#which took like 3 hours at which point i also decided to sweep and mop the house
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On a brighter note I've taken to cleaning and reorganising the kitchen since I'm the one that mainly uses it now and it gives me serotonin to see my baking supply all neat and tidy.
Last week I tried my hand at making a no bake matcha cheesecake and a matcha bread with red bean paste yeee
#doing the braid for the bread was fun and it turned out pretty#the only thing i don't like about making bread though is that i can't tell when it's proofed enough lol#also the no bake matcha cheesecake turned out nice although the cream cheese was a lil strong#but the recipe had an oreo crust so that balanced it a bit#i also made a brownie style batter with ube extract instead of cocoa powder and i could've sworn i took a photo???#but welp the photo is gone to the void somewhere#it was very purple and i remembered in that moment why i hate doing brownies#and that's because of the bake time lol#anyway that's been my current adventures in baking đ¤ĄđŤĄ#also had a rare moment 2 days where i decided to just clean out the bathroom's sink cupboard/drawers at 2am#which took like 3 hours at which point i also decided to sweep and mop the house#cause apparently i can't clean at normal hours
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30 day fanfic challenge
Prompt #14 - Bitterness
âOkay,â Charlie said, handing over another demitasse cup to her coworker. âTry that one and tell me what you taste.â
Dean took the delicate cup from his coworker, feeling like a monstrous giant holding the tiny cup. He stuck his pinky out as he took a slurping sip, just to be obnoxious. Theyâd been doing the whole âcoffee tastingâ thing for like an hour already.Â
âHmmmmm,â Dean mused, rolling the sip of coffee around his mouth as he pulled a considering face. âI tasteâŚ.coffee.âÂ
âUgh!â Charlie exclaimed, bating at Deanâs arm. âYouâre the worst. They donât all taste the same!â
âThey do!â Dean argued, slugging back the remainder of the coffee with a grimace. Yuck! âAll coffee tastes the same and I will never believe any differently.â
âPeople like you are the reason why Starbucks is taking over,â Charlie groused, abandoning Dean as a hopeless cause as she moved to wipe down the shopâs expensive espresso machine.Â
It was a slow evening, as they all were. Honestly, that was why Dean preferred to work the closing shifts. He didnât have to wake up early, didnât have to deal with grumpy people, and didnât have to worry about Grindinâs owner breathing down his neck as he worked. Not that Billie wasnât great, she was just scary af and didnât appreciate Deanâs jokes as much as the rest of the weirdos on the night crew did. She also didnât understand the innuendo behind the shopâs name or was being deliberately obtuse, Dean honestly couldnât figure out which one it was.Â
âWhenâs Garth getting here?â Dean asked as he moved around the long pastry display case next to the register to go and collect some empty mugs that a study group had just abandoned at their table when they left for the day.Â
Charlie shrugged noncommittally, as she cleaned. âI dunno, he texted and said he was running late; that Billie knew and heâd be here to at least lock the door.âÂ
Dean nodded, humming along to the local music that Billie liked to feature quietly over the coffee shopâs speakers. They played the same stuff often enough that he knew all the words, even if it wasnât something he would have voluntarily listened to on a normal day.Â
The bell over the door of the shop chimed as Dean was carrying a precarious stack of half-filled coffee mugs back to the sink in the back room of the shop.Â
âOh hey!â he heard Charlie exclaim as he rid the cups of their contents, rinsed them, and stuck them in the soapy water in one of the sinks. Heâd wash everything later.Â
When he came back out, he saw Charlie chatting amicably with a slender dark haired man who was tying one of the shopâs maroon aprons over skinny jeans and a black t-shirt. Dean noted wide shoulders and a pretty perky butt before Charlie realized that Dean was coming and pointed out his presence to her companion.Â
âYea, it's me and Dean closing tonight, so you can just let us handle all the cleaning stuff and you can do the important things,â Charlie finished as Dean sidled up next to the duo.Â
âRight,â The other man said with a decisive nod before he stuck his hand out to Dean. âCastiel, I usually open. I donât think weâve ever crossed paths. Dean, right?â
Dean nodded, shaking the other manâs hand registering absently how soft Castielâs hands were and how strong his grip was. âYea, youâre the one who likes to put smiley faces on the bottoms of all the cups.âÂ
Castiel grinned, his tanned skin flushing just a bit across his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. âOnly when customers are being extra grumpy.â
âYou must deal with a lot of dicks then,â Charlie chimed in helpfully, causing the other manâs blush to deep as he let out a disbelieving chuckle.Â
âYea, we donât get a lot of cheerful people first thing in the morning,â he admitted, looking around the mostly empty cafe. âSo, whatâs left to do?â
âOh, weâve got it handled,â Dean said, waving a dismissive hand. âCharlie usually handles the lobby and pastry case and I tackle the dishes and the mopping. We usually just find some way to kill time until it's time to close.â
âMust be nice,â Castiel said with a half grin.
âYea, we were doing a coffee tasting, but Deanâs got the palate of a toddler so I gave up,â Charlie offered, gesturing to the small pour over array that they had set up to taste the different coffee blends that the shop offered. âIâm studying to get my Q grader certification.â
âCool,â Castiel said, moving over to pick up the ground coffee that Charlie had set aside for another tasting. âI have a study guide for the written portion if you want to borrow it. It's a few years old, but I doubt much has changed since I took the test.â
âYou have your Q?â Charlie asked, sounding starstruck. Dean rolled his eyes, deciding heâd leave the coffee nerds to talk while he went and knocked out the dishes early.Â
~~~
He returned to the front of the store about half an hour later, wiping water off his forearms with a paper towel to find Charlie had moved on to sweeping and tidying the tables in the now empty cafe. It was about 45 minutes until close, but at this rate theyâd be done hella early and Dean could go home and crash in front of The Bachelorette for a bit.Â
Dean wandered over to Castiel who was fiddling with Charlieâs pour over, doling out three of the store's small mugs worth of coffee before he rinsed the whole apparatus and set it on the drainboard next to the espresso machine.Â
âHey,â Castiel said as Dean leaned up against the counter next to where the other man was working. âI thought you might want to try this new blend Billie is rolling out next week.â
Dean let out a noncommittal noise and shrugged. âNah, all coffee tastes the same to me dude. I donât have a ârefined palateâ.â
The last part was said with heavy sarcasm complete with air quotes, earning an amused snort from Castiel that made Deanâs stomach do a somersault.Â
âMaybe youâre just not drinking it the right way,â Castiel replied, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his chin in thought for a moment before he made a face that Dean could only describe as an âAh-ha faceâ.
âIâve got an idea,â he said, handing Dean the mug of coffee that he had just poured. âHold this, Iâll be right back.â
Dean confusedly took the offered cup, smiling down at the liquid inside when Castiel made an endearing dash to the back room; his sneakers squeaking on the floor as he went. It took about a minute before the other man was back, holding a small brown wrapped package in his hand. As Dean watched, Castiel unwrapped the parcel to reveal a bar of chocolate.
âIâve been saving this for something special,â Castiel explained as he broke off a piece, holding it up to Deanâs mouth. âHold this in your mouth and take a sip.â
âOof,â Dean thought to himself as he obediently opened his mouth and let the other man slip the shard of confectionary past his lips; Castielâs soft fingertips brushing his bottom lip as he withdrew his hand.Â
âNow take a sip,â Castiel urged as Dean stood there dumbfounded with a semi and a piece of chocolate sitting on his tongue.Â
Dean stifled his whimper in his coffee cup as he brought it to his mouth, taking a slurp of coffee in to join the chocolate in his mouth. Immediately he was confronted with the sweetness of the chocolate as it melted almost instantaneously from the heat of coffee, cutting the bitter edge to the dark roast as he let the flavors play across his tongue.Â
âYouâre probably tasting how sweet the chocolate is right?â Castiel asked, earning a quick nod from Dean in reply. âGood, now what else?â
Deanâs eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stared at the other man. He tasted coffee and chocolate, duh.Â
But as he watched the other manâs excited blue eye dance in enjoyment, Dean started to taste the earthiness of the coffee, the tang of...citrus, maybe? It teased at this taste buds, just at the edges of his awareness and Dean kinda understood why people talked about coffee like it was some divine ambrosia. Dean had always thought it just tasted like sour, dirty water. But maybe he could see the appeal.Â
âCitrus,â Dean offered cautiously, earning an encouraging nod from his fellow barista. âAnd...well it tastes kinda like a forest smells, yâknow?â
âI do know!â Castiel exclaimed, breaking off a piece of chocolate and absently taking a sip of his coffee to go with it. âMaybe you should just be pairing your coffee with food to enjoy it.âÂ
âMaybe,â Dean mused, staring at the other man with barely concealed adoration.Â
They lingered for a few more minutes, drinking the coffee and diminishing Castielâs chocolate stash by half before Charlie loudly declared that it was ten minutes until close and she was done cleaning the lobby.Â
That seemed to launch Castiel into action and he excused himself to start counting down the register and gathering the day's receipts. Dean meanwhile gathered up the last of their dishes and rushed them through the dishwasher. He was filling the mop bucket when Castiel poked his head into the backroom and waved him off the task.Â
âDonât worry about mopping,â the other man explained. âIâll get here at bit early in the morning and take care of it. Just get your stuff together, weâll leave as soon as it hits closing time.â
âJust pray no one else comes in,â Charlie said breezily as she swanned past Castiel towards the employee lockers along the back wall.
Dean shrugged, putting the mop away and washing his hands one last time before grabbing his own jacket out of his locker and heading to wait in the front of the store for closing time.Â
Luckily, no customers came in for coffee in the interceding 3 minutes until close and it wasnât until the trio was locking up and walking towards the parking lot that Dean found the courage to speak.Â
âSucks that youâre clopening, manâ Dean offered as Charlie peeled off with a wave to head towards her lime green Volkswagen Beetle.Â
Castiel chuckled, shoving his hands in the pockets of his maroon hoodie as they walked toward Deanâs black Impala and the blue Hyundai parked next to it that Dean assumed belonged to the other man. âIâve never heard it called that.âÂ
âCall it what you want, it's still the hell shift,â Dean joked. âHope we didnât scare you off the night shift for good.âÂ
âNope,â Castiel replied, rocking up onto his toes as they stopped at their cars. âIn fact, maybe next time I can just close and I can buy you a drink afterwards.â
âOh,â Dean said, being caught out because he hadnât expected the other man to beat him to the punch like that. âWell, as long as its not coffee I think Iâd be really into that.â
âI can probably manage that,â the other barista said with a dopey smile.Â
Oh second thought, maybe Dean could learn to like coffee.Â
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25.21%
I've been sober for 3 months today. 92 days. 25.21% of 2021.
I could've posted more updates, more milestones (it took a LOT not to post on Day 69) but I wanted to kind of save it up for a Big Day. It was also a decent way to continue to incentivize my continued sobriety: a full pass to do a shameless, hardcore bragging sesh.
Anyway, this post comes in 2 parts: the TL;DR for those who only want the gist, then more in depth on my ability to stay sober, the lasting effects of rehab, etc.
I tried my damnedest to pare this absolute novel down, but it's long, so feel free to dip out if you just get bored. Onward!
TL;DR: I went to rehab the beginning of July for 3 weeks and haven't had a drop of alcohol since. I've lost weight, I'm more healthy, my daily anxiety level went from 8 to 2, I haven't had an anxiety attack in 3 months, and everything generally just seems... easier. My memory and concentration have improved. I've been productive and I've been meditating every day. I'm saving money, and while I sometimes fantasize about getting drunk, that's usually all it is.
Honestly, it's been much easier than I expected, but I think a lot of that is because for the first 3 weeks, the time in which I would usually break down and start drinking again when trying to get sober myself, was spent behind a locked door. So far I haven't had any days where I was close to giving in. I haven't had many days where I've been depressed about it, missing it or really tempted. Maybe 3-4. I've basically just gotten on with my life as if alcohol doesn't exist.
To wrap up the short version for those ready to peace out, I'll leave it with a bit of advice.
I don't feel qualified to give any specific advice, because my story feels very unique to me, and I honestly don't think what worked for me will work for MOST people. Sometimes people spend a year in rehab and still drive straight to the liquor store on their way home.
That said, there's one thing that I've found pretty universally true: you have to really want it. For a while, I floated about without much of a "reason" to stay sober. I don't have a spouse, kids or a job I've been fired from, so I didn't see the point.
It's taken me a while, but after not being "convinced" by a few superficial "reasons" like weight loss and saving money, I thought I needed something more... permanent? Consequential? I now realize that my "reason" for getting sober at a young age after only a few years of alcoholism is that I don't want it to get to a point where I'm hurting other people, drinking myself into multiple lasting health problems... I don't want it to become permanent or consequential.
