#and we have workers here everyday working on my parent bathroom so we’ve had to lock him up allll day which is pissing him off so he’s now

[dayydreams-s]

had to start my cat on prozac and it’s been three days and he is still angry with me like boy i’m sorry maybe stopping pissing everywhere and you’d be fine

[purplesurveys]

1339

The Home Life

Do you like to sleep in? I have moods wherein I’ll prefer doing so, and literally those phases come every once every like, three or four years hahaha. Otherwise I roll over and use my phone as soon as I open my eyes.

Is your bathroom fairly clean or quite untidy? They’re both clean. 

Do you stack dishes in the sink or try to wash as you go? I have them soaked at the sink for a few hours to remove the greasiness and to make it easier to remove hardened rice, but I don’t like reaching the point that I’ll have to deal with a whole stack of dishes. 

How often do you vacuum and dust? Every other week or so.

How often do you change the sheets on your bed? Monthly.

If you have kids, do you pack lunches or send lunch money? So I don’t have kids, but when I went to school I had packed lunches from preschool up to Grade 7. Once I started high school, my mom provided me with money to buy food for recess and lunch. I was also given an allowance during college.

Do you have at least one ‘family meal’ at the table together? Yes. We eat at the table every night when my dad is home. When it’s just us (me and my siblings) and my mom, we eat together every weekend and on weekdays where she has the day off.

Do you live with family, roommates, alone or with a significant other? I live with my parents and siblings.

Do you have pets and, if so, what kind? Yup, we have Kimi, an aspin; and Cooper, a beagle.

The Job

Where do you work? I work at a public relations agency.

What do you do there? I handle PR campaigns for a number of brands. I work at our consumer desk, which means I help promote and build PR strategies and plans for upcoming products, launches, what have you. This is in contrast to our corporate desk, which is more responsible for taking care of the crisis comms, CSR, thought leadership side of things. Apart from that I also do basic tasks like news monitoring and competitor scans, among a dozen other types of reports.

Do you more enjoy or dread going there? I mean it really goes both ways. I genuinely love and enjoy the nature of the work, but it’s also incredibly fast-paced so the danger of burnout, and even developing anxiety, is always lurking. And since it’s an agency, most, if not all, my work depends on clients, some of which can definitely be difficult to please or to deal with.

Do you think you’ll keep this job for a long time? Yeah. I mean I just got promoted and am bound for a bigger promotion in six months, so I appreciate that they already have a plan for me; luckily, I also haven’t been feeling serious burnout yet. The motivation to keep working is there.

Do you get along well with your co-workers? Yes, they’re all great. There are just a couple of people I can weed out as I personally don’t like their ways of working, but for the most part I get along with everyone and I’ve since established myself as part of the team.

Do you ever hang out with them outside of work? Yeah, I’ve already gone on an out-of-town trip with the main team I work with.

How would you describe your boss? I have three people above me in varying levels, and they’re all great. I was (and still am) a stickler for hierarchy, so for the longest time I had refused to treat them and speak with them like everyday friends, until they themselves essentially told me to loosen the fuckkkkkkkk up and to see them as friends, too hahaha. After that we’ve all become a lot closer; but personally I don’t think that instinct of mine will ever go away. I think it’s important so that I can get to maintain professional relationships with them.

Have you ever been “written up” for something? No.

What’re the best things about your job? I think the main thing is being able to love what I do; like it doesn’t feel like I’m forced to be here, or that this is just a stop to get to where I really want to be. I already do want to be here, and it’s nice to already see some progress in my career. I’m also fortunate to be handling brands that I actually consume and like.

The Family

Are you close to your immediate family? We’re not the closest, but the relationship is for sure so much better than it was a few years back. My mom doesn’t yell at me as much, for example; and my sister and I have also started to become more open around each other.

Do you know all of your cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.? It’s impossible to know your entire family when you’re Filipino, to be completely honest. I know relatives up to the third degree, but that’s just barely the tip of the iceberg. To this day I have to ask my parents who this and that person is when I see a name on Facebook that shares our surname, only for them to tell me it’s their cousin, my aunt, their uncle, etc. A few years ago my dad’s side of the family had a grand reunion and I shit you not I didn’t know like 85% of the people there.

Are you adopted? No.

If so, have you thought to or tried to find your biological parents?

Do you have children and, if so, how many and how old? I don’t have kids.

Do you think you have a “black sheep” in your family and who? In our immediate family I most definitely used to be the black sheep, but I’ve since grown out of that. At present, the black sheep would be one of my uncles – my mom’s brother. Not a good father to my cousins, doesn’t last in any job, hitches rides with my mom even though we can always clearly see his fucking car parked, spends his money on cigarettes and booze, and I’m pretty sure he has some Nazi sentiments. My grandma has chided me on more than one occasion to give him respect, but I’m just incapable of doing so.

Do any diseases run in your family? Fortunately, no.

Are you related to anyone famous in any way and, if so, who and how? I wouldn’t say famous but my family runs the local government in our hometown province. It’s not something I ever talk about or raise though, both because 1) I don’t want to sound like an asshole, and 2) they lean on the Duterte-Marcos side, which is just yucky.

Which family member are you closest to? Either my sister or my eldest cousin on my mom’s side, who is more like an older brother to me than anything.

The Entertainment

What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past year? I have seen a grand total of 1 movie this year, but I didn’t like it enough to also call it the best movie I’ve seen in 2021.

What sort of TV shows do you like? As much as possible, I like feel-good content that doesn’t make me think as much and just makes me laugh lol, so I enjoy sitcoms like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Every now and then I’ll get into something a bit heavier and more complex, so long as I find the plot compelling – that said, I’ve also enjoyed shows like BoJack Horseman, The Crown, and The Walking Dead. And of course, K-drama – I’m not a big watcher, though, because I find each episode so agonizingly long. I’ve probably only seen like four or five K-dramas in the last 5 years lol.

Who’re some of your favorite bands? Paramore, Against Me!, and Coldplay.

Do you play Wii Guitar Hero, etc.? We did have Guitar Hero on the Wii complete with the guitar controller, but my finger coodination has always been terrible so I was never big on playing it. I enjoyed playing other games more, like Mario Kart Wii and WarioWare.

How much of a computer geek are you? Like zero percent.

Do you or have you ever written fan fiction? I’ve attempted but they were all fucking horrible. I’ve always been on the reader side hahaha.

Do you like to play or watch any sports? Sports like tennis and volleyball I’d occasionally watch if I catch a game on TV but I’ve never closely followed any tournaments or rivalries. What I used to watch the most was definitely pro wrestling, but my interest has dwindled down in the last few years.

The Random

Do you think weed should be legal and why or why not? As I’ve always said on surveys, marijuana has always been a taboo topic here and as a direct result, I’ve never gotten the chance to read much about it or be aware about its effects whether positive or negative. I’ve heard it’s beneficial for medicinal purposes though, so for that reason alone I think it has reason to be legalized. 

If someone offered you ten thousand dollars to live in a tent for a year, would you? No, just because I think I’d be struggling with some key necessities lol, like cooking my own food.

It’s a throw down with you and Bobby Flay. – What do you make to win? That’s an easy forfeiture for sure hahah.

Are you sick of the Geico commercials? I’m only vaguely familiar with them from my days of illegally streaming US channels to be able to watch Raw and Smackdown, so I can’t say I ever felt sick of them.

[theladyofdeath]

The Office {2}

A Court of Thorns and Roses mini-series, part 2/8.

A year in the life of office workers, an 8 part mini-series.

Based on a prompt sent in by @the-regal-warrior​

Feyre 

A month had passed.

A horrible, dreadful, incredibly uncomfortable month.

Rhysand had taken a few weeks off, using his built up vacation hours, claiming he was going to visit his parents, but I know full well that his mother lives half an hour away, on the other side of town, and his father is dead to him. So, that left me with one conclusion - he was ignoring me.

Which, I didn’t blame him.

Since his confession, and our kiss, I broke things off with Tamlin. It was long overdue, even I knew that much. Rhysand was right in a lot of what he had said that night. Tamlin not treating me right, being a main point. 

It was the right move.

Even if it created so many more issues, so much more tension. I had to move out, of course, because the house we lived in was under Tamlin’s name. It was a shame, really, because I loved that house, had worked for two years to make it my own. It was in a great part of town, half a mile from my favorite spot along the Sidra. But, in the end, even though half of the shit in that house was mine, all I left with were my paintings, my supplies, my clothes, and everything that was in the bathroom.

I hope he had fun showering having to dry himself with paper towels.

Asshole.

Anyway. Tamlin had been ignoring me at all costs since, which was fine, it’s not like he had to come up from the warehouse all that often. 

What hurt so much worse was that Rhysand sat six feet away from me, his desk nearly facing mine straight on, and he wouldn’t even look at me. I just wanted to run over to him, shake him by the shoulders, and tell him to say something.

Anything.

I didn’t even care what, at that point.

The day went on, the hours passing slow. Every five minutes, I would look up from my desk at reception, but Rhysand was into his work. And as soon as the clock his five, he was out.

I wanted to call after him.

But I didn’t.

I simply shut down my computer, collected my belongings, and pulled on my jacket before heading to the parking lot. There was a tall figure leaning against the side of my car.

But it wasn’t who I wanted to be waiting there.

“Tamlin,” I breathed, half statement of annoyance, half question. 

He pushed off my little car as he said, “Hey.”

“Move, please,” I mumbled. “I have to get home.”

“What’s the rush?” he asked, with an annoyance in his eyes that faded a second later. “Look, I just...can we go get a coffee? I think we should talk.”

“Whatever you have to say there can be said here,” I replied, simply, crossing my arms.

“I think you should come back home,” he replied, simply, directly. “I think you should come home and we should work this out. This is ridiculous, Feyre. We’ve been together for five years and you suddenly just break it off. Obviously, I was doing something wrong, but I want to correct it.”

The sigh that came out of me was full of annoyance. “Tamlin, there was a reason we were engaged for two years and never set a date. We’re not meant to be. Okay? So, please, move.”

“This is about him, isn’t it?”

I stilled and hated that I met his gaze once more. He must’ve seen my hesitation, though, because his eyes were clouded with anger, his lips pursed.

“I knew it,” Tamlin scowled. “I fucking knew it. You cheated on me, didn’t you?”

“What, no, I-”

“Look me in the eye and tell me that,” Tamlin ordered.

Shaking my head, I met his gaze, once more. “He kissed me.”

“And did you fight him?”

I stood motionless, silent.

Scoffing, Tamlin stepped aside.

