#but unfortunately. job applications and law school.

[katierosefun]

so annoying when you want to write and you have motivation and inspiration to write, but unfortunately. your real life obligations are dragging you away

[ssuperficialspacecadett]

The Sunshine State

Chapter One of the Through the Scope series | Chapter Two

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 4K

TW: Mentions of sexual assault in readers past, mentions of drug (cocaine) use

Chapter Overview: You're desperately looking for a job when one falls right into your lap.

Notes: I have decided to try my hand at writing for Frankie (: He is my favorite Pedro character after all. I don't have a posting schedule, so chapters will be coming at you sporadically. I apologize in advance for that (uni is outrageously time consuming). I hope this first chapter gets your interest peaked for whats to come ! Happy reading <3

*No use of y/n & female presenting reader*

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The serene music that is emitting from the coffee shop speakers is doing nothing for your nerves. Maybe that is due to the fact that you were on your third cup of coffee in two hours or maybe it is that you have already been in Florida for a week and still haven’t found a job. You blow a strand of hair out of your face and continue staring at the seemingly endless job applications on your computer. You find yourself cursing under your breath for the thousandth time that day. Why couldn’t you find a job you liked? When the words on your screen start to blur together, you lean back in your chair and let out a heavy sigh. You need to remember why you were here in the first place: your dads recovery. 

After your mom died a few years ago, dad decided to move into a retirement home. He realized how hollow the ranch house was without her life enhancing presence and opted to venture to Florida. You were cross with him for up and abandoning you, but you tried your hardest not to let your resentment show. Her death hit him the hardest. He seemed to be doing well whenever you visited him over the holidays. Unfortunately, it was an illusion. You mom’s constant nagging at him to stay on top of his diabetes died with her. 

As soon as you got the call you were on the next plane to Florida. He had suffered a stroke that left his walking impaired. The two of you fought back and forth about your being there. He didn’t want you to have uprooted your life back in Texas, but it wasn’t up for debate. Hair and eye color weren’t the only shared traits between y’all, stubbornness was just as deeply ingrained in your DNA as it was in his. An agreement was reached between you after a tear filled argument. You would reside in Florida for six months, the amount of time when the most progress is made for stroke patients, and then leave. Unable to live in his retirement home, you found a cheap apartment the next day. 

You drain the last bit of coffee from your cup and close your laptop. As much as you dreaded going back to your empty apartment, you couldn’t stay here any longer. You place your laptop back in its case and slip it into your tote bag. The buzzing of your phone snaps your attention back to the table.

“Hey Robbie!”

“Hey! How’s the sunshine state treating you?”

You let out a low groan. Robin, or Robbie as you lovingly dubbed her, was your best friend and roommate back home. You had very little emotional connection to your home state, but Robbie was your life line. She was there for you when your mom died and then when your father subsequently left. You didn’t know how she managed to be so attentive to you and juggle law school at the same time. You owed her a debt you could never repay.

Your attention gets pulled away from the call when a group of women sitting in the corner of the coffee shop start laughing and talking loudly together. For a brief moment you try to picture yourself sitting and laughing along with them. Robbie, the ever logical one, pulls you from your delusion. 

“Are you still there?”

“Fuck. I’m sorry. God, it's so lonely here without friends. Don’t get me wrong I love spending time with my dad, but when I’m done visiting with him I just come home to an empty, barely furnished apartment.”

“I told you that I would come visit you over my spring break.”

“I know, but that's over two months away.”

“Why don’t you spend your free time looking for a man? Maybe you will have better luck there than back home.”

“I don’t have time!,” you counter. “I have been here a week and I still haven’t found a new job. How am I supposed to pay rent, furnish my apartment, or even feed myself if I don't have a job? My savings is only going to last so long. Besides, all the men that I have interacted with so far are practically geriatric.”

“You always did like em’ older.”

The two of you talk for a little while longer. She manages to pick your spirits up despite her teasing you. She lets you know that she has to run because one of her lectures is starting soon, but she promises to call you back later this week.

You stand up and place your phone in your back pocket. You easily slip your tote onto your shoulder and gather up the empty cups you collected over your time in the shop. While you walk to the trash a bright orange flier pinned to the corkboard above it catches your eyes.  

HELP WANTED

Receptionist for Brass Knuckles Boxing Gym

432 Peach Dr, Jacksonville, FL 32246

Contact Ben Miller at (904) XXX-XXXX

Starting pay: $20.00

Honestly, you ponder, you have nothing to lose. Beggars can’t be choosers. Plus you recognize that street. It wasn’t a far drive from where you are now which means that it’s close to your apartment. The pay was higher than minimum wage and being a receptionist couldn’t be that hard. You toss your trash into the bin and pull out your phone to dial the number. The ringing of the phone next to your ear muffles the sounds of the still laughing group of women as you exit the coffee shop. 

“Brass Knuckles, this is Benny speaking.”

The subtle southern accent that comes through your speaker washes a wave of calmness over you. Maybe you did have some attachment to back home.

“Hi,” you introduce yourself to him. “I saw your flier for needing a receptionist at your gym. I was wondering if you were still hiring?”

“We are! Would you like to come in and tour the place right now?”

You take a peek at the time displayed on your phone. 3:15 P.M. You should have enough time to check it out and then head to your dad’s before the after work traffic rush.

“Actually that would be great.”

“Perfect. I’ll see you soon then!”

***

The gym was a stand alone building constructed of rough looking red brick. It had large windows that allowed you to see some of the equipment and, more importantly, the front desk. You hop out of your car and check both ways before crossing the parking lot. As you turn your head from right to left you see a bar across the street. The rickety, wooden sign on the building has a shotgun painted onto it and the bar’s name, The Barrel, is appropriately painted onto the barrel of the gun. At least you know where to go to get a drink now if you don’t get this job. You take a deep breath and swing open the glass door to the gym. 

A sharp ring of the door’s bell and the potent aroma of sweat and cheap men’s body spray are the first things that greet you as you enter the building. You swear that if you get this job, fixing the odor in this place will be one of the first orders of business you carry out. You look over at the front desk as you wait for Benny. It is positioned to sit squarely in the middle of the lobby. There is a brick wall, the same type as the outside, directly behind it. The back wall only extends as far as the desk does. This makes for two entrances into the gym. One on the right and one on the left of the desk. 

“You made it! Thanks for comin’!”

You shift your gaze from the white blocked lettering on the brick wall that reads “Brass Knuckles Boxing Gym” to where the voice rang out from. You're stunned when a man rounds the corner shirtless and out of breath. Good fucking god he’s toned. He smiles boyishly at you and pushes his grown out, sandy hair back. He turns his head to see what caught your eye.

“You like the new sign? I paid someone to paint it on the brick a few weeks ago. It looked so empty before.”

“Y-yeah, it's lovely.” 

“See?!,” he throws his hands up exasperatedly. “The guys said it was stupi-that’s not important now. Anyway it’s good to meet you in person. Wanna start the tour?”

You nod at him and he waves at you to follow him back into the gym. He points out each of the stations he has set up. 

“We have machines for your legs here. Then in that corner are machines for your upper body and core. Our heavy bags are kept in this area. I also have some weight benches set up over there for people to use on lighter workout days.” 

You’re trying to soak up everything that he is saying, but to be honest, most of the machines look the same to you. He takes you to view the showers, the laundry room, and to his back office.

“When I’m not training with a client I’ll usually either be here in my office or in there with a heavy bag on a stand.” He points behind you.

The center of the gym holds its crown jewel: the boxing ring itself. The walls of it are made from a red, tarp like material and the center of the ring is a deep shade of blue. Poles, wrapped in white padding, protrude from each of the four corners and four rows of thickly braided, white rope encase the entire thing. 

“I’ve never actually been in one of these before to be honest.” you laugh. “I’ve only ever seen them on T.V. when I’m channel surfing and land on WWE.” 

“No way,” he looks genuinely shocked.

“Yes way.” you shrug apologetically. 

“Being in there is electric, man. Gotta be one of the best feelings in the world hands down.” 

You feel at ease talking with him. He seems really passionate about what he does and all that goes into it. You give the gym another once over and then it dawns on you; it’s a ghost town. 

“Hey, where is everybody?”

“It’s usually pretty slow around this time of the afternoon. Our busiest times during the week are when people come in here around 12:00 P.M. to burn off steam during their lunch breaks and then after 5:00 P.M. when work gets out. Saturdays are packed most of the time because we aren’t open on sundays.

“Ahh.”

“But all hell breaks loose when we have our famous Friday Fight Nights!,” he nudges you in the ribs. “There isn’t a free seat in the whole damn house! People screamin’, beer sloshin’, bets bein’ made. It’s my bread and butter.”

“That sounds insane, Benny.”

“You mean you have never heard of it before?”

“I moved here a week ago actually. I’m sure I would have heard of it if I had just been here longer!”

“Alright, you get a pass. What made you choose Florida to call home?”

