#but my coworker got sick yesterday and called in sick today

[guinevereslancelot]

how do i stop feeling like i'm in trouble all the time fr. sitting here on my lunch break like everyone's gonna be soooo mad when u get back...from lunch...which you are allowed to have.....(?)

[leahcee]

having major anxiety bc I feel guilty asking for coverage despite the fact that I am Very Sick but still pushed through and went to work today but called off yesterday 😁👍🏽

[greatbigstorm]

/ /

[nerdie-faerie]

So five people called in sick yesterday and I've got to work today and there's only 3 people on shop floor 😬 it's gonna be another fun weekend shift

[megwritesriddles]

Call Me (Anytime!) ༊*·˚

18+ MDNI !!!

Pairing: Mike Schmidt x Fem! Reader / You

Summary: Kinktober 2024 Day 17 - Sexting/Phone sex. Reader and Mike only ever text about work but they both want to change that. Once they do, things escalate very fast and Mike can only hope to keep his head.

Tags: Sexting, Phone sex, Masturbation (f and m), Dirty talk, Flirting, Coworkers, Friends to lovers, Developing relationship, Not canon complaint (no evil animatronics).

Word count: 2.6k

Read it on ao3! | Masterlist

Authors note: Your texts are purple, Mike's are blue!! Yes, I switched this around with my Spencer fic because I needed more time on it, sorry!! Hope you like it anyway mwah ( ◕◡◕)っ ♡

PART 2 HERE !!

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You had his number purely for work reasons. To let each other know when you were running late or calling off sick. A mutual agreement, to make sure neither of you came to work one day and had two people’s jobs sprung on you unannounced. A show of worker solidarity. Texts were few and far between, especially because you saw each other almost daily, but mostly because there wasn’t much to talk about. 

“Hey, problems with Abby’s sitter, running ten mins late. Cover for me,”

“Off sick today with the flu! Hope you didn’t get it from me yesterday! Cya!”

“I got the flu from you. Now it’s my turn to take a few days off. Thanks,”

“Did you see they are changing our insurance provider?” 

“Cheapskates,”

“Tell me about it!”

The conversation was never about anything but work, occasionally you heard a little about his sister Abby, but only if it was in some way related to him needing to miss work. You liked Mike a lot, you had fun working with him. Although your job was to watch the monitors in the office and his to patrol the building, you saw a lot of one another. He stopped by the security office much more than was strictly necessary, but no one was there to chase you up about it. As long as he could still respond to a threat (not that any ever came), you were fine. He was not very talkative, but would still hang around in the doorway of the office, expecting you to speak to him. So you did, and he listened well, whatever it was you landed on. Sometimes you liked to gossip with him since you had no mutual friends and he couldn’t spread the word. He pretended not to care about the drama you provided him with, but would always subtly try to enquire more about it. He didn’t have much going on in his own life. Or rather, he had a whole lot going on, which meant he had time for nothing else. Working nights and taking care of Abby took up all his time, and he’d always been a bit of an introvert, so socialising had fallen to the wayside for several years now. Living vicariously through the stories of your friends' love lives was fun for him, as much as he loathed to admit it. He was grateful for you, that you were kind and willing to talk to him while on shift, even if he was a bad conversationalist. He considered you a friend, perhaps his best one, even though he knew he was far from the same thing to you. He was your coworker, considered a friend if he was very lucky. Unbeknownst to him, you did truly consider him a friend, even if you weren’t quite in the desperate position he was. 

Every time you picked up your phone, you debated texting him about something not work-related. You talked about plenty more than just work at work, so why did this seem like such an impossible boundary to cross? You’d always thought he was cute, from the moment you’d started working together and from all the information you’d gleaned from him over time at work, you knew he was a lonely guy. You were sure he would want your friendship and maybe even more than that, but the transition seemed impossible somehow. You wanted him to feel less lonely, whether through friendship or more. So one day, after he texts you something innocuous about getting to work late next week due to Abby’s school play (you found his dedication to his sister very sweet and were always happy to cover for him so he wouldn’t miss important things like this), you bite the bullet. You start small.

“Cute! What’s the play?”

“Robin Hood. Abby’s shy so she only made the sets, but still wants me to come see,”

You’re happy he doesn’t immediately shut you down, but you’re aware he might simply be being polite, or happy to talk about his sister like he always is. You think for a moment then text back, even though you’re sure he assumes the conversation is over now. 

“I suppose I’ll have to miss this one :( Hold me a ticket for the next one!”

You immediately wonder if you’ve gone too far, trying to insert yourself into his life, into his future like this. No, you tell yourself, you’re overthinking, he’ll just interpret you as being polite but not serious. It would be fine. It’s a while until he texts back, so long that you assume he isn’t going to and continue about your day. 

“Sure thing. What are you up to atm?” 

Mike’s heart pounds as he sends the message. He’s not used to carrying a conversation forward like this, but he’s also not used to you talking to him about more than work, he has to take this chance. The fear of rejection consumes him for the next few minutes as he waits. He knows it’s barely anything, that there were a hundred riskier options for what he could have texted you, but he’s still anxious.

“Folding laundry! You?”

Mike immediately wonders what sorts of clothes you might have. You dress very plain for the security job, jeans and hoodies, the occasional t-shirt when it’s a little warmer, but he’s always felt your body looks too good to be dressed like that. You must show it off at least a little, and god, he’d love to see it. He’s occasionally caught sight of lace at your hips when you’ve bent over at work. He imagines you touching those panties while you text him and hates that the thought excites him. He really ought to get out more. 

“Watching TV.”

He responds and realises he’s been a little too short with his answer. He racks his brain for something more to say.

“Girl on my show looks like you.” 

He adds, although it’s not even true. He has the news on, but he wanted an excuse to say something more, without having to comment on the miserable contents of the news.

“Is she cute? ;)”

You text back, unsure what possessed you to be flirty, you hope to God you can play it off if he reacts poorly, like you’re just messing with him and stroking your own ego. You’d sent it without thinking, the reply popping into your mind and onto your screen in mere seconds. Mike is just as shocked. You can’t really be flirting, can you? He hasn’t flirted in years and was never good at it to begin with. He really doesn’t want to mess this up with you, not only because you work together, but because he genuinely really likes you and he’s hopeful that now things have settled down a bit with Abby, he could maybe try and find some romance. Abby needed a feminine presence in her life, especially as she got older, and, selfishly, Mike wanted to be loved, someone to hold on cold nights. He also really really wanted to get laid. He was only a man, and as much as other concerns had dominated his mind for a long time, you had brought back long-dormant urges. This is the thought that drives him forward as he sends his next text.

“She’s cute. But, she hardly compares to you,” 

It’s another big risk, but he wants you so badly that he’s willing to take it. He’s not thinking with his head anymore. 

“How so?”

You retort, your heart fluttering a little at his compliment. But you want to be sure of how he feels, you don’t want him to beat around the bush. You need to know that he wants you.

“You’re too beautiful for anyone to compare,”

He responds earnestly. This is it, he’s been transparent, this would be incredibly hard to play off as a joke. If it was a joke it would be a cruel one, so his plausible deniability is gone, his cards are on the table. He waits with bated breath. You take a long time to respond, unsure what to say. Your instinct is to thank him, but it might end the conversation there, you need this to keep going. 

“You think I’m beautiful?”

“Of course you are, no need to be modest. You could model,”

“Haha! No, I couldn’t model, certainly not runway, but thank you anyway :)” 

“Maybe a magazine? Star in a film at least?”

“I could star in your fantasies ;)” 

The text takes both of you off-guard, even though you’re the one who wrote it. You had been texting so fast back and forth that you once again hadn’t thought before sending. You nearly send a message back, taking back your words and apologising, but your confidence has inspired Mike’s as well and he shoots back a text while you’re formulating an apology.

“You already do,”

Mike feels hot all over when he sends the text, having to shed his hoodie before he starts properly sweating. As out of his depth as he feels, he’s positive by now that you’re flirting and he can’t lose this chance. He needs you, he needs you to want him too, and he’s finally allowing himself to believe that perhaps you do. 

“How often?”

“Every night,”

He can’t understand why he’s being so brazen, he could have easily scared you off by now, but you’re still texting him. He’s not thinking with his head anymore. His words make you excited, to know he thinks of you in this way, and every night is thrilling and arousing. You figure based on his last confession, that you can throw caution to the wind. You want him, he wants you, that much should be clear by now to the both of you. 

