#how bad is your turnover rate??

[jammerlea]

During Covid lockdown, my roommate and I started ordering take-out weekly from our favorite Vietnamese restaurant. So regularly that they'd recognize my voice over the phone when I placed our orders. They would also remember what we liked to order, though sometimes we'd change it up. When things opened back up, we started eating at the restaurant and most of the wait staff would recognize us. The owners' daughter, who acted as manager, would often stop by the table to chat with us. One year I even gave them a holiday card with a larger tip.

Then one day the owners' daughter informed us her parents were selling the restaurant. We went a few times after the change in ownership, but the staff had changed, the recipes had changed, and service wasn't as good. So we stopped going.

Then this month we went to a Chinese restaurant for a birthday celebration and it turns out that the daughter has been working there! She came up to greet us and we chatted a bit. I even gave her a hug. It was really like seeing an old friend.

I think there's just something comforting about seeing familiar faces, especially if the experience with those specific people is always pleasant. As someone who's worked customer service, when you see That Customer who you recognize and know they will treat you as a human being, they can really brighten your day. Don't be afraid to be that person.

Starving to death this morning because ive been to the new local cafe twice this week already and if i go a third time ill look desperate.

[mayakern]

upcoming store stuff & why we're doing a super sale

omg hiiii it's devin again, and this time i'm bringing store news

the short version: we're moving ourselves back to minnesota, and we're moving order fulfillment to a fulfillment center

wow, that's big news! maya and i are so so so excited to be closer to our minnesota friends (and also my family lol). i'm hoping to be back in northeast minneapolis, but let's be real we're probably gonna get priced out and into the suburbs

in addition to that, due to a variety of reasons i'll explain in more detail below, we're transitioning from in-house fulfillment to working with a fulfillment center (or 3pl, short for third-party logistics). we're at an awkward size that makes staffing difficult and have had issues with extended processing time. the 3pl should be set up by september, and we're working on the back end to have fulfillment centers in australia, canada, the UK, and eventually the EU. if tax authorities work with us we should have all that ready by december 2024!

to prepare for that we're doing a super sale. ash told me not to call it liquidation but she said that like 30 seconds after i hit send on the marketing email, sorry about that. items that we don't want to pay to move to the 3pl are discounted by 25-70%, with some of them priced at cost. under no circumstances will anything ever be 70% off again

if you're nosy you can read the q&a i made up in my head while eating pigs in a blanket:

how are the labor protections at the 3pl?

pretty good! we were shocked to find anything even halfway decent in the US; we went looking for a fulfillment center in the EU to handle all international fulfillment, and the one we found just so happened to have bought a US location two years ago.

they're located in ohio, pay $19/hr, and provide health insurance and 401k matching. that seemed too good to be true so we dug through employee reviews on places like glassdoor, and while there were some bad reviews those were all dated prior to when the facility was purchased by this new company. they also have a very low turnover rate which is a HUGE green flag

why are you transferring to a 3pl?

the serious

sometimes we have a high volume of sales, and it makes sense to have two full-time employees plus a part timer! but usually we have a low-to-medium volume of sales. we can float by on that, but it gets risky, and the economy is in a bad enough state that we're concerned about the longevity

related, the 2023 holiday sale showed us some major flaws in our fulfillment process. if the same issues were to happen this year the business probably wouldn't survive

we're moving cross-country in early 2025 and would've had to close this location anyway

the dumb:

i'm sick of dealing with commercial landlords and if i have one more wall leak i'm going to throw it into the river brick by brick

what about your staff?

unfortunately we will have to say goodbye to our office staff. they have been given 3.5 months notice and no-questions-asked PTO for interviews with a small severance

why are you moving back to minnesota?

troy was always meant to be a temporary move. initially the plan was to move to vermont or massachusetts, but after being out here for 7 years we just kinda want to go home. the weather in troy is perfect for us, we love the mountains, and we have some great friends here, but for some goddamn reason we want our eyelashes to freeze together.

will you be returning to midwest cons?

if we return to cons at all it will be with ariel and/or ash running the booth, maya will not be involved. this would likely be in california and/or in the northeast US.

my friends are begging me to go to CONvergence as an attendee so ig you might see me there? maya has pledged death before crowded venues tho

will you do any local events in minnesota?

we might do sample sales. honestly idk what we're gonna do with the samples we have in troy, most of them are terrible. do you want samples of the strangest low rise bell bottom pants ever created? please take them from me. my bush hangs out

also my kid brother has gotten really into library events and if he asks nice enough we might do some of those

is there anything else?

i mean probably, but i started this last week and i haven't had any other ideas on what to include

[armandsfangs]

Old Daniel getting love is the best! Also vamp Daniel and Armand running an art museum together. Sometimes employees or visitors vanish but all work environments have a turnover rate 😈 Perhaps Armand pretends to be human so people drop their guard and takes on the persona of "Rashid" again. An employee is caught trying to steal and Rashid appears with his IPad. "Unfortunately this warrants a call to Armand." "Please don't call him! I need this job!" The employees know this situation is bad but they don't know just how bad. "Oh I don't think losing your job is what you should be concerned with." He smiles.

Armand loves Daniel regardless of age 🤍

I'm imagining a looming shadow appearing over the poor employee's shoulder and then he gets chomped by Daniel

Also I feel like Armand would try to put that painting of Marius somewhere in the museum but Daniel is like Fuck no, that's creepy as hell! So it ends up in a backroom until further notice

[homestuckreplay]

acrobatically fucking pirouetting off the handle so hard i turn into my best friend

(page 607-614)

9/7/2009 Wheel Spin: Sburb Lore Verdict: i fucking wish :(

9/8/2009 Wheel Spin: Character Switch Verdict: HELL YEAH JOHN’S BACK !!!! :D

A couple of shorter updates compared to the bumper 13 pages on September 6, but it’s all relative, and would be silly to complain about.

The narration on p.607 tells Dave, ‘It is time to face your destiny.’ In the short term, this obviously refers to the trap that Dave’s bro has set up for him, but it also gets me thinking about whether destiny more broadly will play a role in this story, and if so, what Dave’s might be. On p.293, GG – who appears to have knowledge their friends don’t share – theorizes that saving the world is John’s destiny. Nannasprite in her exposition refers to John’s ‘purpose’ (p.427) but it’s left very unclear whether this is a fantasy-novel style Prophesized Destiny, or just a result of John choosing to play Sburb.

I think this might be intentionally vague in the story right now, either to allow for readers to theorize, or because Hussie hasn’t yet decided the exact nature of the story. However, when destiny is a theme in fantasy, a chosen one's destiny is usually to defeat a great evil. I think it'd be neat if Dave's destiny was actually to defeat Bro once and for all - probably the most evil character we've seen yet, and certainly the one who's most affected Dave's life - which would make this line on p.607 end up looking really prophetic and bringing things full circle.

I am wondering just how many Smuppets Bro owns, and what the turnover rate is like. There’s at least 20 in the puppet pile Dave’s stuck in, and a lot of them get sliced in half. Bro needs these for work and has a large collection to draw on at any time, but they’re regularly getting destroyed, so logistically I am imagining a large crate of a couple hundred Smuppets showing up at the apartment each week, which is a horrendous thought. No wonder they are in Dave’s dreams. The ‘puppets per square meter’ and ‘new puppets per day’ are probably much higher numbers than the equivalent for harlequins or wizards in John and Rose’s houses. If these decorative choices represent sources of alienation and anxiety for the kids this could suggest that Dave’s mental state is even worse than that of his friends.

Also I think that if Bro really wants to be Jigsaw so bad he needs to put some variety into his traps. Puppets every time is nowhere near as creative as the saw traps in the movie.

Page 611 repeats a Dave-Rose Pesterlog from p.522. I like when this happens – it clarifies where we are in the timeline, as well as giving the characters equal importance while showing both perspectives. Earlier when Dave referred to himself as ‘enrobed in chafing, wriggling god fucking damned puppet pelvis’ I did think he was exaggerating for effect, and was just describing the puppet-strewn living room with an overactive imagination. Reading this for a second time knowing that Dave is being extremely literal is very different – it feels like someone begging to be taken seriously and failing, instead of someone committing to the mutually constituted bit.