You normally don’t like telling people your personal business so soon after meeting them, but Benny has a trustworthiness about him that you can’t ignore. Maybe making friends would be easier than you thought.

“I moved here to help my Dad actually. He’s having some medical issues and I want to be here to help him work through them. I figure that I’ll be here for maybe six months? I’m not sure if that would work for you though. That’s kinda the reason I’ve been struggling to find a job.”

He looks at you with genuine understanding.

“If six months is all you can give me then I’ll take it.”

“Wait? I got the job?”

“It’s perfect if you think about it. You need a job and I need a receptionist ASAP. If you want, since you’re new and all, I could be your tour guide. Born and raised here.”

A weight seems to immediately lift off your shoulders. If he wasn’t such a sweaty mess you would have given him the biggest hug.

“Okay, great!”

He claps his hands together. “Drinks on Santi tonight!”

“Santi?”

“He’s one of my older brothers and I’s friends. He bet that I couldn’t get a receptionist within a week of the last one leaving and you just helped me prove him wrong.” 

“I’m happy to help. Do you mind if I ask why your last receptionist left?”

That wipes the giddy look off his face.

“Well,” he scratches the back of his head. “She ended up leaving because she said some of the patrons were a bit too forward. I asked her to tell me which ones so I could ban ‘em, but she wouldn’t give ‘em up. I totally get it if that changes your mind about taking the job.”

Your throat goes dry as an icy tingling sensation makes itself known on your skin. Fuzzy images of unwelcomed hands being a bit too forward as you lay on the couch. The smell of tequila burning your nose as he whispers to you. Clinging to the sounds of the movie he put on in the background to distract you.

“You alright?”

“Yes!,” you rush out too quickly for him to believe. “I’m fine. I just zoned out for a second there. I’m sure I’ll be fine. Plus I promise that I will tell you if anyone tries anything.”

He seems satisfied with your answer and walks back up to the front desk with you.

“You want to come get drinks with me and the guys tonight? It’s going to be me, which you already know, my brother Will, Santi, and Frankie. We usually go to The Barrel. You would be the guest of honor.”

“I’m flattered, but,” you look at the time on your phone. “I should head out before traffic gets bad.”

“Next time, next time. You already have my number so just text me and I’ll let you know what time you can come in on Monday. Don’t worry about the rest of this week. I can hold it down until you officially start.”

***

“Dad, I needed a job and I found one. What's the issue?”

He puts his hand up to let you know he is catching his breath. You sit in a chair next to him while he rests in between his physical therapy. The exercises mainly consisted of his physical therapist, Maggie, working the muscles in his legs. Even still, they took a lot out of him. He was still a ways away from standing or walking on his own. 

“The issue is that you’re going to be the only woman in a place full of men on steroids. I don’t like that.”

“God, that's such a you thing to say,” you argue. “I’m not a little girl anymore. It’s also not a male only gym, dad. A lot of women work out and take boxing classes too. The manager, Benny, seems really nice. He was the one I met with earlier today.”

You watch as he opens his mouth to presumably hurl a retort your way, but he stops himself. Your heart breaks as he sighs and turns away from you. He hasn’t been himself since the stroke. You know that you can’t even begin to understand what he is going through, yet you’re trying. The anger he is feeling isn’t directed at you, but it still hurts nonetheless. He is a proud man at heart, so all of this attention and fretting over him must be weighing heavy. You extend your hand and place it softly on top of his. Although he is still looking away from you, his brows unfurrow and his lips fall from the tight line he held them in.

“I’ll be fine. I promise. I told you that I would be here with you for your recovery and that's what I intend to do. This isn’t a little issue, dad.”

He turns to look at you again, eyes glossy from fighting back tears. “I know, I just-I just feel like a damn burden.”

“You aren’t,” you squeeze his hand. “Everyone needs help sometimes and now it's your turn. You took care of me my whole life. The very least I could do is be by your side right now.”

A soft knock on his room door pulls the two of you out of your conversation.

“Hi, hon. I don’t mean to interrupt, but I need to finish Greg’s session.”

“That’s fine, Maggie. I was about to head about anyway.”

You stand up from your chair and give him a hug before you collect your purse. He reminds you that he has his poker tournaments on Sundays, so you didn’t have to come in to see him then. Getting ditched for a deck of cards and a bunch of old dudes. That’s gotta be a new low. You wave at Maggie as you pass her while heading to the door.

“Hey, sweet pea?”

You turn around to a name that you have been called since before you can even remember.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.”

***

The Barrel is unsurprisingly empty on a Thursday night. Benny, Frankie, Will, and Santi all sit at their usual table in the back corner of the bar. The small army of empty beer bottles huddled in the middle of their table makes up for the lack of local patrons in the building.

“She seems really great. Even complimented the way ‘Brass Knuckles Boxing Gym’ looked painted onto the brick. I told y’all it wasn’t stupid. It also doesn’t hurt that she's beautiful, man.” 

Santi lets out a low whistle before tipping his still half full beer in Benny’s direction. “I’ll drink to that.”

“I don't think you're going to be able to break this one man. She’s got a lot on her plate so the last thing she needs is a piece of shit like you comin’ in and adding more trouble.”

Will and Frankie snicker at Santi’s face that shows faux offense to what Benny just said.

“I enrich the life of every woman I meet. No one has ever left my bed unsatisfied.”

“A lot on her plate?” Will chimes in to direct the conversation into a more appropriate one. “What does that mean?”

Frankie nods his hat in the direction of Will signaling that he is thinking the same thing about you as well.

“Yeah. She was talking about how she moved down here to help her dad. Said he had an accident or somethin’.” 

“Think she will be able to boost Friday ticket sales?”

“For the love of God, Pope,” Will laughs and shoves the man sitting next to him. “Can you get your mind out of the gutter for two fuckin’ seconds?”

“No, he’s onto something, Will,” The other three men can see a plan unfolding in the reflection of Benny’s eyes. “If I can get her to double as my ring girl for the fights we would be swimming in it boys.”

Benny tells them that he had invited you to come celebrate with them, but you had plans already. The more he talked the more curious the group was to meet you. 

“Why don’t you let Fish get a word in, huh?” Santi interrupts. 

Benny puts his hands up in surrender and turns to the man sitting beside him at the table. Frankie had been quiet since they closed up the gym for the night and headed to the bar.

“What’s wrong, Fish? Cat got your tongue?” Benny jokes.

“Fuck off, man.” 

“Yeah, what’s up? We are celebrating tonight.” Santi adds.

Frankie downs the last of his beer. It isn’t cold anymore due to the fact that he had it in an iron grip.

“Rochelle texted me,” a unified hush fell over the table of four. “She said she wants to get back together. That she wants to ‘make it work’ this time.”

Benny is the first to break the silence.

“Rochelle? God I hate that woman and I’ve never hated a woman in my fuckin’ life.”

“Shut up, Benny,” Will grumbles in the direction of his younger brother. “What are you going to do, Fish?”

“I don’t know. I miss her. I just- she’s just- I don’t want to relapse.”

Another silence envelops the men. Each and everyone of them knew what he meant. After Frankie got out of his last tour he fell into the arms of the first woman that came along. They all knew she wasn’t the one for him, but he hadn’t been happy in such a long time so they let it slide for as long as they could. Then the coke came into the picture. Benny tried, Santi tried, and Will tried to get him to cut her off. He was spiraling and didn’t even realize it. When he was on coke he didn’t remember all of the horrible things that he did and that he saw. It felt like he was on top of the world, until he fell right into the unforgiving ground of reality. 

He failed a routine drug test at work. They fired him right on the spot and put his pilot's license under review. Ironically flying was the only thing that kept him grounded. Now that he didn’t have it the guys knew they had to help him. They managed to convince him to cut Rochelle out of his life. Then they urged him to check into a rehab, even if it was a temporary one. Once he got out, he found a job at an auto body shop. It wasn’t aviation, but it was a start. He had been clean ever since. Seven months to be exact. But even the sight of seeing her name light up his phone screen made his body ache for a fix.

“We didn’t let you drown the first time, Fish. We won’t let you drown this time.”

Will’s words hit him like a ton of bricks. He knows it's true. They never once gave up on him through the entire thing. The only thing Frankie can do is tip his worn, black cap in Will’s direction. Benny lovingly claps him on the back and then the conversation is put to bed. 

While the rest of the men move on with their night, Frankie can’t seem to turn his brain off. All he can think about are his two vices: Rochelle and Florida snow. He can already hear the water beckoning to him. Calling his name in that alluring, all too familiar voice. Begging him to come back and be cradled by the waves until they swallow him whole.

“Everyone shut up. She texted me.” Benny exclaims.

They all lean in to look at what you sent him.

“She’s just asking about the schedule, dumbass.” Santi scoffs. “Have her send a picture.”

“And how the fuck am I supposed to ask for a picture without sounding creepy?”

“You could tell her that you need a picture to use for her login profile at work?” Frankie offers, desperate to distract his mind from his own thoughts.

