#i think he jumped work a lot partly because of paranoia of being found

[sparrow-in-boots]

HCs dose of the week: stuff Desmond did for work during his runaway years

seasonal jobs depending on the city he was in before he made it to NYC, possibly cashier work in tourist attractions cus he was good with numbers and people;

street busking, he's handsome and i know he has a good singing voice;

your average customer service clerk on chain stores, like Virgin or Blockbuster;

a quick jaunt helping organize and carry inventory for a local store which led him to get recommended for,

working inventory on a logistics warehouse, meaning that Desmond Miles is in fact, forklift certified;

odd jobs as he was recommended to by friends and colleagues, anything from running mail to small fix-ups around the house;

outsourced custodian work for an apartment complex, which was the most chill work he ever had if you ask him;

stagehand for a local indie music scene, mingling with goths, metalheads and punks. he mostly did electricity and light directing, but on occasion, he did stage management;

a longer-than-expected period at a mechanic's workshop, got a taste for tuning up cars and bikes there;

food industry, maybe a prep cook or waiter on a smaller restaurant. not fast food though;

and of course, front bartender on high-end bars like Bad Weather.

[vonahalv]

The Mystery (Part 2/?)

Two Days Later in the Mage District

Finn entered the dark building.  Despite being located in a popular district of Stormwind, this place was always dark and nearly deserted.  It gave him chills just entering the building. Maybe it was the name - the Slaughtered Lamb - or perhaps it was the fact that once you walked into the basement you realized it wasn’t a tavern at all.  

~~~

Outside, Anjewel had been walking across the rooftops engaging in her normal, albeit personal, patrol.  She was on her way to the Mage District to check for incoming mail.  It had been two days since she wrote Valdis and wanted to see if a reply had been sent.  Anjewel spotted Finn walking alone and was just about to jump down and call for his attention when he entered the Warlock Coven.  A chill ran down her back as Valdis’ words ran through her mind. It’s a hard position Anj. Everyone wants power and I hold it. I don’t know whom to trust and every day someone new works to thwart all I’ve worked for to restore order and defend Azeroth.  I can always trust you, right?

Anjewel swallowed hard and realized that she had been too open with Finn, and he knew Valdis led the Black Harvest - an organization once thought dead until the Legion threatened to take their world once more.  While the information could be found out, it was hard to do, and Anjewel had just given it away.

It’s Finn.  I’ve known him forever. This is just Val’s paranoia eating away at me.  I can’t handle it anymore.  I already have to write her in code, and I can’t use her real name in conversation. This is ridiculous. I don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s not going after Valdis.  Still, she found herself unmoving from the rooftop as she watched for his exit, her expected reply forgotten.

~~~

Within the Slaughtered Lamb, Finn made his way down the darkened staircase.  Working from memory, as he dared not write anything down to be found, he made his way through winding corridors until he found the one he wanted.  A fel green hand surrounded by a circle was painted on the door.  He knocked once, then twice, then once more before taking a step back.  

A voice rumbled from behind the door, “Enter.”

Finn entered the room and closed the door behind him.  Sitting behind a large, hard carved and sparsely decorated desk, sat a Draenei in a robe. Though the robe was hooded and covered most of the figure's features, the tendrils hanging from his chin gave his race away.  The figure motioned, and Finn moved to stand just a few paces away from the desk.  

“What is your progress?”

“She wrote the First and cut off her ties for a time.  It is as you wish. The First is utterly alone, partly due to her own making, but now in part because of your own.  The sister does not believe, but suspects enough that trust will be hard to earn again.  The sister believes she is doomed to have only failed relationships, save the one she has with me.”

The hooded figure slid open a desk drawer and removed a pouch of gold.  He placed it on the table, and Finn felt a thrill flow through him.   It sounds so much heavier than I expected. Moving quickly to take it, Finn secured it to his belt and stepped back to his place in the room.

“Excellent. Why attack the problem head on when one can simply weaken the defenses?  Your work is complete for now.  Keep the sister away and eventually the First will fall.  She already crumbles. Just a slight nudge in the wrong direction and her position can be ours.”