Dave’s bro referencing Sweet Bro & Hella Jeff – ‘where doing it man where MAKING THIS HAPEN’ – on a sinister note pinned to the crawlspace hatch with a weapon feels really insidious. Taking this piece of art that Dave made and is proud of, and turning it into something threatening, is upsetting to me. What does Dave get to have for himself? Is there an aspect of his life that his bro doesn’t twist into something evil? Does Bro know about Dave’s friends, and if so, does he work them into his schemes too? And yet it’s effective despite all this – it does provoke Dave into action, jumping up and escaping the puppet prison, leaving Dave’s story on the cliffhanger of what exactly Bro wants to ‘make hapen’ as we smashcut to John.

I am very excited to see what John and Rose get up to and I hope it is not famous last words to say that it will surely be less disturbing than what is happening with Dave. At the very least, I feel lighter and freer knowing that I don’t have to think about Dave’s bro for a few days.

[trexalicious]

A scathingly brilliant piece from Jan Moir...🤣

Like a cavalry galloping to the rescue of their wounded leaders, former and current employees of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex rushed into print this week to big up their bosses.

In the pages of Us Weekly, an influential American showbiz magazine popular with teens and teen-moms, print and online readers were breathlessly informed by Team Sussex that Prince Harry was a super-great guy, no airs and graces, just a regular dude, rah-rah-rah.

Meanwhile, what about girlboss Meghan? According to those who worked for her and lived to tell the tale, she was completely marvellous, too. No, really. Pass me that halo and let her duchessy love light shine.

For she was kind and thoughtful. She made great gourmet snacks. 'Some of my favourite memories,' said former Archewell president Mandana Dayani, who lasted 18 months until she left in 2022, 'were during our weekly meetings in her Montecito home, where Meghan always served the most incredible lunches and her latest beautiful concoctions.'

I am imagining exquisite delicacies such as 'vegetable soup' and 'green salad', ­possibly even a delightful 'egg‑based ­omelette' sourced from the in-house ­rescue chickens.

As the Sussex staff detailed the ­positives for posterity, it was hard to determine the true nature of their ­relationship with their bosses. Attorney-­client, doctor-patient, jailer-inmate, star-civilian, duchess-serf?

And was it my imagination or were the outpourings of these worker drones ­reminiscent of the rising hysteria of ­someone chained to a radiator in the basement of Archewell Towers, hoping to get home by Christmas?

According to their parti pris gibberish, Meghan was a Tinker Bell of titbits, a Mother Teresa of munificence; this gift-giving goddess who lavished staff with bow-tied presents and on-brand sharing and caring.

'When I adopted my dog, the next day I had a luxury-brand leash and new collar on my doorstep,' said one former staffer, who amusingly thought the gifts were for her pup.

'They want to take care of us,' one ­current employee told Us Weekly. 'Meghan will do things like: 'You mentioned on the call your skin is bothering you. I put together a kit for you.'

Is that being kind and helpful? Is that tending to the pimpled lame – or a tacit message to up their game?

For those of us who have spent a ­lifetime working in offices and assorted workplaces, alongside good bosses and bad, the thought of a superior sending you a tub of wrinkle cream or some self‑improving unguent, well, it just makes me want to die.

But listen, there is more. Meghan, said one staffer, is known for giving credit where it's due.

'If you're in a meeting and a great idea is referenced, she makes sure to give props [respect and appreciation] to the person who generated the idea,' they said. 'And after a big trip, every employee gets a personal email thanking them for their contribution in making it a success.'

An email! Oh, how lovely. Isn't this low-level respect the very least a valued member of staff deserves?

These fawning responses in Us Weekly came in riposte to a ­damning article in The Hollywood Reporter, which stated that the Duchess's 'terrible behaviour' was the root cause of the high ­turnover rate of staff at the couple's Archewell company.

The report in the entertainment industry bible earlier this month claimed that many of those who work and have worked for Meghan are 'terrified' of her. It included quotes from sources calling her a 'dictator in high heels' who ­'belittles' people and has reduced 'grown men to tears'.

I should point out here that Us Weekly is to the Sussexes what Pravda was to Stalin and what The Guardian is to Labour MP Jess Phillips – a blaring bugle of uncritical support. So, we heard in great detail about Archewell team visits to the couple's ­Montecito mansion, where Meghan gave everyone ­baskets of flowers, fruit and eggs to take home. So darling of her! She also passed on her ­children's hand-me downs. Is there no end to her generosity?

One employee even told Us Weekly that despite Meghan's reputation as a mini tyrant, they had 'never' heard her yell. Instead, the Duchess gave her staff 'clear direction and is ­solution-oriented' – which makes her sound like a rather lovely and amenable bottle of glue.

And when it came to hiring staff, another raving Archewell acolyte insisted that the Duke and ­Duchess of Sussex always 'picked the best of the best from every field and watered the seeds for them to flourish'.

But what are Harry and Meghan growing for posterity out there in California – an Archewell empire or a damp squib? Seeds, ­solutions, eggs . . . what the hell is going on?

Of course, these accusations are nothing new to royal-watchers in the UK. The Duchess of Sussex has long been dogged by reports she promotes a toxic workplace environment, along with repeated accusations of what her lawyers insist to this day we must call ­'difficult' behaviour. In 2021, reports that the former actress had allegedly bullied and reduced staff members to tears at Kensington Palace were dismissed by the Sussexes as a smear. Yet it is no secret that the couple have lost 18 employees to date in their short time as a ­company entity in both the UK and the US.

One new American-based source blames 'unbearable' and ­'condescending' Meghan for the alarming 'churn and burn' rate. These rumours just won't go away – but the big difference this time is that it is US news outlets that are making the claims.

Maer Roshan, co-editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter, said he stands by the story after a backlash that included one ­Sussex source saying the claims were 'fabricated'.

Former and current employees of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex rushed into print this week to big up their bosses.

Roshan told Access Hollywood: 'Our reporter talked to a very high-up source who works for the couple and said: 'Everyone is ­terrified of Meghan.'

'Duchess Difficult is a nickname that has trailed Meghan Markle for quite a few years. What is new is that this notion, since coming to America, that a lot of these rumours were manufactured by the Palace – the reporting that we did suggests that probably isn't true and there is still this ­undercurrent of fear.'

Many of you might remember Prince Harry, in his high, tight, aggrieved voice, telling the world in his various documentaries and interviews that: 'There is a ­hierarchy of the [Royal] Family. You know there is leaking, but there is also ­planting of stories.'

Even The Hollywood Reporter, a neutral observer, now raises an eyebrow at this. This is devastating for the couple whose reputation has survived so far by ­blaming their difficulties on the Royal Family and the British Press, instead of examining their own alleged bad behaviour.

Just a few issues ago in Us Weekly, the Duchess of Sussex was smoothing down the pleats on her kilt of no-guilt and telling everyone that she was opening 'a chapter of joy' in her life and that everything was hunky in her dory.

But now – yet again – the ­Sussexes are back at square one; expending time, energy, favours and friends in defending themselves against the indefensible.

We have been here before, we are back here again; swimming against this avalanche of bad press, slaloming though the ­snowdrifts of snark.

It makes me think, was this westward flight by the Sussexes – this bridge-burning journey into what they presumed would be a better, kinder world, patrolled by powerful friends such as Oprah and billionaire Tyler Perry – ­simply fuelled by a lust for praise and admiration that they felt was their due?

Yet no longer can Meghan and Harry present themselves to the world as a couple under siege, a pair of self-righteous smirkers who felt themselves to be the ­victims of racism and bullying.

The Hollywood Reporter has described them as 'poor decision-makers' who 'change their minds frequently', and added that Harry was a 'very charming ­person' but 'very much an ­enabler'. The poor fool.

Duchess Difficult and the ­Enabling Prince? It sounds like a ­terrible Harry Potter novel, only now there is no magic spell to make this fresh stink vanish into the Californian air.

[formyloveoflove]

Carmen Berzatto and the Very, Very Bad Work Environment

There is enough space to empathize with Carmen and hold him accountable for his actions. He’s trying very hard to change, but that doesn’t mean he’s not hurting people in the process.

“Hurt people hurt people,” isn’t that how the phrase goes? I don’t think he’s a monster. I do think because of his trauma, he’s tunnel-visioned on the worst parts of himself. And in doing so, he’s isolating himself.

It’s not the “If it’s not perfect, it doesn’t go out.” It’s the condescending tone, the dramatic performance of slamming it in the trash. It’s the anger that’s associated with it. You can still have this ideology without being mean or hurtful about it.

