. He looks tired.
“Look. Not everyone is going to have your work ethic, Sasuke. And sometimes people do get distracted. As their manager, you use the ruler first, not the sledgehammer.”
A pause.
“You have to show you care.”
Right. The only issue is that I don’t.
I frown. Inhale. Exhale. I remind myself of what Itachi said, which is almost entirely the reason why I speak my next sentence.
“Okay, I’ll try a softer hand.”
Kakashi smiles, because he knows how big of an accomplishment it was to get me to say that. I will let him believe it’s his victory. I don’t give a damn.
“But I’m warning you in advance that we may experience some hiccups.”
I issue that disclaimer because this means relinquishing some of my control in the interest of fostering innovation. I don’t know what will happen. My team might fail. I don’t want that to be interpreted as a failure on my part.
“We’ll consider them learning experiences.”
-   -   -
He code named it CMI. Caring Manager Initiative. Apparently, even this requires an acronym. It’s like a bad joke.
This is, without a doubt, my least favorite project that I have ever been on. Ever.
I will have to update Kakashi on my progress next quarter. He’d outlined three action items for me to fulfill by the next quarter:
1.       Conducting Employee Reviews
2.       Showing Interest in Employee Activities
3.       Acknowledging Employee Achievements
I will record everything and act diligently and rationally at every step. If there is a failure, it will not be because I failed.
 Phase I - Caring Manager Initiative Conducting Employee Reviews
I can’t even express how much I hate conducting employee reviews.
I go over every detail of the person’s value to the company. I fixate on their accomplishments for about 70% of the review. They plead their case. They almost always want more money, and I can only acquiesce about half of the time. I listen to their hackneyed excuses with a seemingly empathetic nod, which Itachi once told me was actually pretty convincing.
With practiced ease, like a surgeon, I speak about “opportunities to improve,” because no one wants to be criticized. And this go around, it seems like I have to put the kiddie gloves on. God forbid I hurt anyone’s feelings.
So it’s with mixed relief and dread that I view Naruto’s name on my calendar as my next appointment.
Naruto comes into my office with a big grin.
“Alright, Bossman. Let’s get this show on the road!”
I have told him to stop calling me Bossman so many times that I’ve lost count.
“Sit down.”
Now he has to obey me. He does so without complaint, not realizing that this was a power play on my part. With employees like Naruto, establishing boundaries is key.
As annoyed as I am with him, I know that for once today, I can be honest. I never hold back with Naruto. He takes everything I could ever dish out…and throws it back in my face.
I can’t believe I haven’t fired him yet.
“Okay, Naruto. You know that your designs have, in theory, been…interesting.”
Naruto puffs up like a toad at the compliment and stares at me like he’d just triumphed over me. It makes me regret saying it.
“But when it comes to creating the prototypes and testing them, everything falls to shit. You don’t see your ideas through. That’s fatal. If a product doesn’t work, it’s useless.”
“So you’re calling my work useless?” Naruto bristles.
It is true that he hasn’t gotten a single product off the ground. He’s a dreamer.
“I’m saying that the devil’s in the detail.”
At this point, if it were anyone else, I’d be reassuring them of how valuable they are to the company and how integral they are to the team. I’d smile and talk to them about promotions and ask them to fill out company templates with their goals for the next year. But that would sound forced, because that’s not how Naruto and I talk.
Naruto puffs out his cheeks and pouts, and I feel like I’m talking to a teenager. People have probably told him he needs to be more detail-orientated, because God knows it’s true.
“There’s that, and the fact that you keep checking your cell phone during working hours and socializing with coworkers too often.”
Naruto smiles and gives an impish laugh.
“This is not funny.”
“So… I guess I’m not getting a raise, huh?” he asks sheepishly, still trying to lighten the situation.
“Now that was funny.”
“Oh, you are such a prick,” Naruto answers, amused by my attitude. He should be used to it at this point.
“Is that really what you want to say to your boss?”
“I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
I dislike the fact that I have to bring this issue to his attention for him to resolve it. It demonstrates a lack of proactivity. In fact, in all aspects of the guy’s life… He’s so laid back and easygoing. Everything is always fine and well with him, and who cares what reality actually is. Such disregard for life’s priorities. I don’t get him, nor do I want to.
“You’ve been warned,” I answer. “I’m documenting it. Fix it, and we’ll have no problems.”
Naruto sighs, and again I feel like a parent. Naruto looks down and bites his lip, and I start thinking that maybe he’s more frustrated with himself than he is with me.
“Okay.”
We continue the conversation. He didn’t call me Bossman again the entire meeting.
Stage II - Caring Manager Initiative Showing Interest in Employee Activities
Konoha Corp has a club for public speaking, held every Wednesday at lunch time. As both a scientist and a businessman, I realize that scientists are not known for mixing well with the business world. Itachi always told me never to let one of my scientists talk to one of my investors.
Our employees come here for that extra polish. The moderator, Shizune, explained that today’s workshop would all be impromptu, two-minute speeches. She put everyone’s names in a bowl, and she’d draw each speaker out until the bowl emptied. Each person would have their own topic. Meanwhile, she’d videotape them on their phone.
Public speaking is one of my strengths, not that I particularly enjoy talking. I practiced for years and fancy myself an actor now.
And of course, Naruto is here. Of all the faces in the room, his was the one I expected to see the most. He thrives off of being the center of attention. Shizune now pulls a slip out of the bowl, and everyone is sweating around me. Naruto’s name is the first she pulls.
I can’t imagine how pleased he must be by this as he walks toward the lectern.
“And the topic is…”
A pause. Naruto is standing behind the lectern now.
“Your favorite food.”
No one’s looking at me, so I roll my eyes.
Clearly, he’s doing this to show off. He’s a bubbling extrovert. He’s going to crack a few jokes. People will laugh, because he’s damn good at making people laugh. I have no interest whatsoever in watching him puff up and prattle on for whatever acknowledgement his secretly insecure soul craves.
But then he starts speaking. My mind goes blank. I’m taken off guard. Shocked.
Shocked by how horrible he is at this.
“I…”
He looks down at his feet, then paces a few steps.
“Um…”
He’s choking. I did not see this coming.
“Wow, uh…”
His body is very obviously shaking. I doubt anyone could miss it.
“Um… Give me a minute. I’m…” he stammers. “I’m off to some start, huh?”
The room gives a forced and sympathetic laugh that makes me want to cringe.
He’s a wreck.
But he’s trying. I have to say that for him. He’s earnest, and raw, and vulnerable, and… In a nutshell, everything that I’m not.
His face is bright red. I don’t know why, but my chest feels tight. This is painful to watch, yet I can’t take my eyes off of him. I find myself wishing that I could plant words on his tongue, which is ironic given that he generally never shuts the hell up.
“So, ramen…” he starts, gesturing with his arms. “It’s… It’s a hot food and… So, you know…”
Everyone is looking at him. I can’t explain it, but if anyone so much as snickers at his awkwardness, I would fire them on the spot.
