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ladyfogg · 5 years ago

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Cold is the Night - 7/20

Fic Summary: You and Pat have known each other for years but this summer, everything will change. As the two of you start to grow close, your matching tempers threaten the foundation of your rocky friendship and prevent both of you from realizing your true feelings. Cold is the Night Masterpost.

Fic Song: Cold is the Night by The Oh Hellos. Fic playlist can be found here.

Pairing: Pat Murray/Female Reader

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Language, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, Multiple Chapters

When his alarm went off, Pat groaned in frustration. He had gone to bed in the early hours of the morning and was beyond exhausted. Not only that, he had been having an amazing dream.

His morning wood was trapped between his body and the mattress, giving him little relief. The details of the dream had already slipped away, but he clearly remembered you being naked in it. Not that he knew what you looked like naked, but his imagination had sure run wild.

Pat rolled out of bed, ignoring the throbbing in his boxers. He couldn't believe he was so worked up over a small kiss. Granted it was a hell of a kiss. You had looked so beautiful in the moonlight, he couldn't help himself.

Nothing he had ever experienced before compared to you kissing him back, your fingers buried in his hair.

With zombie-like grace, he stumbled to the bathroom and into the shower. He turned the water on cold, hoping to wake himself up and take care of his problem in one go. Neither worked.

"Fuck!" he muttered before he wrapped his hand around his cock. With quick, short strokes he touched himself as he thought of you.

The way you smelled, the way you smiled, the way the sunlight bounced off your hair, the way your lips felt pressed against his…

He wanted you like he never wanted anyone before. It was like every nerve was on high alert whenever you walked into the room. He wanted to know how your skin would feel pressed against his, what noises you'd make when his hands slipped between your legs…

Pat finished with a strangled moan, biting his lip to keep from being loud. His body sagged with relief and he leaned back against the tile to catch his breath.

He was in deep. The more time he spent with you the more he didn't want that time to end. He could have sat with you in that field for hours and hours. When you said you would go out with him it had taken all his willpower not to jump for joy.

Pat cleaned himself up and got ready for his day. In the kitchen, his father sat at the table, newspaper in one hand and coffee in the other.

"You got in late last night," Brian commented as his son poured himself coffee.

"Yup." Pat didn't want to talk about you. Everything was so new and exciting, he wanted to keep it to himself for as long as possible.

"Were you hanging with the guys?"

"Nope."

"A girl?"

"Yup."

"What's her name?"

"Nope."

Brian huffed, putting his paper down. "You're not going to tell me about her?"

"Nope." Pat downed his coffee, reveling in the warmth that traveled down into his stomach. He put the mug in the sink and grabbed his keys from the counter. "Gotta go."

"Wait, wait, hold up." Brian stood, blocking the door with his body. "You don't want to tell me about her, that's fine. I just want to make sure you're being careful."

Pat made a face. "Dad, seriously…"

"I am serious, Patrick."

Pat sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're taking it slow. We haven't had sex and probably won't for a while. You have nothing to worry about. And even if we were, I have protection."

"Good. I'm glad." Brian crossed his arms with a small smile. "She must be pretty special."

"She is. Now move, I'm gonna be late for work."

Chuckling, Brian gave his son a hug before letting him off the hook. Pat pushed past his father and left.

Pat's job wasn't very exciting. He worked at the local supermarket stocking shelves. The work itself was pretty easy and lifting crates helped keep him in shape for baseball. He also didn't need to talk to customers that much. The only downside was that someone had quit recently so he had been pulling doubles to help.

At least he was able to let his mind wander. He was just planning what to do on your future date when someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned around to find you standing there, hands resting on a shopping cart.

"You make that apron look good, Murray."

Pat couldn't stop the goofy smile from crossing his face. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd do some shopping so I stop eating takeout," you said. "Then I realized, I have no idea where anything is."

"I think I can help with that."

"I'm sure you can."

Seeing you again in the light of day made Pat's feelings ten times real. At night under the stars, he had been in his own world. His feelings hadn't changed a bit and it took all he had not to pull you into a kiss.

You walked down the aisle together while you showed Pat the list you made. "Wow, you're basically getting everything," he commented.

"Yeah. Roommate used to do all the cooking so I'm a little out of my wheelhouse."

"It's not that hard," Pat said, pulling a few things off the shelves and putting them in the cart. "Start small. Try planning ahead so you don't get lazy or too tired to cook."

"All good things to remember."

You fell into silence and the next time Pat spoke, you did at the same time, cutting each other off.

"Wow, we're something aren't we," you laughed.

"What were you going to say?"

"I was going to ask if you were free tonight. My shifts were switched and my schedule is suddenly wide open."

"Yes, yes I'm free." Pat's heart soared.

"What were you going to say?"

"I don't even remember anymore," Pat admitted, making you laugh. "Did you have something in mind for tonight?"

"Depends. What time do you get off?"

Pat's mind immediately wandered to that morning's shower and he suddenly remembered jerking off to thoughts of you. He must have turned red because you smirked.

"Of work, Murray. What time do you get off of work?"

"I know what you meant," Pat defended himself, embarrassed that you had seen right through him. "Around six."

"That's a long shift! Why do they have you working so much?"

"Someone quit."

You sighed sympathetically. "Alright well, let's do dinner at my place then. I'm sure you're going to be exhausted."

"Seeing you will perk me up."

You looked away to try to hide your blush but he still saw it. "Flatterer."

"You gonna cook?"

"I am certainly going to try. Just in case it goes horribly wrong, there's a pizza place around the corner that delivers."

"I'll bring dessert."

You quirked your eyebrow. "What kind of dessert?"

"Well, you're going to have to just wait and see."

"So, it's a date."

Pat was sure his heart was going to leap out of his chest. "It's a date."

You glanced at his lips. Pat's breath caught in his throat, palms suddenly sweaty. You both took a step toward each other but then someone turned down the aisle you were in, reminding you where you were. You looked away sheepishly.

"Raincheck?" Pat asked.

"Definitely." You blew him a kiss as you pushed your cart away, continuing your shopping alone.

Pat stood there for a moment, brain foggy and heart racing. As you glanced over your shoulder to smile at him, he felt his stomach drop like his body was falling.

She's going to kill me, I swear to god.

His day seemed to drag after that. Every time he looked at the clock he swore it moved slower. By early afternoon he was going crazy. The thought of having a date and your house had his mind racing. He knew you wanted to take things slow, and he completely respected that. It didn't stop him from daydreaming though.

He had just finished stocking some canned goods when Pat heard his name. He whirled around hoping it was you, but it was Maz, carrying a shopping cart.

"Hey, bud, how's it going?" Maz asked, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Great!" Pat couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Maz raised his eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Unable to stop himself he blurted out, "I asked her out. We're having dinner tonight."

"That's amazing! Congrats, man." Maz looked smug.

"We kissed."

Maz's eyes widened and he grinned. "Well fucking done, Pat."

"It was…it was everything." Pat didn't even care how breathless he sounded.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile so wide before."

"I can't stop. It's disgusting."

Maz laughed. "I'm happy for you. We're all planning to hit the bar this weekend after practice. Come with us. Pretty sure she'll be there, working."

"Yeah, sure. Sounds great."

"Cool. I gotta go but we'll talk soon."

"Bye, Maz."

Maz started to walk away but paused and turned around to say, "You really do look happy."

Pat grinned and went back to work. When six o'clock finally rolled around, he clocked out faster than he ever had in his life. On his way out of the store, he paused by the bakery to grab dessert, then the flower shop.

After going home to change and freshen up, he practically ran back out the door, barely saying goodbye to his dad.

Jittery with nervous energy, Pat drove to your house, trying hard not to speed. When he arrived, he grabbed the pie he had bought and hid the flowers behind his back as he rang the doorbell.

You answered the door with a bright smile. "Hey there, handsome."

Pat returned the smile as he pulled the flowers out from behind his back. "Hey, yourself, beautiful."

Your eyes widened and your mouth fell open. "Did you actually bring me flowers, Murray?"

"Of course I did." He frowned. "Have you not gotten flowers before?"