Anyway, that's my two cents. If you do have something like kids or trouble keeping a job, definitely use that as your reason. But for anyone who's a pretty "functional" alcoholic like I was, "not letting it go on long enough to become disfunctional" is a good enough reason.
This is going to get stupid long, so feel free to walk away now, just glad you read this much and it really does mean the world when people listen to what I have to say.
Now some more things in depth. I'll go in chronological order: what made me get sober, what I took from rehab (and what I left), and how it's been the past few months.
I started drinking when I got kicked out, manic out of my mind and homeless unable to sleep. It took a while until I was able to sleep without alcohol, but by then the addict brain had taken over. I'd tried a few times to get sober myself, but I never made it more than a week without, and always got back to daily drinking after a few months maximum.
Some people need a "wake up call", a "last straw" or a "rock bottom". Something external to make them realize they can't go on as they are. For me, the catalyst was my health, which is more of an internal reason I suppose. I didn't have a heart attack or liver failure, but my anxiety was getting uncontrollable and I knew it was directly tied to my drinking.
My life had been starting to feel tolerable, and I was more financially secure than ever before. Things were looking up... except for the alcoholism. This is a weird analogy but the only one that makes sense to express why, if I was doing so well on paper, I decided to go to rehab: you have to sweep before you mop. If I hadn't been in the place I was, I don't think I would've been successful at rehab. I had to sweep up the cat turds from the floor of my life before I was able to mop up the shit stains with sobriety. I know, I'm a true wordsmith.
When I finally called the hotline that hooked me up with a bunch of different rehabs, I knew I was in for a wait. It was about 5 months from that call to checking in, which isn't too bad considering I've been on the waitlist for a neuropsychiatrist in ALL OF CANADA for 4 years.
That brings us to July 12th, Rehab Day One. I've gone in depth in multiple other posts but to touch on it briefly, if I had to describe my experience in a sentence I'd say "the place I went to got very lucky with me".
What this means is that, of the 5 people in my group, I think this exact program was only ever going to help me. At the same time, I didn't even know what I would need, but this exact program was 90% of it. I didn't think 3 weeks would be long enough, but for me it was. The hours-long, repetitive, basic-ass CBT groups held 5 times a day 7 days a week was absolute torture for everyone but myself. While it was a drag to spend an hour on defining what a cognitive distortion is, the routine and repetition, something I've never gotten out of any outpatient program, helped me to really absorb the information and let it rewire my brain.
I've always said that I'm someone who should be spending an hour a day with a therapist for the rest of my life, and while that's not even remotely feasible, this was as close as it's ever gotten, and it proved me right, because it worked. I've done biweekly therapy for a short time but even that didn't come close to the way my brain changed in those 3 short weeks.
This program required absolute commitment and open-mindedness. This isn't because it was hard work or difficult concepts, but quite the opposite. While I hate the entire concept of art therapy being used as a cure-all for mental illness, I willingly got out of my bed, went downstairs and tried doing a dot mandala for an hour because I'm willing to try anything to get better. A lot of people might think they are, but really aren't. To use the mandala as an example, one guy was really into it, I wasn't, but we both finished. The other 3 tried, messed up a few times, and then scrolled through their phones. When I say this program necessitates complete engagement, that's not a compliment. It shouldn't be a chore to engage with the program. It shouldn't take me actively saying "I know I've known this basic concept since 4th grade, but maybe hearing it again will help" to get something out of a rehab program. So again, in every way, I got lucky, and so did they.
Before I finish with the rehab section, having had a few months to reflect on the whole thing, I now have an endless list of things wrong with it. I arrived, greeted by the most jaded and disillusioned of staff, and quickly became disturbed and at points concerned with just how negligent the staff are.
Maybe it's because I've been on the psych ward where they won't even let you have shoelaces and shine a flashlight on your face every half hour through the night, but it could've been so incredibly easy to sneak in alcohol. I brought 2 full water bottles, fully expecting to have to dump them out upon arrival, but they said "nah it's fine". Is it though?
Then there were actual counsellors there who were... okay. I recall one, the one I thought was the smartest, reading a handout aloud and coming across the word "delve" as in "let's delve into..." and stumbled, then said she doesn't know that word. The room was silent. As she pulled up Google on the screen I said, "it means to dive into it". She Googled it anyway. Synonyms include "dive in". If that was the only example I wouldn't mention it, but this was the first of at least 10 words she had do Google, none past a 10th grade level, from HER OWN MATERIAL. From that point on it became clear that they had no fucking idea what they were doing.
We had one last one-on-one counselling session before we left and the counsellor just filled in boxes to questions on her computer, rephrasing everything I said to fit into the buzzwords and "lessons" we'd "learned". Example. Me: I do think I'm better able to catch myself thinking 'oh I can just have one drink' and say 'no I can't'." Her: "Okay, so would you say that you can recognize negative cognitive distortions like permission-giving thoughts and counter them with a more rational and less emotional mind?" Like girl, blink twice if your boss is holding your family hostage. She gave me some papers, detailing all the online courses they were signing me up for and options for more treatment they'd be sending me, a phone number to call and a phone appointment for the next Monday. I never got that call, the phone number is a hotline, I never got a single email from them, and given how shitty they really are at their jobs, I didn't feel the inclination to try and get those resources. If they even exist in the first place.
In summation, it was a place where it was physically impossible to get alcohol. That's really all I can say in its favor. Oh, and they let you have your cell phone.
Now on our timeline I'm back home. I want to kind of analyze why it's been easy for me.
I often said that my main goal of going to rehab was to lock me away from alcohol long enough for it to reset my brain. Most people thought that was naĂŻve, but that's exactly what happened. But I'm well aware that my experience of "instantly became sober and literally hasn't had a single hard day in 3 months" is absurdly unusual.
I put this down to a few things. Firstly, I'm on seven different meds for my mental health. Almost all of them have their effects dulled or even eliminated when you drink. So when I noticed my mood, fatigue, memory, concentration etc all getting better at once - right about as I left rehab, I don't think it would be a stretch to say that all those meds started working properly.
Secondly, I've been keeping myself busy, but that's something I've always been good at. Now I specifically choose to undertake projects that will eat up a lot my time and put me in a state of flow. I recently made an entire card game from scratch, and let me tell you, I didn't think of alcohol for a week.
Thirdly, my other goals now get in the way of alcohol. I'm getting old and my body is deteriorating. But I've always wanted to do just one last season of gymnastics. Well, I need to lose weight for that to happen. I've already lost 35 pounds, and after another 20 I'll be ready to go. Also, I used to spend more on alcohol per month than rent. Even though I've done a few shopping sprees lately, I haven't come remotely close to how much I was spending before.
I want it more than anything. I want to be sober more than I want one night of "fun" that will more likely than not lead me back to where I was a year ago. I never want to need anything as much as I needed alcohol.
Lastly, just a few more random thoughts.
A lot of people, myself included, worried about the fact that I work at a bar as a cook, but honestly the entire time I'm there I'm thinking about food, not alcohol. If I'm hanging out with some regulars before/after, I can watch them drink and be perfectly fine with my coffee, because the coffee is $2, and I used to spend $20 after every work shift.
I also decided in rehab to start taking better care of myself as best I could. This started with getting my second vax which I'd been putting off, then an eye appointment, then new glasses, then a dentist appointment where I was informed I need to do $3000 worth of work on my implant that's erroding my bone matter, so that sucks, but I caught it early. I've also been meditating every day. In just 3 months, I've made pretty big improvements to my self-care and my daily routine.
One of my fears about sobriety was "missing out" on "having fun". A few days ago, all my housemates got together to play Mario Party, and it was kind of my first night doing something social while sober. It was a breath of fresh air - I wasn't constantly running to piss, I didn't worry about running out of alcohol, I didn't get sloppy and obnoxious as I can sometimes do. I even came very very close to winning my first game of MP. When I reflected on the night, I realized that, if I'd been getting drunk the whole time, I would've sucked at the minigames, been a hindrance to anyone unfortunate enough to be teamed with me, and likely would've stopped caring about the game itself after the first few turns.
Yesterday I was making my 4th pot of coffee of the day when I realized there was a full glass of wine just sitting on the counter. I had absolutely no idea where the hell it came from - nobody in my house drinks wine. I shrugged and poured that sweet sweet bean juice. It was only when I sat down and took a sip of coffee did I find myself thinking automatically, "this tastes so much better than wine". I only realized then that it had been rose wine, the only kind I've ever been able to tolerate. It was the ultimate moment of possible temptation, and the thought of just chugging that glass - as I may've done in the past - didn't even cross my mind.
I'm so glad to be where I am. I'm about to undergo some serious financial changes - i.e. going absolutely broke - but drinking isn't gonna help that, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
Stay Greater, Flamingos.
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1.5 years after I moved out, I wrote a review
so idk how many of yâall are still around for 1.5 years ago, when I was in a shitty ass housing situation. I had been putting off writing a review bc I was afraid if I ran into the landlady again (since I still live in the same small town), it would lead to.. bad times. But since then, I have met 2 other tenants who have had her and also had a terrible experience. So I felt guilty that I had not written about my experiences which might have been able to warn them. Anyhow, for those who care to read, I put my review under the cut:
While this room might be a good option for someone staying only for a few days, I do not recommend this for anyone staying for 1 month or longer. I came as a foreign student, looking for longterm housing. Ultimate, I stayed there for 2-3 months but honestly even one month was too much. But I had nowhere else to go and because she required a minimum of 2 monthsâ provisional time before she allowed me to leave as a tenant. If you want to stay as a long term resident, you should be aware of certain things.
First, R has a young daughter. While the daughter is friendly and fun, it was not written anywhere that there would be children in the house. There were some mornings when I woke up to the girl screaming, shrieking, and crying loudly for 30+ minutes because she did not want to shower, brush her teeth, get dressed. The same thing happens at night when she does not want to go to bed or brush teeth. I have recordings of the yelling and crying from the room â it has woken me up or kept me up multiple times. Additionally, there were days when R expected me to babysit her daughter. She asked me to tutor her daughter in schoolwork, making sure she finished all of her schoolwork. I would be fine with this as a request but not as a demand or expectation, especially without pay. I work full time and I did not anticipate spending hours on Sunday tutoring a child.
Second, R has a cat. Fortunately, I like cats, but I am also allergic. This was not mentioned anywhere in the bio, and since leaving, I have been informed by later residents that she now actually has two cats. Again, despite my allergies, I enjoy animals, so this was not the main issue so much as the fact that R has a habit of not being completely forthcoming.
Thirdly, on that topic, Râs personal relationships impacted my stay. Her ex-husband would come to the house every other week or so, and R did not want him to know that she was renting out the room. So she had me clean up the room and put all my things away to make the room seem as though it were empty and she was not renting it out. I hide all of my things in the closet and under the bed. Then, I had to leave the house for some time while her ex-husband was in the house. She would text me when it was okay to come back. This happened several times â as I said, every other weekend or so.
Fourthly, R would occasionally come into the room when I was not in the house. I donât know if this was an everyday thing or perhaps every few days? At first I noticed that the window would be either opened or closed or the blinds up or down, in a way I did not leave them. I asked her if she came into the room (it was apparent) and she said no. There is no lock for the room, so no way to stop her from entering. I know she is very particular about the way she wants the windows and the blinds, so she will always correct you, regardless of how you put it. One day, I found a comb set neatly on my table. I asked her, again, if she went into the room. She said no. I asked where the comb came from then? She said âOh, I thought it was yours.â It was not. She never acknowledged to going into the room, only saying she thought the comb was mine. It was neither of ours, so I can only assume it was her daughterâs. Which would suggest that not only does R enter the room when I am not home, so does her daughter.
I will say one thing, though â R likes her house cleaned in a very particular way. She expects you to maintain it this way as well, which is very reasonable. It felt less like I was paying a landlord for a room and more like I was paying to have a mother hover over me and tell me to do my chores. You have access to the kitchen, but she is extremely particular about the way you use it. Sheâll hover over your shoulder and remind you to do certain things while you are cooking. Reminding you also how to clean the kitchen counter even while you are in the middle of cooking. The door must be open when you are cooking â to not make the house smell like food. The back wall of the stove area must be cleaned. Certain pots and pans are better than others. In the end, I did not use the kitchen more than 3 times in two months because I couldnât handle her hovering over my shoulder reminding me every 15 seconds what I should be doing. Sweeping and mopping the floors was another matter entirely.
There are plenty of other matters as well, but essentially, during the first month (May), I felt so uncomfortable in the house that I preferred to just stay outside, from sunrise until sunset. Leaving before they woke up and coming back after they had gone to bed. Fortunately, since it was May, sunset was very late and the weather was pleasant, so I could walk outside in the park until 11pm.