If I were that shitty at public speaking, you couldn’t pay me to go up there and fumble, turn five different shades of red, and shake like a leaf. But he did, because he wants to improve. He took initiative. Still, it’s certainly not like I’m impressed by his pathetic attempt at a speech.
Well… Maybe just a little bit impressed.
He’s brave.
Braver than I gave him credit for.
I again remember Itachi telling me, “You’re afraid to fail.” It burns, and I swallow tight. It’s bad enough that he was right. Even worse that he’s dead, and now I’m thinking about it. I was not prepared to feel today. I clear my mind.
“You um… I like ramen because it’s easy to make and…”
“The time is up,” Shizune informed him with a smile.
He smiles, but his shoulders slump. I can’t blame him.
“And Mr. Uchiha, it’s so wonderful to have you join us today!”
Naruto looks at me, and his eyes widen to the size of golf balls. He is a stubborn thorn in my side, and I want to deck him every time he calls me “Bossman” in that same nauseatingly upbeat tone. Usually I’d jump at the chance to one up him, but this is very different. I hold eye contact with him for just an instant before addressing Shizune again.
“Yes, thank you, everyone. Nice work.”
Without a word, Naruto runs right out of the room, abandoning any attempt at composure and leaving his phone behind with Shizune. This isn’t like him. Was he going to… Unravel? Cry or something? Just because he now realizes I was watching?
I’ve been thinking about it for a while, trying to figure it out. This banter dialogue we’ve had going… He seems like he fixates on me. He’s…
Shit. I really hope this isn’t what I think it is.
All of this churns through my head as my face betrays nothing. I think that the power to pull an impeccable stone cold poker face in light of any situation runs in my family. Or maybe it’s learned. Whatever the case, it’s a valuable gift.
Meanwhile, people start murmuring and chatting about Naruto’s rushed exit.
“Shut up,” I say to everyone, firmly and just a little more loudly than I would in normal conversation.
In a heartbeat, the room goes so quiet you could hear a piece of paper hit the ground.
Refreshing.
The meeting continues with my go ahead. I begrudgingly sit there and pretend to be interested. I pretend like I don’t want to leave that meeting right now and find Naruto. If I found him, what would I do? I don’t know. So why bother?
I see the meeting through to its dazzling completion and have accomplished my mission as Caring Manager for the day, though I admit that telling everyone to shut up was counterproductive. I should have known better, but it was worth it.
Stage III Acknowledging Employee Achievements
I didn’t see Naruto again that day until the late hours of the evening. It’s ten, at which time the office is generally a ghost town. I could hear someone typing from the opposite side of the floor. We both had our respective deadlines to meet for the next morning, though me pulling all-nighters was nothing out of the norm.
I’m trying to eat my turkey sandwich and mark up my prototypes at the same time. I hear footsteps outside of my office and look to see Naruto trying to sneak past my door. He’s all too conspicuous in his attempts to avoid eye contact with me.
“Good job,” I say loudly enough for him to hear.
I thought he deserved it.
“Very funny, jackass.”
He knows what I’m referring to, naturally. He’s stopped outside of my office now.
“I’m not joking,” I answer.
He looks up at me, and there’s indecision in his eyes. He’s trying to read me, which he’s always been horrible at.
“Is that…an actual compliment?”
Naruto grins. It looks like gloating.
“It was pity.”
“What?”
I have no idea why I just said that; it was a knee jerk reaction. I feel like I kicked a puppy in the face.
“No… It wasn’t pity.”
I’m frustrated with myself, because I can’t seem to pull this off without ruining it somehow.
“Look… If you haven’t noticed, sincerely complimenting people is not my strong suit. I thought I’d take your example and try something I suck at today.”
That was downright painful.
“You’ve got guts, Uzumaki.”
Naruto lights up like the sun and smiles at me, and if I’m going to follow that analogy, I feel like the rays have warmed me.
“Well…” Naruto pauses and then looks into my eyes again. “Good job, Bossman.”
He continues to smile at me, and the atmosphere grows stale. There’s an adage: always leave them wanting more.
“Have a good one. See you tomorrow.”
I give him a nod, and he issues that dramatic, almost frantic wave that he’s known for with a beaming grin. As he leaves my office and approaches the exit, I hear him hum under his breath. Why am I sad to hear him go?
I sigh and resist the temptation to insult him. CMI will be difficult; there’s no denying that. And of all of CMI’s challenges, Naruto will likely be the greatest. At the very least, today Naruto gave me a crash course on how to fail. As sick as it makes me to admit this, I should be learning from him.
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thecatnapextraordinaire · 8 years ago
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1-99
1) Sexuality? Not too sure tbh. I'd say bi probably.2) If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? Hmmm idk 3) Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17. "Some trace elements, such as iron (Fe), are needed by all forms of life; others are required only by certain species."4) What do you think about most? Everything :p5) What does your latest text message from someone else say? "Oh I mean a bit :p" 6) Do you sleep with or without clothes on? Yeah7) What's your strangest talent? I can mess up almost anything 8) Girls.... (finish the sentence); Boys.... (finish the sentence) girls are cool; boys are sometimes cool9) Ever had a poem or song written about you? Yeah but I don't think it was in a good context 10) When is the last time you played the air guitar? Idk haha11) Do you have any strange phobias? Bees12) Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?When i was like 2 13) What's your religion? Agnostic 14) If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? Looking at the sky or animals15) Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? Behind16) Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band? Hmmm probably fall out boy17) What was the last lie you told? I'll be there in about 2 minutes 18) Do you believe in karma? Yeah19) What does your URL mean? It's literal 20) What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength? Weakness is probably that I don't have very good judgment. Strength is probably that I don't give up easily.21) Who is your celebrity crush? Dave Franco and Bruno Mars22) Have you ever gone skinny dipping? No23) How do you vent your anger? I tend to be passive aggressive :/ but I'm trying to be more confrontational 24) Do you have a collection of anything? I used to collect rocks 25) Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? I like video chatting but I haven't done it in years 26) Are you happy with the person you've become? Eh 27) What's a sound you hate; sound you love?I hate the sound of bugs flying. I love hearing water. 28) What's your biggest "what if"? What I never amount to anything29) Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens? Yeah30) Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.Tissues. Car door. 31) Smell the air. What do you smell? My air freshener so it's flowery32) What's the worst place you have ever been to? Hmmm idk, I remember going to this one super gross dive bar to see my ex and it was terrible so I guess that place. 33) Choose East Coast or West Coast? West coast 34) Most attractive singer of your opposite gender? Bruno Mars35) To you, what is the meaning of life? To experience it 36) Define Art. Expressions that are interpreted differently by everyone 37) Do you believe in luck? Eh 38) What's the weather like right now? Cloudy but sunny and not cold but not hot39) What time is it? 1:4240) Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed? Once I hit a guy from behind cause I sneezed and he slammed on his brakes while I had my eyes closed. But there was no damage to either of our cars so that was cool.41) What was the last book you read? My biology text book42) Do you like the smell of gasoline? No it makes me sneeze43) Do you have any nicknames? Mari44) What was the last movie you saw? Mmm my dad was watching Rocky so probably that one 45) What's the worst injury you've ever had?I fractured my ankle once and broke my finger. 46) Have you ever caught a butterfly? No I don't really like butterflies 47) Do you have any obsessions right now?Mmm not really 48) What's your sexual orientation? Already answered49) Ever had a rumor spread about you? Yeah50) Do you believe in magic? Nah51) Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong? Sometimes it depends52) What is your astrological sign? Capricorn53) Do you save money or spend it? Spend :(54) What's the last thing you purchased? Food55) Love or lust? Love 56) In a relationship? Yes :) 57) How many relationships have you had? 558) Can you touch your nose with your tongue? No59) Where were you yesterday? School, Wal-Mart, and my house 60) Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? A highlighter 61) Are you wearing socks right now? Si62) What's your favorite animal? Probably cats 63) What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you? Idk I typically assume guys don't like me 64) Where is your best friend? He's at home probably doing homework or watching tv 65) Spit or swallow?(; swallow, less mess 66) What is your heritage? Hispanic 67) What were you doing last night at 12 AM?Homework 68) What do you think is Satan's last name?Hmm de jesus 69) Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off? Who hasn't tbh70) Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend? Idk I tend to kinda disappear sometimes 71) You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do? Save the puppy no questions asked 72) You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid? I'd probably tell my family and Nick. I'd get all my tattoos somehow, go travel as much as I could and probably spend as much time with Nick as I could. I'd be sorta scared just cause idk what happens after you die. 73) You can only have one of these things; trust or love. I feel like you can't have one without the other 74) What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it? Pretty much anything by Beyonce 75) What are the last four digits in your cell phone number? 