“Me too! I imagine you fucking me over the security desk,”

Oh my god. Mike’s hands shake violently as he reads the text, he can’t help but let out a strangled moan, incredibly glad he’s alone right now. Has he died and gone to heaven? Are you playing a cruel prank on him? No, you’ve always been too kind and this is a long way to go for a prank. You must want him like you say, the thought makes his head spin and his pants tighten even more. For the first time ever, he can’t wait to go to work. 

“Yeah? I think of that too,”

“Shall we? ;)”

“God, yes. I don’t even care if I get fired for it,”

“I won’t tell if you don’t!”

“My lips are sealed,”

God, he wants you so bad. He wishes he could come visit you and stop this agonising waiting game that’s begun, but his car is in the shop and the public transport nearby is virtually non-existent. This has all escalated so quickly, he had only hoped a few minutes ago for a brief non-work related chat, and now you were making plans with him for him to fuck you. He had to be in heaven, there was no other explanation. He was not going to get a single minute of work done next shift, or perhaps ever again. That poor desk doesn’t know what’s coming for it if he can have it his way. He prays you’re willing because he has about a million things he’d like to try with you.

His phone rings and he tenses. He doesn’t know whether to relax or tense further when he realises it’s you calling, but he quickly picks up anyway. As soon as he hears your voice, lower and sultrier than usual, he can’t help but buck his hips into the air slightly. 

“Hey Mike,” you whisper seductively. You’re lying back against your pillows, trembling with nerves and excitement.

“Hey… uh… beautiful…” he tries his best to be suave. You giggle softly, but not mockingly at his awkwardness.

“Thinking of me?

“Fuck, you can’t even imagine,” he groans. 

“Touching yourself?” 

“No, but… good idea… you don’t mind?” he exhales, although he’s already palming himself through his boxers, his jeans having been unzipped sometime a little while ago. He’s lost control of himself. You’re softly running your hand up and down your stomach, warming yourself up, eager to hear more. 

“If I was there, I’d do it for you,” you purr, enjoying the choked breath you hear on the other end of the line. He grips himself through the fabric, starting to stroke gently. 

“How long have you wanted me like this?” he groans into the receiver, embarrassed knowing he isn’t going to last long, the high of being wanted like this, by you of all people, really getting to him.

“Since we met,” you reply, your voice a little breathy. He can guess why and the thought makes him whimper.

“When I get my hands on you I am gonna worship you,” he promises, his voice low and hoarse, his hand now inside his boxers. “I don’t deserve your attention but God, if I have it, I’ll make sure I don’t lose it, I’ll please you all day and night,” he pants harshly between words and he can hear soft moans from your end that only spur him on. “I want to make you happy,” he groans. He means it in many ways, but right now, you hope you only interpret it as lust, he won’t let his stupid heart ruin this for him right now.

“I wanna make you happy too,” you whimper. The words hit him hard, his eyes squeezing shut and his whole body erupting in pleasure. He throws his head back against the couch, groaning loudly, hearing your moans pick up as a result is unendingly thrilling. He spills all over his hand, thick ropes of his need for you. He gasps for breath and listens intently as you fall apart on the other end. Your moans are like sweet music, and somehow you have his cock swelling again already. He wills it away as you come down from your high, gasping for breath, not wanting to push you too far. He needs this to not be a one-time thing, he needs you in person. In his mind, he pulls you into his arms and kisses your forehead, telling you how happy you’ve made him.

“I wish you were here,” he says instead, figuring it’s a little safer. You laugh a little, but it seems more like a laugh of surprise than anything.

“Still? Even though you finished already?” you tease.

“Of course, I… I could never just be done with you like that,” he insists softly, hoping you feel similarly. It seems, now more than ever, that he’s craving love and connection and now he knows that it has to be with you in order to fill what’s missing in his life. You are perfect. He knew it before but he knows it completely now. You are everything. “I care… you know? This wasn’t just a horny thing for me,”

“You seemed pretty horny,”

“You know what I mean!” he protests and you giggle. He laughs too, though he’s still anxious about how you felt about his confession. 

“I care too, Mike,” you admit with a soft sigh, rolling onto your side. “I also want you here… Would you spoon me?”

“Of course, I would, gladly,” he promises, inwardly ecstatic that you want his affection. He wants to keep you warm and safe, tucked up against his chest, safe from harm. He imagines kissing your neck and he hears you sigh happily, he wonders if you share his fantasy. “I can’t wait to see you again. I’m so… grateful for all this… that you like me like this,” he hums, slowly tucking himself away and zipping up. He makes a mental note to buy you flowers for when he next sees you, hopefully, accompanied by the courage to ask you to be his girlfriend.

“I’ll see you at work,” you smile, blowing a kiss into the receiver.

“Yeah, see you at work,”

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xoxoxo

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I called out sick twice after already getting my 2 weeks notice

Hoo! So glad I found this blog recently because I have a stressful little situation on my hands.

I've been working at a small restraunt for a few months and have enjoyed the work I do, but am very obviously falling behind. It was my first restraunt job that wasn't a pizza place and so I took some adjusting. Not to mention we are incredibly shirt staffed, so I was constantly overworking myself and closing alone. I could tell that I was gonna get let go for a while now, so I'm not bothered by that. But my weekend directly after I got my 2 weeks notice I went on a night trip to the coast with my mom. Upon returning home, I was horribly sick. Like the worst I've been in a long time but luckily not covid. So I called out on my 'monday' and got a predictably passive aggressive text telling me to rest up. That was yesterday, and today I woke up and sent a text saying I could come in with my mask and theraflu whatever. An hour later, after showering and taking my meds, I got INTENSE side effects from my meds. This is weird because I took them on time and everything. (These side effects are horrible and called "brain zaps" lol, it's like that feeling of numbness before you pass out or go to sleep, but constantly and rapidly shooting through your limbs from your brain.)

I am mad that I'm getting what seem like withdrawals, because I took my meds on time. But then I realized all the fucking medicine and immune supplements I've been taking can seriously mess with my meds. So I look it up and of course effexor has an interaction warning with cold medicine for serotonin syndrome. Awesome! So I did it to myself trying to get better enough to work.

I feel like the asshole because I only have a set amount of days left, and it seems like the least I can do to show up. On top of this, there is an event happening tonight that I'd be assisting with, so I am essentially abandoning my other coworker as well. I am very afraid that to my boss this all sounds very fake and could even seem like retaliation for the firing.

Just very stressed and in a self loathing mood lol 🫠

What are these acronyms?

[lillian-gallows]

Kinktober Day 24: Praise with Nancy Wheeler

Pairing: Nancy Wheeler X Fem!Reader Word Count: 1819 Warnings: Praise kink, Non-sexual kink, Non-sexual Intimacy, No smut, Fluff (So much fluff), Mommy kink (Reader call Nancy Mama as a title), Dom/Sub dynamics, Pet names, Bathing together, Kneeling, Reader is a little insecure but Nancy eases it.

Kinktober 2024 Master(sub)list.

Minors DNI

Today had been long. Not bad, just long.

A coworker had called in sick, which meant all her time-sensitive work had gotten passed onto you.

You didn’t blame her, it’s not her fault she got the flu, but it did mean you spent the day rushing hither and to, trying to get everything done and now were absolutely exhausted.

Your keys jingled as you opened the door to your shared apartment, knowing that Nancy would already be home and waiting for your return.

God, you loved her.

You can still recall the day you met her like it was yesterday.

She’d been at your job doing research for one of her articles and you’d been assigned as the liaison from your company.

It was simple, answer her questions as best you could and show her some basic files for her to use as references later.

You’d walked away blushing beet red with a coffee date.

That coffee date turned into a dinner date, then a movie date, then you were meeting at her home for drinks.

Along the way you learned that you two were two sides of the same coin in so many ways.

You loved to cook, while she couldn’t boil water. You loved to talk, she loved to listen. You hated doing the dishes but loved doing the laundry, she would rather die than fold a shirt and found washing dishes calming. You didn’t have a dominant bone in your body, and she was more than happy to take control.

“Nance?” You called into the house as you slipped your jacket from your shoulders, hanging it in the same motion as you kicked your shoes off.

“Hey, welcome home.” She smiled as she came into sight at the end of the entryway hall, her slipper shuffling with every step. “How was work?” She asked as she noticed your sagging shoulders.