I got into my car and quickly drove away with an unsettled feeling that I had just made everything so much worse.

~~~~

The next morning was eventful, but not in the exciting way.

I arrived at the office just before eight and made myself comfortable behind the welcome desk. After pulling up Helion’s schedule to inform him upon his arrival what to expect for his morning, the door opened and Rhysand came in. For a brief moment, our eyes connected. I gave him a small smile.

To my surprise, and utter delight, he returned it. 

I watched as he took off his jacket and hung it over the back of his chair. He grabbed his lunch and took it to the break room to put it into the fridge.

Then, the door flew open with such a force that those of us who had already arrived looked its way.

Tamlin came hurrying in and the look that was in his eyes was one I had seen many times - one that I loathed.

I stilled. “Tam?”

But he wasn’t looking at me. He was storming to the other side of the room, where Rhysand had just re-entered through the break room door.

“Tamlin!” I shouted, rising from my desk chair.

But he was on a mission, it seemed, one he couldn’t be talked out of.

He didn’t get far, though, because Cassian stepped in Tamlin’s path with a little tube of pepper spray and was firing it, right into Tamlin’s eyes.

Everyone began panicking, as everyone within spitting distance was instantly covering their eyes.

Rhysand and Cassian included.

Then the chaos began. Helion arrived shortly thereafter, and called for security to come take Tamlin away, letting him know that he wouldn’t be welcomed back on the premises. I nearly felt bad. Yes, Tamlin was an idiot, but to lose his job?

At least I wouldn’t have to keep seeing him everyday.

Everyone who had been affected rinsed their eyes out, and Cassian was giving a talking to about using pepper spray in the office under emergency circumstances only, even if Cassian protested that it had been, in fact, an emergency.

Meanwhile, I sat in shock at my desk, trying to process what the hell had actually happened.

Tamlin had come to kick Rhysand’s ass.

Rhysand saw Tamlin coming, but didn’t have to react, because Cassian tossed out some pepper spray.

Tamlin got dragged out by security.

And fired.

And me? Well, I had some apologizing to do, it seemed.

Lunch time came and I saw Rhysand get his lunch and carry it outside. It seemed like it was now or never.

I figured now was better, because the idea of never made me want to vomit. I grabbed my lunchbox from the fridge and followed Rhysand.

I found him sitting on a bench out front, eating his sandwich.

He looked up at me, surprised, as I sat down next to him.

“Hi,” I said, refusing to open my lunchbox.

“Hey,” he said, after swallowing a bite of my sandwich.

“Crazy day, huh?” I asked, in hopes of making decent small talk before getting into the heavier stuff.

But Rhysand just arched a brow, humored. “Are you referring to your fiance storming into the office to kick my ass?”

I sucked my bottom lip into my teeth.

He chuckled. “I assume you told him about the kiss, then.”

I nodded.

“Does that mean you broke up?” he asked, taking another bite of his sandwich. Apparently, unlike myself, this conversation didn’t have any effect on his appetite. 

I blinked. “We broke up a month ago.”

That did make Rhysand halt. “What? Why?”

I rolled my eyes. “You very well know why. And I was going to tell you weeks ago, but then you went MIA.” I looked away from him, away from those piercing violet eyes as I went on, “Look, what I said that night...I was just surprised. I was thrown off...it wasn’t what I had been expecting, but I realized that I felt the same way about you. So I broke it off with Tamlin. Then, last night, we got into it, and the reason for why I left him came out. Hence, his alpha-male presence in the office this morning.” 

He said nothing, but he slowly lowered his last bite of sandwich onto his lap.

“I’m sorry,” I breathed. “About all of it. Really, I am. I’ve made a mess of it, and I know that. And you don’t deserve that. And I’m sorry.”

“Wow, Archeron,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, the other still clutching what was left of his sandwich. “That was, uh, a lot to take in.” 

I knew that tone.

As I shook my head, a slow grin swept across his mouth.

“It’s fine,” he said, a minute later. “I’m not mad. And I wasn’t ignoring you. Well, that’s a lie, I was...but, not because of anything you did. I was embarrassed.”

At my look of surprise, he started laughing, quietly. 

“The thought of coming in every day to see you, thinking I messed everything up between us, our friendship….well, let’s just say seeing you at work was my favorite reason to come to work.” He was looking at the cars driving past as he finished off his sandwich and crumbled up the paper bag it had come in. 

When I said nothing, he gave me one last smile and rose. 

“Well, back to work, I guess,” he said, sighing, then headed for the door.

I was left on the bench, blinking rapidly.

“Oh,” he said, turning around to meet my open-mouthed gaze. “You busy tonight?”

“I- no.”

“Wanna get some dinner?” he asked.

“I…” I could hardly get the word out of my mouth. “Yeah.”

“Seven okay?” he asked.

I nodded, not trusting another word that came out of my mouth.

“Great,” he grinned. “It’s a date.”

Then he was gone, through the doors and out of my sight. My heart was thudding against the inside of my chest as I looked down at my unopened lunchbox, completely forgetting that I was supposed to be eating my lunch, and my break was almost over.

I didn’t even care.

I had a date with Rhys.

[trying-write-fanfics]

OverhaulXreader part 16

The next couple of days were hard. Y/n got a week off of work for the incident. Everyday was a struggle to get out of bed. Doing basic functions of brushing teeth and combing hair was exhausting. She hated cooking the most because it was just cooking, she had to eat what she made and then clean up the entire mess. Everything was too taxing on the body. Getting used to truly being alone was awful. She no longer wanted to view her parents and Kai as her soul universe protectors, they weren’t. Maybe they didn’t hear about her being in the hospital at all, but she knew she was alone in this world. There are still going to be chances where strangers can strangle and there’s not a single thing she could have done.

Getting ready for work was even harder. There was a timeline she had to follow. She had to get out of bed, and she had to shower and eat or else the day would be worse. The marks on her neck would stop her dead in her trails upon seeing them.

Actual work was worse. The boss called Y/n the perfect damsel in distress which attracted more customers, all who wanted to meet her. Crimes happen everyday, so it was the restaurant's 15 minutes of fame. Customers would tell her how brave she was for clawing the stranger’s arms. It was horrible, she wasn’t allowed to forget about it.

The worst was when he came in. She promised him a free meal, so of course he would take it. He brought a student from the work study program. They both wore their customer and even got their pictures taken by paparazzi. Y/n stayed in the back until a waitress came over to ask for her.

“Yeah, he just wants to check on you, make sure you’re fine, you know things heroes would want to know”. The waitress vaguely explained.

Y/n swallowed her gut and made her way towards Fat Gum’s table. She put on a big smile as she got closer.

“Nice to see you taking up that offer. What was the wait for?” She wishes he did it on his days off .

“I just wanted to make sure you were safe, healthy, eating enough. You haven’t had to go to the hospital since right?”

“No, I’ve been resting at home.”

“That’s what your co-workers said. I wanted to wait so I could thank you for the free meal. This here is my work study Suneater. He’s gonna be a great hero one day.”

Being a hero didn’t just happen? Y/n knew you had to get a license for it, but all the details are a blur. Why watch the news when you can watch anything less depressing. Someone is always getting hurt on the news. Sometimes the food network is all you need. There was never any encouragement for her to be a hero either. When she was you and they were checking they said there might be a quirk, but since nothing was showing up, everyone forgot she had a quirk.

“Wow, you’re really young looking.” She told the Suneater.

They already had hero names. Did they earn them or did they make them up? How do you not sound corny when you introduce yourself as a Suneater?

“Oh I might not even be qualified to be here.” The young teen whined.

“Well today you are for sure, 100% guarantee” she told the teen who gave her a confused face. “Because your...main guy, that right- you’re getting a free meal today. That’s why you belong.”

Fat Gum laughed at the girl’s attempt to cheer him up. They both didn’t think they would ever eat at the Wicked Sparrow for a long time. They wanted to beat the dinner rush so they came before their patrol during the afternoon. Y/n went to the back to put in their orders.

“I am loving the free publicity you’re brining in Y/n. Mr fat hero over there came here twice, and the paparazzi came, pictures and everything. I even heard some younger people came in just because Fat Gum came. They saved up their money just cause a hero came here, he didn’t even endorse us yet!” The boss went off squealing.

Y/n prepared the sauce while other chefs worked on the main course.

“You think you can get attacked again and saved by a more popular hero? You think you can get All Might here? We’ve already had articles written about Endeavor coming here.”

All these cheesy names were hard to keep up with.

“I don’t know, that was the scariest moment of my life recently.”

“I’m just joking. I can’t believe Fat Guy remembers you so well. I guess he really is a hungry fella if you’re throwing out free meals. We’re so blessed you’ve brought so much revenue I had to let it pass.”

“If it was a problem I could have just made it myself.”

“No, no, you probably need to rest more. I know a week off isn’t probably enough, but we do need you. I just figured you’d need a slow transition.” He told her.

“I’ll be fine being back here. I’m just really on edge lately.”

“It’s okay to be scared. It’s fine to want to hide in the bathrooms and cry. This world is terrifying and it just kicked you down. You can get up whenever you want, just make sure your knees are ready though or you’ll fall again.” The boss said walking away.

Y/n brought the food out back to the two heros. They wanted her to stay, sit, and chat for a while. It was welcoming, and yet her heart was angry. She knew it was silly to be angry, so she did what they asked. They welcomed her into their friendship. They made her laugh, they asked her questions, they were impressed by her many skills. They had some fun patrolling stories that came out.

“Do you have a quirk?”

It was such a loaded question. Technically yes, she does, but how she found out about it wasn’t going to fly for an answer especially for lying to him. Why would some cut off your fingers? Oh you know just kid things.

“No, I’m quirkless.” Was the story she went with during her school years.

“That’s been appearing less and less. You might be one of the last quirkless people.” the Suneater told her.

“I’m fine with it. I like my job the way it is right now.” She told them.

“Well I’m stuffed. Even though it’s a free meal, you deserve a tip.” Fat Gum handed her some money.

“Thank you.”

Once the duo was outside the building, they were free to speak.

“You’re never full.”

“She’s lying about something. My presence probably makes her nervous.”

“You think she’s actually part of the yakuza?”

“I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion so soon. I could just remind her about the worst night she’s had. People tend to lie when they’re stressed.”

[scipunk63]

Daycare Mishap #whatever

(Warning: Death mention, albeit briefly).

So about a while ago I was asked to work the night shift. 4:30-8 on a Wednesday. No big deal. Those shift usually aren't very busy, as you just wait for the stragglers to be picked up and occasionally (but rarely) we get a drop off. So we were expecting a slow night.

4:30-6, we had maybe one or two kids waiting still, but not for long. They were the usuals, and their parents didn't take too long.7, no one either. Occasionally a parent or two stops into the room just to be out of the way while they put their kid's coats on and then leave shortly thereafter. No biggie. Just typical daycare routine.

Nightshift is mostly for building maintenance and cleaning up the other rooms before we shut down. With the rooms empty, we got to work and made pretty decent headway.

7:30pm. My Co-worker for the night and I are packing up to leave, just casually talking when we hear someone in the doorway.

Now this is odd. Usually 7:30 is when we pack-up, finish doing the sanitation and lock up the classrooms and bathrooms, ect. There shouldn't be anyone coming in this late to drop off a kid or for orientation. We had figured it might have been a straggler who was just looking around now that everyone was gone. Espeically since she was just standing there with her child, looking sorta perplexed. She didn't acknowledge us when we smiled, so we went back to what we were doing, figuring they would be leaving.

But they didn't. She just kept standing there. Again, its now 7:35 and she hasn't said a word. We are technically closed to children and are now cleaning.

"Are you dropping off?" My co-worker asked finally.

"Yeah- This is my first time at this Daycare." She replied, nudging her child inside. "Do I need to do anything else besides sign her in?"

Now- and I've said this before, THIS is odd. We are just about closed and a *first-timer* dropping off their kid, no orientation or forewarning that we'd be having a new student, doesn't usually happen. And by "usually", I mean ever.

Still, we figured perhaps this mother just didn't know we were closing soon and perhaps assumed we were open until 9 since that's how long the building is opened (just the building for cleaning and an occasional meeting). So we put on our best daycare faces and decided to explain the rules as kindly as we could.

"At pick up, you will have to be the one to pick your child up, unless specified otherwise."

"We close at 8pm tonight. In the past we've had parents forget the time, so all we ask is that you arrive no later than 7:55pm."

Ran through the usual spheel. Occasional joke, but nothing at all offensive.

And this woman fucking lost it.

"I would NEVER forget my child! I was uncomfortable enough at the thought of bringing her here!"

"Ma'am, we didn't say-"

"Well, I just lost my oldest child to illness, so I would NEVER forget my child!"

By then its 7:40 and we are just standing there, shocked and confused as this mother suddenly turns and leaves the room... Without her child.

Okay. So back to work. We get out a couple of toys and put on some music and do our daycare job (the little one was such a sweetheart.)

7:45 and THE BIG BOSS comes rushing in!

To say we were scared shitless was an understatement. They asked us to recount what had just happened because there was a furious mother at the front desk ranting about "Two disrespectful employees who kept looking at her like she was a bad mother and like we didn't even want her there."

We calmly and apologetically explained that we *just* did our jobs and explained the rules of the Daycare to her and she flipped out.

"Well, she says she just lost her child, so she may be over emotional." And they left.

We're a bit panic stricken, since its not everyday that ANY of this happens. My co-worker was on the verge of tears and was shaking and kept rambling about how she didn't mean to do anything wrong.

I calmed her down and quoted a couple sections of 'Tuesdays with Maury' (finally my Freshman summer reading comes in handy years later), citing that people who are grieving tend to get mad at the world and the people around them even if they did nothing wrong.

With that, we return to doing our job and the child continued to be a delight.

7:55. No sign of the mother. We considered going to get her, but figured it would be best to let this one slide. If she was grieving then getting her may upset her more. And we never want bad blood with parents.

8:00. Still no sign.

8:05, and the building manager (below the Big Boss) comes back in to tell us that she will be taking the child to their mother... The problem is that the child had such a good time that she wanted to stay with us and NOT go with some stranger.

I was feeling overwhelmed, so after several unsuccessful attempts at convincing her to leave with our boss, we offered her a toy to take to her mother. She finally agreed and left.

Needless to say, we were shaken up and on edge over the whole ordeal and waited long after closing to leave the safety of our room. Both of us were terrified about losing our jobs over it, so we stopped to talk to the building manager.

She reiterated that the mother was probably just overly emotional, and that if we were truly in trouble then someone would have said something already instead of beating around the bush.

We eventually settled, helped in locking up, and went out separate ways. We never did end up seeing that mother again, but I've always been really finicky about working the nightshift after that.

When I told the story to my co-workers (one who has also lost a child) they were all perplexed as to *why* this mother in mourning had come out so late espeically if she was uncomfortable. And that putting people's jobs in jeopardy by lying and over-exaggerating what they did was an overreaction in any scenario.

Even our co-worker who had lost her own child agreed that it was a bit much.

Either way, it was one of the most disturbing days I've ever had at a daycare.

[arohasfiction]

I will Never Leave you~

So this the first scenario i write about Rocky and i hope you enjoy it~🤗💜

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Pairing: Rocky x Reader

Gener: Fluff / Kind of Agnst

Word Count: 3334

Note: The characters phrases are coloured:

(You,Pink) ( Rocky,Light Blue) (Moonbin, Red)

(Jinjin, Green) (Eunwoo,Purple) ( Your Parents,Orange) ( Stalker, Bold Black)

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Summary: You are Rocky's Childhood friend and you spended your childhood days together playing and doing everything with each other, you even attended Elementary, Secondary and High school together you stayed by each other side in the Sad and happy moments you, Years later He become a trainee then an idol in ASTRO ,But you two never forget each other, you met in weekends and he invited you many times in hangouts with other members. Aslo you go to the same University as Eunwoo and you two share some classes together.

In one day out of all the days, you were supposed to meet Rocky and Astro members to go to the cinema. You finally reached the place but you only saw Rocky alone approaching you, He waved to you and you did the same, " Hey (Y/N)-ah" he said cheerfully, you greeted him as well with a wide smile, but then you asked him " But Minhyuk-ah, where are the others? Aren't they coming?" , " Mmmm no its just me and you today" he said while giggling to himself.

You both entered and watched the movie and suddenly you decided to go to the Karaoke, you ordered some smoothies and some snacks and started singing all of your favourite songs along with rocky who started dacing while you were singing.

Finally after you both got tired of all of this singing and dancing , a moment of silence appeared, when Rocky suddenly stood up from his place and came towards you and locked you between himself and the chair and pressed his warm lips on yours, you were caught off guard and you really didn't know what to do but since you already had a crush on him you wished that time could stop and you last like this for a more long time. He parted away but your faces were still close and with his wearwolf eyes he looked stright in your eyes and said " (Y/N)-ah, I love you~will you be my girlfriend? I know its weird and i shouldn't get my hopes up like that but-", you didn't give him a chance to complete what he was saying and immediately connected your lips together. You two kept kissing like that until you finally realized that its getting late and you both should head back to home. During the whole way back to your house you two kept smiling like dorks as you remembered what happened at the karaoke. " So we are dating right?" He asked you tho he already knows the answer , " of course we are.. hehe do you think what we did earlier was a dream?" , You kept laughing until you both went back to your home.

It has been already 4 months since you and Rocky started dating and only Astro members knew about your relationship, and your life was normal as always, waking up helping in house work( since you are in a summer holiday* you are a college student*) then going to your shift in your part time job at the convince store which happens to be near Fantagio entertainment and Astro's dorm which made you meet the boys almost everyday . That day Suddenly someone entered the store and it was your boyfriend Rocky, he took a banana milk from the fridge shelf and placed it on the counter, he kept looking at you while smiling as you were scanning the banana milk, " Here you go" you said with a smile on your face " Hehe thanks, btw when does your shift end? And do you have plans after it?" He asked you , " Mmm it will end in 2 hours, and no i don't have plans I'll head Immediately to home after this... But why you're asking?" , " Well nothing i will pick you up and walk you home today" you jumped excitedly saying " Really?!! For real?!! Heheh can't wait till the shift ends". He waved at you and then went back to the agency.

After two hours your co-worker came and then you took your bag and went out to find Rocky standing and waiting for you. You both secretly held hands( since nobody really knows about you two dating cuz you know it might cuz a scandal) and walked all the way to your home, you reached you home door and then he whined " Why does your home way has to be so short like that, i want to be with you more" you grinned at his words and you asked him " Minhyuk-ah~did you have dinner or not yet?". " No still " he replied , " Then let's go inside and eat i think my mom already made the dinner hehehe".

