#i hate my deli job but at least this one pays well

[ibelieveinahappilyeverafter]

Text from work: Can you come in a couple of hours early?

Me, suffering from a pulled back muscle and/or thrown out back, a bad chronic pain day, swelling in my fingers, and the lingering stress of waiting for my testosterone to be insurance approved: ...Sorry I’m busy right up until my scheduled shift. 

[subpar-ghoulfriend]

Let’s have a baby

yandere!EraserMicx PREGNANT!Reader 

A terrible mix up leading to an accidental pregnancy? Or something more intentional? Either way now you were pregnant with (none other than the beloved power couple heroes) Eraserhead and Present Mic’s child. Time to discuss how co parenting is going to work. 

TW: pregnancy, artificial insemination, yandere elements, mentions of stalking, alludes to potential custody battle

You had been avoiding the two men for the past week, which was challenging seeing as they managed to find your phone number, address, and place of work. Any time you blocked their calls they got a new number. Two Pro Heroes versus a twenty something civilian, it was only a matter of time until you were cornered.

Now the couple stood between you and your apartment. You had a long shift at your job as a pet groomer and just wanted to get some rest.

Present Mic was the first to speak. "Hey lil momma, we heard you had work today so we brought you some dinner. We thought we could talk over a nice meal."

You had no response. You were tired, both physically and emotionally. You had been put through the ringer ever since meeting them at your doctors office. It was a total Jane the Virgin situation. You went in for an assessment about some supposed ovarian cysts and unknowing left artificially inseminated. There was a supposed mix up, a digital glitch that somehow merged your chart with the surrogates - apparently your names were super similar. Two weeks later you were called back into the doctor's office and informed of what took place. And now you were in this living nightmare.

And the two heroes had nothing to do with the error. There was totally a surrogate. They hadn't paid off your provider. And why would they? You had never met them - although given their patrols they may have seen you once or twice...

They were tearful when they were informed of the mix up, they had been waiting patiently through the whole process and now everything was thrown in chaos. They offered to compensate you for your service which sent you into a blind rage. They just assumed you would carry a child, a child with half of your DNA, and then give YOUR baby away. Rationally you understood that they had planned to be be the only parents to the child, but that was with a professional surrogate who understood the process, who didn't want the child in their life, just happy to help out a loving couple. But that wasn't you, you grew up wanting to be a mom, and now they would take that from you.

What if they tried to legally take sole custody of the baby? Surely they had some pull in the judicial system. Besides, they were a solid couple with money, while you were alone with no family and working two jobs. The thought made you sick to your stomach.

You were shaking as you tried to push past them. Maybe they would just disappear if you ignored them, a girl could dream. But instead they tagged along inside. Albeit you weren’t fighting them on it, you knew this had to happen eventually.

Aizawa easily found the cluttered dining table in your small apartment. You flinched when the loud one tried to help you shrug off your backpack. Taking a seat on the couch you waited for them to start berating you.

"Come sit at the table, dinner is getting cold," Eraser spoke for the first time.

"I'll eat later, I'm not hungry."

"You may not be, but the baby needs to eat."

You glared, how dare they insinuate you didn't know what your child needed. If your body was hungry, you ate. If you were full the baby was full too.

But, you complied, not wanting to argue, "Fine, but I ate a snack not too long ago."

As you ate, Mic kept you company, picking at some left overs, they clearly ate before their visit. Aizawa was rummaging through your place but you managed to hold your tongue until he began throwing things out of your fridge.

"What are you doing?" You hissed, getting up out of your seat.

"Mic and I will bring you groceries tomorrow. The food you have is barely safe for an adult, let alone a fetus."

"Are you kidding me? It's not like I'm chugging alcohol and living off Twinkies. Hey! I just bought those turkey slices. How is turkey bad?" You whined.

To make sure you wouldn't dig the food out trash he dumped it out of his container.

"Zashi, don't let me forget to empty the trash on our way out. Do you know how much salt is in deli meat? And there's no way you can drink any of this while you're pregnant." He gestures to the cans of soda.

As the frustration built you had to fight back tears. They couldn't come in to your home and start throwing out your things.

"Some of us don't make ridiculous money, I'm buying what I can afford and the doctor never had any problem with my health." You hissed.

Hizashi felt the tension thickening, "Hey hey hey, it's okay. Sho and I will go get you some good stuff. We just gotta watch out for you and baby."

And that was the end of your resolve, you stomped past the Hero and locked yourself in your bedroom. Finally tears began to drip down your cheeks.

Back in your kitchen Mic was chiding his boyfriend for being so tough on you.

"So I should just back down while she stuffs herself with junk food?"

Mic gave him a shrug, showing him a bottle on your counter, "At lest she's taking her prenatal vitamins?"

Grabbing the keys to your apartment Aizawa instructed Mic to wait with you while he got you better groceries. He would make copies of your keys on his was back.

You prayed they would leave soon. You were laying in your bed having cried yourself out. Barely into your second month of pregnancy. You still had to endure this for at least seven more months, but most likely much longer.

Next thing you knew you were opening your eyes and the clock read seven AM. By now your uninvited guests must be gone. Nervously you sat up, praying that you'd skip the morning sickness just once this week. You had always had a weak stomach and even the doctor was surprised you were already experiencing the symptom. Unfortunately the minute your feet touched the floor you knew what was coming. You sprinted to the restroom, not even checking to see if the duo had left.

God this was terrible, you didn't just hate throwing up, you were terrified of it. What if you started and never stopped? But it did come to an end. You wiped the water from your eyes and took a moment before standing from the floor. You screamed when a hand slid under your arm, helping you up. Another set of feet rushed to the bathroom.

" What's wrong?" Hizashi huffed as he skid to a stop.

You pulled arm free from Aizawa's grasp. "What are you two still doing here?"

You turned in the faucet to rinse your mouth. Trying to calm your stress, the nausea was trying to return.

Undeterred the scruff pulled your hair into a bun before rubbing your back. You debated returning to bed but that wouldn't get them out of your apartment. You told them you need to sit down, both of them nodding, still wearing their concerned expressions. They got you a glass of water before joining you on the couch. Stubborn men, you sat at the end of the couch so they couldn't both sit, but Mic decided to perch himself on the armrest.

He started petting your hair, "You feelin better little listener?" You nodded in response.

"I got you more food, let us know if your hungry."

You sighed in defeat, "I'm barely two months pregnant, I can fend for myself. What did you all want to talk about?"

You anxiously placed a hand on your stomach. Both men felt their hearts flutter recognizing your maternal instincts kicking in.

Aizawa let Mic begin, he was the more gentle of the two.

"Well, we figured we got off to a rough start. You got put in a tough situation. We shouldn't have assumed you didn't want a child so we're not mad at how you stormed out. But either way we expect to be in our baby's life. The two of us talked it over and we don't want to fight you if you want to be in their life too. So if you wanna be the mommy we're cool with it."

You could blame your reaction on your hormones for your response but you didn't, "Geez thank you so much for allowing me to be in MY child's life."

Aizawa placed a hand on the back of your neck, giving you a gentle massage. "Okay then, the three of us are gonna have a baby. That means you have to stop ignoring us. We can raise the baby together, without involving anyone else. But if we have to, we can always go the legal route for the baby's best interest." 

He knew it was a low blow, but the couple needed you to stop fighting them. Your eyes snapped to his and you shook your head in protest.

"Okay then we're all the same page," Aizawa reassured you.

Mic cheered, "Now we can focus on the fun stuff."

"Hun," Eraserhead caught his attention. "There's still a few more important things to figure out. We don't want you going back to that doctor. They're incompetent. We scheduled you an appointment with another's clinic for next week. Okay?"

You couldn't find your voice after how easily he threatened to take your baby. So you just nodded. Half listening.

"Good. We also went ahead and programmed our numbers into your phone. We need to be able to check in with you."

"Okay, but I can't use my phone at one of my jobs."

"About that lil momma," Mic started. "You work a lot, which is totally bad ass, but we don't think you leave enough time to rest and take care of yourself."

You tried to protest but Aizawa cut you off, "You also shouldn't be working around so many animals. Even though we love animals, they can be unpredictable and one dog can trigger all the rest into a frenzy."

You were dumbfounded, "I've never heard of anything like that happening. One of my coworkers was pregnant last year, she worked until her maternity leave. Plus I need to be able to pay my bills. And don't offer to compensate me again."

"Why do you have to view it as compensation? We just want to take care of the mother of our child. Just think about it. Mic and I have to go take care of some business but we'll be back later this week."

---

Back at their home Hizashi was dramatically splayed on their bed.

"Babe why are you pouting?" Aizawa asked.

"Why can't we just bring her home already?"

Aizawa sympathized with his better half, but they needed to be methodical. He reminded Hizashi that they didn't need to cause her even more stress, especially so early into the pregnancy. If they played their cards right they would have their happy little family soon enough.

If they could ease you in to the relationship everything would be easier in the long run. They had been managing just fine until now, they could wait a few more months.

He joined Hizashi on the couch. Mic was comforting himself the way he usually did when he felt like this. He was scrolling through the countless photos they had collected since their chance encounter with you over a year ago. 

[mulderist]

Wicked Game

Chapter 1  // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3  // Read on A03

Washington, D.C - 1948. Fox Mulder is a detective on the top vice unit; scandal, corruption, and lies come with the territory. He is forced to investigate a fellow officer and finds the lies go much deeper than the truth.

tagging @today-in-fic​

CHAPTER 4

3rd District Precinct Washington, DC

The modest forensics lab was situated in the basement of the precinct building. A fitting location. It was always a strange trip downstairs, almost like walking into a spook house at an amusement park. You’d notice every creak from the antiquated filing cabinets, there were shelves of textbooks, yellowing medical journals, rows of glass jars containing shriveled specimens. The morgue was tucked away in a corner with a series of metal doors on the tiled wall and a surprisingly shiny slab resting comfortably over a drain in the floor. No more room at the inn by the look of it. Autopsy tools hung neatly on the wall like a butcher’s knife set; at least in this corner the boys kept things tidy. I walked a little deeper into the lab and saw Byers flipping through an issue of National Geographic. I cleared my throat as I approached.

“Mulder. What brings you to our neck of the woods?” Byers asked, dropping the magazine in his lap. The 3rd was fortunate enough to have three pillars of forensic science in Melvin Frohike, Richard Langley, and John Byers. They had their finger on the pulse of crime investigation techniques and were eager to share their findings with practically anyone who would listen. A good deal of the jargon went over my head but it enhanced my vocabulary to say the least. 

“Frohike called me regarding Spender’s case,” I replied, “We might have a golden ticket on our hands.” 

“He and Langley have been upstairs for a while but they should return soon. Have a seat.” He motioned to a wooden stool near a cluttered lab counter. I obliged. Byers was not much of a talker when he was by himself so his attention shifted back to busywork. I picked at the rough edge of my thumb watching Byers place a metal canister on the end of the counter. He opened it then took a sample of a dark substance, added it to the boiling water, and adjusted the flame on the Bunsen burner changing the intensity. He looked up at the wall clock and turned back to his experiment. The color change in the beaker shifted to a dark brown. Byers gave it a stir and covered the top. He sensed my curiosity.

“Coffee will be ready in a few minutes if you’d like some.”

I laughed and politely declined.

“Don’t you have a percolator?”

“Now where’s the fun in that?” Just then Frohike and Langley entered the lab.

“Oh good. You’re here,” said Frohike as he reached for a nearby lab coat, slipped into the sleeves and flipped it up onto his shoulders.

“We had a whale of a meeting upstairs,” Langley added, shoving a worn out briefcase across the counter making an open space, “Looks like Spender’s dirty little secret is out.”

“Krycek, my informant, pegged him as a hop head. I knew Spender could be a little on edge but I thought he was too straight-laced to use heroin.” I folded my arms. “What did Skinner have to say?” 

“The boss was none too pleased to find out that one of their top boys was on the horse.” Langley stated.

“And a thoroughbred at that. He was probably dipping into Vincenti’s supply.” Frohike remarked as he adjusted his glasses.

I sighed and shook my head. Byers poured his scientific brew into a small mug for himself and took a sip before saying, “Well there’s your motive.”

His colleagues shrugged in agreement as they each grabbed a cup of coffee.

“Makes you wonder if he was just starting out and got careless,” Langley said.

“Or he had been knee deep in the shit since making a deal, overconfidence took over, he couldn’t pay up and then blammo,” I said as I stood and leaned against the lab counter. Something about this seemed too easy. We had the gunman, we had a relatively clear motive, and we had the Captain scrambling to stuff this whole matter back under the rug. I needed to track down The Titan and put the squeeze on him for some information. Though with a newly buried partner I would need a second set of eyes on my surveillance job.

“Well boys, it’s been a treat but I have to make some telephone calls.”

“Hey Mulder,” Frohike called, “you should take some time for yourself; slow down for a day maybe.”

“That’s what whiskey is for.” I replied as I left the lab and took the stairs, not knowing what I’d walk into when I hit the bullpen.

Several officers didn’t bat an eye as I passed by their desks and I continued to avoid any eye contact as I glanced at my wristwatch. I reached my desk and pulled the phone closer as I took a seat, picking up the receiver. My index finger hovered over the rotary and just as I started to pull the number I heard the distinct baritone of Captain Skinner calling my name. It wasn’t bellowed so I knew I wasn’t being called in to serve detention for misconduct. I placed both hands on my desk and stood then met him at his office door. He blocked the threshold.

“Have you heard?” he asked.

“Yes. I was just down in forensics. I came up here to get started on what I presume is a surveillance assignment.”

Skinner thought for a moment.

“I want you to get a hold of Krycek. He’s going to accompany you on this detail.”

“Oh he’ll be thrilled.”

“Go on then,” Skinner said as he tensed his jaw, “And get me some goddamn answers.”

------

Georgetown Waterfront 1:05 p.m.

  Rain tapped angrily against the roof of the unmarked cruiser as I sat parked down the block from the Piccola Italia restaurant. It was a hole in the wall but a well known haunt for some of Vincenti’s crew. I hoped Carlo Lodi would be tempted by a lunch special of pasta arrabiata and cheap wine. My deli sandwich and soda I grabbed before the cloudburst paled in comparison, but I needed something in my stomach. I took another bite and watched a series of passersby through the streaks of rain on the window. I was early. I adjusted the radio dial and finished my lunch. With a swipe of the wiper blade I noticed a black coupe pull up in front of the restaurant. The door popped open and a hulking figure exited the passenger side, adjusted his jacket, and stepped under the awning out of the rain. He waited for his driver to join him before opening the front door. Just then there was a knock on my window. Krycek had his collar pulled up and drips of water cascaded off the brim of his hat. I rolled the window down to get a better look.

“You gonna let me in?”

“I don’t know if I can afford it.”

“Damnit Mulder...”

“It’s unlocked, Krycek.” I said as I looked at the empty passenger seat then rolled up the window, catching a splash of rain. He crossed in front of the car and waited for traffic to clear before opening the door. He sighed as he removed his hat and brushed off the rainwater. 

“Alright fill me in,” Krycek said. I turned down the radio and had the last swig of soda. 

“Recognize the car down there?” I began. He leaned forward and caught a glimpse as the wiper blade swiped the windshield.

“That looks like Carlo Lodi’s coupe.”

“He’s not alone. His lunch date is a suit that’s either a driver or a business partner, if you get my meaning. They’ve been in there for maybe ten minutes so if I move I can get what I need before his main course arrives.”

“Okay then,” Krycek said as he put his hat back on. 

“I’m just going to have a nice conversation. I need to get him talking. If I get him back to the precinct I can be more heavy-handed.” I adjusted my fedora and touched my weapon for reassurance. 

“You’re not saying “we” a whole lot. What the hell did you need me for?”

“At first I had you joining me on spoiling Lodi’s lunch but then I thought he might recognize you as a mole so you get to stay put. Keep the car running. If things take a turn I want you to head to the 3rd; with or without me. Ask for Captain Skinner.”

“Aw shucks this feels just like old times,” Krycek replied as he fished out a beat-up pack of Morleys shaking a stick loose. He pulled it out with his teeth then tipped his head down as he flipped his lighter, marrying flame to paper, blessing the squad car with a halo of smoke. Car tires splashed through wet pavement and I took that as my cue to get this show on the road. I opened the door and stepped onto the curb. The rain had slacked up as I walked. I narrowly avoided an umbrella being opened by an old man exiting a taxi. He continued on like I wasn’t even there.

Piccola Italia’s brick facade with its windows dressed in red and white gingham curtains fit the stereotype, as much as I hate to admit. But none of that mattered when I stepped inside and was hit with the aroma of bread, oil, and garlic. If I didn’t have a more pressing obligation I would have claimed a table and ordered a plate. I flashed my badge to the young woman at the cashier’s counter and she quickly nodded then went back to straightening menus. I moved past dark wood tables with diners enjoying an array of pastas and soups. My instinct led me through the dining room and I happened upon a curved booth tucked in a back corner near the kitchen. Lodi was there with his driver, luckily still just the two of them. He was reading the sports page from the newspaper and folded it in half then tapped a finger against it.

“That fuckin’ horse is gonna make me a stack of green, I’m telling ya.” He boasted with a laugh.

“Excuse me, Mr. Lodi?” I asked as I approached his table. He put down the paper and took a sip from his glass of wine and gave me a quizzical look.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah I believe you can.” I carefully reached for my badge and flipped it open. “Detective Fox Mulder. I just want to chat.”

“And what makes you think I want to listen, detective?”

“I see you got the sports section there. What’s your game? Baseball, football?”

Lodi shot a look at his driver and gestured towards my direction. 

“This guy...if you must know Mr Mulder, I like the races.”

I took a seat across from him and folded my arms. Then I truly realized how much of a mountain this man was. His square jawline met a thick neck that was being held together by a stiff shirt collar and silk tie. I was waiting for it to burst open with each swallow. Broad shoulders and a barrel chest led to limbs that were solid muscle. The ring on his left pinky finger was about the size of a doorknob and had an insignia in the center. His pin-striped suit looked custom given his proportions. I got a little too comfortable and leaned forward in my chair, threading my fingers together.

“About a week ago, did you talk to a Jeffrey Spender about a horse race. Maybe come to collect a bet?” The mention of the name caught Lodi’s attention and he picked up on my code. Before he could respond, a waiter saddled up to the table and delivered a plate of pasta with a fiery red sauce. Lodi took another sip of wine.

“If I had to come collect you know there was a good reason for it,” he said as he twisted pasta on his fork then took a bite. The other man at the table started to undo his cuffs and slowly roll up his shirt sleeves.

“Well on behalf of the 3rd District precinct, I’d like to invite you over for a little heart to heart.,” I maintained a relaxed facade even though I knew what was coming, “We’ve got evidence placing you at a bar in Adams Morgan the same night as Spender.” Lodi ate another bite and closed his eyes savoring the spice. As he took his wine glass he raised his pinky finger which was the signal. I blinked and then I swear to God I saw enough stars to grace the American flag. A meaty Italian right hook slammed into my cheek like a sledgehammer. Glad he wasn’t wearing a ring. I was knocked sideways to the floor and I tried to catch the nearby table but instead let a dining chair unceremoniously break my fall. I never could take a hit. The few patrons in the restaurant barely took notice at the commotion. Carlo dabbed at the corner of his mouth and rose from his seat.