“Good, very busy, but good.” You answered as you reached her, leaning in for a kiss. “Tracy called out with the flu, so her work became my problem.” You shrugged, truly not bothered by it.

She returned your kiss without hesitation, blue eyes fluttering closed for a moment before regarding you. “It was sweet of you to take that on for her. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.” She said, a light tone of praise in her voice that had warmth rising in your face.

“Not so sweet, it was assigned to me.” You countered with another shrug.

“Yeah, but you still did it, and knowing you, you went above and beyond. Am I right?” She asked with a lifted brow. When your only answer was to look away and purse your lips she smirked slightly. “See? Sweet.” She established before pulling you into another kiss.

“My sweet girl.” She whispered against your lips, knowing fully how it would affect you.

You flushed even more, the heat spreading down your neck. “Quit…” You whined, not really wanting her to stop but at the same time having no energy to pursue the desire she created in you.

Like everything else about you, she saw right to the root of the problem, and pressed her lips to your forehead. “Why don’t we take a bath, and then we can relax?” She offered softly.

“We?” You questioned, assuming she was being suggestive.

“I want to take care of my Good Girl and help her relax, no funny business. Promise.” She answered softly.

You adored that she always seemed to know exactly what you needed.

As you both stood there, her waiting for your consent before she went to do as promised, you worried at your lip lightly. “C-Can I…Kneel for you…After…?” You asked, easily slipping into that submissive headspace.

Her smile widened, full of fondness and love. “Of course, Baby. Whatever you want after being so good today.” She answered, gentle hand brushing the soft strands of your hair from your face, tucking them behind your ear before cradling your cheek in her palm. “Go put your things down, get undressed, and I’ll get the bath ready. Okay?” She directed easily.

“Okay.” You answered, about to walk away from her but paused. “Can I have another kiss?”

This pulled a chuckle from her. “Yes, Sweetheart. You can have another kiss.” Then her lips were pressing to yours, soft and warm and tasting of the cinnamon tea she must have been drinking before you came home.

She’s an addiction you never want to kick.

As she parts from you, you try to follow her lips, still craving more. “Go on, I’ll meet you in the bathroom…” She coaxed with a nudge to your side, when had her hand found your hip?

“Okay, Mama…” Her smile widened at the use of her title, and she watched you go till you disappeared into the bedroom.

Your bag found its place on your dresser, and in the same motion you opened the pajama drawer, grabbing a soft long-sleeved shirt and pajama pants.

Your work clothes only barely landed in the hamper in your hurry to get out of them, and once you were free of them you took your bundle of clean clothes and made for the bathroom.

She was already naked when you entered, leaned over the bathtub to feel the temperature as it filled, and she looked over her shoulder at you. “Ready?” She asked as she sat up, offering a damp hand to you.

The bundle found its place on the counter before you took her hand as she helped you step into the warm water, little bubbles forming a white foam on the surface. It smelled of lavender.

Nancy stepped in after you and guided you to sit down with her, leaning back against her chest while she let her fingers drift along your skin. “There we go, pretty girl…” She cooed into your hair before pressing her lips to your bare shoulder.

Had she been someone else, you might have thought she was going to try for more, but you knew she was true to her promises, and her touches would remain innocent.

“I know you are but what am I?” You said teasingly. You were fishing for more praise and you both knew it, but she was more than happy to oblige.

She hummed as if in thought. “Beautiful, smart, sexy, resourceful, sweet as we’ve already established.” She said with an air of jest before turning serious once more. “Perfect.”

Your skin felt as hot as the water you sat in. “Not perfect.” You denied, though it was far from a jest, nor was it fishing this time.

Her gentle hand turned your face to meet her gaze. “You’re my perfect girl, and I won’t hear anything less.” She said with a gentle sternness.

You knew it drove her crazy when you spoke down of yourself, but you simply couldn’t help it, mean words throughout your life had imprinted on you.

“Am I understood?” She asked when you didn’t say anything.

Your lips pursed as if to decline, but you nodded. “Yes, Mama…” You answered softly.

Her smile returned after that. “Good.” She said before kissing your temple. “Now, let’s get you clean.” Continued as she took the washcloth in hand and dipped it in the water.

Her touch was gentle yet thorough as she washed your body for you, not missing a single spot as she went.

Normally this act would have turned heated, especially when she cleaned between your legs, but instead she let you lay back against her as she took care of you, careful not to linger and give your runaway brain anything to grasp onto.

By the time she was done the water had cooled and neither of you wanted to stay in it any longer.

After helping you out of the water, Nancy dried and dressed you and herself before having you sit on the toilet so she could brush your hair with a delicate touch, working each knot out with a practiced ease.

Your eyes fluttered closed as she did this, already getting that wonderful floaty feeling as your brain started to turn off.

“Sweety?” She cooed down at you, pulling you back to earth a little.

“Hm?” You managed, heavy eyelids fluttering open to look up at her.

“Ready to go sit down?” She asked, knowing full well what the answer was, but she liked making you talk when you got like this, how light your voice became, how at ease you were.

No worries, just you and her.

“Mm-hmm…” Was the best you could offer before trying to stand, only to stagger slightly on your wobbly legs.

Her strong hands caught you, helping keep you steady. “Careful, Baby.” She murmured, leading you out of the bathroom and down the hallway slowly, careful not to let go of you.

“Mama’s sweet too…” You whispered as you followed her.

“Hm? What was that, Baby?” She asked, looking back at you.

“You said I was sweet. Mama’s sweet too.” You said slightly louder this time, though you couldn’t manage much more.

Her smile was like sunshine as she stopped and faced you fully. “Thank you, Sweety. But you.” She tucked the wet strands of hair behind your ear once more. “Are the sweetest, and I’m afraid that’s simply not up for debate.” Then she gave you a tender kiss, arms wrapping around you in a warm hug.

“Love you…” You whispered into her shoulder.

“I love you too.” She answered before taking your hand in hers to continue the path to the living room.

Stopping in front of the couch she took one of the thick blankets you kept there and folded it into fourths before laying it on the floor and sitting down with her feet under it and her knees parted before offering her hand once more.

There was no hesitation in taking it, letting her guide you to the floor on the blanket between her legs, where you rested your cheek on her thigh and wrapped your hands around the backs of her knees, thumbs running up and down along the soft material of her pajama pants.

“Comfortable?” She asked as she ran her fingers through your hair.

“Mm-hmm…” You gave a slow nod.

“Want me to read to you? It’s Sherlock Holms.” She offered softly, holding up the book she must have been reading before you got home.

“Please?” You hummed, looking up at her with big eyes.

“Of course.” She answered before settling back into her seat and opening the book, holding it with one hand while the other continued to play with your hair, only leaving every so often to turn the page, her warm voice was hypnotic, and you quickly drifted off into that sea of calm known as subspace.

“Mama…?” You murmured after a while.

“Yes, Baby?” You could feel her eyes on you, attention undivided.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Sweety.”

[inlovewithquestionablecharacters]

Tyler Galpin X Reader: Not a monster, just done monstrous things.

Summary: Tyler knows something if off and you are the only one he could trust. Because you're his friend or maybe... something more.

Warning: none this is pure fluff

There was something wrong with Tyler.

He didn't know when it had started but he knew something inside him had changed. Once this realization had made its way into his head strange things started occurring.

It began with the dreams. He’d find himself dreaming about the woods that surrounded the small town he’d grown up in. Unusual places he’d never gone to in his waking hours would flash into his mind during his shifts at the cafe. Then things escalated. He'd woken up in a cave, his body completely bare and covered in blood. He didn’t remember what he’d done but he knew it had been bad. He knew something was off but he didn’t know how to stop it.

You’ve been studying in Nevermore for over a year now and in that time you and Tyler had become friends. You’d often pop up at the cafe before class for a cup of coffee and a good morning from your favorite barista. Tyler would always greet you with a smile which you returned. Today however you found yourself worrying about him. You’d gotten there at your usual time and instead of finding him behind the counter you were greeted by one of the other workers. You’d asked about your friend and found out that he’d called yesterday night saying he wasn’t feeling well enough to go to work in the morning. You rushed out of the cafe before the poor girl behind the counter could ask for your order. 

You’d been to Tylers house before so you knew how to get there. You were sure you’d get an earful from principal Weems for missing your first class but you’d be willing to tolerate it if it meant making sure Tyler was alright. 

Once you’d gotten to the house you knocked on the front door and waited for someone to answer.

“Coming.”