You both went inside you both greeted your parents and then all of you sat on the table to have dinner, you laughed and chatted together, you thought in yourself that it's good that your family are already familiar with Rocky since you both were together since you were kids, but what kept running in your mind is ,that how to tell your parents that you two were dating. You didn't tell your parents that you two were dating you didn't get the right time to tell them tbh. Later after dinner Rocky thanked your mother for the dinner and then you walked him to the door, " (Y/N)-ah, thanks for the dinner today, i had alot of fun, hehe its been a while since i came here" he scratched the back of his neck while giggling, " then i gotta go ... See you tomorrow (Y/N)-ah ", he said as he was heading out "be careful on your way back" you shouted at him with a smile , " Hahaha okay okay got it ,, just go inside already!" He said while signing to you to go inside. You went inside when you heard your mother calling for you, you went to her and she told you to sit next to her, you tried to read whats on her mind but you couldn't so you asked her , " Mommy is something wrong?" , " Well dear, i was thinking about this thing since the time Minhyuk entered" your mother said, you got a strange vibe from her words and she continued " Don't fall in love with him okay? You two just have to stay best friends as you are, you two aren't dating right?" You shrugged at what she said so you acted stupid " why mommy? is there something wrong if i fell for him, he is a kind and a warm boy and we've known each other like forever now " she cutted you " He's an idol did you forget that! I don't want my daughter to date and spend her life with an idol , i will never let that happen", you still didn't get why your mom is acting that way, your emotions took on you so you said " What's wrong with dating an idol, he's my childhood friend before becoming an idol you know that!", " You don't know ? Idol boys, they throw their emotions away and just use you, you are still young and won't understand what i mean!" She said while sounding a bit angry. " But mom you know that Minhyuk is different you saw him growing how could you think of him like that?, you even trust me on him whenever we hangout!" You said, you kept feeling your throat is hurting you when she suddenly said " Why you keep defending him like that?" , " Because he is my bestfriend he always protected me and I've trusted him since along time i can't just compare him to other idols that you saw, he is a different person" you got annoyed and got up of your place and went straight to your bedroom, you locked the door and slid over it, your tears fell silently on your cheeks, you couldn't just believe what you just heard, you thought about how finally you decided to tell them about you two dating, your memorise to the lovely moments you spended together rushed into your head, you got up and fell on your bed crying silently, he never hurted you and he was always warm and you felt safe around him, he even didn't look at other girls like the way he looks at you, just you. You kept crying till you fell asleep.

In the next morning you woke up and felt your head is heavy, you remembered that you cried alot last night , but you managed to pull yourself to the bathroom and took a shower, tho your mood didn't get any better , you just finshed the works you had to do in the house and went to your part-time job. As you were standing at the counter in the calm store spacing out thinking about what your mom said , you really wanted to show her that she's wrong and Rocky is not that type of people that she think he is. Suddenly you felt a hand waving infront of your face calling out your name " From Earth to (Y/N)-ah , Hey are you okay??!!" Said Moonbin to you. You finally got back to reality and saw him. You can say you were close to Moonbin since you know him from the time that Rocky became a trainee at Fantagio cuz he just introduced to him that time. " Oh I'm sorry i didn't see you entering let me scan it" you said. " Hey.. You look pale and tired are you sure you're okay?" You just nodded in reply cuz you didn't feel like talking today. Before he heads out he said " (Y/N)-ah if you're not feeling well you know your room is there in our dorm you can go and take a rest" ( you did have a room just for you in their dorm because sometimes time gets late and you end up sleeping there so they gave you this extra room so you can sleep there whenever you're late or tired). You forced a smile at him and then he went.

After your shift for today ended you headed back home walking but suddenly you felt someone running behind you calling out your name, you turned around to find your Bf running after you. " Hah-ha!! Wait hah-ha (Y/N)-ah, come a bit with me" he was out of breath but he held your hands and took you to thier dorm and you two immediately went to your room there. He closed the door and sat right next to you, you were looking down at the floor without saying anything , he placed his hands and raised your face from your chin " look in to my eyes (Y/N)-ah, Something happened right? Bin-Hyung just told me that you looked gloomy and pale", your tears started rushing out of your eyes so you immediately layed on his chest and hold his shirt from the back tightly . " Babe...." He said while pating your head gently. You started speaking " after you went yesterday my mom called me and talked to me about something", he listened to you carefully as you told him what happened yesterday with you then you looked at him almost sobbing " what if she knew about us and told us to breakup... I-i don't want that to happen i really-" he cutted you placed his lips on yours then parted " shhh.. don't worry babe, we won't break up I will figure out how to fix this misunderstanding don't worry i won't leave you ever , i will be right here like I've always been" then he kissed your cheeks. After a while you fell asleep on him so he just carried you and put you in the bed, he went outside to find the boys are still sitting waiting for him , Moonbin was worried on you so he asked Rocky , " Rocky-ah she was crying so loudly, is she okay? Is it something serious?" Appearntly everyone wanted to ask the same thing so they waited for rocky to answer. Rocky sighed as he sat between his hyungs and started telling them willing for a good advice from them. " Omg that's really serious" said jinjin, " we need to find a helpful way to help rocky and (Y/N) to tell her parents about them" continued Eunwoo, While they were talking your phone on the table rang so Rocky picked it up after seeing that your mom was the caller, " Hello Eomonie" said Rocky , " Oh-hhaha hello minhyuk, (Y/N)-ah haven't returned yet, is she with you? If she is please tell her to come back", " I'm sorry Eomonie but she already slept don't worry about her i will tell her as soon as she wakes up", " well okay then, i trust her on you" and then she ended the call . Later rocky went back to your room and slept right beside you holding your hands.

The next morning you woke up to see Rocky beside you sleeping peacefully you got up slowly kissed his forehead and then tried to get off the bed but , you felt his hand grabbing your wrist , " Where are you going?", " I gotta go back home, tons of work is waiting for me there and i didn't go back yesterday mom & dad must be worried", you said, " Oh its okay your mom already knows that you are here , she called yesterday after you slept and i told her". Later on you ate breakfast with them, went to home and then to your shift. It was a busy day at the store today . it was almost the last half hour of your shift and you were supposed to meet the boys at your college's basketball hall Cuz you forgot something at your art club. A young man entered the store, he acted weird, kept walking in there without buying anything for about 10min, you tried not look at him but whenever you gazed fell on him, you found him staring and giving you a smirk but you ignored him, 5 min later he left the store without buying anything, and your shift was over. You reached the college's basketball hall and met the boys, they were playing basketball so you just told them that you will get your stuffs from the Art club and then join them in playing. You didn't realize that the man from the store was stalking you out, as you walk to your club he was following you. You entered the room and started looking for your stuff when you heard the door behind you getting closed, you turned around and saw the man, you were shocked, " Who are you?!" You said furiously, he didn't reply and kept moving towards you, you stepped back as he moved until it was a dead end, you were locked between him and the wall, " Did you know how beautiful and hot you are?" He whispered in your ears. You pushed him immediately and told him to back off but no use , he was forcing himself on you and trying hardly to kiss you. Your mood went off and you pushed him strongly with both of your hands and then give him a kick in the stomach to move him off you, you also cursed him ( you don't do it usually but you reached your limits and really got annoyed and uncomfortable) . Rocky noticed that you're late and he texted you but he got no reply from you so he came to the art club along with the boys to look for you. At the same time the man got angry at your action" You little --!!!!" He shouted and Rocky opened the door at the same time to find that man pushing you hardly which made you fall and hit your head in the corner of the table and you lost conscious immediately, your head started bleeding alot, Rocky stepped infront of the man and hit him right in the face with his full power of anger and made the man fall down on the ground, Jinjin & Mj tried their best to stop Rocky from hitting the man anymore cuz they might get in more problems while Moonbin was struggling so hard to stop your bleeding head and waking you up at the same time, Eunwoo called the emergency to get an ambulance while sanha was sitting on the Stalker to keep him down from moving.

After getting you to the hospital, you got your treatment but still unconscious, Rocky was too scared that something bad might happen to you, because your injury was serious. He was sitting by your side holding your hands and drying the sweat of your face gently, Your Parents Rushed to you after jinjin called them, they stayed with you until late night along with rocky who was standing next to the window, " Eomonie, Abeonim, you should go and eat and get some rest, i will stay here don't worry" said rocky warmly to your parents , they nooded and walked outside the room but before going out, your mother turned to you and saw rocky talking to you , " (Y/N)-ah please wakeup fast, Your Parents are too worried about you, you shouldn't worry your parents, i Know you are a strong girl, please wakeup for your parents and for my sake please" He said in a cracked tone almost about to cry. Seeing you like that broke him, everything happened Infront of him and he couldn't do anything. The next day after your parents went yesterday, rocky stayed with you all night. Your parents came again early in the morning to find Rocky standing outside the room, they ran towards him worried, " Minhyuk, why are standing here?" Said your father, " Ohh the doctor is inside checking on (Y/N)-ah " said rocky, " What!! Minhyuk!! Did Something happened to her?!!" Said your mother in a frightened tone, " No no nothing happened she opened her eyes so i callled the doctor to check on her condition don't worry", and suddenly the doctor came out to tell your parents that your are fine and all you need is to rest, Rocky couldn't hold his smile after seeing you awake... After the boys came visited you and made sure to call them whenever you needed something, you stayed alone with rocky and your parents in the Room, " Eomonie,Abeonim, i have something to tell you..." Rocky said seriously, you felt that you know what he was about to say ,and you felt your heart beating so fast , " I like (Y/N)-ah since a long time ago, and we are currently dating, can both of you please give us your blessings ?!" . After your mother saw how gentle and caring rocky was to you she knew that she thought wrongly about him and she should give him a chance. You closed your teary eyes to hear your mother's 'No' but instead of that you saw her smiling and nodding at rocky's request. You couldn't believe your ears and eyes , your tears Started falling like a waterfall. " Well then dear , let's give them some space together" said your father to your mother while taking her out with him. Now you and rocky are alone, he came closer and whipped your tears and pressed his lips on yours , " See? I told you i will fix this misunderstanding and we will never be apart" you were speechless and hugged him tightly " Don't you ever leave me...I Love you so much Minhyukiii" you said while still being in his arms. 2 weeks later you came out and then spended most of your times now cuddling with Your boyfriend Rocky , you were happy that your mother changed her idea about rocky....

At the dorm's kitchen

" Chef Minhyuk! Can you make me something to eat please" you said with an Agyeo , he leaned and gave you a peek on your lips " Okay miss piggy" he teased you, " Heyy!! I'm not a piggy!! I Don't like that nick name!!" You pouted, " hahaha okay cutie pie " and you both started laughing~

The End.

[morganrivers]

04-05-2020

Who would have ever thought that this year would be filled with such troubling and questionable times...while only being barely four months into it. In January, the Australian bush fires shook the world. Affecting thousands of people and animals that call that country home. In late January, Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, among 7 others crashed in a helicopter on the way to a basketball game. Instantly killing every one on board. Every victim left families and loved ones behind. While not everyone was a basketball fan, everyone knew who Kobe Bryant was. You didn’t have to be a huge Kobe, Lakers, or even a basketball fan to feel what the world felt at that moment. Scared, heart broken, saddened. The unsettling reminder that life can be taken from you in an instance. No matter your status in life, your income, the amount of friends you have, or where you come from. Life does not discriminate. 

I was working Sunday morning brunch at the pub when TMZ first aired it on live television. Everyone in the restaurant, myself included, stopped what they were doing to watch the news unfold. At first, it was uncertain as to who was on board with him. Rumors and live footage of the crash flooded social media and every major news outlet. To find out the severity of the crash and the casualties was gut wrenching, I couldn’t even begin to imagine or fathom what their families at home were going through. 

Flash forward to March, a global pandemic made it’s way over to us. COVID-19, a new strand of the corona virus that mutates at a rapid rate. It’s an airborne disease that anyone can be affected by, especially the elderly and the immunocompromised. We’ve been in quarantine for almost three weeks now. All major businesses, except essential workers (grocery stores, doctor’s offices, etc.) are closed. The pub has temporarily shut down except for selling to go food and beer/wine. I haven’t worked a bar shift in almost a month now. I miss it. I miss my regulars, my work family, and the extra income. Other restaurants around us have shut down for good, Wild Wing, where I worked for 5 years while in college and Copper River Grill as well. I hate it for all the employees of those businesses, no guaranteed work to return to after all of this craziness is over with. A lot of those workers were our regulars at the pub whom I’ve formed relationships and friendships with over the last 3 years I’ve worked as a bartender.

What I’ve gathered from all of these recent events is that you never know when the last time you will experience something is. It gives me an uneasy and almost nauseating feeling when I begin to think of it. Life is fleeting. We take for granted each moment we experience. I try to stay present in situations and see them for what they are. Really experience them. Although, I am not perfect and that’s not always possible. I wish I could snap shot a moment and store it away until I want to relive it again. I will probably never see a lot of the people from Copper River or Wild Wing again. I wonder what their lives will entail within the coming days, months, and years. I wish them well and hope that they find work and comfort in a daily routine again. 

In light of everything, the world seems to be recovering. Pollution rates have gone down in highly populated areas. In Venice the canal has cleared up to where you can see the fish! Swans have returned. I believe Earth is getting a nice break because people are staying home. It’s a little bewildering to think about anything positive in such a negative situation. But I am thankful for it. Maybe this will be a wake up call for people, environmentally speaking. I think a lot of people are taking this time to do things that they usually do not find themselves doing. Me for example, here I am finally starting to blog. I tried writing in journals, sometimes it’s difficult for me to sit down and write. I find it easy to type out everything...easier on my wrists. I even got in my yard and made a flower bed, also stripped some popcorn ceiling in my bathroom yesterday. I’m hoping to finally get around to some chores I’ve been wanting to get accomplished in my house during all of this. Next thing on the list is to paint my bathroom and replace the mirror and light fixtures. I’m really looking forward to how it will look after it is done!

While I am trying to stay positive in my situation, I know that others are tremendously suffering right now during this time. There are many people who do not have a great home life. People who look forward to going to school or to work, just for an escape. Children who depended on meals from school and that positive environment to mold them into the adults that they will become. Women, even some men, who are in abusive relationships. Whether that be with a spouse, parent or guardian, or a sibling that so desperately wish they could escape from. I think of those people in this time, and wish that I could remove them from those situations. I think of those people and am grateful for what I have in my life, and wish I could give them the same. How I wish everyone on this planet had a loving, comforting, clean, warm home to go home to every night. I pray that this travesty that is wreaking havoc on our planet comes to and end soon. I pray that this changes how our world handles situations or better yet, prepares for them. I pray essential workers get a break; especially those on the front line of all of this. Nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, grocery store workers, pharmacists, FedEx/UPS, etc. I pray that those out of work can return to work soon. I pray that this doesn’t lead our economy into a recession. I pray. To whom I do not know. The universe I suppose, to help us in this time of need. We need to give back to the universe. Stop having so much hate for one another. To give love, to give kindness, to be less selfish. I hope that I can lead a better life and attitude after this. I want to keep up with what I am doing during this time; journaling, working in the yard, little projects on my house, and exercising. I hope for normalcy in life again. A routine. We all crave it.

I am saddened that the music festival that I was supposed to attend this year has been cancelled. It was an amazing line up of artists! Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, RL Grime, Post Malone, RKS and loads of other musicians I was so excited to see. I was going to go with an amazing group of people. We had rented a house on the beach where the festival was going to be held. I hope we get to experience this festival in the future.

Whenever all of this is over and we all get to go out in public and be together I know I will be overcome with emotion. To be able to be with all of my friends and enjoy drinks, a good meal, some conversation and laughs will be amazing. I can’t wait to go to my first concert again, to be able to hear live music among a crowd of people. Everyone feeding and vibing off one another among a musician they all love! I can’t wait to get weekly lunch with my mom and sister again. To see them everyday and give them a hug or a kiss on the cheek. I’ve had to avoid hugging and being my normal affectionate self because of all of this...that’s very hard for me. I can’t wait to be able to drive up to Greenville to see my best friend and go out with her and enjoy a hike at a near by state park. I can’t wait to be able to do outdoor activities. Kayaking on the river, going on a boat ride with friends, tying up at Sandy Beach and have a fun ass day drinking and hanging out with people. I can’t wait to be able to go get my hair cut or my nails done. To go shopping at a store whenever I felt like it. I will be so thankful when these days come again. And I hope to never take them for granted.

[pinkykitten]

Madly, deeply, truly, passionately in love

Bright

Kandomere x half elf/half human! female reader

Warning: A little bit of angst, insecure reader, some bullying. 

Specifics: Angst, fluff, romance 

People: Kandomere, you, Montehugh, and three elf women. 

Words: 2,580

Requested by: @jinx-is-fire​ Okay so a really fluffy Kandomere x reader where reader is a half elf/human. Reader gets harassed by some coworkers at the MTF and when they both get home reader thinks he should leave her because she isnt good enough for him. Kandomere doesn't stand for this and decides to show reader how much she means to him. 😍 

“Honey look over here at mommy.” Seeing the year on the right corner of the screen from when your parents recorded you throughout your life. You smiled at seeing yourself as a baby. You liked doing this. Just sitting in your room watching clips of your childhood. See that time you didn’t know about the hard aches of life. You didn’t know that everyday people were segregated from others. Your life was easy, its was fun, but that was all in the past.

Your father was a human and your mother was an elf. As a little girl you would stare in amazement at your parents when they told the story of how they fell in love. You remember your father telling you, “your mother was the most beautiful woman and still is. My heart fell in love the first minute I saw her.” Your parents would tell you how difficult it was for them to meet. Back then and now you should associate with your kind. Even in the womb your parents always taught you to never treat anyone with disrespect, don't judge a book by its cover. Now that took tremendous amount of work. In school you weren't sure where to fit in, and you really didn’t. You didn’t fit in with the elves or humans. You felt alone since there were no elf half human there. But still you respected everyone around you, even if they didn’t deserve it.

Here you were now, a grown woman. You got your own place and got a job at the Magic Task Force. You worked till you had bags under your eyes. See your parents always told you to slow it down a bit, take a break, but you couldn’t. You felt in your heart that maybe one day, just one day if you worked hard enough people would actually like you or at least stand you. You also worked more hours for your parents sake. Already they were older folks and they could not work. Your mother suffered from back pains and your dad messed up his knee pretty badly. They always tell you to use your money on something important but you always respond with, “you guys are important.”

Beep, beep.

“Ugh,” you groaned. You tried to turn that dang clock off but instead you hit the invisible table and fell off your bed. Your face on the ground you moaned again. You got up with your cupcake slippers on, your comfy womfy pj pants, and a t-shirt that says “life behind bars” and it has a bicycle bar handle as the picture. You stretched and yawned saying hi to your pug Édgar (yes because Édgar Ramírez plays Kandomere and a pug cause Pewdiepie has a pug named Edgar) and giving Édgar a kiss. He glances at you with his cute eyes looking very lazy. “That's why you’re my dog,” whisper while heading to the bathroom. You give yourself a look before you start the day and if you didn’t scare the mirror then you surely scared yourself. You can tell you just had awoken from a deep sleep. 