“Fish, you’re a Goddamn genius.”

Santi gets up to buy another round for the table while Benny crafts his text to you. He hits send only after he has gotten the green light from everybody. They all wait anxiously for the next few minutes until they see your name appear on the phone screen. Benny scrambles to type in his password as the guys all crane their necks to see a glimpse of the photo. 

“You way undersold her, Benny. She’s gorgeous.” Santi marvels and Will agrees.

“Wow,” is all Frankie can muster as he looks at you. He tries to memorize everything about you. The way your hair falls, how kind your eyes are, and how soft your lips look. He feels his ears burn as he looks at your nose and wonders what it would be like to kiss you on the bridge of it. With each new thing he finds on your face to admire, the water’s voice gets quieter and quieter until it's nothing but a whisper. Still there, but only a whisper.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

[someguyingotham]

heyhey i’m benjamin, a dude living in gotham.

you can just call me ben. i added my full name because i got bullied for the nickname.

i’m interning at leslies and absolutely not robbing banks on the side. my tragic backstory is under the cut 💔

i went to law school, became a da assistant + then left the job after my boss (h. dent) lowkey went crazy. tried clown school, that went as well as you’d expect. tried out therapy twice to cope, and my therapists were dr. crane and dr. quinnzel. so yeah. i’m living the life!

i’m an orphan, like 26 y/o or something and i might occasionally older-brother you. sorry about that in advance. sibling applications are always open tho.

~ ooc ~

main acc @kinglyvibe

mostly here for giggles! the whole bit is just everything unfortunate that can happen to a gothamite has happened to this character. wdym there might be actual lore here? wdym you smell a villian arc? nuh uh… /lhj

no serious flirting, please! you can totally joke, but mun is in a relationship irl and generally feels uncomfortable with people trying to seriously hit on a character they’re playing.

both character & blog runner are adults

love asks!

[bisexual-in-every-gender]

Survey

What are three names you like that start with the same letter as your first name?

Amalia, Annika, Anjali

How old will you turn on your next birthday?

33 :/

What are three things you like about your birth month (besides it being the month your birthday is in)?

It's usually warm and sunny but not too blazing, it's Pride month and everything looks gay

And what are three things you dislike about it?

Sometimes it rains, I get older and it's the month we have a big work event every year

List three celebrities that are the same height as you.

Danny de Vito, Melissa Rauch, Judy Garland

Are you happy with your height or do you wish you were taller/shorter?

Taller. Much, much taller.

Which family member did you inherit your hair colour from?

My dad.

List three things in nature that are the same colour as your eyes.

Moss, fir trees, algae

What was your favourite class in high school?

English and Arts

How many sisters do you have?

Two.

How many brothers do you have?

Zero.

If you had a twin sister, what would she be named?

Salome? That's the name I was almost given.

How many dogs did you have in your lifetime?

One (Luna) for a very short amount of time. We only had her for three months, then we had to give her back to the shelter, unfortunately. She was sold to us as a "family dog", but she had been severely abused and re-building her trust in people would have required an expert's knowledge, not that of a first-time dog owner, and time that I as a full-time employee did not have. In the end, it was better for her to find someone better suited to her needs.

How many cats have you had in your lifetime?

Two: Kaveri (bless his little heart, he is now in his final resting place 💔) and our current cat Bertha

Do you prefer dogs or cats?

I like both, but cats flock to me naturally.

Where was your dad born?

Berlin, Germany.

Where was your mum born?

Berlin, Germany.

Where were you born?

Three guesses.... Berlin, Germany.

Have you ever met anyone unrelated to you with the same surname as you?

No, but it's common, so I'm sure I will at one point in my life.

How many sisters-in-laws do you have?

Technically 5, but Izzy only grew up with two of them. The other 3 are her half sisters.

How many brothers-in-laws do you have?

Two

How many nieces do you have?

Technically 7. My own sister has three daughters to whom I'm not allowed contact, my sister-in-law has twin daughters and one of Izzy's half sisters got two daughters as well, but Izzy's got no contact to said half sister. So I only really know two of my nieces

How many nephews do you have?

6. One of my sisters-in-law has a son, the other has two. Then Izzy's half sister to whom she has no contact has two sons and my brother-in-law who Izzy also cut off due to transphobic behaviour has a son as well.

How many of your grandparents are still living?

One.

What are three things you have been complimented on?

My organisational skills, my intellect and my humour

What is your dream job?

Probably an employee in a cat cafe or something.

Do you consider yourself religious?

I believe in God, but I wouldn't call myself religious.

When was the last time you stepped foot into a Church?

A good few years ago. I have a complicated relationship to the Church and like to separate it from my faith.

Do you regularly attend a Church? Why or why not?

I used to. I grew up very religious, going to Church was normal for me. However, it's a breeding ground for abusers. I was sexually and emotionally abused by Church members of different Churches and different affiliations, which made me lose hope in the Church as an institution. I still believe in God, but I am of the opinion that you can live your faith without attending Church.

Have you ever been to a mosque?

No.

Have you ever been to a synagogue?

No.

What is your favourite religious holiday?

Christmas.

If applicable, does your faith mean a lot to you?

It does, but I don't try and convert people. I also stopped believing in the kind of God that is spoken about by so-called Christians. I have read the Bible three times and attended Bible studies, so I know the historical context of the Scriptures and know that the reason a lot of the rules in the Bible exists is because it served a purpose at that time, especially hygienic reasons. Also, that book was written over 1,000 years ago by cishet men who couldn't imagine homosexual people even being a thing. And also, Jesus never mentioned gay people. At all. That was Paul, and he hated women, too. Don't listen to that misogynistic prick. In other words, yes, my faith means a lot to me personally, but I practice it within the confines of its historical and logical context.

Do you have the same worldview as your parents?

Absolutely not. They're creationists and while they accept me being queer, they think it wasn't intended for me to be so and that originally, God had other plans for me. We butt heads over it a lot.

Have you ever attended a Christian school?

Yes, twice. Though with all the bullying taking place there, you'd hardly know it.

Have you ever been baptised and if so, when or where?

Yes, when I was 14 in a big pool at my Church.

Are you happy with the current state of your nation?

No, Germany is becoming more and more right-wing and xenophobic, so as a queer person, it definitely worries me.

How many different medications do you take each day?

Three: Blood pressure pill, diabetes prevention and antidepressant

Which medication do you hate the most and why?

I'm frustrated I'm reliant on antidepressants, they also reduce my fertility which is already a problem and they sometimes give me auditory hallucinations.

Is your current doctor male or female?

Female.

Do you prefer male or female doctors? Why?

Male, just because female doctors often include me in this "us women" speak, which gives me dysphoria.

How is your mental health?

F***ed. I suffer chronic depression and anxiety disorder and lately, I've felt more burnt out than usual.

[voraciousvore]

The Half-Blood Giant (14/51)

Chapter 14: Pedro

Pedro was a human that lived on the human side of the gigantic wall. On the very same day that Chester and Jackie traveled to his world to find Milton, Pedro was about to embark on an adventure of his own. Today was the day he had been dreaming of for his entire life, as far back as when he was a young lad. He was going to the giant side of town. 

Most humans, even those that lived near the wall, feared and distrusted giants. When Pedro was a child, his parents had told him horrible stories about giants, to deter him from ever wanting to venture out into danger. They painted a portrait of giants as terrifying brutes and savage man-eaters, eager to grind up unfortunate humans in their teeth. They told him if he misbehaved a giant might tear off the roof and spirit him away into the night, never to be seen again. 

That last warning, intended to frighten him into obedience, instead inflamed his imagination. He fantasized about going on fantastical adventures with a giant friend in a magic land. Pedro, in his mind’s eye, didn’t conceive of giants as ugly, nasty beasts like his parents intended: He envisaged them as big, gentle, strong men—perhaps even handsome men, particularly as he grew older. 

His preoccupation with giants persisted into adulthood. Even so, despite his fantasies, he never dared go beyond the boundaries of human territory. Sadly, he understood the difference between dreams and reality. He believed what his parents told him and what the humans around him believed. He didn’t want to get eaten or torn limb from limb by a monster in the shape of a huge man. He heard in the news about humans being kidnapped and sold to giants and his beliefs were confirmed. 

However, his thoughts on the matter began to change as he heard more about the story. He read about giant policemen investigating and arresting the criminals responsible. If all giants were bad, why would they lock up the giants who abused humans? Why would they have laws protecting humans in the first place? Why would they bother to respect the boundary separating their respective societies? Additionally, he heard about a boarding school on the giant side of town that housed human and giant students together, and he was fascinated by the concept. He couldn't help but wish he could have been a student at that school, in his younger years. 

That opportunity for him had long since passed, lamentably. Pedro was an adult, living in a crummy apartment and living a dull, bland life. As a man with a caring heart, he had found a career as a social worker. The job didn’t pay well, but he liked to feel he was making a difference in the lives of people going through difficult times. Sometimes the job broke his heart, when he saw the suffering that people had to endure. He was, at times, emotionally drained and exhausted by his job, to the point where he struggled to function in his personal life. He oftentimes would stay holed up in his apartment, unable to muster up the energy to leave or engage in social events. 