058876) In your opinion, what makes a great relationship? Trust, honesty, sincerity, compromise, kindness, being able to lean on each other, spontaneity 77) How can I win your heart? Idk, be cool I guess. Whatever Nick does works :p 78) Can insanity bring on more creativity? It depends on how they channel their "insanity" 79) What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far? To not kill myself 80) What size shoes do you wear? 8 1/2 81) What would you want to be written on your tombstone? "My cats are here too" 82) What is your favorite word? Idk probably idk tbh haha 83) Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart. Aorta84) What is a saying you say a lot? You know?85) What's the last song you listened to? The Weeknd- feel it coming86) Basic question; what's your favorite color/colors? Lavender, pink, navy blue, green 87) What is your current desktop picture? The Pvris mirror from their album 88) If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be? Literal asshole mouthed donald trump 89) What would be a question you'd be afraid to tell the truth on? What's your bio grade90) One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren't really doing anything, they're just standing around your bed. What do you do?Probably see if I get out of bed if they'll attack me and if they don't I'd leave and runaway 91) You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what's even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power? Invisibility 92) You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again? Nick and I's first date 93) You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? Spring break 201394) You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be? I wouldn't 95) You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? Bora bora 96) Do you have any relatives in jail? Not anymore97) Have you ever thrown up in the car? Yeah98) Ever been on a plane? Yeah 99) If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say? Stop being little shits and help each other out instead of being determined to wipe each other out.
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goatcultleader · 8 years ago
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well if im doin it then so are you: 1-99
1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?I’m going to interpret this as 6 of my favorite songs, which are:Take Me Away – BleachersDoomsday – LovelifeScum – Peta & The WolvesCome Say Hello – SuperhumanoidsYou Haunt Me – Sir SlyStargazer – Elektrik People(I realized while deciding these songs that I have so many more songs that are my favorites)2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?I don’t know. I don’t think there’s anyone I want to meet3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.“her knees. She was whispering to the boy to soothe him and”Fyodor Dostoevsky – Crime and Punishment4: What do you think about most?Just my life in general, I guess5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?“Probably the worst thing about Glar is how overpriced it is”6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?I sleep with clothes on. I’m not some kind of animal7: What’s your strangest talent?I have no talents8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)Girls are good and pure. Boys are wonderful beings.9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?No10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?Never????11: Do you have any strange phobias?Ok the closest thing I have to a phobia is teeth mutilation and it makes me feel very gross and uncomfortable12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?Probably as a small child13: What’s your religion?Atheist14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?Going inside15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?Behind the camera16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?I’m changing this to favorite artist, which makes it much easier, and that is Lana Del Rey17: What was the last lie you told?Ummm… I’m not sure. I tell little lies all the time18: Do you believe in karma?Not really19: What does your URL mean?It’s John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt and my name20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?My greatest weakness is probably my lack of self-confidence/need for validation, and my greatest strength is probably that I’m smart21: Who is your celebrity crush?I don’t have one22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?No23: How do you vent your anger?I’ll talk to someone, maybe cry, or just think about it for a while24: Do you have a collection of anything?No25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?I hate both. I just want people to text me26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?Not entirely, but I’m much happier with myself than I used to be27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?I have no idea28: What’s your biggest “what if”?What if I was the person I want to be?29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?I don’t believe in ghosts, but I do believe in aliens30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.My desk with both of my arms (or if I’m counting my laptop as a thing, it would be that)31: Smell the air. What do you smell?I think I smell my mom making food?32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?One time I went to Pittsburgh and it was so depressing and I had the vague desire to die (more than I usually do)33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?East Coast34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?I don’t know35: To you, what is the meaning of life?To have a good time. Just to fill your life with as many good memories as possible36: Define Art.Something you find pleasing to the senses37: Do you believe in luck?Not exactly, because I think luck is more a perception of results than an actual phenomenon38: What’s the weather like right now?It’s cloudy but kind of bright and it’s cold39: What time is it?12:28 PM40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?I drive, but I’ve never crashed41: What was the last book you read?I read Macbeth for one of my classes42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?Yes43: Do you have any nicknames?“Johnny” is a nickname, but that’s what I go by. Different people call me different things44: What was the last film you saw?I’m pretty sure it was Don’t Breathe45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?One time I cut my thumb by accidentally smashing a glass and that was pretty bad46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?I’m sure I have as a child47: Do you have any obsessions right now?No48: What’s your sexual orientation?Bisexual49: Ever had a rumor spread about you?I don’t know. Maybe50: Do you believe in magic?No, but I do wonder how my friends do their magic tricks51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?In most cases no, but if they truly hurt me, or repeatedly hurt me, I will hold a grudge52: What is your astrological sign?Gemini53: Do you save money or spend it?I save money, but since college started, I’ve spent a lot (college is expensive, kids)54: What’s the last thing you purchased?Donuts55: Love or lust?Love56: In a relationship?No57: How many relationships have you had?358: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?No59: Where were you yesterday?At college, at a grocery store, back at college, and then at home for the rest of the day60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?Yes (the closest things are a pen, markers, and colored pencils)61: Are you wearing socks right now?Yes62: What’s your favorite animal?Cats63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?If I had a secret weapon, then people would actually like me, so obviously I have no secret weapon to get someone to like me64: Where is your best friend?Her house I think?65: Give me your top 5 favorite blogs on Tumblr.@longing4urbottom @the-great-uniter @chasingstallionduckswiththerev @a-few-of-my-favorite-turtles @flanflantheicecreamman66: What is your heritage?I don’t know. White people67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?Sleeping, because I hadn’t slept the night before68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?I have no idea69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?Yikes70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?I think so? I know I’m garbage but I also think I’m a good friend71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?I have to rescue the dog because it’s a dog and I have to72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?I’d tell people I care about, and I guess I’d try to make the most of the time I have left, and I think I’d be afraid73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.I need both. One is worthless without the other74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?I don’t know. Really any song that I like makes me happy75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?187576: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?Love, trust, common interest, mutual support, time together77: How can I win your heart?If you show an interest in me I will like you. That’s just how it works78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?I guess, because you would think differently if you were insane, which would make you more “creative”79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?To go to the college that I go to80: What size shoes do you wear?10 I think. Maybe 10 ½, i’m not sure81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?“Finally”82: What is your favorite word?“Quality”83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.Love???84: What is a saying you say a lot?“Quality”85: What’s the last song you listened to?Easier - Mansionair86: Basic question; what’s your favorite color/colors?Teal87: What is your current desktop picture?A teal-ish design88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?Myself89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?I’m not answering this, because it’ll pretty much give away the answer to the question90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything; they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?I’d probably be super scared, cry a little, then get away from the mummies91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?Shapeshifting92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?I’m sure there’s some good times I want to experience again, but I’m fine with just not reliving any part of my past93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?Can I just erase all of my life before high school, or maybe as far as until three years ago?94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?Ugggghhhh I don’t know95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?I don’t know. I don’t have a desire to go anywhere96: Do you have any relatives in jail?Not that I know of97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?No98: Ever been on a plane?No99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?“I think some people are eavesdropping”
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surveysonfleek · 7 years ago
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518.
