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vilevampire · 4 years ago

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“Crushing” (One Shot)

Thank you @louyd and @the-writer-nerd-ro for helping me beta read this <3 This is actually the first fic I wrote for ducktales, so if anything’s kinda weird, that’s probably why.

Rating: Teen and up audiences

Trigger Warnings: Minor injury, hospital

Pairing: Louie Duck x B.O.Y.D

Summary: When Louie first met Boyd, he thought the boy was just an emotionless, cold-hearted machine... ...and then he fell in love with him.

9.833 words

Ao3 Link

"Hi, I'm Boyd, a definitely real boy!"

"Uh... sure you are…"

—————

That exchange was the most of Louie's memories from the first time he had met Boyd. After Doofus Drake's birthday party, the two of them had left off on their own separate ways. And Louie hadn't given the weird robot any second thought... that was, until he met it again. "Louie, meet my friend Boyd!" Huey exclaimed rather enthusiastically. It was clear for anyone to see that he cared a lot about Boyd and wanted him and his brother to get along. Dewey and Webby were currently unavailable, and so Huey thought that Louie was the best remaining candidate for meeting him. "Hi, I'm Boyd, a definitely real boy! We've met each other before!" The child held his hand out, smiling, his voice and movements reproduced identically to the first time they had met. "...I'm Louie, but I think you already know that." Different from last time, however, Louie at least accepted the boy's handshake, just to be polite. Huey stared at their interaction in shock. He thought he had listed all the possible ways this meeting could go, and yet clearly, he had overlooked the possibility that his brother and his new best friend would somehow already know each other. "WAIT, you guys have met each other before?! When? How? Why is this the first time that I'm hearing about this?!" Boyd, his cheerful smile unwavering, promptly answered his friend's question. "We—" "We just happened to bump into each other before, that's all." …Or he would have, if Louie hadn't interrupted him with a shrug. Louie knew his brother well enough to know that he would demand a lengthy explanation of his prior meeting with Boyd and, as it turns out, he really didn't feel like explaining everything that went down at Doofus' birthday party (or talk about the scam that he tried to pull). Knowing enough about Boyd's backstory, Huey didn't buy his brother's explanation, but decided to forget about it for now. As long as they both got along well, he could get all the answers to his questions later on. With a sigh, Huey gave in: "Alright, if you say so…" he said lightly, staring pointedly at Louie with a look that he hoped conveyed a different message:"We'll talk about this later." Louie looked away from his brother's glare to play with his phone. Boyd was still smiling, seemingly oblivious to the wordless exchange happening between the two brothers. Huey cleared up his throat to speak again. "In any case, are you possibly free today, Louie? Me and Boyd were actually planning to hang out together and, if you wanted to, you could come join us! Right, Boyd?" "Yeah! We would love to have you with us, Louie!" Boyd smiled at him, looking brighter than the sun itself. Louie looked up from his phone to stare at his brother and his robot friend absent-mindedly while he contemplated the invitation. It had already been quite a while since Louie had been able to hang out with his family without getting involved in magical hijinks, and, as much as Louie would never admit it out loud, he kind of missed spending quality time with his family every now and then. Subconsciously, the young duck's gaze lingered slightly longer on Boyd. He thought that, at the very least, there would be no way he would get bored if he was going to be hanging out with a robot. Louie plastered on his signature lazy smile before replying, "Yeah sure, why not? I'm bored anyway." Both Huey and Boyd were visibly excited by this response and soon the three of them revised their plans for the day to include Louie. Before this, Louie hadn't actually realized robots even could become visibly excited. He thought maybe the thing was programmed to match the emotions displayed by the people closest to it? Either way, it was fine by him, as long as he didn't end up bored out of his skull hanging with Huey and his new friend. Huey and Boyd's plans for the day ended up consisting of a picnic in the park. Louie wasn't one to turn down free food, so he was alright with these plans, if only for the opportunity to kill some time. "Try not to eat all the food when we get there." His brother lightly teased while packing things up. Louie's only response was to nod with a serious expression. As he watched Huey and Boyd work efficiently together to pack up everything they would need, he noticed how alike the two of them were. They worked perfectly in sync to get everything in order. The duck frowned slightly at the thought. He didn't like that his brother's new best friend was some cold-hearted machine. Sure, he might joke around saying that Huey was robot-like, but he didn't mean it like that. He decided to keep an eye on it to make sure nothing would happen to his older brother. Soon enough, the three of them left off for their picnic.

—————

Boyd set up their picnic in a nice spot by a tree's shadow while Huey babbled on about the things they had seen during their trip to Japan. Louie seemed to be only half-listening while playing on his phone.

"...You should have seen the Sakura trees! The food was great too. I think you would have really liked it there. You should come with us next time." "Mhm." Louie nodded inattentively. Huey was satisfied enough with that answer.

He knew that despite his brother's laid-back demeanor, he was still paying attention to his story. Louie was much smarter than he acted and he would never pass up the opportunity to learn about something he could possibly use to his advantage later on.

"The picnic is ready!" Boyd called them over once he finished laying down the food over the picnic towel. Louie put his phone down for the first time since they left home.

Sandwiches, pastries, pies, and desserts laid neatly arranged on plates next to a jar of orange juice, plastic cups, and a can of Pep that they brought just for Louie. They sat together in a triangle around the food and beverages and they each picked up something to eat… including Boyd.

Louie gawked as the android took a bite out of his sandwich in delight.

"Robots can EAT?! " He exclaimed, completely taken aback.

Boyd quickly swallowed up his food to reply: "Yeah! I even asked my dad to add a taste buds function, so I can even taste the food, just like you guys!" He said, looking like the happiest kid in the world.

Louie quickly glanced from Boyd to Huey, silently asking: "Dad?"

"He means Dr. Gearloose." Huey explained.

"But… do robots even need to eat?" Louie questioned again, looking over at Boyd.

"We do not, but I still enjoy it!" The boy cheerfully clarified.

"But then… isn't that just a waste of food?"

Just for a moment, Louie thought he had seen Boyd's smile falter. As soon as he blinked again, however, the other boy's expression had already returned to his usual one.

"Louie! " Huey snapped, ready to give him a scolding.

"No, Huey, it's okay." Boyd put his hand on Huey's shoulder. "He has a point."

"But…!" Huey looked over to Boyd, putting his hand over his friend's. He was hurt and upset over Louie's remark.

"See Hue? He said it himself that I have a point. He agrees with me." Louie casually gestured towards Boyd, right before taking a bite out of a flaky pastry.

"Louie! I can't believe you…" Huey looked ready to get up from his spot, but Boyd held him down.

"It's okay Huey, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it." Boyd comforted his friend with a few pats on the back.

Huey scoffed. "I'm not so sure about that." He shot Louie one last glance before sighing and moving his attention back to the food.

With no more words, Louie quickly finished his meal, suddenly feeling annoyed. He grabbed the nearest can of Pep and got up. "I'm going home." he turned around and walked away.

—————

By the time he got back to the manor, Dewey and Webby had just returned from whatever adventure they had gone off to earlier.

The two of them had their clothes dirty and torn in a few places, and it looked like the top of Dewey's hair was a little charred.

"Louie! Oh my gosh, you'll never believe what we just went through. We—" Dewey started talking excitedly, gesticulating all the while.

"Wait." Webby quickly interrupted him, putting her hand over his beak. "Louie, what's wrong?"

Once she said that, Dewey gave a better look at his brother and noticed his expression.

Normally, Louie would have no problem keeping up a good poker face. He could even brag and say he was much better at lying than other people twice his age. But it seemed like he wasn't expecting to find his siblings here, for his face wore an annoyed expression instead of his usual lazy one.

He quickly fixed his expression, however, lying through his teeth: "Oh, it's nothing. Just that my Pep got warm, that's all," he said smoothly, holding up the opened can.

"Mhmm… right…" Webby eyed him suspiciously. The girl might be naive at times, but she certainly wasn't stupid. After spending so much time with her brothers, she had learned to recognize when something was bothering them. "And where's Huey?"

"He's busy having lunch with his new robot." Louie rolled his eyes.

"Huey's got a robot? Like, just for him?! Dude!" Dewey exclaimed in disbelief, right before running off to beg Uncle Scrooge and Dr. Gearloose to give him his own robot.

As for Webby, while her eyes sparkled at the mention of a robot, she was still suspicious. She felt like something was off with Louie, but he wasn't willing to share what it was. That certainly didn't surprise her, as Louie was always like this, but it was still frustrating not knowing who or what might have hurt her brother.

Eventually, though, she decided to let it go. Another thing Webby had learned after spending more time with her newest family was to not pry into other people's privacy. Her loved ones were more than competent enough to take care of their own problems most of the time. Not every single situation needed her help.

Besides, Louie was very good at keeping his secrets to himself when he really wanted to.

"Alright, if you say so… but you should know that if you ever need anything, I'm here to help you out!" Webby said, wearing a gentle smile.

Louie let his poker face fall, looking at his sister with a warm gaze.

"...Thanks, Webs." He meant it.

"No problem! That's what family is for!" She beamed, inching closer to grab him into a hug, before quickly realizing she still looked like a mess. "Oops. Guess I should go wash myself first."

"...Yeah, you should probably go do that." Louie smiled, taking a step back to make sure none of the dirt touched his immaculate green hoodie.

"Alright, we'll talk more later! YOU OWE ME A HUG!" And with that, the girl ran off.

As soon as Webby left the room, Louie's face fell, a broody expression appearing once again. With low shoulders, he stalked directly to his room for an afternoon nap.

While browsing on his phone trying his best to fall asleep, he couldn't stop wondering why his chest suddenly felt so heavy.

—————

Over the course of the next day, Huey made a real effort to avoid Louie, who was all too happy to pretend that nothing ever happened.

Of course, the rest of the family immediately realized something was up, but Huey refused to talk about it, simply stating "He knows what he did" when asked. Louie denied anything ever happened in the first place.

Eventually, enough was enough though and Louie figured it might not be the end of the world to apologize.

The next day, Louie woke up earlier than usual to greet Huey in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Hue." Louie said with a yawn.

Huey looked at him suspiciously while Louie sat down nearby. His brother was normally the last to wake in the family.

Louie sighed before he spoke. "Listen, I'm sorry for the way I treated your friend at the park. I didn't mean it, okay?"

Huey blinked at him, processing his brother's words.

"Are you being honest?"

"Of course I am! I swear on all my money that I'm telling you the truth." Louie put one hand by his chest and held the other up in the air.

Huey visibly relaxed upon hearing that. Before saying anything else, he finished cooking breakfast, handing Louie a plate with eggs, bacon, a fork and a knife.

"Okay then. If you're really sorry, you should apologize to Boyd too." Huey stated while taking his seat with his own breakfast in hands.

Louie froze grabbing his fork. "Is that really necessary?"

Huey looked at him in disbelief. "What do you mean? He was the one whose feelings you hurt in the first place. Of course you should apologize to him!"

"Of course, of course, it's just… what I meant to say is just that, uhm… can robots even feel anything?"

If Huey already looked surprised before, he certainly looked shocked now, with a little bit of anger seeping through.

"Boyd is not just a machine. He's a person, just like you and me."

Louie stared at him in confusion. "Is he, though? I thought I heard you say just the other day that he can fly and shoot laser beams from his eyes? I'm not sure about you Huey, but I certainly can't do that."

As much as it hurt to hear that, Huey tried to muster the willpower to not get mad at his brother. Louie simply didn't understand that despite not being human, Boyd was still his own person with his own thoughts and feelings.

He was ignorant, and ignorance was no sin, as long as one was willing to learn.

Huey stayed quiet for a while, focusing only on his food, long enough to make Louie start feeling anxious, until he finally replied:

"Alright Lou, I get where you're coming from." "You do? " "I do." He nodded. "And that's why I want you to spend more time with Boyd." Louie looked at him, confused. Why would he want him to spend more time with the robot?

Huey sighed once he saw the look on his brother's face. "I think the easiest way to make you understand how much more Boyd is than ‘just a robot' would be if you spent some more time with him." Huey put his fork down once he had finished eating. "Until then, I'm not willing to fully forgive you yet."

Louie thought about this. This… Wasn't this situation perfect, actually? By spending time alone with Boyd, he could get the robot's help in pulling one of his schemes without his brothers getting involved!

Louie smiled sweetly at his brother.