Pedro ran into misfortune when the nonprofit he worked for was forced to undergo budget cuts due to lack of funding. He was layed off, causing him to spiral into depression. His purpose for living had been abruptly taken away from him. He felt empty, listless, no longer able to function. His savings drained away as the months dragged on without gainful employment. Pedro felt paralyzed, powerless to do anything about his situation. 

Deep down, Pedro realized he needed to take control of his life again, before he ran out of money. As he searched for jobs, he came across a job posting that intrigued him. The boarding school, the one with human and giant students, was advertising specifically for human workers. They required the services of a human counselor, to help guide the human students at the school. Pedro perked up. This job sounded right up his alley. He sent in an electronic application and waited. 

He got a response via email almost immediately, from the principal of the school himself, to set up an interview. Pedro responded with excitement. He suddenly felt alive, after wallowing in defeat for so long. He was ready to seize the opportunity presented to him, to take back his life and find fulfillment again. He was feeling so bold, in fact, that when the principal offered to meet him at the wall to escort him to the school, Pedro declined the invitation. He claimed in the email that he would have no issue getting to the school on his own. The principal seemed uncertain, but Pedro assured him he could find his way there alone. Pedro didn’t want to leave a bad impression. He wanted this job badly, more than anything. He wanted to come across as confident, competent, and independent. He didn’t need help. 

When the day arrived, Pedro woke up bright and early. He dressed up in nice clothes and groomed himself to look presentable for the interview. He was bursting with excitement, but also anxiety. What if something went wrong? What if he didn’t get the job? What if giants really were just man-eating monsters, and he was walking into a trap? Pedro pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He refused to entertain such silly notions. He was in high spirits; this was his moment to shine. 

He exited his flat and stepped into the bright sun. The weather was beautiful, the sky blue and bright with promise. He walked towards the great stone wall looming on the horizon. He stepped into its long shadow that stretched over the land. As he came closer, he marveled at the size of the individual bricks, far too large and heavy for a human to carry. The wall had been constructed by giant hands, impressive in their strength and power. Eventually, Pedro reached the human-sized door at the base of the wall, positively puny by comparison. He opened it and went inside the dark, musty tunnel that would lead him to the other side. 

He reached the door on the opposite end, framed by light that bled through the cracks into the darkness. He stopped and took a deep breath, placing his hand nervously on the doorknob. He was shaking. He felt like he was in a dream, disassociated from his own body, his limbs moving on their own. However, he could feel his own heart beating rapidly in his chest, his breath passing through his lungs. He was here. This was real. He turned the knob in his hand and opened the door. 

At first, he was blinded by the sun and couldn’t see much of anything. The sun reflected off the white pavement, that extensive plain of sidewalk, and shot into his eyes. He covered his eyes with one hand and walked out. As he began to adjust to the difference in light, he felt as if he had stepped into a completely different world. His mind was confused by what he saw, since everything was viewed from the ground, through the lens of a warped perspective. 

Everything around him was so big. He suddenly felt irrelevant, like nothing more than a bug on the sidewalk. There was a bench alongside the wall that stretched up into the heavens like a monument. The grass lining the sidewalks looked like fields of corn. Weeds and flowers sprouting through cracks in the pavement towered over his head, the sunlight shining through the leaves and petals. A trail of ants, each ant as big as one of his feet, marched by. Pedro surveyed the area with amazement, fully aware that what he marveled at would be small and mundane to a giant. His throat seized up as he imagined how big the people must be in this world.  

Nevertheless, he continued forward. He had his phone GPS to guide him to the school. He walked around boulders and logs on the sidewalk that were merely rocks, pebbles, or twigs to giants. The buildings were impossibly huge, reaching up into infinity. The asphalt road alongside him was extensive enough to cover at least a full city block. A monstrous vehicle roared past, with tires as tall as his apartment building, nearly blowing poor Pedro away. He felt overwhelmed. He was beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake. He wanted this more than anything, but he couldn’t help but feel frightened, with how small he was. He realized how easy it would be for him to be injured or crushed. 

And then he saw his first giant. Pedro froze up, spellbound at the gigantic man who loomed into the heavens above him. The giant didn’t even notice tiny Pedro as he lumbered past. He seemed to be in a hurry. Pedro had to dive out of the way of his shoes as they clomped down from above, larger than cars. Pedro lay on the pavement for a moment, trembling, too stunned to get up. His imagination really hadn’t done the great behemoths justice. They were massive, more colossal than he had ever thought possible. His legs shook like jello as he stumbled back to his feet. He needed to keep going. 

Pedro reached an intersection and his heart stopped. There was no way he would be able to cross the street on his own without getting killed. The sidewalk on the opposite side looked like it was miles away. The drop from the curb to the gutter would probably break his legs. The cars idling at the stoplights growled like feral beasts. Pedro considered asking for help as a giantess stomped up next to him, her footsteps sending tremors through the ground, but he immediately lost his nerve as he craned his neck back to stare up at her, hundreds of feet above his head. Before he could work up the courage, the light turned green and she crossed the street, a few strides taking her too far away for Pedro to keep up. He was stuck. 

While Pedro was trapped at the intersection, Ray was hustling away from Joey’s apartment. He was distraught, his mind in a frantic whirl. He was consumed by horror and guilt for what he had done. He hadn’t meant to eat that poor defenseless human. Even though it was an accident, and he’d been completely unaware at the time, he still blamed himself. He knew how vulnerable and helpless humans were when they were in the hands of giants. With his job as a police officer, he had seen some horrible abuses: humans kidnapped, trafficked, tortured, abused, eaten, kept illegally as pets. His heart bled for the poor little creatures, especially when they looked at him with such terror in their eyes. Since he was a big, muscular, intimidating giant in a cop uniform, humans usually feared him when they first saw him, even when he was trying to help them in an official capacity. Ray always felt awkward around humans for that reason. The only human he was comfortable around was Eren, mostly because she was very brave, but even she had gazed upon him with horror today. He winced at the memory. 

He didn’t know where he was going, only that he needed to get away from it all. He just needed to walk around a bit, decompress and clear his head. He crossed the street, not very attentive to his surroundings as he continued to beat himself up for his deplorable mistake. He wasn’t watching his feet, so he didn’t notice the diminutive man waving his arms and trying to get his attention. 

Pedro saw a giant cop coming his way. He remembered reading about the cops that saved the humans and figured he could trust him to help. He waited for the giant to cross the street towards him and stepped out to greet him, making wide gestures with his arms so he would be noticed. 

“Excuse me, sir!” he yelled, as loud as he could to project his voice. Too late, he realized the giant was preoccupied with his thoughts and didn’t notice him, the insignificant little dot at his feet. He didn’t have enough time to get out of the way as a giant shoe careened toward him and slammed into him, sending him flying. He blacked out as his body flew in an impressive arc and collapsed onto the concrete. 

“Hm?” Ray looked down. He thought he had heard somebody shouting, and something had hit his shoe. His eyes widened with alarm when he saw a small man crumbled up on the sidewalk. “Oh no!” 

Ray crouched down on his knees to get a closer look. For a terrible moment, he was scared that he just killed the poor human. His hands hovered over the limp body with dread before he carefully nudged the human into his palm, so he was lying on his back in his hand. He lifted the human up to his face to examine him. To his relief, he could just barely perceive the little man’s chest moving up and down in a breathing motion. He was alive. Ray couldn’t see any blood, but that didn’t mean the human wasn’t hurt. His stomach twisted into knots. First he had eaten a woman, and now he had kicked this poor man. He really was a menace. 

Ray looked over the little man, considering what to do. He was cute. Ray thought all humans looked cute, with how delicate and tiny they were, like perfect living miniatures of giants. He had never had the opportunity to see one up close like this before, though, since they were typically intimidated by him and he respected their boundaries. The tiny man was handsome, with a crop of short dark hair on his head and a modest amount of facial hair around his mouth and chin. 

Pedro stirred as he slowly regained consciousness. He cracked his eyes open and saw blue, bright blue, filling his vision. At first, he thought he was looking up at the sky. He stared into a black hole in the sky. The blue, rimmed with white, flickered. As his sight sharpened, Pedro realized he was looking into an eye, a giant eye at least as big as a car windshield. And so close, frighteningly close.  

He shifted again groggily, moving his arms. He was unharmed, but the surface underneath him was soft and warm, definitely not concrete. As his wits returned to him, he realized he was encompassed in a bed of skin, in the cushion of a giant’s huge hand. The giant was looming over him, surrounding him on all sides with his overwhelming presence. His face, which spanned his entire view, was strikingly attractive, pleasingly shaped and proportioned. Pedro’s heart danced and he felt heat rise to his head. He had yearned for giant men in his wildest dreams, but to be held by a comely giant in real life surpassed his fantasies by leaps and bounds. 