At this point, I was wondering if perhaps I was too sensitive and just reading R incorrectly. After one month, a second tenant came â also a foreigner coming here from Cambodia to work/study. He was very quick to tell me that things were unpleasant with her and he was uncomfortable about a lot of things about her. But he decided to bite his tongue and just survive the month since he had already paid. Several months later, I also met another girl from Vietnam who had just arrived to France. I asked her how it was and she was in tears, saying it was not good at all. She told me that she had this crazy landlady and she was so miserable. As she told me more and more stories, realising she lives in the same town as me, I asked her the name of her landlady because I suspected it was the same as mine. It was indeed R.
When I finally was able to move out (I found a studio apartment, living by myself), R was understandably very upset. She told me I was obligated to pay an additional full monthâs rent because I did not give her enough warning time (I gave her a month). We eventually settled it down to half a month, but she wanted me gone immediately after. As it turned out, having an entire apartment rented all for myself cost less than having this room in Râs house.
For me, this was one of the worst âlong termâ housing situations I have ever had. It was only two months, but those two months seemed like an eternity. I am certain that R is wonderfully hospitable for people with shorter stays. Several days or a week or so is fine, with limited interaction with R. But I do not recommend this room for anyone staying one month or longer, or even perhaps 2-3 weeks.
It took me 1.5 years to come back to write this comment because I did not want to relive the experience and I was afraid of the repercussions of maybe running into her again.
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muse
request: art major!reader w law major!doyoung pls :cc bullet note format if u can!!!
a/n: heâs a year older than you but it doesnât matter that much
warning: a few swear words oopsie
genre: fluffy college!au
pairing: doyoung x reader
summary: ummm basically just how you and doyoung meet and get to know each other
word count: 5.1k (oops)
lets GOOOOOOOO
okay so basically college has been a JOURNEY
people ALWAYS had some shit to say as soon as they found out you were an art major
it was usually âwhat are you going to do with thatâ âdo you know how unsteady that career path isâ
liKE I GET IT
do they really think theyâre telling you something new????
oh Iâm sorry your majoring in business Susan⢠and you decide to throw away your passions just because some high school counselor told you that you wouldnât be able to support yourself but IM going to make my passion a career
lol sorry I have a lot of feelings
now onto how you met your mans doyoung
your freshman and sophomore years, you had only seen him in passing
tbh you barely recognized him when you saw him more than once
you knew him as âthat one dude that i always see in the dining hall wearing suitsâ
then junior year you got a job at the convenience store on campus (lets get this BREAD)
pls tell me it isnât some weird niche thing that only my school has
aNyWHO he started coming in around 2 am right before closing
and ALWAYS picked up 3 coffees all of which had double shots of espresso
this happened about 2 or 3 times a week
(which is very unhealthy guys gals and nonbinary pals pls try to drink cold water instead, it helps wake me up or green tea)
so despite seeing him so often at work, he began to appear less and less everywhere else
were you lowkey kinda sad about it???
mAYhaPS
that was until winter quarter started
you needed an elective class, SO you figured âeh why not take philosophyâ you had heard around that the professor is really chill and overall the class wasnât supposed to be that bad
WELL GUESS AGAIN
 because that really nice professor that everyone loved isnât the one teaching the class this quarter
but hey you figured letâs go into this with an open mind and hope for the best
well on day one of this class (which is a 9 am by the way) guess who struts through the door
mister âthat one guy iâd always see wearing a suitâ who became mister âthat one dude who always buys too much coffee at 3 amâ
the man⌠the mythâŚâŚ the legendâŚâŚâŚâŚ.MISTER KIM DOYOUNG
yep and ya boi decided to sit 2 seats down from you, it was too far to say hi or anything (esp bc you had never really spoken to him before) but like he was also just close enough for it to be awkward
so class went by normally you found out that the new professor wasnât THAT bad but there was definitely gonna be a lot of work involved
so yeah life carries on as normal
you still see him all the time at the convenience store
one night it had been a particularly rough shift
your alarm didnât go off, so you were running late, it had started to rain on your walk to work, and when you finally got there your manager apparently had someone piss in his cheerios because he had S U C H an attitude because you were
 TWO
MINUTES
LATE
you were sat behind the counter after what felt like hours of sweeping and mopping the floors
thatâs when he walked in
you didnât even lift your head to greet him as âhi, welcomeâ crawled itself out of your mouth
you did however notice when he sat his 3 cans of coffee in front of you
âhey your y/n right?â
 âthatâs what it says on my nametagâ
âhaha yeah it does. i think i have you in my philosophy classâ
when you finally met his eyes, you felt a little bad
you had kinda been giving him the cold shoulder for something that wasnât his fault
 you gave him a little smile
âyeah i am. doyoung right?â
he nodded slightly
the air was a little awkward and silent as you scanned his coffees
as you handed him the receipt he asked âhey do you maybe want to study together sometime. i mean our test is in like two weeks and itâs a quarter of our grade so like if you were free we could hang out and get some work done?â
dUDE you froze
here he was standing right in front of you; messy hair, sweatpants, a sweatshirt repping your school logo and looking very nervous (but very attractive lmao)
i guess your reply took a little too long because he quickly started to back peddle
âi mean if you prefer to study alone thatâs cool. i just always see you during lecture and you look like you understand the material and sometimes i get a little lost in terminology but if you donât want to thatâs fine too.â
you quickly snapped out of your haze
 âno, no. i would love to study with you. here let me give you my number so we can meet up. most of my classes are in the morning so any time after like noon should be fine.â
 you grabbed his receipt back and quickly scribbled your number on it before handing it back
âjust text me when you want to get togetherâ
 okay honestly you had never been one to give out your phone number just like that and you didnât really like studying with people
but something about him made it so hard to say no
you just had this urge to get to know him
so when he texted you a few days later asking if you were free to study that night
of course you said yes
and it went pretty smoothly
he has a much better understanding of the material than he let on at first
he even ended up helping you understand a few things
you got together w few times over the next couple of weeks
each time you met you got to know each other more and more
yall quickly became friends
well yall became friends after the first night studying because lets be real it was awKWARD
like neither of you felt particularly comfortable yet because this was the first time you had actually hung out with each other despite knowing of each otherâs existence for two years
oh yeah thatâs something you found out after getting to know one another
 he had always seen you around campus and wanted to get to know you but never did because he thought itâd freak you out having a random stranger coming up to you like
âhey I know you donât know me but I see you all the time. letâs be friends.â
which isnât THAT crazy but to each their own
okay but letâs jump to the time 2 days before your exam
you guys agreed to meet up at the library and the plan was to study for A WHILE just to make sure you were prepared ya know?
so like you get there and he was already sitting in a room waiting
 when you open the door he gets up to hug you
which he hasnât ever done before
and like tbh he was really warm and smelled really nice like it his cologne wasnât too strong, and it smelt sweet but also very inviting which isnât really a scent but like do you get me? and he gave a really tight hug like the type that you didnât want to let go of it felt as though you could stay there forever (this is also where you lowkey start having feelings for him but shhh because you donât realize it yet)
so back the point
obvi you start studying and besides the hug nothing was really that different
you got through the material, quizzed each other, talked a bit
ya know the usual
time flew by and the next thing you know itâs 12:30 am and the library would be closing at 1 so you decide to wrap it up
âalright doyoung iâll see you in class. get some rest before the test okay?â
 âyeah yeah i willâ he rolled his eyes a little bit
 âseriously dude. i know you. go straight to sleep when you get back to your placeâ
he worried you sometimes. He really wanted to do well and the applications for law school were opening up soon, so heâs been kinda stressed no matter how much he tried to hide it and this test coming up isnât helping
âi will. i promise.â
he walked you out of the library and you two would usually part ways and walk alone to your apartments
before you could turn and say goodbye doyoung was already speaking
âhey itâs a lot darker out here than usualâ
you looked up at the pitch-black sky
âyeah I guess it is, oh well at least I have my pep-â
 âwhat? you have your pepper spray right?â
âno i forgot that i let my roommate borrow it. sheâs going to a sorority thing and wonât be back until like 3 or 4. itâs fine though my apartment is only like a 10-minute walk. goodnight doâ
âwait y/n. iâll walk you back. itâs way too late and too dark for you to go homeâ
âno i couldnât ask you to do that. youâre law and society class is at 8 am tomorrow so you need to get some sleep.â
 âwell i wonât be able to sleep anyway if Iâm staying up worried about you. so lead the way.â
despite the cold fall air, your face felt hot
like you know that itâs normal for friends to be worried about each other but that didnât make doyoung saying it any less charming
the walk back was nerve wracking
you guys normally donât hang out outside of the context of studying
so like this was weird, nice but weird
and once you go to your door there was a cast of silence
doyoung was just looking at you
normally it would make you kinda uncomfy/insecure but right now you were calm
there was something about looking into his eyes
the brown was so warm and inviting
after a few seconds of the comfortable silence, he finally looked away
and I awkwardly cleared my throat âthank you for walking me home doyoungâ
 âof course, iâm just gald to know you got here safelyâ
âso um, i was gonna wish you luck just in case we donât see each other before the test but i mean judging from our study session you wonât need it though.â
he giggled and i swear someone could have mopped up your heart because it was in a puddle on the floor
âshut up y/n. thank you though. i always appreciate your kind words. do you want to meet for lunch after the exam? i usually have a lab afterwards but it got cancelled so if youâre free we should meet up.â asjdjjklcbclkNCKDLSNCOS
âyeah i am free. i guess iâll see you then.â
 he took a few steps back âyeah i guess you will. goodnight y/nâ
âgoodnight doyoung. actually get some sleep tonight, yeah?â
you could see his shoulders shake with laughter as he walked down the steps
to say you were smitten would be an UNDERSTATEMENT
the smile that showed up didnât leave even after you fell asleep
when you get to class on that friday morning, doyoung is already sitting in his usual seat
the bags that usually take their place beneath his eyes are barely visible today
hopefully he took your advice and actually went to sleep
after the test you both got some burgers for lunch and just talked it had nothing to do with the test which was nice
i guess yâall make a great pair because once the scores came out, both of you got Aâs
after that studying together became a routine
every tuesday, thursday and saturday leading up to the next test, you guys would review or sometimes just hang out
it was a mutual decision to help each other study
even if you didnât share the class, one would be there to quiz and make sure the other focused (most of the time it worked, other times youâd be the reason they got distracted and vice versa)
the two of you would go out for lunch on those days instead
as the quarter drew to a close and the break got nearer and nearer as did finals week
you and doyoung tried to keep up with your study schedule but it was getting harder
you had artwork due
you were particularly stressed over a sculpture that was assigned
your teacher gave you those choice of clay or marbleas a medium and clearly you chose clay
you were going to do marble but then you remembered the other 3 tests you need to prepare for and a portfolio that had to fit the theme of mythology
so basically you had a lot of art to produce and NO INSPIRATION like none, zero, zip, zilch, nada
you sat in the room you had reserved in the arts building
a pile of clay sat atop a slab of rock, a blank page of a sketchbook sat next to that
scrolling through pinterest had stopped working long ago and at this point you were losing hope
ring, ring, ring
doyoungâs name popped up on your screen
it was odd because you two usually texted for everything
âhey, do whatâs up?â
âhi y/n i was just wondering if you wanted to grab some fro-yo. i just got out of another test and could use some companyâ
âahh, doyoung iâm sorry but iâm stuck doing work. do you remember that mythology sculpture i told you about? well, itâs due next Wednesday and i havenât even started on it yetâ
his voice sounded so concerned âis everything okay? how are you doing?â
âiâm doing okay, just tired. iâve been trying so hard but canât find any inspirationâ you sighed into the phone, looking out the window of your room
âwhat room are you in?â
âroom 247 in building B. why?â
âjust sit tight.â
the call ended before you could ask any more questions
okay when i tell yall it was less than five minutes and he was walking through the door just know that what i really mean is he rAN FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF CAMPUS TO COME COMFORT YOU
so yeah, he got there huffin and puffin, ready to blow your house down (with love)
âdoyoung, what are you doing here?â
âwell you were upset.â his tone was so matter-of-fact, and his eyes were so wide and innocent
honestly he looked so cute but like you were still very confused
what was he doing there?????