"I'll do it." "Really? I mean... of course you will. I'll call Boyd over some other time so you two can hang out together, alright?" "Fine by me, dear Hubert."

—————

"Boyd, have you ever gone to Funso's?" "Nope! Huey told me about it though. He said it's an amazing, magical place!" "Well, let's go there then."

Boyd gasped. "Really?! You'll take me there? Yay!" The parrot started hopping around while moving his arms up and down. He seemed very excited.

Watching this, an abnormal thought crossed Louie's mind. This thing… wasn't it kind of cute? Especially when it looked at him with such a joyous expression like that...

Louie shook his head, shooing away those thoughts. In the end, Boyd was still a robot. A cold-hearted machine incapable of thinking and feeling like normal people. He shouldn't let himself get carried away.

"Yeah, I'll take you to Funso's. Let's go." He said while walking away.

"Yeah! Okay!" Boyd gladly followed suit.

—————

At Funso's, Louie wasn't interested in ordering the usual or trying to teach Boyd the many uses of flattery. Instead, he chose Funso's because, with a literal machine by his side, they could easily beat all of the top scores in the games and get tons of tickets!

It was a rather simple "scheme" considering the things Boyd was capable of accomplishing, but he thought it might be best to test the waters first before jumping right into an elaborate scheme that might backfire on him.

At his side, Boyd wouldn't stop gasping and pointing at different things, seemingly entranced by everything he could see. "Oh, is that…?! What is that, Louie?!" Boyd shook Louie's shoulders.

"That's the ball pit." "Is it dangerous? Is it okay to touch it?" Louie shrugged: "Probably not dangerous. And yeah, you can touch it." "Really?! Thank you!" Boyd was all smiles as he made his way over to the ball pit.

Time went by like that, with Boyd asking Louie about each thing before trying it out. At some point, he realized Boyd started pulling on his sleeves while walking around together. He found that curious, but since it didn't bother him, he chose to stay quiet about it.

Eventually, Louie directed Boyd's attention to the Skee Ball table, encouraging him to try it out, only to be disappointed by his performance.

"This is so much fun!" Boyd said happily while grabbing the tickets that were ejected from the machine. "Mhm…" Louie grunted, not looking nearly as happy as Boyd.

How could he word this… the robot's aim and reflexes weren't bad by any means, but… well, he was average. Not too bad, but not outstanding either. He was as good as any other person around their age.

"Are you having fun too, Louie?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Totally. I'm having lots of fun." Louie snapped back to reality at the sudden question. "Are you sure? You don't look like you're having fun. You haven't even played any of the games. So far you've only been letting me try them." Boyd looked at him with what looked like genuine concern, handing over all the tickets he got. "Yeah yeah, it's all good as long as you're having fun." Louie grabbed the tickets, sticking them in his pockets.

Boyd suddenly stopped what he was doing to look at the duck standing right in front of him. "Louie…" His voice trembled with emotion. It sounded extremely real. "Thank you." Boyd offered him a sweet smile.

Louie suddenly felt a sting in his heart. He made a sour face.

"Uhmm… Louie? Did I say something wrong?" Boyd asked apprehensively. "Huh? It's nothing." "Hmm… okay then." Boyd breathed out in relief.

Before they left Funso's, Louie made sure to make Boyd try out the video games as well, to see if he might fare off better.

Alas, he obtained no substantial results.

With a disappointed sigh, he let Boyd have all the tickets for himself and choose whatever he wanted from the ticket shop.

Upon hearing that, Boyd looked happy enough to cry. While jumping up and down, he chose his souvenirs from the shop.

"...?" Louie was surprised when his phone screen suddenly became obstructed by the sight of a gray parrot plushie.

"Here, for you! I bought one for myself too." Boyd excitedly showed him the plushie of a white duck while handing over the parrot plush.

"Oh… thanks." Louie picked up the plushie and put it in his pockets. Boyd giggled happily. "No problem!"

Boyd bought a few other souvenirs that were handed over to him in a plastic bag before turning to Louie. "Where do you want to go next, Louie?" "Uhh... actually, I think I'm gonna go home."

Louie expected Boyd to become disappointed after he said that, but instead the boy simply nodded. "Alright! I'll walk you home."

—————

"So... how did it go?" Huey paced back and forth in their room. "How did what go?" Louie tried playing dumb.

Huey decided to ignore that.

"Did you apologize to him?"

Right as he was about to place his new plushie on top of his bed, Louie stopped. Suddenly, he dropped the plushie and brought both of his hands to his face.

"I didn't." He said quietly. "What was that?" "I FORGOT TO APOLOGIZE TO HI— OW! " Louie cursed out loud, right before getting hit by an incoming pillow thrown by Dewey from the top of his bed.

"Keep it quiet down there! Some of us are trying to fall asleep over here. And by some of us, I mean me." He huffed.

"...Sorry." Louie said.

More quietly this time, Louie told Huey everything that happened.

Huey simply shook his head in disappointment. "Let me guess, you brought him to Funso's thinking he would break all the records and top scores?" "Weellll… maybe I DID, maybe I DIDN'T, y'know? Who's to say what I did or didn't think about at the time?" "So you did." Huey sighed. "Louie, I told you, he's not—" "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Louie quickly cut him off with a huff, much to Huey's annoyance.

Huey gave a long sigh. "At the very least, please apologize to him."

In response, Louie just mumbled something quietly as he crawled onto his bed.

He didn't really want to see the robot again, but it seemed like he would have no other choice.

—————

The next time he would see Boyd be one week later.

Apparently, there were two Junior Woodchuck badges that Huey was going to help Boyd with, one for camping for a whole week and another one for teaching others how to camp.

Although his siblings already knew the basics of camping, he still invited them, if not just to introduce them to Boyd.

Louie hated doing any sort of work though so he was mostly just there to apologize to Boyd.

"Hello again Louie!" Boyd waved at him as he walked closer to the duck. They were already at their planned camping spot and the sky was only beginning to turn dark. "How are you?"

"...Hey." Louie didn't spare him a single glance from his phone. "I'm good." He didn't ask how Boyd was doing either, but the other didn't seem to mind. "That's good!" Boyd simply smiled at him before going off to meet Webby and Dewey.

The three of them immediately got along and Boyd soon saw himself being flooded with inquiries about robotics and mechas, to which he answered each and every single one.

"Can you fly? Can you shoot laser beams from your eyes? Do you have super strength? What about super speed? Can you teleport? Do you have icy cold breath? Are your hands and feet detachable? Can you read my mind? What number am I thinking of right now?" Dewey babbled on. "Dewey! Can't you see Boyd is a kid just like us? Why would he be able to do all that?" Webby scolded him.

Boyd chuckled. "Actually, yes to the first three questions, no to the rest, and I'm going to guess that the number you are thinking of right now is a four." "AHA! So you CAN read my mind!" Dewey exclaimed.

Their conversation continued peacefully like that, with Boyd even giving a short display of his flying abilities, until Huey finally called out to them.

"Hey guys! I finished writing my daily journal entry, so let's get started with some camping!"

They all cheered excitedly, except for Louie, who was only half-listening.

"Now, first we're going to set up our tents, so let's get started! Dewey, Webby, please come over here. Boyd, why don't you go help Louie out?"

Louie raised his head at the mention of his name only to see a delighted Boyd walking over to him. He didn't even have to look at his brother's face to realize that he was trying to set up a situation where he could apologize to Boyd privately.

Louie, instead, pretended not to see him and simply continued scrolling through his phone.

"Hey Louie!" Boyd quickly caught up to him. Huey asked me to help teach you how to set up your tent!" "Mhm." Louie still didn't look up from his phone.

It's not like he didn't know to set up a tent, okay? It's just that, why would he spend the time and energy doing all the work when he could convince others to do it for him?

Noticing the duck's absent mind, Boyd became interested in what could possibly be distracting him. "What are you looking at?" Boyd moved closer until his face was almost touching Louie's and he could clearly see the contents on the phone screen.

Startled, Louie quickly turned off his phone. He was very uncomfortable when people he didn't know well enough invaded his personal space, and his siblings certainly knew about that, but Boyd did not.

In his panic, he started falling backwards from the log he was sitting on.

Boyd quickly noticed it and grabbed him by the waist, holding his back upright.

"Are you alright, Louie?" He asked with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry if I startled you." "That's not the problem." Louie glared at him, clearly upset. "You're in my personal space!"

Boyd quietly gasped. He hadn't realized it before, but it was obvious to him now how rude he had been. "I'm so sorry! I—" He quickly let go of Louie's waist, only for the duck to completely fall backwards with a thud.

"Ow…" Louie mumbled. "Louie! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—" "Just leave me alone." He cut him off.

It had technically been Louie's fault for not adjusting back to his previous position once Boyd caught him, but he wasn't willing to admit it, and he would continue to be unreasonably upset at the robot over it.

Boyd gulped. He thought he had seriously messed up. "I'm… sorry. I'll leave you alone now."

—————

"Boyd, have you seen Louie anywhere?"

After their conflict, Boyd decided to focus on setting up his own tent and gathering the materials necessary for the campfire. Huey, Dewey and Webby had already finished setting up their own tents as well, so the only tent left in their campsite that was still on the ground was Louie's.

Once Huey said that, Boyd started to look around.

Louie was nowhere to be seen.

He noticed a trail leaving their campsite going deep into the forest.

"I think he went into the forest." Boyd told Huey his findings.

Huey frowned. Louie wasn't the type to go on random walks without telling anybody beforehand unless he was upset. "Do you know if anything happened to Louie while he was here? Did he seem like there was something bothering him?" Boyd's expression immediately became guilty as he lowered his shoulders. "I… I think I made him mad."

He told his friend about what happened between them, to which Huey's reaction was only to click his tongue. He couldn't believe his brother could be so selfish.

Louie might be lazy, stubborn and far too scheming for his own good, but he wasn't heartless by any means.

"First of all, we should go look for him before he puts himself in trouble." Huey shook his head. "And then, he urgently needs to apologize to you."

—————

After a brief discussion, they decided to leave Dewey and Huey taking care of the campsite while Webby, who had night vision goggles, and Boyd, who had natural night AND heat vision, would go looking for Louie.

They had to walk quite a bit before Boyd's sensors started picking up on something. Suddenly, he stopped walking, turning his head abruptly in one direction. The boy's expression became visibly uneasy.

Webby noticed the boy's unrest and asked: "What's wrong, Boyd? Did you hear anything?" "I think Louie is in danger! Please, try to follow me." Sensing something was up, Boyd fastened his pace to an inhuman speed.

Only someone as capable as Webby would be able to keep up with Boyd's movements. She jumped over rocks, logs and bushes as fast as she could, but the distance between them still grew wider and wider.

They soon started to notice the tracks of a large wild animal, along with small droplets of blood scattered around. Boyd quickened his pace even further.

Eventually, they reached their destination. It was the top of a relatively small cliff, with only rocks, trees and foliage near the bottom.

Webby looked around, puffing from exhaustion. "Where's Louie...?"

Boyd looked behind him, feeling even more guilty. He would have had no trouble carrying Webby on their way to the cliff, but he hadn't thought of doing so at the time.

"I think he's at the bottom of the cliff. He's still alive, but…" The usually cheerful boy made a serious expression that did not fit him in the slightest. "I'm going to have to go there alone. If I carried you down, I wouldn't be able to bring both of you back up at once."

‘Plus, I think he might be injured…' is the part Boyd avoided saying. He didn't want to worry Webby any further.

The girl nodded. She had already deduced that the tracks they had seen earlier had likely been made by an adult grizzly bear and, although they were able to climb trees, she had the means to keep herself safe from it as long as she stayed on higher ground.

"Please… take care of my brother." "Don't worry." He nodded. "I'll bring him back safe and sound."

Boyd walked over to the edge of the cliff before taking flight.

—————

Louie Duck was known to be the lazy Duck brother.

The evil triplet.

People thought he was greedy, money-loving, manipulative and egotistical.

He was fine with that.

In fact, he embraced it.

It was convenient for him.

People expected less of him because of it.

Yep. He was fine with that.

Louie hugged himself tightly.

He kept repeating those words in his mind, desperately trying to convince himself.

He currently looked dirty and disheveled, his green hoodie was full of tatters, his phone was broken and blood oozed out from several cuts.

But worst of all, he had broken one of his legs in the fall.

He rested his head on the knee of his other leg as he sobbed quietly. So quietly that no one would be able to hear him, unless they were sitting right next to him.