Carmen is stuck in “I’m going to smoke this motherfucker” mode. He views everyone in his staff as competition, and has a tendency to discredit or diminish their capabilities. He demands perfection on a BOH staff of three (?) that only has 1/3 of fine dining experience who have to produce a new menu every day for a failing restaurant. That’s all these different stressors coming into play. That’s

a new arena and standard for Tina, Richie, Marcus, Gary, etc.

with menu changes every day, there’s no comfort to fall into. There’s no rhythm. There’s no way to prepare.

they’re understaffed, so there’s no one coming to save you. sometimes, your calls for “hands” go unanswered. You have to juggle two, three, four things that you just learned to cook. Something’s going to get fucked up, and sent back. And Carmen’s going to yell at you about it. Also, if you want to take a mental health day, it could jeopardizes everything

in the midst of all of this, Richie and Carmen are screaming everyday. They have at least one physical altercation. If you don’t think constantly hearing two people argue all the time is damaging, then ask anybody who grew up in a dysfunctional household. Me, for example.

then the bitter realization that doing all of this is not making them money. My good man Ebra is though (and thank god he got some help bc he was threading water, too)

The Bear is a hostile work environment. Full stop. There’s constant aggression and ridiculing. Once, I worked in a hostile work environment for six months, and it caused me panic attacks, nightmares, and extreme bouts of depression. I cried coming to and from work because i wanted to leave, but I loved the kids that i worked with and i had no other options available. In those situations, “You’re trapped,” no pun intended (well, maybe a little pun intended).

And the consequences of a hostile work environment:

higher rates of stress, anxiety, burnout, depression, and other mental health issues in employees

decreased productivity

high turnover rates - we’re both told about this about the BOH staff and shown the FOH staff. Try counting how many of the wait staff stay in between debriefings

erosion of trust and morale

The course that Carmy’s set sail for is leading him straight to disaster.

There’s a reason we’re shown Carmen’s experience in other successful and starred kitchens that have welcoming environments. There’s a reason why we see Chef Terry shutdown Carmen’s aggression towards Luca. There’s a reason why we get “I think about you too much” and “I don’t think about you at all.” There’s a reason why we get “This place could be different than any other places we’ve been at.”

Now, I don’t think comparing the consequences of Carmy’s actions on those around him to those of Donna’s or NYC Head Chef’s on him is right. Everything happens on a spectrum, and I’m just not for creating hierarchies for people’s hurt in real life, so I try not to do in fictional cases either.

Carmen’s trying to work through some shit, so I’ll give credit where credit is due. I’ll give gold stars to anyone out there, trying to unlearn some negative habits and make themselves better. I’m doing it now, and that shits hard. However, I won’t be giving Carmen a cookie because he didn’t tell his staff to kill themselves like his old boss.

Carmen has to “change the chemistry.” He has to acknowledge that he, himself, is capable of change. And it can’t be because Syd said so. It would be hard for him, but I would love for him to look around and see what he’s done to his own staff and change. Not just want to change but actually change. With his double-guessing to both Syd and Ebra, it might not take him long to get there.

Mikey’s gone. His old chef doesn’t care.

There’s no one else to spite. Carmen has so much anger, resentment, and fear, but he, also, has his moments of happiness and laughter and courage. He, also, has so much love to give.

It’s very hard seeing a character that you love and can relate to become cold and distant and mean to other characters that you love and relate to. But we got another season, so I want to stick around for it.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for killing this guy? (he was fine after)

I know it sounds bad, but hear me out. I (??m) started a bet with one of my employees (??m), and without going into the classified details of it (my job deals with a lot of things that need to be kept from the general public), we agreed that by the end of the month, one of us had to prove our point, and the loser would lose their job (worth noting, but 'losing your job' in positions like ours is pretty synonimous with being removed from existence altogether). The thing is, I wasn't allowed to do anything myself (I set this rule, not to brag but the game would be over before it even began if I hadn't). My hands were tied, so i needed someone to play in my stead. Now, I admit, I might not have gone about it in the most gentle way, but I needed a player, and honestly he should be thankful it was me that shot him and not the other person there (to make a long list of grievances short, hes been trying to 'kill' his way to a promotion for about as long as ive had my job). Anyway. My proxy (15m) entered the game, with advantages I'd given him I must add, and did incredibly. I knew he would, of course, I chose him because he's got the kind of imagination needed for this. Sure, there were some close calls at times, but in a game like this I'd be more surprised if there aren't close calls. To make a three week long story short, my proxy did exactly what I needed him to do, up until I offered him my position for a job well done (turnover rates for my position are notoriously high, and with how high stress the job is, I've admittedly been looking for a way to step down for a while). He flat out refused, and forced my hand to shoot him again (don't ask). I brought him back to life after, though, so I really don't think it's that much of an issue. My proxy even tried to contact me after (I didn't answer, obviously, that'd just be more trouble then it's worth for both of us), so if it all worked out in the end, am I really in the wrong?

[the-wolfstar-cupboard]

Drinking Games Fics

Maybe this is an odd choice for my first rec list, but I love a good drinking game! These are some of my favorite fics with that, filled with hilarity and fun (and a bit of emotional torture and pining, because its wolfstar. It's in the job description really.) Enjoy!

---

Seven Minutes in the Bottle by nikkiRA

Word Count: 7,684

Rating: T

During a quite frankly ridiculous game of spin the bottle, Lily discovers something about Sirius that ties them together, and also, somehow, seems to make him think she's his psychiatrist. Or: how Lily Evans accidentally became the Marauder's matchmaker

Head of House by SwissCheesePlant

Word Count: 7,102

Rating: T

The consequences of Sirius and James pretending to be boyfriends weren't supposed to come to a head during a convoluted and unnecessarily kinetic drinking game... but such is life.

(in my room) i want you here by dykesiriusblack

Word Count: 6,468

Rating: T

The Gryffindor common room, a party, and spin the bottle.

“Who are you trying to kiss, Padfoot?”

The air stills, stifling, and Remus is caught in the turnover of every lyric, the scratch of the record player and the soundless lull as it ends, waiting to be flipped. He stares at Sirius.

Sirius blinks, sucks his cheek between his teeth and raises his eyebrows. “It’d ruin the fun if I told, wouldn’t it?”

keep your electric eyes on me, babe by rosealong

Word Count: 4,857

Rating: T

a bottle of firewhiskey. a meddling james potter. it started as a game, but somewhere along the way it's become lingering gazes, hushed confessions under the moonlight, two friends, fumbling around their feelings for each other.

remus is in for a long night.

Inexperienced by Remustrash

Word Count: 4,396

Rating: M

"Now, Remus prided himself on his maturity and his ability to not give many fucks about people’s opinion of him (unless it concerned his furry little problem). But this was Sirius, and everything had always been different with Sirius. Somehow it really bothered him that Sirius thought of him as this inexperienced innocent boy. Which he really, really wasn’t."

When James proposes a game of Never Have I Ever, Remus sees an opportunity to come out to his friends, change Sirius' false image of him, and perhaps win some money in the process.

Addictive Kisses by RoyalPrince24

Word Count: 4,231

Rating: T

Sirius Black does not want to kiss a bloke. Never has, never will. But when he’s forced to kiss Remus Lupin in a game of Spin the Bottle... why can’t he stop thinking about it? And why doesn’t Remus seem to care?

Five Times Sirius Silently Pined for Remus and the One Time he did Something About it by Anonymous

Word Count: 2,749

Rating: T

What it says on the tin. Remus Lupin is not your average man, and Sirius Black is painfully aware of that. Or: here is a series of instances that would be ridiculous if it were anyone but the Marauders. Featuring watermelon seeds, alcohol, leather pants, bad dancing and too many cigarettes.

---

That's all for this list! I hope you enjoy the fics I recommended<33 Let me know if any of the links are broken.