"No." You stepped aside so he could enter.

Pat crossed the threshold, closing the door behind him as you cradled the flowers to your chest. "Well, that's bullshit. You deserve all the flowers."

"Ugh, that's so sweet. I hate it."

Laughing, Pat followed you into the kitchen. "Why?"

"Because when you say sappy shit like that I get all flustered and smiley."

"It's cute."

"You're cute!"

"Thank you, I think? It's a compliment but you're saying it like it's an insult."

"It's a gift."

Pat set the pie on the counter while you pulled a vase out of the cabinet. The kitchen smelled good, like fresh garlic. He could see bread toasting in the oven. On the stove was a lid-covered pot.

"How'd the cooking go?" Pat asked.

"Well, I said to myself, 'Self, what's the one thing you can't mess up?'," you said as you unwrapped the flowers. Pat took the vase and filled it with cold water for you. "The answer was simple: spaghetti!"

"And did you make it?"

"Twice. I messed up the first time."

Pat laughed so hard he had to step away from the counter so he wouldn't knock over the vase. "How the fuck did you manage that?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Pat continued the laugh as you arranged the flowers on the kitchen table. When he finally calmed down, he couldn't help smiling as he watched you remove garlic bread from the oven. Once that was done, you opened a cabinet to grab plates.

"Don't just stand there, Murray. Find something to do."

"But I like the view."

Pat was distracted every time you bent over to grab something. You were dressed in comfortable clothes that still managed to show off your figure. He couldn't take his eyes off you.

"Oh yeah?" you teased, stepping closer. "And do you know what I like?"

Pat swallowed thickly as you entered his space, nearly pressing him against the counter. "What?"

"Some fucking help." You shoved the plates into his hands. "Hop to it, Murray."

Pat glared. "You're so mean."

"Oh, honey, you have no idea."

Pat set the table while you finish up dinner. Once the food was served and wine was poured, you sat down to eat. He was worried there'd be awkwardness or silence, but there was neither. The conversation flowed freely.

Topics bounced around but Pat didn't care. The food was good and the company was even better.

"You cannot be serious," he laughed after a particularly ridiculous story from your childhood.

"Swear to god, Vinnie's head got stuck in the fence."

Pat laughed at the mental image it conjured. "So what did you do?"

"Threw baseballs at him."

"Shut the fuck up, no you didn't!"

"I absolutely did. He deserved it. He messed up my tea party."

Pat's stomach hurt from laughing so much and the smile on your face only made him smile more. "I don't know how you two haven't killed each other yet."

"We've gotten close," you said. "What about you? Any siblings."

"Nope. Just me and my dad. My mom passed away when I was little."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I don't remember much about her."

"What do you remember?"

Pat paused, realizing they had stepped into sensitive territory. He never talked about his family life mostly because people never asked.

You must have sensed his hesitation because you said, "Shit, I'm sorry if that was too forward. That's kind of a personal thing to just blurt out."

"No, no, it's okay," he assured you. "No one's ever asked before so I never really thought about it." He shuffled through what hazy memories he had. "She used to sing me to sleep."

He never remembered feeling so comfortable around another person before. Even with his teammates, there was some distance there, but with you, there wasn't.

You smiled. "That sounds nice."

"It was." Pat cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed there. "Dinner was great."

"Yeah?"

"Definitely better than your first attempt I imagine."

You rolled your eyes and lightly kicked him. "Jerk."

Pat helped you clean up and the two of you wandered into the living room. "Want to watch something?" you asked as you sat down on the couch.

"Sure, whatever you want."

You found an old movie and put it on. Pat settled against the couch cushions and the next thing he knew, you were tucked against his side. After a moment of internal debate, he cautiously slipped his arm around you.

"Is this okay?" he asked.

You snuggled closer. "Perfect."

Pat couldn't focus on the movie. You were so close and warm against his side, it was all he thought about. When you rested your head on his chest, he was sure you could hear his heart racing. Your scent surrounded him and he buried his nose in your hair, softly inhaling. He wanted to kiss you again, maybe even more, but when he drew back to look down, he found you had dozed off.

With an affectionate smile, he pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over you. You worked so hard, he wasn't surprised that you were exhausted. He was too. But he also wanted to enjoy holding you for as long as he could.

Pat made himself comfortable and turned his attention back to the movie, while you slept peacefully in his arms.

#undrafted #pat murray #pat murray x reader #pat murray x you #joe mazzello

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danetobelieve · 5 years ago

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The Name Is Afoot || Blanche and Winston

Winston was ancy. They were feeling nervous, understandably. They couldn’t really explain why, but they felt like they were really missing something. It was as if a chunk of their life had been ripped from their grasp. They couldn’t tell you why, but missing their name was somewhat worse then they could’ve anticipated. They knew what they weren’t and every name they’d attempted for themselves was clearly wrong. But the name that everyone appeared to know them by felt like an equally poor fit. As they heard a knock at their door, they had to admit that they hoped that Blanche would be able to help. She seemed to know more of what was going on. Maybe she’d have an idea.

Blanche was left to her own devices to go and grab Winston groceries and get to their house. That meant she had a lot of time to sit there and think about what the fuck could be going on with them. She believed them when they said this wasn’t some prank. Something was really wrong, but the last thing she wanted to do was start off on another tangent about magic or something. Winston’s mind was already blown from the shit they’d been through over the past couple weeks. It was like someone came up to them and just ripped off the fucking bandaid on the supernatural and then punched them in the stomach. Now she was considering three things: Magic, Aliens, and, the last one that she really wanted it to not be, Possession. So not cool. So, when Blanche rolled up, she grabbed the groceries and the hot pizza box she grabbed while at the store. Couldn’t go over to someone’s house without bearing gifts. She knocked, arms full. “I know you told me not too, but I just got the essentials and a pizza, so we can figure this out on full stomachs!! Can I see your ID Winst- er. Please?”

Winston’s stomach dropped as they heard their ‘name’, they hadn’t expected this to be such a problem. Somehow it was worse hearing it then seeing it written down. They’d mostly stayed inside since they noticed this happening. They couldn’t even really pinpoint a specific time in which this all started. “Blanche,” they smiled and held the door open for them before grabbing a few bags, “uh, come through, thanks for all of this, I do genuinely have food I promise.” They were more then willing to show Blanche the contents of their cupboards and fridge if it would set her mind at ease. Winston sighed gently, of course they were directly down to business right away. They shouldn’t have expected anything less. “Sure, it’s on the kitchen table,” they pointed into the kitchen entirely forgetting that the back portion of their house, although having mostly been cleaned up, was still in a state of disrepair. Ricky and they had been able to jerry-rig the doors so that their house wasn’t freezing. But it didn’t look pretty.

“But what about when you run out?” Blanche said. This was the second time in a month she had bought groceries for someone, but that was okay. Her friends needed it, and she had that tutoring gig now - even if she was tutoring the biggest meathead on campus- so she wasn’t going to be hit too hard with the money she’d spent. “Okay, great! I’m sure everything’s going to be - what the hell?” Blanche had let herself in, shuffling past them to go to the kitchen, bags and pizza in hand, only to see the mess that was the back part of their kitchen. She gaped at the jerry-rigged doors and the disrepaired state of the house. “Is… um… Ricky working on a new project or something?” she said, slowly, going to put the bags and pizza box on the table. Well, she didn’t want to be rude or anything. Winston had invited her into their house just so she could look at their IDs - which was, admittedly, a weird reason to insist on coming over. Still, she was here and what’s done was done. She grabbed the card off the table, holding it up. “Fuck.” She said plainly. “It is just like the picture.”