Sheriff Donavan’s voice came from inside the house, followed by the sound of Tylers mumbled complaints which calmed your nerves slightly because it meant he was still well enough to bicker with his dad. You watched the door open and Sheriff Donavans head pop out from behind it.

“Well hello there.”

“Hi Mr Galpin.”

“Aren't you supposed to be at Nevermore?”

“Yeah but I heard Tyler wasn’t feeling too well and I wanted to check on him. Is it alright if I come in?”

Sheriff Donavan looked at you for a moment as if contemplating your question. The first time you’d come over the sheriff had been a bit uneasy at your arrival, the whole “school of freaks'' thing making him wonder if you were a good influence for his son but with time he became used to the idea of your friendship with Tyler.

“Alright, go on up. He’s in his room.”

“Thanks.”

You made your way to Tylers room fully expecting to find him laying in bed with the sheets up to his nose and surrounded by an amalgamation of used tissue paper littering his floor. Instead you’d found him bent over his desk scribbling away at a piece of paper like a mad man. You slowly approached the boy, bending over a bit to see what he was drawing. 

“That’s a bit gory.”

Tyler jumped up from his chair at the sound of your voice causing his shoulder to hit your nose.

“Holy crap!”

Your hand went up to cover your face, the sudden impact startling you.

“Oww Tyler, I think you broke my nose.”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I went to the cafe and you weren’t there. Your coworker said you called in sick.”

You got a good look at Tyler. He didn't look sick at all, if anything he seemed a bit better then normal.

“You don’t look sick.”

“I’m not.”

“So you just wanted to ditch work for the day. Gosh Tyler seems like my bad nature is rubbing off on you.” 

Tyler’s face completely changed at your comment, his brows moving into a worried expression.

“Don’t say that.”

“Why not?”

“Because there is nothing wrong with me!”

“So there is something wrong with me, is that what you think?”

You’d adapted a defensive behavior, Tyler had seen you doing before but never directed towards him. He didn’t consider you a freak so you’d never found yourself having to tell him off. Until now.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh really? Because that sure as hell what you said.”

“I’m sorry. I just…I had a rough night.”

Tyler grabbed your hand into his own caressing it slightly as he spoke. Your eyes softened at the gesture, your gaze falling onto his face. He looked like he hadn’t slept well.You knew the feeling.

“Want to talk about it?”

“I don’t really know how to.” “How come?”

“Because I don't even really know what happened.”

You watched Tyler fiddle with his clothes nervously before his eyes went up to look at yours again.

“When you first transformed…could you…did you feel it? Like could you remember everything?”

“Not everything. I mean werewolves normally keep a state of consciousness when we transform but that's now how it works for everyone. There isn’t right or wrong with this kind of stuff. It just is how it is. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve been having these dreams. More like flashes really. They come out of nowhere and I can't control them.”

“You could be having visions. Loads of different people have them. Sometimes seers start developing their powers through visions. Do you know of anyone who was an outcast in your family?”

“My mom went to Nevermore. Dad almost never talks about her but I found an old picture in one of his boxes. She was a student there but I have no clue what she was.”

“Maybe you got the gene from her. I could ask Principal Weems if you-”

“No!”

Tyler rose for where he was sitting abruptly.You started up at him.

“Sorry, I just don’t want anyone to know yet.”

“Okay then. But if you need anything I'm here for you.”

“Thanks.”

Tyler pulled you into a hug. You nuzzled into him, enjoying the way his smell surrounded you. 

“I have to go now but keep me posted okay?”

“Yeah I will. Thanks again.”

“Hey that's what friends are for.”

You’d made it back to school in time for your second lesson and to your surprise Principal Weems didn’t chew you out. She was far too busy with Nevermores' new student to notice you were gone. Thank goddess for that.

The following  weeks went by as usual. You'd go to the cafe and chat with Tyler before class and the two of you would hang out whenever you had free time. Tyler had found an interest in Wednesday Addams, the new girl, and even though it made you a bit jealous you never admit it to anyone. Things seemed to be going smoothly around Jericho until the attacks started becoming more predominant. Of course the normie sheriff believed Nevermore had something to do with it while the rest of the townies believed it to be a bear.

Tyler didn’t mention his visions to you again so you supposed they had stopped happening. The two of you had allied with Wednesday on her search for the creature causing all the killings which only seemed to cause more and more problems for both of you. Wednesday seemed to have a suspect but she refused to share it with the rest of you. You knew pushing her wouldn’t do anything so you just let it be.

You found yourself unable to sleep one night, a small gut feeling making you stay awake. You lay in your bed staring up at the ceiling and waiting for the uneasiness to go away. Then your phone started ringing. You picked up the device glancing at the screen. Tyler's name greeted you. You looked at the time. What the hell was Tyler calling you about at three in the morning?

“Tyler?”

“Sorry did I wake you?”

“No, I couldn't sleep. What’s up?”

“Can you leave the school?”

“I mean not officially but I have a secret escape route. Where would I be going?”

“The woods.”

Your stomach dropped at the sound of Tyler's voice. It didn't sound right to your ears, his goofy nature being replaced by a darker tone.

“You there?”

“Yeah I'm just…what's going on Tyler. The woods at 3 am. Considering there is some sort of monster around it doesn't seem very safe.”

“The monster won’t be a problem.”

“How do you know?”

“Please just come. I need you.”

Well how were you supposed to say no to him when he asked like that?

“Yeah okay i'm going.”

You walked through the woods, your eyes looking at your phone to make sure you were going in the right direction. Once the small icon on your map made it to the destination you put your phone away and looked around.

“Tyler you here?”

You heard some rustling in the leaves making your claws come out in a defensive manner. You turned abruptly towards the noise ready for combate.

“Wow! It’s just me.”

Your shoulders dropped at the sight of Tyler.

“You can’t do that Ty!”

“You scared of me?”

“No of course not but come on, it’s the middle of the woods and totally dark. I think I'm allowed to be a bit on edge.”

“I would never hurt you.”

“Yeah i-”

“I need you to know that. I need you to be one hundred percent sure that I would never harm you.”

“Okay… Tyler what’s up why are you acting like this?”

“I know who the monster is.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah I'm sure.”

“How come?”

“Because it’s me. I'm the monster.”

You wanted it to be a joke. A sick twisted joke but you knew Tyler wouldn’t do that. Not with something so serious. So that meant Tyler, your best friend, the guy you’d risk everything for, was a murderous monster. You didn’t know what to do. The correct thing was to turn him in but you couldn’t do that.

“Can you control it?”

“No. Not really. I’m consious when it happenes so I remember everything but I'm not in control. Please don’t hate me.”

“Oh Ty i could never hate you. It’s just you know it's a lot.”

You moved closer to Tyler pulling him into a hug. He didn’t hesitate to hold onto your body, his shoulders relaxing into your hold. He had hoped you wouldn’t judge him but there was a small part of him that had believed you’d scream and run once you’d found out. He was glad you didn’t.

“Don’t worry Ty. We’ll figure something out.”

You kept Tyler's secret for the rest of the week knowing that if the others found out they wouldn’t react as well as you. Tyler had assured you that if he started feeling a change coming he'd call you first thing.

Everything seemed to be in control.

And then Wednesday got Xavier locked up and ended up being expelled. The day she was supposed to leave you’d gotten a text from Tyler saying: “Something will happen tonight. Meet me in the woods.”. You followed his instructions, staying hidden behind one of the trees as he met Wednesday. In the middle of the interaction you noticed Tylers posture had become more rigid. You got up from your spot just as he looked your way. His features seemed to be split between two feelings: complete dread and unbearable excitement. The change was starting. You rushed over to where he was pushing Wednesday out of the way.

“Get out of here!”

“You knew.”

“Wednesday we can talk later, just go!”

You expected her to remain glued to her spot in defiance but instead she listened to your command, running to the school. You heard your name from behind you causing you to turn to where Tyler had been but he was no longer there. You moved your head up to look at the creature in front of you. You’d heard about Hydes before but seeing one up close was something else. They were gnarly looking alright.

“Tyler!”

You waved your arms trying to call its attention to you. It didn't work the Hyde was focused on his target. You watched as the monster turned to were Wednesday had ran to.

“No! Tyler over here!”