Or unless they were a robot, of course.

"Louie?" Boyd called out to him hesitantly. He found Louie hidden in a small, humid cave that he seemingly crawled himself into.

Louie's shoulders shook. He tried to wipe up the tears from his face, but failed. No matter what, they wouldn't stop flowing.

Boyd slowly walked closer to him.

"Louie, are you—" He stopped himself. What was he supposed to ask? 'Are you okay?' 'Are you crying?' Either way, the answer was obvious just from a glance.

Boyd silently cursed himself for not bringing a first aid kit. In the first place, it was his fault Louie had gotten injured. He was the one who made him mad, he was supposed to keep an eye on him, he should have been there to protect him, it was all his fault, he—

"I'm sorry," Louie said with a hiccup. "I'm sorry". "What are you sorry for? It's my fault, I—" "No. You're wrong. It's my fault." He hugged himself even tighter, grabbing at his sleeves. "I had no reason to be mad at you, I just… I'm a horrible person, I—" He paused for a while, before whispering almost inaudibly: "I always mess up…"

Boyd watched the boy sob in front of him without knowing what to do. They weren't that close, he didn't know what to say to make him feel better.

But still, he was going to try.

He walked up to Louie and sat down by his side.

Slowly, he grabbed one of Louie's hands. When the duck didn't react, Boyd opened his mouth to speak:

"You're not a horrible person." He squeezed the other's hand slightly. "Louie, you're just a kid. It's okay to make mistakes sometimes. Everyone does."

He paused for a moment before continuing: "And, y'know, realizing your mistakes is the first step to becoming a better person."

Gently, Boyd pulled Louie into a hug.

"You're not a horrible person. I like you, Louie. I think you're fine the way you are."

At first, Louie didn't show any reaction. Gradually, he started to sob louder, until his weeping echoed all throughout the cave. He hugged Boyd back, tightly enough to make any other person run out of breath.

Boyd pat his back reassuringly. "It's okay. You're not a bad person. I like you very much, Louie. There's nothing wrong with you."

Boyd kept on incessantly tranquilizing Louie until the boy's crying eventually died down.

While carrying Louie in his arms, Boyd flew back up to the top of the cliff. Along with Webby, they returned to their campsite with no other major incidents happening.

Unfortunately, their camping plans had to be cancelled due to Louie's injury.

—————

"Good morning, Louie!" Louie turned off his phone to look up at Boyd, who was joyfully walking inside his hospital room. "How are you feeling today?"

Louie smiled back at him.

"I'm doing better, actually. They said they're going to let me off soon."

"Really?! That's great."

Boyd had been visiting him daily ever since he had been admitted to the hospital, sometimes along with his family, sometimes on his own. The boy would bring a different gift with each visit, usually flowers or candy bars. Today, it seemed like he had brought something different for him, however.

"Look! I brought you a friend." Boyd handed over to him a white duck plushie, the very same one Boyd acquired at Funso's. "Do you still have the other one I gave you?" "Ah… yeah, I think so. It should be somewhere in my room."

Boyd became even happier upon hearing that. "Really? You didn't lose it or throw it away?" He said while taking his seat right by Louie's side. "Huey told me that you lose your things all the time."

Louie made a bitter face as he mumbled: "Huey …"

Boyd chuckled softly. The innocent sound made Louie turn his head.

How could a machine look so... genuine?

He stared at the robot in front of him, taking in every detail, but he still wasn't able to spot a single expression or mannerism that looked faked, robotic or out of place.

He noticed the way Boyd breathed in and out, how he blinked sporadically, his soft-looking plumage, the wrinkles that were naturally a result of his smile, the slight redness spread across his cheeks… At some point, when does it stop being 'just a machine', and start to become a real person?

"Hello? Louie?" Boyd waved his hands right in front of him. "Hm? Oh." He just realized he had been staring at Boyd for quite a while now. His face quickly became tinted with red. "Sorry. I spaced out." Boyd smiled at him reassuringly. "It's okay, no need to worry about it."

Louie's only response was a small nod. He started to wonder if Boyd was even capable of becoming angry at someone.

"Hey, Boyd?" "Yes?"

Louie avoided eye contact as he began saying: "I'm sorry about earlier... I mean like, way earlier. Back at the park I… was really insensitive to you." He sighed before continuing, this time staring right at Boyd. "Back when we first met I thought you didn't have any feelings, that you were just a heartless machine… now I realize that wasn't true. I'm really sorry."

At the end of his speech, he looked downwards, quietly playing with his hands. Boyd stared at him for a while, before slowly placing his hands over Louie's and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"It's okay." He smiled at him, this time not dazzling like the sun, but instead softly and gently, much like a blossoming flower. "I know you're not a bad person. I forgive you."

Louie bit his lip to stop himself from shedding any tears. Instead, he only grabbed Boyd's hands and squeezed them back, continuing to look downwards.

For a while, they stayed just like that, stuck in a silence that was not at all awkward.

"Hey," Louie suddenly spoke up, retracting his hands. "You should give me your phone number."

In the spur of the moment, he had decided there would be no disadvantages in trying to get closer to Boyd.

Or at least, that's how Louie liked to think about it. The truth was that he simply wanted to grow closer to Boyd.

"Okay!" Much to his relief, the other readily agreed. "Cool. I'll message you once I get out of the hospital." "Okay. I'll be waiting."

—————

handsome_duck: hey. is this boyds number? louie here B.O.Y.D: Hello Louie!! This is Boyd! ヾ(☆▽☆) How are you? Have you been discharged from the hospital yet? handsome_duck: yeah. im doing fine now B.O.Y.D: That's great! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆ I'm glad you're feeling better. (o˘◡˘o) handsome_duck: yea handsome_duck: thx for coming to visit handsome_duck: ur rlly nice handsome_duck: and it was way less lonely B.O.Y.D: No problem! I simply worried about your well-being. And you're very nice too! (＾▽＾)

Louie sighed as he put his phone away. His heart started feeling much lighter after he had properly apologized to Boyd.

His phone buzzed when he got sent another message.

B.O.Y.D: By the way, I love your username! ヽ(>∀<☆)ノ

Louie chuckled before he replied:

handsome_duck: thx handsome_duck: urs too B.O.Y.D: o(≧▽≦)o Thank you!

Louie quickly pondered before adding:

handsome_duck: hey handsome_duck: do u want 2 hang out again next week? handsome_duck: i wanna make it up to u handsome_duck: yk.. for being rude to u n stuff.. B.O.Y.D: w(°ｏ°)w B.O.Y.D: (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ I'd love to, Louie! (*´▽`*) handsome_duck: cool handsome_duck: how do u feel abt watching a movie? B.O.Y.D: Fine by me! (＠＾◡＾) What movie are we going to watch? handsome_duck: idk yet handsome_duck: i'll figure it out handsome_duck: and i'll msg u l8r B.O.Y.D: Okay. ( ´ ω ` )

—————

A few days later, Louie put on his best-looking green hoodie (they're all identical) and went to the manor's entrance hall to meet Boyd… but not before getting pulled back by Huey.

"Here, I made you a list of all the possible activities you two could do together!" He said, handing Louie a list that looked like it contained over 200+ items.

"...Thanks." Louie put the paper in his pocket without thinking too much about it.

"You got this!" Huey said supportingly, patting his brother's shoulder. Even Dewey and Webby seemingly popped out of nowhere to give him a thumbs up and words of encouragement.

...Why were his siblings acting strangely around him? Well, whatever. Louie just rolled his eyes and walked away.

Right before he left the room, Webby exclaimed: "GOOD LUCK ON YOUR DATE!!! " And his two brothers burst out into giggles.

Louie mustered all of the willpower he had to not look back and simply continued on walking, trying to ignore the heat now going up through his face.

At the entrance hall, Boyd was already waiting for him, sitting on a couch while looking around, seemingly captivated by everything he could see. As soon as he noticed Louie had entered the room, the boy jumped out of the couch and waved with a bright smile.

"Hello again Louie! How are you?" Boyd moved closer to the duck. "Hey. I'm doing fine… and I'm assuming you're doing good as well?" Louie gave the robot a good look-over.

"Yep! But…" Boyd moved even closer to him, reaching out his hand to touch the other's forehead. "Are you sure you're fine? You seem a little red, and my heat sensors are detecting slightly unusual levels of heat coming from you."

Louie quickly stepped away from Boyd's hand and insisted: "I'm fine, seriously." "Hm… if you say so."

Louie brushed it off with a wave of his hand. "Nevermind that, are you ready to go?" "Yeah! Let's go!" Boyd nodded.

They started walking side by side, away from the mansion. Louie couldn't help but notice that Boyd's walking rhythm matched his perfectly. Did he do it on purpose?

"What movie did you choose for us to watch, Louie?" Boyd hopped around cheerfully. "You'll see." Louie smiled at him.

Over the past week, Louie had been occasionally exchanging messages with Boyd and he had found out much about the robot's day-to-day life. He learned about how much he loves his father and creator, Dr. Gearloose, as well as his other parents and caretakers, the Drakes. He heard about Doofus' many struggles since he lost half of his inheritance to Boyd, as well as Boyd's incessant efforts to comfort him. Doofus would make the utmost effort to push him away most of the time, but recently he's been letting himself show more of his vulnerable side around his family, much to Boyd's delight.

In return, Louie would tell Boyd about all the exciting adventures he and his family went off to (many of which Huey had already shared before), as well as his brother's embarrassing secrets.

They had even FaceTime'd once. Louie found out that it was surprisingly easy to make Boyd laugh. In response to every single one of Louie's jokes, the robot would put his hands over his face and giggle happily.

Louie thought it was adorable, though he would rather die than admit that out loud.

That's why today Louie had picked a movie he thought Boyd would like, instead of one he would enjoy. The movie was a dramatic coming-of-age story that questioned things such as humanity, love and the meaning of life. He even managed to get front-row seats for both of them.

They bought a big bowl of popcorn to share with one another (Louie also sneaked in candy bars and two cans of Pep for them), took their seats and waited for the movie to begin.

Louie picked this movie already knowing he wouldn't like it, so it wasn't like he was disappointed or anything, but still, it was extremely boring. He usually preferred comedy films with smart plots and snarky writing. This melodrama stuff… just wasn't his cup of tea.

Looking forward to distracting himself from the movie, Louie moved his attention over to Boyd. Thankfully, he seemed to be enjoying the film much more than himself.

Boyd could be seen constantly jumping up from his seat, gasping at every revelation, be it big or small, laughing and sometimes even crying along to the movie's plot. He always with his eyes wide open and completely glued to the movie screen, only stopping occasionally to throw some popcorn in his mouth. He became so entranced by the movie that, at first, he didn't even notice Louie staring directly at him… until he decided to look over to the side.

For how long had Louie been staring at Boyd now? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? a whole hour maybe? He didn't know, but he still flushed furiously once he noticed Boyd looking back at him.

"Umm… I didn't know you... uh... I didn't know you had a crying function." Louie coughed awkwardly.

Boyd blinked, and then chuckled softly. At this point, Louie felt so flustered now that he pulled up his hoodie in an attempt to hide his face.

"Dad only added this function recently, actually." "Ahh… is that so?" "It is!" Boyd smiled sweetly at him before quickly turning his attention back to the movie while bouncing his legs back and forth.

...Why did Louie suddenly feel like there was a knot in his stomach?

—————

Once the movie was over, Boyd dragged Louie out of the movie theater by holding on to his sleeves.

"Oh my gosh, that was so good! So many parts had me at the edge of my seat, and the ending was so heartwarming." Boyd sighed happily while hopping around. "How did you like the movie, Louie?" "It was good." He lied without a single ounce of shame. "Hehe." Boyd giggled. "I'm glad you thought so too."

Before either of them realized it, Boyd's hand slid off Louie's sleeve to grab the duck's hand instead.

For Boyd, this wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Not only had he held Louie's hands before, he also held other people's hands all the time. He held Dr. Gearloose's hands, he held hands with Dr. Crackshell-Cabrera, with Ms. and Mr. Drake, with his brothers Doofus and Lil' Bulb, and even with Huey sometimes.

Boyd holding hands with Louie simply meant that he considered their relationship to already be close enough for him to do so.

For Louie, however, it was a different story. Just because he was okay with holding hands privately during his rare displays of vulnerability, that didn't necessarily mean that he was okay with doing it in public. He remembered holding hands publicly with his Uncle Donald very often growing up, but less so nowadays. He was fine with holding hands with his siblings sometimes as well, but they would always do so privately.