“When I run out then I’ve got a roommate that can go grocery shopping or I can get stuff delivered or just go myself, I lost my name, not my ability to walk.” Winston replied with a gentle laugh. “I’ll give you money for that,” they said reaching for their phone, “I can send you something by paypal or I can just transfer money into your account, whatever is easiest. I know college is rough, especially without any support.” They sighed gently at the mess that was the back portion of the ground floor of their house. It was truly a sight to behold. “We’re renovating …” they couldn’t keep from laughing for long before shrugging, “Skylar and Ricky and I were hanging, eating dinner and there was a crab attack, we’re fine but the house took a bit of a beating, we should be able to fix everything though, Ricky’s very good at that.” They helped, but this wasn’t exactly their forte. They were just glad Blanche couldn’t see the scorch marks on the back porch, they weren’t sure how they’d explain that. Taking their ID from Blanche, they squinted at it and tried taking their glasses off in somewhat disbelief, but nothing change, except the quality of their eye sight.

“But -” Winston wasn’t wrong. As far as she could tell, they definitely still had the ability to move and walk and function. It really was just their name. Blanche didn’t like how they phrased it - lost their name. Like it was something that could be lost to begin with. She stared at them, though, when they described the crab attack. “You guys got attacked by Karkinoids?!” Why didn’t they tell her?! What? When? How?! Blanche’s head snapped immediately to the damages, and she wondered if this was before or after they went to the beach with her. If it was before, she suddenly didn’t feel so silly buying them groceries. Surprise crab attack was scary. Herself, Remmy, and Cece knew that well. Hell, it was still scary even when she was expecting them. Winston deserved to not have to pay for groceries for a week for going with her dumb ass. “Uh, you don’t have to pay me, you’re good. Really.” Blanche mumbled, her face feeling hot as she looked down at her shoes a moment, before shaking whatever it was off. Back to the matter at hand. The lost name. If she hadn’t see the blurring movement on their ID herself, she would be checking Winston for a concussion. She ran a hand down her face. “Ah… Alright. I have three ideas, and you’re going to hate all of them.” Well, last time she said something like that, they were pinned in a tree with a hedgemoose down below. Luckily, there was no opportunity to die, this time.

“Yeah, it was not exactly our idea of fun…” Winston gazed out of the window for a moment before heading to start putting the groceries away. As they began unpacking the contents of the bags that Blanche had bought them, they had to admit that this was very kind. They couldn’t remember the last time that anyone bought them groceries. “Thank you for doing this,” they said turning and smiling at Blanche, “I don’t think anyone has ever bought me groceries,” they shrugged, “if you change your mind let me know.” If she didn’t then Winston would have to find someway of paying her back. Hopefully an opportunity would present itself. Gazing at the ruined room, Winston shrugged. “It’s fine, we can make a few upgrades now and Ricky has a project to focus on. I think they were more upset that the hard wood floors were damaged then that killer crustaceans that are called … karkinoids right … that they exist and were attacking us.” Ricky was a weird guy. “Ok, tell me more about these ideas, I won’t make any promises given your track record, I think we’re at 50/50. So I’m hoping we go 66/33.”

Blanche gave them a smile, leaning against the kitchen table. “Hey, what are friends that go with you to do stupid, life threatening supernatural shit for?” Blanche knew that she wouldn’t change her mind. Gifts were gifts, and she already had a hard time accepting any form of repayment anyway - see Alain with the stupid car battery. The thought made her sad, the overwhelming memory of his disappointment in her made her frown. She wasn’t here to think about not zombies and hunters and people trying to kill Remmy - mostly because she and Nell had hopefully taken care of it. “Well, I hope Ricky’s getting rest too. The hardwood can wait until he’s feeling better.” She said, refocusing herself to the conversation as she watched them put groceries away. She would help, but she didn’t know where anything went and she also didn’t want to go through their cupboards like a creep. “They’re not life threatening!” Blanche insisted. “And I wouldn’t even know what to do if any of these theories are true. Okay, wait I have four ideas. Sorry. First: Someone swapped out your ID for some joke one and you’ve somehow gotten a concussion - which I don’t think that’s it at all. Two: Magic. Three: Aliens. Four: …” Blanche trailed off, not looking at them. She didn’t think it was right, mostly because she was pretty sure she would feel something if they were possessed by something, and possession couldn’t make you forget your name… Could it? She would have to ask Nadia about more lingering effects. “Um… possession.” She finally said, realizing she’d been too quiet for too long. “By a ghost. But I don’t think that’s right either.”

Winston closed a cupboard now full of food and turned to face Blanche once more. “Still, I appreciate it all the same.” They had a hard time accepting that there were so many people that knew about this shit and were just okay with it going on. But Blanche seemed to be on the same page as they were about most things. At least the things that mattered. So far. You never knew. But they were doing their best to not allow cynicism to over take them. “Probably not, he’s one of the types of people that force themselves to keep going until they physically can’t go anymore, it’s all very masculine.” They imitated a pose they imagined was a poor replication of one Ricky could pull. “So, first seems unlikely considering you’re seeing this too. Second I think is probable, I know magic exists and I can’t see anything else that it might be, third I guess I’m open to the possibility of, but my questions would be how and why. How the fuck are they doing this? And why me?” They paused and considered the last one. Possession wasn’t something that they had even considered to be something that existed. “I … hadn’t known that was like … y’know … like a thing!” They sighed and pulled off their glasses to polish them as they were prone to do. “I don’t know what someone possessed behaves like. So I’m afraid I won’t be that much help.”

Blanche gave Winston a small smile. Winston, she decided for the 50th time, was good people. A good person. She was lucky to have them as a friend. Blanche snorted. “Good imitation, you should do it in front of him. See what he says.” She encouraged them. Still, she nodded along, listening to their thoughts about her theories. “I’m scratching theory one off the list because I don’t think there’s a ‘normal’ fucking explanation for that. I’m exhausted trying to come up with one.” God, how did Regan live like that? 600 years old, and not even a single thought that something was may, just a little, unordinary? Blanche shook her head. “Second: if it’s magic, is it a curse? Did someone curse you? If so, why? You piss anyone off lately?” Blanche asked them curiously. “Third: I literally know nothing about aliens or if they even exist - which at this point, if someone told me there was a species of sentient toothbrushes that eat children, I’d believe them. Sorry.” She looked at them apologetically, before continuing. “Fourth - ah. Possession’s nasty shit.” Blanche said, recalling from what Granny had told her about Nadia and from what Nadia told her herself. Granny always warned her it was a very dangerous thing that spirits could do. “I don’t think you’re possessed,” she added. “I would know.” At least, she thought she would. “Have you been experiencing blackouts? Any other memory loss other than your name? Waking up in places you don’t know? Stuff like that.”

“Oh Ricky loves it when I imitate and mock him, especially when it is to do with his muscularity and masculinity.” Winston replied with a laugh. It was all very infuriating really. “He thinks it is very funny that I have such strong opinions on him.” The truth was that Rick was about as far away from toxic masculinity as was imaginable. They were one of the first truly good people that Winston had had a chance to meet. “I think that is a fair response and I can deal with narrowing this down,” Winston replied, “so, take this all with a grain of salt because I know a grand total of fuck all about any of this, but I think there are different schools of magic and I’m not sure whether this is a curse or something else. If I have been cursed then I can’t tell you why because I can’t think of a single person that I would’ve upset enough to warrant a curse for. I don’t tend to get on the wrong side of well anyone, I just try and keep to myself and keep out of the way.” They frowned gently and tapped their hands against the counter nervously. “I’m with you there, I can’t understand why or what the hell is going on, but if vampires and werewolves are real then why not aliens.” They sighed gently, that was a mish mash of cliches and nerd cultures that Winston wasn’t ready to deal with.” They frowned gently at the mention of possession. It was scary really and they hated the idea that someone might be using their body. “No black outs and no memory loss other then my name, I’ve been waking up in the same place I went to sleep and I don’t remember doing anything that I shouldn’t have done or anything that you’re asking, but if I was possessed, no offense but how would you know … and you know that video you sent me where you said you could see ghosts, was that hyperbolic or literal?”