5000 Question Survey Pt. 28
2601. Do you think cell phones cause cancer? apparently everything causes cancer these days. i don’t know anyone personally who doesn’t have a cell phone, would that mean the chances of getting cancer at at its highest? Are cell phone users more likely to get into car accidents? while using the phone while driving, yes. Do cell phones really interfere with a plane's navigation equipment? apparently so. Are cell phones immune from computer viruses? i don’t think so? Can using a cell phone at a gas station spark a fire? apparently. geez, five questions within one question. cool.
2602. What makes a guy see a chick as less of a cute little girl and more of a woman? i guess if they look older? 2603. What is it about football that makes people want to watch it? the passion, the atmosphere and the game itself? i hate football though lmao. 2604. What is the best show on tv? tbh i think it’s the office.  2605. Are you more of a tape dispenser or a stereo speaker and why? i’m... not sure. 2606. What do you think is overrated? instagram models and most youtubers. What is underrated? people out there trying to make a difference in the world. 2607. Can spiders ump? huh? Did you interpret that as 'jump' or 'hump or 'bump' or other? jump. 2608. What's the matter with adults today? we’re too reliant on technology. 2609. Have you ever worked 'off the books'? no...? 2610. Have you ever worked 9-5? i have before. If not do you think you ever will? i don’t right now, but i’d love to have a normal working schedule like that. i hate working nights. 2611. Do men or woman make better bosses? it honestly just depends on the person. 2612. Do you believe that people should more up through a company or that the higher up positions should be filled by people hired from outseide the company? i think people should be offered to move up in their company since they’re more likely experienced with the ‘smaller’ things. 2613. Why is it that no one seems to care about their job? it’s just a grind, need to work to live, right? 2614. When I go into a store, why doesn't anyone know anything about what they are selling? that just means their training wasn’t in depth enough. 2615. Have you ever seen those people that get that blank, lost expression when they go into a store and kinda shuffle along like zombies? not really? Do you wonder how they got up, dressed themselves, and made it to the store in the first place? ... 2616. When did you/will you graduate college? i graduated in 2013. 2617. When will Eminem stop whining about his bad childhood and move on?? i haven’t heard him whine about that in a long time. 2618. I am drug free. Are you drug free? yes. 2619. I have piercings and am getting tattoos. Do you have either? i have my ears and nose pierced. no desire to get tatts. 2620. Can you REALLY say that your way is the right way? sometimes. Maybe there is a different way for everyone? sure. 2621. What do you think of the song 'Imagine'? it’s soothing and thought provoking. 2622. Can you think of any reason i might have written this, other than I am bored with too much time on my hands? no idea. 2623. What is the purpose of art? i guess to get our visual senses running. How about movies? Music? 2624. Do you think that anything has lost its value because it's become too 'commercial'? What? instagram. before it was just a way to share photos but now it’s a popularity contest. 2625. Have you ever been promoted? no actually lol. fired? not really, more like ‘let go’. they didn’t need me anymore coz their business was failing. 2626. What do you call your private area? Does it have a nickname? vag. and no. 2627. What parts of your body are shaved? armpits, legs and down there. 2628. What is a peachclam? female genitals? 2629. What is the american dream? being successful in america. Is it the same as your dream? no, i don’t like there. 2630. Do you need to be right all the time? no. 2631. There was a sculpture that was supposed to be displayed for a week in the Rockafeller Center in NYC of a falling woman - designed as a memorial to those who jumped or fell to their death from the World Trade Center. It was complained about as grotesque, innopropriate and describe as 'not art' What do you think? 9/11 is still a very sensitive topic, i believe it could be considered art but the negative way it’ll make people feel overpowers its artistic message. It was taken down early because it was seen as 'offensive'. What do you think about that? that totally fair enough. The artist, Fischl, said in a statement. ``It was a sincere expression of deepest sympathy for the vulnerability of the human condition. Both specifically towards the victims of Sept. 11 and towards humanity in general.'' Are people just too sensitive? Or maybe people are NOT sensitive ENOUGH to the idea that others may have different views from them (or from the majority)? i can see it from both ways. She these different, opposing or offensive views be allowed to be expressed freely and openly? Why or why not? i think it’s best if it were in an art gallery instead. more like-minded people would visit it and appreciate it how the artist wanted it to be portrated. 2632. What letter's sound do you like the best? i’ve... never thought about that. 2633. What is one movie charater you identify with and why? none really. 2634. Do you act the same when you are alone as you do when people are watching? not really. 2635. Why is everyone so obssessed with superheros? i don’t knowww. 2636. What cliches do you hear over-used the most? meh. 2637. Do you handle inconvieniences well? not really. i’ll most likely complain. 2638. Are you a fan of Jackie Chan? yeah, he’s funny, talented, charming and does his own stunts lol. 2639. Is a promise a big deal? to me, yes. i don’t take them lightly. 2640. What is your place in the universe? right here. 2641. Once some scientists dug up a woolly mamoth, frozen in ice. It was still completely whole, not rotted or fosilized. The scientists decided to have a dinner party. It was a very posh affair. they served roast woolly mamoth steaks, the rarest meat in all the world. So, if you were invited, would you have eaten it? no. 2642. What are 3 things you DON'T want to know? when im gna die, any ‘truths’ in my family that would make me think differently of them and sob stories in general. 2643. It seems to me that a lot of people don't value their lives, or life in general very highly. Why do you suppose that is? it’s just the way the world works i guess. not everyone wants to eat healthy, work out, strive to be the best person they can be etc.  Are you like that? sometimes. 2644. Do you celebrate the harvest moon? no. 2645. Do you believe in out of body experiances? possibly. 2646. Why does so much depend upon a red wheel barrel glazed with rain water beside the white chickens? ok. 2647. Why do so many people get jobs that they dislike? because it’s all about earning money. 2648. Do you think that in THIS world, being creative is a handicap? no? Why or why not? being creative is a blessing and a way to express yourself. 2649. Do you ever get chills or shivers during movies? What movies? not really. 2650. Do you believe in the collective unconsiouss(that people are like onions..the outer layers are individualistic and the deeper you go the more similar we all are)? lol haven’t thought about it that deeply. 