“Thank you, Theo,” he said as he moved over to pat my assailant’s shoulder. The enforcer’s goon cracked his knuckles and stood looking very pleased with himself. I moved my tongue to the inside of my cheek tasting fresh blood. I adjusted myself to sit upright, though not ready to stand just yet. I snatched a neatly folded napkin from one of the empty place settings and tried to dam the small crimson river from my mouth. Carlo crouched down next to me.

“So, you thought you could just walk into this fine establishment, disrupt my meal, and arrest me?”

“Until now it hasn’t stopped me,” I mumbled against the napkin. 

“Unless you got a warrant in hand, I’m not going anywhere. And this business with who was it...Spender? That’s done and so are you.”

“Why don’t you just bump me off like you did him?” I asked as I tossed the bloody napkin aside. Carlo thought for a moment and leaned in closer.

“I like seeing you get knocked around every once in a while, Detective Mulder.  Puts a smile on my face.” He blessed me with two exaggerated slaps on the cheek then got to his feet. “I think we’re finished here. Theo, show this son of a bitch the way out.” Carlo returned to his meal and raised a glass in my direction. I was still on my ass. I reached for my fedora and Theo took the liberty of hoisting me to my feet. The gorilla hands that left a new beauty mark gripped my upper arms and shoved me towards the kitchen.

“Easy there junior, my dance card is full.” I said as we moved through a swinging door. I was briefly distracted by the aroma of simmering marinara, stewing beef, and an array of spices.  The sous chef and line cooks unphased by the disturbance continued prepping as I was hustled towards the back door and pushed out into the alley.  I stumbled into the brick wall across the way and before I could turn around to get the final say, the goon slammed the metal door shut.  My head tilted back and I gingerly rolled it from side to side. I adjusted the brim on my hat and shuffled down the alley towards the street.

The rain had passed and I found Krycek parked where I left him. He had a fresh cigarette in his lips and was reclined against the car seat.  I tapped on the window and he unrolled it letting the rhythm of Count Bassie and his orchestra glide onto the sidewalk. 

“Looks like negotiations went well,” he said with a chuckle.

“Yeah you could say that,” I replied. My cheek felt like someone was inflating a balloon under the surface. I needed a drink. A wisp of smoke swirled out of the window and Krycek flicked the butt into a puddle. 

“Take the car back to the precinct.”

“What?”

“You can leave it running with the doors open if you want.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Take some advice I was given earlier today and get some rest. This case isn’t going cold anytime soon.” I watched as Krycek shifted gears and pulled away from the curb. There was a pang of mistrust thinking that the unmarked squad car would end up somewhere along the Potomac; but I also got the suspicion that Alex liked playing detective. Also long as I kept him on a short leash I could use him to my advantage. I crossed the street and walked the block until I found a phone booth. Before I slid open the door I had to spit out the stale blood that was collecting in my mouth. My cheek burned like fire. I picked up the receiver and dialed the operator.

“Yes I’m looking for a Dana Scully. Georgetown address.”

[let-it-raines]

Did you see that post floating around about the couple who were dating before they started at an office but didn't tell anyone and everyone kept calling them Jim and Pam and trying to convince them they should date bc they were friendly with each other??? Yeah, you should write that for CS

Nonnie, I did not see it floating around because I, well, don’t really check my feed, but @shireness-says did send it to me to write last night. Then you did too, and it seemed like I had to write a little something!

original post | here |

on ao3 | here |

-/-

This is a bullshit job.

Okay, it’s not, and Emma knows it. It’s a job that’s getting her insurance and enabling her to pay her bills after she lost her last job due to her asshole boss’s gambling problems that burned Queen’s Bail Bonds to the ground. Figuratively, not literally, but Emma really wanted to literally burn it down when it meant she was out of a job. And none of the other bail bonds places in town would hire her because Regina burned a bridge with anyone and everyone she could since she is the actual worst and made enemies with anyone who challenged her. Emma doesn’t exactly have much of an education and has a history that’s a little less than pretty, so after eating three saltine crackers for dinner and considering selling her car for grocery money, she bit the bullet and started applying for office jobs that have always seemed like her worst nightmare.

So, that’s how she got here, sitting in a closed off part of Mass General with no windows and possible mold with a stack of files bigger than her that she’s having to put in the computer because they’re going digital. She’s never thought about medical files before and has assumed they’ve always been digital, but the entire department full of filing cabinets says otherwise.

She’s probably going to be vitamin D deficient by the time she finds another job.

Really, it’s fine. It’s not all that bad. She likes her coworkers, and most days she can listen to music all day and get lost in the repetitiveness of her job. Today Emma’s a little cranky because her car wouldn’t crank this morning, and she should have sold that piece of junk when she had the chance last month.

Spinning in her chair, Emma pops an earphone out and looks across her desk where Mary Margaret and Ruby are talking. They both work in Community Outreach, which is an entirely different department up in the land of people and windows, but their boss sent them to help with the digitization because the hospital realized the temps they hired would take at least six months to do all the work if left to their own devices. Emma wouldn’t mind that, no matter how much she sometimes hates it, because it would mean she has a few more months to figure her shit out.

“Morning, Swan.” Emma groans and leans back in her chair, the wheels squeaking underneath her. Killian stops by her desk, taking a peppermint out of the bowl in the corner, and pops it in his mouth. He’s far too peppy this morning, and she just knows he went for a run this morning and then spent an unnecessary amount of time fixing his hair to give it that disheveled look. She doesn’t understand morning exercise people. They may not be people at all. “How are you today?”

“Exhausted.”

“What? No sleep last night?”

“Only a little.” She shrugs and holds her hand out. He tosses her a new peppermint, and she quickly unwraps it, the mint soothing her throat. The cold weather outside always dries out her throat, and having to walk to work this morning did not help. “My car wouldn’t start this morning, so I think I’m exhausted from walking here and knowing I’m probably going to be out of a car.”

His eyes glance up and down her, lips pressed into a firm line, and she expects him to make a joke that will have her rolling her eyes. Instead, he leans over her desk and presses his cheek to his palm, blinking slowly. “Do you need a ride home? I can give you one after work.”

“I can walk.”

“Swan. It’s no problem.”

Emma sighs and leans back, running her tongue against the peppermint. “You sure?”

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t. Pick you up at five thirty?”

“See you then.”

Killian knocks his knuckles against the wood and flashes her a smile, walking away from her desk and down the hallway to the IT department, where he’ll spend the rest of the day answering calls from elderly doctors who don’t know how to log into their patient portal. Emma watches him walk away, knowing he won’t notice. Winter in Boston may be hell, but it does have benefits, such as the way Killian owns several fitted sweaters that hug his biceps. There are few perks to this job, and even though there are no windows, there are sometimes views.

When he disappears around the corner, Emma goes back to her files, typing in more patient information, when she hears Mary Margaret and Ruby rise from their chairs, heels clicking against the tile. They’ve got Cheshire Cat grins on their faces, every tooth showing, and if Emma ignores them, maybe they’ll go away.

She knows better than to hope for impossible things.

“So,” Ruby starts, incessantly tapping a pen against the desk to make Emma look up. Her desk has one of those tall, barrier-type things around the top because it’s an old secretary’s desk, which is great for hiding out. The problem is that people know to look for her now, and when they do, there’s no way for her to escape unless she wants to roll right out of the room. “He’s taking you home, offering you a ride.”

“Ruby,” Mary Margaret hisses, “don’t say it like that!”

“Why not? That’s what could happen! He takes her home, she invites him inside for some coffee to thank him, and then one thing leads to another…bam! They’re going at it on her couch!”

“Emma is going to file a complaint with HR about you.”

“If it gets she and Jones together, it’ll be worth it. I mean, come on. They’re adorable, and my God, the sexual tension makes me need some water to cool down.”

“Do you guys have anything new to say or is it going to be more trying to convince me to date the IT guy who walks in here to steal our peppermints and fix our computers when they break down three times a day?” Emma asks, half pretending to still be working.

Ruby and Mary Margaret stop looking at each other and look at her, brows to their foreheads and smiles slipping away more and more each second. “He comes in here to flirt, and you know it.”

Emma shrugs and grabs another peppermint. “He’s a friendly guy, easy to talk to, likes peppermints. I have peppermints.”

“Oh my God,” Ruby groans, dropping her head to the desk. “You’re killing me. Absolutely killing me.”

“You know, Emma, there’s no rule against office romances,” Mary Margaret suggests. “I think you should give it a shot.”

Emma rolls her eyes and keeps typing in patient information. “Maybe I will, but maybe I’m not going to ask him out until my time here is up just to torture the both of you.”

She has no intention of asking him out, but they don’t have to know that.

They gasp, and Emma knows she’s won this round. It doesn’t matter, though, because they’ll be back at her desk to have this conversation again after the next few times Killian walks through the office. And he does walk through the office at least seven more times that day. He has to fix her computer, then Ruby’s, and then there’s a near catastrophe where the digital filing system shuts down. Another time he comes in before lunch, asking everyone in the office if they’d like anything from the hospital deli, and then he comes back with salads for everyone, eating with the three of them and Jeff from IT. Once more he comes in for a peppermint, saying he just couldn’t have his breath smell any longer, but he stays and chats for fifteen minutes about a new ice skating rink he’s thinking of taking his friend Rob’s kid to. He suggests Emma should check it out, and then Ruby makes a sexual joke about ice skating, which is something Emma didn’t even know could be sexual if you weren’t a professional who could do all those lifts and dances or whatever. Emma is fit, but she couldn’t do that.

Finally, he comes into the office a little before five thirty, his car keys in hand, and Emma grabs her things and walks with him out of the office and back up into sunlight, which she forgot existed. She’ll barely get to see any of it, however, because it’s December and the sun basically sets at noon.

She is definitely going to have a vitamin D deficiency soon. Maybe she should start taking vitamins.

She and Killian talk about their days during the ride to her apartment, but mostly Emma sits in silence and listens to the radio, letting her eyes rest from staring at small print and a computer screen all day. It’s an adjustment for her to work regular hours, and all she wants now is to consume an entire pizza and have a large glass of wine.

Or two. Two large glasses of wine sound good.

When Emma opens her eyes, Killian is parked outside her building, his car idling, and she blinks herself away, undoing her seatbelt and sitting up. “Thank you for the ride, Jones.”

“Not a problem, love.”

She twists to the side, looking at him, and thinks of what Ruby and Mary Margaret said earlier.. “You want to come in for some coffee?”

“You know I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I have caffeine this late.”

Emma shrugs and leans over the console to press her lips to his, lingering as Killian’s hand comes to cup her cheek, his fingers threading through her ponytail as he tugs her closer. He tastes like peppermint, and it makes Emma smile.

“I know,” Emma sighs, pressing her forehead to his. “But I need coffee if I’m going to stay up until a normal hour, and I need to deal with my car tonight. Do you think it’s a goner?”

Killian pinches his brows and kisses her again, his tongue teasing her bottom lip, but he pulls back and crosses her arms over her chest, waiting for his real answer, even if she already knows. “I think we can look at it, have a mechanic look at it, and then look at it again when you disagree with the mechanic, but I think it may be time to lay the bug to rest. It had a good run, and I will always hold dear the memory of you nearly hitting me with it.”

“You can’t say I don’t make a great first impression.” She laughs at the memory and the way Killian had told her to go fuck herself, but quickly her heart drops and she groans, wondering how many curses she can mutter in a thirty-second time frame. Probably not as many as Killian did that day. The British know how to curse. “I don’t have the money for a new car. What am I going to do?”

“I can take you to work. We’re going to be at the same place for at least another month or so. And who knows? Maybe you’ll get another job at the hospital. And if not, I can still take you to work and pick you up. We’ve been sleeping at each other’s places most nights anyway. If you don’t want that, there are several different public transportation options. But I think Mary Margaret and Ruby would die if I took you to work in the morning.”

He waggles his brows and smirks, leaning into her, and Emma can’t help the smile that creeps up on her. They didn't want it to be a thing that they were dating because Emma wanted to get the job on her own, so they never told anyone. “They would actually die. I mean, seriously. They told me I should invite you up for coffee and then ride you on my couch, and you know, that doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea.”

“Well, I would have been up for that even without the coffee invitation, love.”

“That a double entendre?”

“Of course.” He reaches over and grabs her hand, threading their fingers together. “When do you think you’re going to tell them we started dating months before you started at the hospital?”

Emma shrugs and leans back, smiling. “Eh, I think one day we should walk in holding hands and let them think it’s new.”

“Tomorrow? I could give you a mark on your collarbone to really drive them crazy.”

“Absolutely not, but nice try buddy.” She nods her head toward the building. “Come inside with me and let’s get dinner. Pizza sound good?”

“Pizza sounds fantastic, love.”

-/-

They walk inside holding hands a month later, and Mary Margaret stumbles while Ruby drops her coffee over her computer’s keyboard. Killian is the one who fixes it, and Ruby is still so shocked she can’t interrogate him while he works.

Emma has a feeling Ruby Lucas has never been shocked silent, and Emma can barely hold in her laughter.

She never does tell them how long she and Killian were dating. She doesn’t think their computers could take it.

-/-

She does find them in their office a year later, though, when they’re back in Community Outreach and she’s working in the conference center – which has windows! – and shows them the ring on her finger.

Ruby, thankfully, didn’t have any coffee in her hands.

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Blood tears and sea breeze

Hi! I wrote this at 1:46 in the morning, in the middle of a night shift on a saturday and I have some things to say:

It took me so long to finish this story for many reasons, first of all I got a full time job at the hospital and we got a lot of covid and not covid patients so that was physically and emotionally draining. Secondly I just lost inspiration, my life became one responsibility over the other and I had no more time to me, so I went in autopilot mode and tried to do the best I could.

And suddenly the year ended and I realized how much I missed, and finally something wonderful and magical happened. The love of my life proposed to me and I felt alive again,

I change jobs, I'm now a Resident so now I'll have even less time than before but I have so much more hope for the future. So here it is the end, may we read each other again, but for now this the conclusion of this story, told in three parts because it became longer than I thought

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

Warnings: ANGST, mental health issues, graphic depictions of violence, blood, cursing, mentions of sexual assault, mentions of sex, substance abuse.

Summary: The not so peaceful town of Broadchurch face dead again, while Alec Hardy continues his journey to redemption will this school teacher be the key to solve the mystery or just another victim of the ever watching evilness that seems to reside in the town.

First Previous Next Last

Chapter 21: Shadows...

The light inside the narrow corridor was flickering, maybe some old installation, how appropriate, the youngest of the Langfors thought, and old dusty and cold place, to keep the one responsible for all her tragedy.

Looking at her in the tiny space, covering her body with a blanket, she looked pathetic and yet she dare to have that stupid concerned look on her eyes, like she was the one about to go to jail, and not the other way around. Because her plan had worked, it all have worked out so perfectly, and now all that was left for Ash to do was saying goodbye.

Y/N was silent waiting for her to say anything, but she couldn't speak, no yet, she needed to see her like that, to keep in her mind that memory, she needed to remind the pain, because those were the only moments she felt alive.

"Was it something I did?" Y/N had a cautious tone, almost afraid to upset her, it was almost offensive, I'm not going to explode, she tought, I'm not a lunatic, but the familiarity of her concern pleased her. "How can I fix it?" Y/N plead and Ashley finally and looked at her, the fluorescent ceiling lamps gave the white room a blue shine but she was almost sure, as always, that the blue light was coming from her.

"It was just a card mommy" She said and before she could add something about how all the other children at preschool made one, the quick and hard stinging pain of a crop aimed at her side made her five year old body fall to the ground.

"Just a card? A card to a whoreson peasant" He and his stupid need to call himself royalty. There was no ounce of royal blood in him since at least three generations prior but he couldn't left it rest. "No daughter of mine will go around making a fool of herself by fraternizing with bastards in need, you are not some common whore and you will not bring shame to this house" he said about to strike another hit with the crop but she run, and left her room to the backyard, they will catch her in no time of course but she just wanted some air.

She didn't understand half of the words his father said, and definitely none of his stupid hate. She felt so alone, so sad and so empty, but she like it out there, she could look at the blue sky and the blue ocean meeting in the horizon, the beach was kilometers from her but was visible from her house, and specially she could see her, the tiny girl always happy and dancing with her mother and her older sisters, she was desperate to talk to her since she spotted her on day from her window, she wanted to know what she did to make her mother hold her like that, to make her father kiss her and give her presents every other day...

Ashley closed her eyes and shut the pain away like she always did, she needed to remember that pain, but then a tiny soft touch on her shoulder make her look up, there she was covered in a beautiful blue light, with a white dress, concerned look on her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" She asked, Y/N had jumped the fence from her house the moment she saw Ashley running. "Is it because your dress is torn? I can fix that, so your mommy won't be mad. Come on." She gave her a hand and she was sure she would never let her go, and for the years to come she didn't, until now.

"He was mine, and you took him, that's what you did" She said finally "Like you always do"

**********

"Forensics are on their way" Katie said once she entered the room again, the blood on the bodies looked fresh enough to know this was recent, other elements of the force have been there the day before arresting Langford and his sister said the parents where upset when she left them...

"Hey, what is a Baronet?" Derek asked, already gloves in hads and protectors on his feet "Is not like a actual royalty is it?"

"No, is the lowest rank and I think you have to pay for it and have land or something, why?" She asked putting on her gloves as well.

"A very old framed portrait of a guy, it says it's a baronet" He said showing it to her. A rapid Google search later and they found out that in fact Mr Langford's grandmother Dame Mildred Langford was the last Baronetess in their line, subsequently his father, Mildred's child born in 1946 chose to not keep the title and the nobility ended there.

There were many signals of adoration towards the woman, but very little towards his father.

"Langford is almost forty, so he was born around 1980, let's asume his father was 20 when he had him...Do you happen to know royalty gossip in broadchurch from the 1960s?" Katie said looking at the necks from the victims, there was a lot of hate and anger in there.

"No but I know someone who might" Ramos took out his phone and start calling "it may take a while, you should check the other room while I'm here... Hola tita? Como estas? Oye me pasas a tito por favor? It's a work thing please" Katie gave him a puzzled look. "My grandmother remarried to a English guy shut up!" He said while she exited the room. "Hola tito, I have a question for you"

The rest of the house was like the exterior, it surely had seen better days, old fashioned furniture and mold growing in some places, the only place remotely modern was in Langford's sister room, all pink an glittery, with 90s pop stars posters on the walls, the place was torn however, someone had been seeking something frantically there, Katie looked in the open window she could see next door house, smaller, and vacant but somehow happier. And in the backyard there was a pile of apparent garbage with flames and smoke coming out of it, with smoke still coming out of it and she run downstairs.

By the time she arrived at the backyard Ramos was already putting down the fire and trying to pick something before it was too late.

It was mostly old photographs in albums in the style of the framed picture in the livingroom. What probably were letters were now completely burn and in the middle of all the ashes there was a wooden box that miraculously haven't succumb to the fire yet.

*********

"Broadchurch police open now" Brian was about to tear the door down but nobody open, and even with Hardy screaming and putting out his gun the place looked abandoned.

"Looks pretty empty" Not only the deli but also the street, it was possible they hadn't open the whole morning "Are you sure she said the deli?" He said looking at the back alley next to the Trader's. But Brian didn't answer, he was trying the phone once again trying to reach her, and Hardy thought of how much would he loved to hear that stupid ringtone of Miller's phone when suddenly the muffled notes of the song he now will love for ever, whatever the fuck it was, came from behind the deli.