[daydreamgoddess14]

Everything More Than Anything pt. 2

Sydney Adamu x Carmy Berzatto - R rated 🔥

Full Masterlist

Sydcarmy Masterlist

Chapter 1

~~~~~

Syd's brain is in overdrive, she needs some help with the mental load...

Chapter 2

With Carmy finally on board, Syd threw herself into work more than ever before. The crew rose to the challenge they'd set them, and were improving day by day. Some days though, chaos reigned no matter how hard she tried. The turnover time on a handful of tables was too short, they had diners arriving for tables which were still in use - a nightmare for an already too busy Saturday night. Richie had handed over expo to Carmy so he could deal with the front of house noise, leaving Syd and Tina both covering his station. 

"I need to fire the dessert right now for table 4 and 8 please, Marcus."

"Yes, Chef."

"Are those the two tables waiting to turnover?" Syd called over, 

"Richie's waxing, don't worry. They'll be sitting in 20. Yes Marcus?" Carmy confirmed, pushing Marcus for the desserts.

"Heard, Chef. Plating now."

"Excellent, thank you. Can I have hands ready to go please. 4 and 8, let's go." Syd watched Carmy direct the expo with ease, unperturbed by the additional stress of the first cover's late arrival and the second's early arrival.

"Hate it when people are late."

"Early is just as bad."

"Early gets a drink at the bar. Late pisses everyone off." She reasoned. 

"It's done. Let's move on, I've got 3 halibut and 5 salmon all day?'

"3 halibut, 5 salmon all day, Chef." She confirmed,

"Behind, Jeff," Tina called out at the same time, brushing just a hair too close to Syd and catching her wrist with the hot pan. 

"Shit," Syd gasped, the pain taking her breath away, 

"Baby, I'm so sorry! Fuck, let's get you under some water, honey -"

"It's OK, you carry on. Marcus, can you plate these please?" Syd stepped away from her fish as Marcus moved into her space. Carmy was already running the faucet so she plunged her hand straight under the water flow. Her eyes screwed up, she grimaced in pain as Carmy took her hand and turned it over to check the burn. 

"Looks nasty. Keep it under there," he instructed. "Let's get 2 of those halibut and 1 salmon ready to pick up, Marcus. Followed by 3 salmon."

"Yes, Chef. You good, Syd?"

"Fine Marcus, thanks. The first salmon is SOS, please."

"You got it, Chef."

"You good?" He asked quietly by her side, 

"Sure." She breathed out through pursed lips, pain still evident on her face. She went to move her hand from the water, but his firm grip still holding it kept her from doing so.

"Not yet. Still hurts?" She nodded, "so keep it there." He said firmly. 

"That's new 4 and 8 seated. Order coming on now." Richie moved through the kitchen, 

"Thanks, cousin, are they happy?"

"Nothing a couple of free margaritas won't cure."

"Fucking heard, Chef." Syd agreed, teeth still gritted against the pain. 

"Ouch, burn baby burn? I'll save you a marg, Syd. Tequila will take all your pain away, honey." Richie bounced her shoulder sympathetically as he passed. She stood with her hand under the water for 10 long minutes with Carmy checking in periodically, mostly to make sure she hadn't moved. 

"My fingers are numb, can I move now?" She asked, he nodded as his pen flew across the table information and crossed off the latest table completed.

"Yeah, c’mere," he turned to draw her in and pulled the first aid kit from under the table. He took out the burn ointment and smeared some across his index finger before lightly applying it to the angry red burn on the side of her hand. Her free hand pulled her jacket collar away from where it crowded her neck, his eyes flicked up to watch her. She could feel the goosebumps on her arm as he gripped it gently to apply the cream. She was fascinated by the diligence and tenderness he touched her with as the rest of the busy kitchen disappeared around her. "Plating tables 10 and 16, Marcus?" He called out, his focus split equally between the crew and the tickets lined up on the expo, and her. She felt her heart rate pick up as she watched him multitask. She'd tried for a long time to ignore the ache between her legs whenever he exuded total control like this. Seeing his confidence and skill in full flight was really something. "That ok?" He asked quietly, bringing her back down to earth.

"Yep. Yes, Chef. Thank you."

"Good. You've got 2 halibut and 4 salmon all day."

"2 halibut, 4 salmon all day." She repeated back, tearing herself from his side and back to her station. Tina was wrapping her in a hug instantly,

“I’m so sorry, baby. Are you ok? Lemme see,” She turned Syd’s hand over in her own, 

“It’s ok T, I’m fine. It’s not a bad one.” She reassured the older woman, “let’s get back on it,” she listened carefully so she could get caught up and the rest of the service went without issue. As promised, Richie delivered an ice cold margarita to her station just as they wound down and started the clean up. 

“Coulda been worse sweetheart, I once put my whole palm down on a stovetop. It was one of those electric hotplate ones an’ I forgot it was on. Burned my whole hand. Fuckin’ grim, and holy shit the pain was insane.” He held up his palm, examining it for signs of evidence.

“Thanks Richie, god that’s gorgeous." She took a long drink from the cold cocktail. "Front of house get cleaned up under your watch?”

“Sure it did, smooth as a baby’s ass. No one had a clue.” She grinned at his enthusiasm.

“Ok. Same again tomorrow?”

“You know it, Chef. Someone wants stars after all,” he rolled his eyes affectionately.

“Oh c’mon Richie, you know you want it too. Don’t pretend you weren’t impressed at Ever.” She teased.

“We’re gonna be better kiddo.” He slung an arm around her and dropped a kiss on the top of her head before dancing away from her, “ When you wish upon a star, Your dreams will take you very far, yeah, ” he sang, “ You're a shining star, no matter who you are, shining bright to see, what you could truly be… ”

“Beautiful, thanks for that. Really showing your age there with the 70s disco.” He laughed,

“Everyone loves a classic. What’s your dad listen to?”

“Yeah, it’s the classics for sure. Disco, Soul, Motown, a little 70s rock, he really likes to get down. Got some great pictures of orange corduroy flares and silk shirts.” She grinned, “I literally caught him this morning busting a move while he made coffee. He made me go to dance classes with him when I was a kid.”

“For real?”

“Yeah, cos y’know… my mom. He wanted to meet people, make some friends, but it’s not easy I guess with a kid hanging around, so he just took me with him.”

“Cute, So you’re gonna go on Dancing with the Stars once you’re a top fuckin’ famous chef, yeah?” Across the room, she caught Carmy laughing.

“No, hell no. It was 20 years ago, I have conveniently forgotten everything I ever learned.”

“Bullshit! Yo Tina, did you know Syd’s got moves?”

“Course she does honey,” Tina scoffed, “we’re always dancin’ around here when you ain’t watchin’! So, we done here, Chefs?” She looked around to assess how everyone else was getting on.

“Yes, Chef. Let’s go home. I could fall asleep on my feet.” Syd sighed, a yawn creeping up on her.

“Syd, fall menu tomorrow?” Carmy asked as they all milled around grabbing coats and changing shoes.

“Yeah sure, I was going to swing by the market at Logan Square in the morning first?” Syd could feel Tina watching them,

“Sounds good, mind if I get in on that?”

“No, that’s… that’s totally fine.” She frowned as she spotted Tina turning to hide a smile. “Night everyone,” she took Tina’s arm and the two women left together out into the warm evening.

“Something goin’ on there?” Tina asked as soon as they were away from the building.

“No! Tina, god no. That is a ridiculous suggestion. It would be a terrible idea, for one. And secondly, I don’t even like Carmy y’know, like that .”

“Sure honey, it’s not like you idiots are spending all day looking at each other or anything like that, right? You must think I’m blind, babe.” She laughed.

“Shut up, Tina.” Syd grumbled as her Sous pulled her along to the train station.

 

~~~~~

 

“Yo, what’s that?” Carmy asked, weeks later. Sundays in Logan Square followed by brainstorming/ cooking/ menu planning at Carmy's had become the new normal. 

“What’s what?” She said, a teaspoon held between her teeth. 

“That face?”

“It’s just my face?”

“No, there was a look - is it the consommé?” He took the spoon from her mouth, and dipped it into the amber liquid to try.

“Don’t double dip.”

“It’s only us eating it, doesn’t count.” 

“The consommé is fine.”

“Yeah, so what’s up?”

“I just have a thing… I’ve done something to my shoulder,” she winced as she rotated it.

“May I?” He asked, raising his hands. She nodded and he stepped behind her, “where?”

“Like, below my shoulder blade, kinda here -” she stretched her hand behind her back and roughly pointed to the area where her bra’s shoulder strap met the horizontal band with a sharp intake of breath, “hurts like a motherfuc -” His thumb pressed into the soft flesh of her back,

“Here?”

“Little lower,” she squeaked, “and to the lef -, ohh fuck,” she trailed off with a sigh as he found the problem area.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she breathed. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, and the warmth of his hands - one kneading the space somewhere between her shoulder blade and the top of her ribs, and the other on the opposite side of her waist to hold her still. She could feel how rigidly she stood.

“Relax, s’probably not helping.”

“Easy for you to say.” She muttered, desperately gritting her teeth to hide the moan on the tip of her tongue.

“Yeah, right.” His thumb found a particularly tender spot,

“Ohh god, fuck,” she let out a broken whine, her hand flying up to cover her mouth in embarrassment. She jerked away from him but his hand on her waist held tighter,

“Just -, I’ve nearly got it, Syd.” He said hoarsely. “Better?” He asked, clearing his throat. She let out the breath she’d been holding, it felt like she couldn’t hear her own thoughts - only white noise.