You couldn’t stop him, at least not in your human form. You took deep breaths, focusing your mind to make your change begin. When you opened your eyes again you were in your wolf form. You raced after the hyde jumping onto its back as you tried to make the creature turn back into Tyler. The hyde fought back furiously. It managed to grab you and throw you against a rock. You let a howl of pain at the impact making the creature stop moving. It turned to face you and when you looked up at it you were greeted by Tyler's eyes. You watched as Tyler forced himself back to his original form before rushing over to you. You switched into your human form as he approached you. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to but I couldn't stop it.”

You winced as you tried to sit up making Tyler look at you with guilt.

“It’s okay. You’re back now.”

“Here.”

Tyler handed you a jacket from his bag for you to cover up. A blush stained your cheeks when you realized how exposed the two of you were. You glanced up at Tyler, noticing his face was also slightly pinker than normal. Now was not the time to start behaving like a kid with a crush but you couldn’t help it. You’d always seen Tyler as more of a friend and you often thought that his relationship with you wasn't always as black and white as it seemed.

“What are you thinking about?”

“You made me change. I couldn’t have done that if it weren’t for you.”

“I wonder why that is.”

“I don’t have to wonder. I know why.”

Tyler moved his hand so that it was around your neck, forcing you to lean your head up to him. Your faces were so close you could feel his breath on your lips. 

“It’s because I like you, more than just a friend.”

Before you could even respond he had leaned down and kissed you. Never would you have imagined that this would be how your night would end. Kissing Tyler Galpin, the hyde, in the middle of the woods after battling against him for your life. But it didn’t matter. None of it mattered. The world could be burning and you wouldn’t care. You’d find a way to deal with Tylers situation together. Everything was going to be alright. For now you chose to focus on the feeling of his lips on yours. The rest could wait until tomorrow.

[nicistrying]

Fri 27th Sep

Yesterday was a bit of a non-day, literally all I did was go to work and come home and have a bath and go to bed. I started making biscuits for my godson's bday party, the recipe sucked and was too wet, and when I came home with more flour bc I had used my last, I just couldn't bring myself to try again.

Woke up today after yet another night of wild dreams, feeling overwhelmed and really wanting to call in sick. I was running late and almost crying eating my breakfast at the thought of taking phone calls and being around other people. THEN Matt and Maggie come back from their walk and I hear a clatter in the dark, then the light comes on, then 'oh no. Oh fuck oh shit ah fuck me no no no what the fuck ah shit'. I go out and this is what I see 😭😭😭

Matt had taken his waterproofs off and flung them not realising how muddy they were on the dark. This almost tipped me over the edge but bc he was in such a state over it I just laughed and said we'll sort it out tonight when we get back from work, we'll order a takeaway and clean up. We were both running late by that point.

Went to work, mostly kept to myself and was okay, I felt better after chatting to my coworkers a bit and by the time I had to take calls in the afternoon I was absolutely fine. Drove home and Matt took Maggie for a walk while I cleaned up the mud (this was my decision lol walking her is stressful and scrubbing the walls is not). Got our takeaway, made the biscuits.

Godson's 1st birthday tomorrow and we are taking him to the zoo on Sunday!!

[dropitlikeapeong]

Waiting for You: Chapter 2-

But why?

Genre: more angst (kinda.. it could've been worse)

CW: Swearing(and lots of it). Seeuns a jerk (a little bit!). mentions of food. Y/n's probably getting fired. mentions of jealousy. suggestive mentions (makeouts, hickeys and love bites) NONE are happening in this chapter, they're only mentioned.

This chapter is not as angsty and sad as it could've been, and thats okay because I still got the next few chapters to torture you with :D

This one's a bit longer than the last one so woohoo. I apologize for any spelling mistakes (my eyesight is a joke) if im forgetting to add something in the cws, please let me know and i hope ya'll enjoy.

Likes, reblogs and comments are very appreciated.

"Let's break up."

"we're done, y/n."

"I don't want us, anymore"

"we're done."

"Goodbye Y/n."

Not a single explanation given, he just simply let you know that it was over, and left. Instead of an evening that usually ends with watching yours and his favourite shows on netflix with some snacks, cuddling and a little makeout in between, your evening ended with you crying yourself to sleep wondering what went wrong. Sadly the world won't stop spinning solely for your heartbreak, and you are very much still needed at work today.

Having slept through the alarms your now ex-boyfriend always set for you, you are forced get up by the several incoming calls and texts from your supervisor and your coworkers. After your phone finally stops vibrating, you sit up in your bed to scroll through the many texts from your friends, Jiwoo and Hana;

Jiwoo: WHERE TF ARE YOU?!- sent 06:18

Jiwoo: you were the last one to leave work last night, you have the office keys now we can't get in- sent 06:20

Jiwoo: also we agreed yesterday you're in charge of the picking up the boys' food, im driving them to the photoshoot- sent 06:21

Jiwoo: and no i will not switch shifts with you again- sent 06:21

Jiwoo: BITCH ISTG- sent 06:52

Jiwoo: we got a spare key. thanks for nothing asshole.- sent 07:05

Well... Jiwoo's mad. You'll have to make it up to her later, and from the looks of it, Hana as well.

Hana: If you value your job, get your ass over here quickly. I can only stall Manager Park for so long- sent 07:52

Hana: and no i'm not gonna tell them you're calling in sick- sent 07:52

Hana: Youre on the meal shift, you not allowed to call in sick today- sent 07:53

Hana: IF YOU DONT PICK UP THE FCUKING CALL ISTG- sent 07:58

Hana: lol, tried to save ya, Manager Park is pissed.-sent 08:14

Hana: And youre on meal shift tomorrow as well since jiwoo had to get the boys' coffee today. YOURE WELCOME.- sent 08:15

hana: AND youre the one who promised the maknaes brownies today, not us, so have fun explaining to them why they arent getting any today- sent 08:18

Hana: im mad at you in case you cant tell.-sent 08:18

Aside from the spam of your upset friends, your main motivator to get into the shower was a singular text from Manager Park letting you know that if you didn't show up at work today, to not bother showing up tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that.

So you rush through your shower routine, grab your bags and your keys and a fruit on your way out of your home, to at least try and salvage this day, and not piss off your friends or your other colleagues even more.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

While driving to work, your thoughts end up drifting back to last nights events. When Seeun broke your heart and left you crying on your living room floor.

Later today one of the staff that were aware of your relationship would be coming around to pick up anything and everthing of his that he might have left in your apartment, during your one year relationship.

'It's for the best' he says. Best for who? Him? Did the CEO find out about you then tell him to end things? that would make sense, however with how clingy he was toward you at work and in front of everyone, it was quite difficult to keep your relationship secret, even from the CEO himself.

After he caught Seeun trying to sneak into one of the supply closets with you, you were both called into his office for a very important discussion about "fraternization in the workplace". He'd given you both a stern yet kind warning that if anyone outside of the company found out found about this, it'd mean a lot of trouble, especially for you, so you needed to be careful.

'Guess there's no need to worry about that anymore.' you thought to yourself.

You make a stop at the sandwich bar across the company to pick up the boys' lunch as well as the brownies you promised, even though you told them you'd bake them yourself, you were unfortunately too preoccupied with dealing with heartbreak their friend caused. Hopefully they'll understand right? Of course they wouldn't they didn't even know you two were a thing. Wait, maybe that's his issue;

What if he saw you with someone else? Maybe thats why!

Could he have seen you with another guy and overthought the situation? You obviously have some male coworkers that you chat with sometimes, but your conversations are always respectful. Even if someone does flirt with you, you always kindly let them know you're not interested.

Him worrying about you leaving for another guy seems highly unlikely, but not impossible. He does tend to have a bit of a jealous streak, epsecially when comes to you being around his bandmates.

With the job of prepping their equipment and clothing for performances, Bringing them their food and drinks and driving them to their many different events since their debut, it's no surprise that you'd eventually grow close to the ten boys. it is how you and Seeun started dating after all, but considering that could get you into an insane amount of trouble, your relationship with him remained a secret, even from the rest of the group.

That secretiveness unfortunately made some of other members comfortable enough to have some flirty conversations with you.

Its kinda suprising how neither of them even suspected you two, with how Seeun would constantly be caught staring daggers at Hunter for constantly offering to take you out on a date after dance practice. Considering Hunter's personality, you know he's probably joking, but it still didn't stop your boyfriend from angrily muttering about how he needed to back off, because you're his and his only.

I mean, at least you were.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Finally you arrive at the company just in time to deliver lunch to the boys. Once you reach their practice room they're all lying on the floor sprawled out, in different corners of the studio. Jiwoo continues packing up their sound equipment not even sparing you a glance, still very much upset from this morning. You'll have to buy her lunch later to make up for it.