2651. Do you think that most people have the qualities you look for in friends/intimate relationships or do you feel alienated? the people i surround myself with are enough. i’m not really looking for new friends. 2652. Are you very critical: of others? yes. of yourself? yes. 2653. Is there such a thing as expecting too much? definitely. 2654. Would you rather take an hour lunch break or skip lunch and get out of work early? ski[ lunch and get off work early, always. 2655. Do you believe that happiness is equal to fakeness? shallowness? joy? something good that happens? an attitude you have inside no matter what happens? idk. 2656. Can you control your emotions? for the most part, yes. have you ever tried? yes. 2657. Imagine you are 34 weeks pregnant. You are healthy and you didn't have any major problems in your pregnancy. Would you consider flying from the UK to Germany, which takes one hour, without a bad feeling that something could go wrong or the baby decides to come out earlier? there would have to be a really good reason that i’m flying in the first place. i usually wouldn’t risk it. 2658. How long do you think it would take you to jog a mile? forever. i’m really unfit. 2659. Word assciation: twilight: wolf. garden: gnome. warm: sun. stars: sky. crash: bandicoot. mold: bathrooms. gold: leaf. green: leaf. lush: garden. 2660. Picture a triangle: Quick! What color is it? orange. Picture a square. Quick! What color is it? blue. Picture a circle. Quick! What color is it? yellow. Why do you think you saw these shapes as these colors? idk lol. 2661. What things are endless? nothing. 2662. Are you ever subtle? i can be. 2663. Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood...some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't conceive of your life without it? How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? How can you fully appreciate these moments, every moment, when it all seems limitless? ~Paul Bowles excerpt from The Sheltering Sky 2664. Do you never have an ordinary day? yes. 2665. Do you embrace every single thing you've never known? not everything. 2666. Has anyone ever mistaken you for a satanist? no lol. 2667. Can stress sometimes be good? if you work well under stress, then yeah. 2668. Write something random, just whatever flows out of your head without thinking. Forget punctuation just try to type as fast as you think: okay, this is getting boring.  2669. Are you a musical snob? yes. How about a film snob? no. 2670. When you were in school did you learn to think or repeat? think. 2671. Do you have everything you need to be happy? not yet. If not, what is missing? a direction. 2672. Would you take a very casualy dropped 'maybe I should just kill myself' as a warning ssign? yes, for sure. 2673. What does the word 'ironic' mean? Can you give an example of an ironic situation? no. 2674. What did you see today that was beautiful in an ordinary way? a plane flying through the sky. 2675. Have you ever been on the edge of the night? no? 2676. Do you feel oppressed in some way? no. 2677. Who do you think shot JFK? idk. Who do you think shot Martin Luthar King? idk. Why do you think they got shot? haters. 2679. Are you aware that although only about 14 percent of the american total population is black, that about 70 percent of the people in jail in america are black? Why do you think that is? a large part of it is racism, surely. a lot of the stuff in the media basically proves it. What conclusion can you draw based on this? whatever. 2678. Do you think that the culture you live in is completely open to all ideas and forms of expression? hell no. australia is one of the most narrow minded countries that’s very developed. tell me otherwise, please. 2680. What do you think of the character (muppet) on sesame street that has aids and should this kind of a theme be explored in children's television? it’s good. and yes, i feel like children should be educated on the different backgrounds and situations people in the world can be in. 2681. Are you dyslexic? no. 2682, Can you construct a bong out of: household objects? sure. an apple? sure. your cat? i dont have a cat. 2683. Starwars, star trek or star gate? none. 2684. Windows or mac? mac. 2685. Do you start conversations or wait for other people to start them? it depends who it is. 2686. How many phallac symbols can you think of? plenty. 2687. Would you but tickets to see the top ten american idols sing live? no. 2688. A bird may love a fish...but where would they live? on the shore. 2689. Are you a hologram or a misfit? none. 2690. How are you oriented sexually? straight. Do you agree with the people who say that everyone is bi-sexual even if they don't want to admit it? i think preferences are purely dependant on the person. you can’t label anyone but yourself. 2691. If you are the only human on the planet of the apes do you have sex with an ape? i don’t know. 2692. If you are making out with a sex someone and you reach down and find they have a fish tail instead of legs do you still fool around with them? no. 2693. Does superman wear kryptonite condoms? idk. 2694. Do you know exactly where you are? Do you know the meaning of it all? Do you know the distance to the sun? Do you know the echo that is love? *yawn* 2694. Do you believe you are: extraordinary? Blessed? Cursed? Won? lame lol. 2695. What are you doing this weekend? not sure yet. definitely going out on sunday night though.  2696. Do you believe that black people should get money to make up for their previous enslavement? the ones who have been freed, yes definitely. Do you believe that all oppressed people should get money to make up for their oppression? yes. 2697. What's a quagmire? that guy from family guy. 2698. Is philosophy a science or can everyone have their own philosophy? to each their own. 2699. Are you a big fish in a small pond? no. 2700. Would you like to read an entire novel written in stream of consciousness form? idk.
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lovemesomesurveys · 8 years ago
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5,000 Question Survey--Part twenty-eight
2601. Do you think cell phones cause cancer? There’s been studies done that show they can, I guess. A lot of things can. Anytime you go into a store or building of any kind, you’ll likely seen the sign that says there’s cancer causing chemicals. Certain foods. Certain products. Smoking. Genetics.
Are cell phone users more likely to get into car accidents? Don’t use you’re phone while driving! Do cell phones really interfere with a plane's navigation equipment? So they say. I don’t know. Are cell phones immune from computer viruses? They can get viruses. Can using a cell phone at a gas station spark a fire? I’ve heard that, but from what I gather it isn’t true. 2602. What makes a guy see a chick as less of a cute little girl and more of a woman? I don’t know? 2603. What is it about football that makes people want to watch it? I guess they get caught up in the competition of it all, and like to root for their favorite team. It also is a bonding thing for some people. 2604. What is the best show on tv? I couldn’t say what the best is. 2605. Are you more of a tape dispenser or a stereo speaker and why? Uh.