“Are you alright, little one? Are you hurt?” the giant asked. His deep, sonorous voice vibrated through the air, all the way down into Pedro’s bones. Pedro was so spellbound he almost forgot to answer. 

“I’m-I’m fine,” he squeaked. Compared to the giant, his voice sounded high-pitched and timorous.  

The giant regarded him closely, looking over his whole being with those sky-blue eyes. “What were you doing out here anyway, all by yourself? Do you need help?” 

“Oh, crap! My interview!” Pedro exclaimed. He checked his watch and grimaced. “At this rate, I’ll never make it!” He hit his head back against the giant’s hand with a groan. 

“I’ll help you.” The giant curled his hand around Pedro reassuringly. After kicking him hard enough to make him pass out, he figured he owed him a favor. Besides, he didn’t want the human to get hurt again while out on his own. “Where do you need to go?” 

“Uh... that one boarding school. St. Christopher’s,” Pedro told him. His stomach dropped as the giant straightened back up to his full height. He stared up with wonder from the giant’s hand, over the curve of his muscular chest to his huge face far above. 

“Oh, that’s not far at all! For me, at least,” Ray said. “I’d be happy to take you there.” 

“Th-thanks,” Pedro stammered, blushing again. “By the way, what’s your name?” 

The giant glanced down at him, cocking a brow as he noticed how red the tiny human was. Since he was in a profession where he interacted with people all day, he was generally pretty perceptive of other people’s emotions. “I’m Ray. Nice to meet you. What’s yours?” 

“Pedro. Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.” 

Chapter 15

Chapter 1

[aajjks]

😂😂😂😂

mommy issues!JK

NARA?!!!! did this woman just call you nara?! she KNOWS you don’t look anything like that bitch of an ex of his yet has the audacity to draw some sort of comparison between the two of you; that’s rude as fuck and of course eunwoo would leave you alone with her.

“할머니!!” yells seol as he runs up to the older woman and practically jumps in her arms. “oh, is that you seol? look at you!! my, my, my you’ve grown. you look more like jungkook everyday” coos jiyeon as he peppers the little 5-year old’s face with kisses.

“seol, who is this lovely babysitter to you?” you grit your teeth at jiyeon’s passive joke. first maid and now babysitter? she knows you’re jungkook’s fiancée yet she insists on insulting you any chance she gets and what makes things worse is she’s saying it in front of seol.

“babysitter? this isn’t my babysitter, grandma. this is my mommy!”

“stepmother, sweetie. she’s your stepmother—,”

“and you are overstaying your welcome. clearly jungkook isn’t here so what do you want, mrs. jeon?” you say while glaring directly at the rude woman holding seol.

“wow, not gonna show some respect to your soon to be mother in law?”

“not if she’s disrespecting me in my own residence”

“pfft, residence? hahaha, sweetie, my SON is paying for this ‘residence’ of yours and since you’re a good for nothing housewife, you’ve done an awful job at doing the one thing housewives are supposed to do”

“you’re lucky your my fiancé’s mother”

“and you’re lucky my son even looked in your direction. give my son this, will you? no peeking. it’s an invitation for people with JOBS, which maybe you should come so you can make enough money to hire a maid…or maybe put in an application to be one. alright now, i’ll see you all later. ciao!! be a good boy seol”

~🫧

Unfortunately, he wasn’t granted the permission to leave early by the director because Jungkook rarely comes by the office and a lot of things needed to be done.

He’s the manager so he has a lot of responsibilities.. he is sitting in his office, an hour later he decides to call you just to know what’s going on right now

Jungkook dials your number and you pick up a few rings later. “Oh hi yn… eunwoo texted me that my mother is home with you. I mean is she still there?”

As he asks you this question he’s so mad at his mother because she never bothered to visit him and she didn’t even take his side when his father threw him out.

So why is she suddenly back in his life?

He loves her a lot, but she broke his heart and left him all on his own with a newborn. “Oh? She’s gone now?” He asks, you don’t tell him any details about your encounter with his mother and he’s confused about what possibly went down between you two.

His parents loved Nara… so it must’ve been awkward and she must know about your pregnancy now.

Everyone’s going to know…

“Ahhhh she wasn’t rude with you now… was she?” He asks, you don’t tell him much which is worrying… but he decides not to press the issue because he’s gonna be home tonight and then he will ask you.

“OK well take care of yourself and… seol is Home with you right? Okay. I’ll talk to you later. I gotta go back to work. I’ll see you tonight if you’re awake by the time I get home.”

He doesn’t really say an I love you to you before ending the call because he’s still a little mad at you about this morning.

Jungkook cuts the call and resumes working with a heavy heart.

•••

Almost after five hours of driving, he’s finally back home and frankly, he’s exhausted. He opens the door with his keys and just gets inside.

Obviously Seol is probably asleep already because he has school tomorrow morning. And Maybe you’re in the bedroom.

Before coming to you in your shared bedroom, he decides to go to Seol, he carefully opens the door to his Spider-Man themed bedroom, and smiles as he sees his beautiful little son fast asleep in his night suit.

“Oh my beautiful baby..” Jungkook mutters under his breath as he gets closer to Seol and presses a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Then after making sure that he’s comfortable in his bed jungkook walks out of seol’s bedroom and makes his way to you.

He gets inside your shared room and there you are, his exhaustion immediately fades away when he sees you.

“Hi yn.” He greets you.

He really wants to kiss you but after the conversation he had with you earlier today has left a bitter taste in his mouth and if he kisses you then maybe he will just overwhelm you even more.

He mentally rolls his eyes at the thought. The truth is that maybe he can never understand you Or what you really want.

Or rather who you really want.

“So.. my mother was here today? I’m sorry, but what did she say? Why was she here?” Taking off his coat, Jungkook stresses.

[drdemonprince]

This is regarding the other Anon with a new job in childcare (After School program). I'm sending this on Anon since it involves my line of work (licensed childcare), which I try to avoid mixing with my social media. I am assuming the Anon works in the USA. I may be wrong, of course, but if so I hope some of the information translates.

It sounds like Anon was hired before the employer confirmed their experience (which really isn't Anon's fault) but I'd like to add some context from my experience:

If this is a licensing rule, and not just an employer policy: The rules regarding who can be employed in childcare are made with the safety of children in mind, and children are a vulnerable population. The Anon mentioned the operation has to provide information to government licensing, so it sounds like the employer is not following minimum requirements set by licensing. These requirements aren't really concerned with the individual applicant, who may be a good fit other than their lack of required experience, but they're concerned with mitigating risk and preventing harm to children.

I don't know exactly where Anon works or how the licensing staff will consider their information, but it should be up to the employer to confirm that minimum requirements are met when hiring. It sounds like either: Anon works in a place where hiring is allowed before confirming the childcare experience requirement is met (in which case the best choice may be to just be honest with the employer and see what they suggest they do to fulfill that requirement), or the requirement should already have been met before hiring (in which case the employer has failed to confirm that the person they hired meets minimum requirements, and the employer would likely be held accountable in some way, especially in the case of harm to a child).

I may be totally wrong here, but it sounds like the problem is the employer, since they did not check that the requirement was met (even if Anon has told them falsely that they do meet the requirement). I can't imagine any consequence to Anon worse than being "fired" if the information is hidden and then found out (and it was not in the context of an investigation of neglect or abuse). But, the consequences of the employer hiring someone that does not meet minimum requirements (not necessarily Anon) can be really, really bad (meaning, children can be harmed). Licensing requirements help prevent people who would abuse children from getting employment. People who would be good caregivers are (unfortunately) not the only people who apply to work with kids.

Even if "firing" is the worst outcome for Anon, the employer should have been on top of things. Especially when dealing with licensing - the requirements are concerned, first and foremost, with child safety and the mitigation of risk of harm. The rules are there because they generally help with that, even if the people who don't meet those requirements would be fine caregivers anyway. Even people who would never consciously harm a child may still present certain risks, especially if overwhelmed or distracted.

If the experience requirement is not a licensing rule, but just an employer policy, the employer's consequences (for the employer) may differ. Just because they have to submit information to licensing, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a licensing rule - licensing may only be checking that Anon meets the employer's requirements in the employer's policy submitted to licensing. To my knowledge, the 1 year of experience rule is not a licensing requirement in my state for Anon's type of employment, but other states have different codes.

Thank you for this additional context, anon who i believe might be a lawyer? Sharing because this would be helpful for the anon to know.

But also, the anarchist in me simply must emphasize that we shouldn't really ever take at face value that a law serves a prosocial goal that it says that it does. Institutional bureaucracy that is presented as being for the "protection of a child" also serves to discriminate against people whose experience with children has happened outside of formally recognized institutional settings -- immigrants, people who have raised children that are not legally "theirs", people with strong community ties to a number of families but who don't know those families and kids in the context of over-the-table paid work, babysitters, family friends, etc etc etc.