“I’ll have to try it one day,” Blanche promised, snickering slightly at the thought. But her brain switched quickly from the thought. “Like different classes of magic?” To be honest, Blanche couldn’t really think of how Winston of all people could have pissed someone off. They were about as nice as nice came. She frowned. “Maybe it is just a prank, then. Not a curse, but someone just… screwing with you. I don’t think this is very funny, though.” And Blanche was a fan of a few good humored ones - such as making someone venmo her .50 cents for a really bad joke about dead people. “Trust me, I’m with you on the aliens, but I’m not sure I’m here for them trying to steal your identity. This isn’t a marvel movie.” Though, at this point, if some Nick Fury-esque guy walked in, she wouldn’t be surprised. It didn’t sound like that was the answer. More entertaining to think about though. She didn’t think they were possessed either, but now she sort of wished she hadn’t brought it up as a possibility because now they were asking questions. Blanche tensed. It was a lot easier online where she could lie and just say she watched a horror movie while trashed and was making shit up - an already weak excuse - but Winston could absolutely see through her bullshit in a second. “Er - Well… Literal,” Blanche winced slightly. “I - That ‘friend’ I have that’s a medium. I’m the friend. I’m my own friend - wait, that sounds weird.” Blanche was already exasperated at herself for sounding like an idiot. “- Um. Anyway. Because of that, I usually get a… tingly feeling when I’m near a spirit. So if one was in you or around you, I’d feel tingly.”

“I would heartily and emphatically encourage you to do that as soon as you possibly can,” Winston replied before their conversation drifted towards something more technical. “Apparently, again I don’t really know what but Ricky has a friend who can use magic and they said something about different schools of magic to Ricky and he mentioned it to me but I don’t get it and I don’t get why it matters…” they hadn’t admitted to anyone what they could really do and they were kind of scared to try again. They frowned at the idea. “I don’t know who could’ve possibly come up with a prank that required magic, besides it seems like a lot of hard work just to prank me. Magicking my whole name away can’t have been simple? I mean I guess I don’t really know, but you’d think it wouldn’t be.” Pausing for a moment, they frowned and scrubbed at their eyes behind their glasses, as if they were able to rub them hard enough to make them remember what their name was. “If it is aliens then I’d be surprised, it seems kind of unlikely and at the moment option two: magic seems like the most obvious.” They frowned at Blanche’s admission. They were surprised really. They’d thought that Blanche was completely and totally normal. They didn’t know that this was even something that they could be dealing with and yet…. “So, you can see ghosts and you get a tingly feeling around them, sounds like this name thing is definitely magic then.” This wasn’t a big deal. This wasn’t a big deal.

“I mean, some people are just chaotic. Maybe you’re not the only one that doesn’t know their name - like a mass name jacking or something.” Blanche supplied, shifting slightly. She was more familiar with magic now than she would have liked, thanks to the shenanigans Nell had pulled so they could protect Remmy, but she knew that was a tip of a very big iceberg. Maybe Cece would know something, though she wasn’t sure Cece would appreciate her asking more questions. She was always asking questions.She watched them carefully as they thought through the rest of her point. Aliens, unsurprisingly, was thrown off the list entirely, and she had already mentally crossed off possession from the list. Magic. The most obvious solution to something that couldn’t be explained. Winston seemed tense, though, and Blanche nervously fidgeted. “Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t - I don’t tell people, normally, because it isn’t… You know. Normal. Magic, it is, then. Are you okay?” Blanche asked quietly. She nudged the pizza box with her hand. “Maybe you should eat something? I think you’ll feel a little better after that. I know it’s - it’s a lot.” Cheese could put a bandaid on most things.

“If that is the case, then it still raises the question of why the hell someone would decide this is worthwhile? Not to mention that if it was the case then you’d have thought I would’ve come across someone else in a similar situation to me...” Winston trailed off and frowned, intent on staring at their socks as they tried to work out the best solution to this. They could add it to the list of supernatural problems they couldn’t solve. Their name, the weird chest on the beach and the fact that they could apparently use magic. They had to take these things one at a time, otherwise they would be too overwhelmed to solve anything. Their name seemed like the most logical place to start. “Don’t be sorry, I get why you’d keep that to … yourself, I mean … uh … I mean after everything that y’know happened with that video and everything, well no wonder you want to keep it to yourself, besides I don’t think anyone is entirely honest about what they do and don’t do in regards to what they are or aren’t… If that makes any sense whatsoever…” They swallowed as they were entirely convinced that they had indeed made completely no sense. “You know what, pizza might not make this better but maybe it’ll help me feel better,” they popped the lid off of the still warm box and grabbed a piece, biting into the melted cheese with a feeling of satisfaction. “When did everything get so complicated?”

“You’re right,” Blanche said, “But maybe they don’t want to admit it. Or they’re embarrassed or something.” Winston was most likely right though. If someone else was being affected, they would run into the same problems - Winston couldn’t answer by their name, and they wouldn’t be able to either. Blanche almost groaned when they mentioned the video again, grimacing. That was going to haunt her for the rest of her life. The image of her nose-diving off into the ugly balloon arch would forever be etched into her brain. Whatever, that wasn’t important here anyway. “Well, if I ever graduate college, I’m definitely not going to graduation. Just to be safe,” she said, watching them as they went for a slice of pizza. “Cheese makes everything a little better,” she said, grinning slightly, before considering their next question. “I think Avrill’s been trying to solve that one for years - and she wasn’t even considering half the shit we we’ve been exposed to in the past month. Maybe it was something you’ve seen that did it - exposed too, I mean.” She grabbed a slice herself, considering. “I’ve always known that spirits were real, but everything else… It seems like we’re living in a dream, ya know?” She looked over at them.

“I mean maybe, I don’t know about anyone else but I feel compelled to tell people that Winston is not MY name, but maybe that’s a weird side effect? I don’t know, I’m not exactly an expert on any of this and this is all just speculation, guesswork and some level of theory crafting.” Winston replied with a shrug. They had to admit that compared to Blanche they felt as if they had a lot less baggage to deal with. That was nice. Knowing that there was someone who had it worse then them. Then Winston felt guilty for enjoying their own fortune and sighed gently, chewing thoughtfully on their slice of pizza before indicating that Blanche should join them. There was no way that they were going to be able to eat a whole pizza on their own. “You’ll definitely graduate college, my tip would just be not to drink the night before or do anything that might mean you attend when you’re not sober, but if you want I won’t let you attend your graduation without passing a breathalyzer test.” They considered Blanche’s suggestion and laughed. “That reminds me of the conspiracy theory that Avril is being kept in a basement and whenever you see her in public it is just her body double, although y’know I think that seems a bit more likely considering the fact that the supernatural; vampires and werewolves are all real.” They ate another mouthful of pizza in silence before continuing to speak. “This is all ridiculous to me. A year ago had I any idea that this is the experience I would be living then I promise you that I wouldn’t have done so little, I guess ignorance is a blessing in disguise until you learn more…”

“Winston’s not your name?” Blanche repeated, a little skeptical. “Names aren’t physical things people can own, it’s not like someone can just steal it.” Could they? Blanche frowned. That brought a whole new meaning to identity theft. “Well, I mean, I guess there’s a bunch of theories online and in fiction about names holding power over people - but that seems a little to ‘Harry Potter’ for my taste. Can you think of any reason why someone would want to take your name from you?” She was pretty sure Nell and Bea didn’t fly on brooms or attend magic school. Still, things had to come from somewhere. “Speculation, guesswork, and theory crafting makes us sound like we’re trying to Veronica Mars this shit. Or that we’re in a hardcore episode of Scooby-Doo,” she said. She grabbed a slice when they told her too, taking a bite as she thought. “Well, I’m changing my major, so there’s that shit show I have to deal with - don’t ask to what, I have no idea. I’ll take the breathalyzer though, who knows, maybe I’ll snap again.” Blanche laughed, shaking her head. “God, you know, I had somehow miraculously forgotten about poor Avril.. Christ. I think I know a werewolf, which is absolutely wild to think about. And a vampire.” Blanche was pretty sure, anyway, she couldn’t see what else they could be. She frowned, though, when she considered their thoughts on ignorance. “I don’t know what I would have done,” Blanche admitted. She was still struggling, last year - well, she was still struggling now, but it was better now than it was then. “I was content for a really long time trying to ignore the things I could see - I mean, I guess I still do, when it comes to spirits.” Was it easier for her to jump into magic, vampires, werewolves, and whatever because then she didn’t have to confront her problem with dealing with ghosts. She shifted, chewing on her pizza for a moment, before sighing. “I’m scared of them, I guess. But now I just want to know more, of everything else.”