So when Louie suddenly felt Boyd's hand reach for his, he stopped dead in his tracks, unsure of how to react.

Boyd was quick to notice Louie's unrest and he immediately retracted his hand.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I should have asked first." Boyd bit down on his beak anxiously. "I'll just..." He swiftly tried to move his hand away, but found that he couldn't. He looked down to see Louie silently tugging on his wrist.

For a while, neither of them said anything. Boyd was waiting for Louie to speak, and Louie, for the first time in forever, was at a loss for words.

What was he feeling right now? What did those warm, bubbling sensations in his chest mean?

He didn't know.

He had no experience with such things.

He tried to think about it rationally.

Did holding hands with Boyd feel bad? No, not really…

Did holding hands with Boyd feel good?

…

He didn't know.

He really didn't know, but…

Subconsciously, he squeezed Boyd's wrist slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by the android.

Very quietly, as if he were forcing the words out, he whispered: "It's okay."

Boyd's face visibly brightened as he inched back closer to his friend. "Really?" He asked with a spirited look.

Louie gave a weak nod and that was more than enough confirmation for Boyd, who went back to being all smiles. He intertwined his hand with Louie's, who squeezed Boyd's hand in response.

Strangely, Boyd felt happier than he usually felt when he held hands with other people. He didn't quite get it, but it was fine by him as long as he could keep holding Louie's hand like this.

As for Louie… he decided that he was okay with it, under only one condition: "Please keep this a secret from my family." He mumbled. "No problem Lou!" Boyd gave him a thumbs up. Louie spared him a glance at the mention of the nickname, but didn't say anything.

He actually felt quite comfortable like this.

Boyd walked Louie home.

By the time the two of them reached the outside of the mansion, the sky was already starting to turn dark. It seemed like Louie had lost track of time while hanging out with Boyd.

"Louie." Boyd called his name shyly. "Hm?" Louie looked over from his phone to look at the robot by his side.

Boyd walked up to his front before saying: "Thank you for hanging out with me today. I always have fun spending time with you."

Before Louie could respond with "Yeah, sure, no problem.", he was astonished.

Boyd pulled him in for a tight hug.

However, after only a second, Boyd had already moved away.

"Bye now!" And, just like that, without giving Louie the time to process anything, the android flew away.

"...What in the world just happened?" he murmured to himself.

For the rest of the day, three specific thoughts plagued his mind: 1. He had forgotten Boyd could fly. 2. The robot's body was much warmer than he expected when snuggled up against his own. 3. Before Boyd flew away, he could have sworn that he saw Boyd's face turn red.

—————

A few days later, very early in the morning, Louie felt someone gently shake him awake. "Psst, Louie." The duck rolled around in his bed. "Louie, wake up you sleepy head." Boyd gently whispered to him. "Unhgnh… only five more minutes please…" Boyd chuckled softly. "We don't have five more minutes, silly. Wake up!"

Slowly, Louie eventually opened his eyes. "Boyd...? How did you…?" Boyd put one hand over Louie's bill while he used his free hand to point at Huey and Dewey who were still asleep in their own beds.

Gently, Boyd turned Louie's head to face directly at the room's window, which was currently opened.

Louie did not feel very safe knowing that his room had apparently no extra magical security against break-ins, but this wasn't the time to think about that.

Tugging Louie along, Boyd held Louie close to him with one of his arms while he took flight.

The android was obviously much stronger than he looked, for he could take care of stabilizing himself mid-air even with Louie's weight easily.

The two of them did not share many words between them. Louie because he was still sleepy and honestly a little afraid of heights, and Boyd because he thought the view he was about to show him would speak for itself.

Soon enough, they reached a tall, grassy place with a perfect view of the city below and the sea to another side.

The calm ocean waves licked the sand beach, glimmering in shades of pink and yellow as the sun peeked from over the corner. Duckburg looked grand and imposing, with individual colored lights shining brightly all the way across the city.

"Oh, wow." Louie mumbled. Boyd seemed happy to hear that. "I discovered this place recently while trying out these new silent rockets my dad installed for me." He explained. "You're the first person with whom I'm sharing this."

Louie stared at him in disbelief. "Why me? Why not Huey?"

Boyd pondered for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know. Why Huey? Why not you? There's nothing wrong with you. I like you."

Louie knew that Boyd probably didn't mean anything special with that statement, but it still made him feel full of butterflies.

"Thanks." He wanted to say more, but he didn't know what else to say.

Boyd did not seem to mind it, however, as he simply smiled, sat down with Louie by his side and intertwined their hands together, bouncing his legs around.

Out of sleepiness, Louie allowed himself to rest his head against Boyd's shoulder. Boyd only looked at him without saying anything.

At that moment, Louie suddenly realized that, at some point, he had started to trust Boyd.

He gave it some thought, before quickly deciding that it wasn't a bad thing.

So he let himself stay in that comfortable position for a little while longer.

Before the sun finished rising, Boyd brought Louie back over to his room. Huey seemed to have already woken up, but hopefully, he would think Louie had just gotten up for a short bathroom break.

Boyd gave his friend a quick hug before flying off again.

—————

...Things were quickly starting to get out of hand.

Every time Boyd would come over, send him a message or call him, Louie would feel a knot swell up in his stomach.

He started daydreaming much more often and he caught himself thinking about Boyd countless times.

Louie already wasn't a very productive person to begin with, but now he was having trouble focusing on other things and he had no idea why this was happening to him.

"...And that's why I called you over today." Louie finished explaining with a serious expression. Currently, he found himself in his room sitting in a circle along with Huey, Dewey and Webby. "I fear that I might have been put into a mind-controlling spell of some sort."

His siblings all stared at him before bursting into laughter among themselves, with the only exception being Dewey.

"What are you guys laughing about? What's so funny?! This is no laughing matter!" A warm blush started to spread across Louie's face. "I don't get it either." Dewey scratched his head.

"Are you kidding? Louie, you're in love!" Webby exclaimed. "Oh... Ohhhh… Well, I'm outta here then. Good luck with that." Dewey got up and left.

Louie's face was now burning with a strong tint of red. If he were to be completely honest, he would admit that he had already considered the possibility of him being in love with Boyd.

Alas, Louie Duck had no experience with being completely honest.

"Don't be ridiculous, what makes you think that?" "Um, like literally everything you just told us?" Huey giggled in amusement. "Though if I'm being honest here, I don't think either me or Webby would be of very good help to you in this case."

Webby suddenly became offended. "Wait, why not?! I know all about love! I can give Louie all the love advice he needs!" She flared up.

Huey rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. Speaking of which, how's your relationship with Lena coming around?"

Now it was Webby's turn to blush profusely. "Okay, maybe I'm not the best person to talk about this" She agreed. "But who else is Louie supposed to reach out to then if not for us?"

"I dunno." Huey shrugged. "Maybe uncle Donald? He's dating uncle Panchito, José AND aunt Daisy, right?" "You want me to ask Uncle Donald? No way. He's totally clueless." Louie cut in.

After giving it some thought, Huey agreed with him. "Uncle Scrooge maybe? I'm not really the best person to give you love advice either." Huey shook his head. "Now, if you need any help with your math homework, however…"

"Thanks but no thanks." Louie blew some hair strands away from his face. "I guess I'm gonna have to figure this out on my own."

—————

Boyd bounced his legs back and forth while sitting on the couch right next to Louie.

With the help of his siblings behind the scenes, he managed to get some time alone with Boyd at the manor.

"Thank you for inviting me over Louie! This 'Ottoman Empire' show is very interesting." Boyd beamed at him. Their hands were slightly touching on the couch.

In response, Louie just mumbled something incomprehensibly while pulling his hoodie over his head so Boyd couldn't see how flustered he was.

Just a few weeks ago he was completely fine with touching hands with Boyd, but now? He couldn't even think straight because of it, he was overly aware of the android sitting right beside him and the little bodily contact they were sharing.

Boyd picked up on Louie's unrest. He looked straight at him with a worried expression and asked: "Are you okay, Lou? You seem… upset."

Louie tensed up. He didn't want Boyd to be worried. He wanted to keep things the way they were right now. But… he also wanted to say something. He wanted to tell Boyd about his feelings. He wanted to be honest, to open up to him.

He knew that Boyd would probably support him no matter what, but he still feared confessing for some reason.

He felt like he wasn't good enough for him.

Louie bit down on his beak as he struggled to speak. "Hey… Boyd?" He paused, looking straight at him. "I can talk to you about anything, right..? Like… it's okay for me to do that? And... talk about stuff…" Louie's voice trailed off as he looked downwards.

"Of course you can. I'll always be here to listen to you. You can trust me." Boyd held Louie's hand gently.

Louie retracted his hand shyly before speaking up. "Uh… okay, so, you see, the thing is… I think... I think I like you? Like, like like you? Like… love… you?" Louie pulled his hoodie way over his head, avoiding any and all chance of eye contact with Boyd.

Meanwhile, Boyd had turned awfully quiet. Louie had no idea what kind of face the boy was making, but with each silent passing second, he became more and more sure that it must be a scornful one.

There was no way such a bright, lovely boy would ever like someone like him.

Louie started to hug himself tightly. He wasn't good enough for Boyd, he was inadequate for him, he wasn't a good person, he didn't deserve to be loved, he—

Slowly but surely, Boyd lift up Louie's hoodie away from his face.

What Louie saw was an incredulous-looking Boyd, with his face bright red and his eyes sparkling like he was about to cry.

"Really?" Boyd's voice sounded desperate but gentle, tingling pleasantly in his ears. "You mean it?"

Louie nodded.

Quietly, Boyd began to sob.

And then he laughed.

He put his hands to his face with a dumb-looking smile.

"Sorry, I'm probably not making a lot of sense right now. I like you too, Louie. I love you."

Louie's brain started melting at the mention of those words. After a while, he managed to squeeze the words out: "So… does that mean we're dating now?"

Boyd giggled happily and Louie thought that his heart might stop. "I think that's what this means, yes."

"Okay. Cool."

Louie was completely devoid of things to say, but Boyd didn't mind it. Carefully, he snuggled up to Louie and held him close.

"I like you, Louie. I like you. You're the person that I like. I like you." Boyd kept repeating. Not because he was broken, but because he knew that Louie would appreciate it.

Louie reciprocated the hug. "I like you too."

They spent the rest of their day sitting close together while watching the rest of Ottoman Empire… until Louie's family suddenly walked in on the scene and proceeded to tease him endlessly.

Boyd laughed along with them.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Louie whined. "I'm sorry Lou, I just… really like it when your face gets all flushed like that." Boyd smiled gently at him. "It's pretty."

Louie hid himself even further inside his hoodie upon hearing that.

He would rather die than admit this to anybody, but he was actually very happy at that moment.

#louyd #louie duck #boyd gearloose #ducktales fanfic #ducktales #ducktales fanfiction #ducktales 2017 #boyd drake #boyd #ducktales17 #dt 17 #boyd beaks #ccs #my writing #ducktales boyd #ducktales louie #hospital #minor injury

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marmolady · 5 years ago

Note

LMNOP for Taylor

L: Lemons 1. what is their favorite fruit? Mezzberries! Found only on the tree in Elyys’tel, said to bond you for life to whoever you share one with. Taylor gives many, many to Estela. And has received many in return. They’re super tasty, AND romantic. 2. what is their least favorite fruit? Bananas. Too slimy! 3. are there any foods they hate? Coriander. The culprit of the first ever time she wrinkled her nose up at something Raj cooked. 4. do they have any food intolerances? Nope. 5. what is their favorite food? Ice cream

M: Maternal 1. would they want a daughter or a son? No preference. She ends up with a daughter, and doesn’t feel the need to ‘try for one of each’. 2. how many children do they want? Happy with just the one. 3. would they be a good parent? Heck, yes. She’d be a pretty indulgent mother; having missed out on a childhood of her own, experiencing one through her daughter is a unique joy. 4. what would they name a son? what would they name a daughter? Had the baby been a boy, Taylor would have suggested they name him after Diego, who was the sperm donor. She suggested the name Olivia for their daughter, after Estela’s mother. Usually, she calls her Liv or Livi. 5. would they adopt? Taylor was open to considering adoption, but their first choice was to have Estela carry the baby. If they ever thought about having another child, adoption would certainly be considered.