2606. What do you think is overrated? Nutella.
what is underrated? Oreos and coffee. Haha. I’m obsessed. 
2607. Can spiders ump? Ump?
Did you interpret that as 'jump' or 'hump or 'bump' or other? I immediately assumed you meant jump, which I was going to say but then I saw this part of the question. 2608. What's the matter with adults today? What’s the matter with people today. 2609. Have you ever worked 'off the books'? No. 2610. Have you ever worked 9-5? I have never had a job.
If not do you think you ever will? 2611. Do men or woman make better bosses? That is not how you determine that. It depends on the person and their qualifications. That can be anyone of any gender. 2612. Do you believe that people should more up through a company or that the higher up positions should be filled by people hired from outseide the company? People should be able to move up, yes. That’s usually the goal. 2613. Why is it that no one seems to care about their job? I don’t think that’s true? A lot of people do. A lot of people depend on it. 2614. When I go into a store, why doesn't anyone know anything about what they are selling? I haven’t come across that. 2615. Have you ever seen those people that get that blank, lost expression when they go into a store and kinda shuffle along like zombies? No.
Do you wonder how they got up, dressed themselves, and made it to the store in the first place? 2616. When did you/will you graduate college? I graduated May of 2015. 2617. When will Eminem stop whineing about his bad childhood and move on?? He hasn’t made music in awhile, so. 2618. I am drug free. Are you drug free? Yes. 2619. I have piercings and am getting tattoos. Do you have either? I have my earlobes pierced. 2620. Can you REALLY say that your way is the right way? No. Some things are right for me, but might not be for others. Other things aren’t even right for me, but I don’t know what to do.
maybe there is a different way for everyone? Mhm. 2621. What do you think of the song 'Imagine'? I like it. 2622. Can you think of any reason i might have written this, other than I am bored with too much time on my hands? That’s pretty much it. 2623. What is the purpose of art? To bring up some kind of emotion, maybe? Something pleasing to the eye. Something to make you think. I don’t know.
How about movies? To bring you entertainment.
Music? To bring entertainment, and something to relate to. 2624. Do you think that anything has lost it's value because it's become too 'commercial'? What? Yeah, but I can’t think of a specific thing at the moment. 2625. Have you ever been promoted? fired? I’ve never had a job, as I’ve stated.
2626. What do you call your private area? Does it have a nickname? It’s called a vagina. 2627. What parts of your body are shaved? My legs and my underarms. 2628. What is a peachclam? Uh... why do I feel like it’s something sexual or a name for a vagina? 2629. What is the american dream? To be happy and successful.
Is it the same as your dream? I would like to be happy and successful, yes. That can mean different things to different people, though. 2630. Do you need to be right all the time? No. 2631. There was a sculpture that was supposed to be displayed for a week in the Rockafeller Center in NYC of a falling woman - designed as a memorial to those who jumped or fell to their death from the World Trade Center. It was complained about as grotesque, innopropriate and describe as 'not art' What do you think? I don’t knowwww. It was taken down early because it was seen as 'offensive'. What do you think about that? The artist, Fischl, said in a statement. ``It was a sincere expression of deepest sympathy for the vulnerability of the human condition. Both specifically towards the victims of Sept. 11 and towards humanity in general.'' Are people just too sensative? Or maybe people are NOT sensative ENOUGH to the idea that others may have different views from them (or from the majority)? She these different, opposing or offensive views be allowed to be expressed freely and openly? Why or why not? 2632. What letter's sound do you like the best? W. 2633. What is one movie charater you identify with and why? All the awkward ones. 2634. Do you act the same when you are alone as you do when people are watching? There’s some differences. 2635. Why is everyone so obssessed with superheros? I don’t know. 2636. What cliches do you hear over-used the most? Hmm. I’m not coming up with good answers am I? 2637. Do you handle inconvieniences well? Well, I find them to be rather inconvenient. 2638. Are you a fan of Jackie Chan? No. Nothing against him, just not my kind of movies. 2639. Is a promise a big deal? Yes. 2640. What is your place in the universe? Heck if I know. 2641. Once some scientists dug up a woolly mamoth, frozen in ice. It was still completely whole, not rotted or fosilized. The scientists decided to have a dinner party. It was a very posh affair. they served roast woolly mamoth steaks, the rarest meat in all the world. So, if you were invited, would you have eaten it? Ew, no. 2642. What are 3 things you DON'T want to know? When and how I’ll die, what my future holds (unless something good happens...), and anything regarding the loss of loved ones. 2643. It seems to me that a lot of people don't value their lives, or life in general very highly. Why do you suppose that is? Not sure.
Are you like that? You could say that. 2644. Do you celebrate the harvest moon? No. 2645. Do you believe in out of body experiances? I don’t know. I’ve heard of instances that sound pretty convincing, but I really don’t know. 2646. Why does so much depend upon a red wheel barrel glazed with rain water beside the white chickens? What are you going on about?
2647. Why do so many people get jobs that they dislike? They might not have a choice. They have to take what they can to pay the bills. A sad reality for many. 2648. Do you think that in THIS world, being creative is a handicap? No... Why or why not? I’m not sure why being creative would be considered that way. 2649. Do you ever get chills or shivers during movies? What movies? Not usually. I don’t recall a time I have experienced that. 2650. Do you believe in the collective unconsiouss(that people are like onions..the outer layers are individualistic and the deeper you go the more similar we all are)? I think people are more alike than then they realize in a lot of ways.
2651. Do you think that most people have the qualities you look for in friends/intimate relationships or do you feel alienated? I wouldn’t know since I don’t go seeking out anyone. I’m not outgoing.
2652. Are you very critical: of others? Maybe somewhat.
have you ever tried? Yes. 2657. Imagine you are 34 weeks pregnant. You are healthy and you didn't have any major problems in your pregnancy. Would you consider flying from the UK to Germany, which takes one hour, whithout a bad feeling that something could go wrong or the baby decides to come out earlier? I would be nervous regardless because I’m afraid to fly, but I would still likely go. 2658. How long do you think it would take you to jog a mile? Forever. 2659. Word assciation: twilight: garden: warm: stars: crash: mold: gold: green: lush: 2660. Picture a triangle:
Quick! What color is it?
Teal. Picture a square. Quick! What color is it? Red. Picture a circle. Quick! What color is it? Purple. Why do you think you saw these shapes as these colors? *shrug* 2661. What things are endless? I think everything comes to an end at some point. 2662. Are you ever subtle? Yeah. 2663. “Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood...some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't conceive of your life without it? How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? How can you fully appreciate these moments, every moment, when it all seems limitless?” ~Paul Bowles except from The Sheltering Sky.