They rushed to the door of the back of the restaurant where they probably downloaded supplies and before they could agree on their actions they pushed the door down, of course it was empty apart from some vegetables but the sound was not coming from there, it was coming from behind the door of the freezer, where a fine line of light was coming maybe indicating the last hope they had.

They opened the door and Hardy's heart must be stronger than he had thought because he almost died with horror at the sight of Miller unconscious, with the skin completely pale, and the hair and her lashes covered in frost, with only a tiny mist coming out her mouth indicating she was still alive.

A millisecond after their initial shock they took her out and before she fall asleep again she was conscious enough to see both of the men she loved and to look at Alec and whisper a silent "Thank you"

****

"Maybe it would be easier if you told me how I stole him" you said, with the same tone you use to have for misbehaving children, specially since now you could not see an adult in front of you, only a very scared children, and very sorrow eyes. "I'm pretty sure I was already dating him when I introduce him to you and Charles, we were kind of apart at the time because of the Deli..."

"Oh you really are as stupid as you look don't you" she said irritated, but the superiority in her voice made you think she had bite, and she confirmed it when she continued "Do you happen to know how hard it is to win money with a Deli? Because I certainly don't, that restaurant and your idea of working there would have ruined me if it wasn't because I found a way to save myself"

She then proceeded to explain to you how she, Charles and that monster of a doctor that had treated you before worked together luring young rich men into buying rohypnol to drug innocent girls, only that the "innocent girl" in question happened to be a very alert and awake Ashley, so when they arrived at some hotel or secluded place Charles would extorsion them in order to "keep quiet" Easy money at expenses of creeps, and no victims, until she meet Jonathan.

"I texted Charles to let that one go, and we talked all night, I knew then and there that he loved me and that he was the one... he promised to call the next morning, but you have to appear, with your prudish routine, you stole the only man that ever loved me for me" she said and part of you believed her, but part of you was sure she was lying somehow.

"Then when we meet again he tried to denied it, he tried to pretend he didn't remember, he even proposed to you but at the end he couldn't keep it in for any longer and he came back to me" she said with an expression of triumph in her face like she was looking at something that was not there and for the first time since she arrived you felt angry at her, and disgusted by her smile.

****

"So Langford's father was a crazy old fuck, who hated his father's for loosing the title in order to be one with his people, apparently they have an old factory here in broadchurch, and all his workers love the man, when he died his child try by any means to regain the title and he lost the factory, the land and the family money, he only had this house... a tough environment to grow" Derek said once the box was safe out of the fire. "Also you are invited to my aunt Nicole's birthday party" he said a little embarrassed.

"Is your grandmother cooking? I'm in" Katie said casually while she tried to open the box and Derek relaxed immediately.

It opened with a click and inside it was a cellphone, with trembling gloved fingers she opened and realized it was Ashley's phone, there was the text she had seen so many days before, the one Jonathan sent before he died, she had an unopened voicemail so she checked it, it was a regular costumer asking why the deli was closed that day, but before she turned down again she went trough the saved messages it was only one.

"I know you won't listen, but I had to try" Jonathan Norbury's voice said he sounded tired and angry "I have been trying to make it easier for you so you won't get hurt but you left me no choice, I'm talking to Charles tonight, I'll give him his store back and I'm leaving Broadchurch in the morning, I'll go to London to set the venue..." He sighed as if he was about to do something painful "I love her Ash, I'm sorry but I do, I let my fear to disappoint my father drive me back to the alcohol and made you part of my mistakes, I should have never slept with you, I should have never let your brother near her... I'll marry her and I'll take her away from here... from you and your brother, and you can resume your life with Charles and your business, I won't involve the police as long as you left us alone, I promise, I know you, you are not as bad as you think you are, and you are worthy of love... it's only that I can not love you, I hate to said this to you but that night doesn't mean to me what it means to you, the girl of that night became a constant reminder of the life I needed to leave behind, of the man I don't want to be. I could had been you or any other woman that night and the result would have been the same, me going to AA and then to church and falling for her, because is only her, it's always been her and now I have to make it right. I'm sorry"

"Do you remember what they told us about what happened with the psychiatrist? The thing she did with her wrist?" Derek said while Katie's mind was racing with this new information cursing herself for not confiscating the phone the moment she first entered the station, she wasn't a suspect then, her conscience said but it was not enough

"About the bracelet?" She said rising her look surprised she could still process logical thoughts

"Did her mother had another one? You know like a pair or something?" He said completely serious.

"I don't know, maybe, why?" She asked looking at him.

"Because I think we have to arrest the Langford's for a whole new crime" he said giving her a picture of Charles next to a completely damaged car with an old couple dead inside, the woman was wearing a necklace that she immediately recognized as a pair to the bracelet she bagged as evidence so long ago, and even with the wounds the resemblance to Y/N was undeniable, those were her parents.

******

Miller woke up in a hospital bed with an IV on her arm and a lot of blankets and space heaters around her, Brian was there looking shocked at her and she had her heart full with joy for having him, but her sense of duty was bigger so before anything else she just asked "Where is Alec?"

"I'm trying really hard not to take this personally" Brian said almost angry "But is really hard to take you seriously when you look like a bloody burrito" he said pointing at the foil blanket over her "Shitface is out there"

"I'm sorry" She said immediately "I'm so glad you saved me, and I really love you now more than ever, but someone else's life is at risk and I need to talk to DI Hardy. We can discuss how much you hate him when we get home tonight ok?" She said and he was about to respond but the fact that she call his place home was enough to make him stand up and get Hardy inside.

"Is she awake?" He said desperately when he get inside and Brian exited the room not wanting to hurt his pride anymore, he trusted her enough and was enough in love to let her be. "How are you?" Alec said not sure if he could get closer.

"Don't mind me" She simply said like being nearly frozen to death was a regular Tuesday for her. "You have to get to the station quickly" she said pulling down most of the blankets and sitting on the bed. "Y/N is in danger, you were right she is innocent" she said and since Hardy didn't react immediately she add "And someone is about to kill her"

"How do you know?" He said and Miller couldn't help to notice the fear in his voice, he was already convinced she was innocent but he needed for her to tell him to make it real.

"The friend, it was her from the start and even before that... That woman is a monster. There is a sound recorder sewn inside my jacket, she confessed before tying me up and leaving me inside her stupid fridge" She said and show her two burning marks on her side "She used a teaser to knock me out, she knows her brother will break sooner or later so she choose to confess and tied all her lose ends"

"And she confessed to killing Jonathan and what else?" He asked and she was sure what he wanted to ask.

*****

"You should have told me" you said trying to buy time from her to think what to do next "If you knew he loved you so much you should have told me and I would have gladly go away... I have always wanted the best for you"

"Oh don't come at me with that ridiculous attitude, you knew we loved each other and what did you do?? You had to ruin everything, don't pretend now you don't remember" she said and suddenly everything became clear on your head

You were not mad that night because she left you alone in the dancefloor... but because you saw her kissing him, she was all over him and that stupid purple shirt, you were so mad at her, and you saw so much regret on his eyes but it didn't matter and you just wanted to get out of there, and then Charles came out of nowhere and you went out with him because you felt weird and weak and so confused...and then that happened, and by the time you wake up Jonathan was holding you so tightly and so lovingly that you chose to forget... as you had chosen to forget all those other times, you were sure now that that stupid voice in those videos was not you... and you pray for the forensics department to realize it was some cheap editing of your voice over your body... but you were certain you had actually slept with Charles just not as willingly as it seemed

You felt disgusted by yourself, and by those who claimed for so many years to be your friends, and you hate her so much in the way you can only hate someone you loved for so long and you had to ask because your heart was hurting so much.

"Why?"

She didn't answer, you where about to elaborate in the question because she had already told you why she killed him but she did understand you, she simply was looking for the answer

"Because you had everything I ever wanted"

****

Alec was driving as fast as he could, with Miller's story resonating on his head. Ashley Langford loved Y/N's life and hated her for a long time, when she was going away to Paris she thought she will finally take her place on her family.

But she soon realized that in Paris or in Broadchurch her parents would never stoploving her and she send Charles to mess their car, she saw them die, all because they decline her offer to live at their house when she left.

She was convinced Jonathan was in love with her since they met when he arrived at Broadchurch, but he rejected her when Y/N introduced them formally, maybe as Miller thought, he didn't even remember her. And then when they got engaged she found a way to get him drunk.

Their affair was simply disgusting, she will drug Y/N unconcious so she would sneak out with Norbury, assuring him Charles was simply watching her, but she needed to hurt her, to humiliate her, so she let Charlie take advantage of her over and over again until Jonathan found out at the club at the same time Y/N found out.

In the end Norbury had done the right thing and ended the affair. Hardy listen to the audio Harford sent him, and everything was becoming clear, now he only hope he will be on time.

****

"Do what you must then" You said "If this will make up for whatever it is I did to you... then just do it already" you said now ready to accept the end, and desperate to stop feeling this much hurt.

You thought one last time of DI Hardy, you may be innocent from the murder, but Ashley had made a good work destroying everything you care about and you felt so unworthy of him, even if she didn't killed you you could never look at him so it was better this way.

"No yet" she said and she reach inside her pocket, only now you saw she was holding a gun on her right hand "You knew your dear Alec is out of the case for getting too cozy with you?" Maybe when this is over I will visit him, I'm sure a man like him will be glad to have a women in his life after what happened to his friend Miller" She said and you fear the worst specially sin DS Miller had told you she thought Ashley may be involved in all of this "And after his little whore blow her brains out" she said. "Do you think Paul will say something for you? As far as I know suicidal people get no favors from church" every word she said was meticulously aimed to hurt, and she said them so casually that it almost felt spontaneous "Oh don't get anxious, your end is coming, but first you have to wear this"

You knew what it was before she finished her sentence, a delicate necklace just like the bracelet you longed for so many years, your mother had the necklace so you wouldn't feel alienated by having to wear it, you had given her the bracelet back so long ago and when she died it was never found... and you understand without her telling you that somehow she was responsible for them dying too. And the disgust for her and yourself turn to anger, to a primal need to erase her existence and she was there smiling and something broke inside your mind.

****

Alec was walking fast to the cells, ready to kill Ashley Langford but by the time he got to Y/N's cell he froze still as he saw Y/N extended her hand to take what seemed to be a necklace while Langford pointed her gun at her.

What happened next was so quickly that he almost didn't had time take his own revolver out. Y/N trembling hand became steady to take the necklace and she took Ashley by surprised by pulling her arm inside the cell and taking the pistol from her hand.

"Oh come on do it" Ashley said surprising Hardy and Y/N "Prove me and the world that you are not perfect, that you are as rotten and corrupted as me, come on kill me!" She said and Alec finally speak.

"She is not" he said loud enough for them to hear but he was not screaming. "The only corrupted and repellent creature here is you" he said approaching slowly trying to get Y/N's attention but she was still firmly holding bot the gun and Ashley "You are not like her" he said again.

"I told you detective that I never wanted to find out who did this because I was afraid of what I would become" she said and he was afraid for a second by the anger in her voice. "This ... woman" She said as if she wasn't sure she could call Ashley that "Took everything from me, my dignity, my reputation, my friends... even my family" she said with so much suffering in her voice that he only could flinch his fist inside his coat. Where the fuck was the other guard? "She took the man I loved... the man I thought that also loved me"

"She didn't" he said and took out his phone, he held it in front of him as he approached her and play the audio.

"That's a lie" Ashley start screaming, now completely unbalanced, "He loved me, he loved me!!!!" At the moment the words "it's only her" came out of the phone Y/N hand relaxed and Hardy use the opportunity to take the gun out of her hand and pull Langford aside, as the bloody security guard finally arrived, without hesitation he took the keys from his hand and opened the cell while the man carried a very disturbed Ashley away, and before Y/N could fall in the darkness and space out again he hold her against his chest.

"It's you, it's only you"

Tag list:

@allonsymexgirl @laciesaito @dazedkrosupreme @timey-wimey-lovi @coffees-and-constellations @ladyaziraphale @acid-gurkerl @moonuvert @tennantious @nonstoplover @locawriter @tf18unipups @dazedkrosupreme

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #324

“i'll sharpen my knife upon the stone made from the ruin of a dead god's throne  /  listen to these words as my seeds are sown: it's time to amputate the infected zone”

What is the last game you played on your phone? Pokemon GO. Do you give people personalized ringtones? No. Does your phone screen have any cracks? No. What makeup products are you wearing, if any? None. How would you describe your skin tone? Very pale. Do you have your full birth name on Facebook? Yes. What is your least favorite fruit? Probably cherries. How often do you walk around barefoot? Whenever I'm in my house or another person's who prefers shoes off inside. Would you need to sleep with someone before considering marrying them? Nah. Do you think people look up to you? No. How often do you have trouble sleeping at night? Every night. Do you ever rehearse conversations before you have them? YEP. In my head, at least. Can you name five current world leaders? No, haha... When taking a cab, do you talk to the driver? Cabs aren't really a thing here. I've never been in one. Do you always read the book before you see a movie based on a book? No. What is your favorite urban legend? The Jersey Devil. Mothman is dope and super creepy, too. I love cryptids, period. Are you an elitist (even a little bit) when it comes to anything? What? No, because I hate people like that so much. What type of fabric is most comfortable for clothing? I dunno, I don't pay attention to this. If you wear one – bras with or without a wire? With, so long as they're not poking out and stabbing you... If you wear one – are you able to find cute bras in your size? Definitely not. What length do you like your shorts to be? You'd have to pay me some big bucks to see me in shorts, period. Have you ever cut off jeans or other pants and made them into shorts? No. Have you cut the sleeves out of T-shirts to make tank tops? I don't think so, no. What was the last disappointing movie you saw? *shrug* What was the last disappointing book you read? Even bigger *shrug*. Do you ever watch compilation videos? Of what? Rarely, but if I do, they're generally old Vines and stuff. What was the last thing you rolled your eyes about? Probably something stupid on Facebook. Do you like Hellboy? If so, do you prefer the old movies or the new one? I have no thoughts on this. Favorite Disney character who isn’t royalty? Dory! Do you have a lot of people whom you don’t talk to all the time or see all the time, but still consider to be your friends? Yeah, like friends from high school and online childhood ones. Do you typically do your make up the same each time? Or do you like to change it up often? It's just about always the same. Do you enjoy making surveys as well as taking them or do you just prefer to copy, paste, fill out, post? The latter. I don't make surveys. Have you got a significant other? How are things between the two of you? If not, what was your most meaningful/long term relationship and how did that come to an end? I don't. My longest and deepest relationship was with Jason, and he ended it when my depression became too much for him to handle. Have you spent much time in a vehicle lately? What for and where have you gone most this past month? No. I've barely left the house lately for obvious reasons. Has it rained yet this year where you live? How about hailed? It's been raining like crazy lately. A few mornings ago, it also hailed very heavily for a few minutes. What is your favorite thing about Mac computers? I like the sleek, clean look of them. What is your favorite thing about PCs? They have more power for playing games. What are some errands you need to run soon? None. Well, we have a Wal-Mart order to pick up I think tomorrow, and I'll probably ride with Mom. What color was your high school graduation gown? Red. It was between that and navy, and I was really hoping for the latter, but it lost the vote. The red was so obnoxious. How many graduation gowns have you worn? One. Are your parents’ dreams for your life different than your own? I don't think they have their own specific "dreams" for my life. They both want me to create my own future that makes me happy. Have your dreams for your life changed? Definitely, over all the years. Would you ever want to learn sign language? Not especially, but it'd be cool I suppose. What’s the last thing you had for dinner? Chicken tenders, I think? Or was that the night before? Have you ever performed a solo dance in front of a crowd? No, but I almost did. At my old dance studio, the high school seniors had the option to a solo, and I was working on one to "Coma White" by Marilyn Manson, because it was and still is a song I really feel in regards to my mental health and many medications I "have" to be on. I was doing fine, but I stopped when I realized I just really was too nervous as a dance competition approached. Have you ever sung a solo? No. What was the last job you had? Deli worker. For two hours. What was your first job? Sales associate at GameStop. Who was/were your favorite coworker(s)? I never really had one. At what age did you start experiencing sexual attraction, if any? I don't know. Probably my freshman year of high school is when my levels of attraction to people reached a sexual and not just romantic level. Have you ever split open a rock with a hammer, to see a geode inside? UGH no, but I so wanna find one of those one day. What states have you lived in? Only North Carolina. S.O.S., get me outta here. What is your favorite thing about the month in which it is now? You start to see some flowers blooming. Who were your best friends in high school? I had a decent group of close friends, but I was closest to Hannia. I wish I still had contact with her. ^Are they still your best friends now? No. She deleted me off Facebook at some point. Do you live near the mountains? No; they're on the western end of the state, and I live on the opposite side. Do you live near a beach? It's about two hours away. What is your favorite beach that you’ve been to? I don't have a fave. Do you collect seashells? Nah, but I like picking them up and looking at them. My sisters and I used to collect them, though. We have a plastic container of them somewhere. If you were to start a new collection, what would it be? I desperately want a cornucopia of Markiplier merch, sobs. Is there a certain place or store you especially hate going to? I don't like going to most stores, really. I'm an online shopper. When was the last time you made plans with someone? October of last year. How long do leftovers usually sit in your fridge? Depends on the food. They tend to stay in there a bit too long, though. What is something you do for other people that shows you care for them? Offer to listen to them and always be a source of support and love. What was the last animal/pet that you met? Kinda recently, someone in our neighborhood was walking their German shepherd, and Mom chatted with the lady for a bit while I listened. Is there anyone in your life with whom your opinion changes on frequently? No. Have you ever kept a journal? Do you currently keep one? Yes, on-and-off during multiple periods of my life. These surveys are like my journals now. Is there a certain song or band who remind you of specific people? Yep. Motionless In White and Black Veil Brides, Jason. Pink Floyd and Evanescence, Sara. Metallica, Mom. Van Halen, Dad. Etc., etc. How often do you style your hair differently from how you normally style it? Never. Have you ever found out that you have been sleep walking? No, I never have. What’s the last thing you promised yourself? I don't know about promised. I take those so seriously, even to myself, that I hesitate to make them. Have you ever tried making something from one of those short cooking videos? How did it turn out? No, but my friend once tried making that "muffin in a cup" thing and it was absolutely horrid. Very eggy. When was the last time you had to wait in line for longer than a few minutes? Good question. Going into places is so rare nowadays, so it's hard to encounter this issue. Well wait, maybe at a fast food place? Idr. Have you ever written a review for a product you bought online? No, but I should do that once I actually use my own money to buy from small businesses in particular... if I had something good to say, anyway. I'd feel bad trash-talking a product. Do you ever interact with any brands/companies online? No. Is there anything you seem especially sensitive to, such as sounds, smells, etc? Smells, yes. What was the last thing you had the urge to do? Read, even though I didn't do it. .-. Is there anyone you feel that takes you for granted? No. Do you ever read the comments on social media posts? Sometimes, particularly if I have strong feelings about something. What was the last “good” thing to happen to you? My PHP therapist felt confident enough in my progress to step me down to three sessions a week versus every weekday. Last awkward situation you were in? Thankfully it was a one-on-one session, but the same aforementioned therapist was asking me questions that really stumped me, so I kept going very quiet as I thought and felt awkward and dumb. He's brilliant at his job. Think of the last time you were sick – what were you sick with? I think the last issue I had that qualifies as "sick" was a double ear infection from Hell itself. That was like two years ago. How do you think your life would change without social media? I'd be incredibly bored, but I, among I think most others, would be more positive and have a more realistic outlook on life. Social media highlights the best times in our life, and I do feel that that has had a negative effect on pretty much everyone. I don't at all believe social media is bad in essence, though. It's a wonderful way to stay connected. What was the last thing you wanted to buy, but couldn’t afford? I can't afford a new terrarium for Venus for probably a while, being without a job and all... How do you get your news? Facebook, haha. How often do you drive? Never, right now. My permit is long expired, and my vision isn't up to par to renew it. If you had to go (back) to school and completely change your career path, what would you choose to study/pursue? I guess biology? Are there any TV shows you constantly quote or know almost every line to? No. What do you think about lizards? I adore lizards; they're all so cute, big or small, and truly little dinosaurs. They're beautiful and so vast in appearances and behavior. Is there anything that people assume about you that isn’t true, and that you find very irritating? Not that I find irritating, no. How would you rate your “detective” skills? Uh, what am I "detecting?" I'm pretty good at digging online if I'm really hunting something down, I guess. Have you ever done consumer testing (testing products before they come out on the market)? If not, would you ever want to? No; I wouldn't be opposed, depending on the product. Have you ever received anesthesia or morphine? Both. The one time (I'm aware of) where I had morphine oddly enough did jack-all, though. If you had to choose which video game to be in, which would it be? Hmmm. Maybe like, Shadow of the Colossus, living in the beautiful garden on the top of the shrine? With the deer, the birds, fruit, just its general beauty... That would be awesome, especially with one other person, especially an s/o. Just the two of us in a gorgeous land. Between the two, would you rather live in a place where it’s only night or where it’s only day? Only day, I suppose. Vitamin D is very important, for one thing, and it always being dark would definitely affect my depression. And what about the flowers blooming and being able to take pictures? :( Sleep would still be possible by just closing your shades and stuff. Is there anyone that makes your skin crawl? Maggots, bot flies, parasites, patterns of small holes, etc. Do you like it when people are affectionate with you? Yes. If we're at least friends, anyway. I'm a very affectionate person. Have the past few days been bad, good, or neutral? They've been pretty all right. If you had to be an actor/actress in a movie, what genre of the movie would you be best at? Probably as an insane villain in a superhero movie or something. Are people more likely to tell you to tone it down or to speak up? Speak up. I'm a mumbler. I can be too loud sometimes too, though, particularly when I'm excited. What’s the last thing that you procrastinated? Now. Emerson's birthday was last month and I still haven't touched her pictures... Out of fire, earth, water, wind, light, and dark, which element appeals the most to you? Dark. What’s your favorite color on a vehicle? Burnt orange, pink. The last pain that you experienced, was it physical or emotional? Physical. What was one of your favorite songs as kid? I liked lots of pop songs. When’s the last time you tried to get revenge, if ever? Never. It's not something I chase after. Do you like Taylor Swift? No. What’s your favorite Disney Channel movie? The Haunted Mansion, I think. That's a Disney movie, isn't it? If you met your favorite celebrity, would you be calm or star struck? I'd be a deer in headlights, stuttering and stammering over ways to thank him and crying like a bitch. I'd be super embarrassed, but I absolutely hope I get to meet him one day. Do you ever have to do yard work? No. Is your school close to your house? I'm no longer in school. Do you have any live versions of songs in your music software? Yes. Did/do you listen to Britney Spears songs? Yeah, I like her. What shorthand do you use the most? Probably "lmao." What album is the current song you’re listening to off of? METAWAR. In your opinion, what song is the most overplayed right now? I wouldn't know; I don't listen to the radio. Are you in a band? No. When I started high school though, I wished I could be a guitarist in one. That's one reason I started taking lessons, haha. Does your favorite band have a male or female lead singer? Male. Have you ever been to a Broadway show? No. Do you prefer group or individual work? Individual, by a long shot. I work much better alone. Could you ever complete a 500-piece puzzle? I think I have before. I used to love puzzles. When was the last time you rode in a limo? Damn son, never; what could possibly give you the idea I could afford to ever do THAT????? Do you take naps daily? Almost every day, yes. Do you still make Christmas lists? Yeah, because I'm asked to. Do you watch the show Dexter? Never seen it, no. Are you currently using a blanket? Yes. My feet are cold. How long is the song you’re listening to? 4:06. Is your mom or dad the older parent? Mom, but only by a year. Did you ever listen to Avril Lavigne when you were younger? Who didn't? I still listen to a couple songs. When was the last time you changed a light bulb? Not all that long ago when Venus' lamp bulb died. How often do you clean your car out? I don't have my own car. Did you ever buy NOW ("Now That’s What I Call Music") CDs? My older sister did, yes. What color (mainly) is your computer? It's black. What is in the back seat of your car right now? In Mom's car, idk. But there's usually some stuff back there. What is your favorite episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.? Never watched it. Last person’s house you were in? Besides my own, my older sister's. Who is the last person you sent a message to on Facebook? My friend Chelsea. We were catching up. Were you an honor roll student in school? Yes. Do you have a tan? HA. Are you someone’s best friend? Yes. <3 What do you think of when you think of Australia? Huntsmen spiders. *shudders* Favorite gemstone? Of the basic ones, rubies. If we're talking of all of them, even the obscure, then dragon's breath opal. I'd LOVE to have a ring of one of those. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Almost always the drive-thru. What color is your mom’s hair? It's all gray now. Does your first memory involve your dad? No. Biggest annoyance in your life right this minute? My social anxiety. Do you like watching a bonfire? Yeah. Fire is mesmerizing. Do you ever get flu shots? No, but I really should. Once the Covid vaccine is accessible to all though, I'm getting it for the protection of my immunocompromised mother.