N: Never Have I Ever 1. what would they never do? A man. Ick. :P 2. what have they never done that they want to do? Go on a massive around-the-world adventure. Taylor loves being out and about in nature, and would love to go hiking with Estela in hundreds of beautiful places. 3. is there anything they absolutely can’t believe people do? Betray a friend. Taylor would never. 4. what is the most embarrassing thing they’ve done? One time she ran up from behind and gave a bear hug to some random stranger in the supermarket, who happened to be wearing a familiar blue hoodie. Apparently a popular design in San Trobida. And Estela hadn’t even been wearing hers that day. The stranger screamed bloody murder, security was called... all a bit of a fiasco. 5. have they done anything they thought they’d never do? She didn’t come into the world expecting she’d have to save the damn thing, but Taylor went and did it anyway. She’s a boss like that.

O: Optimism 1. are they optimistic or pessimistic? Optimistic, but practical. She’s not for blind optimism; she’s for action and making things get better. 2. are they openly optimistic, throwing it on others? Pep talk queen of the group. She’ll never dismiss anyone’s fears- goodness knows she’s got enough of her own, but she’ll always help her friends believe in themselves. 3. are they good at giving advice? Oh, yes. Girl should get herself an advice column going. Or a show, ala Dr. Phil. 4. is there anyone in their life that throws optimism on them? Quinn’s pretty good at that! When even Taylor’s struggling to see a way forward, she can look to Quinn and gather the strength to find her path. 5. were they always optimistic? Yup.

P: Personality 1. what is their best personality trait? Taylor is deeply caring and compassionate toward her loved ones. 2. what is their worst personality trait? Her dependence on her loved ones can give her tunnel vision, taking precedence over good sense. She absolutely cannot stand to feel alone, and can sometimes push others away in her desperate need to avoid that. 3. what of their personality do others love? Aside from her caring nature; her sense of humour, equal parts goofy and snarky. Estela would say, Taylor’s level head in a crisis, but then... she’d admit that Taylor does have her special way of making everyone smile. Even her. 4. what of their personality do others envy? Her ability to befriend just about anyone she wants. Very handy for managing conflicts. 5. do they hate anything about their personality/about other’s personalities? Taylor hates that she can get so needy.She’s working on it.

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dat-town · 5 years ago

Text

the day after tomorrow pt.3 (final)

Characters: Lucas/Yukhei & OC (Ariadne)

Setting: paranormal abilities au

Genre: humour, adventure, this gets quite angsty

Summary: It’s time to end this once and for all. But what are they willing to sacrifice?

Words: 4.3k

For my dearest @restlessmaknae ❤️

<< Previous part

Wong Yukhei had some issues.

Having a terrible father was just one of those. Being hunted for his powers was a much more urgent problem actually. But every problem's solution started with finding the source and that he knew well. The next question was the how part: how to get rid of the source so that the problem can stop being a problem? It was a tricky one because as long as Jedikiah Price, his 'beloved' father lived, he wasn't going to give up this legacy. Ultra was now in his hands and could only be taken from his cold, dead fingers. But no matter how much he hated his father, killing him - which his kind was physically unable to do anyways - wasn't one of the things he was willing to do. He didn't want to go that far because then he wouldn't have been anything better than Ultra.

"I can tell you're overthinking. Stop it," Ariadne said as she appeared next to him on the rooftop and joined him watching the sunrise.

Yukhei looked up at her confused at first, with undying curiosity and wonder in his caramel eyes but then his features softened and he sighed.

“I just can't figure out how we could stop my father.”

“Hey it's not your job to have everything covered. You shouldn't take all of our weights onto your shoulders. We're in this together,” the girl reassured him and she always seemed to know what to say to make his uneasy heart feel at least a bit better. He didn't let go of worrying but it was good to know that even if he was the unsaid leader of the team, they didn't expect him to do everything from forming a strategy to making it real. And yet, he couldn't get rid of the feeling of guilt.

“I know but...”

“No buts,” Ariadne interrupted him sharply. Her dark eyes were firm and authoritative, Yukhei didn't have it in him to protest. “We don't care who your father is. You could be the child of the president of the United States for all we care. You stand by us, that's what matters.”

As she was talking, she looked like a warrior giving a pep talk to her soldiers but he indeed needed it, he needed to hear it.

”Thanks,” he nodded at her with a small smile forming on his lips that made the girl relieved. She didn't like to see him blame himself for the sins his father committed. There was no way for him to know what kind of person Jedikiah was, he was the most betrayed out of all of them.

“Anytime,” she said and she meant it. Whenever Yukhei needed someone who was straightforward enough with him, she would be there, that much she could promise. “By the way, Ten actually has an idea but I'm not sure you're gonna like it.”

It wasn't that kind of situation but Yukhei let out a forced chuckle.

“I don't think there's anything that I would like at this point but there is no good solution, so I'm okay with the least bad one,”

”Then let's go. He wants to gather a meeting,” Ariadne prompted, standing up and she held out her hand. Yukhei stared at it for long seconds wondering what happened to the girl who didn't like to be touched. She offered willingly, so there was no way he wouldn't take it. He slid his own hand into hers, letting her to pull him up. Although she let him go immediately when he was on his two feet and he didn't know why he felt so empty and cold then.

In the underground building they had a room called The Campfire. It was basically the living room with a round table but since they often used it to sit around and discuss their plans or problems, these started to feel like heart-to-heart talks by the fire.

By the time Ariadne and Yukhei arrived almost all of them were there. Even the new guys and Ten shot them thumbs up when they got there.

"Thanks for coming, I swear we won't talk about who ate my last cookie again," the Thai guy promised with a hint of mischievousness in his voice he had that look on his face that ensured he wanted to talk about something serious. He cleared his throat and looked around. “So… Jeffrey, tell them what you told me this morning,” he prompted pointing at one of the newcomer guys.

Said boy was around Winwin's age, had lanky limbs and such a new yorkian way of talking he must have been here for quite a while. He ran his fingers through his blondish brown locks and spoke up:

“In Ultra they weren't only doing experiments on us but on humans too. They were trying to figure out what exactly it is in our DNA that causes our paranormal skills and how they could reproduce it,” he said and that was sick, Yukhei furrowed his brows. It went against Ultra's principals, just like the experiments that tried to fry out the 'can't kill' barricade in their brain. Jedikiah must have lost his mind.

"Yeah, I heard them say they want to figure out how to get rid of the difference between us and humans." Yuta added with a nod and a bitter grimace.

“Wait, does that mean that they want to make them like us?” Hendery asked, with reasonable confusion in his voice. It really didn’t make any sense. They both wanted to kill them and now, for some ridiculous reason they wanted to make more of their kind. What was the logic in that? Why did they need the witch hunt then?

"Like an army," Johnny mused out loud, Honey nodding alongside with him.

“Or they want to make biological weapons to kill us all,” she piped in and Mark choked on his Coca Cola next to her. He looked downright scandalized.

”Always so positive, good to have you with us,” the organizer of this whole gathering remarked. “But yeah, you're probably right. They want to make their own homo superior army and their first task would probably be to kill us all who disobey.”

Ariadne looked sideways to see Yukhei's conflicted face because boy, was it rare to see him speechless, so lost in his thoughts but lately, he was more and more like that. The joking kid who flirted with her non-stop now had the weight of the world on his shoulders. She wanted to see him smile again.

"So… what's your suggestion then? Ariadne said you have one," he turned to Ten, voice deep and serious.

"Uh yeah. It's a pretty risky plan with lots of what ifs. First step is that we steal an injection from Ultra. Then we kidnap Dr. Price or have an ambush on him. Then we threaten him," the Thai guy introduced the plan to him but it wasn’t quite convincing so far. Yukhei furrowed his eyebrows. His father wasn’t easy to make swayed and not to mention, it would have been almost impossible to find him alone after their attack on Ultra.

"With what?"

"Shouldn't you know the best?" Ten raised a brow, looking at the son of the man who lied he wasn't even his just to save his face in a company where any relation to homo superiors counted as a sin. But the saddest thing is that Yukhei was sure the only reason why he was still alive because Jedikiah had some kind of leverage due to that fact. It wasn't any parental sentiment. “What he's the most afraid of."

And oh, they both knew what it was.

Yukhei had to admit that no matter how crazy Ten’s idea was, it was a good one, good enough to put a dot at the end of this endless fight between superiors and the organization against them. But there were lots of variables even he wasn’t sure of. He didn’t know his own father enough to bet their life on a mission that could go wrong any minute. No, he wouldn’t do that. Even if they saved half dozen young superiors last time, he almost lost Ariadne. He still remembered how ice cold it felt, the sheer panic of her might not waking up. He wasn’t ready to face that again, he wasn’t ready to lose anything anymore. He had lost enough already in his short life.

"Where are you going?" Ariadne chirped leaning against the wall that he passed by on his way out of the building. He could have teleported easily out of his room but since they had incidents before when people started appearing out of nowhere, bumping into each other and knocking off things, they made a rule to reserve teleporting to one area.

"I need to get some fresh air. To think." Yukhei said while he put on his leather jacket and Ariadne was tempted to joke about guys in leather and motorbikes but this time wasn't for joking.

"I'm coming with you," she claimed and she came prepared, she had her denim jacket with her. Almost as if she knew what he was planning to do (Because she did know. She knew him better than anyone. Maybe even better than himself and when he started to doubt himself she was there to give him the final push.)

"You sure?" The boy quirked a brow because while she also knew what he did and where he went when he needed to get away from this little chaos, he knew that she wasn't fond of fast vehicles ever since the accident in her family.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Ariadne nodded and held a hand out for him. Twice a day, he was impressed (he must have looked pretty devastated if she felt this bad for him) but he took it anyway, memorizing the softness of her skin and the light scratches on her knuckles and on the tip of her fingers. She was working hard to learn how to fight properly even if she can't use her powers.

But he didn't say anything, they all worked hard and he knew she wouldn't have wanted to be treated any differently. When his fingers closed around her hand, there was a glitch, a pause of a heartbeat before they found themselves in an abandoned warehouse logistics centre where Yukhei kept his bike.

They needed no words, it was a routine for the boy which she followed wordlessly. She took the helmet with a smile and sat on the motorbike behind the guy, arms winding around his middle. Under her hands, under the thick material of his jacket, his heart trumped loudly. They went on for an hour, going around the city wherever they could with no destination in mind. Ariadne couldn't help but enjoy the closeness, the wind in her face and all the bright neon lights that seemed like modern art as they passed by them. They ended up leaving the bike in a parking lot of a fast food restaurant and teleported to the top of a fifty storey building. They looked down on the city, all those tiny little lights from up there and Yukhei felt like he could breathe again. He needed this.

Ariadne knew that Ten's plan wasn't foolproof and a lot of things could go wrong but even last time when they prepared a whole lot, even then were surprises they would have never expected so by now she knew that there was no perfect preparation. However, Yukhei seemed more hesitant than ever and standing next to him, arms brushing as they watched the moon, she openly asked:

“What are you afraid of?”

“Of losing you,” the boy blurted out without thinking and then looked up at a girl with eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights. Okay, she didn't expect that answer but it made her heart soar. “All of you, but you especially.”

After a moment of dumbfounded silence, he sighed and looked ahead, pointing at the edge of the building.

“Remember when you dived off from a building when we first met after all these years? You nearly gave me a heart attack. Then I didn't know what to do with myself after the last mission when I thought that you...”

Ariadne cut his words off, shutting him up by pressing her lips on his chastely for an eternal moment.

“You will never lose me,” she said, promised when she pulled a breath away and looked into those dark, confused eyes. Yukhei blinked, almost not believing that this happened and before Ariadne could think that she misunderstood all the signs, he slid a hand over her nape, angling her head just right for a proper kiss.

Their confessions echoed between them through telepathy.

When they went back to their so-called headquarters hand-in-hand and Johnny saw them, the older guy screamed like there was no tomorrow.

“Oh my god, guys, it happened! It finally happened! The ship is sailing, I repeat, the ship is finally sailing!” he hollered to make sure that everybody, even the half-deaf cat lady down the street could hear it.

Ariadne smiled sheepishly, burying her face into Yukhei's shoulder as their friends all come out to congratulate them. Yukhei squeezed her hand and smiled proudly as if he was showing her off.

“It was about time,” Honey scoffed with a roll of her eyes as she and Mark walked out of the tech room.

“Look who's talking,” Ten fake coughed into his hands that earned him a slap on his back from the girl. But oh, was that a slight blush on her cheeks?