yeah you were upset but you also didnât want to worry him
he casually walked over to a seat beside a window and pulled something out of his backpack
as he got closer and reached his hand out for you to take it, you noticed it was a sandwich
âitâs ham and cheese. light mayo, no lettuce or tomatoâ
when your eyes looked up at him he wouldnât make eye contact
âyou said this is the only way you take your sandwichesâ
yALLÂ
you only told him this once in passing because he was eating a sandwich with mayo
but pls tell you are putting the pieces together
he stopped to get you food and made it across campus in 5 minutes
the walk alONE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN 10 MINUTES
HE STOPPED AND GOT YOU FOOD TO MAKE SURE YOU WERENâT SKIPPING ANY MEALS
MARRY THID MANFSJDLFG
alrighty anywho
obviously you took the sandwich and spent 5 minutes thanking him for getting it for you
he sat back down in his seat near the window as you guys chatted for a bit
the conversation slowed slightly and you were able to just look at him
the light was bouncing off his face perfectly
his eyes looked like freshly brewed coffee. they were warm and inviting
his smile somehow managed to outshine the light pouring in
there he was
in all of his glory
your muse
your inspiration
his expression shifted to one of confusion
ây/n, why are you looking at me like thatâ
he could be your subject for not only the sculpture but also the portfolio as well
âokay this may be an odd favor and you can feel free to say noâ
your leg couldnât stop bouncing up and down and you thought your hands might catch a cramp from all the wringing they were doing
âdonât be silly. what is it?â
âwell, i was thinking maybe you could be the model for my sculpture.â
 âof course i will but i thought it was supposed to be about mythology and iâm no greek godâ
he chuckled a little bit
âshut up do. are you kidding me? your shoulders are like a mile wide. you have a great jawline and that smile? youâd have all the mortal girls falling for you i mean i did. that sounds like god-material to meâ
he threw his head back laughing
mostly to hide the huge blush creeping up his cheeks
âokay, okay. iâll pose for you. what do i have to do?â
âjust sit still so that i can take some measurements of your face and then iâll take some photos for reference afterwards.â
doyoung did as he was told for the most part
he sat there patiently
he kept peeking at your sketchbook as you laid out the rough ideas for a few of your other pieces
tbh you hadnât even noticed
you were in the ZONE, you hadnât been this inspired in a while and you wanted to take full advantage of it
you also hadnât noticed the ,,,, um,,,, lack of space,,,,,, between the two of you
well doyoung had, to say the least
he sat there desperately hoping and praying that you wouldnât notice how sharply he would breathe in everytime your hands touched his face to move its position
or that you couldnât notice how much his hands were shaking and how he was constantly wiping them on his pants because they were very sweaty
finally, you had all the information you needed
as you stepped back and over to your chair in front of the clay, doyoung could finally breath
âdoyoung, do you have any other classes today? i donât want to keep you here if you have plans. you can go i can work off of the reference picturesâ
he very vigorously shook his head
âno no, iâm free for the day.â
âokay. you should probably go get something to eat while get this started. this will probably be a long process.â
âyeah sure. do you want me to grab you anything while Iâm gone?â
ânope iâm good. i already had the sandwich you brought me.â
âokay then iâll be right backâ
after he left it easy to feel the emptiness of the room
even though you were enveloped in your work it was still noticeable
the absence of his presence was palpable
the lack of it was almost suffocating
while you were worked on getting the basic shape and structure you found yourself unsettled
unable to get back into the âzoneâ you found yourself in before
still, you pushed through the weird shift in the air, but it wasnât long before doyoung came back with a bag of food
âhey doyoung.â
he glanced over at your pile of clay
âwhoa. you made a lot of progress. okay i know you said that you didnât want anything to eat but i brought burgers and some chips and stuff just in case.
âdoyoung, you really didnât have to. i would have been fine.â
he rolled his eyes but didnât reply. he simply sat back in his chair and ate some of the fries that came with his burger
the hours seemed to fly by once doyoung returned
it also helped that you played music on the speaker that you brought
before you knew it, it was 5 pm and the sun was setting
you leaned back from your chair to stretch before standing and taking a good look at the sculpture
after about 4 hours of work, you were almost done
of course there were still things that needed to be touched up, like the hair and the eyes
you had decided on a pose of doyoung looking up and off into the distance
you turned and washed your hands in the sink at the back of the room
âhereâs your burger if you want it. it might be a little cold, but it doesnât have any mustard, lettuce, tomato, or pickle. thatâs how you like it right?â
YALL HE DID IT AGAIN
HE REALLY JUST OUT HERE BEIN A WHOLE SWEETHEART
âyeah, howâd you know?â
âremember we met up for dinner before a study session a few weeks ago? thatâs how you ordered your burger and you told me about how dill pickles were the bane of your existenceâ
 âwhich they areâ you chuckled âbut i canât believe you remembered thatâ
âof course, i did. i remember everything you tell meâ
your heart melted for like the fiFTH TIME TODAY
you smiled and blushed before grabbing the wrapped burger from his hands
you guys sat and ate in comfortable silence
once you had finished you turned to him
âif youâre ready to leave you can. i just have a few things to add but itâll be okay if you arenât here. iâm just about out of daylight anyway.â
he playfully cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms
ây/n. i have a feeling youâre trying to get rid of meâ
âmaybe i am doyoung. whatcha gonna do about it?â
âcry.â
you both busted up laughing
once you had calmed down you looked at him
âseriously do. if you wanna go study or sleep or something go aheadâ
he stood up and began to walk closer to you
âoh stop that. y/n it isnât a burden for me to stay here with you. iâm honored that you would choose me to be the subject of your work and i love spending my time with youâ
at this point he was standing right in front of you. looking down into your eyes.
there was no hiding the redness flushing your skin
after a few moments of silence, you looked back down at your hands
he speaks again as if you two hadnât spent the past minute just staring into each otherâs eyes
âso what next? are you gonna keep sculpting me or are you gonna draw and paint a bit?â
âummm ,,, i kinda want to just finish the sculpture so that i donât have to worry about it ya know?â
âyeah. where is the light switch?â
âright by the corner near the doorâ
as he flipped on the switch and light once again flooded the room
you were able to get a good look at the sculpture
despite it not being finished, you were still incredibly happy and proud of it
you sat back down in front of it ready to finish the work
it only took another hour or two to finish once you really got back into it
you spent the bulk of the time adding in all the little details
and you also decided last minute to add a wreath atop his head and the top of a toga
you took a final step back before sighing in relief
you were finished
you almost wanted to cry
while you were staring at the piece doyoung got up to stand behind you and look at it as well
âwow y/n. itâs beautiful.â
âwell itâs you so i hope it is.â
LOOK AT YOU. BEING BOLD. OKAAYYYY
before he could say anything else, you walked back to the sink and while washing your hands, asked his help to put it in another room to dry for a few days before it goes into the kiln
âitâll take a while to dry so iâm going to leave it here and head to bedâ
âokay well i can walk you back to your apartmentâ
âalrightyâ
okay so you grabbed all your stuff (with his help because doyoung is too nice to just walk beside you as you try carry 4 different bags filled with art supplies)
the walk back was kind of uneventful
you invited him in to drop all your things off before he headed out, not until you thanked him for spending the day with you and being your subject
okay so 2 weeks pass
you and doyoung meet up a few times because you need him to model a few poses for your portfolio
but FINALLY you finished your portfolio and sculpture and turned it all in
since then you have been relaxing, getting ready for winter break
well ârelaxingâ is a loose term
tbh you had been kinda stressed over the scores you were going to get on the artwork
and today, the day before the quarter ends, your professor would be handing back your portfolio & sculpture with a score
you decided to text doyoung after getting dismissed from class
y/n: âhey i get the score for my art project back today. do you want to meet up and we can find out together?â
doyoung: âoh my gosh yes. but are you sure you want me to be there?â
y/n: âof course do. you were such a big part of this, i couldnât leave you out of it. besides you havenât seen the finished portfolioâ
doyoung: âokay. same art room as last time?â
y/n: âyep. iâll see you in 20â
you were nervous. as you waited in the room, your legs couldnât stay still so you decided to pace in hopes of calming yourself down
or at least having something to do
when he walked into the room, your eyes met
there was no hiding the frantic look in them either
âhey y/n. do you have it?â
you pulled a card from inside the front of your portfolio and set it down on the table
doyoungâs voice was soft and calming as he walked up to you
âcan i look at it?â
he picked up the large folder
in a large gold print:
PROMETHEUS, he dies everyday but wouldnât wish for any other way to spend eternity
âyou chose me to represent Prometheus? whatâs his storyâ
you began to recount the tale as doyoung slowly flipped through pages of your artwork
¡        âwell he was the youngest of the titans, which were the creators of greek gods. it was said that he was also the kindest. when he looked upon the earth and saw how the humans were struggling, Prometheus felt pity and decided to give them a gift. he gave them a divine secret of the gods. he gave them fire. he did this despite knowing that Zeus would punish him if he found out. which he did. the other titans and gods were furious, so they tied him to a rock near the sea. every day an eagle would come and rip out prometheusâ liver and he would die. every night it would grow back bringing him back to life. this torturous routine goes on every day and night and according to the myth it continues until this day, as it will forever.â
as you finished the story doyoung closed the folder
all he said was âwowâ
it made you nervous. âso ,,,,, do you like it?â
ây/n. this is beyond words. this is amazing. and you chose me?â
âwell yeah i mean. you two just seemed to fit each other. you are the kindest person i know. youâre very generous too. so really it wouldnât have worked if i had chosen anyone else or any other myth.â
he said nothing. just set down your work and hugged you.
you embraced each other. sharing this moment.
ây/n no matter the score on the other side of that car, just know that your work is beyond incredible. not just because itâs of meâ
you both laughed before he continued
âseriously. you are an amazing artist. your art moves people. it makes me feel emotions that i havenât felt in a while. it takes me on a journey.â
he pulled back and gave you one last smile before grabbing the card off of the table
âon 3â
ââŚ.1â
ââŚ.2â
ââŚ.3!â
a 97 was written in bright red marker
âoh my gosh y/nâ
you two jumped back into each otherâs arms
the smile on your face was ear to ear. there was no way it was going to fade any time soon
âI knew you could do it.â
ânot without you i couldnât have,â you say leaning back slightly, your arms still around his neck
he rolls his eyes at you
âseriously doyoung. if you hadnât come by that day i donât know what i would have done. you were my museâ
his arms were wrapped tightly around your waist
your eyes would have met if his werenât staring at your lips right now
ây/n.â he whispered
âdoyoung?â
âcan i kiss you?â
âabsolutelyâ
FUCKING FINALLY
ahem sorry I got a little excited for you
it was great. what can i say
it was everything you expected to be
before you thought that the whole âfireworksâ thing was just movies overexaggerating
 but NOW you can attest to that
the kiss with doyoung had so much built up tension and caring and passion and just wowza
when you finally pulled apart
both of you were slightly out of breath
doyoung still had this cute, dumb smile plastered on his face
he gave you a few more pecks
which of course made you have a big dumb smile plastered on your face
you actually pulled apart and out of his arms this time and took a look at the score card
beneath your score the professor left a little note
âi hope you donât mind but i emailed the art gallery about your work. they have a small exhibition open if youâd like to showcase your art. hereâs the email: ÂÂÂÂÂÂ_______. please consider it. you have serious talent.â
âan art gallery doyoung. an exhibition in an art gallery.â
tears fell down your face
this was an amazing opportunity
a dream came true
âi can come over tonight and we can email them.â
you just nodded your head
tbh you were still in shock
this was a huge opportunity
âso y/n. i know there is a lot going on right now but I canât wait. will you be my girl/boy-friend?
âdoyoung of course. can you help me take this stuff back to my apartment then if you want we can go grab something to eat?â
he nodded happily and grabbed the sculpture
THE END
goodness gracious that took a while
I hope you enjoyed reading this 5 thousand-word trainwreck
I know some of the stuff about creating sculptures isnât accurate, but I need to make it work with the timeline I had in my head
I hope it didnât bother anyone too much
but yeah
thanks for reading
also I didnât proofread this so hopefully there arenât many mistakes
if there are just message me and Iâll fix them
also also hereâs a sequel type thing that doesnât have to be seen as a sequel umm it isnât as good as this one but here ya go
¡    Â
#GOODNESS GRACIOUS#nct#nct imagines#nct scenarios#nct drabble#doyoung#doyoung x reader#law major!doyoung#College!AU#taeyong#johnny#taeil#yuta#jungwoo#winwin#mark#haechan#ten#jaehyun#renjun#chenle#jaemin#jeno#jisung#lucas#kpop#kpop imagines#kun
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Ninoâs Quest Chapter 4: Return Home
The party finishes their first dungeon crawl through the power of teamwork! Includes the barmaid scene alluded to in the original one-shot. ;)
Part 1 Part 2Â Part 3
Enjoy!
Read on Ao3. My ko-fi.