[feelthepainofdodick]

Love For Hire - Ch. 2 - (D.D. x Reader)

Summary: David hires you to be his fake girlfriend for a month to get the diza stans off his back. This experience is the craziest thing that has ever happened to you and the emotional consequences that ensue are something you never expected.

Notes: Hey yall! Thank you all so so much for the support on my first chapter on the new series. It definitely makes me more nervous now but also incredibly excited. I hope all of yall enjoy. Also this series is definitely a slow burn kind of romance so just bare with me. Much love, Julie.

Word Count: 1392 

CHAPTER ONE - CHAPTER THREE

David walks out of his bedroom into the kitchen to find Natalie making breakfast.

“Hey” He grunts sleepily as he walks over to the refrigerator to get water.

Natalie turns away from the stove to face him. “Hey. So… Did you sleep on it?”

“Yes, I slept on it and I’m still not sure.” He says groggily, still half asleep.

“Not sure? I can’t think of any cons to this idea.”

“I know I know. You’re right. I think I’m just iffy because hiring someone to be my fake girlfriend just seems weird, ya know?” Natalie nodded in agreement.

“I know its weird but it’s your best chance at finally putting yourself first in your career.” She says sympathetically. 

David nodded. “Okay fine. I’ll do it.” He sighs in defeat.

“Great! Because she’s landing in a few hours.”

David snaps his head up at Natalie suddenly wide awake. “What!? She’s already coming? Nat! What the fuck! I know nothing about this girl. I need to make the house look decent. We need to set up the guest bedroom! I don’t even know what I’m going to say. Are we picking her up?” He questions frantically.

Natalie chuckles. “David. Calm down. I talked to (Y/N) last night. She’s super chill and nice. The house looks fine. I already made the guest bedroom. You just have to act like a normal human, dumbass. She’s a person, so treat her like you would treat any one of our friends because for the next month that is basically what she is. And, yes, we are going to the airport to pick her up.”

David does a long, exasperated sigh. “You are annoying.” He stalks off to his room to get ready to go pick you up.

(Y/N)’s POV:

When Natalie told you she booked the flight you immediately started packing. You were going to LA which meant you needed little to no sweaters or anything warm for that matter. You didn’t have much in your tiny boston apartment so it didn’t take long to pack. Natalie booked the flight for a few hours from now so you had to be quick.

On your way to the airport, you leave a quick message for your boss at the shitty deli shop you worked for. 

Hey Jim. It’s (Y/N). I’m going to California for a month. Sorry I didn’t give you longer notice. I assume you’re going to fire me so thanks for paying me like shit. Hope I never see you again.

You hung up laughing, a quiet relief resting over you; you decided to dial your best friend. She answered within a few rings.

Emma: “Hey hun. What’s up?”

(Y/N): “I’ve got something to tell you...” You say nervously.

Emma: “Oh god. Don’t tell me your pregnant. I don’t need no baby cramping our style.” She says jokingly but also partially serious.

(Y/N): You chuckle softly. “No dumbass. I’m going to LA for a month.” You blurt out.

Emma: “What the fuck. That’s worse! Why are you going to LA? I know you can’t afford it because I can’t afford that.”

(Y/N): “You know how I’ve been escorting to pay my rent?”

Emma: “Yes…?”

(Y/N): “Well I got offered to do a month long job in LA for this guy named David Dobrik to be his pretend girlfriend.”

Emma: “Wait. What? David Dobrik hired you to be his pretend girlfriend?!?”

(Y/N): “Yeah. Who is this guy anyway? Is he like super famous or something?”

Emma: “Ugh I swear to god (Y/N). You live under a rock. Do you remember that video I sent you, like, a few days ago where this girl, Natalie, was scared that there were ghosts in her house so they brought ghost whisperer people. Those videos are called vlogs and David makes them twice a week and he has like over 13 million subscribers.”

(Y/N): “That sounds intense. And yeah! I do remember that video, it was super funny. Wait did you say Natalie? I talked to some girl named Natalie about the job last night.”

Emma: “You got to talk to Natalie!?! I fucking hate you. I swear to god hoe if you don’t do your research on him and the whole vlog squad before you land in LA, I’m gonna strangle you.”

(Y/N): You laugh. “What’s a vlog squad?”

Emma: She loudly sighs. “You’ll find out.”

(Y/N): “Okay. Okay. I’ll do my research, I promise.”

Emma: “You better. I’m gonna miss you hoe. Send me updates and sneak in some photos of David for me.”

(Y/N): Chuckling, “I’ll try, weirdo. I’m going to miss you too. Just pulled over at the airport. I’ll text you when I land. Love you.”

Emma: “Have fun! Love you.”

You hung up the phone and walked into the airport towards your gate. Based on the details Natalie gave you, it was a six hour flight, making it plenty of time to do your research. You board your plane, wait for take off, and open your laptop going to David Dobrik’s youtube channel. Over the next six hours you are watching vlog after vlog, scouring over his and the vlog squad’s social medias, and watch interviews he has done. By the time the plane started descending into LAX you were stunned. This 22 year old man has made a huge career for himself over social media and it was intimidating, to say the least. You started to think about the job you had to do. After watching a few old vlogs, some interviews, and the breakup vlog; you understood why he needed you to distract the world from his ex. You were meant to be a shiny new object for his fans and the media to eat up so they wouldn’t talk about his ex so much.

After doing all your research, you had a lot more mixed emotions. On the one hand, you were excited because of the social media experience, it was a new paying job in a new city, and a new group of seemingly fun people to hang out with. On the other hand, your entire job there is to scam 13 million people into thinking you are this guy’s girlfriend, you will be heavily looked at under a microscope by the fans and the press, and you were just plain scared. You didn’t have time to process your emotions because you were already being boarded out of the plain. 

You turn on your phone to a message from Natalie saying she were waiting outside. You walk out of the airport into the California heat to find Natalie leaning on the side of a white Tesla. You walk towards her, waving awkwardly. She spots you and meets you halfway giving you a hug.

She pulls away,smiling, and says. “Oh my god hi! Wow you are just as pretty in person. Thought you might be a catfish or something.” You chuckle.

“Nope. No catfish. So where are we heading?” You question walking over to the trunk to put your bags in. You instantly felt comfortable around her.

“We are heading to David’s house so you can get you settled in and then we can explain to you what we are hoping to get out of hiring you.” 

As you open the back seat you say. “I’m supposed to be the pretend girlfriend of your boss right?” Now inside the Tesla.

“Yup.” A male voice says from the front, startling you. “That would be me.” David saying turning around, extending his hand out for you to shake.

You grab his hand to shake. “Hi sorry. I didn’t know you were here too. I’m (Y/N).” Letting go of his hand.

“I’m David.” He says facing forward, putting the car into drive, and driving out. You stare out the window as he drives out of the airport traffic when you hear Dancing Queen by ABBA playing softly in the speakers. You snap your head up, “Hey can you raise the volume, I love that song.” 

David and Natalie grin, “we are going to get along great,” he mutters as he raises the volume. You smile, laying your head back on the window staring out into the new city you were going to call home for the next month.

----

Tags: If you want to be tagged let me know... @live-awkward @roxyedobrik @pakibaddie  @duhdobrik

[renaroo]

Resonance (1/15)

Disclaimer: Spider-Man, Miles Morales, and associated characters are the creative property of Marvel Comics. Into the Spider-Verse and associated characters are creative property of Sony Pictures. Both of these things and neither of them are true, all I ask is to not be sued. Warnings: Teen Angst, Pregnancy, Mourning Pairings: PeterxMJ in many forms Rating: T Synopsis: Miles Morales is the brand new Spider-Man with all the responsibilities, burdens, and heartache therein. With the crowds being harder to please and his rogues gallery looking more formidible by each day, Miles doubts his competency as the one and only Spider-Man. At first, he looks to his predecessor’s support group for advice, and what he ends up getting is a lot more complications. 

A/N: I have been a Spider-Man fan since birth, all owed to my dad and uncle who were the family comic book nerds and collectors long before I came around. I grew up on the adventures of Peter Parker and, when I was old enough to buy my own comics, I was obsessed with following more members of the spider-family from Mayday Parker to Anya Corazon. But in the last decade or so, my interest in really writing or drawing for the Spiders was put on the backburner. 

Into the Spider-Verse reignited my love, though, and it’s become one of my favorite movies as well as responsible for making me a full Spider-fan again. I knew I wanted to pay tribute to that and just what a fantastic job the movie did, but I wasn’t sure what story I wanted to tell until recently. 

So I hope this is an enjoyable ride for you guys, I’ve been having a blast writing it. It’s going to be a long one! Let’s hope I can keep to a Friday Updates schedule~

Chapter One: The Real Deal

Every morning for the last month had started the same.

His alarm sounded, he groaned in rhythm to its blaring, turned over, fumbled with his phone, and turned it off. Then, just before he could gently float back into sleep, the alarm in the bunk beneath him would sound off and a hand would slap the baseboard to encourage him to get a move on.

Miles appreciated, but also hated, that his roommate had taken the news about him being Spider-Man so well.

“Okay,” Ganke Lee said, fully awake as he slid from his mattress to his computer chair, smoothly sliding across their dorm floor toward his desk. He listed off the assignments that both of them had due for the day, things that Miles should have completed the night before. Checking them in the morning kept his grades from slipping due to his nighttime adventures. And the moment Miles good sleepily assert that they were all done, Ganke would turn on the four monitors to his desk.

The glare of the light was always enough to force Miles into dawning acceptance that Ganke wasn’t letting up.

He stretched, nursed any wounds or bruises, then leap with extra-human flexibility and athleticism from the top bunk to the dressers on the other side of the room.

In the early days, Ganke would have excitedly taken it in. A month after, Ganke wasn’t even looking Miles’ direction.

“Okay,” Ganke said again, turning in his chair to present Miles with a map for his morning run as Spider-Man. “If you do this in thirty minutes, you’ll have time for a shower.”

Miles murmured incoherently, slipping into the legs of his suit before he even glanced at the map. Once he did, he dropped his shoulders and threw back his head. “Man! You’ve gotta be kidding me! Yancy Street? I always run into something on Yancy Street. And when I run into things on Yancy Street, I won’t be back in thirty minutes, are you kidding?”

“And then it’ll look great that the new Spider-Man is doing good before eight in the morning on everyone’s commutes,” Ganke pointed out knowingly. “Not to mention, hard to find out that the new Spider-Man is a student at Brooklyn Visions Academy if he’s spotted thirty minutes away before school starts.”

Pulling on the rest of his suit and reaching for his mask, Miles hesitated. He looked intently at Ganke for a moment. “You know, I’ve been Spider-Man for over a month now,” he said. “How long do you think they’ll still be calling me the new Spider-Man? When do I just become the Spider-Man?”

Ganke pulled a pained expression and tilted his head. “You sure you want that? To be the Spider-Man already?”

No, Miles didn’t want it. But it was a thought that was already nagging him.

Sighing, Miles looked from his mask to Ganke’s mask. “Yancy Street and back? You’re killing me with these morning workouts, man.”

With his mask pulled on, Miles ran for the window that Ganke eagerly sprung open.

“Wouldn’t be a workout if it wasn’t hard!” Ganke encouraged him all the way out of the building.

The moment the wind rushed against his face, the haze of sleep and morning dreariness left Miles’ body. Every muscle, every bone was in motion, flying into the air. He breathed in Brooklyn and then, with his web-shooters at the ready, shot toward the nearest building with confidence.

After a month, the motion Peter — but not that Peter — taught him was already second nature.

Aim with the hips, look where you want it to hit, double-tap to release, thwip it out again, swing, release, thwip—

He could have swung through the entire city, but he had grown warier of the overuse of his web-shooters after a few weekends of just that attitude. There was nothing more aggravating than being low on the web fluid than being low on it when he needed them. And Ganke was still experimenting with the formula they obtained, insisting his batches were still too unreliable compared to what Miles could pick up at the Parker household.

And, somewhat cowardly, Miles had gone out of his way to avoid being in the Parker household more than absolutely necessary in his month as Spider-Man.

Miles utilized his newly enhanced athleticism to land at the top of a building and hit the ground running. His feet carried him quicker than they ever have in his life before, and he hadn’t even broken out in sweat yet.

Whenever he did grow his backbone again and heads to Ms. Parker’s house, he was going to thank her for the extremely breathable fabric she has made his suit from. Then again, that might broach the topic of how she didn’t build the suit for him. She built it for the original Spider-Man.

Her nephew. The Spider-Man who died a hero before Miles had even an inkling of his own potential.

When the next building over was too tall for Miles to simply leap to its roof, Miles exercised his wall-crawling.

His fingers and toes locked adhesively to the surfaces of the buildings and he shimmied across.

Strangely enough, the crawling had been the most bizarre bodily sensation for Miles as he continued stretching his spider-legs, so to speak. Swinging and leaping were challenges that had grown into thrills. But crawling had made his body contort and move repeatedly in a way that felt so unfamiliar to jumping or walking.

Ganke has suggested he watch videos of real spiders crawling, but that sounded too weird even for Miles.

He wondered if any of the other Spider-People had felt this way about crawling. It was a question that would be worth asking if he ever got the chance.

More than anything else, though, wall-crawling ate more into his morning run’s allotted time than running or swinging did. As a result, it was the thing that needed his practice the most and happened to get it the least on most mornings.

The moment Miles was out of his comfort zone, out of the Brooklyn limits, he changed tactics and shifts to swinging again.

He was under half of his time and has already reached Yancy Street. If he had any luck, he could have turned around then and there, called the morning successful, and headed back to Brooklyn Visions Academy without anyone the wiser.