“Yep, great. Thanks.” She turned to face him, fiddling with the collar of her t-shirt. “I gotta… I gotta split, my dad’s been on me for not hanging out with him anymore.”

“You doing anything?” 

“There’s an exhibit he wanted to see at the Art Institute. Was gonna take him to get crepes after.”

“S’good, you should get outta here.” He shoved his hair back, pushing the curls off his face.

“See you tomorrow?"

"For sure. Say hi to your dad from me." He said shyly. 

"Yeah, maybe next time uhh, I dunno, you could come too. If you wanted, I mean. I keep meaning to take him for breakfast at Kasama." She wrung her hands, swaying lightly on the balls of her feet. 

"I'd like that, Syd." A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, "But you should go, otherwise he'll uninvite me." 

"Fuck yes, yes he would." She rushed for the door, a loud "see ya!" As it slammed behind her. 

 

Another couple of weeks rolled on, and as much as Syd didn't care to admit it, Carmy had been right. Taking their time, building everyone's confidence at their own individual pace, caring about every detail, was working. By running a minor injuries triage on the sideline, Carmy had kept Syd on the straight and narrow. The good vibes were almost intoxicating. As they’d moved into early September, Nat had reduced her hours to as few as possible with her due date looming but she was impressed with how things had improved since opening night. Yet Syd couldn’t switch her brain off. It felt like a constant stream of thought, she could feel herself only giving half of herself to any conversations she was a part of, the other half consumed with what they needed to do next, do better, do more of.

“Yo, Syd, you listening?”

“Of course I am,” she looked up sharply at Marcus,

“What’d I say?”

“We were talking about…” she racked her brain, the guilt mounting. She hadn’t been listening, not even close. The last thing she’d heard was about Luca’s plans to visit, she’d then switched off to think about whether she and Carmy could drag him in for a day or two of training with a few of the crew. She was outlining a possible training plan in her mind, splitting the two days into chunks of time dedicated to the things she wanted him to show them.

“It’s a nice idea, Marcus, totally fine for you to take a day or two and show Luca around.” Carmy confirmed,

“It’s a great idea. There are so many good places you could show him.” Syd nodded along, shooting Carmy a grateful look for saving her. Marcus grinned, 

“Thanks guys, ‘preciate it.” He left the office and went back to his station, pulling his phone out to text Luca.

“Not listening?”

“Thank you for the save.” She slumped further into the spare office chair.

“You got lucky.”

“Ok, ok, I zoned out.”

“You’re always zoning out. Pretty sure you don’t really listen to anyone anymore.”

“I listen to you. Usually. I had an idea about doing a workshop with Luca - if he’s up for it?”

“Dude comes on vacation and you want to put him to work?”

“He’d love it.”

“We’ll think about it.” He assured her, “where’s your head at?” She looked away at the books over his shoulder, 

“I dunno,” she mumbled, “s’like I… like my brain is just so full of stuff, I can’t think fast enough, can’t write it all down quickly enough. I just can’t switch it off, it’s constant.” She tried to think of the last time her mind wasn’t a relentlessly moving machine. 

“You sleeping?”

“Sometimes. I get a few hours if I’m lucky. Don’t you feel like this too?” She asked, almost desperately.

“I used to, til someone started giving me shit about having my full focus.”

“Haha, so funny,” she rolled her eyes, “I’m serious.”

“So am I. That is how it felt before. Then you told me to focus, so I did. One thing at a time. Mostly.”

“What’d you do?”

“Listened to you. Prep helps - keeps my hands busy and gives me time to think.”

“I don’t get it. Did you know Dolly Parton wrote I Will Always Love you and Jolene on the same damn day? So why the hell can’t I do what I need to do in a day? I need to empty my brain completely first. A total reset. Just blank space, no thoughts at all. White noise.” She rubbed her tired eyes, “now that would be first fucking class.” She handed him her half empty iced coffee and swiped the half slice of toast left on his plate holding it between her teeth, “Oh fuck -” 

“S’up, channeling Dolly Parton?” He sniggered. 

“No!” She scoffed, “I just realized how to… ugh, but it means Tina was right. God fucking damn.” She chewed thoughtfully.

“You’ve lost me?”

“Yeah, nevermind. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah?”

“For real. Back to it, Chef.” She left the office, still cursing under her breath. 

 

White noise. Suddenly it was all Syd could think about, the last time her brain had got up and walked out on her had been when Carmy had his hands on her. She'd felt the warmth of his hands through her clothes burning into her skin, his firm but careful touch trying not to hurt her. The way he'd grazed a particularly sensitive spot that would have made her knees buckle if the table hadn't been holding her up. And of course Tina had been right about the best way to relax. Because of course that would be the answer. She fell practically mute during service, robotically repeating back to Richie on expo, but otherwise not really engaging. She missed the whole conversation about Tina’s birthday plans, didn’t even flinch when Connor dropped a baking sheet right at her feet and didn’t once argue with Richie. She could feel Carmy’s gaze burning right through her at every opportunity, but he didn’t pull her up on her silence.

“Earth to Sydney Adamu, come in Sydney Adamu? Are you reading me?” Richie called over, using his hands as an amplifier,

“Sorry Richie, miles away. What’s up?”

“... Dude, that’s what I’m askin’ you? Where’s my sparring partner, huh? I musta mispronounced at least three different dishes tonight and you didn’t rip me even once! An’ you know I can’t rely on Carmen for witty banter - that’s our bag!”

“Witty banter?” She laughed, “I’m very sorry Rich, it won’t happen again. I promise if you really want me to roast you next time you fuck up, I’ll be there in a hearbeat.”

“That’s my girl! That’s what I wanna hear! Ok lizards, that’s the kitchen closed - thank you and goodnight. Not literally of course, get cleaning. Cousin, coming to burn one?” Carmy shot her one last look before following Richie.

“Baby, you good? I like, signed you up to cater my whole fuckin’ birthday party and you just agreed no questions asked?” Syd sighed with relief, of course she would have agreed to that regardless.

“T, hell could freeze over and I’ll still do your birthday. You know that!”

“I know, just don’t want you burning out - you’re workin’ too hard.”

“I’m working the same as I always do. I promise I’m fine.” She popped a kiss on Tina’s cheek as Richie and Carmy came back in to join the clean up. By the time the kitchen was spotless, Syd was drained. She called out goodbyes from the office as the others left, scribbling notes before they got overtaken in her brain by something else and something else and something else. 

"Syd, home." Carmy peered around the door. Half the lights were off and there were only the two of them left. 

"Shit, sorry. Yeah, I'm going." She dragged herself from the desk. 

"Look, can I try something - and you can tell me to fuck off?"

"I doubt I'm gonna tell you to fuck off, Carm."

"You might. Close your eyes?" She hesitated, but did as he asked. "What are you thinking?"

"Honestly?" She felt him nod.

"Well, I started to think we needed a new fruit supplier cos I swear we're being screwed on strawberries. Then I got onto strawberries being ready earlier each year because, y'know, climate change. So I doomspiralled a little, wondering if we need to move premises due to flooding, food prices, food shortages… but then I got kinda back on track thinking we could grow our own fruit and vegetables but that's, like, a lot of work and now I'm just about back to getting a better fucking supplier - ohh, or joining up with other spots nearby to buy bigger quantities, cheaper? Also, climate change is gonna kill us all, so that was a fun little detour." She finally stopped, eyes still closed, it was so quiet she wondered if Carmy had just left the building during her rant. Then he laughed. A lot. 

"Syd sweetheart, fuck, you need to get some sleep." 

"Fuck you, I know I do. But that is the state of my mind at the moment, and it is not funny! Things are going so well, why can’t my mind just let me breathe?" She sighed. "Can I open my eyes now?"

"No." She felt a hand on her waist, his insistent kiss on her lips, and she squeaked in surprise. He pulled away as she leaned in, leaving her swaying on the spot. 

"Oh." She opened her eyes with just enough time to see him move towards her again. 

"Oh? Should I stop?" He asked. She shook her head, words failing. Somewhat more prepared this time, she met him halfway in an instant clash of tongues and teeth. With one gentle push backwards, he'd pressed her against the wall. She gripped his t-shirt in her fist, catching the chain around his neck at the same time.

"Ohh god," she moaned in exactly the same way as she had in his kitchen. He nipped along her jawline, one hand on the back of her neck and the other on her ass.

"Sounds familiar," she could feel him smile, "how's all the big brain shit goin'?"