 “I LOOK TERRIBLE,” you half yell half whisper to your reflection. You had to look nice today. Tomorrow was a special occasion, it was your 2 year anniversary with Kandomere. “Man, we’ve been boyfriend and girlfriend for 2 years. I thought he would of left me by now.” You cleaned your house and when you mean clean you mean clean. You scrubbed till you had sweat on your brow. See, Kandomere was going to be sleeping over tonight and spending the whole day with you the next day, the actual date of your anniversary. You peer at the list that is on your phone while your getting ready. You have so much planned for tomorrow. The whole shebang. Your heart sped fast at just the thought of spending all night with him and all next day. You squealed aloud making Édgar jump. You made a delicious breakfast for yourself and gave food to your chubby pug, got dressed and ready putting your makeup on feeling super confident, then you sat down while putting your shoes on to see the news. “Great,” you spoke. “More orcs fighting and being blamed for everything possible. I tell you this world is going nuts.” You were actually talking to Édgar, since he was sitting next to you on the couch. You put your face close to his and pat him vigorously at the back of his ears. “You excited to see Papi?” Édgar opened his mouth a little and barked the lowest bark ever…”Me too,” you cheered.

You left in your car to go to the building of the MTF. To be honest you sometimes didn’t want to go to work. You knew your co-workers made fun of you. You were different and that was something that some folks didn’t like. You walk in the facility trying to make people believe you are so confident when in reality you’re not. But everything in your life turns so much better when you see that handsome face from across the room. You sprint over to Kandomeres office, greeting Montehugh on your way.

“Hi baby,” you beamed crouching down a little to give your elf a kiss on the lips. Ugh those lips, you couldn't get enough of them. You turned around to shut the door, and walked to one of his seats on the other side of his desk.

“Hola sweetheart,” Kandomere smiled.

“So, guess what? I have everything planned out, we’re gonna go to the fair, the nice one of course. Then we’re gonna eat at many restaurants and go in the pool maybe after and IT’S GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!”

Kandomere giggled at your cuteness. He brought his hands forward to grasp yours and kissed them.

“I can’t wait to spend all those hours with you, mi amor.”

“Awww thanks babe,” you say as you stand up, then to sit on his lap. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” You give tiny kisses all over his face. “See you later,” you wave to Kandomere.

“Bye honey.”

You loved it when he called you all those names, especially his Spanish. When he speaks Spanish that's like your drug right there.

That whole time at work you examine cases that have come around. Sometimes those cases can be such a headache to you. But today was different, you were going to have a blast. That is all you cared about. You looked at your electric clock on your desk and it read 4:00 PM. “Whelp time to go home. Gonna make some brownies and cookies.” You dance a little as you hum in excitement. You grab your purse and make you way to the elevator. You were going to meet Kandomere in the parking lot. As you walked out your door to your office these female elves came up to you with a sour look. “Where do you think you’re going...freak,” one girl said. She was super lean and tall. She had black hair ice blue eyes and big, pink lips. You had to admit she looked like she could work as a model for victoria's secret. “Oh I’m just going to the elevator, excuse me,” you replied.

“Really? Well if you’re going with our Kandomere, you got another thing coming.” The second one said. She had red hair, was shorter, and had nice curves. Her eyes were white, with angled eyebrows.

“Yours,” you began. “He belongs to no one, not even me.”

“Look at you, you know what I hate the most? I hate when I see people like you that try to fit in or that want to. Just look at yourself sweetheart. You’re ugly, and you’re not even human or elf. You will never fit in with society,” the third elf spoke up. She had blonde hair in a bun, her eyes were a light pastel pink, and her jaw was very pointy.

Her comment hurt you a lot. You were doing all these things to try to fit in society, to try to be normal. You tried to speed walk past them, making it seem like the words they said didn’t hurt.

The elf one with black hair spoke up again, “why would Kandomere want someone like you. You know what I think? I think she has some orc in her girls don’t you think. She looks very much like a pig. Hahaha.”

You closed your eyes to fight your tears. Why did people treat you like this? All the other elves nodded their heads, cackling away at your insecurities.

“Don’t pay attention to them y/n, they are just trying to put your down,” you tried to convince yourself but you knew you believed them.

“You also don’t even know how to work correctly. You look, smell, and do your job like a slob. You should go back to the farm where you were born or maybe the zoo. I heard they were wanting more whales there.” The red head elf laughed and the others joined her. You ran to the elevator and tried to close the door quickly.

“Don’t worry retard, I don’t want to go in an elevator with a person like you. Were your parents drinking when they had you. Seriously, an elf and a human. I guess that's where you get your stupid from.” The blonde hair yelled as the elevator door closed.

You just started sobbing, they were so mean to you and your family. You rubbed the tears away from your eyes and looked at yourself in the reflection of the elevator. You tried to compose yourself to make it look like you weren’t crying. As you looked at your reflection you muttered the words, “disgusting.” The elevator dinged and you made your way out.

Coming into the parking lot you look around to see Kandomere. He had a big smile on his face while talking to the phone. Seeing you walking to him made him happy but then he realized your face. You weren’t beaming like earlier, your eyes were red and you had tear stained cheeks.

“Baby what's wrong,” Kandomere whispered as you came up to him.

“Nothing, can we just go to the house already.”

Kandomere nodded and opened the car door for you. “We can just pick up my car later or whatever,” you mumbled.

“Sure no problem,” Kandomere said to you. The whole car ride was quiet, a little awkward considering you were all jumpy in the beginning.

Once you both made it to your house you honestly didn’t feel like doing anything except lay in bed and cry forever. As you both walked inside you set all your belongs on a nearby table, Kandomere doing the same. Kandomere knew something wasn’t right.

“Well y/n what do you want to do?”

You shrugged while slowly walking to the coach. Plopping yourself on the comfortable cushions, you grabbed the remote turning on the tv. Kandomere shook his head then walked up, got a hold of the remote and turned off the tv.

“Baby talk to me, whats wrong?”

“Nothing Kandomere,” you said harshly. Getting up abruptly. “Nothing's wrong, just can you please leave me alone.”

“Yes there is. This morning you were so happy to be with me, now you’re acting like this!” Kandomere moved his arms out to your actions.

“I don’t want to repeat myself Kandomere, nothing happened just drop it!” Now you were raising your voice. Couldn’t he just see that you didn’t want to talk about it.

“Y/n just tell me what's wrong. I promise I will help you. Just tell me,” Kandomere begged.

“I’m not good enough okay! There I said it, I’m not good enough...I don’t want you to date a failure like me. A disgust like me, an idiot like me. A mistake...like me.”

“Y/n…,” Kandomere whispered stepping closer to you.

“No you can’t be with me. I am not good enough for you. You need someone prettier, better than me. Please Kandomere.”

Kandomere came up to you and hugged you with so much force that you thought he might break your ribs. You sobbed harder now and limped falling in his arms. He bent down now cradling you like a ball. Comforting you.

“Its okay sweetheart let it out,” Kandomere breathed. You felt tears on your face and you opened your eyes to see your sweet elf crying with you.

“Please my love don’t ever think that about yourself. You are so much more than that. You make my life complete, you make me a better person. You mean the world to me and so much more. When I see you I feel safe and loved. I only want to be with you and only you for the rest of my life. Even when I die I want my spirit to be with yours for eternity. My heart belongs to only you and no one else. Everyday I breathe and live is because you exist. You are my wish that came true, you are the angel I think of every night in my dreams. You are the one person I can depend on in life. You are the one that makes me feel it's okay to be myself. You make me feel loved y/n, I don’t think words can describe how perfect you are. You are my everything and I will always love you no matter what you look like. Heck, I wouldn’t care if you were a piece of bread. I love you y/n forever and always.”

You looked up at Kandomere and cried more.

“I’m sorry baby did I say something wrong,” he cringed at his actions thinking he said something wrong to make you cry.

“No sweetie, I love you so much. Thank you for always making me feel like a queen, for making me feel...beautiful. For always making me feel better in these times.” You gave Kandomere a big kiss on his lips, savoring the taste and feel. After you kissed him you gave him small pecks all over his face. Kissing every inch of his face. He and you giggled, placing your forehead on his. Kandomere kissed your nose. “I love you baby,” Kandomere whispered.

“I love you too my love,” you whispered back as if your love, this moment was only for you and him to see.

Later on

While you guys were laying in bed watching Caso Cerrado you explained to Kandomere what all those elf women said.

“Don’t worry I’ll take care of them,” Kandomere hissed. You look at him puzzled, thinking, “what in the world is he going to do?”

So what Kandomere did was not too harsh, no it wasn’t. He fired all those elf women and gave them a discourse of how if they ever disrespected you he would do something that would make them wish they never yelled at you. He also gave them a speech of how they should not judge people. So Kandomere does not mind that you are different. If you think you are ugly and imperfect Kandomere will make sure everyday that he proves to you, that he shows you, that everyday he will make it his mission to make you see how beautiful you truly are. He is madly, deeply, truly, passionately in love with you even with all your imperfections. You are perfectly imperfect to him. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

[writingevil]

Myra’s New Brother

by E.L.B

Myra was put into foster care when she was six years old. She could still remember the day CPS came to her house. Her mother had been out drinking again and she was in the bathroom trying to take care of her little brother, Andy. Her mother was passed out among empty bottles on the couch and the stove in the kitchen had a pot of water on it that Myra had put up there so she could make mac’n cheese for dinner. The now boiling water was long forgotten about after her brother had came in from playing outside covered in mud. She was trying to wrestle the rambunctious toddler into the bath when a knock came at the front door. She froze, knowing that she was not supposed to open the door for anyone in case they saw her mother passed out and a six year old taking care of a three year old. She waited until the knocking stopped before continuing to get her brother cleaned up. 

Thirty minutes later the knock came again, this time booming and echoing throughout the house. Myra stopped where she was in the kitchen cleaning up the spilled water from the over flowed pan.

“It’s the police! Open up!” came from outside the door. 

Myra tiptoed past her mother and peaked out the window and saw the flashing lights of two police vehicles. She knew that she had to open the door but figure out some way to get them to go away. She opened the door to two female police officers standing on her porch.

One kneeled to her level and smiled kindly. “Hi there, I’m Officer Grant with CPS is your mommy home?”

Myra shook her head, thinking maybe they would leave if her mother wasn’t home. 

“How old are you?”

Myra held up six fingers.

“Where’s your brother?”

“Playing in his room.” she said softly.

“Can you go get him and bring him here for me? We are going to take you two someplace safe until your mommy gets back.”

Myra looked down knowing that she had messed up. It was too late now, better just do what the cops said. She went and grabbed Andy and his blanket and teddy that he had to have with him at all times. The officers from her porch talked to the ones that were still in their cars. Myra only caught words like ‘search’ and ‘house’. 

Officer Grant walked back over too her. “Are you sure your mommy’s not home?” Myra started to cry knowing she’d been caught in her lie. “It’s okay if she is we just need to know before we leave.”

“She’s asweep on da couch. Smells bad.” Andy babbled holding onto his sisters hand.

“Okay, we’ll just get you two safe until trying to wake her up.” Officer Grant led them a way from their home and it was the last time Myra ever saw it.

Four years later Myra sat next to her Social Worker, Anna, in the car and stared out the window.

“So, how’s Andy doing?” She asked softly.

“He’s in a nice place right now. The family has another boy his age and they’re really close. You’ll see him at Christmas.” Anna said.

“That’s months away. Summer just started.”

“You excited about your new foster parents?”

“No, I don’t understand how you claim to take children from their parents for their own safety but then give them away to people that are dangerous. At least my mother wasn’t racist.” Myra said.

Anna sighed. “These people will be good for you. They’ve adopted a son and a daughter already. The son should be around your age and the daughter’s in high school.”

“And if anything happen’s I’ve stolen your phone so I can call you.” Myra smiled softly. “Kidding.”

“You better be.”

They pulled up to a house with two cars in the driveway and a dog running across the lawn with a boy chasing after it. Two men and a teenage girl sat on the wrap around porch. The men stood when the car pulled in. Myra got out and took a moment to scan her surroundings.

The house was on a dirt road with trees surrounding it. Myra noticed that the girl had her head buried in a book. She was about to grab her bag from the back when the dog knocked her down and started attacking her face with kisses. 

“Rufus! Don’t attack the new girl!” the boy yelled but Myra laughed sitting up and petting the fluffy mutt.

“Aw, you’re just adorable aren’t you? You didn’t mean to hurt me you just don’t know your own strength. Good puppy.” She cooed.

The dog jumped off her and ran around, excited to have such a nice human here. Myra fixed herself and grabbed her back pack and gym bag from the car. The gym bag was the easiest thing to store clothes in since suitcase’s take up space. Anna was already on the porch talking to the two men. Myra walked over calmly noticing the boy follow her and stare. 

“This is Myra, ten almost eleven.” Anna said, putting her hand on Myra’s shoulder. Myra nodded to the two men.

“I’m James and this is Corey.” shorter of the two men said pointing too himself and then his husband. “That one’s Micheal and the bookworm is Amanda.”

“Micheal’s 8 and Amanda’s 16.” said Corey and James nodded.

Myra looked at the two kids. Micheal had blonde hair and blue eyes, the typical angel type. Amanda had small narrow eyes and dark skin but not as dark as Myra’s. The puppy sat as Myra’s feet and looked at her.

“That’s Rufus. We just got him yesterday.” said Micheal with a grin.

“Let’s get you set up inside.” said James reaching to take her gym bag.

“I’ve got it.” She said softly and hefted the bag onto her shoulder. Myra followed the two men into the house, into her new home.

It took Myra three days to get settled and stop jumping at every noise. She had to make this work or else she’d be moved again. Rufus had attached himself to her. He slept at the foot of her bed and followed her around the house. She had already found that the only way to get complete peace and quiet was to lock her bedroom door, which was not allowed. 

The rest of the family was going out to the grocery store but Amanda and Myra were left at home alone. Myra sat in the living room sitting and playing with Rufus and making him chase the laser pointer around.

“I’ll be reading upstairs. If you need anything let me know if not just leave me alone.” Amanda said walking upstairs with a glass of water and two large books. Myra found Amanda to be quiet and closed off towards her but she had noticed her being sweet and kind to Micheal. 

Myra grabbed Rufus’ leash. “Wanna go for a walk, boy? Do ya?” 

Rufus freaked, spinning in circles and jumping up and down trying to lick her face. “Gross puppy. Calm down.”

She walked Rufus to the edge of the forest and looked in. There weren’t any noticeable paths but there didn’t seem to be any ivy of thorns keeping her out. She walked in. Myra found a trail soon enough and tied her bandanna around one of the tree’s so she would know how to get back. Rufus was sniffing everything, barking and freaking out whenever a leaf moved on its own or a twig snapped. Myra decided to follow the path upwards instead of down. She theorized that down meant there might be a stream or a river nearby and she didn’t want Rufus getting wet. 

Following the path brought her to a small rock formation almost like a small cave. She dug around in her pocket for her flashlight. Rufus began sniffing around but there didn’t seem to be anything in the cave. She decided this was an adventure for another time, when she had more light. 

Two day’s later she got another opportunity to go explore the cave on her own when James and Corey took Micheal to the doctor. She grabbed a bright lantern from the closet by the stairs and found her way back to the path with Rufus in the lead. Setting the lantern in the middle of the cave lit all sides. She spent a while just exploring around but couldn’t find anything.

“This place is ours, Rufus. All ours.”

Myra went back to the house and grabbed her personal collection of books and an old blanket. She got back late and the sun was setting. Everyone had just got back.

“Myra, you’re a mess. What have you been doing all day?” Corey asked her, brushing twigs out of her curly hair.

“Nothing, Rufus and I were just going on an adventure and he had a bit too much fun in the dirt.” Myra smiled innocently like she’d seen Micheal do to get what he wanted.

“Okay, you two go get washed up. We’ve got pizza and Micheal is tired.” Corey said with a soft sigh picking up the sleeping boy and carrying him into the house.

Myra started to make her own little nest for her and Rufus in their little cave. She had old blankets and books piled up and it was really cozy. She and Rufus followed the path the other way and found a lake which Rufus had way too much fun in. Corey and James were getting suspicious of her antics but weren’t pressing for information. Micheal was too tired normally to be able to bother her. Amanda had tried to follow her once out of curiosity but left before she made it to her world. 

Myra’s World, that was what she decided to call her little hide out. Rufus got his own water and food bowl eventually and that was Rufus’ corner but other than that it was Myra’s World. Eventually Corey pressed her for information on where she was going everyday.

“It’s my own little hideaway. Mine and Rufus’. It’s quiet and I like it.” Myra said defensively.

“We just want to make sure you’re safe.” Corey said sitting next to his husband.

“I raised my brother from the time I could walk properly. My father left us before I turned five. My mother started drinking whenever she wasn’t working. My house wasn’t a safe place. School was just a distraction until I had to go back home to my crying brother.” She looked down. “Since, we left our mother never tried to get us back. My brother and I were split and the only time we get to see each other is Christmas. I’ve been passed from home to home each time with Anna promising me this one would be it, the safe place I’ve been looking for. My first home was just a woman trying to get the money for kids from the government. The older girls didn’t like me much so I ran away. The next home was a group home and I shared a small room with three other girls. If we weren’t cleaning we were wrong. When I was eight I got moved into a home with a couple who had a biological son. Apparently CPS never informed the husband I was black because he was very obviously racist. I was beaten in that house for nothing more than the color of my skin and Anna had the audacity to tell me that it was just a mistake and it wouldn’t happen again. I need a place that’s completely my own, where no one can come find me, where I can kick and scream and fight away memories of my past, and where I can cry about my baby brother whose seven now and thankfully doesn’t remember our father leaving us or our mother drinking away the pain.

“People have been trying to make sure I’m safe since I was six and taken from my family. I’m waiting for them to realize that I’m the only one who can make me feel truly safe.” Myra stood and left the gaping family in the living room. She went upstairs and looked out her window at the stars and the moon. She sat curled up for a while until a knock came at her door. It was Micheal. 

“I’m going to go catch fireflies but Amanda’s too busy reading. Will you come with me?” Micheal’s hair had been shaved off because of whatever he kept going to the doctor for but he still had those pleading blue eyes. Rufus sat at his feet looking at Myra imploringly.

“Sure. Do you have a jar to put them in?” Myra asked standing.

“No. I just let them crawl around on my hands and then let them go. It feels wrong to trap them.” Micheal said taking her hand.

She and Micheal ran around the yard trying to catch the glowing insects. Micheal got tired after a while so she brought him some herself. He rode on her shoulders into the house. 

“Can we do something fun tomorrow?” He asked. 

Myra smiled at the small child. “I have just the place. Let’s go see if anyone else wants to go.”

Micheal ran into the living room. “Myra’s gonna take us someplace tomorrow does anyone else want to come?” He smiled happily.

“Oh, honey. Your papa and I have to work tomorrow and I don’t think Myra can handle an eight year old by herself.” said James picking up Micheal. 

Micheal looked sad and looked at Myra apologetically.

“I’ll go with them.” Amanda said not looking up from her book. “I’m more than capable of handling an eight and ten year old.” 

And so it was settled. Myra told them to be ready with bathing suits and towels in the morning. She then led them into the wood, Amanda complaining along the way about bugs and trees. Micheal followed her eagerly down the path to the lake. Amanda sat on the edge of a rock with her feet in the water as Micheal and Myra swam around and Rufus kicked up dirt and water. 

“Amanda!” Micheal yelled at his sister.

“What?” She shouted back.

“Are you going to be boring all day or are you gonna have some fun?” Myra yelled.

“Did you just call me boring?” 

“Yes she did!” Micheal yelled with a smile. “Even Rufus thinks you’re boring.”