Huh. 2664. Do you never have an ordinary day? It’s pretty rare. 2665. Do you embrace every single thing you've never known? I don’t know if I embrace every single thing. 2666. Has anyone ever mistaken you for a satanist? Uh, no. That has never been something people confused me for. 2667. Can stress sometimes be good? Sometimes. It keeps people on their toes, it helps them get things done. Keeps them alert. Too much of course can be very, very bad. 2668. Write something random, just whatever flows out of your head without thinking. Forget punctuation just try to type as fast as you think: “I think I should warm up a piece of pizza soon.”
--Deep thoughts with Steph.
2669. Are you a musical snob? No.
How about a film snob? Nope. 2670. When you were in school did you learn to think or repeat? A bit of both, I suppose. 2671. Do you have everything you need to be happy? No.
If not, what is missing? Sigh. 2672. Would you take a very casualy dropped 'maybe I should just kill myself' as a warning ssign? You should always take something like that as serious. 2673. What does the word 'ironic' mean? Can you give an exaple of an ironic situation? Like... the opposite of what you think or expect to happen. As Alanis Morrisette once said:
“It’s like rain on your wedding day
It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take
Who would’ve thought, it figures....”
2674. What did you see today that was beautiful in an ordinary way? Nothing. 2675. Have you ever been on the edge of the night? No. 2676. Do you feel oppressed in some way? No, not really. 2677. Who do you think shot JFK? Lee Harvey Oswald.
Who do you think shot Martin Luthar King? There’s speculation and conspiracies surrounding both assassinations. Why do you think they got shot? People didn’t agree with what they stood for. And for MLK, it was some sick racist piece of crap. 2679. Are you aware that although only about 14 percent of the american total population is black, that about 70 percent of the people in jail in america are black? Why do you think that is? What conclusion can you draw based on this?
Sometimes these surveys from this series feel like a homework assignment or paper topic.
2678. Do you think that the culture you live in is completely open to all ideas and forms of expression? Clearly that’s not the case. We have the right to express them, but not everyone is open to hearing or accepting some of it. 2680. What do you think of the character (muppet) on sesame street that has aids and should this kind of a theme be explored in children's television? Well, it’s a reality for some people. It should be talked about. 2681. Are you dyslexic? No. 2682, Can you construct a bong out of: household objects? an apple? your cat?
Never tried. 2683. Starwars, star trek or star gate? Star Wars. 2684. Windows or mac? MAC. 2685. Do you start conversations or wait for other people to start them? I’m not one to initiate conversation. 2686. How many phallac symbols can you think of? Nah. 2687. Would you but tickets to see the top ten american idols sing live? I never wanted to. 2688. A bird may love a fish...but where would they live? Hm... Well, the bird could at least land on something on or near the water and the fish could swim up and they could talk that way. lol. The fish can’t leave the water unless it’s in a bowl of water. 2689. Are you a hologram or a misfit? Uh. 2690. How are you oriented sexually? I’m straight.
Do you agree with the people who say that everyone is bi-sexual even if they don't want to admit it? I don’t agree with that. 2691. If you are the only human on the planet of the apes do you have sex with an ape? I’m not into beastiality. 2692. If you aare making out with a sex someone and you reach down and find they have a fish tail instead of legs do you still fool around with them? “With a sex someone...” what? Anyway, I would be really freaked out. I couldn’t just ignore that. I’d be like, “wtf???” 2693. Does superman wear kryptonite condoms? Sure. 2694. Do you know exactly where you are? I am here.
Do you know the meaning of it all? Nope.
Do you know the distance to the sun? No.
Do you know the echo that is love? Nopeee. 2694. Do you believe you are: extraordinary? Ha, no. I’m very ordinary.
Blessed? In some ways, yes.
Cursed? I wouldn’t say cursed. I’ve just been dealt a pretty crappy hand with some things.
Won? I don’t believe i am “won”, no. 2695. What are you doing this weekend? Nothing. 2696. Do you believe that black people should get money to make up for their previous enslavement? If they were personally enslaved. Also, I don’t think money would make up for that. How would you determine the amount? If they were enslaved they should get something no doubt, like they should be given access to resources and help to things that they need.
Do you believe that all oppressed people should get money to make up for their oppression? Again, I don’t know if money would make up for that. They should be given what they weren’t allowed to have before. Maybe money, but again how do you determine the amount? 2697. What's a quagmire? That pervy guy from Family Guy? 2698. Is philosophy a science or can everyone have their own philosophy? It is a science, but I think people can have their own philosophy about some things. 2699. Are you a big fish in a small pond? I feel like a small fish in a big pond. 2700. Would you like to read an entire novel written in stream of consiousness form? No.
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bestfriendforhire · 7 years ago
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Entry 299
 “Master, Brandon is bringing a girl here.” stated Mila.
 “What?” I asked, surprised by the announcement.  “Please warn everyone who’s awake.”
 “Does she really seem interested in him?” asked Cosette with a grin.
 “The circumstances are a bit unusual from the conversation they’re having.  Apparently, a fight had broken out in the bar he visited just after Portentia left.  The girl he is bringing, Deyanira, is soaked in alcohol and is blaming Brandon for it.  He has some minor injuries, so he probably didn’t use his abilities in the fight.” explained Mila.
 “Is she attractive?” inquired Cosette.
 “I believe you will feel she is.” stated Mila.
 “Maybe I should wake Emma.” considered Cosette.  “She wouldn’t want to miss this.”
 Mila nodded and said, “I’ve already taken the liberty.  She is hurrying out here.  She probably would be nearly here had I not insisted that she put on her robe first.”
 I was honestly more surprised that Brandon would be injured even without using his transformative abilities.   He was a capable combatant these days.  Was he not wearing his enhancement suit?  If some of his opponents were more than human, I might want to investigate before Alma found out.
 “Wasn’t there a video feed?” I asked.
 “No, master.  The bar’s security is very poor, and I hadn’t hacked into any cell phones inside.  Brandon had left his in the car.” she replied.
 “James.  Brandon’s bringing a girl home.  Aren’t you the least bit excited for him?” asked Cosette as she grinned at me.  Then she turned to Mila and inquired “Did you wake Brenna?”
 “No.  She has a job early this morning and her ability to function might be impaired if she gets up this soon.” stated Mila.
 “What about Raine?” asked Cosette.
 “Raine’s been deciding whether or not to come in here for the past minute.” I told her, having heard Raine’s pacing quite clearly.
 “I’m n-not spying!” insisted Raine after darting over to me.
 “I figured.  Can’t decide from where you want to spy on Brandon?” I teased.
 “M-maybe.” she stated, lowering her head.
 Cosette hugged her and said, “With me!  We have to gossip with Emma.  She’d be terribly disappointed if we did not.”
 Raine looked at her for a moment and then hesitantly nodded.
 “How soon!?” exclaimed Emma as she ran into the room.
 “They’re coming up the drive now.” replied Mila.
 “Guys, we have to act natural!  Raine, get on Ancient Tribes of Earth.  Let’s all try to meet up somewhere before they get inside.” stated Emma.