âYo, M!â
Marinette froze in the middle of reaching toward the intercom button on the Agreste mansion gate, but relaxed when she saw him approaching. âOh! Hey, Nino. Great timing, I was just about to go in.â
âThat so? And how long have you been âjust about to go inâ?â He smirked as he said it, already knowing what the answer would be.
Just as he suspected, Marinetteâs shoulders slumped. â...A while.â She rubbed her arm. âI just⌠I donât think Iâm ready yet to be alone with him for that long. You know?â
âYeah, I get you, but I donât think youâre giving yourself enough credit, dude.â He pressed the button and waited for the gate to open. âYouâve been getting better around him. And I know he likes talking to you.â
âR-really?!â Her head whipped towards him, excitement plain on her face before she clumsily schooled it into a mask of indifference. âAhem. Thatâs⌠great. Iâm glad he does. If he asks, you can tell him the same is true for me.â
The gate opened up and they walked through. âSo, hot party members aside, how are you liking the campaign?â
Powering through her blush, she replied, âI like it! Itâs been a weird transition away from the games that I usually play, but its fun. There is a lot more interaction with you guys, which is great, and itâs also nice to be working together.â
âSince you get tired of curb stomping us at Ultimate Mecha Strike?â
âIt does get pretty boringâŚâ She glanced over to Nino and met his eyes. They both burst out laughing.
The main doors opened in front of them. A mop of blonde hair popped out from behind the comically large doors. Adrien grinned at them.
âHey, guys! Weâre waiting on Alya then?â
âSounds like it, bro. How do you want us to wait? Foosball? Arcade games? Competitive rock climbing?â They filed in past Adrien. He closed the doors behind them. From his spot in the foyer, the Gorilla spared them a passing glance and a half-hearted growl.
âActuallyâŚâ Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. âI was hoping we could do some cooking?â
Nino shared a look with Marinette, but she only had eyes for Adrien. Eyes that were, at the moment, sparkling with unrestrained joy. He let out a long suffering sigh.
âYeah, okay.â He finger gunned at Adrien. âYou two start getting ready while I go set up in your room, âkay dudes?â
âThat sounds awesome! See you there!â
Marinette flashed him a brief panicked look before Adrien snagged her wrist and rushed off into the kitchen. Nino gave an exaggerated wink in return. The door closed before he could see her reaction. Knowing heâd done Alya proud, he bounced up the stairs two at a time and slipped into Adrienâs room.
The process of setting up really wasnât as intensive as heâd led his friends to believe. A grid unrolled onto the table, a DM screen set up, his dice laid out, and it was done. But the little ritual helped focus the party and gave him more time to get into the mindset of being the dungeon master. Or, in this case, let him lounge around for a little while to give Adrien and Marinette some alone time.
After a few more minutes had passed, Nino decided that he should probably go downstairs. No doubt, Marinette would appreciate the save. Whatever Alya thought, Nino was confident that just shoving them alone in a room for a while wouldnât work. Just because their relationship started that way doesnât mean it was foolproof.
Nino hesitated at the door when he heard laughing. An eyebrow raised - surely getting them to open up to each other hadnât that easy? The door opened smoothly and Nino froze at the sight before him.
It would be an exaggeration to say that both of his friends were completely covered in flour, but it wouldnât be a huge exaggeration. It had certainly covered most of their clothes⌠and their hair⌠some smudges on their faces⌠and streaks across the kitchen floor and counter. They at least had the presence of mind to look sheepish as they looked back at him. It was then that Nino noticed that in their clenched fists were clumps of flour. Suddenly it all clicked for him.
So he did the only thing that came to mind - he laughed.
âSeriously, dudes?â
âShe started it!â Adrien said, pointing a powdery white finger towards Marinette.
âI- No! You popped up behind me and scared me into spilling flour on you.â
âYes. A blatant act of war. So I responded in kind.â
âY-you left a flour handprint on my shoulder...â
âWhich was justice.â
â...So I did the same.â
âWhich was too far.â
âAnd⌠wellâŚâ Marinette winced as she took in the room around them, ending with looking down at herself dejectedly. â...I donât think I can play like this.â
Adrien shrugged. âYou can borrow some of my clothes if you want. And we can wash your stuff while we play.â
âNow thereâs an idea,â Nino said as he watched Marinetteâs face turn beet red. That couldnât be healthy. âWhy donât you two go figure that out while I sweep up the mess in here? If Nathalie sees this, I donât think your old man will let us over any more.â
Adrien gulped. âYouâve got a point.â He turned towards Marinette. âCome on, Iâm sure we can find something to fit you.â
Once the door closed behind them, Nino chuckled to himself. Those two were complete disasters.
-----------------------
An hour later and the four of them were assembled around Adrienâs bedroom table. Alya had raised an eyebrow at seeing Marinette in a pair of gym pants and a familiar black shirt, but surprisingly hadnât commented on it.
Once he had their attention, Nino began to recap. âIf you all remember, we had just gotten into the old mines when we were ambushed by a bunch of skeletons. Since the dead donât just animate themselves, you can bet thereâs some weirdo down here doing it.â
âHopefully they havenât had enough time to raise a bunch more than this,â Adrien said as he frowned at his characterâs hit points.
âThen weâd better hurry up to make sure.â Alya rested her head in her hand. âHey, babe. Can you give me a quick heal? I want to make sure I can still takes the hits for you softies.â
ââCourse, babe.â
A little healing all around and they were trudging through the darkness again. Taking the lesson from last session into account, Nino had thinned the numbers of skeletons around to just a couple here and there. It did wonders for making the party confident.
Confident enough that when they found a securely locked wooden door, their first instinct was to bash it down rather than listen carefully. Which meant that they walked right into a mechanical trap. Nothing special - just an arrow trap. But the health that it shaved off Alyaâs knight was enough to make the following fight with the dark adept even more harrowing.
The battle went poorly at first, with Nino barely able to keep them up with his healing magics. Then, as always, things changed when Marinette came up with a plan.
âWait! Iâve got it.â Marinette turned to Nino. âI need you to focus on killing the skeletons. We canât hurt them, but you can.â She grabbed Alyaâs arm. âYou and me are charging straight towards the big baddie. Heâs at least stab-able.â
âWhat about me?â Adrien tilted his head at Marinette.
Her eyes widened and a faint blush darkened her cheeks, but Nino was proud to see that she managed to reply to him. And with barely a stutter!
âY-youâll be keeping us going with your bard song while flanking the skeletons. And donât you still have a couple healing songs?â
Adrien gasped. âI do!â
âAwesome! Letâs see if this worksâŚâ
The plan nearly failed from the start when Marinetteâs rogue was knocked out from a random strike of the adeptâs staff, but thankfully Adrien was there with a song on his lips. Nino wasnât sure when it started, but his best friend had taken to belting out a few lines of a random song whenever he was doing bard magic. Unfortunately, the singing didnât help this time when he managed to get Marinette up with only one hit point.
Despite that, they managed to pull off the plan. The undead and their master was defeated.
âAs you bury your sword into the evil mage, he hisses at Alya, âMy master will make you pay for this. And I will be waitingâŚ,â before collapsing into a heap of black robes and a rapidly growing pool of blood.â He took a bite out of a cookie they had made earlier. âNice going, dudes. The mines are silent again. What do you do now?â
Marinette was glaring at the table. âI donât like what he said about a master. Does he have a journal or something lying around?â
âSure. Itâs written in code though.â
âDang, thatâs actually a good idea,â Marinette muttered to herself. âWell, I guess weâll take it with us. Iâm sure we can figure it out eventually.â
After taking the time to thoroughly plunder the dungeon, they made their way back to the village.
âItâs night when you get back, so the village elder is sleeping. In the morning, she tells you that they are grateful for you help, but want you to stay in town for a week to be sure the raids have stopped. Theyâll pay for your food and lodgings in the meantime.â
The party nodded as they absorbed this.
âSo what are we going to do for a week then?â
âAre we in the tavern?â At Ninoâs nod, Adrien rubbed his hands together. âTime for me to use that Charisma and make my bardic ancestors proud. I roll to seduce the barmaid!â
Alya caught his wrist before he rolled. âWait, shouldnât there be a little more roleplay to this?â
Ninoâs eyes flickered to Adrien and he felt some heat rush to his cheeks. âUm⌠Iâm not sure Iâm super comfortable flirting with my best bro, babe. Especially with you here.â
âDonât worry!â A predatory smirk found its way onto her face. âMarinette can do it!â
Poor Marinette had been in the middle of taking a drink when Alya said that, and nearly coughed up a lung because of it. After a few minutes, she was able to reply.
âBut- but I- And he! H-how?â
Not coherently, but she did reply.
Alya slid up beside her and draped her arm over her friendâs shoulders. âDonât worry, Adrien will take it easy on you.â She shot a wink at him as she withdrew from Marinetteâs side. âGo get her, tiger.â
Adrien swallowed heavily. âSo, um⌠hey?â
âStrong opening,â Nino muttered, which earned him a glare from his girlfriend.
Marinette nervously bunched edge of her borrowed shirt in her hands. âH-hey! Did you, um, want something to drink, orâŚ?â
âNo, I, uh, I wanted to ask you somethingâŚâ
âOhâŚ?â
âSoâŚâ Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, face tomato red, refusing to look directly at Marinette, âI know this is, uh, pretty forward of me but⌠Ah⌠How about⌠you and meâŚ?â
âUm⌠y-yes?â
âIâŚâ Adrien wrung his hands together and somehow his blush became even redder, âUm⌠n-nevermind.â He hung his head and Nino patted his back.
âGood effort, bro.â Adrien gave him a weak smile. Taking in the expressions of his party - how Marinette and Adrien couldnât meet each otherâs eyes, how Alya was grinning - he decided that here was as good a place as any to end. âRight, so weâll call it here, dudes.â
âI take it the week went by without anything happening?â Alya asked when it was clear the other two werenât going to say anything.
ââCourse. They gave you your gold and some extra rations for the road as a bonus.â He started packing up. âIâll send a message on the discord tomorrow about where you guys want to head next, so be thinking about that, alright?â
A few goodbyes later and Nino was on his way home. A smile slowly crept onto his face. It was a close call today, but they were shaping up to be true adventurers already.
#Miraculous Ladybug#Nino lahiffe#Alya Cesaire#DJ Wifi#Adrien Agreste#Marinette Dupain-Cheng#Adrienette#D&D#Dungeons and Dragons#ml fanfiction#my writing#Nino's Quest
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Where The Darkness Ends - MCU AU fanfic - C8
Story summary: The concept of having a baby has been more of an idea for a long time now. Ideal candidates for a three-person baby, Loki and Tony have finally, after many Peter-based setbacks and challenges, got to the point of being tested. Now, they just have to wait for the results before they can move on to the next stage.
Previous Chapter(s): 1 2 3 4 5 6Â 7Â
Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.
Warnings/themes: family stuff, mental health stuff, hurt/comfort, hospital/medical stuff, fertility stuff, IVF, potentially some medical inaccuracies, alcohol misuse
You can also find me on AO3
Chapter 8 - It's Hard To Feel What's In Your Head
-
Pepper forced more coffee into Loki and Tony, and a starchy meal, and then sent them to one of the spare rooms to âsleep it offâ.
âGo! Iâm sick of both of youâ she said, only half joking. âGo to sleepâ
Wisely, they did as they were told. Pepper waited until she heard a door close and then looked at the kitchen properly. It had been a challenge cooking in such a mess, and she hadnât really found any proper food aside from the pasta sheâd served. She looked at the empty bottles and cans littered about the place. It was a bit ridiculous, really - and scary. She really wished now that sheâd been more insistent and come round to help them out earlier, even though theyâd told her not to. She couldnât help feeling just a tiny bit responsible for what had happened here.
Still, she shook her head and got to work. Just clearing the huge amount of alcohol containers (which took a good three bin bags) made the kitchen look a whole lot better. Well, the rubbish had to take priority, and Pepper had a feeling there would be more bottles and cans for her to discover.
-
As was usually the case, she was right: there were bottles and cans all over the place. Loki was usually so houseproud, keeping a good, tidy home, and this was so out of control, so absolutely opposite to the usual, that it made the desperation of the Starkâs mental state so much clearer - more so even than Lokiâs cry for help.
-
It took a long time just to get rid of all of the rubbish and open the windows. It was clear very early on that this was not a one man job. Well, those two had to channel themselves into something. She knew what they were going through - heck, it had hurt her too. But Loki and Tony needed to step up. They werenât going to get over the blow overnight, but they needed to pick themselves up, look after themselves, look after each other, and seek help. Proper help. Calling Pepper had been the first step - a big step, she knew that. Now they needed to sort their house out. And then they needed to talk. Properly. It was the only way they were going to come to terms with any of this.