“I know, but that’s just how it feels,” Winston swallowed gently and adjusted their glasses once more, “I don’t even know why you would want my name, surely there are more valuable names then whatever mine is, and even if they did somehow take my name, how did they make them forget it? They considered Blanche’s point about names having power for a moment before frowning a little. “I agree, that is very ‘Harry Potter’ for my tastes too, I don’t think that can necessarily translate over to the real world in the same tangible way.” They had never considered that this could be a Scooby-Doo episode, but there were some surprising similarities. “Well if we can somehow pull off the mask of someone and solve all of this then I really wouldn’t mind that much. If anything it would probably be more convenient for me.” They raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Changing your major may seem like a pain but it really isn’t the end of the world, at least you’re doing something that you feel like you really want to.” They smiled gently and ate some more pizza, trying to consider the situation they were in. They didn’t remember their name being taken by anyone, they couldn’t think of anyone that would have motive, opportunity and means. In fact they were kind of coming up blank in all three categories right now. They wanted to talk with Blanche about all the weird people they too had met, but that was mostly Skylar and Ricky and they’d made a promise to them. They weren’t going to risk their safety. “I got to the point where I was happy to just leave what I could and try to live in ignorance. But you can only do that for so long. Eventually, and by that I mean two weeks before it becomes kind of impossible to deny.” Sighing for a moment longer, they gazed at their feet and shrugged. “I need to learn more so I can learn how to stop things like this from happening.”

“Maybe they’re a serial-name taker,” Blanche said dryly, “Take names and kick ass, or whatever the saying is. Except they took the name taking thing too literally,” Blanche shrugged slightly. The big question was where did they go from here? What could they do? Blanche didn’t know the answer to that question. Not offhand, at least. “Well, theoretically, if someone took your name, they know you. I guess the place to start is to make a list of places you’ve been and people you’ve come in contact with those places, and pray to God or whatever you believe in that it wasn’t some jackass at the grocery store who thought it’d be funny. Narrow down the list to people who we can figure out are or could be magical - ew, I hate that. Magic using? User of magic? Nevermind, you know what I mean. - and then go from there. That’ll get us closer to ‘pulling off the mask’.” That was a plan. Hey! That was better than where they were ten minutes ago, scratching their heads. She smiled at him. “It would help if I knew what I was changing it too. I’m not looking forward to watching the look on my advisor’s face, I’ll tell you that.” Blanche shrugged slightly, taking another bite of her pizza. “I think it’s easier to ignore the things that scare you - or, well, prioritize them. I’m more scared of ghosts than I am of giant limb chopping lobsters. And I want to learn more about that stupid cursed chest - because you’re right. Someone has too, because what if it happens again.”

“Hypothetically let us imagine they’re indeed a serial name taker, what does it do for them?” Winston asked curiously, “Why would they go out of their way to use magic and steal my name. I don’t understand what they get from this.” They needed to work out how they could make all of this less problematic, they needed to find a way to fix all of this and they needed to find a way to get their name back, even if they weren’t quite sure what it was. “But, I work at a police station and I even help run a class for people who are technologically illiterate, this could be any number of people, not to mention everyone at college and inbetween.” They were nervous now. What if they never got their name back. Would they just have to be called Dane for everyday of the rest of their life? There were worse things to have to be called after all. But hey needed to get rid of this feeling of yearning and of loss which had enveloped them like a cold and wet blanket. “You’ll work it out, it is a lot to just expect someone to just decide their life when they’re this young, but I’m sure you’ll work it out. Is there something you’re really passionate about doing? I always wanted to work with computers so that kind of made it easier for me.” They paused for a second longer before continuing with their train of thought. “Have you managed to get anywhere with this chest thing?” Winston asked curiously. “It would help if there was someone who just knew more about all of this stuff, maybe that’s asking for too much but you’d think that there would be a group of people dedicated to studying this sort of thing, right?”

“I dunno, maybe they keep names in a jar on their desk or something, and then whip it out to assert dominance to show how many people they’ve inconvenienced over the years,” Blanche replied, only half-joking. She ran her free hand through her hair, sighing slightly when Winston told her just how many people this could be. “Well, then this is going to take a while and it’s going to suck - but it’s important that you get your name back.” Assuming that they were right, and it had been stolen in the first place. They were jumping to some pretty wild conclusions - stolen names. What if somebody just used a teeny memory wiping spell and was fucking with them? Still, that implied there was still purposeful malicious content. “Well, we need to narrow down the pool of people. When exactly did you … forget your name? When was Winston no longer your name? If we can get a range that would narrow it down considerably, right?” Well, hand her a magnifying glass and call her Nancy Drew. Blanche looked at them, before deflating a bit. What was she passionate about. “I like math,” she said. “But only because I’m very good at it. I’ve never really been… like that with anything in school. History was annoying, English was fine, Math was fun because it all made sense, but…” Blanche shrugged with a frown. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll figure it out. And no, nothing about the chest yet. Please, some group of people studying this shit would be easy. We’re on our own. I’ve got the pictures circulating online and I think Remmy has theirs too. I - er -” Blanche wasn’t sure how much to mention about the threat of Alain to Winston, because, well… She definitely didn’t want them involved in it. “I’ve been a little distracted since the beach.”

“That is creepy,” Winston replied. They tried to remember when they really noticed this. The first time that it had happened was when they were at Yours, Mime and Ours with Regan, but they hadn’t really paid that much mind. They’d ran into that … thing … they weren’t entirely sure how Regan was so convinced that it was just a dog, when that thing was something straight out of the film reel of a horror movie. “I went to that weird mime cafe thing, Yours, Mime and Ours because I had a voucher and while I was there I ran into this weird thing … the person I’m with is in complete denial about the whole thing, seems to think that it was just a dog or something, but that thing ate a cat … WHOLE.” They swallowed in fear at the memory, they hadn’t realised that maybe they were connected. “I don’t know if there is anyway that it could have something to do with that, I hope not because I really don’t ever want to have to go into that alleyway again. Honestly, stuff of nightmares.” They paused and honestly said a little prayer to someone because they didn’t want to have to make a return trip to that place ever again. “Do something with maths, or take some time and work out what you’re really into, if you’re good at something you don’t have to do it just because you can, y’know.” They shrugged gently and finished off another slice of pizza, wiping grease from their fingers before grabbing another slice. “Well, that’s something at least, I’m sure someone must know how these things work… is something going on?” they asked, suddenly a little concerned.

Blanche looked at them, horrified. “You willingly went to Yours, Mime, and Ours?!” She was aghast. If there was anywhere in White Crest that was cursed, it was the stupid mime restaurant. And it’s stupid bar, too. “Even with a voucher? Dude.” She shook her head, that all sounded like a complete fucking horror show. “That’s terrifying, and … ugh of course the fucking mime joint is the cause of your problems,” Blanche groaned. “Who was with you? How could they think it was a dog if it ate an entire cat?! That’s - urck,” Blanche had been debating on another slice of pizza, but the image of some freaky cryptid behind the restaurant devouring a cat whole was not great with her stomach. God she hoped that thing had nothing to do with Winston’s name issue. Blanche snorted, and shook her head at their advice though. They were, as usual, right. “I’ll figure it out. Or die first.” Blanche grabbed another piece of pizza after all, glancing at them, “From what I’ve seen, everyone knows bits and pieces. Like a giant puzzle, but nobody has all the pieces.” Blanche shrugged, before considering their question, and how much to tell them. It wasn’t like she could just say that there was a Slayer that may or may not show up to her apartment complex waving a giant sword around trying to kill Remmy. “Um. Kind of,” Blanche said, shifting. “But it’s… It’s taken care of. Nobody is hurt or anything. And it’s a really long story.”