 I rolled my eyes but went ahead with her plan.  Wouldn’t hurt to look like everyone was having a late night gaming session instead of just Cosette and me.  “We’ll be entering the city from the South.” I informed her.
 I glanced up as another monitor lit up only to see Alma hurry into the room.
 “You too?” I asked.
 “Whatever could you mean?” she replied.
 “Felt like a little late night gaming.” I suggested.
 “Of course.” she lied.
 Before I could say anything more, the front doors opened.  The girl who entered in front of Brandon was a bit taller than his sister and had dark brown hair with blonde streak on her left side.  Her large brown eyes looked completely unimpressed as they gazed around the room.
 “Brandon.” called Alma.  “Why are you not wearing a shirt?”
 “Who’s that?” asked Deyanira.
 “Uh… I guess I’ll introduce you to some of my friends.” he replied.  When he walked into the room, he said, “I didn’t have a spare and kinda owed Deyanira here one.  Deyanira, this is Lady Alma Lucy Pendreigh V.”
 Alma, who had stood to meet them, merely nodded.
 “Oooh.  So smooth.  What happened to your shirt?” asked Emma, kneeling on her seat to lean on the back and grin at Deyanira.
 “This jerk spilled his beer on me.” she replied.
 “Brandon, are you even old enough to drink?” teased Cosette.
 “Duh.” he stated.
 “Portentia isn’t.  How did she get in?” I asked.
 “Oh.  Well, they didn’t actually check her ID.” he replied.
 Alma looked over at me and said, “James, dear, relax.  You know how she is.”
 As Alma spoke, Deyanira elbowed Brandon in his gut and asked “You snuck someone underage into the bar?”
 “Hey, I didn’t know!” he exclaimed.
 “And you two live together?” she demanded.
 “All of us do.  I told you that.  Whole company living under one roof.” he replied.
 “The employee wing is similar in design to an apartment complex.” I informed her.
 “And who are you?” she demanded.
 “Umm… he’s my boss.” replied Brandon.
 “What?” she asked, glancing at him.  Then she walked over to me and stared down at me till I stood to face her.  “You’re awfully big.”
 “I am somewhat tall.” I admitted.
 “How old are you?” she asked.
 “Nineteen.  And you?” I inquired.
 “Twenty-two.” she told me before turning to face Brandon and saying, “You work for someone younger than you?”
 Brandon shrugged.
 “Pretty neat, isn’t it?” asked Emma.  “I’m going to be nineteen soon if you’re interested.”
 “Are there no adults here?” demanded Deyanira.
 “Depends on how you care to define ‘adult’.  I would argue that most of us, Brandon excluded, are more mature than average for our age.” stated Alma.
 “Hey!” exclaimed Brandon.  “I can be pretty mature.”
 “Why, might I ask, did you decide to come here with Brandon?” asked Cosette, standing and walking over to Deyanira.
 “He owes me a shirt and wouldn’t leave this one with me.  Said he got it at some convention.” she replied.
 She wasn’t telling the whole truth, but I wasn’t too surprised.  She might actually like him.
 “Given the length on you, I wouldn’t qualify that as a shirt to begin with, more of a dress.  I’m sure Mila can come up with something that will fit you better if you wish to get cleaned up.” suggested Cosette.
 “How many girls does he live with here!?” asked Deyanira.
 “How many times do we count Mila?” replied Cosette with a grin.
 “Huh?” asked Deyanira.
 “I’m an Artificial Intelligence with two fabricated bodies which I use to better fulfill my duties.” explained Mila.
 “What?  No way.” stated Deyanira.
 “No, really.  She could pick you up with one arm if you want a demonstration.” suggested Brandon.
 Deyanira looked between Brandon and Mila for a moment.  Then she looked to Alma and asked “Isn’t she your sister?”
 “No.  She is what they say.” replied Alma.
 “What is this place!?” exclaimed Deyanira.
 “I told you.  I’m a best friend for hire, which is also the name of this company.  James is the owner and boss.  Most of us work for him.  Lady Pendreigh there is his girlfriend.” explained Brandon.
  “And you live here?” asked Deyanira, still sounding doubtful.
 “Yes.” stated Brandon, sounding exasperated.
 “Why, are you looking for a job?” I asked.
 “No!  I’m in college, studying law.” she snapped.
 “Ah.  I hope that’s going well for you.” I told her.
 “Why wouldn’t it be?” she demanded.
 “No reason.” I stated, feeling the girl was a bit on edge.  “Mila really can assist you if you want to get cleaned and changed.  We can offer a car to get you home as well.”
 “No!” exclaimed Emma.  “She should stay here tonight.  There are plenty of guest rooms, right?  If not, she can totally stay in my room.”
 “No.  Definitely not.” stated Brandon.
 “What?  Don’t you want me to stay the night?” demanded Deyanira.
 “Huh?  Of course.  Just not in Emma’s room.  There’s no telling what she’ll do to you.” he warned her.
 “I’m not staying in your room either.” she pointedly told him.
 “I never suggested that you would.” he replied.
 Turning to me, she asked “Can I really hire him?”
 Nodding, I said, “Assuming you can afford his rates, sure.”
 “To do what?” she asked.
 “Anything you’d ask of a best friend as long as Brandon is comfortable with the job.” I told her.
 “What if a girl wanted to go on a date with him?” she inquired.
 “I’ve taken a couple jobs that could be interpreted as dates.” I told her.
 “But no one would hire Brandon for that!” exclaimed Emma.
 “Why not?” asked Deyanira.
 “He’s too… Brandon.” stated Emma.
 “Thanks, Emma.  You’re a real pal.” he told her, sounding sour.
 In a sing-song voice, she told him with a grin, “You’re welcome!”
 I could be wrong, but I thought Deyanira appreciated Emma’s response.  Her face seemed to lighten a bit at least.
 “I’ll take you up on that shower and clean clothes.” stated Deyanira.
 Mila motioned toward the door and said, “This way, please.”
 “I for one am glad we didn’t take bets on Brandon getting a girl tonight.  I would have lost.” stated Cosette.
 “Me too!” exclaimed Emma, jumping over to Cosette and excitedly taking her hands.
 “M-me too.” mumbled Raine from the chair in which she was hiding.
 “I woudn’t bet on his success quite yet.” warned Alma.
 “Is it really pick on Brandon day?” questioned Brandon, practically pouting.
 “I-Isn’t it always?” asked Raine.
 He laughed.  “Maybe, but what did you guys think of her?  Pretty cute, isn’t she?”
 “Totally!” exclaimed Emma.
 “I think you could find someone nicer.” stated Cosette.
 “I don’t know if ‘nicer’ is what he needs.” argued Alma.
 I didn’t feel we had enough information to make any conclusions.  Most people would be thrown off by this place as Jemal would certainly confirm.  I did feel that Deyanira seemed a bit aggressive, but she might not be a particularly bad person.  Maybe we’d learn more in the morning.
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