[aemonded]

+ So, update:

That fellowship three hours away I got accepted to that covers my entire degree for my Masters in Law; I found out that this does not include housing.

Unfortunately for me, I live in one of the most expensive areas globally, so to move to where this Masters of Law is, it'd involve my rent going from 1k a month to 2.4k at least.

I also just talked to the Dean of the Law School, and she was kind enough to say my project was "special," but also that I should "gift myself" the gift of taking a year off from work, because she assumes I am rich AF apparently and can afford to take a year off of work in this economy, because most people take the year off of work to focus on this sort of thing.

So I asked for an extension on the deposit, which would be 200 dollars to hold my place- so I have until the 15th of March.

However, I am still waiting to hear if I got accepted in my local university that would not require me to move away from home, would most likely be cheaper, and could also allow for part time work if the program got truly overwhelming.

However, I do not hear from that local university from before the end of April at the latest- and the earliest I've seen on discussion boards with people being contacted is March 15th.

The worst part about all of this is I would have better connections at that local school, too- but I think my grade point average is literally 0.1 percent below their cut-off, so I legitimately have NO idea if after being rejected before if this time, which probably the most competitive application I'll ever have, will be enough.

So We'lL sEe- I just want everyone to light a candle for me that I get news of this fucking local university program before/on the 15th of March, so I can A) Keep working, because fuck that economic privilege of not working while going to school, and B) If I get accepted locally I'll have more job prospects, more connections in the city closest to me where I actually work in, and C) It'll be cheaper and I can live renting from family for a far below market rate than anything three hours away at the fellowship school.

[firstyearseminar6]

23 States and Counting

A person’s physical appearance defines the way that other people perceive them, especially before meeting them. This is especially important for transgender people like me. I am taking medication to help change my physical appearance, but I’m early on in my medical transition, so it will take years before my physical appearance will more closely match my gender. I haven’t begun to change my voice yet, but once complete, it will help others perceive me correctly once they have met me.

My relationships with my peers and the members of my family vary in terms of my gender identity, because there are some people that I choose not to tell about me being transgender, at least for the time being. Some members of my family are less accepting, and they’ll be the last to know about me. I have 2 moms, and when one of them chose to come out to her grandmother, she was disowned. Her grandmother refused to speak to her for the rest of her life. It’s things like this that keep me from coming out to everyone immediately. I find it best to be slow and careful before telling people. Thankfully most of my peers have been wonderful and accepting.

My interactions with school officials this year has, however, been especially strenuous. It came to a head during my First Year Seminar class, where the school’s broken and failed system leaked my deadname and other personal information to everyone. After exposing a second personal information leak to the school, they offered me a job with IT. I begin tomorrow. Really, this should not be my job to do. The school prides itself on being an open and inclusive environment, and on being welcoming to transgender people. They even published a guide on what to do if you are transgender. Unfortunately, it was all bark and no bite. It has been over a month now since I filed for my name to be corrected on school systems. My cisgender male roommate, as wonderful as he is, was not who I had in mind when filling out “Transgender Female” on my dorm application. The school’s systems retroactively modified my application to “Male”, because of course they did. My name correction has not happened, and at this point I have little hope of it happening at all. Hopefully with my new-found employment I can fix some of the issues or expedite my supposed-to-take-a-week name correction, but it really, really should not have come to this. In fact, I can name a better institution to attend if you want a seamless transition. UCLA has actually handled every single aspect of my medical transition thus far. As I write this, it’s my 100th day in. I cannot name a single better medical care provider in the whole city. UCLA Health leaves me smiling every time I need anything done, no matter what. My experience with the medical establishment has far exceeded my expectations, and I am very happy with it. If only Occidental could manage to call me by the right name, maybe I’d be less annoyed. It has been months, and I am exhausted. It should not be my literal, actual job to fix IT systems for transgender people. Programming is not something that every trans person knows how to do, and isn’t something that it should come down to in order to get a name updated. I would have been delighted to have a job with IT, but the way that it came to this has left a sour taste in my mouth regarding my interactions with school officials.

Because gender is a social construct and gender is only really made up of societal expectations, the way that each society views gender can have an effect on the way that its members, both cisgender and transgender, define their own identities. For me, part of that is the somewhat more welcoming environment that southern California provides. The state harbors more progressive communities, which allows people like me to feel comfortable asking questions to themselves about who they really are. If I were in somewhere like southeastern Poland where LGBT people are banned by law, or even worse, Florida, I don’t know that I would be in the position to question my gender in the first place. Communities and their cultures have had the most impact on the way my gender has been constructed.

Another thing that has impacted my journey toward discovering my gender identity has been “scripts”, or stereotypes. While my race today may be classified as “White”, for centuries Jewish people were in their own category, and were not considered White. Of course, we still are our own ethnicity and have our own communities, though if you’ve ever been down Fairfax in the last decade, you can see that gentrification had ripped through that like a knife. Regardless, Jewish people have many scripts associated with them. Of course there’s the prominent nose, but also some more harmful traits. We are blamed for every problem under the sun because people think that Jews run the world or have space lasers or control Hollywood. As a card-carrying scary boogeyman California Transgender, the list of scripts about my gender goes on for miles. People think that trans people are pedophiles and rapists, or that we’re indoctrinating children with “gender ideology” and our “liberal agenda” (which the California ID in my wallet certainly doesn’t alleviate). Transgender people are being scapegoated all across the country right now with Florida, as well as 22 other states, passing anti-transgender legislation. Being both Jewish and Transgender means that the “indoctrination” script becomes especially prominent, because many people think that Jews control the world’s governments, or that we’re putting “gender ideology” into schools to turn the kids transgender, or whatever other theory people can come up with. We execute those people with our space laser, generously donated by George Soros.

Most of the discrimination I face today stems from being transgender, though that’s not to say Jews don’t face it. If I were a different race or ethnicity, I would still face most of the discrimination I do today, unfortunately. Another aspect of my identity that draws discrimination and stereotypes is being asexual. People see asexuals as needing “fixing” or that they’re “broken”, which really does hurt. Combining that with my gender identity can make people believe that I am just “confused” or have some kind of “mental illness” as a way of dismissing my identity entirely, despite me just trying to live as myself.

Being queer is an uphill battle. It always has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Maybe one day it’ll be as simple as being left handed, but for now, you can find me indoctrinating the children with the Jewish space laser.

[hobidreams]

hiya miss rain!!!!! it’s been a hot minute, i missed you🥹 i just applied for my first ever job!!! i had the interview two days ago and it went really well; the interviewer was really kind to me because i was the youngest in the group of applicants. i think it’s also because i was the only undergraduate there, but i’m not complaining lol. (also i got in!! my orientation is tomorrow, so i’m really anxious about it but at the same time i feel like i’m ready to take the next step y’know?) soon i’ll be working from home as an english tutor🫶

i don’t think i’ve ever mentioned that i’m actually a creative writing major!! so yeah, i am now a workshop veteran🤣 my cnf prof had us workshop every essay we made, so i really bonded with my group. nothing brings people together like opening up abt trauma, that’s for sure💀 it’s def my fave genre so far though, since i’ve already taken realist and non-realist fiction hehe. i’ve heard of the crane wife, but i haven’t read it yet! i’ll give it a shot one of these days, since it’s already vacation for me🫶 def not taking summer classes this time around, lord knows i am Drained💀💀

i’m so glad to hear you did well though!! you’re a Certified Girlboss, and i love to see you thrive🫡 how is law school? any fun anecdotes?👀 are you on vacation as well? if so, i hope you’re resting lots!! you deserve it hehe🫶 that’s all from me hehe i hope ur well!!

-🌿

babie!!!! huge congrats on the new job. how has it been going so far? <3 <3 <3 i hope its everything you dreamed of 💗

how many years do you have left?? omg i can't believe its been so long,,, i feel like you just told me you were in first year LOL 😭 time is passing by so fast and im on such a rollercoaster. but i hope youre enjoying your major <3 i miss my crwr classes so fucking much omg.... yes LMFAO cnf was rly "ive never met you but here is my deepest scar i guess" such a wild time

not many fun anecdotes from law school unfortunately but the trauma bonding is real...... oh i do have a really handsome professor that's my supervisor for a thesis-like project this term. every time we have a meeting im like 😍😍😍 LOL. hes so kind and smart and im rly lucky to be working w him!!!! i cannot wait for this entire term to be over though ugh.

i hope youve been well 🥺🥺 im rly sorry i havent been replying or on here as much as i'd like. im trying to plan so many things that my brain is just jumbled aljdsfkj

[chill-that-ur-inmyhead]

What are three names you like that start with the same letter as your fist name? Hailey, Harry, Hannah

How old will you turn on your next birthday? 25

What are three things you like about your birth month (besides it being the month your birthday is in)? Aquarius, I like the winter weather and majority of my friends also have their birthday's around that time

…and what are three things you dislike about it? It is close to valentine's day so my ex said that the celebration would be combined (I didn't mind too much but womp womp) It's a day before my mum's birthday and I used to hate that it was usually during school time

List three celebrities that are the same height as you. Emma Watson, Selena Gomez and Jennifer Anniston (WIN)

Are you happy with your height, or do you wish you were shorter or taller? Why? I wouldn't mind being 5'6 or 5'7 but no taller

Which family member did you inherit your hair colour from? Probs my dad's side of the family.