“Well, I never.” 

“You never what? Have fun?” Myra laughed and splashed her before pulling the screaming girl into the lake.

“I’ll get you both for this!” Amanda yelled. 

Myra swam away with Micheal holding onto her. They spent a while just running away from the teenager before the three of them began floating around and listening to Rufus play with the fish. Myra carried the tired eight year old back to the house on her shoulders and Amanda ordered them to take showers. 

The next day she and Micheal swung on the swing set. He would laugh and tell her jokes. Rufus seemed to take a liking to Micheal again, not following Myra everywhere and instead going off to find the boy. She started reading him stories at night. 

“- and then the cat fell asleep.” she finished and closed the book.

“Myra?” said the sleepy kid.

“Yeah?”

“Can I call you my sister?” he yawned.

“Why would you want to do that?” Myra asked. 

“Because I love you. You’re already pretty much my sister and I think you’d be the best sister anyone could ask for.” 

“Sure.” Myra said uncertainly.

After that Micheal called her his sister and Amanda started to do the same. The three came back from the lake one night to find there dad’s home with pizza.

“Hey Papa, can you hand me the plates?” Myra asked Corey. Corey almost dropped them when he handed them to her. 

James came in with groceries. “I got it, Dad!” Myra said grabbing two of the bags from his hands. The two husbands looked at each other then at Myra and then smiled. 

Micheal asked about Andy a lot. 

“Do you think he’d like me?” He asked her one night when they were looking at the stars on the grass.

“I think so. He’s very rambunctious. When he was little he would always be playing in the dirt.” Myra said fondly.

“Will I ever get to meet him?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’re my sister so that like makes him my brother right?”

“Sure.”

“I love all my family and I want to meet all of them.” Micheal said with a smile as bright as the sun. “I want to tell him all the things he’s missed about having you as an older sister. I want to show him how Amanda can ignore everything around her when she’s reading. I want to show him how Dad likes to play with Papa’s hair when they lay on the couch together. I want to show him all the happy things in our life so he never worries that his sister is sad.” 

“I think he’d like that.” Myra said smiling to the little kid. 

“I sure hope so.”

It was another day at the lake when it happened. Micheal was sitting on a rock and he passed out. Amanda freaked out and grabbed her brother getting him out of the water before he could drown. She laid him on the ground and put her ear to his mouth.

“He’s not breathing. Myra, Myra listen to me. Run back to the house and call nine one one then call Papa. Then wait for the ambulance and lead the EMT’s down here. Myra, do you understand?” Amanda said. Myra nodded numbly and watched as Amanda began to start compression’s and counting softly to herself. 

Myra ran inside and picked up the phone and dialed in the three numbers drilled into every child's head. “Nine-one-one whats your emergency?”

“My brothers not breathing! He’s down by the lake. Please send some one quick.” Myra rushed out. 

“Can you tell us where you are?”

Myra listed off the address. 

“Is CPR being preformed?”

“Yes my sister is down there. She’s trained.”

“Do not move him unless absolutely necessary.”

“Yes sir.”

Myra called Corey next. Her breathing was fast and she was in tears. 

“Hello?”

“Papa! Micheal’s passed out he’s not breathing.” 

“I’m on my way call us if you go to the hospital. I’ll call your Dad.”

The ambulance came in a flash of lights and Myra led them through the woods to where Amanda was still doing compression's with tears streaked down her face. The EMT’s took over and whisked Micheal away. Amanda and Myra rode with the police officers who called Corey and James to let them know they were on the way to the hospital.

Myra and Amanda waited away from their fathers. Amanda held Myra’s hand like a vice grip and jumped whenever the door to the doctor’s side of the waiting room opened. Myra was confused but couldn’t bring herself to ask what was going on.

A female doctor entered and walked over to their fathers and Amanda walked stiffly over dragging Myra with her.

��He’s stable but we don’t think we can allow him to leave the hospital. He just doesn’t have much time left.”

“What do you mean time left?” Myra shouted.

“Myra.” Corey said softly.

“He’s just a little kid! He should have more time left than anyone here! Papa whats going on?” Myra shouted, tears streaming down her face. 

James got level with Myra and looked her in the eyes. “Micheal’s got cancer. We’ve known for a while that the treatments weren’t working. Micheal made the decision to quit.”

“But he’s just a little boy.”

“Sometimes bad things happen to even the youngest of us.” James said softly.

“I’ve already lost one brother, now I’m going to lose two!” Myra yelled and kicked James in the leg to get him to let go of her. She ran into Amanda’s arms and sobbed. She cried big ugly tears that made her face feel like it was melting. Amanda just held her unsure of what else she could do.

They were led back to Micheal’s room. Seeing her brother hooked up to all those big scary machines made Myra want to run up and punch cancer in the face. But cancer wasn’t big enough for her to punch in the face. Cancer was just big enough to take the life of an eight year old boy. 

Micheal woke up after a day and he was talking to them over the beeping of the machines.

“Papa,” He asked Corey, his voice wavering. “Am I gonna die?”

“We don’t know, bud.” Corey said softly.

Micheal nodded. “I don’t wanna die. I wanna live. I want to see Myra smile again. Even if it all hurts.”

Myra sniffled and held onto her brothers hand which looked so tiny on the white sheets. 

The family sat and talked for a while. Mostly about nothing but it meant everything to Myra. After a few minutes of silence after their dads had fallen asleep and Amanda had left to get some water.

“Myra?” 

“Yeah?”

“Tell Andy... I took care of his sister ... for as long as possible.” He coughed. 

“No, Micheal you can tell Andy that yourself.” 

Micheal just smiled and the heart monitor slowly went into one monotonous beep. 

“Micheal? Micheal! Brother!” Myra yelled waking her fathers. “Somebody, please help!” 

“Micheal?” Corey asked softly, running over to the bed. 

The doctors came in and pushed them out. The doctors did all they could but Micheal was gone. Amanda cried for day’s cursing cancer and god and doctors. Myra was right beside her crying as well. Their dads moved about like Zombies, numbly doing whatever needed done and prepping for the funeral. 

Myra called up Anna after three days.

“Hello?”

“Anna? I need to talk to Andy soon. I need to tell him about my brother.”

[hazzamylouworld-blog]

Valerie

"Are you sure?" Harry's husky voice hums in Louis' ear. He shivers. "I'm sure, Hazza. I love you. I've always loved you." Harry's smile nearly lights up his dark bedroom. "I love you too, Lou. I really, really do. This night is so special to me. I've planned it out in my head dozens of times but this is so much better." "Your heart is racing." "I should've lit candles...tosses rose pedals on the bed or something, you deserve the world-" "Your air freshener will do..and rose pedals would only get stuck to my hands." "Are you ready? Promise to tell me if I hurt you?" "Harry, just k-" "LOUIS! Earth to LOUIS!" Louis snaps out of his daydream quickly, blinking in confusion and locking eyes with his co-worker Perrie. "Day dream about that fit boyfriend of yours later, we've got customers." She says with a wink. Louis doesn't feel much like winking back as all the scents of the ice cream shop smack him in the face again. Louis is seventeen and he's worked in this ice cream shop since he was fourteen. He loved in even before then and he's never, absolutely never had a problem with the sweet aromas of the ice creams. And he's surely never felt nauseated by it. Until now. So yes, daydreaming back to the moment he lost his virginity to his long time boyfriend, Harry Styles two months ago, feels far better than attempting not to throw up on the tubs of ice cream below him. Or heaven forbid a customer. He feels terrible. But he only has an hour left before closing so he figures he can make it. Then he'll call Harry. Because Harry is wonderful and can cure any type of ailment Louis is having because he's just magic in that way. "Ugh I wanna go home.." Louis moans, burying his head in his arms, "I feel sick..." "Suuuuure you do. I'm sure Harry will be just fine without you for another hour, Lewis." Perrie teases. "Are you positive? I'm not so sure." Louis' head snaps up at the sound of his curly headed boyfriend. The movement makes his stomach turn and he cringes. "What are you doing here?" "You've asked me the same question for three years and I'll give you the same answer-as long as my boyfriend is able to provide me with free ice cream you'll see me at least once a month." Louis gives him a small smile. "Fine. But get it yourself. The smell is making me sick to my stomach." Harry frowns. "Are you alright, boo? You look awfully pale." "It's probably just from being tired. I'm going straight to bed when I get home." "Need someone to tuck you in?" Harry smirks, filling a cone sky high with ice cream. "I'd like to snuggle for a bit. Think your mum would mind me sleeping over?" "You know she loves you. Just pretend you're going to sleep in the guest room." Louis rolls his eyes. "She knows I NEVER sleep in that room." Harry shrugs. "She doesn't say anything so I don't change anything." "Ok but nothing too rough tonight-" "I really don't need to hear this." Perrie says with a laugh and walks to the back. Harry shoots her a big, mischievous smile and Louis rolls his eyes. "Like I was saying. I really just want to sleep. I've felt sick all day.." Harry nods, whisking a bit of hair off Louis' forehead. "Louis, I only want to do it when YOU feel comfortable. That's not why I invited you over. Please don't ever think of me that way. Just because we did it once doesn't mean we ever have to do it again until we're married-" Louis beams. "You want to marry me?" Harry pulls him into his chest. "Course I do. I always have. Ever since you walked into theater the first day of sixth grade. I always knew you were the one, even before then. Even when our mum's changed our nappy's side by side, I probably knew." "Now you're just trying to sweet talk me." "I'm not. I love you." Louis groans. "Even when I feel like puking up my whole tummy?" Harry scrunches his nose, placing his ice cream down on the counter. "I feel a little less like eating but yes I still love you, even then." "Oh just go on, you two. I'll close up." "Are you sure?" "Yes. Zayn will be here any minute anyway. Feel better, Lou. Heard curls are the best medicine." "Wouldn't know that with Zayn, would you?" She rolls her eyes. "Get out before I change my mind." -- "Harry...Harry...wake up, please.." Louis whimpers, poking his yeti of a boyfriend in the back. "Mmgh leave me 'lone, Lou. T's early. We've got school in the morning." "Harry, please...I need you. I really don't feel well....." "T's wrong?" Harry asks, without turning over. "It's my stomach....I feel like throwing up." "Hm. Again?" Harry turns over this time, blinking himself awake. Louis' been waking him up nearly every time he stays over now from an upset tummy. The boy has been throwing up off and on for about a week now and Harry would be lying if he said he wasn't worried for him. "Ughhhh yes H. It's really bad. Can you help me?" "Of course." Harry sits up and quickly helps Louis into his bathroom before the boy crashes onto his knees and vomits all he had for dinner. And he doesn't give an explanation even when Harry asks for one. They just simply go back to sleep. - "Come on, Lou. Pick up the phone.." Harry worries, biting his lip. He's on his way over to Louis' now to pick him up for school and he's usually heard from the boy by now. He's called him three times with no answer and with the way he's been feeling and acting lately, Harry's worried. The boy is always tired and his stomach is SO sensitive these days, he's nearly always queasy or throwing up. Harry reaches Louis' house in record time and nearly beats his door down. His sister, Lottie, answers the door with a slight frown. "He's upstairs. He's feeling really ill again. I don't think he'll make it to school today." Harry frowns and rushes up the stairs to his love's room. "Lou?" He calls gently, opening the door. Louis groans from the lump of comforter in the middle of the bed. "Babe?" "M'sick. Don't get too close. I've been throwing up all morning." Harry sighs. "You're always throwing up. Lou, you aren't...I mean...you aren't like...look, you aren't fat in any way so if you're trying to-" "You think I'm making myself throw up?" "N-no I just-" "I don't have an eating disorder, Harry. I'm legitimately sick and before you ask to stay and take care of me, don't bother." "Lou, I-" "Bye Harry." "Louis, don't be like this, I-" "Don't be like what, Harry?! Sensitive is that it?  Well excuse me if I'm a bit emotional I've been throwing up for a month now consistently and I'm clearly shit with luck because I can't stop catching the stomach bug." "Louis, I don't think this is a stomach bug." "Shut up, Harry. Just don't say another word. I want to be alone." Harry sighs. "I love you." A sniffle from the comforter catches Harry's attention immediately. "I love you too. I'm so sorry. I'm just sick of feeling shit." Harry sighs. "I know you are, love. It must be so rough. But I'm here for you, ok? I would stay and take care of you but I've got a huge test and I-" "No that's ok, really. Lottie has a half day today and she said she'd skip and take care of me. I'll see you this afternoon." "So we're done fighting?" "Don't bring it up and we will be." "Deal." Louis makes sure he hears the door close before he wiggles out from his comforter. "Lotts?" He calls. He hears her stomping up the stairs quickly. "I've got it. Is he gone?" "He's gone." Louis takes the box from Lottie's hand shakily and bites his lip. "I'm not ready to be a parent.." "Just take the test, Louis." - "Is there another brand I can take?!" Louis begs, biting his nail. "Louis....you've taken every kind ever made I think. Can I come in?" "Uhm....I...I guess." Lottie walks in to find Louis a mess on his bathroom floor, a stick in his hand with two very distinctive lines. "I'll call the doctor." - The doctor only proves what Louis has pretty much known the entire time. He's pregnant. Three months now. And the nausea should stop soon although that's really the least of his problems now. He's seventeen. He's still in HIGH SCHOOL. How can he HAVE A CHILD?! How can he tell Harry he's going to have a baby? His head is spinning and his eyes drop tears onto the ultrasound picture the technician printed for him. He's terrified but he's also never felt as strong a bond with anything or anyone in his life than the tiny life growing in his tummy. He thought he would never love anyone as much as he does Harry but watching that small blob twitch on the screen, a small blob that's half him and half Harry, his heart felt like exploding. But he's also terrified. He doesn't even know how to TELL Harry. What if he leaves him? What if he doesn't want a child? - Louis is a shaking mess when he finally builds up the courage to knock on Harry's door. He's mid-second knock when the door flies open and he's brought into a tight hug. "Thank God! I've been trying to call you all day. I thought something terrible happened to you." Harry mumbles into his shoulder, heart thudding against Louis' chest. "We need to talk." "Are you...are you breaking up with me?" "What? NO! No! Harry, it's not that, I promise. But it is important and it's really big and shocking news, so I really need you to sit down, ok?" - Harry has been staring, pale faced and silent, at the ultrasound picture in his hands for a good five minutes now. "Harry, are you-" "We're going to be dads?" "I....I mean, I am. I fully support your decision even if you want to leave us behind and-" "So you think I'm an ass hole?" "What? No! Harry of course I don't. I just...I'm carrying the child, you aren't." "And so you think I'll leave just because the baby is in your stomach not mine?" "Ugh Harry! You're giving me a headache. No! I just-" "Louis, have I ever told you that I loved you?" "Um....yes. Everyday." "Have I ever told you that I'll always love you?" Louis nods. "And does always mean all the time except for unforeseen circumstances?" "No but-" "Then I love you. And...I love this baby. This isn't going to be easy. In fact, it's going to be really, really hard. But we can do this. We can figure this out." - And they do. Louis decides to homeschool after Harry beats up two guys who have nasty things to say about Louis being pregnant. It's actually worked out better though because Louis was having to raise his hand every five minutes in class to either go throw up or wee so it was rather unproductive being there anyway. And Harry stays over most nights, cuddled up to his tummy. And he still works at the ice cream shop where Perrie gushes over his tummy and potential baby names. - They figure out it's a girl and Louis immediately starts scouring the internet for baby girl names. But he sees absolutely nothing he likes. And he and Harry have searched through baby girl name lists every single night this week with no luck. He's just sneaking a scoop of birthday cake ice cream (baby girl Tommo's favorite) when the song "Valerie" comes on. He beams. Because Harry has sung this song to him so many times that the words are permanently burned into his brain. He shakes his hips side to side but abruptly stops in embarrassment when he hears the little bell at the door ring signaling that a customer has just walked in. But he turns and it's not just a customer. It's Harry and he's on one knee and he's beaming like maybe he had something to do with the song choice. And he's got a ring. Louis' eyes widen and he brings his hands up to his mouth like any stereotypical engagement scene. "What are you-" "I have loved you ever since I can remember. My heart beats in sync with yours. My brain has a Louis mode that I can never quite fully turn off. You make me lose my breath and feel like the first breath of fresh air I've ever had all at the same time. We're having a baby together, Louis. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm bloody scared to death. But I'll have you. And nothing with you has ever been anything short of amazing. And I know this will be too. And as your belly grows, so does my love for you. So...Louis William Tomlinson, will you marry me?" Tears fall down Louis' face dropping down onto his  bump just beginning to poke from his t shirts. "Yes, YES I WILL!" He screams. Harry slips the ring on and embraces Louis in a warm hug, placing his large hand on his belly, giving it a bit of a rub. "You look beautiful like this." "Valerie." "What?" "Valerie. Her name is Valerie." - It's 4 AM. It's 4 AM and Louis is twenty four weeks pregnant. It's 4 AM and Harry snores by his hip completely unaware that Louis is not snoozing beside him. But Louis isn't. Because it's 4 AM and Louis is silently crying. Because he's still seventeen. And he's three months away from becoming a parent. And he doesn't know what he's doing. He lets out a small sob that immediately awakens Harry. Which is new because like...Harry never used to wake up for anything. (He even slept through Louis pouring a bucket of water down his pants as a prank once but anyway-) Harry jumps up and Louis soon feels arms cradling him and hands on his belly but his heart is still racing and his breathing is still erratic and he's having a full blown panic attack. "Lou, shhhhh hey, hey. Focus on my voice ok? Hear my voice? Lie your head down on my chest. Try to sync your breaths with mine ready?" Louis' breathing soon calms but the tears don't stop flowing and now he's drenching Harry's shirt and gripping it tightly between his fists. "Want to tell me what's going on?" "I...I don't know what I'm DOING, Harry. I'm going to be a terrible dad. I don't know how to raise a baby! I barely know how to take care of myself, I'm only SEVENTEEN. My kid is going to HATE me." "How can you say that, Lou? She loves you already. You're doing everything perfectly. You're already creating a safe home for her tucked away in your belly, aren't you? You're going to be a great dad. I've seen you with your sisters, you're amazing with them. And even when you think you're failing, I'll be there to tell you how well you're doing." Louis sniffles wetly. "What if she doesn't like me? S-she..she won't even kick for me...." He whimpers. "Hey, don't be like that, Lou. You heard the tech. She is kicking up a storm in there. You just can't feel her yet." "W-why won't she let me feel?" "Bec-" Louis feels a sudden jolt from his belly and his eyes widen. "What?" Harry asks, watching his face in worry. "She...I think she-" Harry beams. "She didn't-JUST NOW?" "Right here! Right here by my belly button." Harry presses a hand to his belly and feels a jolt only seconds later. "I told you! I told you she loved you, you're going to be the best dad in the world." Louis giggles wetly. "I love you." He kisses Harry and lies down, feeling his belly come to life with kicks from his sweet Valerie. And sleep finally finds him. - "Woo...hmm....wooo...alright..alright 12=6x+78 and ugh...." Louis lies back on his headboard for the fourth time this morning and massages his fingers into his belly. He has loads of homework to do but he keeps getting rather painful cramps in his stomach that keep disrupting his work. "Hohhhh ok..just try and ignore them, Louis..ignore them and they'll go away." He mumbles to himself, biting his pencil and typing in his answer to his math problem. A hand rubs steadily on his thirty eight week bump as the cramp lingers on a bit longer. He checks the time and groans. He's got to be at work in just under two hours and he was hoping to grab a nap before going on but it doesn't look possible now as the pile of homework he has refuses to grow any smaller. Harry has begged him time and time again to take a break from work but Louis wants to make as much money as he can before the baby comes. Sure, both their families have loads of money but Louis wants to be self-sufficient for his little family. He scrolls down to the next problem and sets his computer aside, setting his notebook on his rounded belly. He begins writing the problem down, biting his tongue in concentration. His phone rings and he growls in frustration, tossing his notebook down and grabbing his phone from the side table. "WHAT?" "Well hello to you too, grumpy." "I've got a LOT of work today before actually going into work, Harry. What do you need?" "I was just checking on you. Was going to ask how your belly was feeling. I got your text about the cramps." Louis sighs. "I'm fine, Harry. I'm just busy and I'm sure they'll go away once I actually get to rest." "Ok love. Call me if you need anything. I'm house hunting." Louis smiles softly. "Find anything?" "Can't tell you, you've got work to do. Get to it, Daddy. I'll see you after work." "Fluff my pillow for me, I'm going straight to bed, I've got such a long shift, my back will be killing me." "You got it. Love you." "I love you too, H. He hangs up and clicks his phone to silent, not wanting ANY interruptions. He NEEDS that nap before