"Fuck, Carm -" She gasped as his hand moved from her neck to palm her breast over her t-shirt, "no thoughts here." He pulled away from her abruptly, holding her steady against the wall, 

"Good girl." He watched as her breath stuttered at his compliment and smirked. He flicked his wrist at the button of her pants, and kept his eyes on her as he slid them over the curve of her ass. She nodded for him to continue, and he dropped to his knees in front of her, dragging the material down her leg and pulling off her sneakers. She waited for him to reappear, but he didn't. Instead, he hooked her knee over his shoulder,

"Wait, what?" 

"I'll stop when you forget your own name. How's that sound?" Her jaw dropped, "kidding. Mostly. Say now, and I stop, and we can forget this ever happened, 'K?" 

"I don't want you to stop," she whispered. 

"Good." He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of her soaked underwear and pulled them down her legs, then he nudged her legs apart and lifted one to drape it over his shoulder. "So wet, Syd," he teased, peppering her inner thighs with kisses. He licked a broad stroke through her folds, his nose nestling up against her clit. She could feel her knees shaking so he put a firm hand on the hip of her raised leg to hold her steady. His other hand moved to join his determined mouth, he replaced his tongue fucking her with his fingers and turned his attention to suck her clit 

"Oh f-fucking fuck , Carm," She tangled a hand in his hair, partly to stop him from moving, and partly to keep herself upright. His fingers, knuckle deep inside her, pumped lazily in and out while he savored her taste, wanting to drag out her pleasure for as long as possible. Her dripping cunt ached for release but he didn't let up.

"You wanna come for me, baby?" He murmured as she whimpered at the loss of his tongue.

"Yes, god yes -" her hips twitched towards him, changing the angle so his fingers brushed against her g-spot, he flicked his tongue over her clit at the same time and felt her walls contract around his fingers as she came apart completely with a broken sob of his name. He rested his head against her thigh as she leaned limply into the wall. Her legs trembled, so he slipped her underwear back up, sat back and guided her down the wall to sit in his lap. "Holy shit." She whispered once she'd recovered her breath. 

"How's your head?" He asked, dropping a kiss to her temple. 

"Hmm, pretty empty." She smiled into the crook of his shoulder. She kissed a trail up to his ear and along his jaw, tasting herself on his tongue. With a desperate moan, she moved to straddle his hips, her knees on the cold, hard floor. She could feel him rock hard through his pants and rutted against him. 

"So fuckin' beautiful, Syd." His hands gripped her ass, holding her against him and making them both moan. His phone vibrated across the desk and onto the floor as he slid his hands underneath her t-shirt, "ignore it." He told her, tickling the sides of her ribs while he tried to pull it off. She batted his hands away and leaned away from him to reach it. 

"Fuck, it's Pete?" She handed it over and he swiped to answer the call just before it rang off. 

"Hey man, you good?" Syd couldn't hear Pete's response, but she could see Carmy's frown deepen. She moved to get up from his lap but his hand on her bare thigh stopped her. "On my way. No, no Richie till later - got it. Yeah, I'll bring Syd. Later dude." The phone dropped into his lap between their bodies. "We gotta go."

"We?"

"Baby's coming, Nat wants you there."

"Oh no, no no. That's not… I don't like hospitals. And it's really late. And I'm pretty sure they only let family in, so -" 

"We'll figure it out later, come with me?" He cupped her jaw, bringing her face close to his again, and kissed her, "and we'll figure this out later. C'mon." She stood up with ease, her legs now more willing to cooperate, and held out a hand to help him up. He kissed her again, his cock still half hard pressed into her thigh, "fucking family. Figuring this out later for sure." She pulled away first, hands fluttering nervously as she found interest in her bare feet, the coral nail polish a pop of brightness in the dimly lit room. 

"I'm gonna get cleaned up. Have we got time?" She picked up her clothes from the floor,

"Pete said it's still a while off, we're OK for now." She nodded, considering his wild hair and disheveled clothes. 

"You should straighten up too. She's your sister, full blown labor or not she's gonna know straight away." 

"Yeah, yeah I will." He nodded in agreement. She took her time in the beautifully decorated bathroom. The dark wallpaper and paint with the brushed gold features were all her and Nat. They'd spent an afternoon in a DIY store together picking out the colors and accessories. She switched with Carmy, and while he was in the bathroom, she put her sneakers back on and switched off the remaining lights.

[moeblob]

Before I post any art, I gotta say a thing. And I've told a few people already but I am gonna share it here, too.

TW; Anxiety (but like positive?)

At work I am quite well-known as "that person with anxiety". I think at most points, despite turnover rates of employees, at minimum 65% of all employees have seen me cry at work before. If they haven't, it's probably someone on night crew. The thing is though, it has it's really weird benefits? I'm absolutely not here to wish anxiety on anyone but when someone that isn't me has anxiety? A lot of coworkers will ask me to talk to the person in the middle of an attack because "hey you can relate".

And today all I had to do was listen to someone vent their work stress as she cried out back and vaped a little to calm down. Like, she didn't ask me to join her out back. A guy told me to go check on her so I did. And she just... let it all out. And as she calmed down and was about to go back in I told her "hey it's fine to feel better but if you go right back to where you were it's not gonna help anything. Go into the walk in cooler for a minute to literally cool off" and she paused and was like. Stunned. That it could be that easy. (note, the back? no AC. her station? the pizza station? ovens AND multiple people for body heat. outside where she vented? also hot!)

I just enjoy the fact that while it sucks to have anxiety, I've been there long enough to help multiple people through an attack because I'm just a small and little fella. The least intimidating person in the restaurant who has been seen crying more than any other worker.

I remember having my own anxiety attack and my GM at the time just walked over to me and stood at a slight distance and started to talk to me about a video game he'd been playing lately and when he left to get back to work, I felt better. He just ... rambled about something to distract me and it worked. I remember a manager who had real bad anxiety prior to working and had it under control who told me it was fine to feel anxious because your brain's stupid. And, as a restaurant, he's like "to your brain under an anxiety attack, you could have a line out the door or a lion at the door and it's the exact same sense of fear."

Basically, I haven't had super huge attacks at work lately but I'm still known for having them and for some reason, that gets spread around and no one ever acts like it's a defect. In fact, plenty find it relatable! And when I can help someone with advice I've gotten before or just distracting them with a silly story about the one time I walked in the back door and walked into the cooler and started to cry and shake and a manager found me and goes "did you even clock in yet?" and I shook my head and he told me to go home but after I sat in my car for a bit to calm down. It's nice to hear someone laugh when I tell them "so hey, at least YOU got to clocking in so you're getting paid to cry".

It's just wild how a little understanding goes a long way? How it doesn't fix anything but dang it really does help to just co-exist as "ah yeah I get that - do you want some water?"

[therealvinelle]

I just finished Nebuchadnezzar's Dream and I have to say: Holy shit! The werewolf fight, Carlisle getting investigated by the FBI, Aro's funny hat idea as a diplomatic tool, the Ziggy Stardisciples feat. bad face paint, Renata ❤️, the bickering twins, Jane (yes, she gets her own point, she deserves it), Carlisle's gift induced despair and then the fall of Volterra, the horror and grief of the group and the very loud broadcasted-live-to-the-usurpers revenge sex (I hope Edward combusted into a pile of ashes right then and there, lol). It was an amazing rollercoaster to read. And just so you know, I'm very interested in that potential sequel 👀

(Also, if Aro had decided to follow Caius' advice and attack the Cullens first, how would he have done it? Kill them all but spare Carlisle? Kill only Bella and leave it at that knowing that they don't pose a threat anymore even if they do decide to take revenge? Or something entirely different?)

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!

To answer your question:

If Aro was to take out the Cullens, there are about a million ways he could have gone about killing the Cullens but the simplest one in my mind would have been if he used Nahuel and his sisters to hide from Alice, and then went and killed them outright. No fuzz, no convoluted schemes, even with Bella's gift the Cullens would be easily overwhelmed.

A more thought out plan, at least if Aro wants to be sure Alice doesn't catch on to him, would be sending Chelsea and Marcus around to weaken the bonds of friendship the Cullens have with their various allies, and strengthen their faith in the Volturi. And if some remain adamant, they die. Leave the Denali alive, however, and then make his move.

The factor that allowed the Cullens to gather as many allies as they did in Breaking Dawn was time. The Volturi deliberated two weeks, when a direct flight from Italy to Washington would take less than a day. Should Aro in my scenario then decide "Alright, we're doing this," the Cullens will have very little time and be at a complete disadvantage.