Spider luck true to form, there was a disturbance on Yancy Street. A hold up in a deli, but Miles was quick to take care of it.

Rather, the new Spider-Man is quick to take care of it.

He even figured, since he had wall crawled a good amount of his travel, he could spare the extra web fluid on thwips for each of the gunmen’s mouths. Just to avoid the general annoyance factor.

And while Miles would go to his grave confidently declaring that the best delis in the city were found in Brooklyn, he traitorously accepted the Yancy Street deli owner’s offer of a breakfast burrito to go.

Its aluminum foil shined at him with the early morning sunlight as Miles got back onto his rooftop trail and beckoned him to slow down, take a break, and breathe in the sweet aromas.

He was working out so much as Spider-Man, he had to have doubled his calories over the month, so the breakfast burrito wasn’t going to set him back so far as meals were concerned.

After a few savory moments with the burrito, his wristwatch went off, forcing Miles to realize that he was off his time and there was almost no way he was going to have time for a shower when he got back.

“Aw, man,” he groaned, gripping to his burrito in one hand while lining up with his next building. Aim with the hips.

To further show off just how much he had mastered the art of swinging, Miles made it the rest of the way to the academy one-handed, finishing each bite of his burrito along the way.

He also made it a point to land on the recycling bend and toss the foil, pose with a kid from Brooklyn Middle for a selfie, and backflip over traffic before swinging the rest of his way to school.

Miles scaled the walls, found the custodial closet window Ganke had strategically unlocked for him and dressed for his day in less than thirty seconds.

He smelled like sweat and breakfast burritos by the time he emerged into the hallway and raced toward his first class of the day. But Miles also figured that there were few first-year boys who didn’t have similar smells to them anyway.

Deep down, at least, he knew he had the excuse of being the new Spider-Man.

And that was nearly enough satisfaction on its own to let him pass through the day.

Ganke’s schedule was an A-block compared to Miles’ own B-block, with their only real intersecting class throughout the week being chemistry. It made their rendezvous much tighter two out of the five days, kept mostly to the hallways and cafeteria.

Yet, even with those constraints, Ganke’s presence had become instrumental to Miles’ day functioning.

“There’s a pop quiz in Schaffer’s pre-calc,” Ganke informed him, taking a look at the leftover web shooter fluid.

“What, really?” Miles asked in disbelief, he looked down at his books. He hadn’t even grabbed his pre-calc. “I’m doing fine in there. Shaky on the sine and cosine stuff, but you’ll never get me off my tangents.”

For a moment, it seemed like Ganke hadn’t heard him, forcing Miles to laugh at his own joke. Then Ganke looked up over his glasses with one brow raised. “Seriously?”

“I’m seriously good with pre-calc,” Miles assured him. “Though you sure you’re not going to get locked up in nerd prison for letting lowly ol’ me know about a pop quiz?”

“Why? Everyone whispers warnings about quizzes around here, have since the first day,” Ganke shrugged.

“Oh,” Miles expressed, glancing off. It was still difficult to be confronted with the fact that he had not made friends at the school despite his mother’s encouragement and his mild lies to his father about doing just that. He swallowed dryly. “Well, thanks for breaking the nerd code for me.”

“You’re going to have to replace these probably by tomorrow,” Ganke warned him.

“We’ve got chem lab tomorrow, we could make some together while Doc Kuranja isn’t looking,” Miles offered. “You said you had some ideas.”

“Are you kidding? We still don’t know if my use of the regular formula is stable or not yet!” Ganke squeaked back. “I don’t want them to blow on you or harden on you or—“

Miles pulled a face, noticing that Ganke’s word choice and hyperventilating was drawing some unwarranted attention. He held up his hands and motioned for Ganke to lower. “Dude, chill! It was just a suggestion. I’ve still got, y’know, my contact. My person.”

Finally, Ganke breathed easier. “Sorry. I just don’t want to kill Spider-Man.”

Flinching slightly, Miles glanced off. “Yeah, I get that.”

“Here,” Ganke said, handing back the web-shooters. “For your, uh, web person.”

“Right,” Miles said, quickly storing the shooters away in the backpack he had put on over his chest. He shuffled them toward the back of the mess he had shoved in, crunching and scraping other unknowns within the bag’s depths.

“I’ll catch you at lunch, good luck on your pre-calculus not-so-pop quiz,” Ganke said after an intense scan of his watch. He didn’t wave, didn’t wait for Miles’ reply. He just took off in the direction of the language arts wing and left Miles slightly off balance.

“Yeah, sure, man,” Miles called after him, though it appeared to be on deaf ears.

He waited a moment before walking toward the math wing himself, thinking over his recent lessons. Each angle, each parabola, though, always came back to web-swinging across the city, to his gravity and momentum. It was the only thing he could think about.

Lucky for him, unlike in English, it translated fairly well to the material.

When he finished up pre-calculus and headed for lunch, Miles actually felt very good about everything that had gone on in his day, missing a morning shower notwithstanding.

And, strangely, lunch was more pleasurable and something to look forward to when he knew for a fact that he would have someone else sitting with him.

What he was less prepared for, however, was the ever-present call of his other responsibilities.

The moment it was three-fifteen and the final bells for the day rang, Miles could feel the vibrations of his phone in his pocket.

While other students walked to the commons, out to the plaza, or just to their dorms to get started on another night full of work, Miles stood and answered his phone.

“Mami?” he answered the call, same as every other school day, and proceeded to start a thirty-minute conversation.

The only times they were shorter were when his mom was on call at work and had to be pulled away. If she were at home, like she was that day, she was willing to stretch the call for an hour. It was easier for her to do that by, every ten minutes or so, pawning the phone off to Miles’ dad who rattled on about work and the weather and occasionally a semi-positive story about the new Spider-Man.

It was more than a little tiresome.

Miles still had things to check off on his list of a regular day — schoolwork and artwork and some new training plan Ganke had tried to sell him the night before. It felt like every moment of phone time was cutting into that.

But the urgency of getting off the phone grew more immediate when he passed through the main corridor and saw the crowds of other students gathered, staring up at the big monitor screen.

Hesitating, Miles walked back and missed whatever story his mother was in the middle of telling as he watched the breaking news alert.

Massive robbery taking place in Brooklyn, costumed robber shooting electricity everywhere and cackling maniacally, there was a need for the new Spider-Man.

At the same time he could hear his father shuffling around and shouting something on the other end of the phone, Miles began racing out of the commons area. “Mami! Sorry, something just came up, I’ve gotta go! Playing, uh, chess after school! ¡Te amo! ¡Hasta luego!”

“Miles—“ his mother began to argue but Miles hung up on her, fully knowing he would get an earful from it later.

The moment he was out of the school and ducking into an alley, Miles was shuffling through his mess of a backpack. Toward the bottom, barely hidden beneath assignments and art books, was Miles’ already sweaty suit and his web-shooters.

“Man, I have got to get organized,” he noted to himself.

Once he had his suit, changing was a quick matter. He even had his mask on before his phone went off again, that time with the default setting picture of a dinosaur signaling Ganke. Miles was quick to answer.

“Dude,” Ganke’s voice came through clearly.

“I saw! I’m on the way!” Miles informed him, stuffing his uniform sloppily into his backpack and slinging it over his shoulders.

“Do you know who that is?” Ganke asked.

“Know who who is?” Miles asked, already using his free hand and his feet to climb up the side of the school for greater height.

“The bank robber, it’s the old Spider-Man’s villain,” Ganke explained hurriedly. “But I think it’s different? Electro.”

“Electro for electricity, clever,” Miles said, reaching the top of the building and rotating so that his back was to the wall. He looked forward, aimed with his hips, set his eyes on the target.

“Yeah, but it’s different,” Ganke insisted. “It might be a different person.”

“Ganke, call me back after and we’ll talk about it, I promise! Right now I’ve gotta get going so I need both hands,” Miles informed him.

“No you don’t, you had a burrito on your way back this morning,” Ganke argued. “This is important, Spider-Man.”

“It might be a different dude in the mask, that puts Electricity-o and me on the same foot. I’ve got this, Ganke, I’m not as big of a dummy as you thought I was when we got roomed together, remember?” Miles groaned. He shot the web shooter and kicked off from the school. “Catch me on the news!”

He swung through the city, mindlessly putting his phone back into his backpack midair, then used both arms to swing.

Beneath him, Miles could hear the awes and supportive shouts of the citizens below.

There was still mourning, still We Love You P.P. signs throughout the city, but in the past month, there was more hope, more relief as Miles swung through the streets. Because New York needed Spider-Man again.

And Miles felt rewarded and assured to be that guy. The guy.

It fueled him to go faster, to prove himself and all the faith the other Spider-People had shown in him the last month.

Because the specifics of the bank and Electro weren’t part of the routine, but the new Spider-Man was — Miles being there for his city was as routine and in his bones by that point as the suit itself.

He was so full of confidence as he came across the bank, he barely flinched when the front wall’s brick and glass were blown out by an explosive flash. Miles steadied himself, resting against the walls as he waited for a clear view of Electro to come out.

And Electro did, bright greens and yellows of the suit visible from streets away.

What Miles wasn’t expecting was for the rest of her figure. “Okay,” he said, tilting his head, “maybe Ganke did have more to let me know before I hung up. Because I never remember Electro looking like that on the news.”

Police cars filed in, sirens blaring, and immediately jumped out of their cars, guns at the ready.

With a smirk, Electro slung a duffle bag over her shoulder with one hand then slung the freehand outward toward all of the vehicles.

Electricity poured from her fingertips and sent most of the vehicles flying back.

“I’ve got this!” Miles rallied himself as he leaped from his perch.

With the push of his legs, Miles sent his body flying at an incline toward the police officers. Toward the arc of his descent, he used his web-shooters to rapid-fire aim at the chest of each of the officers in trouble. The moment he had made web contact with their chests, he aimed his left web shooter for the top of the bank building and grabbed onto both sets of lines.

His own body the fulcrum, Miles twisted into a swing and hoisted the leveraged officers up with him. It was enough force to lift all of them out of danger and to pull up with Miles’ swing.

There were a number of yells, but no one was around the police cars as they crashed or exploded against the electric propulsions of Electro.

For her part, Electro seemed to have subscribed to the cool guys don’t look at explosions school of thought and was beginning to walk confidently down the street before Miles interrupted her plans. She quickly turned on her heels and locked her sights on Miles.

“Well, I was wondering when I’d get a chance to swing at the new little bug on the streets,” she growled.

“Wow, never been called a bug before!” Miles scoffed, landing on the other side of the street and putting down the officers with him. Most of them seemed dazed if not outright ready to vomit from the experience. “Don’t worry, officers, I’ve got this!”

Confidently, Miles turned on his heels only to be sent flying back.

The pain was immense. Arguably the worst pain he’d felt since taking on Kingpin nearly a month ago. His every muscle and sinew jerked violently against him. Nothing was listening to his brain’s directions and, worst of all, his brain felt as though it had been lit on fire.

He was on his back on the sidewalk before his lungs could expand again. They crackled at the rush of air and Miles felt as though his heart was seizing in his chest.

His fingers and toes were curled as his arms began to somewhat listen to him again. He pushed through the pain, trying to uncurl every joint and move them. Finger by finger, toe by toe. There was a smell of burning rubber that was getting harder and harder to ignore as well as a terrible pain in his back.

“Spider-Man!”

“GET UP!”

“She’s coming!”

“Oh my god!”

His ears felt muffled but, somewhat obtusely, Miles could feel the warnings he was getting. None, though, was louder than the Spider-Sense blaring into every nerve, every vibration in his body. He coughed through another painful breath and beat his clenched fist on the ground.

“No matter what, always get back up!” he berated himself. “No matter how many times I get hit, I always get back up!”

Two green, insulated boots came to a stop right in front of Miles on the sidewalk just as his vision began to clear. When he visually traced them upward, he saw the slick greens and yellows of the suit and, most aggravating of all, the shiny toothed grin of Electro.

“Cute motto, bug,” she joked. Slowly, she drew up one hand, the fingers ungloved as she put two together and formed a gun to point at him. “Can’t get up when you’re dead.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Miles sassed back before holding up his right web shooter and shooting it straight onto her hand, insulating it with a massive glove of web. THWIP.

“What the—“ Electro sputtered, stepping back in surprise.

She was attempting to reground herself, but Miles was on his feet and shooting another dose of web fluid onto her knees, tying her legs together. THWIP.

“Why you—“ THWIP.

He shot another web over her mouth, causing her to roar, albeit muffled.

Grinning underneath his mask, Miles aimed his left web shooter for her exposed hand.

TH—

The sputtering noise caught Miles by surprise, and he looked down at his web shooter as he attempted a second time. It didn’t even make a noise, just compressed air wheezing through. “Uh-oh,” he muttered, looking to his right hand as it did the same.

He was out, and he had shown off with the web-shooters before covering Electro’s other available hand.

As Miles looked back, he could see Electro using her free hand to rip off the web from her mouth. A dangerous look grew on her face as she took the same freehand and pointed right for Miles’ chest.

“Hey, kid, ever been around a bug zapper?” she asked cockily just before lighting Miles up.

If the first blast of electricity had been painful, Miles was sent into another world by the second blast. He was thrown back, hitting into the bricks of the opposing building. His entire body seized up and sent him crumpling to the ground. He folded over his stomach and let out a pained groan.

His entire body was painful and throbbing as he lifted his head up just enough and watched Electro walking away with ease.

“Oh, well,” she called in a sing-song voice, “wonder if the real Spider-Man would’ve given me a workout.”

It took some time, and the assistance of two of the officers he had saved earlier, but Miles got back up.

As much as the shock from Electro had stung, the embarrassment and the words stung even more.

Not to mention the embarrassment of having to use his invisibility to walk back to the school without his web-shooters to rely on.

He had a bad feeling, after a month of being Spider-Man, things were not about to get easier for him.

[petty-revenge-stories]

How I may have cost a coworker her job.

TL;DR at bottom.

Update at bottom.

I work as a baker at a grocery store, and my department works closely with the deli. Now, when I say I'm a baker, I actually mean I'm the baker and have about twice as much to take care of in 9 hours than the woman who "runs" deli.

(To clarify, neither of us are managers or even official team leaders, but she's been doing this for about 5 years and while I've only been in this position for 6 months, I've more than doubled sales because quality and quantity have improved so much, making me the voice of authority in my area. We do, however, share a department manager and operate under 2 other high tier managers.)

This weekend we had health and safety inspections on her days off, and new girls training/running deli solo with me alone in the bakery.

One of the store managers comes into bakery with the inspector following, do a thorough review of my bakery area (closed off from the rest of the store, so any problems in there are mine and mine alone, so I run a tight ship in there) and I'm actually commended for how clean and organized everything is. My portion of the visit is about 30 minutes, including the inspector asking to sample some new pastries and of course you can have some. Would you like a few to take home to your family? Here's the ingredients list, your wife can make them like this. You know, the whole kiss-ass appeal to good nature because I've seen the deli and they're about to get reamed and I don't want to be associated with them.

Before I can go any further, I should mention the lead deli worker (LDW from here on) hates me. I have no issues on calling her out on her petty drama and stupid shit, but because I know what she's like, I take my issues directly to management. Well, 2 weeks ago she came in on her day off and threatened to drag me out by my hair and kick the shit out of me, called me derogatory names, etc because I talked to management about her threatening to make false claims against me for not covering a shift for her (cross trained for her department). I immediately told management, they have video but no audio of the situation, and she's in serious trouble. My DM, who already hates her, basically tells her she gets one more chance to prove she's worth keeping. Ever since then, she's been nasty and turning coworkers against me because I don't get to interact with many people. I'm actually busy all day, unlike some people.

Back to the story.

So inspector leaves, and about an hour later my DM, SM and the inspector come in and start asking questions about deli. Y'all, they found open snacks, empty personal containers, etc in the deli kitchen, mixed in with deli food and containers. For anyone who works in a professional, retail or industry kitchen, you know this is a huge no-no. Closed container of water kept outside the kitchen? Sure. I keep a bottle of water on a table outside my bakery. But in the kitchen they found food, food containers and uncapped bottles marked LDW.

They're asking me questions, our GM comes in and listens in, and I explain all the dirty, disgusting habits LDW has and mention that she's likely taught them to the trainees. Then I get into the customer service issues and rat on how nasty she is with people, the drama she causes between coworkers, and make a comment on how nice it must be to get paid for 3 hours you don't work because you're entitled to 6- 30 minute smoke breaks throughout the day when you're older, right? Then I drop a comment about how pretty her hair always is and it's no wonder she doesn't wear a hairnet in the deli.

Y'all, you could have heard a pin drop with how silent it got. Even the inspector is looking off. Everyone but my DM leaves, and he asks me to clarify some facts for him, so I do. His lips puckers, his eyes narrow, and he starts cursing her in Spanish. He's furious that he was embarrassed during the inspection and I apologize, but he corrects me and says it wasn't any issues with me, it was the state of the deli.

We have a follow-up inspection coming up and if the deli isn't in shape, it could get shut down. But LDW? She's likely to get fired this week for that stupid shit.

TL;DR: coworker threatens and harasses me constantly, so I rat her out to management and health inspector and have likely cost her the job.

Edit: I go back to work tomorrow, so I will hopefully have good news to share.

Update: So far it looks like LDW is going to remain employed. HOWEVER she was being register trained when I went up front, so at least the danger to the food is gone.

For everyone concerned about the deli trainees, don't be. If they're worth their salt, they'll be open to being retrained on proper food safety and will keep their jobs. If not, well, it's not much of a loss. My manager asked me to continue to bring issues to his attention, which I'm happy to do, and that's that. Not the dramatic she was escorted out and banned from the store ending that I was hoping for, but still a satisfying one nonetheless. Food areas pay a few bucks more than the other entry level positions, so she took a pay cut and I've heard her screaming at a few people already, so she won't last long either.

Thanks for the support and remember to wash your hands when handling food.

(source) (story by Dragons-With-Tits)

[jimlingss]

The Deli Diaries [8]

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10 || Chapter 11 [Finale]

➜ Words: 1.5k

➜ Genres: Fluff & Cuteness, That good ol’ slow burn, Slice of Life

➜ Summary: Working at a grocery store deli is absolutely unbearable (and you’re also perfectly aware of how dramatic you are). But it seems like something, or rather, someone might make the job a bit more manageable.

➜ Warnings: Mundane-ness that might make you bored to death

➜ Notes: prepare yourselves cause after this chapter, we’re going to see 2 whole inches of development......probably.

 Except, there’s something in the air today that tells you things are a bit different. And it’s not the little glances made by Jimin from across the produce floor that gives you that feeling. Rather, you notice another man who’s wheeling a shopping cart around and putting items into his reusable grocery bags. When he thinks no one is looking, he pockets a giant piece of brie cheese into his jacket pocket.