“Hey, I am also still in college and free food is still free food even if I have to order it by miming out what I specifically want,” Winston was glad that it hadn’t even gotten that far before they’d been abandoned by their black and white clad staff, after their encounter with the mime thing they were convinced that there was something more going on there. “Dude, vouchers, coupons and gift cards are my creed. Free food is a way of life.” They weren’t fussy. They’d eat pretty much anything as long as it tasted good. They paused and shrugged. “Someone who works at the morgue called Dr Kavanagh, I work with the people at the morgue a bit but not recently so she must be pretty knew. She’s living in denial, thinks that it was a dog and it definitely wasn’t, I know dogs and cats don’t exactly get along but that was something entirely other.” The conversation had put them off their food, and they placed a half eaten slice of pizza back in the box. “Maybe just figure it out, I don’t think that anyone needs to be dying.” They opened their fridge and grabbed a beer. “You want a drink?” they asked curiously. Frowning, Winston considered pushing it before deciding that it wouldn’t make a difference. They got the impression that Blanche would either be honest with them or they wouldn’t. Winston likely didn’t have the persuasion to convince them to tell them the truth if they had decided that they didn’t want to. “Look, I don’t have anywhere to go so if you want to tell me the story that’s fine, but if you ever need help you can always let me know, I know it doesn’t seem like it but I have some pull at the police station and I know some people that might be able to help.” They thought of Ricky and Skylar, not to mention the others they’d met. “We’re all in this together now.”

“You’re right, but come on, dude! Mimes can and will kill you, that’s the contract they sign when they sell their soul to Satan!” Was she being dramatic? Yes. Did she care? Maybe later, but right now she couldn't believe Winston’s life choices over a fucking voucher. “Oh no,” Blanche said, putting a hand on her forehead and letting out a groan. “I know Dr. Kavanagh - er, Regan, rather. She’s in denial about a lot of things.” Blanche didn’t elaborate, because telling Winston that Regan was 600 years old and fae would not end well. There were already too many things to be focusing on, and she was sure that Regan was going to have to figure out what she was first before Blanche could shoot her mouth off about it. She laughed shortly. “We’ll see. Sure, I’ll grab a water, if you’re offering. I’d take a beer but I'm driving.” She was still debating on what to say to Winston when their response of being in this together made her decide that maybe she could let them in a little. “You… can’t tell the police,” Blanche said. “Not yet, at least. I’m using magic to fix it - well, not me personally, obviously, but… you know. I know a Hunter - Er, Slayer - that’s trying to go after another friend of mine because he thinks they’re a zombie and that they attacked me. That wasn’t what happened -” Blanche said. “At all. But it’s… it’s under control now.” She looked away from Winston, studying her piece of pizza like it was interesting. “We have a plan and it involves no one dying.”

“I don’t think you’re being completely serious, but then again with everything weird that goes on in this shithole, you never know…” Winston winced at the thought of mimes selling their soul to the devil. But that would hardly be the weirdest thing that they had recently discovered or anything like that. They frowned at Blanche’s reaction to Regan and her apparent inability to take these things seriously, instead grasping for loose explanations. It was incredibly frustrating and Winston had barely been in contact with her. “That was the impression that she gave me too,” Winston sighed and moved to the kitchen table, slumping into a chair frowning at their current predicament. They nodded and moved to get Blanche a glass of water. Blanche’s next confession was harder to swallow. “Are you sure I shouldn’t tell the police?” Winston replied, maybe they were naive but most of the people who worked at the WCPD were good people that wanted to help, “I know that this is complicated and there is a lot to consider but what if someone gets hurt and we didn’t involve law enforcement?” Winston was already starting to wonder if law enforcement was well enough equipped to get involved in something like this. What if they got people involved and someone got hurt?

“I don’t joke about mimes,” said Blanche, joking about mimes. She didn’t actually think anyone was selling their soul to the devil, but that stupid restaurent was absolutely on the Top Ten Cursed Places in White Crest. She would do almost anything for free food, but Yours, Mime and Ours? Absolutely not. Don’t anyone tell her that she didn’t have some miniscule sense of self preservation. “She’s wild,” Blanche confirmed, shaking her head. “Don’t make any promises to her, though. Trust me. She’ll hold you to’em.” Blanche nodded gratefully for the water, but shook her head the second they asked if she was sure that they shouldn’t contact the police. “They aren’t equipped to handle something like this. And both people in question haven’t… I mean, they’re doing what they think is right. It’s just... “ Blanche ran a hand down her face, stressed. “It’s complicated. I’m handling though. No one’s going to get hurt.” She took a sip of the water Winston gave her. “And anyway, you have bigger fish to fry - we have to figure out how to get your name back. Can’t going around being Watson Dane now, can you?

“You’re ridiculous,” Winston replied, a smile tugging at the corners of their lips at Blanche’s joke. Frowning gently, Winston looked at Blanche and raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what do you mean don’t make her any promises?” Winston was doing their best to piece together a puzzle and they felt as if they didn’t even have all of the pieces of the puzzle. Frowning at their assertion that they should absolutely not get the police involved, Winston made the decision that in this case they would simply have to trust them. “I was worried that you were going to say something like that, maybe we should help them out and equip them or start to equip them for this sort of stuff, I don’t know but we can’t just …” they sighed and swallowed again. “You’re right, I’ve gotta just leave this one to you guys I think.” They nodded gently and sighed. “The sooner I work this out the better.” They couldn’t agree more.

“Well no one’s ever accused me of being serious,” Blanche said, shooting him a grin. “Oh - no, I didn’t mean anything by it.” She couldn’t just out Regan, especially before she knew herself. “She just takes promises very, very seriously. Super serious, even.” Blanche said, waving it off as she bit into her pizza. She considered their point, but deep down she knew the truth. “The police would never believe us,” she said. “We would get branded as crazy people, and your job - I don’t know if you’d keep it. Shooting our mouths off about the supernatural is dangerous, especially if it’s to the wrong people…” Blanche frowned, wondering if she was letting her own fear stall them, but shook it off. As for Winston’s name… “Well, we know the cause now. That’s one step closer than we were before, so it’s something. We’re on our way, my friend.”

Somewhat perplexed by what Blanche had to say, Winston shrugged and wrote it off as a miscommunication or a misunderstanding. After all there were a few things that they missed when they were stressed. This was probably just something like that. “Sure, super serious, don’t commit to stuff you can’t … y’know … actually do … I guess?” They weren’t sure but it didn’t particularly matter. They considered Blanche’s point before nodding gently. “That’s fair, I don’t want anyone accusing you of lying or anything like that and it is probably better if I keep this job, if I want to work for any police department ever. Do you know someone I should watch out for? Because I’m not exactly trying to keep my discussion of the supernatural on the downlow.”

#p: blanche #wickedwriting #para #The Name Is Afoot

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bridgetatwork-blog · 7 years ago

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How I did the DCP on a Budget

Well, to be fair the word “Budget” may be the wrong choice. I merely chose to blow my money on things like coffee mugs with Mickey Mouse on it and buy every person I ever knew a Christmas ornament because the discount was bumped to, like, 50% off.

If you’re reading this you most likely know what the DCP is. If not, no worries- I’ll tell you! The DCP, or Disney College Program, is an internship that caters to thousands of students from varying backgrounds and aspirations. It has two main seasons, Spring and Fall, and a smaller Summer season. These can break down even further to Spring/Fall Advantage (longer) or just the Spring/Fall (most resembles a typical college semester). Students live in Disney sponsored housing and work on property in a multitude of roles (jobs) such as merchandise, food service, custodial, entertainment, hotel services, etc. The program exists in both Anaheim’s Disneyland and Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort. I participated in a Spring and Fall program in Orlando as a Merchandise cast member.

The pay for these roles are mostly shit unless you land an Entertainment gig or working in a premium location like on Main Street in Magic Kingdom. I think I made $7.25 my first program and $7.50 my second program working merch in the resorts right outside Magic Kingdom. I did earn a little extra when I worked the holiday booth in the Contemporary during Christmas time, which was nice. That costume was also super comfy- the pants felt like yoga sweats and I wore a Chef’s jacket that felt like a hoodie! The costumes at Disney are really hit or miss with the designs and how they fit. Mostly misses. The hours varied for me in these locations. I would typically be scheduled for 25-30 hours and would offer to stay late and would pick up a bunch of extra shifts. Disney has one of my favorite OT policies for interns: if your shift is longer than 9 hours, everything after that 9th hour is OT. If two different shifts are within 6 hours of each other (back to back) then the previous 9 hour rule applies. If you work more than 40 hours in a week than everything after that 40th hour is OT. This was how it worked in 2012- it may have changed since then.