List three things in nature that are the same color as your eyes. 👀 Grass, leaves, trees lol

Are you happy with your current weight, or do you wish you weighed more or less? No way, less pls.

If applicable, how many pounds do you want to lose? 2 stone

How many years has it been since you were last a student enrolled in school? 🏫 I am still enrolled in university but will be graduating this year :)

What was your favourite class in high school? I really enjoyed maths class mainly because I got put into a group where we could work at the same pace and it was really supportive class!

How many sisters do you have? Zero.

How many brothers do you have? Uno.

If you had a twin sister, what would she be named? Maybe Imogen since that is another name my parents liked.

How many dogs have you had in your lifetime? 🐶 Sadly zero

How many cats have you had in your lifetime? 🐈 Sadly zero

Do you prefer dogs or cats? Rabbits hehe

Where was your dad born? Hertfordshire

Where was your mum born? Leicestershire

Where were you born? Essex

Have you ever met anyone unrelated to you that had the same last name as you? Yes, very common last name

How many sister-in-laws do you have? Zero

How many brother-in-laws do you have? Zero

How many nieces do you have? Zero

How many nephews do you have? Zero

How many of your grandparents are still living? Two

Are you good at taking pictures? 📸 I try

What are three things you’ve been complimented on? My smile, my hair and my lipstick application haha

What is your dream job? Lawyer - hopefully a good one

…and are you currently working in your dream job? I am!

Do you consider yourself spiritual? Hmm I think so but not too sure

Do you consider yourself religious? Yes but in a non-traditional sense

Do you have a positive or negative view of the word “religion”? Bit of both. It offered a good community for me when I was growing up and for my family but on the other side I have seen it used in the name of hatred and that sucks.

Do you have a positive or negative view of the word “spiritual”? I think spiritual has become a term where people want to distance themselves from traditional religion. I think that is good but I do think it isn't taken as seriously unfortunately.

Who is the most spiritual person you know? I don't know any personally or we haven't had that discussion yet.

When was the last time you stepped foot inside of a church? ⛪️ Years ago and probs for midnight mass

Do you regularly attend church? Why or why not? ⛪️ Not anymore. I think worship can happen anywhere and a church is not mandatory.

Have you ever been to a mosque? 🕌 nope

Have you ever been to a synagogue? 🕍 Yes on a school trip

What is your favourite religious holiday? Christmas is pretty good.

If applicable, does your faith mean a lot to you? Yes

Do you have the same worldview as your parents? I suppose but it probs deviates from time to time

Have you ever attended a Christian school? 🏫 Yes

How often do you pray? 🙏 Not actively.

Have you ever danced in church? 💃 Sang yes but not danced

Have you ever been baptized, and if so, where and how were you baptized? 🌊 Yes, as a baby in a catholic church

How many presidential elections have you voted in? 🗳️ I do not have presidential elections in my country :)

Are you happy with the current state of your nation? We need improving ofc

How many different medications do you normally take daily? 💊 none

Which medication(s) do you hate the most, and why? Not taken enough to know.

Is your current doctor a male or female? Depends who the appointment is with but last appointment I had a male doctor.

Do you prefer male or female doctors? Why? I haven't had a problem where I think I would feel more comfortable with a woman but I can imagine that would be a reason why

How is your mental health? How has it been lately? Feeling overwhelmed with exams finishing but also the idea of the unknown for what is next.

[theapostilles]

Embassy Attestation Services for Educational Documents: Why it is Essential for Studying Abroad

Embassy attestation services are critical in simplifying the process of studying abroad. It is crucial to have your academic records verified by the relevant embassy if you plan to pursue further education abroad. Through this procedure, you can be sure that your academic records are legitimate and that institutions overseas would accept them.

Embassy attestation provides legitimacy to your academic credentials, which is one of the main reasons it's necessary to study abroad. The Ministry of External Affairs, the educational board, and, ultimately, the embassy of the nation you intend to study in will all verify your documents as part of the attestation procedure. Your academic credentials get international recognition and acceptability with the addition of this set of verifications, which provides an additional layer of confidence.

Embassy attestation additionally ensures compliance with the target nation's legal obligations, which is another important feature. Regarding the admission of international students, various countries have their own set of laws. You can fulfil these standards with the aid of embassy attestation, which validates the validity of your academic records. Your application can be denied, and you might only be allowed to pursue the study abroad program you had intended if the necessary attestation is provided.

Let us examine the multiple advantages of embassy attestation services for educational documents.

Global Education:

For those who want to pursue further education overseas, embassy attestation services are crucial. Most nations want certified copies of all academic records, including transcripts, diplomas, and degrees, to verify the validity of an applicant's educational background. Foreign educational institutions are reassured by embassy attestation that the materials they have presented are authentic.

Opportunities for Employment:

When applying for jobs overseas, it is frequently necessary to have your school records attested by an embassy. Employers abroad rely on embassy attestation to confirm job candidates' educational backgrounds. Through this procedure, it is confirmed that the candidates have the knowledge and abilities that their academic records indicate they do.

Professional Licencing

It could be necessary for professionals to have their academic credentials attested by an embassy to practice in a foreign nation. It is especially crucial for occupations where the integrity of credentials is vital, such as engineering, medical, teaching, and nursing. The embassy verifies the professional's educational credentials to meet the requirements of the other nation.

Processing Visas:

When applying for a visa, embassy attestation is a crucial prerequisite for anyone hoping to work or study overseas. Many nations' immigration authorities want attested academic records to verify the validity of the applicant's educational background. Embassy attestation improves the probability of a favorable visa outcome and speeds up the application procedure.

Government Recognition:

For people hoping to have their foreign-acquired qualifications recognized by the government, embassy certification of their academic records is essential. Government authorities may need embassy attestation to verify educational qualifications received from overseas universities for work, professional licensing, or scholarly endeavors.

Embassy attestation services protect against fraud as well. Unfortunately, there has been a surge in the use of forged documents for admissions as studying abroad has grown in popularity. Educational institutions can make sure they are accepting qualified and real students by requiring embassy verification. It preserves the integrity of the entire educational system in addition to safeguarding the reputation of the educational institution.

Furthermore, embassy attestation offers a standardized approach for validating educational documents. Embassy attestation contributes to developing a standardized and internationally recognized process for assessing foreign educational credentials because many nations may have varied educational systems and requirements. It makes it possible for foreign educational institutions to comprehend the qualifications and academic backgrounds of international applicants.

Studying abroad requires embassy attestation of academic documents for several reasons. It gives your educational credentials more legitimacy, ensures that you follow the law, protects you from fraud, and offers a standardized procedure for assessing credentials from other countries. Through the attestation process, students can increase their chances of being accepted into the foreign universities of their choice and succeed in their academic endeavors.

[suckitsurveys]

What are three names you like that start with the same letter as your fist name? Henry, Hattie, Harriet.

How old will you turn on your next birthday? 34.

What are three things you like about your birth month (besides it being the month your birthday is in)? Pumpkin things start appearing, the leaves start changing, it’s also Mark’s birthday month.

…and what are three things you dislike about it? It’s still hot af most days but all the water parks/pools/beaches are closed, work starts piling up because the students are back, and it’s the end of summer, which gives me such a weird, melancholy, nostalgic feeling.

List three celebrities that are the same height as you. Amy Poehler, Nikki Minaj, Salma Hayek (who also shares my birthday lol).

Are you happy with your height, or do you wish you were shorter or taller? Why? I’m fine with being 5′2″.

Which family member did you inherit your hair color from? My mom was blonde as a kid and her hair turned brown and my sister and my hair did too, so I guess her.

List three things in nature that are the same color as your eyes. 👀 Pine trees, grass, moss.

Are you happy with your current weight, or do you wish you weighed more or less? I am not.

If applicable, how many pounds do you want to lose? Ideally I’d be good under 250lbs.

How many years has it been since you were last a student enrolled in school? 🏫 It’s been a while.

What was your favorite class in high school? Social sciences.

How many sisters do you have? One.

How many brothers do you have? Zero.

If you had a twin sister, what would she be named? I don’t know, maybe Matilda or Rosalita, like my almost names were? Or maybe I’d have a completely different name? How many dogs have you had in your lifetime? 🐶 Just one.

How many cats have you had in your lifetime? 🐈 Seven.

Do you prefer dogs or cats? Cats.

Where was your dad born? In Chicago.

Where was your mom born? In Lexington, TN.

Where were you born? Chicago.

Have you ever met anyone unrelated to you that had the same last name as you? Yes, once. My last name is very uncommon, especially in the states, so that was a trip.

How many sister-in-laws do you have? One.