They're all too exhausted from rehearsals to pay any attention to you, so you figure you can sneak in, leave them their food and sneak back out unnoticed, but today is just not your day.

"Y/NNIE!!", is all you hear before a strong pair of arms wrap around you and lift you off the ground, squeezing you tightly.

So much for sneaking out unnoticed.

"Hunter, I can't breathe." He gives you one last squeeze before setting you on your feet again, smiling down at you.

"Where were you this morning? We missed you!" Yujun asked while rummaging through the bag of food you brought.

Now everyone's eyes are on you as you try to explain your absence from this morning but your wonderful ex pipes up before you can even speak.

"Who's 'we'?" he scoffed, while the other members laughed, your smile dropped as you tensed at his response.

Right. He always had to tease you a little to make sure his favoritism of you wasn't too obvious, although according to Hyunwoo, it only makes it more obvious that he likes you, hence everyone just laughing off his comment. Even you would just laugh off his antics knowing he'd give you all his hugs and kisses later, as an apology in case he was a little too mean.

But after last night's conversation, today's joke isn't really that easy to laugh off.

"So Y/n, where were you-Are you crying?" Yechan asks and now everyone is moving in closer to see what was wrong with you. When did you start crying? You quickly wipe at your face but Seeun grabs your wrist, his other hand moving up to as if to caress your cheek, him looking down at you with concern with concern in his eyes, that concern disappears immediately, as he laughs in your face.

"Wait are you really crying?" he sneered. What is this?

This is not his usual teasing, he's really just trying to hurt you.

But why? Why is he being like this?

"Aw, Y/nnie you know I'm just joking, no need to be a baby about it-" he goes to ruffle your hair but you instinctively slap his hand away from you.

He looked a bit shocked at your actions but that expression quickly changed into a mocking smirk.

"Woah, calm down, why are you being so moody today?"

"Y/n just had a bad morning guys, we all have those don't we?" jiwoo spoke up. You weren't really expecting her to defend you after her texts from this morning, but you were grateful nonetheless.

"Yay! You brought the brownies!" the exchange between you two is quickly forgotten as the rest of group rushes off to where Yujun is holding the box of brownies.

"Hey, these are store-bought you said you'd bake them-"

"Who cares, I want one!"

"Hey! hEY- DON'T EAT ALL OF THEM! We're supposed to share!!"

While they all bickered over the bags of food, you backed away silently trying to make your way to the door, but bumped into someone, you turn around to see Seeun glaring at you.

"Watch where you're going idiot." He muttered walking over to where the rest of members were already sitting down and eating, leaving a dull ache in your chest.

What was his problem? Why was he acting as if you're the one who hurt him?

You were tempted to ask but Jiwoo grabbed your arm and dragged you towards the door.

"We need to go see Manager Park right now, but we'll be back in a few minutes. Enjoy your lunch guys!"

Once the door is shut, you are then dragged off to yours and Jiwoo's shared office.

"I thought we had to go to Manager Park-"

"Yes. You do. In an hour or so;"

She then shoves you into your chair and stares at you expectantly.

"I know you're probably so mad at me right now- and you have every right to be-"

"-Apology accepted. You'll pay for my lunch later. Now onto more pressing matters, what's up with you and Seeun? You guys were so tense just now! Did you guys fight or something?"

You roll your eyes and sigh at her nosiness. You had planned on keeping the relationship a secret from her and Hana as well, but they put two and two together when you had gone into his dressing room to 'help him with his stage outfit', and came back with hickeys littered on your neck and collar, and bite marks on your shoulders and chest(you probably shouldn't have worn a sleeveless top that day).

Although there was a lot of concern about how things could easily go very wrong with this, they were still very happy for you and being the good friends they were, they promised not to tell a single soul.

"We broke up." Her mouth fell open, with her eyes widened in shock.

"Uh.. O-Okay?? Why??" She asked incredulously.

You shrugged, wishing you knew that answer as well.

"Jeez so that's why he's been so sour this morning, you broke his heart!" she says slapping your arm lightly and you narrowed your eyes her.

"First of all; He broke up with me-"

"-The fuck? Why?"

"Beats me." you leaned back into your chair closing your eyes.

"Well shit, then what the heck was he mad at us for?" you sat back up at that.

"He got mad at you guys?" she nodded and sat on you desk.

"He was so snappy with everyone this morning, no one knew what his deal was."

Before you could ask her for more information, the door opened and Hana rushed in, slightly out of breath.

"Manager Park is looking for you- and wants to see you in the practice room. Right now."

"Me? I thought he wanted to see me in hour-"

"-Change of plans. He wants to see you now and i suggest you move fast, cause he seemed pissed."

Shit.

"We all come late from time to time- hell even he was late too last week- he can't still be mad about that right?" Jiwoo asked trying to reassure you even though she seemed just as worried as you. Hana shrugged and looked at you.

"You coming?"

You exhaled deeply and stood up, following her to the the practice room.

Time to face the music.

<previous chapter :: next chapter>

[mothdruid]

hiii abby 🌷 HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY 🌼🧁 i hope you’re doing well, and i love your new mobile theme 🌿

can i request… 

“can we do that again?” from the responses after they kiss prompt list with robert bob floyd

or

“calm down, i’m not leaving–i’m just going to grab another blanket.” from the storm prompt list with rhett abbott

or

“do you make house calls to all of your coworkers when they call in sick, or am i just that special?” with harrison knott from the coworkers to lovers prompt list 

omg this got out of hand please ignore this or choose whichever one floats your little birthday boat 💐💓🩷💕💐

my first Harrison tidbit! thank you so much for the request love 🩷🩷

i'm coming over - h. knott

The text had heat filling your cheeks. Well, more than the fever that was already consuming you. You'd been sick since the day prior, having to call in yesterday and today. Which had resulted in worried texts from your coworker, Harrison. It was initially just a 'hope you get better' text, but now were texts of concern about your fever not breaking.

A sigh left you as you tugged your thin sheet back over your body. As much as you would love to see the man you'd been crushing on for years, you just kind of felt like shit. You were a shivering mess but couldn't allow yourself to use an actual blanket. The sheet was enough for now, not wanting to make your fever worse.

The soft vibrations in your hand woke you from your borderline sleep. You checked your phone, noticing a text from Harrison saying he was there. As much as you wanted to tell him to sneak in through the side window so you wouldn't have to leave your bed, you didn't. Slowly you pushed the sheet off of you and headed to the front door of your place.

Harrison was smiling brightly when you opened the door, almost as bright as the sun you had avoided for the past two days. He was holding a bag of random items that had you squinting at him.

"What is that?" You asked while gesturing to the bag.

"Things to make you feel better," Harrison assured as he stepped inside and headed to your kitchen.

You followed him to your kitchen and wrapped your arms around yourself. Your hands rubbed against your skin, trying to soothe the feverish goosebumps that had blossomed across your skin. Harrison smiled at you again as he started to pull the items out of the bag.

"Okay, we got Tylenol, cough drops, Pedialyte, applesauce, and tea." Harrison grinned when he finished the list.

“Do you make house calls to all of your coworkers when they call in sick, or am i just that special?”

"Just that special I guess," Harrison said while avoiding eye contact.

You notice a red flush starts to creep on his cheeks. It was rather cute, the man you'd had a crush on for forever doing all of this for you. Truly something you'd watch on TV or read in a cheesy book. And that was exactly how it stayed for the rest of the night, him staying to keep you company while nursing you back to health.

[sludgefriend]

Today, I woke up feeling better than I did yesterday. So that was good. I went into work, and made sure to say hello and good morning to everyone that I work with. This has become important to me, for some reason. We’re working on rice surveys, still. I’m looking forward to them being over, at this point. It’s very… dynamic work. By dynamic I mean not very organized or structured. I really never know quite what to expect, and usually, results are rarely quite what we want them to be. At the very least, I usually enjoy the activities surrounding the rice. It puts me in swamps and streams, sometimes in a kayak. There’s so much beauty in a wetland. Each inch of them is teeming with weird little lifeforms. My favorite kind. I’ve also really come to enjoy kayaking. I knew that I would; I’ve always loved being in water and on water vehicles. Even though I’m shit at swimming and predestined to drown. One of my coworkers taught me to stir my kayak sideways a while back. I struggled a lot with the movement at first. My connection with the motor skills of my accursed corporeal form still leave something to be desired. But I’m learning, you know? And learn, I did. I went from flailing around helplessly to being able to whip out a really great side-stir at a moment’s notice within about an hour.