  If possible, you sigh even louder than before.   The debate inside your head begins…   Who even cares? You steal food too. Plus, what if this person needs it? You don’t give a shit about this store anyways. If anything, this is the perfect revenge. Management can suck it.   But — you do have a duty to at least report theft. They made it loud and clear that you have no responsibility to confront a possible shoplifter. The damn company is too afraid of liability issues and doesn’t want any employee risking their life, but you can always call the manager on duty to deal with it.   Plus, this guy was stealing a lot. If he was planning to walk out of this store with that entire cart like you think he is, then that’s three of the deli chickens off of the shelf and you’re going to have to make more.   God, you wish Amber wasn’t on her break right now. If she was here, she’d have to deal with this and not you.   With reluctant footsteps, you walk towards the phone and pick it up, pressing the button for the intercom. “Manager on duty to the deli….please. Manager on duty to the deli…?”   Your voice echoes throughout the entire store and you put down the handset while cringing.   The shoplifter is still a bit of a ways off, choosing what jar of pickles to take.   And you wait...patiently, you wait. But no manager ever comes into the deli.   “What’s wrong?” The brunette boy turns and gives you full immediate attention when you come strolling towards him from behind the deli cases. He stops piling oranges onto the display case and wipes his gloved hands onto his red apron without making the cotton fabric dirty. His rounded eyes stare back into yours and you don’t know where to begin with answering his question.   “Where are all the managers?” You’re pissed off and for good reason. They’re all probably chatting in the staff room and having a goddamn tea party while talking smack about Walmart and other more successful grocery stores. Where are they when you need them?!   “I haven’t seen them.” Jimin frowns in concern, searching your face as if he could detect what’s wrong. “Why?”   “They’re so useless,” you mutter more to yourself. “I think someone’s shoplifting.”   “What? Who?”   “That guy.” You turn and keep yourself close to Jimin. Your voice is lowered down and you whisper all your words. The innocent produce boy’s cheeks heat up at your close proximity, but he forces himself to keep focus. “The one walking back and forth and lurking in the corner.”   “The one with the baggy coat?”   “Yeah.” He’s a bad shoplifter, shoulders hunched, purposely avoiding eye contact, though you swear his pupils flicker over for a mere moment. “What is he even doing?”   “I don’t know, but is that all his stuff?” Jimin means the shopping cart that has things piled on like a mountain. Food and toiletries are overflowing from the reusable shopping bags, spilling out, and you can see three of your precious rotisserie chickens on there too.   “Yeah, I think so.” You sigh. “We can’t just ignore it.”   The boy smiles, stealing a glimpse of your profile. As much as you like to trot around and announce how much you hate this place and your job, Jimin knows you care a little, whether you want to admit it or not. “Is there no security guard walking the floor?”   “No.” Sometimes there are hired guards that walk around and wear the disguise of a normal customer, but they only work every other day at certain hours. Of course, today there was no one like that around. Just your fucking luck. “Why don’t they have any anti-theft beepers at the door? Or like the security scanners?”   “You tell me.”   But you know the exact reason. You asked your supervisor once and apparently it’s too expensive to get those machines at the door. Goddamn. You don’t understand the logic. The stupid ass company is not only dumb, but cheapskates. Maybe they deserve to be stolen from.   “Should we just ignore him?”   Jimin’s brows furrow and he considers all the options. Without saying anything, he takes a step forward, but is stopped when you grab onto his wrist. You latch onto him with a tight grip, fingers curling over his skin. “Wait. Don’t. What if he attacks you?”   Jimin looks at you. “He won’t attack me.”   “I’ve seen the security guard tackle people before and no offence, produce boy, but I think you’d get beaten into a pulp.”   The corner of his mouth tugs in amusement. Deep down, Jimin likes it when you worry about him. In a way, it expresses that you care for his well-being. Unless...you’re only apprehensive since you know that company policy wouldn’t pay his hospital bills and you’d feel obligated to fork over your paycheck and help him. “I work out at the gym, you know.”   “Uh-huh.” You’re fully aware that now’s not the time to bicker or banter with him. “What if he pulls out a weapon….like a knife or something.”   His smile grows wider. “I’ll protect you, don’t worry.”   “Oh my god.” You’re rolling your eyes to the back of your skull, but then your vision is stolen by something else. All at once you let Jimin go and a gasp falls from your parted lips. “Oh my god! He’s leaving!”   The pair of you run over on instinct and the shoplifter is prevented from moving when you block his way with your bodies. “Um, excuse me, sir.” You’re pleasantly surprised when you sound firmer than what you feel inside. “Could we see your receipt?”   “Why?”   The stranger’s eyes are big and full of fear. You can see the way sweat rolls from his hairline to his chin and thankfully he’s not violent, though it’s still too early to be at ease.   “We just need to make sure you made these purchases.” You force yourself not to waver, standing strong in your spot, but also wondering what the hell you would do if you died protecting a place you’ve always wanted to throw your shit at.   “But I paid for these already,” he defends himself.   You give an incredulous expression. Really? Does he think you’re blind or stupid? “We just need to see your receipt, sir. And then you can be on your way.”   “I….I think I lost it.” The rugged man begins to pat his pockets like he’s searching for it. “I think I already threw it away.”   “Oh. Then can you stay here for a moment, so we can check the purchase logs at the customer service counter? It’ll only take a second.”   “No—!” He shouts and his jaw ticks. “I paid for these! I want to go now. You’re being very rude to me.”   “Please cooperate,” Jimin pipes up beside you and you’re surprised at how harsh his tone is. All signs of the timid produce boy have disappeared and he doesn’t look so cute anymore. “It’ll only take a second.”   “I…” The man’s face goes pale and he books it to the left. At the sheer speed he whips himself, his body lurches forward and his feet slide. He nearly stumbles and falls, arms flailing out, but he catches himself before he can eat shit and he dashes through the door. The man runs for the hills while the sound of his voice is left behind. “I’m sorry!”   The full shopping cart is left abandoned in front of the two of you.   “Well….that went better than expected.”   “Told you I could protect you.”   You scoff and a moment later, someone else comes jogging from the left. He’s a taller dude, red apron tied around his body, glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. The grocery manager looks frantic and catches his breath while trying to piece together what happened with the both of you standing there and a cart full of items in front of you. He’s late.   “You paged me? What happened?!”   You look at Jimin, gazing into his eyes with your dead ones, not impressed at all. The produce boy’s lips turn upright and expand into a smile, eyes crinkling, laughing at your expression.

[swapdancepapyrus]

WOO UPDATE! and story thus far....

If you have a hard time reading about problematic workplaces, arrogance and ignorance all the above and more similar-- Dont read, but it might help you get an understanding as to why i need massive amounts of help and support financially.

Ko-fi: Here~

So i work at a place similar to a small-time grocery store. but popular. catch my Not-gonna-say-where vibe. And lemme say, the prospects weren't too bad. this was while i was living in a semi-expensive apartment area with someone that seemingly prefered to make me use all my money for rent instead of saving said money. So things were looking pretty glum as far as me getting things for myself, like transportation, food, etc. 

My workplace was able to hire me, but on the basis that they begged me to be in Deli. and as some people would know, the Deli is the worst to second-worst area in a grocery to work at. It had the same premise as a Mcdonalds. High turnovers, safety issues through the roof, people who dont really care about themselves-- you get the idea. 

So i go into deli, instead of Floral as intended, cause “more money and hours to get said money” and at the time i lived fairly close, i would walk back and forth from work and things seemed to be ok. I didnt feel too bad for my job at the time, and i was making ends meet on the outside. Or at least thats what I thought. However, that basically changed when I found out what my roommate was doing to me, and thus moving to a new area with several new friends of mine. 

I moved MUCH further away from my workplace and thus started to learn the bus routes. That was fine and all, ive learned the busses before in my old city. So that wasn't a problem. But as people know, busses can only do so much. Which can leave someone potentially late for work just cause thats how busses work sometimes--and theres nothing you can do about it. Especially Sunday. Which i will elaborate on later. 

 How bout literally now-- Remember December 23, 2018? The night i got sexually abused? That was a SUNDAY. Guess what late night transportation was later and somehow missed on that day? YEP. I’ve never rode a bus after 8 ever again after that btw. I hate sundays. I hate needing to ride a bus on sunday period. Aight? Im paranoid and I scream when a male (or similar) sits next to me on the bus. No. just. No. 

(The event consisted of me getting a call card from police who escorted me home. My virginity is not lost, but my functionality of my right arm was and still is, severely damaged. this is the key problem to all my problems from then on.)

So its after that event right? My attendance was fine until then. the weeks following to now, ive taken days off. Ive taken time to just rest my arm. My shoulder cannot handle the pressure of cutting meat with the slicers for more than a few times. With me being extremely slow doing so. 

Lets just tryyyy to keep this short and say they were not pleased with my lack of performance.... 

Thus i had to keep explaining to my superiors that my arm hurts, i cannot be running the slicers, etc. But of course since the deli is shorthanded-- i was basically forcing myself to slice meat cause lord knows no one wants to slice meat. (previously my fave part of the job before accident) And due to the ‘shorthandedness’, me trying to ask for days off was a cardinal sin. Im a person whose stamina isnt even long enough to last a whole day at work. So me having to exhaust myself at my job, could only mean that when i got back home it was a hit-or-miss if my arm was going to even move the next day. 

This is where the problems arise. Im a good worker, i do my job--and do it well. But when im constantly injured---and the job im in does NOT help me fix that injury. The only attempts i make towards them at least caring about my injury instead of the hours i worked were meetings that they made me sound like a petty and selfish autistic gremlin. Even though the managers in charge know LITERALLY EVERYTHING about my end of the story, they see me more,

BUT BUSINESS! BUT MONEY! BUT NUMBERS!  Nothing about giving a care about injured workers. About people who have special needs. Nothing. No resources given.  

Which makes me mad. Sure i cant go to work often cause of my distance from home and work. But, thats where I requested to transfer to avoid that problem. Didn't go through cause my attendance was nasty due to my injury.

So what do I do? I cant fix the attendance problem in the slightest if my workplace isnt closer to home. I cant fix my injury if I do not have time to even relax and do to a doctor and spend a day in the offices to get SOMETHING done about it. 

Neither happened. So im stuck trying to at least get into Floral as intended so i can at least do my job. Nothing over the shoulders. Im stuck working the slicers, hurting my arm even more. Even with a shoulder brace I can only do so much.

Present day, Im basically going to go to a meeting that may or may not, leave me jobless. Who knows, but with the above statement-- this is the only job i actually didn't mind ditching for the sake of my personal health. 

I have several jobs in the running right now that are potential takers. Thankfully there are more prospects here than elsewhere at the moment. 

But until i get that job landing, i need help being stable enough to last a month which is at best 300$ so i can at least pay for my rent without issue. 

If you can, just send me some good ol’ Honeybears.  

Please and thank you for your time!

[ashencreature]

Important Update for partners across the board

This is long, and I’m sorry, but I just wanted everyone to know what’s going on. Honestly, I’m not expecting anyone to actually waste time reading through all this, but it’s just so I can try to ease my own anxiety in case the worst case scenario does come and I left some sort of explanation.

Ok, so, some of you know there’s been a lot going on for me at home in the last 3 or 4 years. But everything’s kind of getting worse by day and at this point, I’m not sure what to do anymore. 

When I was 14, I moved in with my dad. We moved quite a few times in the first few years I was with him. Hell, that first year alone, I was in 3 different schools. All for Freshman year. And the last house we were in that year, we stayed in for maybe 2? 

But when I was 16, the factory my dad worked at closed and he lost his job. That’s kind of where all this starts. Instead of getting a new job, he decided he wanted to spend all day drinking with his new friends and occasionally doing odd jobs for them or things with them. We had to move out of that house, take my dog to the shelter, and move into a trailer. It was only supposed to be for a year. But nearly 14 years later, and we’re still here. 

Now the landlord here is a real prick. More like a slumlord if you ask me. He jacks the rent up for the dumbest reasons and acts like he’s god’s gift to humanity or some shit. He told us himself, and had the park manager tell us, that we couldn’t fix our roof to stop the leaking because the walls would collapse of we tried to move it. So literally the entire 14 years we’ve been here, the roof has been leaking. My dad tried everything he could think of, short of tearing it out and redoing it, to fix it. Nothing worked. 

And in that time, the entire back half of the house got destroyed by mold. My bedroom, being the very last room, was the first to go. I think I slept in it for a year? And ever since, I’ve had to sleep in the living room because the walls had to be torn out due to the mold. It’s right down to the studs and the scant insulation. It’s been like that for over 10 years. Well, now the mold is spreading and getting worse. The bathroom is destroyed pretty much. The back hallway is the same. The floor’s rotting away, and the toilet is falling through the floor; again. 

Now, I think my dad went to the garage he was at for the first time when I was maybe 18? I don’t remember exactly. I do remember being in junior year and my friends either having to buy me lunch, share theirs with me, or pray that we actually were cooking in cooking class; which happened a lot less than you’d think. Other than that, I didn’t eat. Senior year was a little better because I at least would get money dropped off to eat. Not that the cafeteria had a lot of choices for me to pick from. I pretty much ate nothing but gross excuse for pizza and occasionally pretzels, fries, or Belgian waffles. 

Anyway, so senior year rolls around and we’re all prepping for college. At the time, I wanted to go to AMDA for musical theater, and managed to get an audition there for that March. I had to force my dad to go to the meeting about FAFSA and to fill out the paperwork. Which he said he did, but I don’t believe it because he says they denied me. And I’ve never heard of FAFSA being denied. Not that it mattered anyway, because I bombed the audition and didn’t get in. So graduation rolls around and all my friends go off to college. I haven’t seen or spoken to most of them since. They never stop to visit when they come home and they never try to reach out on Facebook. Eventually, I got sick of being the one to initiate and maintain all conversations, so I just gave up. 

The 2 friends I still had at that time helped me to get jobs when I was 20/21 and living with them, in 2011/2012. This was because 2 of us and their mom were in a car accident on the way to my friend’s college at the time. We all nearly died. My friend had a concussion, their mom needed surgery, and I nearly got impaled by a fake Christmas tree. I ended up going to the hospital a lot later than they did with a copy of the report in the doctor’s hand and got told I wasn’t in an accident I had the flu, go home. Anyway, so after my friend’s mom’s surgery, I moved in to help around the house and look after my friend’s youngest sister. These jobs weren’t the best; Wendy’s and the deli department of one of the local grocery stores. But it was money. 

For all the good it did. Because by that time, my dad had quit working at the garage. So here I was, paying for rent, bills, gas, food, and child support for my brother. All on $200 a week. My anxiety was driving me insane. And I came to find out that my dad was going in and threatening one of the store managers, which was probably why the guy was such a scumbag to me. But I digress. So I was in the store for a month shy of 2 years. I started at maybe $7.45 or $7.50. an hour when I started. It was slightly over the minimum wage at the time. By the time I left, 2 years later mind you, I wasn’t even making $8, and I was working full time hours while only being part time. Everything that went wrong got blamed on me, even when it was my day off and I wasn’t anywhere near the store. I liked most of the people that I worked with, even if I hated the job, and the assistant department manager became a really good friend. She was 2 years older than me, and we hung out a lot. I’d spend the night at her house, I was at her wedding, I’ve been to her daughter’s birthday parties and so on. 

At one point, I was supposed to get training to be an assistant specialty cheese shop lead. They sent me to one class, told me about another, but never gave me any more details about it, even when I asked. Then they said they were going to train me over there, but never did. That was just the first of a long list of grievances. The culmination of which was on a Sunday night, our busiest day of the week. There was just me and 1 other guy in the department. Then 1 lady in the hot food section, 1 lady in the beer store, and no one in the bakery. But they expected me to take care of all 4 departments and still wait on the 20+ people that were at the counter the whole night. And I had an order to make and put away for the assistant department manager. Needless to said, I had a panic attack. I told my partner, and both of the other people nearby. They told the assistant store manager, and he didn’t care. They made me work for 3 and a half hours, through a panic attack, without a break. I couldn’t breathe and was on the verge of fainting. I finally had enough and told one of the ladies that I didn’t care what the store manager said, I was going to get my inhaler in the break room and get a drink at the water fountain, or I was going to faint. 

A few days later, I got called to the main office to speak to the store manager, who I usually didn’t have a problem with. And unfortunately, since my anger receptors are evidently attached to my tear ducts, I broke down in tears when I wanted to be furious. He basically told me that I was going to the bakery or I was getting fired. So the next day, I quit. There was a lot of other stuff too but that doesn’t really matter. Including being so sick that I couldn’t eat for over a week, fainting in the back room because they wouldn’t let me take a day off, and not being able to talk for over a month. The assistant department manager almost called the ambulance when I fainted, but you know, I’m clearly the problem here. 

So there we were, I didn’t have a job. My dad didn’t have a job. I was 23, and feeling just as helpless as I did at 16. I spent a year filling out job applications for a bunch of different things from craft stores to fast food to jewelry stores, but never heard back from any of them. The only interview I got was for Chipotle. But they wouldn’t even hire me. Naturally, cue the anxiety and depression getting worse. And around this time, our electric got shut off. This was in May I believe because it was just before my birthday. 

At that time I started thinking about going back to school. So I looked at schools and degrees you could do all online, because I knew I could never afford to go on campus. And, as most of you know, I started at CTU in July of that year. Now the program I did was an accelerated one, which meant I could finish gen ed classes faster, be done faster, and lower my tuition. I did as many as I could, but only my admission adviser was any help. My actual student adviser was never around, never responded to my emails, never called me back. But whatever. 

So for 3 years I spent pretty much all day, every god damn day doing schoolwork. I’d be at my local Dunkin from 3 in the afternoon until they closed at 11. Sometimes I’d be working even later next door because I still had stuff to do. The first year and a half I was fine. It didn’t bother mine, just like working didn’t bother me at first. But then, a year and a half after I started, I got sick. I couldn’t eat anything without my stomach cramping up and getting the worst migraines. It got so bad that one day at Dunkin, I felt like I was going to puke, and got up to go to the bathroom and almost fainted. Personally, I think it’s a combination of anxiety, depression, Celiac/gluten intolerance, anemia, and asthma. But I don’t know for sure because I haven’t had a doctor since I was going to the pediatrician. And even if I did, can’t afford it. 

So I’ve just been getting sicker and sicker. I was 125 pounds in January of this year. 11 months later, and I’m down to 108.5 the last time I checked. I think the lowest I hit was 107, and that was all 6 months after the weight loss started. There’s times it’ll go back up, but I can’t get past 110 or 111 tops. Neighbors who used to live down the road came to visit earlier this week, and all the lady could say was how skinny I got. I’m like yeah, malnourishment’ll do that to you. 

And to make things worse, my dad at some point went back to the garage and was working again, so things were slightly better. I say slightly in the loosest way possible. But, just after Christmas last year, my dad quit again. I’ve seen him apply to 1 job and go to 1 interview in the year since. Other than that, he’s been collecting scrap and doing shit for people who refuse to pay, including the landlord. In the last 7 or 8 months, despite how many times I’ve told him that my refund checks from the school aren’t free money I can spend however I want, my dad’s made me spend it. The $5,000 I had that was supposed to set me ahead for my student loans are gone. And I’m $5,000 deeper in the hole than I should be. Which means instead of being like $45 or 50 grand in debt I’m about $55 grand. 

Then, because we haven’t had electricity in almost 4 years, and with the mold problem, everything in the house is ruined. We had only cold water, and I took cold showers for as long as I could. But last winter, the shower pipes froze and burst. So even if I wanted to, I can’t do that. Plus, because we can’t use the washer and dryer, or hook up a generator thanks to the scumbag landlord, or afford a laundromat, our clothes have gone unwashed for over a year. Most of mine were sitting in the tub, which got filled with mold and bugs. I have practically no clothes left, with no way to wash them, and no way to shower unless I go to someone else’s house. And even when I do, I still don’t feel clean. Even after washing my hair 4 times or more. 