Their only option would be to run for it and not split up, so Bella can shield them all, but even so they'll be leaving scent trails, which means they would have to go by human transportation means. This in turn puts a constraint on their movements.

The Cullens would likely end up on a boat or an island, where nobody can track them, where they would be unable to step outside of Bella's immediate vicinity, meaning Jacob and Renesmee are both obscuring Alice.

This is where the Denali come in, because without them the Volturi would have no way of guessing where the Cullens might go. With five friendly vampires a short distance away, however, the Cullens have an obvious destination.

Where, of course, Jacob and Renesmee's constant presence means that Alice won't know the Volturi are waiting for them there.

Even if the Cullens figure out that the Denali are compromised, they have no allies and Bella needs only let down her guard for a moment for Demetri to know where they are, and given the pressure she's under she inevitably will. They won't have an easy time hunting, either, the stress of the situation will be constantly grating on them, they won't hold out for long.

As for what the Volturi do when they have them at their mercy, Aro would be sad about it but they all have to go. Regardless of the strategy he used, he wants to reinforce that the Volturi are a force you don't stand up to, you don't resist, and you don't embarrass them.

By all accounts, Aro's distinguishing feature is that there is nobody he isn't willing to kill.

People would be crying injustice for a while, but I imagine those voices would be silenced in death or through intimidation, and with vampires having such a high turnover rate it would only be a few centuries before they were forgotten by all but those who keep their mouths shut about it.

[princeblack]

private investigator andrea williams was the cult’s newest target, a young woman who moved to town to look into the history here, from the 1996 woodsboro murders to the missing persons cases that made it onto various true crime podcasts and news outlets. some people believed there was a copycat killer, but the murders were covered up by local government, and more recently there had been an increase in vicious animal attacks, the bodies gnawed on and disfigured.

unfortunately for the town, it wasn’t a copycat killer but several, operating from a cult of stu macher’s most trusted ‘supporters’, which had been started by a woman who mothered his child. regulus doesn’t know much about the killings, besides what the cult has said about them, which was mostly reverence for the ‘style’ of the 1996 woodsboro murders, from the Ghostface persona to the ‘art’ of stalking the victim.

it makes complete sense then, how the sheriff already knew what regulus was when he tried to compel him after being pulled over. regulus’s registration was out on his dead parents’ car, so he attempted to compel the officer and quickly realized the man was taking vervain because it didn’t work. shooting regulus with vervain darts before he could defend himself, he was transported somewhere before waking up in a cellar.

he wasn’t there long, because the daughter of stu macher released him, even killing his captor, who turned out to be her mother’s new husband. his plans included using regulus’s vampire blood to turn members of their cult and then staking him since he ‘couldn’t be trusted’.

because of salem, he’s now initiated into the cult and has been helping kill their victims as well as use his powers of compulsion to take care of various cover-ups. there’s even a new sheriff, promoted from within the cult, who passes along some information on the private investigator.

luckily it’s an easy enough job, since andrea williams lives on an old property on the outskirts of town. apparently it was sold to her cheap because of turnover rate of the town residents, especially due to the spike in animal attacks over the past couple weeks. her neighbors are miles away and, according to their research, there were no children or pets; only a husband who worked late shifts.

regulus knows he should hope the husband isn’t home yet, but he’s growing hungrier because he didn’t feed yesterday, thinking he could easily eat two instead of one. it’s bad enough that he finds himself staring at salem’s neck a few times, listening to the rush of blood beneath her beautiful skin. she even smells good, making his stomach twist in pain and his body burn with need, aching for a taste of her that he can’t have. he knows what happens, each and every time he gives in— people die, in gruesome ways. sirius is lucky he got out before it happened, off to live his life with james potter somewhere where there weren’t any vampires that were so hungry they could tear your head from your body by eating through your neck.

daphne greengrass did this to him— his ex, the daughter of the richest family in his home town. their mothers had set them up, though at that time walburga had no idea the true nature of the greengrasses. regulus loved astoria, growing close to her even through his transition, but dating her sister daphne had been the worst thing to ever happen to him, from start to finish. he was finally able to escape her, only after slaughtering his own family by accident. the next year had been a blur; compelling strangers for shelter and food, moving across the country until he stopped in the town of woodsboro one fateful night for gas.

and now he’s here, desperately trying to control his hunger so he doesn’t kill the only woman who has shown him kindness since astoria. it makes his head hurt and his stomach ache, feeling like he could peel his own skin from his body if he doesn’t consume blood again. even his gums are sore where his fangs are hidden, as if they’re begging to protrude. there’s something about salem that makes him even hungrier, wishing he could bite at her smooth skin, leaving teeth marks across the entirety of her pretty body. maybe it’s because he has a crush on her too, convinced he was falling for her from the second she saved him from the cellar. he wants to kiss her perfect lips too, preferably without hurting her in the process. 

they leave the car in the driveway, salem picking the lock on the front door and getting herself inside. regulus waits at the threshold of the door, unable to continue yet because he hasn’t been invited in. it doesn’t take long for him to hear the first scream and smell the scent of blood in the air, knowing salem had gotten to work, probably attacking the woman in her bed.

dark veins swim beneath regulus’s eyes, the thirst making him lunge forward despite the threshold stopping him. salem is dragging the woman down the stairs, blood blossoming beneath her clothing and leaving a trail of it on the hardwood flooring. she’s thrashing and crying, the lacerations on her body leaking more and making regulus ache with need.

it scares him a little, how even though detective williams is the one who’s bleeding, who he really wants to bite is salem. she’s dressed in a leather jacket and black bikini top, her large breasts covered in blood splatter. her pants hug her curves perfectly, making his veins course beneath his eyes again, staring at her even though his bloodlust is coming from her victim. “make her invite me in… i’m starving.” 

[i-eat-worlds]

Alex & Friends Part 11: Dirty Laundry

te-he. That’s all I’m gonna say. cw: betrayal, light institutional ickyness, little bit of a creepy dialogue

After about ten minutes for everyone to set their stuff down, order some food and use the restroom, Eric gathered everyone around the table for a team meeting. Alex snacked on a chicken skewer while Teri set up her laptop and connected to the wi-fi. Once Sil had returned (what was he even doing), Eric stood up to begin. The tension in the room was palpable, so thick you could cut it with a knife. “I’m just gonna say it, because we’re all thinking it,” He started. “Nobody except the people in this room and Rudick, should’ve known what safehouse we were going to.” Eric paused to let that information sink in. “Anybody have anything to explain this?”

“I had a pigeon tail as a look out. No drones were following us.” Aarav said. He stuffed several fries into his mouth. “I checked everything for trackers. It was clean.” Teri added.

“Nobody was following us.” Sil said.

“There's no way that it’s Rudick.” Avia said in disbelief.

Eric scrubbed a hand over his face. “I mean who else? Maybe she was just careless, but nobody but her knew early enough to plan an ambush like that.”

“Maybe. That's not her though,” Teri shook her head. “I can look at the database, see if it’s been accessed by anybody who shouldn’t. The encryption on that thing is something, though.”

“Do that,” Eric said. “I just know who else would’ve had access.”

Then, it hit her. It hit her so hard it had to have been audible. Her handler. He would’ve been informed what safehouse she was at. Fear lanced in her chest at the thought. If she couldn’t trust him, her own handler, who could she trust? But then again, how much did she really know about him? As far as she knew, his name was seventy-three.

“There's-There’s somebody else.” Alex said. All the heads in the room turned to her. “My handler, he would’ve known.” A beat of silence passed before Teri spoke. “I’ll look into it. Who’s your handler?” Alex bit her lip. “I don’t know the name. He used the callsign seventy-three.”

“You don’t know your handler’s name?” Joseph said, shocked. “Not all of us get a big face to face meeting in 2A every time we need a brieng.” Alex snipped, placing her elbows on the table.

“He’s not too creative.” Teri remarked, tapping the spacebar. “Seventy-three is just his management ID number. Not too many people out in INSUPA intelligence.” She turned the computer around. “Real name Jacob Tindley. Forty-Five, been working in INSUPA intelligence for nearly thirty years.”

“What’s on his record? Anything on the COI sheet?” Eric asked, leaning in closer.

“Record isn’t too bad. Spent most of his time working relatively successfully long-term undercover assignments. Got some big fish, honestly.” She kept scrolling. “Pretty high agent turnover rate, even for his department.” Teri wrinkled her nose. “Look at the COI sheet. He’s got several LLCs registered under his name. Weird on its own, but this one-” She pointed to one called Erico Holdings. “-was flagged a day ago for an exchange of money with Raven Industries. I know because I flagged it.” She took a pause. “This is a direct, monetary connection with Albert Zorland and his mercenaries. I should’ve seen this way earlier.” Alex swallowed, feeling nauseous. “That bastard.” She cursed.