Anyways. Our sites today were two hours of driving from the office. Pretty sick, honestly. Easy work and a decent helping of fucking around. Spent the drive laughing and joking with my coworkers. Our first site, an agricultural drainage ditch, was a dud. Apparently it had been bustling with rice in previous years. Although, we found a big clam shell with a nice little hole through the middle of it. It had a little magic in it, I thought, so I kept it. Reminded me of a witching stone.

The second site was this big wildlife reservation… thing. Mostly wetlands. Loaded with rice. We just went to confirm the presence of rice, though. Not actually survey. Something about the place felt like being in another country. Whereas the rest of Indiana is just Fucking Corn, this place was bustling with a variety of greenery and life. I got to see sandhill cranes, great egrets, and blue herons. Lovely! Big beautiful birds. This place was also LOADED with soras. A funny little water bird with a very animated little tail that I’d previously dubbed the Illusive Peeper due to a previous struggle that we’d had finding and identifying the little guys. Other sites had handfuls of these guys. We were practically surrounded by them in this one. They have such a delightful call. Such charming little fellows…

After work I sorted bugs with Sarah for our volunteer position. We do this every Tuesday after work. It would genuinely be such a boring task without her, especially because it always comes immediately after our usual 8 hour work day, but the time really just flies. I’m really thankful that she ended up working here.

On the way home from work, I spotted a bald eagle sitting in a field. Bewildering! What are you doing here! I didn’t know you were here! Helllooooooo. Anyways. I was really excited to see him. I pulled my car over and tried to take a picture, but I ended up spooking him off. Oh well. Some things in life are meant to be experienced, not kept, I suppose. I was glad to see him anyways.

I’m tired now. I’ve realized that I focus so much on all of the negative thoughts and concepts in my head and life. It’s easy because they’re so prominent and also just kinda fun to write and think about. But I do think that I am fucking poisoning myself. So, I’m making an extra effort to find all of the good things in my day and life.

[klaudia2646]

Today the weather was a bit better than yesterday and definitely not as cold.

Work was a bit busy for me. It’s the end of session so many things going on at once. I also get many people trying to register for classes that we don’t offer in my building. Kelly, my coworker who got me that really awesome big sweet and oh so many calories cookie, brought donuts today. And I am trying. But right now I have no will power.

After work I stopped by Hobby Lobby, that’s always a bad idea. I did get a skirt for the small tree, some outdoor decorations that weren’t frightfully expensive and a couple of other things. They still have my nutcracker that I’ve been wanting for so long. It’s on sale, 250$. They say that all Christmas decor is 50% off but I don’t believe that it’s half of the 250. Which it’s still a lot of money. I wrapped all presents going to Texas but they still need to be packed and mailed. Hopefully tomorrow or Friday.

We went for a walk today at around 5pm, I hate when it gets dark so early. But I liked seeing all the Christmas decorations. I think more people have put more decorations this year, maybe because the weather has been nicer? Who knows. David said that he’ll work on the outdoors decorations on Friday. We will see. There’s a bunch of people out sick with covid where he works so hopefully he won’t have to cover for anyone. Besides he hasn’t had a day off since 2 Sundays ago.

Michael called very excited because he went on a date yesterday and said that it went very well and they’ll go for coffee on Saturday. I’m glad for him, the poor guy, he doesn’t get a break.

I told Little Bit and Andrew that they should build a Mario’s shelf for their cats.

Ready to go to bed now, it’s been a long day and I’m tired. 😴

[kifu]

So I realized yesterday how close I was to losing one of my friends. He's a current coworker, but considering coworkers ARE the only friends I have up where I live, he's a fucking friend. One of the three coworkers (going on four I suppose) I've ever had up here. But anyway.

He was in a bad place. His wife that he ADORES and centers his life over decided (out of the blue) to end their marriage. They've been together for just short of a decade, just got married last year. Now no one knows his wife's side of the story. She won't tell him what happened, just made it clear that it's over.

It ripped my man apart. Threw him over the edge.

Found out that he called the other current coworker I consider a friend this Saturday, but he didn't answer his phone. Hell, I tried texting him when I started getting red flag suicide messages for help. Turns out, he accidentally left his phone on airplane - was blissfully unaware. I stopped hearing from my guy reaching out.

Found out on Monday that he checked himself into the hospital. Learned yesterday that he planned to ask our coworker friend to come over for "gun therapy" (it's a thing up here, very common) and shoot himself as soon as our coworker's back was turned. I indeed felt sick most of yesterday.

I got a call from him today. He's out of the hospital, on new meds for depression and preexisting psychosis, with weekly therapy sessions. He told me I'm the only one he's planning on reaching out to in our workplace until he can talk to our boss.

I've been a lifeline for someone before. My wife, in fact. I have NO problem advocating for those that can't for themselves. I have no problem dealing with suicidal ideation. I'VE been there. Active suicide is a little different. Not the first time I've dealt with that, either.

I am happy to help him even he needs it. HAPPY that he's willing to reach out as he leaned a life without his wife. I am scared I might not say the right thing when I am now the one he trusts most.

My brother almost committed suicide a couple years back. His girlfriend was cheating on him with his best friend. He lost his entire friends group. My brother still hasn't figured out how to get better.

I'm lucky. A lot of my problem was living in the city. Yeah, brain didn't help either, but I learned healthier coping mechanisms that social ideation is far and few in between. I KNOW how I got there, but you can't just ... talk someone into that mindset. For one, it's hard. It is so so hard to change the way you let you speak to yourself. Two, most of the advice you can give just sounds superficial and stupid. But it really is all up to you. Happiness really is a choice, even if it's a really hard choice. I don't know how to make that sound better to someone that hasn't gotten to doing the work.

But I'm generally pretty big on trying to choose the words well enough that they're difficult to misconstrue. I'm not willing to lose my friend. He's become important to me, and not having him around this week has been incredibly ... weird and noticeable. We've been strict partners for months now, and I'm suddenly paired up with someone else. I just want my friend back and I can't wait to see him again to give him a hug.

I'm lucky I can do that.

[fizzingwizard]

life stuff

I did so many dumb things yesterday. Can't even remember them all now, but for one, I went to the wrong floor when I got home and even tried the key before I realized. I also went to a sushi place where you have color-coded plates, and I took a plate that wasn't my color. I have been going there for years and I've never not once done that before. Also at work I was just a basketcase who couldn't commit to anything.

Then today I made oatmeal, but apparently never turned the kettle on?? So I just poured ice cold water on my oats and uh yeah not appetizing. I just decided to starve until dinner 9_9

I'm a little perplexed by so many senior moments, but I think it just means I'm a lot more tired than I realized. It was a tough week. Many teachers were out sick. Including a teacher who quit for (highly legitimate) personal reasons just last week, we were missing four to five teachers nearly every day. We didn't have one day with a full staff. It's also conference season so I had a ton going on, and my kids were unusually difficult. I think it's a combo of them all being sick but not sick enough to stay home, and my challenging students just having some extra challenges, and everything happening at the same time. I've also been under the weather in a weird nebulous way: various symptoms, overall fatigue, no fever, but lasting weeks and weeks. Can't call out for it as much as I want to. Wednesday was alright but every other day was like wow, welcome to hell. Though I shouldn't say that because hell would be a kid getting hurt. No injuries, no disasters, just a very tired and frustrated teacher.