So with that layed out it is safe to say that I was making enough money to support myself, but not enough to do that and have the fun I wanted. When it came time to choose between groceries or tickets to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights you can guess which one I picked. Hint: I wouldn’t be writing this if I had a full pantry all the time.

FOOD The most important thing to have on your radar is where your next meal was coming from. If one of your roommates has a membership to Sam’s or Costco, coordinate your shopping day with them to take advantage! I signed up for a loyalty card to Walgreens, Winn-Dixie, and anywhere else I found myself visiting often. Winn-Dixie is a southern grocery store that sometimes can rival Walmart with their deals- like 10 Totino’s Party Pizzas for $10! I could make those things last for like 2-3 meals each when put with some cheap chips or something. Watching the weekly ads for deals from local places and Walmart helped me find variety so I wouldn’t notice I wasn’t eating right. And I could sometimes find deals on fresh produce, sandwhich meat, or meats that were about to reach their sell-by date! Something I always kept on hand was Popcorn and Pickles. They lasted forever, made quick snacks I could eat on the go, and would give me a false sense of eating a lot (especially the popcorn) which kept me from being hungry. If you skimp on the nutrition remember to buy a good multivitamin and drink lots of water. I was always moving so these bad eating habits didn’t really catch up to me until I got home from the program. I did drop 20lbs which was cool. **

Speaking of water: buy a case of cheap water, enjoy the fresh bottled taste at first, and save those bottles! Reuse them by filling them up with water at the drinking fountains. If you forget your water at home or throw the bottle out after many uses don’t worry. If you’re playing in the parks you can go to any quick-service counter and ask for a cup of water. It’s free!

Eating out is expensive. Pick where you eat wisely. We always went to Golden Corral, Siciliy’s Pizza, or Sweet Tomatoes where we would get a small discount and could eat as much as we wanted. Despite the discount Disney food is not usually your best option. Here are my exceptions: Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Magic Kingdom: If you’re playing make sure you bring a backpack to stow your “Ears” and pin lanyard. Wear plain clothes and have your cast ID handy. You want to appear as if you’re coming to/leaving work. Behind Main Street heading towards Tomorrowland on the right is an easy entrance to the Utilidors. Make sure you’re familiar with the Utilidors before venturing down there if MK is not your home park. If you get lost try not to ask security or upper management for directions. Stick to others in sweats or themed gear. You’re looking for the cast member cafeteria. There’s a Subway down there where you can get a $5 footlong and Aramark also has other options for snacks. I would always split this with someone and have one of my water bottles handy for a cheap meal. It’s also really fun to watch Cinderella and Gaston talk shit about someone (Peter Pan?!) while stuffing their faces with Hot Cheetos. You’re not supposed to be down there if you aren’t working so be careful. Pecos Bill in Adventureland has a little salad bar meant for the taco salads. It’s packed with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, pickles, and other toppings and condiments that you can create a make-shift salad with for free (unless a cast member decides to stop you, but they most likely won’t). Epcot: Make a bee-line to Japan in the World Showcase. The kids meal at the quick-service is like $6 and plenty of food to fill you up. Saves money for the important stuff- like Tequila in Mexico!

I was lucky to work at the Contemporary where we hosted Pirates and Pals, which is a fireworks cruise. They served these giant sheet cakes for the guests and there was always a whole cake left over. One of our supervisors was married to a man that facilitated the food for that shindig so it always appeared in our break room! We also had a popcorn machine (remember what I said about popcorn!) that we could rev up any time we wanted, and so I did during my breaks. Many nights my dinner was cake and popcorn! There was also a “Hungry Intern” box the other cast members would put stuff in that had stuff like easy mac, ramen, and granola bars. I had great coworkers. :)

If you happen to work in a place that has a merchandise cooler for drinks and food or sells candy keep an eye on the expiration dates! If you have a supervisor that doesn’t care or pays attention you could score things like boxed candy or frozen breakfast foods (in the hotels) that were on their way to being thrown out anyways. I wouldn’t recommend taking things like MILK that was expired- but who cares if the Goofy cotton candy was day over it’s mark?

Household Essentials Some of my “tips” here include theft. Cover your innocent eyes if you’re not into that. I would take things like toilet paper, soap, razors, and feminine products from the hotel’s supply closets. I didn’t want to spend my money on things like that when there it was behind this door I had a key to. Sometimes you could score stuff like candles or laundry detergent too. I only took what I needed and I shared with the other interns. Like Robin Hood! You could also grab essentials from the bathroms, like cotton swabs and toilet paper and paper/cloth napkins. The best place is the bathrooms in the convention centers like the one at the Boardwalk. This is conveniently located next to the cast member parking lot/bus stop!

If you’re purchasing buy things in bulk if the price is right! You know you’ll need it, it’s worth it to just get as much as you can when you can.

Entertainment This is where all my money went. I mainly spent my money on shows, alcohol, gas, parking, and food when I wasn’t using my free food cheats and comped park entrances. Before I even left home I bought an annual pass to Universal that got me discounts on Halloween Horror Nights tickets, food, and free parking. I knew as a Cast Member I would already be getting those same perks at Disney. This helped me save money while escaping the Disney Bubble often.

SIN Night at House of Blues - Service Industry Night is the best if you want to go clubbing. Admission is free with your Disney ID if you’re over 21 and ladies drink free until about 10 or 11. Jellyrolls - This is a dueling piano bar at the Boardwalk outside Epcot. Admission is free for cast members and they serve free... wait for it... POPCORN inside! This is a great show and the pianist are very talented. Each night is different as they play requests only all night. The staff is very friendly as well! The alcohol is expensive - like $7 for a bottled beer! We would usually just pool our resources and buy liquor from the Walgreens in front of Vista Way and pregame in the parking lot. If you’ve been keeping your water bottles from earlier handy you could smuggle in your own vodka and sip at your leisure! Buffalo Wild Wings - On Wednesday nights the BWWs in the Crossroads Center on SR 535 clears their dining room floor and turns the place into a karaoke bar on the inside and a latin club on the patio! Great prices on drinks, food, and admission. I can’t remember if there was a way to get in free or not. When they’d shut down you just crossed the parking lot to McDonald’s and ball out of control because it was just after 1 am on a Thursday and your drunk self just remembered EPCOT!! EPCOT - Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday. Direct Deposit, hell yeah! Disney pays you weekly!

Other ways we would save money is by splitting dryer time on small loads in the laundry rooms, carpooling, pregaming, rotating email addresses to get free trials on Hulu and Netflix, rotating which roommate would buy community use things, rotating amongst friends each week for a home-cooked meal, investing in things we would use over and over like board games and cards for entertainment, staying away from fast food whenever possible, and not being wasteful. This post may look like all I did was play and party, but I worked hard too. I took advantage of the OT regulations to where I would work 4 10-12 hour shifts each week. When doing this I would usually get an Early Release on my 5th day or could afford to give up the shift all together. I enjoyed being at work since most of my friends were already there! I had a great time with the guests and thoroughly enjoyed what I was doing every day! My two programs got me the job I have now and the above-average salary I’m making.

** Please be safe and treat your body right. This is no way advocates the usefulness of an eating disorder in any way. Do not skip meals. Do not starve yourself. Do not count popcorn as your only meal for an extended amount of time. I love popcorn, I really do, but it’s not a miracle food. Listen to your body and give it what it needs.