The dismissal was clear, and Finn turned to leave.  He made his way back upstairs and into the daylight.  He stood to the side, closed his eyes and took a focused breath.  I am doing that more and more lately.  Is it worth this?   He took a step and the gold jingled in the pouch.  He felt his anxiety leave, and whistling he headed in the direction of home.

~~~

Her heart fell within her chest.  I’m not the best at my job, but I’m not an idiot.  He didn’t have that pouch going in, and that’s the fifth time in two days he’s had to slow down and calm his nerves.  Valdis is right, and this time I’m to blame.  Anjewel went to stand and lost her footing.  She landed on the roof, her hands slamming into the tiles before she rolled off onto the soft ground below. 

A few moments later, Anjewel opened her eyes to see Finn staring at her.  Fuck.  She looked around to find that he wasn’t the only one looking.  As she perused the faces staring in her direction, she saw a draenei leaving the Slaughtered Lamb.  Time to think about that later.  Filing away his facial features, Anjewel laughed. “Ooops!  I was practicing and must have slipped.  Finn, what are you doing here?”  She struggled to get up, and Finn offered his hand.

As she got up, Anjewel worked at the clasps on his new money pouch before throwing an arm around his neck and leaning on him.  “I’d stand tippy toe to kiss you right now, but I’m afraid I sprained my ankle. Can you carry me to the physician around the corner?”  The crowd was gathering around them now, and she knew there would be no better time.  She feigned falling against him and in doing so she caused the coin purse to drop.  A well timed shriek of pain covered the sound of money hitting the ground.

“Of course Jewel.  Let me.”  He wrapped her arms around his shoulders and scooped her up.  The crowd around them cheered and Anjewel looked behind to ensure that some untrustworthy soul took the gold pouch.  It didn’t take long, and Anjewel rested her head against Finn's shoulder.  “Thank you Finn.  I should probably practice closer to the ground next time.”  As he carried her two blocks down, she thought about that draenei and worked to memorize his face before the details became blurred through pain medication.

Draenei would never willingly work with the Legion, demons or the Black Harvest.  So if a draenei has, they are a traitor to their race.  Now I just need to find him and coerce the truth out of him.  Another thought, more chilling than the others so far, raced through her mind. What if it wasn’t Valdis? Finn has been working extremely hard to get me to believe Valdis is responsible for this large case of missing persons.  But he has A LOT of information for someone who just cares for my general well being. If that’s true, my latest letter played right into plans I’m only just now beginning to suspect.  And how long has he been at this? It has to be recent… it has to.

[tinsley-goldsworth]

artwork in a science museum

summary: ryan works at a science museum and meets marielle, who happens to be a talented artist with an affinity for drawing fish

wc: 1280

a/n: there is not enough marielle/ryan fics out there so i’ve decided to solve that problem

read on ao3!

Closing time was Ryan’s favorite part of working at a museum. The museum was always quiet, giving Ryan a break from the usual noisy din of people admiring exhibits. He was responsible for making the last rounds around the museum to ensure that nobody was going to have a Night In the Museum Experience. While it was calming to walk around in a quiet location and admire artifacts, sometimes it was also a bit nerve-racking. Even though Ryan knew that none of the dead animals would suddenly come to life, he still believed in ghosts so he often jumped at the slightest of sounds. 

Today, Ryan decided to start on the third floor, the top floor, where all the taxidermied animals and fossils were. The museum was silent and the only sound that drifted through the air was the faint calls of other workers at the museum ushering lingering visitors out the door. Ryan made sure to do his job thoroughly, checking beneath tables and behind doors. This was also partly due to his slight paranoia that there was a serial killer who was waiting to kill him hiding in the corners of the museum. Another reason why Ryan checked under tables and in tight corners was because of that one time he found a young boy sleeping under a table where fossils were being displayed. Ryan carried the boy out of the museum and returned him to his crying mother before returning the museum to finish his inspection. 

Once he finished checking the third floor and avoiding meeting any dead animals’ gazes, Ryan took the elevator down to the second floor. The second floor was mostly exhibits of jewelry and gems that were worth more than Ryan. Ryan definitely paid more attention to where he was walking as he knew that if he got distracted by a text message even for a moment, he could bump into a jewelry case and cause it to shatter. The cases were mostly bulletproof and Ryan really had no reason to worry but nevertheless, he watched where he stepped. 