-
Loki and Tony didnât sleep for too long, and Pepper somehow managed to walk in just as they were waking up.
âHow do you feel?â she asked.
âSlightly soberâ Tony said, wrinkling his nose.
âMm. And my head hurtsâ Loki said.
âIâm not surprisedâ Pepper said, opening the window as wide as it would go. âRight, we need to do something about this house. Get upâ
âI said slightly soberâ Tony scowled.
âThatâs good enough. Nothing like a bit of hard labour to sort your heads out. Come on; thereâs loads of work to do. This place is a mess. Now get upâ
Loki sighed and hauled himself out of bed. Tony did too, but he didnât look happy.
âOk. Iâll do the kitchen and bedroomsâ Pepper said. âI definitely donât trust you anywhere near knives and glasses right now. Tony, start with your study and work your way round from there. Loki, start on the landing and work your way from there. Weâll meet in the middle some time and then tackle the downstairs togetherâ
Tony stared at her. She smiled slightly, twirled the cleaning keys on her finger, and then threw them to Loki, who caught them easily enough.
âItâs open, but you should keep hold of those. Soâ she stood to the side of the doorway, nodding out to the landing. âGet busyâ
-
Pepper set FRIDAY back up, and put the stereos and radios on, bringing a bit of life to the dirty depressing house. That, and the open windows blowing in cold air, certainly helped. Tony grumbled like anything at first - Pepper could hear him from down the hall - but after a while he went quiet, focusing on his work. Loki was quiet all the while, but he worked diligently, and Pepper fancied she could see a change in him after the first hour. It looked as though keeping busy was helping.
-
Pepper had given herself a tough job, as the kitchen was in a dreadful state state. That took the longest, a good 90 minutes from washing up at the start to sweeping and mopping the floor at the end. From there she had the bedrooms. Lokiâs room was in a much better state than Pepper had expected, which was a relief. It was just a shame she couldnât say the same for Tonyâs room. She dreaded to think what his study and the lab were going to be like. She did their rooms, and then checked all the spare rooms, straightening out the room Loki and Tony had slept in. She went and checked Peterâs room. Aside from the spare rooms, it was definitely the cleanest place in the whole house as far as sheâd seen. It just looked the same as it usually did, only a bit dusty and with some things out of place. She gave it a quick going over anyway, and then went and took the mountain of dirty washing down to the laundry room.
The laundry room certainly hadnât been used any time in the past month. Well, thank god for the two washers and dryers, she thought, putting a couple of loads in. This was going to take a hell of a long time.
-
Eventually it did start to look like theyâd made some sort of progress. Once the upstairs was finally done, right down to the windows being cleaned and the skirting boards being wiped clean, they went downstairs. The lab hadnât been used, which was a huge worry considering how Tony usually reacted in times of crisis, but at least it meant giving it a clean wasnât too much of a struggle. The swimming pool was maintained by an outside source, so they didnât need to worry about that. Pepper set the two of them to work on the little side stores and the main lobby and stairs while she sat and sifted through the post, separating the junk mail from the actual mail, sorting it into recipient piles and sub-piles, from important to less important to not important. She set it all carefully on the little round table in the entrance, deciding there was nothing that couldnât wait until tomorrow. After all, some of those letters had waited a month already.
-
It was dark by the time theyâd finished. Pepper told them to go and shower and get changed, and once they had done so, they all three flopped on the sofa in the living room. It felt a little strange seeing everything so clean and orderly again after so long.
âHow do you feel now?â Pepper asked after a few minutes.
âSoberâ Tony said, and Loki nodded in agreement.
âYou nearly look it. I know youâve been drunk for a while now. We need to be a bit carefully, especially with you, Tony. Iâm going to stay for a whileâ she said. âIâll help you, both of you. Weâll get you betterâ
âWhatâs the point?â
âYouâve got a life to be getting on with. And youâve got a son, who I daresay is going to really be missing you. Weâll get you well enough to go and see him. Weâll work on the rest as best we canâ
âHow have you done it?â Tony almost snapped. âYou were cut up about it when you found out tooâ
âYes, I was. I still amâ Pepper said. âItâs a bit different for me though... I was just a bit more proactive, seeing that therapist, talking to people, friends, family. Keeping myself busy. I knew I should have seen you earlier. I didnât realise how bad things were when you stopped replying to my messages and ignoring my callsâ
âI donât think he realised eitherâ Loki said. âI think... When I went the same way, I knew how dire things were, but it didnât hurt so much when I was drunk. So I just ignored itâ
Pepper sighed sadly. âIâm sorry I wasnât here for you earlier. We need to sort you out. Iâm going to cook, and tomorrow weâre all going to see a therapistâ
âI donât want to see a therapist!â Tony snapped.
âYou need to!â Pepper snapped. âLook at the state you got yourselves into! Thank god you had to sense to send Peter to his uncleâsâ
âI sent him to get him away from Lokiâ
Loki and Pepper stared at him.
â...What?â
âYou heard meâ Tony scowled at her. âI thought Loki was gonna hurt him, like in all those case studies online where people have lost kids and taken it out on their other onesâ
âWhat?! Tony, how could you think so lowly of me?â Loki stared at him, tears filling his eyes. âHow could you think-â
âI didnât want to think it!â Tony interrupted. âI just did, and I tried to shake the thoughts, and then you shoved him, and even though you hugged him straight away afterwards, you still hurt him! You made him squeak! And I was scared, Loki. I was really scared. I knew I wouldnât be able to look after both of you, and if you started hurting him, I just- Iâm sorry, but I didnât know what else to do. I couldnât take that risk!â
âItâs just as wellâ Pepper said. âHe needs to be out of the way while you two are as low as this. Loki, donât look so defensive. Tony, itâs ok. You just did what you thought was bestâ
Loki went quiet. He didnât know what to say. He turned away from Tony.
â...I let him down. I was gonna take him out. I slept through it, and then I kept meaning to go, but every night I just couldnâtâ Tony said thickly. âAnd then I stopped thinking about it. Even though he keeps calling and textingâ
âThatâs something you need to make amends for at a later date. We need to sort out the here and now firstâ Pepper said.
âMy retest came back the sameâ Loki said. âIâve got another one in a couple of weeks. Itâll be the same though, I know that alreadyâ
âLoki, darlingâ Pepper sighed. âI can only imagine how this feels for you, if it feels like this for me, and if itâs done this to you two. But you can get help. Thereâs optionsâ
âIt was always going to be the three person wayâ Tony said. âThat way it wouldâve been both of oursâ
â...Weâre not having a babyâ Loki closed his eyes and rested his forehead in his hand. âI canât have childrenâ
âNo, you canât. Not like thatâ Pepper said. âAnd itâs horrible, but you canât change that. But youâll come to terms with itâ
âThereâs no help for people like meâ Loki said. âEven people at work know that. Thereâs no infertility support for men, not really. They just shove adoption and sperm donation suggestions at youâ
âYouâve already done one of those thingsâ Pepper pointed out.
âItâs not the sameâ
âNo, itâs notâ she said. âBut itâs something to consider. Youâve got a kid. You might not have made him, but youâve got him, and heâs yours. Undeniably yours. Maybe... a baby-â
âNoâ Loki said. âWe were going to make one. Iâm not adopting a baby. I want my own baby���
âLoki, thatâs impossible now, you know thatâ Tony said.
âI knowâ Loki sighed. âBut itâs still what I wantâ
There was a small silence. Pepper checked her watch and sighed.
âI think itâs time we all called it a night. Weâve got to get up in the morningâ
âI donât want to go to that therapistâ Tony spat.
âToughâ Pepper said. âYouâre going. Now go to bedâ
-
Two days later, there was a knock at Thorâs front door. Peter stayed where he was, settled on the sofa in the living room with his book. He heard all the muffled voices, sounding quite heated, and then he heard Thor calling his name. Cautiously, he made his way to the kitchen - and froze.
âOh...â
He glanced at Pepper, and looked at his parents. Heâd spent so long willing them to show up, wishing to see them, but now that they were here, he suddenly wished they were anywhere else. Suddenly he didnât want to see them, or be near them. He felt weird - nervous, almost scared. His heart was thudding in his chest, and he suddenly felt cold.
âHey sweetheart!â Tony said, smiling at him. âHow are you doing? Thor looking after you ok? Itâs so good to see you! Iâve missed you, kiddoâ
Peter didnât say anything. He felt sick. He hurried over to Thorâs side, keeping a good distance between him and his parents, trying not to look at them.
âDo you want a drink?â Thor said gently, stroking the boys hair gently.
He went over to the fridge and got out a bottle of pop, which he handed to Peter. Peter took it, holding it in both hands. He felt sick, and his eyes had started to fill with tears.
âWhatâs up, kiddo?â Tony said, concerned. âYou feeling poorly? Hey, come and give me a hug. A little cuddle will help you feel better. Come on, chick, come hereâ
Peter didnât. He looked at Thor for help. Thor squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.
âWhy donât you go back to your room for a bit?â he said.
Peter nodded, grateful for this excuse to leave, and made for the door.
âHey!â Tony made a grab for him.
Peter dodged, and Thor caught hold of Tony to stop a second attempt, letting Peter escape.
âLeave him aloneâ
âHeâs my son! I just wanna give him a cuddleâ
âWell, he doesnât want you! Youâve had every opportunity to see him, but instead you cut him off for no reason. Youâve got no right to barge in here after not seeing or contacting us for weeksâ
âThat doesnât mean heâs not my son! You canât just stop me from seeing himâ
âIâm not: he is. He doesnât want to be near you, that much is clear. And I canât blame him. You broke his little heart, abandoning him like thatâ
Tony pulled free from Thor, and sat back down heavily. Thor looked at him. He looked at Loki, and then at Pepper.
âI take it youâre the reason theyâre here now?â
âWell, essentially, yesâ Pepper said awkwardly.
âWell doneâ Thor said. He looked between Loki and Tony. âWhat was it? Was it alcohol?â
They paused, looking uncomfortable, and then Loki nodded.
âA part of it...â he said.
âA large part?â Thor pressed.
Loki looked at Tony, and had to nod.
âYou donât get to judgeâ Tony said crossly. âYou donât know what this is like for usâ
âNo, I donâtâ Thor said. âBut while youâve been drowning your sorrows and wallowing in self pity, Iâve been looking after your little boy. Single-handedly, might I add, and in difficult circumstances where I couldnât even get in touch with his parents when I needed help, and sorting some of these problems hasnât been an easy feat. I know what happened was awful, but you shouldâve done better by him. He needed you, and you werenât thereâ
For a while no one knew what to say.
âI tried at firstâ Loki said eventually, keeping his eyes cast down. âBut the way Tony was got to me. And then it just felt like I wasnât getting anywhere the way I was doing things. So it was easier just to join in...â
âYou should have called me, called someone. You should have reached out!â
âI did...â
âNo you didnât, otherwise we wouldnât be in this messâ
âHe rang meâ Pepper said. âA few days ago. He knew he needed help; he admitted itâ
Thor sighed, covering his eyes for a moment. âWell, theyâre here now, and I suppose thatâs progressâ
âIt is. You didnât see the state of them and the house when I turned up. This is a huge turn aroundâ
There was another short silence.
â...I can appreciate that, and everything youâve doneâ Thor said. âAnd Iâm proud. But thereâs still a lot of work to doâ
Everyone else nodded. They all knew Thor was right.
âYouâll get there, with the right supportâ Pepper said. âYou need to let us help youâ
Tony and Loki nodded slightly. Tony sighed and stood up.
âI want to see my sonâ
âNoâ Thor said firmly. âLeave him alone. Heâs got enough to contend with without you going in and upsetting him. You can see him when he decides heâs readyâ
Well, Tony didnât like that. He exploded, and Thor shouted back. Loki tried to calm them at first, but then the tension turned onto him, and it wasnât long before all three men were shouting back and forth between themselves. Pepper watched them for a while. She knew there was no point interrupting or trying to get them to stop, so she slipped out of the kitchen.
-
Peter pushed his headphones back off his ears so they were round his neck. He looked up at Pepper.
âHi, kidâ she said gently. âMind if I join you?â
Peter nodded, turning his music player off. Pepper closed the door and went and sat down beside him on the bed.