We were supposed to move into the place next door and tear this one down. But the landlord and my dad made a deal that he’d give it to us for the cost of the title transfer. Then suddenly, he wanted $600, then like $800 or $1,000. But he won’t stop asking about it, no matter how many times we tell him no. Him and his wife keep trying to say we’re $5,000 behind on rent which isn’t possible because with what rent is now, you can’t even get $5,000 as a total for a whole year, and this last year is the only time we fell behind because everything else was caught up. He gave us a bill full or errors. Payments that were made aren’t marked. Payments that weren’t made are. There’s random charges after the monthly rent cycle. Which I think are from when he was bitching about us paying the taxes for a place we didn’t even own and was still in his name. He told us we can’t run the generator for power because it was too loud. Though the noise ordinance here is 11, and it was always off by then. And when one of the neighbors asked how we were supposed to live, he told them it “Wasn’t his problem”. 

So when I started getting really sick, and unable to leave the house to go to Dunkin for school because I was too gross, the neighbors next door let us run an extension cord over to their place. Not a lot. Just enough for the light in the living room, the fan, a mini fridge, and to plug in my phone and computer. OH WANNA HEAR A GOOD ONE. THE LANDLORD TOLD MY DAD 3 SEPARATE TIMES IF I NEED TO PLUG IN MY COMPUTER TO GET A LANTERN. YES THE OLD FASHIONED OIL OR CANDLE TYPE LANTERN. WHICH YOU CAN TOTALLY PLUG AN ELECTRONIC COMPUTER INTO. So because of that, I was able to finish school and graduate in June. 

But, because I still can’t bathe or do laundry and have no clothes, I still can’t go to interviews. If I walked in with my arms, face, neck, and legs literally black from dirt, and reeking to high heaven, I’d fucking get laughed out of the place. My dad still refuses to get a real job and insists on hauling scrap or doing shit for people who won’t pay at all, or want to pay less than it’s worth. And guess what’s due this week? You got it, my first loan payment. 

I can’t figure out how much I have to pay, work on getting it lowered or delayed, or even access my account info because there’s an issue with my birthday apparently, and they can’t find it even though they have my name and social and keep emailing me. I’ve been telling him this for months, and he still won’t come with me to try and sort it out. Because what he needs has to taken care of then and there and everything else can fuck all. He blew up at me the other day about it, blaming me for going, leaving him with payments, for my mother walking out 20 years ago even though they hated each other, and pretty much for being born. Because he resents having to take care of kids he made the choice to have. Not like I asked to be born, and I’ve been wishing I was dead since I was 9, but whatever. 

Anyway. 

So, the neighbor’s dad was diagnosed with lung cancer over the summer. Like 2 weeks later, he was dead. And she’s struggling just as much. We’ve been trying to help her and she’s been trying to help us. But her ex was paying her rent and some of the other bills until she found a job because they have a young son. But he started refusing to do that, which I honestly wouldn’t be surprised it if was the landlord’s doing cause they were talking. And he was telling her to “pull the plug” on us. And his wife started harassing her about rent like 2 weeks after her father died. Then, she went to Domestic relations earlier this week and then like the day after she goes, her ex somehow gets an emergency custody on the little guy. They came for him yesterday. 

She’s most likely going to have to move, which means that we’ll be losing power and internet unless we can figure something out to get our power back on. But even then, the bill’s supposedly at least $1300, and that won’t fix the internet problem. 

So... Needless to say, if I disappear suddenly in the near future, that’s why. I don’t want to go. I’ve spent too much time here, made too many friends, and put too much work into my muses. But everything is going to shit all at once. It’s just been building and building for the last 3 years, especially the last year, but my dad refuses to see and do anything about it. Instead, he’d rather blame everything on me and expect me to fix it. As if my mental health wasn’t bad enough from childhood abuse and being sick and stressed all the time. Now I’m too fucking scared to leave the house. I haven’t been outside since the midterms when I went to vote. But I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen now. And I just wanted everyone to know that I love them. And even if I do disappear, I still plan on keeping my muses and coming back when I can. Granted Tumblr doesn’t die before then. In which case the only blog i’m worried about losing is Elizabeth’s because of all the worldbuilding, metas, and headcanons I’ve done.

[sweetlysilent]

Web of Lies (Part 4)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: In which they say keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but what if they're one in the same?

Part 4: Cut Off

Song Rec: Feel It Still - Portugal. The Man

Web of Lies (Masterlist)

Feedback is much appreciated! (I will also be doing a tag list so if you'd like to be tagged send in an ask or comment on this post!)

You could of sworn time was going in slow motion as you stared at the clock, your leg twitching in anticipation for the final bell to ring so you could get the hell out of what you considered school to be, prison.

Tonight was the night you finally proved to your boss your dedication to your work, that you were loyal and committed to this job and everything that came with it.

You sucked in your bottom lip as you watched the clock hit three, the final bell ringing throughout the school, everyone eager to get out and be free for the weekend, while you on the other hand were eager to grab your belongings and get out before Peter and Ned got in the way.

For the past few days you'd been avoiding them, totally cutting them off to your life as if they'd never been apart of it in the first place.

At first it was hard, they'd be waiting at your locker for you in the mornings, so you'd simply turn the other way and wait till they left so you could grab your belongings, or when lunch came around, you'd sit at a different table and they'd stare at you from across the cafeteria, confusion on their faces as to why you weren't sitting with them.

It even got to the point where they were trying to trap you into talking to them, one of them would walk down one hallway, the other walking down another that way you couldn't avoid them, but none less you found a way out of it.

You even ignored their calls and text messages, which genuinely pissed them off even more, not knowing why you suddenly dropped them like they were nothing to you.

But you believed that this was the only way, it was the only way to keep them safe from your job, and you in general, your alter ego was a dangerous person, and if you accidently hurt one of them you'd never forgive yourself.

So, you chose the option to cut them off, to make them hate you, to make them want to avoid you that way they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

Deep down it did hurt you though, they were your only friends besides Liz who unfortunately had to move away.

But maybe you were better off this way, being a lone wolf doing your own thing independently with nobody to interfere and ruin it or cause issues.

Your mind was a jumble of thoughts, making it hard sometimes to focus on the important things, but you were quick to get yourself out of it as you made it to your locker, putting in your code before shoving your books in, taking the ones you needed out and slamming it shut.

You grabbed your phone out of your bag, checking the time, seeing that you had exactly fifteen minutes to get home, grab your gear, and get to your boss on time to get the rest of your instructions.

At least that was the plan until you felt a hand grasp your wrist, causing you to jerk your arm back, anger rising in the pit of your stomach.

Who the hell had the audacity to grab you like that, you thought to yourself as you turned to face your attacker.

"Y/N, we need to talk." Peter spoke, his voice low as you gave him a slight glare, which didn't seem to phase him at all.

"No. Peter, we really don't, and I actually have somewhere I need to be or I'm going to be late, so would you kindly let go of me?" You replied back, sarcasm laced in your voice as your eyes flickered down to his hand still firm on your wrist.

Peter gave a slight thought to it, but refused to let go, causing your anger to turn into rage, he was screwing up your plans, and you couldn't afford to be late on the biggest day of your career.

"Why have you been avoiding me? What did I do wrong? Surely something happened because you're avoiding me like the plague." Peter bombarded you all at once, making you feel slight guilt, but at the same time you had to remember why you did it all in the first place.

"Alright. Fine. I'll tell you why, it's because I can't stand to be around you or Ned anymore, all you guys are doing is holding me down and I can't have that anymore. Ever since Liz left, you both have clung to me like your lives depended on it and I'm tired of it." You spat at him, your words dripping like venom as Peter's face fell, causing your heart to break.

"Y-You don't mean that.." He whispered, his eyes searching yours frantically to see if there was a split chance you were bluffing, but you refused to look at him, instead shaking your head, letting out a bitter laugh.

"No. I do. In fact, I only became friends with you because I felt bad for you, being the nerd of the school and all.." You trailed off, watching his mouth drop open in shock by your words.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go, you've already caused me five minutes." You growled out, ripping your wrist from his grasp, before storming off, your heart pounding in your chest as tears pricked your eyes, you were sure now, if not certain, Peter Parker hated you, and it was all your own doing.

You still managed however to get to your boss on time, even after the incident with Peter, you had a minute to spare, which made your knees go weak, you didn't know what would happen if you showed up late.

"So, here's the plan for tonight, you're going to rob three banks, I want you to get one million dollars from each bank, we need it for future projects, and if anyone gets in your way of doing so, kill them." Your boss stated firmly, as you replied with a "Yes sir." Before grabbing the bags you were to use to put money in.

"Oh and Y/N." Your boss spoke up, stopping you from leaving, causing you turn back around to look at him.

"If you do this, you'll officially be apart of this team, so don't fuck it up. We could use someone like you with your powers and knowledge." Your boss stated, as you nodded in response, your hands becoming sweaty.

You waited until nightfall to start your task, you swiftly put on your disguise, a mask covering your eyes, along with a dark body suit that hugged your figure.

Your powers were something that fascinated you, you had telekinesis, which was the ability to move objects at a distance by mental power or other nonphysical means, but you also had the ability to shape shift, which your alter ego had done some previous nights ago to a lady.

You and your alter ego were two completely different people, total opposite personalities, that is if you let that part of you come out to play.

Nightfall had now fallen over the city of Queens, which was the perfect time to make your move.

You swiftly jumped from building to building until you came to a bank on the corner, across from a deli shop, which you loved, Mr. Delmar's sandwiches were the best in Queens.

You carefully went into the bank, starting to hack into the system, occasionally checking to see if anyone was watching, which you were glad nobody was or that would end badly for them.

Once you extracted one million dollars, you made your move to the next bank, but before you left you made sure to leave your signature mark, a symbol that represented your alter ego.

Once having done that you were off to the next bank, which was a bit harder to break into, but you managed to do so anyways, however, there were a few unlucky guards that had to pay the price.

You killed all four of them without flinching, as you made your way to the vault, not caring if you set off any alarms, you were in the zone now.

You grabbed another million in cash, leaving your symbol once more before heading off to your last target.

This bank was even more guarded than the last two you had just robbed, mainly because it was an underground bank, but you were always up for a challenge.

You decided you were just going to walk in, go straight for the kill, which you did, and the guards did their best to fight back, but against you and your powers, they were nothing.

You grabbed the last guard by the collar of his shirt, dragging him to the vault as you took his thumb, pressing it onto the scanner to unlock the large metal door.

"Thank you.. Harold.. But now that you've done your job, you're no longer valuable to me, therefore, no longer needed." You grinned evilly, listening to his pleas, but you ignored them, using your powers to snap his neck in a swift motion.

You then went in and gathered the last of the money you needed, before walking out of the bank, a smile on your face as you felt the victory in the palms of your hands.

At least you did at first.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you felt something sticky land on your hand, causing your head to snap up to see the cause of the issue.

A smile made its way onto your lips as you saw the familiar red and blue colors, the colors that belonged to the one and only Spider-Man.

"I'm sorry but that money doesn't belong to you, it belongs to those banks you robbed." Spider-Man stated, yanking your hand which caused the bags of money to fall out of your grasp.

"Well, Spidey, you see this is now my money, so I'm actually going to take it and be off." You replied back, trying to get the disgusting web off your hand.

Spider-Man let out a low chuckle, shaking his head as he jumped down from where he was hiding, coming into a clear view.

"No, you're not. In fact, I'm going to return all of this money, and turn you in where you'll be locked up for good and not able to hurt anyone else." Spider-Man crossed his arms, watching you intently.

"Over my dead body." You threatened, using your powers to throw a large stone block at Spider-Man, who quickly dodged it.

Spider-Man then took this as an opportunity to web up your legs, which he did get one, causing you to fall, angering you.

You then used your powers to draw over a sharp object, cutting the web from you, before levitating multiple sharp objects, causing Spider-Man's eyes to widen on his mask, seeing all the objects being thrown at him.

However, he wasn't that lucky, his arm and leg getting cut in the process of getting away.

"Had enough yet Spidey?" You challenged, searching around the darkened room to see where he was.

"Never. Not until I have you in jail where you belong." He spat back at you, making you chuckle darkly.

You caught him out of the corner of your eye, swinging in on one of his webs, but you were a step ahead of him, levitating a bolder and throwing it into him, causing him to fall and hit the ground harshly.

"I have orders to follow, and that's to kill anyone who gets in my way. Which means that's the end for Spider-Man, I hope they remember you." You grinned down at him, as he let out a groan.

You then used your powers to cause the pillars surrounding you both to start to crumble, and before you knew it they were falling, and without hesitation you grabbed your money, taking one last look over your shoulder, seeing Spider-Man trying to get up, but instead getting trapped underneath the debris of the fallen pillars.

And there you left, without second thought, leaving Spider-Man to die.

If there's a line through your user Tumblr wouldn't let me tag you :/

Tags: @gerardwayisapotato @prancingdestiel @jugheadismyking

@queenofallslay

[light-up-shawn]

flourish. - peter parker

genre: i really dunno man

warnings: none

words: 2,483

pairing(s) : peter p x reader eventually

parts: one , two

A/N: Hey! So I have this written and four written which means I’ll probably post tomorrow too! I’m sorry if this story is moving along slowly, I just don’t think Peter and the reader should be full on making out in the first few chapters but they’ll definitely interact more as the story moves along. I don’t know what else to say for now so as always, leave questions, suggestions, predictions, and feedback in my ask. Thank you for reading, my loves. Enjoy! 💗

It was 7 am on September 8th. It was the first day of school and you barely caught an ounce of sleep. Excitement overcame you at least a month before you had even started school. Ever since you woke up an hour ago, you couldn't help but imagine everything that could happen today. You could make a lot of friends, you could accidentally expose your powers, you could meet Rihanna. The possibilities were endless.

You took a bite out of the pancakes your aunt made and hummed in satisfaction.

"These are so good, oh my god." You said.

Your aunt smiled at you.

"You excited for your first day?" she asked. Your aunt's hair was all messy and she was dressed in these luxurious-looking silk pajamas. She slept very classily.

"Yeah. I walked past midtown once when MJ and I were going to this deli. It looks like a really nice school. I'm excited to be attending." you answered and remembered that day. MJ was bored and her parents were mad at each other so she needed some air. The two of you were walking around for at least two hours. You liked that you an MJ could just spontaneously hang out with each other. Nothing was ever forced. Anything that came to your mind, the two of you just talked about it.

"Ugh, you grow up so fast. It seems like just yesterday you first got here." your aunt gushed.

"It's been like two months." You replied.

"You've grown up so much since then!"

you giggled.

"The bus gets here in 5 minutes. You need to get to the bus stop now." your mom said coming down the hallway, putting an earring in her ear.

It took a month but your mom was able to find a job. Before you were born, your mom apparently went through schooling for being a teacher. She talked about it every once in a while but not enough for it to be a significant memory so it kind of took you by surprise when she came home with a huge smile on her face because she got a job as a first-grade teacher.

You took one last bite of you heaven sent pancakes, gathered your stuff and left.

"have a good day" 's were heard as you were leaving.

You ran to the bus stop two blocks away from your apartment building and just barely caught the bus. You stuck your metro card in the slot and then walked into the seating area. As you expected the bus was full of both students and adults on their way to school and work. Neither parties looking forward to the day ahead of them

After about five stops, you made it to Midtown and got off the bus. You looked around as you walked and took in everything. The school wasn't small, unlike your last one. It seemed to have three floors instead of two and the website said it held about 2,000 students. So many of them were walking into the school frantically or laughing with friends.

"Ow!" a pitchy voice said.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I should've been paying attention." you apologized to the brown haired boy you somehow walked into.

"Hey don't worry about it. It happens to me all the time." The boy smiled.

"Uh I'm Y/N." you introduced yourself.

"I'm Peter. Nice to meet you."

Peter. You knew that name. It was that friend that MJ talked about to when you two first met.

"Peter...Parker?" you asked.

He quirked an eyebrow at you.

"Yeah...how did you know that?"

"I'm friends with your friend, MJ. She talks about you and Ned sometimes." you explained.

"Does she?" He said, smiling.

You were aware you weren't supposed to tell Peter that and it would probably come back to bite you but the words couldn't be taken back now.

"Mhmm. I'd better get going though, Peter. You wouldn't happen to know where the main office is, would you?"

"Yeah, I'll uh, I'll show you." he offered.

You nodded and followed behind him into the building.

"So Peter, you're on the decathlon team?" you asked in attempt to make small talk. You recalled MJ brought up the decathalon team once.

"Well, I've been thinking about joining. Uh, this one girl I know is on the team. and she seems to have a lot of fun. Ned says he'd join too if I do it so there's a chance I will be doing that." she answered.

"That's cool. The team sounds fun. Not entirely my thing but I'd join for the experience."

"Midtown has a wide selection of things to join. Something would definitely match your interest, you just gotta look." he said.

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

You two turned a corner and there was an open door with a big desk and a secretary sitting behind it.

"Here you are."Peter pointed his hands towards the room in front of you.

"Thank you."

"It was no problem. I'll catch you around."

You nodded as he walked away.

"Can I help you?" the lady behind the desk asked.

"Yeah, I'm Y/N L/N. I was told this is where i could pick up my schedule." you smiled at her.

"The transfer from Buffalo? Yeah, we have your schedule. Just give me a second to print it out."

After five minutes, you were given your schedule and meant to go find classroom 234.

"Y/N!" a voice called down the hallway. You could only assume it was someone you were familiar with. And you were only familiar with one person. It was obviously MJ.

She approached you and held her hand out.

"Let me see your schedule."

You handed her the piece of paper and she skimmed it.

Today MJ was wearing her signature ponytail that never seemed to be neat, a plain white shirt with a pair of Adidas joggers and Old Skool Vans. She had a way of making a look that she probably randomly threw on, look good.

"Okay cool, We have lunch, chem, and English together." she informed.

"That's great. I won't be lonely all day." you said.

"Yeah, I'm stuck with you for three periods."

"I see it as you have the amazing opportunity to spend time with me for 135 minutes every day. It's everyone's dream, truly." You joked.

"Everyone is interchangeable with no one, right?"

"Shut up."

"Oh, we have like 10 minutes to spare. Come with me to my locker and I'll walk you to your class?" Mj asked even though it was more of a statement.

You nodded and followed behind her as she walked off. Midtown had a lot of doors and even more lockers it seems.

We approached her locker only to see the brown-haired boy from before along with a black haired boy.

"Hi, losers." MJ greeted.

"Hi, Michelle and friend." The boy you have yet to meet spoke.

That's the second time someone had referred to you as "and friend" and it would probably happen a lot more.

"Didn't I tell you, dummies, to call me MJ?"

Peter snorted at her insult.

"You love us." He said.

"No way."

"Then why have you been talking about us all summer?"

MJ inhaled and exhaled. You assumed she would snap your neck or something. Lucky for you, she had some sense of self-control.

"So you and Y/N have met, I presume."

You smiled innocently.

"Yes, I have had the pleasure of meeting your friend who apparently can't keep a secret." He teased.

"You'd be surprised." you mumbled.

"ANYWAY! Hello, my name is Ned. It seems like I'm the only one who has no idea who you are." the other boy said. The other boy looked as though he was probably South Asain.

"Hi, Ned!"

"How do you guys know her?" Ned asked.