“Oh and Ten?” Yukhei looked at said boy with something wicked in his smile. “Let's do it. Let's threaten my father.”

His remark earned some chuckles, hollers, encouraging pats on his back from the others. They talked it through with Ariadne before coming back and they decided that leaving hidden isn't something they could keep up much longer, so they needed to take risks. For a more wholesome life.

The plan was easy-peasy as Ten liked to call it. Since Yukhei knew the inside-outs of Jedikiah's apartment and Ariadne was good enough to deal with the security system, they decided to execute their mission there. It gave them the leverage of knowing no other factor could bother them, the only tricky variable in the equation was Dr. Price himself.

Of course the man used the same technique at his home as the one in the labour that prevented the usage of homo superior power but it wasn't only their power that made them dangerous and he was about to learn that. Yukhei was ready to teach him a lesson as he sat in his armchair, casually reading a magazine while waiting for his father to arrive.

It didn't take long, around 11:30pm the door finally opened and light filtered into the study room from the hall. He must have looked like the prodigal son coming home from the way Jedikiah looked at him as soon as he stepped into the room, switching on the lights.

“It is quite bold of you to come here, Lucas,” he said cold and unnervingly calm. He walked closer to the desk, taking a good look at his son but he didn't seem quite satisfied. He never was when it came to Yukhei. After all those years, trying to prove his worth to his father, he finally realized why he couldn't. The man would never really acknowledge him as a son, he was a homo superior and the doctor was ashamed of it. He could never be good enough as long as he had this in his blood but he wasn't willing to give this up, not for him. For a father who only used him to get what he wanted.

“I have told you countless times, again and again, not to call me that,” the boy gritted his teeth. “But you never listen, do you? Because you think you're above me, that you could wipe me off the Earth. Do you really still think all this, the Tomorrow People is just a childish rebellion on my part?”

Jedikiah sighed with all the heavy burden of a man whose hand was red with the blood of hundreds and he sat in the chair across Yukhei.

“Is this why you came? To have a father-son chit-chat about where things went wrong?”

“No,” the boy shook his head. “But I thought I would ask nicely because this will probably be the last time we talk.”

Jedikiah raised a brow at the confident statement.

“You should give yourself up. This is your only chance. You will never win,” the man warned him but only got a scoff as an answer.

“Oh you think?” Yukhei smiled devilishly and in that moment he indeed looked like the son of his father. “Maybe you should check the security cameras of your beloved Ultra.”

There was a flash of sheer panic in Dr. Price's eyes and Yukhei knew they did well. The man immediately turned on his computer and opened the camera screens. Ultra was dark and empty at night safe from the guards. However, as it could be seen, the guards were nowhere and there was a bomb ticking in his office counting down now from 15 minutes.

When the man reached for his phone, Yukhei was quicker and took it from him.

“Ah-ah. No funny business. We are here to make a deal,” he singsonged which made the man growl. He loved Ultra more than anything, good.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Apart from the video game you still didn't get me?” Yukhei pouted, he felt like winning even though he knew his father must have had other cards up his sleeve. “I want a life. A peaceful, I can walk on the streets kind of life. I want you to stop hunting down our kind.”

“It's not a hunt. It's for the safety of humans! Your kind can't be trusted with this power. It's only a matter of time. Look how you turned out.”

The man's voice was full of spite but Yukhei didn't care, not anymore.

“Oh you think it's a wise idea to mock me now?”

“You won't get away with it. My men are already on their way here,” Jedikiah claimed and the boy knew it wasn't a bluff. He saw him fidget with his smart watch while they talked. But oh, it wasn't only his father who had backup.

“Your men? You mean the guys currently totally out of it in the hallway?” The door opened and Ten, Johnny and Ariadne walked in. The others were either at Ultra or at their base.

“He wasn't convinced, was he?” Ten sighed theatherically and when Jedikiah reached for the gun at the small of his back, they quickly held him off. “You are slow, old man. See, we don't even need our powers.”

They pushed the man on the armchair, keeping him off no matter how much he struggled.

“Let's add another convincing factor, shall we?” Ariadne winked at the boys and took out an injection with bright blue liquid from her backpack. Jedikiah's eyes widened as he saw it.

"Remember? Familiar liquid? We will see how your blood will take it, buddy,” Johnny clicked his tongue. “Your statistics say almost half the lab rats who willingly joined you on this road to hell died. Do you think you will be a part of the other lucky fifty percent? Or would that be more of a punishment for you to live like the species you hate so much?"

Yukhei didn't know much about biology and genetics but since he was homo superior he had to get the genes from somewhere and since his uncle and cousins were also like that it wouldn't have been so unreal if he survived.

"You know what's the problem with you? That some people randomly got these skills and they can use them to anything, whatever their heart desires. It's unfair. Why did some undeserving brats get this only to cause trouble? It shouldn't be like this. They aren't worth of holding such power," the man's tongue got loose as he spat curses at them.

"Why? Would you be?" Yukhei scoffed at his father. The way he talked just proved his inferiority complex.

The man didn't answer but kept his eyes on the injection held close to his neck artery.

"So we have some conditions," Yukhei declared brushing the needle against Jedikiah's skin. "You destroy every tracking device, every weapon made to hurt our kind, you delete all our files and you shut down Ultra."

He listed their wishes as if it was a Christmas wish list but oh well they say go big or go home.

"You want me to wipe the world clear off my life's work," the man said bitterly and wow all those PhDs, he really was smart after all.

"Yeah."

"Even if I do, there will always be others like Ultra," Jedikiah said with lips trembling from anger.

"Then we will deal with them then," his son said remarked confidently and checked the countdown on the computer screen. Only two minutes were left till midnight. “Tick-tock, dad, decide quick or Ultra will explode and you won't have the serum to save you if I accidentally get this blue thing in you and make you like us.”

There was a minute a silence but when the clock reached 00:00:59, the man finally decided to speak up.

“Okay, okay. You won, I will shut down Ultra,” Jedikiah agreed in a rush and it was Ten who let out an evil laugh at that.

“Do you think we will believe you just like that?”

The sound of an explosion echoed even in the room though it only came from the computer screen that showed the ruins of a once office.

“What?” Yukhei blinked, looking at the others. It wasn't supposed to be a real bomb, it wasn't supposed to go off. He wanted to watch his father take everything down by himself.

“Sorry, we couldn't take risks,” Johnny said and as apologetic he looked Ten also knew about it. Only Ariadne was as dumbfounded as him.

“Hah, see? This is how it feels to be backstabbed,” Jedikiah said with clear hatred and ill-intent in his voice. As the hold of him weakened he broke out and took the injection from Yukhei's loosened fingers. It all happened too quick to stop it and before he knew it, the man pierced the needle through Ariadne's skin.

“I hope you will know how it feels like to lose it all, too,” the man said bitterly and didn't even try to run off just fell onto his knees to watch Ultra burn through the screens.

The guys all gathered around the girl, asking how she felt. She looked pale but nothing else seemed different. She looked just as surprised as them that she didn't feel any different as the injection was spreading in her veins.

“Maybe it doesn't do anything to us,” Ten hummed out loud, hopeful but Yukhei had a hunch about something bad was about to happen. He knew his father wouldn't have done it just so. He must have planned something but he wasn't willing to tell hem.

“Let's get out of here,” the boy ushered them outside. Once they were out of the apartment, the guys teleported back one by one, leaving Yukhei and Ariadne alone.

“Are you sure you feel okay?” he asked just to be sure, not wanting her to strain herself by teleporting if she was unwell.

“Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. Let's go home,” she forced a smile and looked like she was about to jump but then didn't. She got pale once again as her knuckles turned white from trying so hard.

Can you hear me? Yukhei, please tell me you can hear me, she pleaded, looking at the boy with tears spilling from her eyes.

“What's wrong?” he asked, confused, as he stepped closed and cupped her face.

“I… I can't...” she sobbed and felt like she was robbed.

“What?”

“I can't do anything. He took my powers, Yukhei,” she whispered and so they knew what he meant by losing it all.

At the news of Ultra's being done for and Jedikiah actually sitting behind the bars because of some evidence of his medical wrongdoings and inhuman experiments came to surface while Ultra's ruins were being cleared, it was a time for celebration. Most of them decided to go to the surface to have fun, to visit their families they haven't seen in a long while so it was only the two of them by The Campfire, cuddling on a worn couch.

“At first, I hated being like this, I didn't ask for it and I hated the hardships and lies it brought into my life. But ever since you, I liked it more and more,” the girl said sadness evident in her voice. Being homo superior and using the powers has become such a big part of her that now she felt empty, she felt like she didn't know who he was anymore. But Yukhei didn't look at her any different.

“Homo superior or not, you are you and I love you, Ariadne,” he said hinting kisses on her shoulder as he pulled her closer. “We will get through this. Together.”

And Ariadne smiled, because she knew he was right. Together, they could overcome anything.

Nothing proved that better that by the time Johnny came back, they were arguing about superheroes again and whether he should buy flowers for her mother when he officially introduces himself as her boyfriend.

Everything was going to be alright.

#lucas scenarios #lucas imagines #yukhei scenarios #yukhei imagines #nct scenarios #nct imagines #wayv scenarios #wayv imagines #paranormal abilities au #tomorrow people au #stories

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kennethherrerablog · 6 years ago

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These 17 Tips Will Help Turn Your Job Interview Into a Job Offer

The job hunt can be a long and arduous process.

Sometimes it takes hundreds of applications before you hear back from any employers. And when you do, your work isn’t over. That was stage one. Now, you have to prepare for the (sometimes) dreaded job interview.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. We’re here to help. With the right preparation, you can turn that interview anxiety into excitement.

17 Essential Job Interview Tips

We’ve compiled the top tips from industry experts. We’ll walk you through exactly what to do before, during and after the interview. It doesn’t matter if this is your first job interview or your 40th, following these steps help you leave a positive impression on your soon-to-be employer.

What to Do Before an Interview

Great, your interview is set for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Congratulations! Use the time before then wisely. Unfortunately, you can’t just cruise in and claim your job. You’ll have to do some legwork to distinguish yourself from other applicants. Here’s what you need to do before your big day.

1. Research the Company

Having a solid understanding of the company is crucial. You don’t want to be caught fumbling basic information during the job interview.

You should spend some time on the company’s website to acquaint yourself with its mission statement, top clients, leadership and history.

Adequate preparation can help you feel better, too, according to Michelle Armer, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder.

“To help curb pre-interview jitters, interviewees should give themselves time in advance to prepare and build their confidence,” she says.

And if you’re still feeling anxious, Armer recommends giving yourself a pep talk, rehearsing your answers and listening to energetic music to keep your spirits high.

2. Reach Out to Alumni

To form a well-rounded opinion about an organization, it’s important to hear what its employees are saying. Yes, the company website is a good start, but that’s only one perspective.

Vipula Gandhi, managing partner at Gallup, says feedback from alumni is crucial to understanding a company’s culture before an interview. (Gandhi says her tips are based on more than a decade of experience interviewing candidates and not on Gallup’s research.)

One way to get unfiltered employee opinion is by checking the company’s Glassdoor reviews. Glassdoor is a job-search engine that aggregates anonymous employee opinions and rates companies from one to five stars based on the employees’ ratings. But don’t stop there.

Gandhi recommended using LinkedIn to get in direct contact with current and former employees. That way, you’ll have a clear understanding of the employee experience.

3. Clean Up Your Social Media

What you put on your LinkedIn profile is obviously fair game for HR.

But what about your Facebook and Instagram? Well, if you didn’t submit the social media accounts voluntarily, that could be a legal gray area. But some employers and recruiting agencies use them anyway to screen applicants.

Ben Brooks, CEO of Pilot, a career-coaching startup, says to make sure there aren’t any embarrassing photos of you that are publicly searchable.

“What does your social media say about you?” Brooks asks. “If someone looked at your profile for 10 seconds, what’s the interpretation? What are the three words they’re gonna say?”

Hopefully: You are hired.

4. Conduct a Dry Run and Mock Interview

Doing a complete dry run will make everything easier when the day of the interview comes.

And by dry run I mean driving to the site of the interview to figure out logistics like parking and traffic (or testing your webcam if it’s a virtual job interview) and enlisting a friend to do a mock interview with you.

Dana Sitar, an editor at The Penny Hoarder, compiled a list of the 20 most common interview questions, from the infamous “What are your weaknesses?” to softballs like “What are your hobbies?”