Because of all the teacher absences, those of us who were here every day got slapped with a lot more on-duty time and just stints of break here and there. We couldn't even get what's in our contracts a couple days, which always pisses me off because I'm literally not getting paid for one hour that I'm at work. And the company doesn't want us to do overtime of course bc they have to pay us for it. (They are known for "forgetting" to account for overtime hours as well so everyone double checks their paychecks). Yet we've been understaffed all year, so in order to not pay for overtime, they just send teachers from another nearby school to ours to help. One of my coworkers always insists on apologizing to them. I'm not apologizing. I didn't do it. Let the company apologize. I'll thank the other school for helping (not that they have a choice) but tbh it'd be better if they said it was impossible, then the company might actually hire a full time teacher. Oh btw last year when several of us were helping the other school when their teacher left on paternity leave for the rest of the year, no one thanked us. In face they mostly just forgot about us and looked surprised every time we turned up (biweekly! for months!) to do the job they told us they needed us to do

Anyway I told the manager that as much as I understand why break/prep time is limited when there are many teacher absences, it looked as though time had been redistributed without any thought about equality. Wed's hours were a mess, but I let it slide because I thought I could fix it to be okay for Friday. Well, someone else was out on Fri, and the time was redistributed again and I had less for the whole week than everyone else. Now there are a few factors: some teachers work longer hours than others but make "the same" pay (I put it in quotes because some of the contracts are a little different and I don't know the details, but it's roughly similar anyway). A teacher who is at the school for 7 hours has gets the same off-duty time as ones who are there for 8 or 9. But if it's okay to give more off-duty time to 9 hr teachers than 7 hr ones, that's never been expressed. And because 7 hr teachers go home before the least staffed period of the day, it's the 8 hr teacher who end up with less off-duty time because there are fewer opportunities to take it. The ones that come earlier than 4 pm have to go to the 7 hr teacher first. The ones that come after 5 pm are only available to the 9hr (which sucks for them because who wants to not have a break till after 5? they do usually get some break earlier as well but it's shorter).

Overall the distribution is unfair and dumb even when it's done according to the books. We used to have a couple leaders who would point out when things were too tight or not fair to whoever, but they both quit in the mass exodus of last year. I thought I could point it out and the manager would say "oh sorry, I'll keep an eye on that for the future." I didn't expect my schedule to be changed, just that promise. Instead the manager first said it was fine that I had less off-duty time than everyone else because I had conferences (??? our contracts don't change when there are conferences - or do they? lol well if they do it was never a problem any other year before now...). So I was like not really, and she proceeded to give me a bit of someone else's prep, the teacher who had the most for the week, only I found out later that that teacher wasn't feeling well that day. She may have been given the extra time due to her condition, and because I brought it up, she lost it. But I had no idea she wasn't feeling well. When I found out, I tried to trade with her, but she refused every time. It's just 15 min we're talking about. What does it say to you when teachers feel guilty all day long for having 15 min of prep time that could have been someone else's? fuck everything

Also only found out later that another coworker spent all of her prep time onboarding a new teacher. New teacher, hurrah, whatever, it's fucking January already but sure. Well, that coworker could have used a little extra off-duty time as well. But nobody bothers to tell Fizz. I would have happily traded off-duty time with her as well but I'm not pyschic my dude. I'm just not.

While I'm complaining let me sandwich in another annoyance. The other class decided they wanted to do a certain project. They began work on the project, but then got told by the manager that they had to include my class, because what they were doing was big enough to be unfair if only one class got to participate. Since they had already begun work, it was taken for granted that my class would just be doing the project as well now. No one asked if that was alright with me. No one asked if I wanted to edit or add anything. Actually, no one even TOLD ME WHAT WE WERE DOING. The other class teacher told my co-teacher the project was happening, but not the details. I waited two weeks, nothing, so finally I had to go ask them what the heck this was about, and they then told ME what to do. Absolutely no interest in what I might think about it at all. They decided, so I just have to do it. I could argue, of course! But like every time I have the audacity to disagree with Things That Someone Has Decided, I'd just be seen as making trouble for no reason. The project is good for the kids, so it's not easy to be against it. And I'm not against it. But I do feel disrespected. Like did it occur to no one that I, also a classroom teacher, might already have my own project in mind for my class??? If this had happened in reverse, then as soon as I knew my project was going to be expected of another class as well, I would have gone and talked to that class's teachers. I would have asked for their input and changes and I would have been fully prepared, no matter how unlikely it was, for the possibility that they just wouldn't want to do it at all. Because it's their class and i don't make decisions about their class. "But it's a cute project for little kids" blah blah everything we do is a cute project for little kids. IT'S STILL WORK FOR TEACHERS. Kill me for preferring the projects I chose and put effort into instead of projects someone else picked out without even asking my opinion. And I'm still doing it! I haven't made a scene! But was it really too much to expect at least "sorry about this" or "do you want to change anything"?? I really saw red for a while.

I'm fed up with my job in a lot of ways and I want to switch. But I don't know where to go. Finding somewhere new will mean starting over from base salary which is even lower than what I make now. The more tiring and demanding the work becomes, the less the pay makes it feel worth it. No one becomes a pre-k teacher to get rich. We like little kids. But there sure are a lot of expectations of teacher's the schools are basically throwing peanuts at. The perk, yeah, is the time off. But since it's only during cold months I never really do anything with it. It was nice to go home over the holidays, but I couldn't afford to do it every year whether I had the time off or not lol.

I honestly don't know what to do right now and it's making me extra anxious. Just hoping something will fall into my lap hahaha great strategy there. Glassdoor sends me useless spam every day :) Even got one saying I'd be a "perfect fit" to teach Christian ed to the kids of a traveling circus x'D

[dausy]

Well I've been daily updating twitter ofcourse. I kind of at the last moment decided I was going to do a daily doodle thing. I did this years ago, where I drew something every day for a year. I'm not doing a full illustration this time just really simple, essentially a couple lines and thats it. Just to help the creative juices flowing. I probably wont stick it out for an entire year but I keep getting myself backed up into an artistic corner and I want to back back out of it and find a new corner. Instead while I've been doing that, I've also been using it as an excuse to update the status of my current ailment.

so essentially, I had already self-diagnosed myself with the flu but I did go ahead and made an urgent care appointment on Saturday (?). I will say that I normally get a flu shot, every year, I did not get one this year. Next year I will definitely be getting one. I definitely got this from my coworkers and theres was like 3x milder than mine. My immune system was not prepared.

I did not want to physically go to urgent care because I didn't feel safe driving. I was super short of breath and I felt very drunk (because its in my ears! my ears are messed up). Also, didn't want to sit in a waiting room when sitting up sounded like a lot of effort and besides, what is urgent care going to tell me that I dont already know? viruses are treated with rest and fluids and thats it. However, I assumed my boss was going to be on top of me for some sort of a work note even though I'm not a full time employee and I dont feel like I should need one but I had agreed to work on monday and if I called in she'd probably pitch a fit. I discovered, thanks to the local spouse groups, that there was a local mobile urgent care. They came to my house! I schedule an appointment and they came out about an hour later. The most convenient thing ever. They apparently didn't take my insurance so they charged me 179$ out of pocket but I wasn't going to complain. I didn't have to go anywhere. I could track the MA on gps and they sent me his photo so I didn't "have to be scared" lmao. It was all very nice.

I had already tested myself for covid and it was negative. I was tempted to start myself on prednisone (because I practically have an entire pharmacy at home) but HR was a good 115 and adding steroid to that sounded not fun. Normally my HR runs 60s if Im calm and 80s if Im stressed. 115 with steroids on board didn't sound like fun. My 02 was dropping to 93 when I was up and walking around but it would go back up to the high 90s. This poor MA came with a laptop that virutally connected to a PA and they were like "what do you want me to do for you?" like I guess I mainly just wanted to make sure that I was safe to be at home and I have evidence I saw some sort of healthcare person as proof.

I oddly enough didn't have much of a cough until about yesterday. I was feeling short of breath and when I did cough I'd cough gunk up but mainly it just hurt to cough but it wasn't frequent at all. Now I'm coughing alot. The worst part was the hot/cold flashes. I completely drenched the bed in sweat. I've never seen that much water come off of me. I literally touched the valley of my stomach and it was a puddle. I splished my hands in it. I would alternate between uncontrollable sweating to then freezing to death. I thought I'd be over it and I washed all my linens yesterday and then last night, just sweat everywhere. Which was annoying because I felt....nagged..?..guilttripped? to go into work today by my boss. Like I was faking it..I couldnt possibly be sick that long(my coworkers recovered in 2 days)..maybe I was crazy and I wasn't sick?

so I did! I WENT TO WORK TODAY. My coworkers were actually fine. They said they were actually surprised they handled things well without me. I'm simultaneously proud of them and really aggravated that I went in. Because I really did feel terrible. I realized real fast how weak I was and my brain was not functioning. I even gave myself the easiest roll I could where I was off in a corner away from people and I was struggling. I was struggling to walk and I was struggling to stand. My partner at work let me know how bad I looked too. I apparently looked like a frail old lady. Which was nice.

So I went home. My boss is like "wait where you going?". I guess in her defense she came equipped with a bunch of throat lozenges for me but I didn't have a sore throat. I have no energy and cant breath. So I'm going home. I dont work tomorrow btw.