How many brother-in-laws do you have? Two.

How many nieces do you have? Two.

How many nephews do you have? One, by marriage.

How many of your grandparents are still living? Zero.

Are you good at taking pictures? 📸 Sure.

What are three things you’ve been complimented on? My creativity, my hair, my humor..

What is your dream job? Event planner.

…and are you currently working in your dream job? I don’t get paid to do it but I do plan parties for my nieces lol.

Do you consider yourself spiritual? A little, sure.

Do you consider yourself religious? Not at all.

Do you have a positive or negative view of the word “religion”? Mostly negative, especially living in the states. Religion seems to dictate a lot of hate and I can’t get behind that. I know there are positives to religion, but my first instinct is to dismiss any and all religions.

Do you have a positive or negative view of the word “spiritual”? I have a more positive view of that word because to me, it means you can believe in a higher power without necessarily following a religion, which is something I can get behind. Who is the most spiritual person you know? My mom followed the belief I mentioned above pretty consistently.

When was the last time you stepped foot inside of a church? ⛪️ Oh buddy I can’t even tell you.

Do you regularly attend church? Why or why not? ⛪️ Nope. Because I do not follow a religion.

Have you ever been to a mosque? 🕌 I don’t think so.

Have you ever been to a synagogue? 🕍 I have, if I remember correctly.

What is your favorite religious holiday? I guess Christmas is technically a religious holiday.

If applicable, does your faith mean a lot to you? Not applicable.

Do you have the same worldview as your parents? for the most part.

Have you ever attended a Christian school? 🏫 I went to a Lutheran high school unfortunately.

How often do you pray? 🙏 Never.

Have you ever danced in church? 💃 Uhh maybe?

Have you ever been baptized, and if so, where and how were you baptized? 🌊 I was not baptized.

How many presidential elections have you voted in? 🗳️ 2008, 2012, 2016, 202, if I remember correctly. 2008 is a little hazy.

Are you happy with the current state of your nation? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

How many different medications do you normally take daily? 💊 I don’t take any.

Which medication(s) do you hate the most, and why? I never really hated any that I’ve had to take.

Is your current doctor a male or female? Male.

Do you prefer male or female doctors? Why? I don’t care for the most part.

How is your mental health? How has it been lately? LOL.

[ultra-maha-us]

Jobs in Dubai - Finding Employment in the UAE

Many job hunters still believe that the streets of Dubai are paved with gold. This may be true to some extent - Dubai is a tax free haven where net income is typically much higher than in other parts of the world. Even so, securing employment is not always easy. Approximately 80% of the population in Dubai consists of foreigners and competition for desired employment positions can be fierce. It is best to have an offer in hand from a company before traveling to Dubai. Of course this may not always be possible and there are certain advantages to traveling Dubai in hopes of finding a job as opposed to searching from one's home country. For example, many employers will give preference to hiring someone actually in Dubai (and thus available for an interview), rather than having to endure the extra hassle and risk of hiring someone sight unseen. However, there is no guarantee of landing a job before expiration of one's visa, making a bit of luck and local contacts invaluable in the process.

Once a job seeker has secured a position, a contract will be signed and the employer will act as the sponsor. The contract should include basic salary, job title and description, length of the contract, and termination conditions among other things. It is vital to negotiate a good package including salary, housing, and school fees if the employee has children. Other allowances may include coverage for medical, transportation, utilities, and / or annual vacation with an airplane ticket to one's home country. (The law stipulates that companies must provide a vacation / airplane ticket at least every two years). Each company is different find job uae and packages will vary. The work week also varies from company to company with some working straight shift and some working split shift (with a few hours break in the middle of the day).

The sponsor should handle all paperwork required by the government for foreign workers, including getting the employee an employment visa, health card, and labor card. A company's PRO (Public Relations Officer) will typically handle the logistics, ensuring all paperwork arrives at the necessary government offices for approval. First an employee's application is approved by the Ministry of Labor, then the employee undergoes a health screening, and finally all relevant documents are transferred to the Ministry of Interior who stamp the residence visa in the employee's passport. Employment visas are valid for a maximum of three years although they are renewable. In general, expatriate workers are not granted UAE citizenship or permanent residency. The Dubai government has taken steps to drive Emiratization of the workforce (stipulating that a fixed percentage of workers in certain industries must be UAE nationals and that all companies having 100 or more employees must hire UAE nationals as their PRO and/or Human Relations Manager). However, it is still believed that expatriate employees will make up a major part of the workforce in the UAE for years to come.

For those hoping to find jobs in Dubai, there are various avenues to take. There are several recruitment agencies with good reputations available to assist job hunters in their quest for employment, including long-standing companies such as Claredon Parker and Kershaw Leonard. As there are many recruitment agencies in operation, it is always advisable to do some research into their reputation and methods before using their services. Unfortunately it is not an uncommon occurrence for job seekers from poorer nations to drain their entire life savings paying unscrupulous agents from their home countries who falsely promise visas and jobs. Fortunately, recruitment agencies in the UAE are regulated and must be licensed, so the potential for scams in the UAE itself is greatly reduced.

[westerlyroleplay]

NAME: Aleksandra “Alex” Miller GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cis woman / She/Her AGE & DATE OF BIRTH: 34 years old / November 12 HOMETOWN: Westerly, RI TIME IN WESTERLY: 1 week RESIDENCE: Watch Hill OCCUPATION: Attorney at Miller & Clark

WISHING I STAYED, LOOK AT HOW      ——      my tears ricochet.

Trigger Warnings: domestic abuse, child abuse

Aleksandra Miller was born on a cold, bitter November evening which was an unfortunate foreshadowing of her upbringing.  Paul and Julie quickly learned that having a baby did not fix the mess that was their marriage.  If anything, it made Paul more eager to work which left Julie home to care for their infant daughter.  That was, until she realized that she was not suited for the nurturing mother role and hired a nanny to do all the dirty work while she buried herself in other tasks that she deemed more important.  While Alex was born into a wealthy family, money was the only comfort that her parents provided.  Her father wasn’t a kind man; she was certain that it was time that had made him cruel.  However, there was always a burning rage within him that Alex feared as young as eight when she drew him a family portrait on some papers she had found on his desk and was greeted with a backhand across the face.  She learned quickly that there was nothing as important to him as his job and a glass of whiskey at the end of the day.  Not even his family.  Her mother was no better, unfortunately, as she turned a blind eye to the actions of her husband and scolded her eight-year-old daughter for angering her father.  While her mother was technically present, it was of no favour to Alex as her mother’s expectations of her were higher than anyone could achieve which always left Julie disappointed in her daughter’s actions regardless of how well Alex did for herself.

She was as young as ten when she first daydreamed about a life away from the battlefield that has become her home, however, it wasn’t until she was sixteen that she started planning for a life beyond Rhode Island.  Her primary focus was her education; she was an honour student at the private school that all the kids in her neighbourhood attended and participated in as many extracurriculars as were permitted.  She was on the debate team and cheerleading squad primarily, but she volunteered where she could.  It wasn’t that she necessarily enjoyed cheerleading, but it was a good enough reason to avoid going home and she knew it would look good on her college applications.  She knew that she shouldn’t have gotten her heart set on one university, but Stanford was her first pick mainly because it was on the other side of the country.  She thought that her father would at least be proud that she was pursuing a higher education at a University like Stanford, but her father made it clear that he didn’t think she was cut out for it and reminded her that she was nothing since she wasn’t applying for an Ivy League education, which simply made her work that much harder.  In her graduating year, she started making sizable cash withdrawals from her family account that she could put aside for herself, enough for her and enough that her father wouldn’t notice, which wasn’t too hard considering the lifestyle that they lived.  Her plans were slowly starting to come together; she was going to leave a week after graduation, which would give her enough time to enjoy the success of graduating amongst her friends before she left for California.

As anticipated, she was accepted into Stanford and moved to California without batting so much as an eyelash. After After her initial studies, she chose to pursue a career in Law out of spite for her father.  He may not have thought she was cut out for it, but she was determined to prove him wrong, though she knew she would never receive his praise or approval.  To no surprise, Alex graduated at the top of her class and was valedictorian at her graduation; not that her parents would have known considering that they couldn’t be bothered to show up to the ceremony let alone send a card.  Shortly after graduation, she accepted an offer to start at a prestigious law firm in New York City and embraced all that Manhattan had to offer.  She never returned to Westerly as she felt as though there was nothing there for her anymore other than the battlefield that was the Miller home.  Until, two months ago when Alex received a phone call from her father’s receptionist, Mary, to inform her that her father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and needed someone to take over operations at his firm in Westerly.  Her knee jerk reaction was to decline the offer and suggested that she find someone else to replace him as the incessant voice in the back of her head reminded her that she was never going to be good enough for him.  But, after a battle within herself, she begrudgingly accepted the offer and returned to Westerly, though she had hoped that she would never return home.

Portrayed by MILA KUNIS, written by KENNEDY.