work and he intends on getting it. He picks his notebook back up and begins writing the problem down again. Valeria gives a big, uncomfortable stretch sending an awful pain through Louis entire belly and down low in his back. He grips his pencil and grimaces, attempting to ignore like before but it grows and he's no longer able to focus on his math. He drops his pencil and massages his sides again, kneading his knuckles into his solid bump. It's firm beneath his hands and the tightness only makes the cramp that much more uncomfortable. "Mmmm...." Louis moans, rubbing a large circle into his skin, massaging over the top with the other, "Woooo......hmm..." The pain fades and he once again picks up his notebook to finish his homework. He finishes up all he has to work on, only experiencing three or four cramps along the way. He's noticed them growing a bit stronger now and he's not even sure he'll be able to sleep through them. But he's going to try. He scoots down the bed, belly feeling like heavy lead, and pulls both arms up to his face, curling up. He doesn't bother looking at his phone, really not wanting to know what little time he has to nap now. It's ten minutes. His alarm blares obnoxiously in his ear and he whimpers. But he's at least glad it wasn't a cramp that woke up. The gladness is short lived though. He sits up and throws his legs over the side of the bed and puts his hands down to the bed to push himself up when he feels another cramp radiate through his firm middle. "Ugh...." He moans lightly, scrunching his face and placing a hand over his belly. He presses one hand into the bed and the other rubs circles into his skin. "Woooooo......wooooooooo...." He breathes, rubbing his belly and rolling his head from side to side, "Mhmmmmmnnmmm....wooooooooo..." The pain recedes and he stands up, pulling his shirt off. He bends down to grab his ice cream t shirt out of his drawer and groans when his back flares with pain. "Ughhhhhh..." He stands and massages at his back with his fingers. He bends down and pulls down his joggers and immediately feels a cramp wrap around his belly, clenching his muscles tightly. "Mmmmgh..." He groans, pressing both hands to his belly. His belly quivers slightly in hands and he groans again, rubbing his hands forward. The pain finally ends and he blows out a puff of air before waddling over to his closet and grabbing a pair of skinny jeans with an elastic waist (he's huge now). He pulls them up and sighs. "Valerie babe. What are you doing to me, love?" He hums, pressing a hand to the bottom of his tight t-shirt. His belly button pokes through it now and all the ladies that walk in think it's adorable. Louis hates it. He feels like a whale. And not the cute one on his shirt with the ice cream cone. A huge, fat, pregnant whale. He slides his feet into his adidas, frowning when he realizes Harry isn't there to tie them. Stupid house hunting. He attempts to bend, belly falling between his knees. He groans as pain sparks everywhere in his body at the shift. He feels Valerie give a big push downward. He can feel every tiny little move she's been making today and it was cute when he first woke up, but now after the constant cramps in his tummy, it's starting to annoy him. He waddles into his bathroom and tries to fix his hair. He feels his belly roll in pain and grips the counter, hand pressed to the top of his bump. "Mmmgh....ughhh...wooo...woooooooo...." He bends forward and buries his head into one hand, dropping the other to his stomach and rubbing down his side. It takes a bit longer to end this time but it does eventually. He waddles out to his car and starts it up, regretting this shift more than any other in his whole ice cream scooping career. His belly falls between his legs and he has to push his seat all the way back to allow room for it. It's as if it's grown or at least changed shape overnight. He begins driving and makes it nearly the entire drive to the ice cream shop before he feels his tummy contract again. It presses uncomfortably into the steering wheel and he grits his teeth. "Hoh...hoh.....hohhhhhhwoooooo...." He pulls into the ice cream shop parking lot and parks, resting his head on the steering wheel for a moment to get his bearings. He finally gets his breathing back to normal and steps out of his car. He walks into the ice cream shop and goes behind the counter, offering a small smile to Perrie. "You look absolutely massive today. And your tum is nearly between your knees!" "Thanks Perrie. T's exactly what I needed today."  He lies his head down and groans. "Hey, are you alright?" "I really don't feel good at all today, actually." Perrie frowns. "I'm sorry, Louis." "It's fine. It's fine, all for a good cause, yeah?" He places a hand below his belly and sighs, closing his eyes when he feels a cramp coming on. "Woooo...wooo...." He breathes through it, wanting desperately to groan out but he's now in a professional environment. He gets a mere five minutes to collect himself before guests begin pouring in. His belly sits smashed into the counter as he bends over it, handing out sample after sample. "Mmph.." He moans quietly to himself, gripping the counter and grimacing. Another cramp ripples over his belly and he closes his eyes in attempt to shut the noise of the shop out. "Everything alright over there, Louis?" Perrie calls. "Hmmm yeah, yeah I'm fine thanks!" He rubs his front a few times and then shakes it off, going back to his customers. A customer decides now is the perfect opportunity to bombard him with requests and questions. And the opportunity isn't perfect. Because Louis' stomach is killing him with an awful cramp and he can barely find the strength to not drop to the floor. "Woooo.....woooooo....wooo....." He rubs circles into his skin as his belly shifts and misshapes with the pain, "Fuck..." He whispers unintentionally and the lady's eyes widen. "I'm sorry..No. That wasn't directed to you! I'm really sorry. I'm....I'm...I'm so sorry I'm just uncomfortable. I didn't mean to take it out on you, I'm sorry." "Are you alright?" "I'm ok, thank you." It makes her stop asking questions so at least there's that. "Wooo....wooo....mmmmmghhhh..." An hour has passed and the crowd continues to grow. Louis finds himself gripping onto the counter, rubbing his side and biting his tongue harshly through the cramps that have grown steadily both in intensity and time. "Hoh....hoh.....hmmmmm..." "Louis, would you mind grabbing the register?" Perrie asks. Louis feels like crying but somehow manages to waddle over to it. His belly presses uncomfortably into the register and contracts tightly beneath his top. He pushes a hand beneath his shirt and rubs directly to the skin. "Wooo....woooooooooooooo...." He breathes harshly through his nose and closes his eyes tightly. "Are you ok, sir?" A patron asks and his eyes shoot open. He nods sheepishly. "Yeah...hoh...yeah, yeah I'm fine. Um...what did you.....have?" "A small vanilla cone.." she says, voice still unsure. "Sorry...I probably look terrible....I just...I'm having a rough day." She nods. "I hope it gets better, dear." "Thank you." She walks away and he throws his head back. "Ughhhhhh...." The line grows longer and Louis' pain management grows shorter as the pains keep coming harshly. His belly presses into the counter tightly with a really intense, pressure-filled cramp and he nearly cries out. He rubs his sides rhythmically and hums. "You look uncomfortable." A customer says in sympathy. "I am..." "How much longer do you have." "Woooooo....two weeks, I hope." "For your sake, so do I. Good luck dear." He nods. At least the customers are generous. "Ohhhhhh..." He moans out, bending slightly over the counter and rubbing his sides. "You look ready to pop." A customer comments, next in line. "Hohhhh I think I'm in the process of popping....ohhhhhhgh..." He moans, face scrunched and hands pressed to his sides. "Wooo...wooo...alright....sorry, sorry. Mmgh these cramps are just awful...." The customer frowns. "Are you in labor?" Louis gives her a scared look and he shrugs. "I....I don't know." She nods. "Um...I think you might want to at least sit down." He nods. "Perrie...could I um...could I get a chair?" "Of course, Louis." The customer pushes one towards the counter and Louis nods thankfully at her before finishing ringing her up. She brings over the chair and rushes back over to the other side. Louis grips onto the back of the chair and rubs a hand over his belly as it quivers and twinges painfully. "Wooo...." Once it ends, he waddles in front it and sits down. The baby feels low in his belly and he almost feels like he's nearly sitting on her head. There's so much pressure suddenly in the bottom of his belly and he sits on one bum cheek in attempt to alleviate the discomfort. "Oww...oww....." Three more customers come to him and his hands shake violently ringing them up, stomach contracting with little to no rest time. "P-Perrie, I don't think I can do much more.....my stomach is cramping like mad. I really think I need to lie down in the back for a bit." Perrie stares at him in worry. "I think you should call Harry. Your stomach definitely looks different...I think you might be in labor..." She says, putting a hand to his rock hard middle. He walks off without a word, her hand dropping off quickly. He waddles to the break room bathroom and sits on the toilet, being hit with terrible cramps and pressure. "Ughhhhhowwwwwww..." He growls, gripping onto his thigh. His belly gives a big jolt and a gush of water pours from him. "FUCK." He screams. He stands up and abruptly feels his belly roll in pain. He grips onto the wall, whimpering and bending over himself. "Ughhhh please NOT NOW VALERIE, PLEASE." Valerie gives a big push and he gasps. Once the pain recedes, he's able to waddle back to the couch and grab his phone. He dials Harry quickly and places a hand on his belly. It rings and he feels his belly bear down with another contraction. "Ohhhhhhhh...ohhhhhhhh..." He groans, rubbing his hand in a large circle. "Hello?" "HARRY. I need you." "Why? What's happened?!" "I'm....ohhhhhhhhhhh fuck...my tummy. I...I...those cramps from earlier weren't just cramps...they...they were contractions. FUCK. HARRY I'M IN LABOR. My water broke." "WHAT?" "OWWWW I HAVE TO GO, HURRY!" Harry finds the ice cream store has a closed sign on it when he arrives so he at least knows Perrie is with Louis now instead of working. He barges in and begins yelling for his love. "We're back here, Harry!" Perrie calls. Harry bursts through the break room door and sees Louis gripping onto his knee and Perrie rubbing circles into his exposed belly. "Oh love..." "It huuuuurts, its hurt so bad, Harry!" "Let's get you to a hospital, yeah?" Louis nods. "Can you walk?" Louis shakes his head. Harry quickly lifts him bridal style and Louis grips onto his quivering tummy. Harry drops him back to the ground when they get to the car and Louis groans, pressing his face into his arms, flush to the car. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." "Ok..ok sorry babe. Had to open the door, lets go." Harry helps Louis into the passenger seat and Louis immediately grips the door handle, grimacing and groaning out harshly. Harry can see his belly bear down and change shape with the contraction and bites his lip. "We don't have a lot of time, do we?" "Ughhhh hurry!" Louis presses his head to the head rest and grunts. Harry sighs and pulls off to the side of the road. Louis' eyes bulge. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" "We aren't going to make it to the hospital, babe." "WHAT WE-NO! NO WE HAVE TO!" "Relax love. I've been reading a baby book every night, ok? I need you to pull your pants down." "NO HARRY I UGHHHHHHH..." "Do it NOW, Louis. You're already pushing, love. You need to relax and let nature take over. Don't try to keep her in there, it could harm her. "Hohohohohoh..." Louis breathes harshly, allowing Harry to pull his pants down, "NNNNNGHHHHHHAHHHHHH......" "I knew it. Lou, her head is partially out of you already. Let's do it this, babe. Together. One two three.." He pushes harder this time and her whole head pushes through. Harry beams. "She's got your nose." "NNNNNNNNNGHHHHHHHHH..." "My shoulders it would appear, think they're stuck.." Harry pulls a bit which makes Louis scream in agony, "Sorry, was trying to help." "DON'T." He pushes three more times and sweet Valerie Lee bursts onto the scene, screaming and crying. "She's here, Lou! You did it!" "You...I...I couldn't have done it without you." Harry beams and cuts the cord with his shoelace before handing her to Louis. "I told you not to go to work." "Fuck you." "I love you so much, Louis." "I love you, Harry." Three months later, little Valerie Lee is carried down the isle like a princess straight to her fathers just before they kiss and say I do. And for dessert? Ice cream. And this time when they make love in their honeymoon suite.. Harry gets his scented candles and rose pedals.

[umichenginabroad]

Woo Uber Saviors! Woo Start-Ups! Woo Preventable Diarrhea!

9:25 PM Monday June 25, 2018 | Bangalore, India

Laying in my hotel room bed, staying close to the bathroom I am thinking about how just last week I was eating a donor in an U-Bahn station in Berlin. The last four days have been eventful with me adjusting to life in Bangalore with a 9 hour work day from Monday to Friday, the craaazy traffic that I was warned about, and a sad, most definitely preventable case of diarrhea. I want to share some insights I’ve learned within the first few days.

It seems that the morning alarm for the city is the sound of thousands of Uber apps simultaneously chiming, alerting drivers of interns that will be late for their third day of work if they don’t come in the next 26 minutes.  Every day I wake up around 8:15 AM and contribute to the morning alarm. If I call them at the right time (around 8:45 AM), they will arrive in around 7-10 minutes. If I am even 10 minutes late, because it’s so close to the top of the hour, it may take them 20-30 minutes to even arrive! And that’s hoping that they don’t cancel on you mid-journey! On Friday I was 40 minutes late to the office because of this. I live less than 5 km from my office so on a good day at the right time it should only take about 10 minutes in an Uber. But honestly there never really seems to be a “good time” to call an Uber in Bangalore. I’ve found myself sitting in an Uber for over 30 minutes on the way to work!

Only in Bangalore does a 3 minute walk take 23 minutes by car!!!

I think everyone can agree that Bangalore traffic is problematic—in terms of efficiency but also in terms of pollution. The start-up that I’m interning at is called Sun Mobility. The company designs and manufactures battery swap mechanisms for electric vehicles. Their goal is to work with vehicle manufacturers to make all public transportation in India electric and capable of using their battery swap mechanism to reduce cost, increase range, and eliminate recharge wait time of EVs. It’s a super cool idea you can learn more about from the website: http://www.sunmobility.co.in/

The people I’ve come to know and work with at this company are hardworking and driven. I am inspired by how many of my co-workers work late into the night and on weekends. A big part of start-up culture is putting in 110% to completing projects on time and staying on track for major milstones. It’s so clear that everyone in the company is completely invested and excited to move India in the direction EVs, and it’s starting to become clear why. Sitting in traffic for 40+ minutes every day to work, while inconvenient and at times uncomfortable, brings people so close to the issue they are working so hard to solve, almost as a reminder of what they are fighting for. I find that in the US, it can be difficult to explain to people that their everyday actions have an effect on climate change when in Ann Arbor, Michigan there are usually blue skies and rarely any major weather related issues. But in fact, the consequences of these actions are felt ten-fold across the world by islands, impoverished areas, and developing countries like India…

Finally part of the Sun Mobility fam! Everyone here drinks chai out of these mugs and now I have one! :’)

So far the company culture has been great! Everyone has their desk on the top floor of the warehouse we work in. The ground floor is the workshop space where the battery swap mechanisms are being manufactured. The company is relatively new and just started in 2017. In a year the company has grown to over 100 employees! I do want to note that most of these employees are men.  In the mechanical/mechatronic/design part of the company, I am the only female. A handful of women are in business and software, but most are in HR. But so far I haven’t faced any issues and enjoy working with the people in my department.

Besides work I’ve been trying to get acclimated to the food! Since my parents are from Delhi I’m used to north Indian cuisine, so every day is a new adventure. Lunch is provided at my company and usually cooked in the kitchen! It’s AMAZING. After 4 days with room service/restaurant style, Indian food you really start to appreciate home cooking.

This is what I had for lunch last week at the office! [Note: before realizing I should’ve avoided the raita [yogurty mix of vegetables] [note: even though it’s my favorite side] bc of the uncooked tomatoes and cucumber inside]  

And speaking of eating, coming straight from Berlin I must’ve just forgotten everything I’ve ever known about India because this is not the first time I’ve been here and this is definitely not the first time I’ve had ~bowel issues~ here.  If you’ve never been to India or maybe you are planning a trip here, you should buy my book: Heena’s Guide to Dealing with the Diarrhea You Know You Could’ve Prevented if You Didn’t Drink that Water They Said was Drinkable but It’s OK Because We’ve All Been There and I Am Gonna Help You!

Here’s an excerpt:

1. Stay clear of certain foods like uncooked vegetables, fruits without peels, and street food (I broke all those rules in the first 72 hours of my arrival woo!)

2. “Drinking water” served at restaurants and labeled on public drinking fountains IS NOT REGULAR DRINKING WATER. Unless you are a local it is highly advised to NOT drink that water. (Since I was constantly around locals, I forgot that this water wasn’t safe for me and so at every restaurant I would drink the water… and A LOT of it)

3. Don’t get scammed and pay anything over 30 rupees for a bottle of water. On my first night out I almost bought a bottle from a market place for 425 rupees!!!! ALSO make sure you’re buying from a credible/well-lit place that isn’t using recycled/discolored bottles and filling them up with local drinking water.

4. Also AVOID ICE as it is probably frozen “drinking water” your immune system can’t handle

5. Now that you have the most definitely preventable case of diarrhea download Brooklyn-Nine Nine on Netflix and breathe (India’s Netflix is great btw! Check out LUST Stories too!)

6. Cut out dairy, spicy foods, and fibers

7. Just eat some plain rice and bananas and super bland food for a while

8. Stay near a bathroom!

9. Bring a flashlight to work so when the automatic lights go out after 3 minutes (for increased work productivity) you can still find the toilet paper while you’re in their 7 times a day

10. Call Heena! She will give motivational speeches and send you #wholesomememes and get you through this!!

Thanks for reading! More to come soon!!

Heena Singh | Class of 2019 | Mechanical Engineering | Energy Concentration | India Internship Initiative| Sun Mobility | Bangalore, India

[realityofrealism-blog]

The Alabaster Advantage

“We have been known to prefer plot to truth; to deny the evidence before us in favor of the ideas behind us; to do insane things in the name of reason; to take that satisfying step from righteous to the self-righteous; to drown our private guilts in a public well; to indulge in a little delusion.”

-Stacy Schiff

 I read this excerpt a couple days ago when I started reading the book “The Witches” by Stacy Schiff, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I originally began reading this book to help with inspiration for a creative collaborative collection of “self enchantment” that I’ve been working on in anticipation of the autumn equinox (September 21st).  I couldn’t begin to expect the effect this literature would have on me, and the correlations I would feel internally and externally. This will be the first time I will have written about what happened almost a year ago. I neglected to do so out of fear of potentially offending the views of some, which to be completely honest with myself and all of you, is very sheepish and cowardly of me. I do not wish to be a person that sets aside my own voice on issues that resonate within me on behalf of others.

 So.. here we go.

 Tuesday, November 8, 2016

 Anger and frustration.

 Like any monumental moment in history, most of us remember where we were election night.

For some Americans the memory is painted with victory, pride, and hope in an unlikely place. But for the rest of us, we remember the fear, hurt, and anguish that tinted our view, opening our eyes to a very dark reality that would soon be lit with torches and burning crosses. That was the first time I ever considered or ever even feared my government and losing the rights I had taken for granted up until that point. Then the second wave of realization hit me. Short of me getting pregnant and being held at a higher accountability than the man involved and being forced to keep the pregnancy, regardless of my situation… my life wouldn’t necessarily change all that significantly from this election. You see, other than my reproductive organs that hold me back in some aspects of society, I was still graced with alabaster skin. This alabaster skin will keep me out from in front of an officer’s gun barrel or out from underneath their night stick. This alabaster skin will keep me from being wrongfully accused of shoplifting, and add valor to any of the words I speak that I finish with a smile. This alabaster skin gives me a head start in life, of which people of other color do not get; allowing my hard work to have almost twice the pay off of my black or hispanic sisters that struggle everyday with the setbacks our society has created for them. This alabaster skin is power, and to believe otherwise is ignorance which I will be the first to admit can be bliss.

 [I’ve had multiple white people in my life, many of them relatives, use the argument of “I’ve had to work for everything that I have today” in response to minorities having to work twice as hard for their accomplishments. This is extremely frustrating for me to hear brought up, because bringing up the hardships of others HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU AND YOUR STRUGGLES. I promise you, however big or small, every single person on this earth has encountered tough times, so you throwing the problems that you’ve overcome as a white person literally has nothing to do with the subject matter of institutionalized racism, because as a white person you’ve never been raised in a society where the cards are stacked against you no more than you’re born because of the color of your skin. So please. Stop using this 'reasoning' to not be reasonable.]

[I’ve never had to justify bringing a white guy home to my parents. I’ve never had to “vouch” for a friend named Jared, yet I’m expected to for any friend named Jamal? See where I’m getting at? If it really wasn't about color, these added justifications wouldn't exist. Period.]