Joseph’s nostrils flared. “Asshole.” “I’ll start compiling a report, and find a way to get it to Rudick.” Teri said.

“Good.” Eric said, “Though there is a chance that once Tindley realizes we're onto him, he’ll take everything and run. He’s already been paid something for the info.”

“If Zorland has one, he might have another. And we know that INSUPA is shit at investigating andybody who’s been here for so long.” Joseph said. “Especially if it's supposed to be secret.”

Alex leaned back in her chair. “So we capture him ourselves. Record a confession. I could ask for a meeting.” She rolled her shoulders back. “He thinks he’s smarter than me. He’d do it.” Eric nodded. “Any objections.” The team shook their heads. “Let's do it.”

***

For the second time that day, Alex found herself punching in her handler's phone number again. She gave the robotic voice her identication code number and codename, then waited for him to pick up. “Good afternoon, Shevchenko.” Alex held up a finger to her lips, reminding everyone else to be quiet before she answered. “Good afternoon, seventy-three,” She said, trying to keep her nerves in check.

“I wasn’t expecting another call from you so soon.” Alex tried not to squirm at his voice, now that she knew what he was. “I was ambushed on the way to the safe house . Don’t trust the team they had me with.” Her fingers twitched. “I need to get out.”

“That’s the girl I trained,” Tindley said. Yesterday, the words would’ve made Alex smile. Now it made her want to throw up. “I’ll get something set up overnight. Meet me tomorrow, eight o’clock, Greenwich Park Pond, the one near the deer park. ”

“Thank you, Seventy-Three.” Alex said, going her best to make it sound genuine.

“No, thank you, Alex. For all the work you do.” The line went dead and, hands trembling, she set the phone down.

Tagging: @pigeonwhumps

[hideawaysplace]

Preview of something I'm writing

*some FNAF Movie Spoilers ahead*

Keep people out and keep the place clean, Mike did that, however that “counsellor” neglected to mention he had murdered five kids and hid their corpses inside the animatronic performers of the pizzeria and they were murdering people.

Actually he was now sure that strange face ripping torture device in the parts and service was a creation of Afton, the animatronics probably didn’t know how to operate it and what it did.

Mike was still unclear on things there but he couldn’t get answers anymore, not like he could in the first place, the animatronics seem to tolerate him at the least, if only because of Abby, even when they weren’t influenced by Afton, they didn’t like him, he got that vibe based on the fact they would stare at him with some sort of apprehension.

Or maybe it was just because they didn’t trust adults at all.

He couldn’t fault that, however they should have realized he was at least a good brother, or maybe the Afton fog was too heavy on them and tinted their vision. He wasn’t sure how it all worked.

He was surprised he wasn’t questioned about the pizzeria collapsing, he realized it was likely he was working off book, could be likely, and this was a dark realization, that he wasn’t actually working, but bait that Afton had sent, knowing the animatronics would eventually get him, that “high turnover rate” looked really suspicious now that he looked back on it.

“No one is taking care them anymore, can we go visit them?”

Mike didn’t say no but he didn’t say yes to Abby either, the more and more he thought about it, he felt more sad, the animatronics were kids who had their lives stolen from them, and to top it off, their free will was removed when Afton was around, losing life was bad enough, but they also lost agency.

He tried not to think about it, it gave him nightmares.

“Do… Do your friends visit anymore?” Mike had asked Abby a few weeks ago, knowing the ghost children had lurked around previously.

“No, they don’t anymore, not since the bad man came back,” Abby answered.

Mike nodded.

“He really hurt them Mike, did you see how angry they were at him?”

“Yes I did.”

“I hate him too.”

He was more connected to them then he realized, in the sense that Garett was a victim of Afton also, he had pondered if Garett’s ghost could be around but he wasn’t sure and he didn’t want to needlessly traumatize his sister, as he wasn’t the only one having nightmares.

[deansmom]

Something I’ve spent a good chunk of the last two days thinking about is my management style, and how certain people have told me that I’m too lenient or whatever. And here’s how I see it:

As a store manager, I’ve got two jobs. The first one is keep the store open and running, right? The second one is to keep my staff. Because I cannot keep the store running and y’know, help customers, make money, etc without the rest of my team and a high turnover rate means that I’m spending more time training new people, and they’re spending more resources & money on hiring and training new people. I could argue that the biggest and most important part of my job is keeping my team.

I don’t always say yes. There’s been plenty of times where I’ve had to tell them no, point them in the right direction, have difficult conversations, etc. The difference is that I try to involve my team wherever I can, I’ve always told them that if you give me enough notice, I will do everything I can to make sure you get that day off - if I’m not getting anywhere, I might ask for help finding coverage, but if you told me when you were supposed to, barring a world ending emergency, you’re off that day. I’ll lie to whoever it is above me that you’re out of the state and completely unavailable unless you tell me otherwise.

There’s been a few times where too many people requested a day off and I’ve had to tell them that they’re going to have figure it out amongst themselves. I don’t care if one of you cancels/reschedules your plans or if you guys want to help find coverage, but this is going to be the one time I pull the manager card and say somebody has to be here. I don’t care who, but somebody has to be here.

(Obviously if they need help finding coverage I will also call around, but y’know, that’s one that is really hard.)

The thing is, my team is happy with that compromise, because they know that I could just say no.

If somebody’s having a bad day, or doesn’t feel good, etc? Go sit down for a minute. Eat a snack, close your eyes, go grab some ibuprofen from my emergency bottle in the back. You still don’t feel good? Okay, why don’t you go home, take a nap (at home, in the back, in your car if you so choose, just park where I can see you), etc. Do you know how many times I’ve had to argue with people about going home who are sick?? “I don’t want to leave you all alone” - I’m a big girl, I’ll be okay. I’ll figure it out. You’re more important. If you feel better tonight and I haven’t found someone to close with me, you can come back and close up with me. I just need somebody there while I count the registers. Worst case scenario, I’ll call somebody from my house to come be in the building with me 😂 it’s okay!

You have a habit of being late? We’ll have a talk about how it isn’t fair leaving someone else alone for that long so often and if it becomes a chronic problem that I can tell you’re trying to fix, but it isn’t clicking? Guess what, you’re going to be opening. I’m not going to put you in a position to fail, and I’m not going to put someone else in a situation that they’re not comfortable with.

I care about my team. This is retail, we’re not saving lives here, as long as we’re all being respectful of each other and our time, and you understand that there’s rules I have to follow, I will do my absolute damndest to help you where I can. I want you to have a life outside of this job. I want work to bring you some sort of fulfillment or joy when it can. I want to help you grow out of this job.

So, am I maybe a little more lenient than other people would be? Sure. But I also have a self sufficient, strong team that doesn’t need me to hold their hand or need to be babysat. I trust them to do the jobs they were hired for until they give me a reason not to, and they return that favor by being damn good at their jobs. Which is more than I can say for a lot of my peers.

[jehrohm]

Idea For Restaurant/Bar

Okay, so imagine you go into a restaurant and you look at the menu. Everything on it seems a tiny bit over-priced, but it’s a cool place with super-friendly staff so you don’t mind. You order your food and drinks, have a good time, have some friendly banter with the waitress and everyone is generally having a good time. Then you get your receipt and see a 10%-20% discount and now the once over-priced food has actually become quite a steal! What is the cause of this mysterious discount, you may ask Well, from the moment you entered the restaurant, the staff have been keeping track on how polite you’ve been throughout your stay and if you go through the whole experience without being an asshole, a Karen, or just a generally irritating person then congratulations! You qualify for the “Decent Human Being Discount!” Then there can be an added discount for the excessively polite/kind people. That way, only terrible customers who treat minimum wage workers like trash have to pay the full price! I imagine that this system can only increase crew morale by giving them the ability to exact monetary retribution on bad customers (a huge source of stress, anxiety, and general bad times) thus giving the restaurant a good turnover rate while simultaneously punishing terrible customers and rewarding good behaviour!

Now I’m not sure how “Good behaviour” will be tracked. Maybe a checklist per order sheet tracking how many times a table said please or thank you and demerit points? The only pitfall I can think of is potential discrimination and prejudice from the staff making them less likely to give the discount to certain people, but the main idea is that you don’t want to lose good employees because of bad customers, so if you hire good, decent, competent employees, they will have a place to work that has their (and everybody’s) best interest at heart.