"I spent a chunk of my summer walking around with her." Mj admitted.

"I just met her like ten minutes ago and showed her to the office." Peter said.

"Sigh. I'm always last. First puberty now this." Ned joked.

The three of you laughed and then the bell rang.

"Oh god, I have Luis first period. I heard he's super strict. I have to go." Before you could protest (and you had every right to because you would be late to your first class) she was off, messy ponytail bouncing with every step she took.

"Would any of you happen to know where 234 is?" You asked.

Peter spoke up. "234 is on my way, I'll show you."

Peter and Ned did this really cool looking handshake and went their separate ways.

"You seem to be showing me around a lot." You said.

"Maybe it'll count for something and I could like graduate early." Peter said.

"Really? In that case, I will gladly show any lost freshman around."

Peter chuckled.

"As if you know where you're going yourself."

"Hey, I'm a fast learner."

The two of you approached the staircase and he held open the door for you.

"Thank you."

he smiled.

"I would, y'know, make small talk and stuff. It's kind of my brand, but I don't think the conversation would last that long seeing as you have exactly 2 minutes and 11 seconds to get to your first period that is across the hall."

"I can make it."

"Goodluck, Y/N." he said as you picked up a light jog, determined to get to class on time.

and you did just that.

You walked out of breath to the middle of the classroom. You always tried to go for the middle seats. If you were having an off day and you sat in the front, the teacher would publically embarrass you. In the back, you wouldn't even pay attention. The middle was perfect. It held many opportunities.

As the class came to a close though, you learned that this teacher didn't care where you sat, you would still get publically embarrassed.

It kind of went the same way for most teachers. Some were more lenient, you had to admit, but most were hellbent on the discipline of your fellow classmates. Even though some were rude, to say the least, you were still polite.

And by doing so, you were able to get to through the first four periods without a teacher hating you.

Your reflection of the people you were forced to spend forty-five minutes with every day for 10 months was interrupted when MJ texted you to head to the cafeteria.

So you made your way to the ground floor for lunch in the shockingly big eatery.

You stood in the doorframe of the room searching for your friend and her friends while MJ waved at you to get your attention. Eventually, it worked and you walked over to the table the three teens were sitting at.

"Hi everyone!"

"Y/N! Please tell me your teachers are just as bad as mine." MJ said.

"Uh, two of them were pretty rude. Not to me, luckily. And the others were fine i guess. They weren't good but weren't bad either. I really don't think this year will be all that bad. If I stay on their good side, like you said, I'll be fine."

"Wait. MJ advised you to kiss up to the teachers?"Ned chuckled.

"I advised her to stay on their good side. There's a difference, Leeds."

"Whatever you say, Michelle."

She rolled her eyes and began to doodle in her book.

"So how were your teachers? I assume you had a better experience than me and MJ." you asked Ned and Peter.

"Yeah, I like mine. None of them were annoyingly strict so that's good, I guess."

"I sat in the back so none of my teachers noticed anyway."

"Not like it would matter. The first week of school is just teachers going over the syllabus and trying to convince us of buying them tissues and hand sanitizer." MJ said.

"Why do you have to be such a downer? We have two classes with each other!"

"Just because you say that in a positive tone doesn't mean I'll enjoy it."

You wiped an imaginary tear from your eye.

"Ouch, MJ. That shit hurted."

Peter and Ned chuckled.

"So, Y/N, what brings you to Queens?"

"I think my mom was just getting bored of Buffalo. It wasn't ever really somewhere she wanted to be so we packed up our shit and left."

"Where are you staying?"

"My mom and I live with my aunt. The two of them are actually NYC natives."

Peter looked like he wanted to say something but he held back.

"I feel like if all four of us are going to sit with each other for 10 months then we should at least be not awkward. Let's play 21 questions." Ned suggested.

You and MJ looked at each other and smiled. 21 questions was one of your very first memories together.

"I'll go first. Who do you idolize?" you asked.

"Tony Stark." Peter said immediately.

"Beyonce but you already knew that."

"Hm, this is hard but I have to go with Elon Musk." Ned answered causing you all to break out in giggles.

"Okay, okay, uhh how do you guys like your eggs?" Peter asked.

We all looked at him weirdly. He could've done better.

"Scrambled."

"Hard Boiled."

"Poached."

"That was a horrible question, Petey. Anyway, Do you guys have any phobias you'd like to break?" MJ asked.

"I'd like to break my phobia of blood. Any time I see an excessive amount of it, I pass out." Ned admitted.

"I have a weird fear of heart disease and I don't really know where it came from."

"I don't like spiders."

Ned and Peter looked at each other then looked away. Probably some sort of inside joke.

"Okay, what superpowers would you guys have if you could choose?"

Both you and Peter tensed. Both Ned and MJ noticed to because they gave you guys weird stares.

"Um, I'd have mind manipulation or invisability or literally anything Scarlet Witch could do."

"I would have Thor's powers. He's cool."

"Uh, black widow."

After another exchange of suspicious glances from Ned and MJ, you all continued the game. Questions came up about future jobs, smash or pass, favorite foods, songs, etc. The game served its purpose you actually did learn more about your lunch buddies and it was refreshing to make new friends.

The bell rang and the four of you got up.

"Bye guys!" you said as MJ dragged you along to your next class.

You two found a seat next to each other and MJ whispered to you.

"Hey, why did you and Peter act so weird when Ned asked that question about the superheroes?"

"I wasn't acting weird. That was my thinking face. I don't know about Peter, though, hmm."

"Whatever, Y/N. Whatever you're hiding, I'll find it out. I always do."

taglist : @chims-kookies

[bob-giovanni]

A Casual Affair - Part 21

Characters: Simon X OFC

Summary: Violet tries to adjust to her new more public life.

Warnings: Cursing, Angst, A bit of fluff

Notes: I’m sorry it took so long to get this written, and this is a pretty short chapter, too. I’ve had the worst case of writer’s block. It also didn’t help that I was busy bingeing Brooklyn 99 (It’s a fucking fantastic show and you should watch it if you haven’t.)

Song for this Chapter: “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga (Playlist Here!)

Simon and Violet had been back from their vacation for a little over 2 months and since then things had been a little crazy. Pretty much everyone at the office now knew that Simon and Violet were in a relationship which prompted some complaints about favoritism. Luckily Violet was able to find a new job working as an assistant at one of the big Broadway theaters. It sucked not being able to see Simon as often, especially since he’d moved back into his place. But they still spent every weekend  and multiple nights during the week together. One thing that was starting to wear on Violet was the attention. It didn’t happen often, but considering it never happened before, getting recognized a few times a week was taking it’s toll. Violet was planning on taking time this coming weekend to talk to Simon to see how he coped with this sort of thing in the beginning.

As Violet was finishing up her tasks for the day, her new boss, a guy around her age named Andy, walked up to her desk. “Hey, Violet.” She smiled and looked up at him. “Hey, Andy. What’s up?” Andy was clearly about to walk out the door. He had his backpack slung over one shoulder and his bike helmet in his hand. “Before you head out for the weekend, can you just make sure that the new rehearsal schedule is posted online? We really have to kick things into high gear if we’re gonna be ready for the opening in a couple of weeks.” Violet nodded. “Already done. I wanted to make sure everyone had plenty of time to get their affairs in order since the next couple of weeks are going to be capital B busy.” Andy laughed softly and nodded. “Thanks, Violet. You’re the best. Have a great weekend!” “You too, Andy.”

Violet watched as Andy left. When she first took the job with him, she was worried that he’d try and use the fact that her boyfriend used to be her boss to try and get into her pants. Luckily Andy is gay so she had no worries there. And he was really nice. He acknowledged that he knew about her story from the papers but he assured that he wouldn’t judge because he knew the papers didn’t know the whole story and it was none of his business what went on behind closed doors. That was a huge relief for Violet. She’d been on a few other interviews before landing the one with Andy and all the other people wanted to talk about was her relationship. It was nice knowing that there was at least one person who didn’t give a shit. And no one else that worked at the theatre treated her any differently. It was all she could’ve hoped for.

As Violet was nearly done for the day she texted George, the driver Simon insisted he pay for to take her to and from work everyday, to let him know she was almost ready. About 15 minutes later, George replied that he was outside. Violet grabbed her things and made sure to shut out the lights and lock the door as she left and climbed into the back of the car. “Afternoon, Violet.” He greeted her as she buckled up. George was originally from Tennessee and had a thick southern accent that always made Violet smile. “Afternoon, George. How was your day?” “Ah you know, uneventful. How was yours?” “The same.” Violet and George chatted a bit as he drove towards her apartment. Once the car pulled up out front, Violet thanked George and told him to have a good weekend before heading into her building.

As Violet took her keys from her purse as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. She was so tired that she didn’t notice Simon sitting in the arm chair facing the door when she first entered. However when she turned to put her things down, she gasped loudly and put her hand on her chest. “Jesus Christ, Simon!” She exclaimed. Simon let out a loud laugh and slapped his knee. “Oh I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said between giggles. “What the fuck did you think would happen? I wasn’t expecting you until later tonight!” “I know, I know. I just wanted to surprise you.” Violet set her things down and kicked off her shoes. “Well consider me surprised.” Simon stood and walked over to Violet, smiling at her as he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “How was your day?” Violet smiled and wrapped her arms around Simon’s torso, really needing to feel safe in his arms. “Stressful.”

Simon wrapped his arms around Violet. “I’m sorry, love. I ordered us dinner. It should be here soon. Why don’t you tell me about your day while we wait for it to get here?” Violet nodded followed Simon to the couch, snuggling against his side when he sat down. She sighed deeply before speaking. “How did you deal with all the attention when it first started happening?” She asked. Simon gently ran his fingers through her hair. “What do you mean?” Violet gently ran her fingertips along Simon’s clothed abs. “I mean when you first started getting recognized in public, when you started noticing people taking pictures of you while you were just doing normal everyday things…how did you deal with it?” Simon sighed softly. “Unfortunately there’s no right answer. Some people just adapt. Other’s hide. With me, I just tried to pretend like the cameras weren’t there. If someone approached me, as long as they were nice about it, I’d talk to them or take a picture with them or whatever. If they were rude I’d tell them to fuck off and go on about my day.” Simon leaned down and kissed Violet’s forehead. “You’re strong, baby girl. You’ll get through it.”

Violet nodded. “I know. It’s just frustrating. I went out at lunch and some guy in the deli I went to kept taking pictures of me. He wasn’t even trying to hide it. It was like he thought that just because parts of my life have been made public that he had every right to just snap a million photos of me. Like, if you’re gonna do it at least be more discreet.” Simon sighed. He hated that his actions had led to this. He wanted nothing more than to protect Violet and he felt like a failure. “Do you feel unsafe? I could get you a bodyguard.” Violet laughed softly and shook her head. “I think that’s overkill. But I appreciate the thought.” A moment later the bell rang. Simon stood and pressed the buzzer once he confirmed it was the delivery man with their food. Simon thanked the man and took the bag to the kitchen. He set up everything for them before calling Violet in. As they ate, Violet talked a little more about her new job. Simon wasn’t super familiar with the world of theatre so hearing about some of the behind the scenes stuff was pretty neat.

“How’s your new boss?” Violet smiled and nodded. “Andy is a nice guy. He’s one of the few people I’ve met recently that doesn’t give a shit about my personal life.” Simon smiled. “He, uh, try to make a move on you?” Violet laughed and shook her head. “Calm down, Simon. He’s gay.” Simon laughed softly. “Sorry. I let my jealousy get the best of me for a second.” Violet smiled. “It happens to the best of us.” When they were finished eating, Violet cleaned up and put away their leftovers. Simon poured each of them a glass of wine and headed out to the living room. He placed the glasses on the coffee table before settling down on the couch and turning on the TV. This was how he and Violet would unwind at the end of the week. They’d each have a couple of glasses of wine after dinner, watch some TV or a movie before heading to the bedroom to have sex and then they’d fall asleep in each other’s arms. It was a comfortable routine that they’d both quickly gotten used to. Violet joined Simon on the couch a few moments later and took a sip of her wine before leaning up to peck Simon’s lips a few times. “Love you.” She said softly. Simon smiled and nuzzled her nose. “Love you too.”

—————————————————————————————————

Violet slowly opened her eyes and looked over at the clock on her bedside table. It was 2AM and she had to pee badly. This always happened. She’d wake up in the middle of the night and be so comfortable and not want to move but she had to go to the bathroom and had no choice but to get up. She groaned a bit as she sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched her arms a bit. She stood and trudged to the bathroom, not even bothering to cover up. Simon was the only other person in the apartment so she certainly didn’t care if she was naked around him. Once she was finished she washed her hands before heading back to the bedroom. As she climbed into the bed, her phone dinged. She furrowed her eyebrows and picked it up off the nightstand. The notification indicated that she had a DM on Twitter. She’d never gotten DMs before but as soon as her relationship with Simon became public she started getting some with people calling her a whore and a home wrecker as well as the occasional dick pic.

This was an actual message though from someone she didn’t know. The message simply read, “Trouble in paradise?” with a link. Violet sighed softly as she tapped the link, expecting to be sent to some bullshit tabloid story. However she was surprised when the link led to some photos instead. There were about 20 pictures, all of them were of Simon and Charlotte. In a couple of the photos they were holding hands. In a couple others they were kissing and smiling and laughing. Violet rolled her eyes. Why would she care about some old photos of Simon with his soon to be ex-wife? But Violet could feel her heart drop when she took a closer look at the photos. They were timestamped from 3 days ago. That had to be photoshopped, right? But then Violet realized the shirt Simon was wearing. She’d bought it for him just before they left Bora Bora. So at the very least the photos had been taken within the last 2 months. Violet felt tears stinging at her eyes. Was Simon cheating on her…with his wife?

Tags: @collette04 @66psychotic99 @simons-thirst-squad@mwesterfeld1985 @negans-castle@neganismyobsession@laymetorest77 @brittlw @faith-lynn9

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #240

end of the year one!

What did you do in 2019 that you’d never done before? Uhhhh. Wow. I honestly don't really know; not a lot. Uhhhh... oh, I was sexually involved with a girl, I worked at a deli for A WHOLE TWO HOURS!!!!, I'm still a shameful shit that being on that damn pill actually drove me to masturbating for the first time (yes, I know it's not "bad," but), OH! I very recently found myself to relate to Neo-Paganism so kinda identify as that now, I finished a full semester of college, and uhhh. It's funny, '18 and '19 kinda blur together for me, so I can't say with certainty when some certain things took place, so it doesn't even feel right putting them here? Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn't make one; I pretty much never do. This year, however, I just might. Like I've always thought "dude it's just another day there is literally no actual difference," but I want to focus on the actual symbolism. No, there is no physical difference, but it's the idea I want to appreciate. I want to make something about self-improvement this year, probably mostly about AvPD and its "I'm embarrassed by myself omg people think I'm weird" factor irl, because that FUUUUCKS WIIIITH MEEEEE. I want to be comfortable as me, y'know? Oh, and I should definitely work on independence. Did anyone close to you give birth? No, but my sister is pregnant. Did anyone close to you die? My dog Teddy. What countries did you visit? I didn't leave and have never left America, yaaaaay. Fun. Adventure. What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019? An income. Let photography go somewhere or some shit, please. What date from 2019 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? November 28th, when Teddy was put down. That's something I can never forget. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Said lasting a college semester!!!! I failed my math course as I expected to, but I mean, I lasted. What was your biggest failure? To ME anyway (people have assured me otherwise from their perspectives), it would be the first "professional" wedding I shot. I put so much into that day and the DAYS of post processing, and they never bought any of the pictures. Said they were going to discuss which ones they wanted and get back to me and then poof, vanished. I was very suspicious by another person, I think family, being there taking pictures pretty much just as much as I did, even posing people, and by now I'm pretty sure they used me (or her, idk) as backup. My only guess is my pictures weren't what they wanted so they chose the route of not paying, which, TECHNICALLY, isn't against my terms of service; you just have to pay the sitting fee, you see previews w/ watermarks, and THEN you pay for each photo you actually WANT. That's a loophole I probably need to fix, because I can honestly say $20 did NOT cover my time, hyperhidrosis e x p l o s i o n, anxiety, and my previously-mentioned DAYS-long editing period. Not to mention I was and still genuinely am proud of how the pictures turned out. OKAY WOW I'm seriously ranting but yeah I'm obviously still tilted. Did you suffer illness or injury? Did I? I don't think so. At least nothing serious. I did have a fall, but the resulting bruises and twists were negligible. What was the best thing you bought? A fuckin honeybun from the school snack machine lmao. I don't have my own income, so I just get little cash from Mom if needed for when I go out or anything. Where did most of your money go? See above. So, food lol. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Sara coming on my birthday, Ozzy re-announcing his tour for next year (WITH MANSON Y'ALL!!!!!!!!!!) and Mom and I being like "um fuck yes we're going," and that's all I can think about right now. It's not common I get like, THAT excited. What song will always remind you of 2019? *shrug* None off the top of my head stand out. Compared to this time last year, are you: Happier or sadder? Older or wiser? Thinner or fatter? (I've been at a weight loss stalemate for two fucking years now, so neither.) Richer or poorer? (No personal income, and I don't know the exact financial position Mom's in compared to last year.) What do you wish you’d done more of? See Sara and Dad much more, reach out to more friends, exercise, cleaning alksdjfawei, studying. What do you wish you’d done less of? Sitting on this computer gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh- I honestly would prefer to just not dwell on this "I wish I had..." subject. How did you spend Christmas? Breakfast and gift opening with Mom and my younger sis, then we went to my older sister's house that afternoon to celebrate with her and the kids. What was your favorite TV program? I didn't watch TV. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No. What was the best book you read? The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. What was your greatest musical discovery? Hm... I don't believe I discovered any new bands, but I got waaay more into Motionless In White. What did you want and get? Making it through my first semester in college, Teddy reaching his 13th birthday, seeing my grandmother for probably the last time, seeing Sara for my birthday, uhhh other things that aren't coming to mind. What did you want and not get? Lose more fucking weight for a change, more photography growth, new glasses, the courage to drive more and get my license, SEE SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK AS WELL AS THE LAST HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, other little things I don't wanna dwell on. What was your favorite film of this year? I do NOT get the hate of the live action The Lion King. I fucking adored it. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I don't remember other than hang out with Sara and the fam and probably eat at Olive Garden for dinner. I turned 23. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Photography reaching the level of being able to call it my *real* job. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2019? Pajamas. Just... pajamas whenever possible lmao. What kept you sane? My mom and Sara, MUSIC, gaming, Mark and the other YTers I love way too much, school getting me out of the damn house. Oh, and medication lmfao. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? The day I don't answer this with "Mark Fischbach," I IMPLORE you to commit me. What issue stirred you the most? I'm guessing you mean political? If so, the Amazon wildfires and how the fucking SA government handled it. NOTHING in the political world has ever had me that livid, heartbroken, and ashamed of the greed of the human race. Who did you miss? A good number of people, plus Teddy of course. Who was the best new person you met? Good question. Probably a teacher or adviser at school. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019: I think more than anything, there's been a lot of focus on the fact that you can't always run at the first sign of trouble/stress. That's one of my biggest weaknesses: I flee the moment I'm under stress, but now with school, I've had to learn to fight this. It's an ongoing process, but I'm getting there. Some battles need to be fought to reach a better place.