Finally, Ryan walked down to the bottom floor, his favorite floor. The bottom floor was a giant aquarium with different exhibits that showed fish from different parts of the world. Every time Ryan came down to inspect the aquarium, he always read a plaque with descriptions of an aquatic species and learned something new. Additionally, he also loved the soothing sound of the water bubbling near filters as it helped ease the tense silence. Ryan decided to read about a species of jellyfish today that he hadn’t paid much attention to and while he was reading, he heard a scratching sound beneath the noise of the water. He turned around, wondering if he was just hallucinating but the scratching sound didn’t stop. 

Ryan placed a hand on the flashlight tucked near his belt as if it were a weapon and slowly walked towards the direction of the sound. The scratching sound didn’t sound too menacing; it was soft and quick, like the sound of pulling a tissue out of a tissue box, but Ryan still approached cautiously. He rounded the corner and saw a girl sitting on a bench, leaning against the glass of the giant aquarium in the coral reef exhibit as she was sketching on a giant notepad. The fear melted away and in its place, curiosity blossomed. 

The girl seemed extremely focused on her artwork and her gorgeous eyes were trained on the paper. The pink colored pencil she held gently pressed against the paper and as Ryan walked closer, he saw that she was drawing a coral. Her curls fell across her forehead and she had her lips pressed in a firm line as she concentrated on her drawing. The faint blue glow of the aquarium made her seem like she had a halo of elegance around her curly hair. She leaned against the delicate glass and the light filtered through the stirring water scattered into beams of gold and illuminated her. 

Ryan was so entranced by her beauty that for a moment, he forgot that he should be telling her to leave the museum. He didn’t want to interrupt her in the middle of her drawing but the museum was closing and she probably wouldn’t be too happy about staying overnight. So, Ryan cleared his throat and spoke up, “Sorry to interrupt you but the museum is closing soon.” 

“Oh, sorry,” The girl apologized and put her colored pencil into her pencil pouch. Ryan walked over and sat next to her on the bench, glancing at the art as she put her pencil pouch in her tote bag. The drawing looked even better up close and while Ryan wasn’t usually a brave person, considering he was terrified of a serial killer waiting to kill him in a museum but this girl’s art was really pretty and he felt obliged to tell her. 

“Your drawing is really pretty. I’m Ryan, by the way,” Ryan offered and the girl broke into a smile as she glanced down at her drawing. He swore that all the fish in the aquarium swam towards her as her smile was brighter than all the stars in the night sky. 

“I’m Marielle. Don’t worry about stopping me. I’m probably coming back tomorrow to finish it up. It needs a lot of work,” Marielle shyly replied, brushing a lock of her curly hair away from her eyes. Her eyes were a unique shade of green and Ryan felt himself staring at her for longer than he should have.

“No, it’s really good. So, uh, do you come here often?” Ryan wanted to smack himself in the face for that question. That was the first conversation starter that popped into his head and it would be a miracle if Marielle didn’t run away right then and there. Luckily, Marielle didn’t seem to be fazed by the question and instead, smiled even brighter, causing butterflies to twirl around in Ryan’s stomach.

“Actually, yes. I think I’ve seen you around a couple times. Sometimes I sketch artifacts in this museum but I spend the most time down here in the aquarium. I’m really into sea animals and I channel my passion into art,” Marielle beamed and she stood up, the tote bag with her art supplies clutched in her hand. Ryan stood up as well and the two began walking towards the exit slowly. He couldn’t take her eyes off Marielle and he swore that she was getting more beautiful by the second. 

“Oh, that’s really cool. I hope to see you here more often in the future,” Ryan said as they approached the exit. He awkwardly put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and Marielle turned to face him, some of the curls that she pushed back earlier spilling down the side of her forehead again.

“I’ll be sure to say hi to you tomorrow! I can show you some of my sketches if you’d like,” Marielle suggested and Ryan’s grin widened as he felt sparks of joy dancing in his heart. Not only did this insanely sweet and beautiful girl not run away from him, but she also wanted to spend more time with him.

“That would be amazing.” Ryan and Marielle were standing still, both of them grinning like big idiots and making heart eyes at each other. Another person who worked at the museum coughed and Ryan pushed open the door for Marielle to exit the museum. Marielle gave Ryan a small wave before she walked away and Ryan stood against the glass door for a moment, staring after her wistfully. He definitely was looking forward to seeing her again tomorrow.

~

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