Having articulate responses to common questions will allow you to focus on being in the moment instead of feeling put on the spot.

5. Prepare Your Documents

Depending on your industry and the instructions of the application, documents you may need to prepare could include your resume, portfolio samples or any pre-tests the company may have assigned you.

Regardless of industry, you should bring a few extra resumes with you, just in case. You never know if all the people included in the interview had time to review your application thoroughly. Even if they did, having extra resumes on hand helps you look prepared.

It’s best to have these documents printed out and ready to go the night before. If you don’t have a printer or are having technical problems, stores like UPS, Office Depot and FedEx will allow you to print copies cheaply. There’s always your trusty local library, too.

6. Plan What to Wear

How you look in the interview is almost as important as your qualifications. Planning an outfit can be a delicate balancing act and yet another source of stress for some people.

You want to look sharp — but not pretentious or underdressed.

Richard South, corporate partnership program manager at Georgia Tech, coaches thousands of university students on best interview practices. He says to consider industry trends when choosing your outfit.

Interviewing at a business firm?

“Put on a suit,” South advises, noting that suits may be overkill for other industries.

Computer science or advertising fields might be more casual. The important part is not to guess.

Ideally, you’ve already reached out to alumni and talked about company culture. Asking them about attire is a great way to ensure your outfit is appropriate.

Once you’ve decided what to wear, set it out before you go to bed — pressed and wrinkle-free. It will save you the hassle in the morning.

7. Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Research? Check. Documents? Check. Outfit? Check.

Ticking all those boxes the night before will ease your mind and help you sleep. Try to get at least seven to nine hours of shut-eye to be on your A-game the next day.

And make sure that time frame is actual sleep time, not just time you spend lying in bed. It’s likely that you’ll be a little nervous, so give yourself an extra hour to fall asleep.

What to Do During an Interview

Now is the time all that preparation and good sleep pays off. Try to stay mindful and relaxed. Don’t worry about rehearsing your answers. You’ve done that already. Be in the moment and you’ll come across more genuine and likeable.

8. Arrive Early — and Alone

General rule of thumb: 10 minutes early is considered on time, and on time is considered late.

Ten minutes is the sweet spot because you want to be early but not so early that they’re not yet expecting you.

And please, don’t bring your parent.

In a somewhat recent phenomenon, helicopter parents have started intervening in their kids’ job hunt.

A recent survey from Robert Half showed that 69% of hiring managers either would not recommend or are annoyed at parental involvement during job interviews — from explicative phone calls that urge companies to hire their kid, to baked goods used to coax hiring managers.

9. Treat All Staff Respectfully

It doesn’t matter if you took the wrong exit off the interstate and then spilled coffee on your freshly pressed oxford that morning.

Do not get snarky or rude with anyone in or around the company — whether that’s the security guard in the lobby or someone you passed in the street.

For all you know, that could be Jen in accounting.

She doesn’t realize your stomach has possible second-degree burns; she just knows that you bumped into her and scoffed on your way into the office.

And guess who she’s going to tell after you leave? Your hiring manager.

10. Turn Your Job Experience into a Story

When the interviewer asks something along the lines of “So, tell me about yourself,” that’s your time to shine.

Nailing an interview isn’t about regurgitating your resume.

“It’s all about the stories and narrative you have,” Brooks says.

This is also a good opportunity to incorporate experience that wasn’t directly relevant to the job application but could pertain to your soft skills or personality.

Maybe you did an au pair program or studied abroad during college. If so, talk about your international experience.

Dr. Christine Farrugia was the deputy head of research for the Institute of International Education, where she led a study that examined the employability of alumni who studied abroad. She’s now the director of research initiatives at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies.

According to Farrugia, the key is having an anecdote ready.

“The person interviewing you may not ask about it directly,” she says.

11. Ask the Right Questions

Interviews are two-way conversations, says Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at Spins, a retail-industry consulting firm.

“You also want to learn from the company if it will be a good fit for you,” she says. “Come prepared with questions that help you determine if you will get all that you need to be successful, not just a paycheck.”

This guide walks you through exactly what questions to ask during a job interview and why they’re useful. Pro-tip: Ask, “Beyond the core job duties, what are the things you really want to accomplish and achieve with this role?”

Questions like that will not only impress the hiring manager, but will also give you a better understanding of how you’ll have an impact at the company.

There are plenty of areas to avoid asking about, too — like vacation time or basic information about the company.

“How smart your question is would define how the interviewer sees you,” Gandhi says.

12. Mind Your Body Language

Hiring managers pay keen attention to body language.

According to research from Robert Half, unspoken signals, such as eye contact, facial expressions, posture, handshake and fidgeting play an extremely important role into how you’re perceived during an interview.

Many of these cues aren’t intentional. They’re physical responses to how you’re feeling. So internally obsessing about your posture and facial expressions isn’t going to help much, either.

The point is, you should feel confident and relaxed — and those things stem from adequate preparation.

13. Vet Your Potential Manager

When you go into your interview, treat it like a date.

See if you are clicking with your manager. Think to yourself, “If I get this job, I’m going to spend much of my waking life with this person.”

Are they funny? Laid back? Knowledgeable? It’s crucial to understand what makes a good manager because a bad one can ruin a great job, and vice versa.

So don’t let the deciding factor be the salary or the prestige of the company.

“It’s all about the manager,” Gandhi says.

14. Don’t Speak Negatively About Past Employers

Inevitably, you will get a question along the lines of, “Why did you leave your past job?”

Your mind might flash back to all the times you were wronged, and you might be tempted to air some of those grievances. Just don’t.

It comes across as unprofessional. And the new company might think that if they hire you, it will someday be in one of your negative stories.

Instead, focus on talking about the challenges and opportunities of a new job — not the time your old boss took credit for the data you pulled at 2 a.m. to make deadline.

What to Do After an Interview

Before you bust out of the office to celebrate for a job well done, there are a few other things you should do to increase your chances of getting hired.

15. Ask to Tour the Office

Touring the office works in your favor for a couple of reasons.

First, it increases face time with your hiring manager and allows for some less formal banter as you make your rounds and introduce yourself to potential colleagues.

Beyond that, it allows you to see what’s really happening on the ground floor. As you walk through different pods or workspaces, take note of the office morale. Does everyone look stressed or excited?

If it’s around lunchtime, see if a lot of employees are eating at their desks. That could be a sign of being overworked.

If they say no to the tour, it’s not a deal-breaker. It’s possible that there isn’t enough time built into the interview to accommodate an office tour, but it never hurts to ask.

16. Establish Next Steps

Before you say your goodbyes, make sure to have a clear time frame of when you will hear back.

“Nothing can be more frustrating than completing an interview and then feeling everything goes silent,” Haefner says. “Ask the company where they are in the recruiting process… and who is best for you to follow up with for status updates.”

Asking about this outright saves you some guesswork, and you won’t be left pacing back and forth in your living room thinking, “It’s been one day. Why haven’t I heard anything? Shouldn’t they have sent an email? I’m going to call them. They probably hired someone else!”

When in reality, they likely have internal processes that you’re unaware of.

17. Send a Thank-You Note

Thank-you notes are a surefire way to distinguish yourself from other candidates. Hiring managers love them, and applicants often forget to send them.

In our Jobs Hunting 101 ecourse, we recommend sending them regardless of how the interview goes.

An email should suffice. Try to send it out within 24 hours of your interview, and make sure to separately thank everyone who interviewed you.

In your messages you should include:

A recap of the value you bring to the role.

Any small clarifications or points you didn’t mention during the interview.

Sincere gratitude and enthusiasm.

Avoid the temptation to copy and paste the same scripted message to everyone. That could backfire. Where possible, personalize it as best you can. Give it a little flair.

And if you really want brownie points, don’t send an email. Send a handwritten thank-you note.

Adam Hardy is a staff writer on the Make Money team at The Penny Hoarder. He lives off a diet of stale puns and iced coffee. Read his full bio here, or say hi on Twitter @hardyjournalism.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.

These 17 Tips Will Help Turn Your Job Interview Into a Job Offer published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

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sanguinesprout · 7 years ago

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Well, that sucked... uuuuugh it’s coooooold xwx (updates, some gloomy and bright feels and self pep talk)

Hmmmmmmm... so, long time no post-ish...kinda..! To put it simply I’ve been stressing real hard over this form to try claim benefits/financial help and expended all mental my energy on that aaaall these past weeks. I struggled and I avoided but I finally fiiiiinallly managed to do it and now the main source of stress has subsided temporarily until they contact me again for maybe a face to face meeting in which I’ll commence my super anxiety flailing. But I guess for now I have time to stress about the things I normally stress over and haven’t done yet. Pah!

So the form right, you have to fill in about your health conditions/disabilities and I reaaaally had trouble writing about things like that. I mean, writing on here definitely helped me with some parts of it, since it was stuff I had written before, but just not on paper and... writing it out irl is like... super difficult and uncomfortable and knowing someone has to read it and ugh damn... I had to write about physical things too and there were lots of things I kinda was unsure of and it went from me writing very little to me writing probably TOO much last minute xwx I mean, it’s better than writing too less, but maybe I went into more detail than needed, but maybe it’s enough info that they’ll skip me in the face to face part... plz plz plssss! ;3; No, no you’ll be fine, you can do it!

I seriously spent so much time staring at it and it was just so hard, there was this reluctance even though I wanted to get it over with so badly, it’s like there was a magnet pulling me away, my concentration level dropped to minus 10000000, my head hurt from forcing myself to try think, it was torture Dx It’s probably something so easy but I unconsciously chose to overthink it and get all ruffled by the prospect that someone’s gonna read it and judge me... mehhh. By this point I just hope they can read my handwriting lol it literally looked like some kids english homework, full of scribbling out and arrows everywhere hahaha *sob* I had my sis read over it before I sent it, I was really nervous about that, it’s like she’s seeing a big slice of this blog (which scurred me), but she said it was fine, it was good! She’s supportive of me even if we frustrate each other a lot, I’m really thankful for her help and encouragement ;u;

Anyways, whatever the outcome, at least I tried! I kinda succeeded in finishing something I would’ve just not even attempted usually and that’s great! I did good and if there is a next time, I’ll try even harder! The anxiety and irrational held me back and scared me away from trying, but maybe I’ll get over them much easier now that I proved to myself I could do it if I just really really reaaaally put my mind to it! Putting my pen to the paper, that’s another big thing that was needing to be done too lol. The race between doubt and determination was won by determination’s last minute spurt powered by encouragement from various sources (including myself and my fear of letting people down!) Yaaay~! sarcasm is no good booo!

Form aside, I had to do phone calls and make trips to the post office quite a bit lately too, I did them! Whooo! I also went out and had some nice shopping trips, even met some of my sis’ buddies and it was nice, it was pretty fun in fact! I wasn’t as anxious as I thought I’d be, though the times I were, I just... sucked it up and kinda went with the flow and it became okay after... I tried and I pushed forward and everything was alright *hugs self* c:

I have such less energy and brain cells left that this post probably sounds so half assed and pointless no, no negativity! silly, but I’m doing it, I haven’t abandoned my blog and it’s almost been a whole year... or at least 2/3 of a year, yay for me! Christmas is so soon, it feels kind of lonely this year compared to past years because of some things but it’ll be okay, as long as I have my family and finally get to spend some nice quality time with them like I’ve been looking forward to, I’m happy! ^^

I got a lot of materials to make some nice arts and crafty things lately. it’s kinda given me some more incentive to make some nice things and just have some fun. I haven’t done anything yet though, but I plan to... ack! Gotta make sure not to overthink things and put myself off, just go for it! I’m not abandoning my dreams of making some self motivational/self expressive or cute things or just learning to draw in general (lolol) just yet! I’ve just kinda gotten a bit doubtful and shy again (especially with just being online too), but Imma crawl back out this hole and do some things right naaaaooo!! *slips and tumbles* oof @w@” C’mon silly, keep going, believe in yourself!

I have a lot of ideas, and they keep piling up, but I’m having a hard time getting them out... I keep letting the anxiety, comparing, fear of judgement slip in and foil my plans. Things don’t have to be perfect, just try your best..! It doesn’t matter what other people think, as long as you like your creations. Other people have their own style and you have yours, be proud of it and let it shine. Practice makes... progress! You can do it!