#disney college #disney #budget #dcp #disney college program #college #broke college student #broke college girl #work hard play hard

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little-red-beret · 7 years ago

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Yuu x Mika in modern AU where mika is human and both of them are going to university and mika gets a flu, yuu stays with him and takes care of him but afer he gets it too. :3 thank you~

Yuu was in what he liked to call a long distance relationship. He lived in a shared dormitory with his roommate Katsuo, while his boyfriend Mika lived off campus in a university-owned apartment. They were distanced by Ueno Park, a kilometre wide expanse of fields, trees and ponds, a common source for arguments among the couple about who should cross the park to see who. Often, Mika and Yuu simply met halfway, literally, bringing food and sitting together in the grass and studying, talking, kissing if there weren’t many people around. With this distance between them, you can imagine Yuu’s reaction when he got a phone call from Mika one morning before his nine o'clock lecture that went something like this:

“Hey, Mika.” Yuu muttered, still half asleep (Yuu was definitely not a morning person). He turned away from the crowd of university students milling outside their classroom and lowered his voice so not to disturb them. “Yuu….” Mika uttered, his voice hoarse and frail like an old man’s. Immediately Yuu was wide awake, listening anxiously to his boyfriend. “Please come here…. I need you….”

With that, the call ended.

“Mika!?” Yuu yelled, no longer caring about preserving the silent atmosphere. Heads turned to look at him, but Yuu was already off, bolting down the corridor. As he ran, he passed his professor, who sighed and remarked “It’s your credit at stake, not mine.” And simply kept walking to class. Yuu persevered in the opposite direction, desperate to close the distance between himself in Mika as fast as possible.

Yuu sprinted across campus, then through Ueno Park, not stopping for anything. It occurred to him that Mika could have just been tired or drunk, and yet Yuu had still come running without even questioning it. He couldn’t care less. If Mika was tired, he could sleep with him. If Mika was drunk, they could order a pizza together and he could help him sober up before their midday lectures. If it was something grave…. Yuu had every reason to be running.

When he arrived at Mika’s apartment, he unlocked the door with the spare key Mika had bestowed upon him, then stepped inside and kicked off his sneakers in the entrance. “Mika??” Yuu called, but only silence called back. A quick scan through the building revealed Mika to be curled up in bed shivering, cheeks flushed and a sheen of sweat glistening on his face. “Mika!?”

At the sound of his name, Mika stirred and blinked sleepily. His blonde hair was a tangled mess, some strands damp or completely matted to his forehead by sweat. “I’m glad you came….” he whispered, a frail smile spreading across his tired face. “Thank god you’re okay!” Yuu cried, leaning over and tightly embracing his boyfriend. Mika laughed weakly. “Don’t hug me,” he croaked. “I’m sick.” Yuu backed off and sat on the edge of the bed. “Why did you call me?” He asked. “I woke up like this, and I just thought it was best for you to be by my side. You know, in case I faint or something.” Mika explained listlessly, and promptly burst into a fit of coughing. The effort of it seemed to drain most of his energy in an instant.

The sight of his boyfriend like this felt distressing to Yuu. He desperately wanted to help him, but when he thought about it in more detail he realised he actually had no idea how to make Mika feel better. He stared cluelessly at his boyfriend, and then gave up and demanded bluntly “What should I do?” Mika swallowed and winced before speaking. “Just sleeping in your presence will be enough.” He told Yuu, rolling over and pulling the blankets higher over his feverish body. “It’s not enough.” Yuu protested, tugging Mika’s blanket. Mika tugged back with as much strength as he could muster from fatigued and aching muscles. “I’m cold….” “You clearly have a high fever, Mika! I have to cool you down!” “I am shivering.” “You are sweating!” Yuu argued, tugging the blankets even harder. The sad little keening noise that escaped Mika’s sore throat shattered Yuu’s heart. “L-look, Mika, this is what’s good for you! I’ll be right back with some medicine for you!”

Yuu slipped down to the convenience store on the first floor of Mika’s building and bought throat lozenges and lemon tea. He was losing his mind with worry; Mika was extremely upsetting to watch right now. Yuu took a deep breath outside Mika’s bedroom, vowing to do everything he could to help Mika feel better. Then he burst into Mika’s room, shopping bag in hand, and froze in horror at what Mika had become in the space of five minutes.

Mika lay sprawled across the bed, still flushed and shivering, eyes half closed. He looked like an angel of death was pulling his soul out of his body and had given up midway. It even looked like Mika could feel his soul being snatched, his face contorted with pain. Yuu crept over to the bed and tenderly brushed Mika’s damp hair out of his face. “I brought back throat lozenges and some lemon drink. Which do you want?” He announced, trying to sound a lot more level headed than he felt at the sight of Mika being so miserable.

“Lemon drink….” Mika mumbled. He sat up and coughed, then flinched in pain. “What’s wrong?” Yuu demanded, trying to solve things in a straightforward manner. “Nothing….” Mika replied hoarsely. Yuu passed him the lemon tea, alight with hope and excitement. He watched as Mika took a sip of the tea and then set it on the bedside table, staring at the floor sadly. “Mika, seriously! What’s wrong?” Yuu demanded again, completely deflated from the failed attempt at cheering up his boyfriend. “Everything.” Mika finally answered bitterly. At this point, things were going downhill much too fast. As the last thing he could think of, Yuu simply pulled Mika close to him.

Mika responded by laying Yuu down on the bed. He grabbed Yuu’s shirt in two different places and pulled himself closer to his boyfriend until there was no space between them. They nestled into each other and intertwined their legs. Yuu placed one hand on Mika’s back, cradling his hot head with the other. “Aren’t I better than a blanket?” Yuu whispered gently into Mika’s hair. “Thanks for skipping classes for me.” Mika sighed tiredly. “I’ll never leave you alone.” Yuu promised. Mika nodded into Yuu’s chest. “I love you.” He whispered out of nowhere. A smile spread across Yuu’s face that he couldn’t help and he hugged Mika tighter. “I love you too.” Yuu whispered.

The rest of the day passed with Mika and Yuu in each others’ arms. Yuu massaged Mika’s shoulders, arms, or wherever else Mika requested to help soothe his aching body. He cooked soup for himself and Mika. Aside from eating, all they did was sleep together in a tangled mess.

Yuu woke up early the next morning with many missed calls from his room mate back on campus. Everything other than Mika felt a world away, but out of curiosity Yuu carefully slid himself out of Mika’s embrace and checked his voicemails in the living room.

“Hey, Yuu! It’s Katsuo. People are saying you ran away just as class was beginning! Got a booty call from Mika or something?? Anyway, I’ve got you covered with all the notes from today’s lecture for you to copy down! Call me when you get this.”

“Hey, Yuu. Are you two having a good time there? Um… I kind of locked my keys in the dorm. If you don’t come home soon I might have to scale the building again. Also, you said we would play Resident Evil tonight.”

“Hey, Yuu? What are you up to? Is everything okay? I climbed into our dorm and your books aren’t even there. Are you still out—” The message was cut off by a loud bang, and a booming voice hollering “POLICE! GET DOWN ON THE GROUND AND PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!” “You don’t understand! I live here! I was locked out—” A clatter followed, and Katsuo’s voice became distant. “Let me go! I’m a student!” The voicemail ended there with a beep. Yuu clicked the last voicemail, stomach sinking with dread.

“Hey…. Yuu. I’m in a mini jail cell looking thing right now because my Student ID hasn’t been updated since I dyed my hair. Please pick me up?”

After a short morning walk to the police station to verify his roommate’s identity, Yuu immediately returned to his boyfriend’s side. Mika was still sick with what they now knew to be the flu, so Yuu spent another day laying together with Mika. Despite him being incredibly ill, it was probably one of the longest, most intimate moments Yuu had spent with Mika. With that in mind, it was no wonder Yuu awoke the following day and immediately wished he hadn’t when he was greeted with sore muscles, a headache, nausea, fatigue and a sore throat. Somehow, even though he felt so hot, sweat rolling down his face, chills ran through his body.

Mika poked his miserable and disoriented boyfriend’s cheek and leaned over him, a huge, energetic grin plastered on his face. “I’m better!” He cheerfully exclaimed as he twirled through the bedroom. Yuu whimpered in response and shut his eyes. “Yuu? Oh no. Yuu!”

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