 I remember having to leave a room of cheering conservatives to go to the bathroom to cry and recompose myself. The next day I laid in bed all day, and cried on and off. I tried to make sense of the world around me and how the people in it could allow this to happen.  I struggled knowing that some of the people that I love and care about so incredibly much either didn’t vote or casted a vote for Donald Trump in mere protest of Hillary Clinton.  I struggled even more by the thought of my loved ones of color that watched with horror while grasping onto their babies and family members as their country handed power over to a bigot that gives unspoken permission to acts of hatred and intolerance that infringes on their right to LIFE. I struggled knowing that some of the people that I knew that took the leap of faith that sought refuge in the United States lost the glisten of LIBERTY in their eyes. I struggled knowing that some of my friends that are married and belong to the LGBT community, may have their PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS squashed, because their lives don’t fit within a religious mold that belongs to people completely unaffected.

  I couldn’t make sense of any of it.

 What has this country that I love so dearly become?

 What did “Make America Great Again” even mean, when at no point was “greatness” ever achieved without taking advantage of less fortunate or social settings of the time? [But I suppose that’s a fitting mindset to be paired with a man whose success and climbing has been achieved by breaking the backs of those below him and not paying his workers… *sips tea*]

 I threw myself into protesting, and collaborating with local activists.  [For whatever reason, conservatives’ favorite comment when they see protesters is “get a job”... so I would just like to state that I worked three jobs and went to school while I was starting to get involved and was organizing/attending protests.]  I started donating to Planned Parenthood on a regular basis. My eye’s felt wide open and I was finally taking in so much of what had been around me all along, that I was afraid to even blink. I wanted… needed… craved the knowledge. I finally felt awake, and I didn’t want to go back to sleep. About six months into becoming more involved, I started to get burnt out. I took a step back and realized that there were ways, unique to myself, where I could continue to contribute through my artwork and writing. To this day though, one of my proudest moments was co-organizing a stand in solidarity of which 60+ concerned citizens attended to show support and we ended up on the 6 o’clock news on three different local channels.

 Almost a year has passed since the election, tension has only gotten thicker, the country has watched atrocity after atrocity take place, and I can’t help but want to ask the Trump supporters I know, teary eyed, “are you happy?” or maybe even, “how does your protest vote feel now?”. I have refrained because I realize that this will only contribute to tearing apart this country further. Clearly we’re still healing from past scars from our differences in values, concerns, and priorities. It would be unconstructive. I wanted to be wrong about the fate of this country and it’s leader, and its undervalued inhabitants; I still hope to be proven wrong. But I can genuinely say that it’s been almost a year and I’m still just as afraid everyday that I wake up, as I was the morning after election day.

 So my challenge to myself and to everyone that reads this, is to remove themselves from their own story plot and submerge themselves into another’s of completely different background. Listen to understand and not to respond. I feel as though so much compassion has been lost for people at the end of the day. We all have our own journey that we’ve had to endure, and have all experienced our own plot twists and turns of events… may we stop denying the evidence in front of us and utilize FACTS (and not ones of the alternative sort) to make decisions and form opinions. May extremists stop using reason to justify heinous actions, and remove themselves from their self-righteous views and try to understand their neighbors. If there’s something you don’t understand, ASK.  With the amount of access we have to information at our fingertips, the word “naïve” no longer belongs in modern vocabulary… stop choosing ignorance because it’s convenient for your lifestyle. We [as a society] have lost the ability to talk outside of Twitter, and hold an intellectual conversation, or even a healthy debate. [It frustrates the ever living shit out of me, that there are only about 3 people I can hold a political conversation with that have views that differ from my own, where mutual respect is present through the whole conversation. That’s sad.] Look past your own blinders and discover your own opinions and possibly unveil a new mindset and way of life. We all have to share this earth, so shouldn’t we make it the best experience possible?  

 “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

-Abraham Lincoln

[anything-advice-blog]

Advice, not sure where else to turn to.

Hey there, let me start off by explaining my life a bit up until now. I’m currently 17 and living with my grandparents. I’ve only been living with them for a little bit over a year and before I lived with my mother. For my entire life both my parents were alcoholics. My mom was much worst than my dad. She drank almost everyday and was emotionally abusive my entire life. She would be drunk for weeks on end, be sober for a single day, and then go back to drinking. My dad would go out every other day, come home, and sleep. When I was 12, my mom kicked my dad out of the apartment and he left. When he left my mom turned physically abusive towards me and last November I moved out. No courts were involved, I just left. Everything was fine for the first few months, but my living situation soon turned just as bad as before. My grandmother is emotionally abusive towards me, and both her and my grandfather are incredibly lazy, leaving the house completely filthy and mouse infested. The only clean part is the upstairs bedroom and bathroom where I live. I try and try to clean the house and spend days doing it, but it just gets filthy again in a couple days. My grandmother is in a wheelchair and cant physically hit me or come up to my bedroom, but if i need food or have to do laundry I have to go downstairs. I can tolerate this, however I decided I was going to get my own place after I graduate two years ago. I have been dating my boyfriend for 4 years, and I’ve known him for 6 (It’ll be 5 and 7 in February). He was my best friend before anything and was one of the only two people there for me through everything. The only people who know about even his existence is my mom, grandmother, godfather, and older cousin. They only know that he’s my friend, we have feelings for one another, and I want to get an apartment with him. No one in my family knows I’ve been dating him all these years. No one in my family has met him either, which I did on purpose. During the first 4 years of us knowing one another, he lived close by, but because of all I was going through I didn’t want him meeting or getting involved with my family. These past two years my boyfriend has been in Washington, D.C for college. He has made a couple visits to see me these pas two years and we talk every day. My best friend knows him and knows about the entire relationship. I’ve known my best friend for 13 years and she was the only other person by me during my time of need. Now, my boyfriend is older than me. He’s currently 23 (Please don’t judge, nothing sexual happened until I turned 17, which is past the legal age of consent in my state. I was also a lot more mature for my age when we began dating, I had to grow up very quickly because my mom would never take care of me. I was doing my own laundry, cooking dinner, and reminding my mom about the monthly bills by 9) Anyways, we both want to get an apartment together next summer/fall, after we graduate. (We’re both graduating this year, me high school and him with his associates degree). I really want to get away from my family so I can help myself and the mental issues I’ve developed over the years because of abuse. However, no one in my family that knows of my plans approves. My mother called me a whore, my godfather doesn’t believe my boyfriend is even real, and my grandmother (who is both racist and sexist) doesn’t think I can do it because “girls cant handle that kind of stuff”. Even with no approval, I am still going through with my plans. However, this is where I need advice. With no approval comes no help. I have no idea how to get things started with getting my apartment and ensuring that we will be financially stable. Here’s what we’ve done so far: -By the time we move, we will have saved up both $5,000 (I have already gone past my goal, he is half way because his family stole $1000 from him. We will have a combined total of $10,000) -We have already made a list of things we need and plan to buy things ahead to save money -We have already decided on cities we want to live in, made a budget, and found various apartments within our budget with utilities included to live in.  -We have decided that because he will be working full time and I will be a full time student, he will cover more than half of the bills/costs. I will be working as well as going to school of course. -My boyfriend will be applying for a credit card to build credit when he gets a second job, which will be within the next couple weeks. I’m not sure how well off we are or how poorly prepared we are. I have no one to help me and even when I do research, there aren’t many helpful sites (at least in my opinion, their too vague). I need advice on the process of getting the apartment. What should I expect? How many months before I plan to move should I initiate the process of going to landlords and organizing to get the apartment? What is the process between when I go to get the apartment till I move in? Is there anything else we should be doing to better prepare for our big move? Do you have any advice for my boyfriend for him to quickly get a job new once he moves to my state? What do I do next? I’m also looking for some advice on my relationship, specifically telling my family. I’m afraid of their backlash when I just go ahead and move in with him, specially my dad. I’m very close now with my dad and I’m afraid to tell him because I’m afraid of him being mad at me. How do I tell my family, like my dad, of my plans and my boyfriend? How should I handle the backlash if it happens? I’m sorry this was so long. I really just wanted to get my story to someone and get advice without being ridiculed. I know I’m still young but I’m not moving just to be with my boyfriend, I have very bad depression, stress, anxiety, and I’m easily prone to panic attacks (which I have regularly). This is all because of the emotional abuse I endured and still constantly face from my mother and grandmother. You may think I should move with my best friend instead, but she has no job, no license, and is terrible with money. She spends everything she has and has nothing saved. I love her dearly but she isn’t as responsible as I am. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

**********************************************************

Kaycee, hun, you have a lot on your plate. I’m a planner like you and prefer to have everything in place before making a move. If I were you, I would add one thing to your list. Call your county assistance office. They have programs to help financially and locating housing at a good price. Otherwise, a landlord might want to see income verification and you will be starting out with your boyfriend being unemployed. You could ask a landlord to give you a 6 month lease and pay 3 months in advance along with the security deposit. This sometimes helps them take a chance on you. A friend of mine only pays $50/month when she turned 18. If you are not going to be 18 soon, you will have to emancipate yourself from your parents. You can ask your county assistant case worker about that but it may be time consuming. It might be best for your boyfriend to do it at his age but then I think only he can be on the lease.  I don’t know what your boyfriend’s major is, but there are also programs to help your boyfriend find a job. All of this can be discussed in an appointment at the county assistance office. There’s usually an office nearby and you can find the number online.

You can most likely apply for medical assistance with county assistance and find a mental health professional to address your traumas and upbringing. You have a lot to work through. Keep in mind, some of these family members do not want you to leave because you do so much for them. And, yes, though they haven’t shown it, they love you. But, you will have to put on that strong face and say it’s just time to move forward….to yourself and directly to them. Ask them to be proud of you and block out the screaming.

It will all be scary at first but I’m betting after a week or two, you will get in a routine that finally gives you stability. You need stability! And, you already know you’re strong. Strong doesn’t mean you always feel in charge. It means you know how to go after what you need even when it is hard.

Good luck. I wish you could let me know how it all turns out. I’ll be here if you want to drop a line. Hugs!

Tracey

[hato-writes-stories]

The Magician and the Thief (Original Story)

Let me tell you one thing before the story begins. Life is hard enough as it is. Moving to a new city after angrily running away from your overbearing parents with high expectations is hard too. Moving boxes into your new apartment when you’re missing both of your arms from the shoulder down because of a magical explosion at your last workplace is even harder. But hey, thank the gods for magical levitation spells and handy helper spirits.

As soon as the last box was through the door, I closed it and flopped onto the dusty red couch that came with the apartment. It’s been weeks since the accident, so naturally I wasn’t yet used to having no arms. But I had just scored a job with the local Magicians’ Research Association, so with enough time and hopefully some promotions, I could afford a pair of prosthetic arms. I guess if there’s one thing to be glad of, it’s the levitation spell my dad taught me while he was trying to force me to learn the Dark Arts. It took more focus to move a glass of milk to my mouth now, but it honestly could be worse.

That apartment was pretty small. There was just a bed in its own little room off to the side, and a bathroom that probably wasn’t that much bigger than my mom’s walk-in closet back home. At least the apartment came with some furniture, like a little TV. Perfect for one guy to live in. I found myself dozing off, and next thing I knew it was morning. First day of work. Yippee. It was a bit of a struggle to get dressed, mostly because levitation required focus, and I was still tired as heck. But I managed, and went off to the Magicians’ Research Association Centre.

The Centre itself was a large, official-looking building. Like, so official that you’d mistake it for an actual government building. It was close to the center of the city, probably why it’s called the Magicians’ Research Association Centre. For a smaller-city type of guy like me, of course it was intimidating, but I was lucky enough to be accepted to work here.

I was to work on the second floor, where Spell Creation would be taking place. Promotions were based on the usefulness of spells and how many a worker could make by a deadline. That was the gist of the orientation. I won’t bore you with the details.

The boss of the floor was a tall, handsome fellow named Lazarus, but honestly by looks alone he looked like the kind of worker who slacked off and tried to pass off work on other employees. His hair was a big of a black, frayed mess, and he had the gall to wear a black long coat and trilby to match. He looked like a gang member, but he also had the air of someone who knew what he was doing.

“I think it’ll be a real pleasure to work with you, Mr. Jingshen,” he said at the end of the tour of the floor.

“Please,” I said, “call me Gakomare. Or Gako.”

“Haha, well, we’re expecting great things from you, Gako–”

“Chief!” One of the other Magicians on the floor, who I think was an astromancer, suddenly came up. “Chief, those thieves broke into my office! They stole the spell I was…”

“They broke in again?!” the boss suddenly snapped. “Ugh… Freakin’ fantastic…“

“What’s going on?” I had to ask.

“Lately, we’ve been getting these break-ins from thieves,” Lazarus explained. “They steal our new spells and we assume they sell ‘em for profit. We call these ruffians The RuneRunners.”

“Don’t these offices have security measures?”

“Well, of course we do! But these ain’t your everyday thieves, Gako. They’re magicians too, and crafty at that. We tend to have the last person to leave set up the security spell, since they’re not exactly easy to get through once they’re up. I’ll have to teach it to you later. Lemme show you to your workstation, and then we can check out the damages with you, Hayden…”

I had my own room to work, with its own little desk, spell-casting station, and bookshelf in the corner. It was small, but it felt like home already. “Nice place…” I muttered loud enough for Lazarus to hear.

“Isn’t it? Once you get some promotions, you can move up to bigger workspaces. If you can test some spells from the higher-ups and take note on their different effects, that’d do for today’s quota.”

“And I’m allowed to create my own spell in my free time, right?”

“Well, I mean, you can if you want. Now, if you’re going to stay late, here’s the security spell…” He handed me a scroll with a rather easy incantation to repeat. “Just head to the center of the floor, and it’ll do it’s thing. Thanks, man, now get out there and test those spells!”

The rest of the morning and afternoon consisted of me testing out the new spells from higher-ranked employees. There weren’t very many mishaps besides a test dummy catching fire, but that’s why spell-casting stations existed. In truth, I wanted to try and develop my own spells as quickly as possible. Not something in the Dark Arts, but… just something that felt natural. There were lots of elements to try out, so I just had to figure it out what was right for me. But my quota ended up taking up the entire workday. So I had to go home.

This routine continued for a few weeks, with the occasional break-ins and rumors of the RuneRunners’ plans. Soon life was repeating day after day, with not much to look forward to. My daily quotas kept taking the entire day, so I had no chances to work on my spells.

Until one day, when I was on a roll and felt like staying in late, even if there wasn’t any overtime. I was invested in reading about other spells and trying to find an element that’d suit me. Pretty soon, I was the only one in the building, as evidenced by the silence throughout the building. I didn’t care though, as I was used to quiet emptiness. Still, it would’ve been nice to make friends. But I had a self-imposed goal, and that was to find my real purpose. That first step was to find what magic class suited me best. Fire? No. Maybe ice? Not very suitable.

And soon, I was interrupted by the loud crash of a window breaking, and a thud. I snapped to attention. Was this… a break-in? No, couldn’t be, it was only… 3 in the morning. No, no, this was the perfect time to break-in. I really overstayed that night.

I peeked my head out the doorway of my workroom. It was mostly dark in the main room, to save electricity. But at the other end of the room, I could see a figure wrapped in a cloak, cautiously looking around, standing in front of a shattered window. I retreated my head when it looked like the figure was looking towards me. The hallway was dimly with what I could only imagine to be an illumination spell, accompanied by the soft crackles of electricity.

There I was, an armless man in more ways than one, cowering in my workroom, with this possibly thunder-affiliated thief outside. There were a lot of options I could’ve taken on how to deal with this situation. I could’ve maybe phoned for help, but it was too late at night, and even in these circumstances I didn’t wanna bother. I could’ve maybe tried to make a run for it, but I was more than likely to get caught. So I did the most reasonable thing I could.

I went out there, spell-scrolls levitating in front me, and half-shouted a “Hey, you!”

That got the intruder’s attention. They looked at me with wild eyes, their face very dimly lit. It was hard to tell if they were a boy or girl at first glance. The look on their face quickly changed from surprised to agitated, and in the blink of an eye they swung their arm forward, sending concentrated spheres of lightning my way. With a stomp of my foot, a shadow-infused shield rose from the ground, protecting me. Lowering it, I turned my body, no arm to properly aim my own attack of simply sending the shield forward. The intruder summoned their own shield, brightly-lit, and upon contact the two magical barriers clashed and dissipated.

The look of surprise overtook their face again when the main room lit up, allowing them to see who they were dealing with. “W-Wait, you don’t have any arms!” No, no I did not.

“Who are ya and what’re ya doing here?” I demanded, trying to sound calm enough to reason but angry enough to look as intimidating as I could. “You’re a RuneRunner, huh?!”

The intruder took a cautious step back, unsure what to do. “Look, I don’t want any trouble, okay? Just hand over… hand over a spell-scroll or something, and there won’t have to be any fighting, okay? I-I don’t wanna hurt anybody, especially not…”

I sent another dark shield towards them, only for them to duck into Lazarus’ workspace. I was alarmed enough to run over to check it out, only for the thief to suddenly rush back out with a spell that I assume turned them into a bolt of lightning to pass by me without hurting me, somehow. I couldn’t tell, because in the blink of an eye, they were gone and out the window.

I was in trouble the next day. The boss wasn’t too pleased with how late I stayed, and how I didn’t employ the security spell when I left. I didn’t have much of an excuse besides the fact that I was frazzled from having to deal with a thief head-on. Long story short, I wasn’t expecting a promotion or more opportunities to stay after for a while.

“Listen, Gakomare…” Lazarus had started. “You’re a real go-getter, and we really do appreciate that, but you’re handicapped. You just shouldn’t be alone at night, all right? So when the other last person leaves for the day, that’s when you should leave.”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Now, please get to work on those spell-checks, okay?… Ha, spell-check, that’s… that’s funny.”

“Yes sir.” It was back to a monotonous workday. In truth, I only really had myself to blame. I hated to even think it, but both my parents at Lazarus were right; I wasn’t capable of much without arms, much less fighting. But it was all the more reason to work harder to afford prosthetics. Or… at this rate, am I just doomed to be useless to others?

“Oy, Gakomare, you got mail,” Lazarus called from outside. He came in and handed over a letter to me. “At least, I’m pretty sure you’re who it’s for. The guy said to give it to an armless man. Geez, some people, right?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, thanks…” I opened it up as he left. It had better not be a letter from my parents… and it wasn’t.