âYouâre not here to try to get me to go and talk to my dads, are you?â
âNoâ Pepper said. âIâm not surprised that you donât want to see themâ
Peter nodded. âWhy didnât dad come to see me? He promised he would. And then he blanked all my calls and texts and stuffâ
âThey both spiralled and went to a pretty dark place. You donât need to know the details. But theyâre getting better. Theyâve made the first few steps anyway, and theyâre working on it. Theyâll visit now. You wonât have to see them if you donât want to, but theyâll still visitâ
âMm...â Peter went quiet, listening to the sounds of the men shouting in the other room. âItâs weird hearing uncle Thor so angry and shouty and stuff. Heâs not really that kind of person. Not with me, anywayâ
âHas he been looking after you well? Iâve been a bit worried about you, especially since I found out how bad things were with your dadsâ
âYeah, heâs been really good. Heâs always so kind and understanding and stuff, even when Iâm being kinda difficult. He doesnât really get cross and he never shouts or smacks me, so thatâs good, I guess... Heâs been trying to help me with my school work too, even though he doesnât really understand a bunch of it. Heâs really bad at geography, but at least thereâs google and textbooks and stuff to helpâ
âTony said youâre off school at the momentâ
Peter nodded. âI still get all the work sent to me, and then I do it and send it back, and then they send it back to me when itâs been marked. And I can email some of my teachers if I need helpâ
âHow are you finding that?â
Peter shrugged. âOk, I guess. I mean, itâs a little hard to concentrate sometimes, and they donât really send enough to occupy me for like, a full week, so itâs easy to get bored too. Iâm still getting decent grades but... Well, you know. Iâm still sad and stuffâ
âI knowâ Pepper looked at him. âHave you been getting out much?â
Peter nodded. âWe at least go on a walk every day, even when I have a tantrum about it. Uncle Thor keeps taking me to museums and out to the cinema and on like, bus rides and train journeys and stuff. Or just like, takes me to the shops or out for lunch and stuff. He said daddy was really bad when he lived here âcos he didnât get to go out much and he got bored and frustrated, and I guess he wants to stop me from kicking off and stuffâ
âWell, thatâs good, and that makes sense. Is it working?â
âKinda. I still kick off sometimes. Iâve got a lot of stuff to deal withâ
âI knowâ Pepper put an arm round Peter. âYouâre a good kid. Iâm glad youâre being looked after properly and youâre keeping up with your school work. Iâll come and see you too, if you likeâ
Peter nodded. âThatâd be niceâ
âHave you been seeing your friends at all?â
Peter shook his head. âItâs a bit awkward right now, yâknow. Theyâre all at school and itâs all ok for them, and Iâm here just... Itâs still weird to think about it. Donât you think? I mean, well, youâd be pregnant by now if things had gone the way they shouldâve doneâ
âYes, I know. It is strange to think about it. Iâd been preparing for it too. I had so much in place. Itâs a horrible situation, poor Lokiâs condition, but Iâm starting to come to terms with it, and your parents will come to terms with it too. Theyâve still got you to think about, regardless of the whole IVF situationâ
âThey havenât been thinking about me so farâ Peter said bitterly. âDaddy hasnât seen me or spoke to me or anything at all, not since the day dad dropped me off here. And dad buggered off and stopped getting involved soon after that anyway. They havenât thought about me at all the past however many weeksâ
âThey still love you, kiddoâ
âYou donât know thatâ
âYes I doâ
Peter didnât look convinced. He put his headphones back on. Pepper noticed he didnât turn the music on, but she got the message. She gave him a squeeze and stood up.
âNo one is going to force you to do anything. Take care, Peter. Iâll see you again soon. Youâve got my number if you need meâ
-
The men had finally stopped shouting when Pepper got back to the kitchen. They were glaring at each other, breathing heavily.
âFinished?â Pepper said, raising an eyebrow pointedly at them.
They nodded, and Thor sighed.
âI stand by what I saidâ Thor said. âYou stay away from himâ
âHeâs my son!â Tony shouted.
âWill you stop?!â Pepper snapped. âCanât you at least try to discuss this in a civil manner?â
âWhat is there to discuss?â Tony scowled. âI can see my son if I want toâ
âHe doesnât want to see you. I think you should keep visiting, but donât force yourself on the poor kid. Heâs got every right to be angry with youâ
âThis is a waste of timeâ Tony said. âLetâs just go home. Iâm gonna go and say goodnight to my sonâ
Loki grabbed his hand. âDonât. Leave him aloneâ
Tony pulled his hand away and stormed out of the room. They all froze, and then heard the front door go. They all breathed out, relieved he hadnât gone to Peter.
âWe should goâ Loki said.
Thor nodded and pulled him close. âStay in touch this timeâ
Loki nodded slightly and pulled away. He looked at Pepper. Pepper looked at Thor.
âSorry for springing on you like thisâ
âNo, itâs ok. Thanks for giving these two a kickâ Thor said. âMaybe see you again some timeâ
âSureâ Pepper said. âGoodbyeâ
-
Thor knocked on Peterâs door and opened it.
âTheyâre goneâ
Peter nodded. âI knowâ
âIs there anything playing through those headphones?â
Peter shook his head. Thor closed the door and sat down on the edge of the bed.
âAre you ok?â
Peter shrugged. âI thought Iâd be excited to see them again. Happyâ
âBut instead?â
âI donât know. I just felt all weird and scared and angry. I know theyâre all kinda upset and hurting and stuff but they still abandoned meâ
âWhat do you want to do now?â
Peter swallowed. â...Can we order a takeaway?â
Thor took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Peter. Peter smiled slightly and leant into Thor as he opened a takeaway app. Thor gently took Peterâs headphones off and moved them aside.
âThatâs betterâ he said softly.
Peter made a vague noise of agreement, scrolling through some menus. Thor rested a hand on Peterâs head.
âItâll be okâ Thor said. âYou donât have to see them until youâre readyâ
Peter nodded slightly. âThanks... Have you ever thought about having kids?â
Thor paused. âIâve never really been in the right situation to consider it. Why?â
âYouâd make a good dad. Youâre good at looking after meâ
âWell, thank youâ Thor said. âIâm trying to do my best by you. I love you, little nephew Peterâ
âI love you too, big uncle Thorâ
Thor smiled. âGood. Now, what are we having to eat?â
-
Pepper made Tony help with the tea.
âYou two were ridiculous todayâ Pepper said. âLoki, you barely said a word. And Tony, you said way too much. Actually, you didnât speak; you shouted. A lot. No wonder the poor kid holed up in his room! You made Thor worse too. As if he wasn��t angry enough already, all that stuff you shouted at him. Listen, youâve both done really well these last few days, and Iâm proud of you, but today you really showcased how much more work youâve got to doâ
Loki stayed quiet, and for a moment, Tony did too.
âItâs only been a few daysâ he said. âIt wasnât easy for us either, we all know that. You saw the look on Peterâs face. How do you think that made me feel?â
âI know, but-â
âIâve got enough going on without losing my little boy. Thor might be looking after him, but heâs got no rights here. He canât keep him forever, and he canât stop me seeing himâ
âHeâll try thoughâ Loki said.
Tony looked at him. âThat kid has been my little boy for way too long for me to give him up or go down without a major fight. Thor canât take him from me. I trusted him to look after him, but heâs still my son. Iâm definitely not letting anyone get in the way of that. Even if the IVF fell through, Iâm still a dadâ
âWell then you need to work on getting better so you can keep being a dad. Youâre good dads, both of youâ Pepper said. âBut youâre not in the right position to do your best by your kid right nowâ
âMore therapy sessions and things like thatâ Loki said. âAnd we need to get in touch with Li Allenâ
âDo that soonâ Pepper said. âSheâll be able to help you better than I can. I love both of you so much, but thereâs only so much I can do. Iâm not a professionalâ
âWeâll sort itâ Loki said. âI need to get back to workâ
âYou need to think about yourself firstâ Pepper said. âYou canât look after anyone else until you look after yourselfâ
*
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For the past few weeks, Iâve had lots of things on my mind which seem to be taking up every waking and often sleeping hour, itâs what happens when you take on a dog with a totally unknown background.
Although we have had numerous dogs in the past 50 years this is a new experience because although like Lili they had all been rescues, they had all been sweet-tempered.
I was contacted by Karen the lady who looked after CaĂąa and Marti when we went on holiday. She asked if we knew anyone who might foster a little dog from K9. As it happened both Jim and I were feeling that even when our old girls did nothing but sleep, the house felt complete, these days it was empty and sad. Only someone who is used to having animals will know what I mean. Anyway, we said âNo Promisesâ but bring her round.
Sunday afternoon Sheba arrived and was cute, cuddled and snuggled and when the time came for Karen and Dave to leave we were sure we had a perfect match. She did snap once but we may have surprised her, touched somewhere she didnât like or any number of things as we were all strangers.
That night, having no dog food I cooked some mince. She looked at it, turned up her nose and walked away. After a while, I went to pick up the bowl and she growled and snapped. Hmm! food possessive OK we can handle that.
Following a short walk before bed, which she enjoyed, we invited her upstairs which she obviously wasnât used to. In the end, she decided being near us might be OK and slept on a pillow at the side of our bed. She didnât move all night, (I know because I checked her half a dozen times).
Next morning all hell let loose. She was surprised at being upstairs and thought she was in trouble so hid under the bed letting us know she was angry and wouldnât come out. We ignored her and after an hour or so she very slowly came down. Following a walkies, she seemed happy to be back home and cuddled on the sofa.
It was starting to get a bit stressful not knowing what to expect from one moment to the next. When she is nice she is lovely, but many times she pulls her ears back, gets a look in her eyes and you can tell she wants to bite, even if being offered a treat.
One occasion while having a cuddle she let me brush her. As she keeps scratching I thought she may have fleas so out came the Advocate. I very surreptitiously opened it and tried to pop some on the back of her neck. In the process, I nearly lost my hand. She was not at all impressed and it took a few hours before we could get the rest of the application on. All a waste of time as it was sitting on top of the hair rather than reaching her skin.
Another dinner time came and went with lots of aggression and no food eaten.
Bedtime and she wouldnât come upstairs and wouldnât go out for a pee, so did it in the living room and expected to be in trouble. Not a problem, we had had a routine with CaĂąa who due to her age we always picked up the rug before bed. When I got up I mopped the floor, said good morning, opened the door then gave her a couple of chewies. She looked at them suspiciously and ate as she must be starving.
At this point, we decided to give her space to come round at her own pace. She must be very confused as to where she is now living (home number 3). She is frightened of most things particularly the fly swat and the sweeping brush so for the time being my living room is covered in a layer of hair.
We were getting through most days with just growls and only a little drop of blood spilt as she has taken to squeezing into a tiny space under a side table beside the sofa. It must feel safe as she is surrounded on 3 sides and can only be seen from the front. At teatime, she had two or three mouthfuls of dinner then back to her shelter under the table but it was a little step forward.
Another morning another pee â I got up at 6.00am to see how she was and she cowered on the sofa. I wished her good morning and mopped the floor. I went to get dressed, she followed I had a cuddle and also a nip as I offered her some breakfast.
The end of week one and we knew we want to keep her but she needs to learn she can trust us and she doesnât know how to behave like a lady. When our vet opened I phoned and she said we needed professional help, so we went to see a dog therapist late Wednesday. Itâs a bit like toothache, it hurts like hell until you get to the dentist and then all the pain disappears. The same with Sheba she walked into the vetâs, Gonzo stroked her, sat with her as did Florence the vet and she couldnât have been more perfect.
She was actually frightened of the surroundings and didnât know what to expect, but had already got Jim and me sussed as being too âsoftâ. The suspicion is somewhere in her past she hasnât been well treated and had to be aggressive to get what she wants. The resolution is to start from scratch, change her name, (so now Lili), change her habits and everything she associates with her past. That night, following the new rule of keeping her on a lead when we offer her dinner on the 3rd attempt she ate and we werenât bitten. Next morning she got back under the bed and stayed there until 4.00pm. No food, no water, no pees. We kept checking she was OK and in the end, she gave in, wandered down, had a big drink, a nice walk and a little bit of freshly cooked chicken.
The doggy therapist couldnât come until Sunday evening as he needed a translator. He arrived at 6.00pm after getting lost and ending up at Jungle Park and stayed until 9.00pm. He started as soon as he arrived by taking her lead and not letting her in before he had entered. Once inside she could then come in. She has to learn that humans come first and she comes second. We now do this and it works a treat, no more tripping over her as she gets between your feet. We have sorted the food issue and most times she realises it is hers and nobody wants to steal it, so far less aggression although that all went to pot when she decided she wanted a large box of tasty chocolates and sat on top of it. It took me until 5.30am but in the end, I finally got them back although I didnât much feel like the boss just knackered!
We are now just moving into week 3 we have the odd lapse but every day is a step forward. Yesterday we had our first haircut and look a lot better. She can be a lovely little girl who needs to realise she is wanted, so although it is a slow journey we will keep at it because if we were to give up on her she would go back in kennels and would probably spend the rest of her life there.