I want to try and do more than one thing a day like most other people can like I know I have the potential to, like maybe do a little bit of art, a little bit of self care, a little bit of family time rather than just sitting around wondering which thing to prioritise or which thing is a waste of time to focus on and in the end achieve absolutely nooooothing .___. Baby steps, keep climbing, keep growing, don’t let your thoughts bring you down, you can achieve everything you want to, you just have to try with all your heart, ignore the mental obstacles, they can’t stop you, go go go!

With one of the other things I was stressing about a few weeks earlier, it was submitting a claim for a lost parcel, I struggled with that even, but I tried really hard and I did it and even though I was expecting nothing to happen, something good did happen! They fully reimbursed me! I was so surprised! Even though I was missing some information and thought it was going to be pointless and many weeks passed and I even forgot about it, my efforts actually paid off. The experience alone of just trying was a good lesson for me, but now I’m beginning to believe in ‘if you don’t try, you won’t know/nothing ventured nothing gained’ even more! This happened after I submitted my benefits application, I don’t wanna be too hopeful incase nothing happens here, but whether the result is something or nothing, I’m just glad I tried! c’:

I also received some praise about my packaging skill and service (I’ve been selling unwanted things and I always put in a lot of effort) and it was so sweet and kind and just lifted my sprits so much for someone to acknowledge it, I am so grateful ;w; For someone to take their time to write such a nice message and show their appreciation, ahhh it’s such a wonderful feeling..! I reached my goal of making at least one person smile! It was also another very pleasant surprise! I want to continue to chase this feeling and keep fulfilling this goal! I hope one day I’ll be able to feel this way with my creations ahhh cryyy ;u;

With my physical health woes and medication trials, it has only been a short period but it seems to be going alright, not very far, but it’s going somewhere and in a more positive direction. Once again I am so grateful to my dr, they are so amazing and kind and helpful ;u; Health is important! I want my family to be more healthy too, I worry about them a lot, because they don’t take care of themselves and they also avoid things and... uuu I’m sad :c I don’t want for them to be ill, time is short and I wish for them to be well and happy but it’s difficult when they’re so stubborn. I need to try harder.

A family friend passed away from illness very recently, it was extremely saddening... It must be incredibly hard for their family right now, I hope they will be okay Y__Y Life is unfair, life is unpredictable, it’s all the more reason why I need to get up and make the most of it right now. Spend as much time with loved ones as I can and make sure everyone is happy and healthy so we can have an even longer happier life together, reach for my dreams and so and so. Yolo... so try your hardest... time is precious ;^;

Well, um... that made things a little gloomy but I have to learn to face reality more seriously. Okay, for ourself and our loved ones, let’s make everyone proud and try our best! This life is my own and I’m going to take control of it, I’m gonna make it worth being happy about! Time is of the essence!

It’s been so cold lately, but because of this I’ve been able to see it snow! Although it’s not much, but it’s magical all the same and I’m happy to have been able to witness it, to go outside and enjoy the little but wonderful things of life, I don’t want to miss out on them anymore either! A new year is approaching, a new year where it will still be hard but I’ll continue to persevere until I’ve reached my goals! The post I left in my drafts, which I see every time I post here, the one with a long list of my dreams and things I’ve been wanting to do, I glanced at it and I think I managed to do a few of the littler things this year! I still have a lot to go, so I’m gonna aim to do at least twice as much next year! Yeah!!

Have a great evening (and a wonderful Christmas and New Year if I don’t post again before then), let’s go go! :D

#avpd #anxiety #social anxiety #depression #self-motivation #reflection #family #look after yourself and your loved ones #YOLO!#Life's too short to keep worrying about silly things #don't overthink #nothing ventured nothing gained #things aren't always as hard as they seem #it's okay for things to not be perfect #follow your dreams #Believe in yourself #try your best!#you can do it!#onwards to victory!

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yoursupplementjournal · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on http://www.supplementjournal.com/natural-health-source-review.html

Natural Health Source Review: Online Supplement Store

As a consumer, one of the most challenging things to do is to find a reputable source for what you want. Nowadays, companies pop up all the time on the Internet. Reviews are faked. Poll results are skewed by bots. It’s nearly impossible to know who you can actually trust. This is one of the reasons why we began this website a couple of years ago. We wanted to be able to point people to reputable companies who weren’t going to scam customers out of their hard-earned money. If you’ve been looking for an online supplement store that you can trust, we’re going to recommend that you check out Natural Health Source.

Natural Health Source: We Buy From Them!

In full disclosure, we buy from Natural Health Source. We also do get a commission for referring customers to them. But, we also take their supplements on a daily basis.

Why would we take their supplements daily if we get all kinds of stuff mailed to us from different companies? Frankly, we trust their products. We’ve taken the time to do our due diligence prior to putting such a heavy endorsement behind this company. We looked at each one of their product offerings and evaluated whether or not we thought that their supplement formula matched what they said it would achieve. In every case, the results exceeded our expectations.

What’s So Great About Their Products?

“Alright, guys… We get it. You’re fans of Natural Health Source. But, why does that matter to me?” you may be asking. Consider Natural Health Source to be the one-stop-shop for any man or woman who wants to improve or maintain their good health. It doesn’t matter what type of supplement you’re looking for; a multi-vitamin that’ll keep you healthy, sexual health supplements, brain supplements, anti-aging supplements, skin care, you name a major category of health and wellness and their products are the industry standard.

In fact, other companies buy from Natural Health Source on a wholesale basis to sell in brick-and-mortar stores around the globe. You’ll have to pay a premium when you go to a store, or you can buy it at a better price directly from Natural Health Source.

An Enormous Selection of Health and Wellness Products

Their product selection is vast, so if you’re looking for a specific solution, it’s likely that they have one. The Natural Health Source product line includes:

Men’s Health

VigRX Plus

Women’s Health

Provestra

Sexual Health Supplements

Prosolution

Anti-Aging Supplements

GenF20

Brain/Nootropic Supplements

Brain Pill

Skin Care Products

Skinception

Hair Loss Products

ProFollica

Weight Loss and Muscle-Building Supplements

General Health and Nutrition Supplements

We’ve listed just a handful of their actual supplement lines, because to list each product would be pretty overwhelming. Once you’ve taken a look at their product list, keep coming back as your existing supplements start running low so you can start doing some shopping.

Endorsed by Real Medical Doctors, Not Stock Photos

One of the dirty tricks we’ve discovered that companies will often do is throw a photo of a doctor onto their website and make up fancy credentials for them. Then, they’ll tell you that this doctor has fully endorsed the product that they’re selling. Unfortunately for the consumer, it’s all fake. No such doctor exists, and no doctor has endorsed the product line. Sadly, the consumer has spent money on a product that was sold on false pretenses.

The difference between the majority of supplement companies and Natural Health Source is the fact that they have obtained actual doctors to review their supplements. Take VigRX Plus, for example. Dr. Steven Lamm is a well-known doctor of internal medicine who specializes in urology. He’s appeared on television shows like The View to discuss sexual health issues. He’s a real guy, with real medical credentials.

Another major product of theirs, Brain Pill is a nootropic supplement that has a dual purpose. It helps improve your brain health while also giving you the mental sharpness that you need to perform at your best. Your humble writer (Brandon) actually took 2 capsules of Brain Pill with lunch today and is still feeling the effects as I write this article a few hours later.

On the Brain Pill website, there’s a video of Dr. Dave David (yes, funny name!) who has been a physician for 37 years, and on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. In this video, Dr. David explains the benefits of Brain Pill and goes into detail for several minutes as to why he decided to endorse this supplement over all the others that approached him.

Yet another huge product for Natural Health Source is GenF20, an HGH supplement. Three medical professionals give their full endorsement of GenF20. Dr. Steven Lamm, who was mentioned with VigRX Plus, Dr. Jeff Hill, and Dr. Anna Lepeley. On the website, they give a video testimonial explaining why they chose to recommend GenF20 to their patients and clients for their anti-aging needs.

We’re experts at reading the fine print on websites. Site owners are pretty darn creative at stretching the truth, such as using quotes from other doctors regarding an ingredient and representing that it’s about the supplement they’re trying to sell to you. Natural Health Source doesn’t do this with their products because they simply don’t have to. When you have real medical doctors and health professionals speaking on camera, explaining the science behind the product and why they overcame their skepticism to recommend these to their patients – it matters.

<< Click Here to Visit Natural Health Source Today >>

Buy Discreetly, Buy with Confidence

We decided to do a little experiment a few weeks ago. Over the last few months we had received some of Natural Health Source’s products to test for their effectiveness and quality. These products didn’t cost us anything. But, in order to see what their sales process was like, we decided to go onto the website and order just like a regular customer would.

We were curious if the box would arrive onto our home doorstep with something embarrassing on the front. We were confident that it wouldn’t, but we wanted to be 100% sure just in case they put a product name on the box. The box arrived quickly from Natural Health Source in a box labeled “Leading Edge Health,” which is the company in Colorado that owns the website. That’s all that was on the outside.

No sticker labeled on the outside screaming “male libido pills and female libido supplement enclosed!”

Next, we wanted to try out their customer service line to see if they were as friendly as people said they were. Not only was the knowledge of the customer service representative impressive, but she helped to explain in a kind and understanding way how to best use each supplement so they’d be most effective. As a man it can be uncomfortable to discuss sexual health with a woman, but this representative was a top-notch professional. If you want to speak with a man, they have several men available to answer your questions if that makes you more comfortable.

Why a 67-Day Guarantee?

You can buy from Natural Health Source with confidence because of their 67-day, 100% money-back guarantee. Why 67 days? Once you order from their site, it could take a few days for you to receive your products depending upon the shipping option that you choose. Then, you want to take the supplement for at least a month for you to decide how your body reacts to it. Everyone’s body chemistry is different.

Some people react one way to supplements, other people may react another way. In the rare case that you feel zero effect from the health supplement you use after a month, you still have a month to return your product for a full refund. Simply call up their customer service line and explain your situation to the customer service representative and they’ll help you through the return process.

Save on Shipping: Buy in Bulk

A tip for those of you who want to give a new supplement a try is to buy in bulk. Not only will your cost per unit be less, you’re going to save a bunch of money on shipping costs. Those of us who are writers absolutely love Brain Pill, so each of us picked up a 3-month supply last week. It was a fantastic deal and we couldn’t turn it down. If you’re not satisfied with the supplement, you can always use their money-back guarantee. We’re confident that you won’t need it, though.

Natural Health Source ships across the United States and to most countries around the world. There are specific restrictions based on products, so be sure to check in advance if the product you want can be shipped to your country if you live outside of North America.

How to Buy from Natural Health Source: Where to Start?

Alright, so you’re set to buy some quality health supplements from Natural Health Source, but are wondering how to buy from them. It’s quick and easy because they accept orders via the Internet, phone, or mail (does anyone still use the mail?). Be sure to use the source code on our website so that you can get the best pricing possible! We’ve negotiated special deals for all of our readers to keep you all coming back to our website time and again.

Click on the banner below and it’ll take you directly to Natural Health Source. If you’re a man, you can’t go wrong trying VigRX Plus. Be sure to read our VigRX Plus review to learn more about it, and see why it is that we’re such fans. For the ladies, Provestra is a fantastic supplement. Be sure to read our Provestra review to learn about it in greater detail.

If you’re not looking for a libido enhancement supplement, but are looking for a supplement to help you regain a pep in your step due to age, check out our GenF20 review to learn more.

The Skinception line is fantastic for both men and women. In fact, I may or may not have taken the Kollagen Intensiv cream for myself.

We could continue on about each of their product lines, but you should explore them on your own based upon what your needs are. As of the publication of this review, we’e gone through several of Natural Health Source’s major product lines, so you can learn about each one in detail here on Supplement Journal.

Natural Health Source: A Rare Company In a Shady Industry

The supplement industry is shady. It’s the reason why we began Supplement Journal. Natural Health Source is a breath of fresh air in a world of shady characters who are trying to steal your money with inferior products and shady billing practices. There’s a reason that Natural Health Source has been in business since 2001.

In the supplement world, that’s an eternity because most companies have been shut down by the Federal Trade Commission or other government entities for their business practices.

Natural Health Source is a reputable company who actually cares about taking care of their customers. It’s evident in their quality products, customer service, and their 67-day 100% money back guarantee. Instead of trying to find loopholes to screw over their customers, they’re trying to help their customers… and we love that about them.

<< Visit Natural Health Source Today >>

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