“Make sure you’re alone when reading this,” read the first line. “Meet me in the alleyway to the left of the bar on 6th Street after work. I need to talk to you.” It was unsigned, but I had a feeling back then of who it could possibly be. I did the only reasonable thing I could do at a time like this. I went after work, alone.

6th Street was actually pretty close to my place. I brought a few defensive spells with me too, just in case. A meeting in the alleyway couldn’t be all good, but I would’ve been lying if I said my interest wasn’t piqued.

“Psst, hey,” a soft voice called out from behind a dumpster when I got there. I looked behind it with caution, to find a familiar tan face in a dark yellow hoodie. “Oh, good, you made it. I thought I’d be spending forever behind here. It really reeks, y’know?

“You…” I scowled. It really was the intruder from last night. This… person was the reason why I’d probably been having a hard time for longer than I’d like.

“W-Wait, wait wait wait!” they half-shouted, bringing up their hands defensively. “I didn’t wanna fight or do anything bad or anything like that!” They pulled out a scroll from the bag slung across their shoulder and held it out to me. “Here, just take this, okay? Take it and go.”

The scroll had Lazarus’ name written on it. “This is the spell you stole from…”

The thief was looking around wildly. “Yeah, yeah, it is, just please take it already and go back to work, okay?” They pushed it into my hands and tried to run off, but stumbled and let out a groan.

“H-Hey, are you okay?” I asked, suddenly concerned. I could see them grab the bottom half of their pant leg, with was stained red. Were they… hurt? “Your leg! It’s–”

“I know, don’t worry about it! Just get back to your work already!” They were about to round the corner when they froze. I could hear Hayden talking to another co-worker nearby. “Sh-Shoot! I–”

Reading the situation quickly, I grabbed the thief’s arm, gently pulling them away. “Hey, come on, you don’t wanna get caught, right? Come with me. Just trust me.”

“But, I…” I assumed they trusted the look in my eyes. This thief wasn’t so bad, especially after a gesture like this. “Okay…” Against all instinct to preserve my own well-being, I led them home, to my little apartment. Maybe it was because their leg was really hurting, or maybe they just wanted to find out where I live to rob me later, but I was willing to take a chance. I had them sit down, at which point I got a better look at their face.

“Um… L-Look, I don’t really know what you’re doing, but…” They seemed nervous sitting there as I went to brew a healing potion on the stove. “Ya gave me back my boss’ scroll,” I said straightforwardly. “I wanted to return the favor. Scratched up your leg during last night’s heist, right?”

“Yeah… Look, I’m sorry, okay? I felt bad about attacking you, because–”

“Because I’ve got no arms and am totally defenseless without them?” I retorted.

They paused. “Well, that’s half of it… I… I felt bad for stealing in general… It felt even worse when I attacked someone too, and I just– I needed the money, but in the end I decided–”

“Say no more,” I said as I walked over to them with a Cure Potion. I handed it over. “Don’t worry, I promise you it’s not poisoned.”

At my remark, they looked at me cautiously, but drank it anyway, not taking their eyes off me for that moment. In all honesty, even after hearing their voice and studying their face, I still couldn’t tell if they were a boy or a girl. But either way, they were young and… rather cute for a thief, or a RuneRunner, more likely.

“Mm… Thanks,” they mumbled, looking down. “Um… My name’s Taryn, by the way.” I was never gonna figure out their gender, was I?

“‘M Gako. So… sorry to ask, but… are you actually a…”

“RuneRunner? Yeah. I mean, I know it’s a scummy job, but it paid really well for a while. It wasn’t until last night that I had to actually face someone while on the job, though. But I’m glad I was alone for that one.”

“I see.”

“I mean… You’d think it’d happen at least once over the last few months, but… Oh, man, if my family ever found out, they’d probably drag my butt out of this city and back home…”

That piqued my interest. “You too?”

“Yeah… Wait, you live alone too? I-I don’t wanna be rude, and I’m sorry, but isn’t it hard?” Their voice was genuinely laced with sensitivity. I at least had to commend their apologetic nature. “Yeah, truth be told, it is, but I have levitation spells. So don’t you dare say I’m helpless.”

They held their hands up defensively again. “Hey, I never said that! I mean, honestly? You’re like, the opposite of helpless. I mean, I’m a weakling and all, but you managed to fight back against me in the dark!”

“Well…” I felt a blush creep on my face. “It helps that I was a Dark Magician before…”

“Whoa, really?!” They looked at me in awe. “That’s so cool! I only know Thunder magic. But what’s it like? To cast spells like that?”

Nobody had ever really wanted to listen to me before. I wasn’t very social to begin with, but here was someone, a RuneRunner who attacked me last night, who suddenly was interested in talking to me. I ended up talking with Taryn for a good chunk of the night, even cooking dinner for the two of us while watching TV. It was as if we hadn’t fought each other last night. Even in this second encounter, I could tell they weren’t up to anything malicious.

We alternated between telling each other about our lives. I told them about my own overbearing parents, the work accident, and my subsequent running away from home. Taryn told me he was born a girl, but preferred to be seen as a guy, so that was one question answered. He came from a poor family, with a twin sister, and he had promised to make it big in this city so he can get the money to support them. He fell on hard times just as I had, though, and resorted to working with the RuneRunners. I imagined he didn’t want to go back home either because of it. It was 11 at night when our conversation started to wane. We ended up talking about my search for an appropriate magic class to specialize in after going through countless other topics.

“Y’know,” he began, now lying on the couch. “You seem like someone who’d work better as a potion brewer than a magician…”

“Who, me?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “I dunno… I mean, true, maybe I’m not that into offensive magic and such… Maybe I don’t wanna go out there in the world to explore and help the country, but…”

Taryn yawned. “But…?” I didn’t answer. “Ah…? What time is it? Sorry, I didn’t mean to overstay my welcome…”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I didn’t mind one bit. You’re welcome to stay the night. But if I find out you stole something from me in the morning, I’d have to hunt you down.”

“N-No, I promise I won’t do that…” He yawned again. “I’ll go home. I think I may just resign from the RuneRunners… I don’t know what I’ll do after, but I don’t wanna continue a life like this…”

“Then what’ll you do?” I asked as I went to get a spare blanket from the closet anyway.

“I dunno… I don’t wanna stay in this city, to be honest, but I can’t… go home either…” His eyes drooped closed, his words slurring to an end. I put the blanket over him and went off to my own room to sleep.

The next morning, Taryn wasn’t there anymore, but he had left a plate of cooked eggs and a note reading, “Sorry I overstayed! I made some breakfast. I hope you find your magic calling!” He also left his number on there. I guess we weren’t enemies anymore. I smiled then.

Lazarus was pleased that I had recovered his spell. I made up a story that the criminal had dropped it when I cornered them in an alleyway. It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was good enough for him to buy. He was so impressed that he wanted me to practice some more Dark Art spells to prepare for any other break-ins. I was allowed to stay after again.

But I didn’t want to deal with the possibility of running into other RuneRunners, or worse, Taryn. I couldn’t stay after because of that fear. The daily quotas were getting smaller anyway, so I had time to try and develop a spell, as well as try out different magic classes. I even tried dabbling more in magic potions on Taryn’s suggestion.

Speaking of Taryn, I found myself often texting him, inviting him over to stay at the slightest hint that he was undergoing hard times. He’d mention how he was trying to find a side job to get grocery money. I’d offer him to come over for dinner, and he’d initially say no, but I’d find him at my door at home anyway, his stomach growling audible. I didn’t mind it. His company was a good thing for me. And I felt bad whenever I saw his guilty but cute face silently asking if he could take back his answer and come in for dinner.

Time passed. Soon it really was as if Taryn and I hadn’t met during a break-in. He was becoming more and more familiar around me, to the point where I expected him to drop by a few times a week. Sometimes he’d even bring food, so we can have a bigger meal together. I wanted to spend more time with him, and I could tell he wanted the same with me. Sometimes he’d even text me when I was at work with pictures of the morning sky or of cute cats he saw on the way to his own work. They were little things to appreciate each morning.

“So how’s that promotion progress going?” he asked me one night, about three months after the first time he spent the night. He bought over some cornbread for us to share.

“It’s… going. Still have no clue what I wanna go into.” I poked at the microwaved meatloaf we were having for dinner.

“Oh… I’m sure you’ll find your calling soon!” he beamed, smiling. That was the kind of support I liked, something not too fake yet not too optimistic.

“Maybe… Maybe I should try healin’ magic, like you suggested.” It was a bit out there, especially since I had been more vested in offensive magic my entire life. To go into healing magic was like a baker going into blacksmithing.

“Oh, you think?” He paused in between bites. “Yeah, I bet you’d be good at that too!”

“Yer not just saying that?”

“Nope! I mean, healing magic involves potion brewing too, right? That’s like… half of the healing magic class, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “I’ve been thinking… maybe I should drop out of the Magicians’ Research Association.” I had been thinking it over the last couple weeks or so. It felt like a dead-end job some days. I wasn’t making any progress in terms of a raise either.

“Whaaat? But doesn’t it make good money?”

“Ah, yeah, true… Plus I’m so close to getting that promotion…”

“For those magical prosthetics, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Still… I guess if you’re not happy with you work, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to find a new workplace.”

“I guess so. I’ll have to think about it more. Have you quit the RuneRunners yet?”

“N-No… I just really need the money, y’know? I mean, I have enough for groceries to last a week, but it wouldn’t hurt to have more, right?”

“Right. But still… I thought you were gonna quit.” I didn’t wanna push it, but I had concerns, mostly lying in the territory of the conflict between the Magicians and RuneRunners.

“Just a little longer,” he assured me. “Don’t worry about it, okay?“

But there was plenty of reason to worry, I thought to myself. I wanted to tell him that the conflict between the Magicians’ Association and the RuneRunners was growing enough as it were, but he probably knew that. I would just have to hope we didn’t get caught up in it. What would happen if the other Magicians found out about our friendship? What would happen if the other RuneRunners knew that he had a close relation with a magician like me?

The thought of Taryn goading me onto his side to get into the Magicians’ Association building had crossed my mind multiple times. But I trusted him. He didn’t seem like the tricky type. In fact, I considered him my closest relation at the time. In truth, I saw him as more than a friend. I… I wanted to be even closer to him, but I didn’t want him to risk anything by staying as a worker for the RuneRunners.

“Taryn…” I began. “Please, I really think you should resign as soon as possible and find a new place to work.”

“Just a little longer, I said, okay?”

“I know your situation is tough, but… I don’t want you to associate with those low-lifes.”

His eyes narrowed for the first time since our battle. “‘Low-lifes?’” he echoed. “Is that how you see me for taking on a job I can actually do right?”

I felt a chill down my spine at his tone. “N-No, I don’t mean–”

“Do you think any of us wanted to be in that position, Gako? Do you think we all take pleasure in robbing people like you? Every single member of the RuneRunners is poor, Gako! And no offense, but your Magician friends aren’t nice to us.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my own eyes narrowing.

“You know that security spell you guys use every night? You know what it really does?!”

“It acts as a barrier to prevent outsiders from getting in,” I answered with confidence.

“No, Gako. It poisons anybody who touches it for too long. I lost friends from that spell. You Magicians are worse than we are. We never wanna hurt anyone, but you’re all willing to kill us over a living.”

I didn’t know what to say. The hurt in his voice told me he was telling the truth, but… no. No, would they really condone that? What of the innocents who tried to get in, not knowing it was after-hours? I didn’t want to believe it, but I felt inclined to.

Taryn didn’t stay over that night. We ate the rest of our dinner in silence, then he left with a simple goodbye. I felt bad to doubt his side of the story, and the Magicians in general. But I had to see for myself.

One late night, I decided to stay after. I spent my “overtime” testing all sorts of healing spells, from reviving a dead plant to magically stitching a dummy’s torn arm with a simple incantation. I was a natural at these arts, just as Taryn had suspected. I even toyed with some potion flasks from the storage room instead of waste hours playing with dead-end spell ideas for once. I quite liked healing magic.

But what I was anxious to try was the security spell. Taking the plant I had practiced on earlier, I left the building and activated the security spell. Instantly a glowing pink barrier rose over and above the Magicians’ Research Association Centre. Just from looking at it alone, nobody would want to touch it. The city wasn’t great at law enforcement either with how widespread magic was in everyday life, so it wasn’t like it was illegal to have a spell like this. Gingerly, I pressed the plant to the barrier. Nothing happened at first. I started to doubt Taryn’s word, when three minutes passed, and the plant wilted slowly, glowing as purple as the barrier. It was dying. It was poisoned.

I was hesitant to confront Lazarus about it in the morning. But it made sense, how a spell like this got past innocent eyes. To break a spell like that, it would’ve taken a few minutes of contact with the barrier.

I reported my findings to him, lying by telling him I found it out when I saw a bird die from standing on the barrier for too long. “… Sir, I know it’s not my place, but we should reconsider looking at the security spell…”

His feet were kicked up on the desk, hat covering his eyes. He got up, an unusually stern look on his face. “Gakomare…” he began dangerously. “No, that was indeed the intended reason. I ought to thank you for getting it back to me.”

“Y-You mean… that spell…”

“Exactly. Listen, we’re in dangerous waters as it is as a research facility. You think just because I’m one o’ the bosses, I got it easy? I gotta keep this place floating, y’here? So don’t go tellin’ me that those low-lifes are worth worrying about. It’s their own fault for trying to break in all the damn time…”

I swallowed, mustering courage in my voice. “Sir, with all due respect, think about their situation from their point of view.” I took a deep breath. “They’re struggling as much as we are. They’re all probably suffering in poverty, and it’s not helping that we’re killing them off like this. Do the other Magicians know about this? I bet if we try to negotiate with the RuneRunners…” I trailed off as I noticed Lazarus glaring at me, his friendly face a long-forgotten memory.

“So you have been associatin’ with one of those thieves…” He took an intimidating step towards me, hand enwrapped in a swirl of Dark Magic. “Hayden told me he saw somethin’ suspicious a few months ago. I told ‘im not to worry about your personal life, but y’know what? Now I got reason to worry. It’s a real good thing you got here early today…”

I turned on my heel and tried to open the door with the levitation spell, only to fail from frayed focus. I had to duck to avoid my head getting sliced off by Lazarus’ magic-infused hand.

“You’re crazy!”

“And you’re gonna make this too easy… Look at you, a poor, crippled man. I almost feel sorry having to do this. You really were a talented man, but I can’t risk the welfare of the other workers.” I stood as the magic encircling his palm grew in size. I was petrified in fear, only thinking to dive to the side as he unleashed the blast, which collided with and demolished the wall, leaving a gaping hole with a nice view of the city. “Dammit,” he hissed. “Too much…”

I was on the ground, sandwiched between the gaping hole and Lazarus, who was steadily coming closer. “If you murder me now…” I gulped. “You’re gonna taint the Association’s reputation…”

He merely chuckled. “Not if I tell the authorities that a filthy traitor was threatening me…” He pointed his hand at me, fingers mimicking a gun and the dark aura glowing once again. “Besides, if I could start a new life once, I can do it again.” A concentrated beam of Dark Magic was shot at me, with only a luckily-timed shield spell protecting me. It somehow withstood the blast, but was pushing me closer to the edge of the building the longer it fired. Soon I was feeling my heel peer over the edge of the hole, my energy steadily being used up to keep me from getting disintegrated.

“GAKO!” A familiar voice rang in my ears. I barely blinked, and suddenly a yellow shield was joining my purple one. A flash of lightning, a familiar teleportation spell, blinked beside me, and Taryn was there, helping me push back against Lazarus. It caught us both off guard. My former boss’ beam cut off, causing him to fall from the recoil.

“Taryn?! What’re you–” He grabbed my shoulders.

“No time! We gotta run!” Another flash of lightning, and in a split second we were transported to the ground, my ears ringing and mind in a brief haze until I was brought back by Taryn pulling me along. We sprinted, not looking back, even when the wail of sirens sounded some distance behind us.

He led back to his own apartment for the first time in the poorer side of the city. It was just two rooms: a living space and a bathroom. He had the radio tuned in while we made a Cure Potion for any injuries I sustained. I was lucky to escape with few bruises and scratches.

“In other news,” a lady reported over the static-riddled broadcast, “investigators are still surveying the Magicians’ Research Association Centre after what is presumed to be a terrorist attack of sorts. One of the building’s manager had this to say…”

Lazarus’ voice came up. “We’ve been dealing with problems concerning the RuneRunners Gang recently, and I believe it’s safe to say that they caused the damages to the building. I–” He was cut off with a loud bang, like a fiery explosion. Screams filled the air.

“Oh my gods, SOMEBODY HELP!!” the reporter cried. Feedback and screams overtook the air as Taryn and I listened in stunned silence. Whoever was attacking was still going at it, the sound of spells being cast soon filling the air.

A new voice, one I hadn’t heard before, came up. “We the RuneRunners have commenced war with the Magicians’ Research Association. It is time for us to take this city.”

With fear shaking him, Taryn switched the radio off. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that was his own boss. So we were both wrong about our respective factions…

“Taryn…” I would’ve hugged him if I could’ve. “I… I’m sorry.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “No,” he whispered. “You don’t have to be sorry. I was wrong about the RuneRunners.”

“Yeah? Well, I was wrong about the Association too. So I guess we’re both wrong.” We hung there in silence for a moment. “I… Thank you, for saving my life.”

“I-I only did what I felt was right,” he said. “I’m sorry, for leaving things as they were the last time we met. I, um…” He reached into his backpack, which was slightly torn from our little encounter with Lazarus. “I know it’s a really bad time, but I think now’s as good of a time as any.” He pulled a nicely-wrapped present box.

“Taryn…? What did you…” He opened it up for me. Inside was a pair of metal, bone-like arms. Before I could say another word, he took one out and attached the brace to my right shoulder, pushing a button after. I felt a surge of energy course through my mind. Suddenly… I had an arm. I moved it up and down, flexing and extending it.

“I stayed because… I wanted to repay you for all the times you helped me.”

“Taryn…” Tears welled up in my eyes. “I-I don’t know what to say.” I looked up at him. “Th-Thank you,” I managed.

He simply smiled and hugged me. “How does it feel?” he asked as he got the other one out. He strapped it onto me, and soon I was feeling what it was like to have two arms again.

“Fits like a charm.” I was opening and closing the fists, moving them, getting used to them. “I… But why?”

“Like I said, it’s my thanks.” He brushed his hair to the side, a soft blush on his face. “Gako, I… I never had a friend like you. I never met someone who would risk that much for me. I mean… What I’m trying to say is…”

He didn’t get to finish. I finally had the ability to hold his cheek, tilting his face towards me. He looked at me confused for a moment, until I slowly pulled him in for a kiss. He didn’t resist at all, instead cupping my face back with his own soft hands. We parted after a few moments. He gazed into my own eyes happily.

“I love you too,” I said.

“Thank goodness,” he laughed. “Here I was worried that, well, y’know.” His laughter died down, the gravity of the situation dawning back on both of us. “But… What do we do now?”

This city was too dangerous for us now. That much we knew. It was to soon be overrun by a faction war by the Magicians and RuneRunners. There was no doubt in either of our minds that we would especially be in danger, being traitors to our respective faction.

So we took the most reasonable approach we could. I snuck back to my apartment in the cover of darkness, avoiding verbal wars between Magicians and RuneRunners on every other street. I packed the essentials, leaving everything not important, and I took off running to the edge of the city. There, Taryn waited, with his own few essentials packed.

“Well,” I began, taking a deep breath of the night air. “Here we go…”

“Yeah.” He simply looked back. Come dawn, and the streets would probably be overrun by fighting. But it wouldn’t matter to us. “Are you ready?”

“Nope.”

“Me neither.”

He took my new hand into his. Our gazes held for a moment. He closed his eyes and brought his lips to my cheek. Soon we started walking off, away from the filthy city.

“Where should we go first?”

“I don’t care, as long as you’re here beside me.”