Check Queenieâs Daily Snippets for Tenerife news & events
Learning to live with Lili For the past few weeks, I've had lots of things on my mind which seem to be taking up every waking and often sleeping hour, itâs what happens when you take on a dog with a totally unknown background.
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The Pressure Is On
Being a mother is hard. Being a woman, itself is hard. We have so much pressure from everyone to be perfect or at lease try to be. As for me after having my fourth baby the pressure is on. Some people might judge and ask themselves why I even bother to get pregnant for the fourth time and to be honest even I questioned myself. Truth is I wanted to have my baby I wanted to give my husband the chance to have a son and I am glad we finally had a son because I donât think I would have tried for a fifth time. I remember people saying, âOmg your pregnant again?â with a face that expressed their concern as if they were going to give birth to the baby or as if they were going to pay for the babies pampers and necessities. I didnât find out I was pregnant until after my first trimester. Once I found I couldnât sleep. I believe it was all in my head. I started to get more and more sleepy and craving stuff. Well at lease give in to the âcravingsâ. I had honestly forgotten what it was like to be pregnant. My feet started hurting and getting swollen very quickly which was very annoying. Before this pregnancy I had lost 30 lbs which I was so proud. I worked hard in the gym and with eating healthy. So when I started to gain weight after the 4th month my feelings were very twisted. I was happy that I was giving my husband a son and that I was giving my daughters and son a little brother but I was also very concern about how much weight I was going to gain. Weight gain should not be a concern for a pregnant women but when you have my body type and when you are self conscience as I am weight gain is definitely a concern. I really didnât give in too much or at lease try to show it. As I came to my 3rd trimester I knew I could help but to gain weight. However I loved my baby bump. This pregnancyâs baby bump was not like the ones I had before. This one was big but was not as wide as my belly with my daughters. I was happy with that. I took my pregnancy photos which I think I looked bombed in. I took it to show off how happy I was with my belly bump even dough I was worried inside about my post baby body. Sometimes I would tell my husband or express how fat I would feel and his response was âYou have a long way to go to go back to your pre baby body.â which I knew and agreed. I gained a total of 35lbs in this pregnancy and by my last month I was ready to pop since my lower back was hurting and my feet were always swollen. I was excited to have my son donât get me wrong . I was excited to meet him and to hold my newborn. I was also nervous to find out how much weight I was going to loose during labor and how much more during the weeks after. Once I gave birth and was able to hold my son all worry about myself was gone. Everything was worth it as long as my son was healthy. Fast-forward to today, me at 2 weeks and 5 days post-partum have only lost 15 lbs since birth. After birth in our Hispanic tradition the women are not allowed to do anything for the 6 weeks post-partum period. They are told to always cover their ears not wear flip flops, get near a stove, sweep or mop or leave the house. Yeah tell that to a mother who has 4 kids. Once again donât get me wrong my husband helps me a lot. More than average husbands but he still has to work and I still have to maintain this household. I was out for the doctor after a week and to purchase groceries the week after. I was sweeping and moping every other day so that my kids wouldnât end up with black socks. I was also trying to cook since we were not that financially stable to be able to purchase food every night for dinner. I know at this point you are thinking the same thing other people were thinking when I told them I was pregnant âWhy did you get pregnant again?â. Truth is I still donât know but I am glad I did. I donât think I had a good recovery period. At lease one that I deserve. I donât blame no one. Its really no ones fault. Is hard to maintain a house hold of 6 people. I knew it was going to be easy but how I wish I would have emotionally prepared myself for all the changes. There a lot of pressure that I feel being a new mother. I have to make sure that my older kids donât feel left out at any time. Made sure that they know because I had a baby doesnât mean that they can slack on their discipline or their house chores. Which I donât want to place too much on their plates but I have read that them doing chores actually helps them to be more responsible adults. Win win for me. Â I have to be able to be there for 24 hours bottle and bottom service for my baby. And yes bottle service because I am not able to feed my son breast milk for a couple of reasons. One since i started I have only been able to pump 1oz from both breast every 2 hours. Talk about a supply and demand problem. I am not able to place my son since I have flat nipples and yes I know theirs nipple shields but he didnât not like that and to be honest I was not going to force it since I have tried to for my last 3 kids. I decided to go with pumping and then bottle feeding which is currently not working for me. 1oz is not enough so I decided to do research and bought Fenugreek supplements and made sure I was always hydrated. Did not work. I also askes my husbands family since in their country the elders make a lot of home recipes to increase milk supply and they advise to drink at least one cup of hot cocoa a night. Didnât work. At this point I am done trying. I am done stressing over not producing enough. I was also told that breastfeeding helps you loose weight by burning calories. I was excited about that but it all went down the drain once I was not going to put my sane on the line in order to breastfeed my son. I know he will turn out fine since my other kids did to. Know I have to prepare for the judgmental moms criticism when I tell them I no longer breatfeed but you know what? They were not there when both my son and I were crying with frustration and when I was crying alone stressed and feeling like a looser for not being able to breastfeed. As of today I have not hear one mother say âItâs ok if you are not able to breastfeedâ. Loosing weight by breastfeeding is now out of the question. I was also bought a girdle since all new moms wear in order to tighten the stomach and loose the belly fat. Also a fail since I believe I bout it the wrong size plus it only tightens the upper part of my stomach and I need extra help with my lower abdomen which is now a pouch. I have been thinking about buying a good one which is highly expensive but who knows it might be worth it. Post partum period is only 6 weeks but I know for my husband it feels like way longer. I was not really sectually active during my pregnancy due to very dry vagina and painfull sex. So I know him and I are very excited to get this long 6 weeks over with. However there another issue with this. I donât know how I am going to react once we are in action and he starts to notice that I have about 25 lbs more than before. Which if I really think about it its crazy since I weighted 216 lbs when we got married. I think I might be over reacting but I cant help it. Now that I think about when I weighted 216 lbs I was not really depressed about it but the fact that I lost the weight and I worked to hard to loose and gained it all back (with a baby as a benefit of course) kind of gets me depressed. I think about all the possibilities about how any other women who is not able to have babies wouldnât care to gain all this weight in order to have a baby but as I said I cant help it. I feel pressure to have to âbring sexy backâ to my husband but how can I satisfy him when I myself am not satisfied with myself. I feel like I cannot express love to him since I at this point am not in love with myself. I have cried about this but I know sometimes feel so stupid because I know its normal I can expect to jump back to pre baby body in one month but the pressure is on. Â I have seen how many women jump immediately back and think how I wish I was them. How I wish my metabolism was different. How I wish my genes were different. I am excited to start working out and to start some sort of meal plan for weight loss but im nervous that I wont see results as fast as I would like. One of my goals for 2018 was to be able to run a marathon. Well maybe walk and finish a marathon. I need a motivation in order to start this long pre baby journey. Is not going to be easy but I know I cant make it with the help of my support system which is my family.
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06 May 2017 Â Â Â Â Â
0430: 05deg 20.54m N Â Â 098deg 06.36m E
Time retardation: 1 hour
2000: 05deg 54.7m N Â Â Â 094deg 49.4m E
Here I am, sitting in my cabin after what seemed like the longest bridge watch ever.
Anyway, as usual I was trying my hardest to wake up in time for the watch in the morning. Turns out this time I was late by about 15 mins. Reported to bridge at 0415. Didn't feel as tired this time but that was only for the first part. Bridge watch was the usual, nothing interesting really happened then. And as usual again at 0700 I started the routine to sweep and mop the bridge.
Looks like my gamble paid off. The previous cadet left his safety shoes behind so now i can use the new safety shoes for the bridge and the old ones for deck work when needed. What a break of relief for me. Ended the watch at 0800, and was to report to ship's office at 0900 as usual. Had breakfast in the duty mess room and went to my cabin for a short while.
At 0845 i started to head downwards to the ships office. Chief told me that we would be going out to the deck with the bosun so I went to put on my safety shoes in the changing room. But lo and behold when i was done, chief was nowhere to be found. I walked onto the deck in hopes of seeing chief walking outside, but to no avail. Went down to the port and starboard sides to look towards the foreward end but i still didnt see him. I made the decision to walk down the starboard side deck first in hopes of finding chief somewhere along the way. I made it to the bosun store, which is located at the foreward end, below the forecastle, and peered inside, hoping i could find chief. When i didnt see him i thought maybe he was on the forecastle instead and walked up onto it. But of course i didnt see him there as well. So i walked all the way back to the aft end of the deck and decided that i would walk down the port side deck in hopes of finding him. And i walked and ended up at the bosun store again (bosun store has two entry points, one port and one starboard, they are 'connected' at the bow), and this time i decided i would go up on to the forecastle first before going into the bosun store. Chief wasnt on the forecastle, and i took the time since i was there to peek over the side(bow) of the ship. Seeing the bulbous bow breaking the steady blue water was something to see for sure. Thats where i also realised how blue the sea was. But then again we still werent actually out in the open sea. The northern part of sumatra was to our port side and we could still see the coastline on the horizon.
Anyway climbed back down the stairs to the bosun store and walked inside, making sure not to touch anything lest something happened. Walked through it without seeing chief at all and decided to go back to the ships office. And when i actually reached the ships office, he was inside on the computer already.
He asked me where i was, and i said that i was looking for you after getting on my safety shoes.
Chief told me that he works fast and he needed to show bosun what to do, as there was still plenty to do after taking over from the previous chief officer.
Now is when i decide that i am goddamn tired and started to fall asleep again. When working in the ships office. I think that the moment i sit down i can feel the tiredness creep in.
Fast forward to about 1130/1200 or something ( i cant remember it was a bit of a daze)
I was told that i could go for lunch, and i had to bring some of the remaining paperwork that was supposed to have actually been done before we departed singapore. So basically from 0900 to 1130, it was me partially falling asleep at the table and also partially running around looking for people to sign the forms.
After lunch, i spoke with the 3rd engineer for a bit. He's a nice guy, from india but he apparently studied for a bit in SP. He said he's been sailing since 2012 november. So by the time we sign off together, he'd have completed 5 years at sea. I also finished my last cigarrete at lunch. Which made me panic a little, then i remembered that we loaded provisions and some of it was in the bonded store. i.e. Alcohol, drinks, water and most importantly, cigarettes. Though im actually quite sad they dont stock up on menthol cigarettes or gudang. Hahaha. Anyway i found out that apparently as a cadet i might not actually be able to purchase cigarettes. What. Are you kidding me.
3rd Engineer was nice enough to give me 5 packs of benson and hedges, which ironically, depending on how you see it, was what my father smoked before he quit long time ago. Full circle? Anyway have to get used to smoking reds now. :/
I didn't actually realise the time retardation of one hour happened, and i reported to the bridge for the evening watch apparently a full one hour and fifteen minutes too early. I was a bit bamboozled at this point because I was sleeping from lunch onwards hahahaha.
So i spent the next 45 mins screwing around in bunk with my phone, trying to figure out how to set the time. Hopefully i got it right now and my alarms go off later.
Today i actually managed to see the sun set. Though it was overcast, it kind of made it nicer to look at. The bright orange sun hiding behind the clouds, casting a orange to pinkish hue over the clouds and horizon. And then when it finally set, the stars and moon were out. The moon wasnt covered by clouds, and actually was reflecting so much light i had a shadow from the moonlight.
I could get used to it. The solitude, the quietness. The beauty of the setting and rising sun, the stars shining in their place. The moon, giving off its bright night light.
Today, i felt like i couldnt do it. I felt that i cant handle all the things im meant to be doing. I realised i might not be so cut out for this afterall. In terms of the work expected of me. Its just the 3rd day i spent doing actual things. Hopefully i can overcome this in due time.
Sidenote; what if after coc 3 i reapply to the navy? If i can actually get coc 3 that is.
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Perspective
PERCEPTION
 AKA - seeing the man behind the curtain and still thinking heâs a wizard.
 Sometimes growing up makes you realize a lot of things you took for granted when you were younger. Your parents arenât always right about everything, food doesnât just magically appear in your fridge, or the Santa at the mall isnât the real Santa (spoilers, I know). But then there are other things that you just have to learn as you go, like car insurance sucks, health insurance (Iâm American) REALLY sucks, and buying property doesnât always mean cheaper month to month bills. You have to do your dishes. You have to scrub out the tub and toilet. You are the one who has to vacuum, sweep, mop and take out the trash all the time. There isnât anyone there to catch you if you fall. You need to make your own doctors appointments. You need a job, that you may or may not like. Itâs all part of growing up and itâs all what shapes us into the people we are.
 Growing up, your parents/guardians instill in you values and beliefs that you just assume are universal truths. âEveryone eats dinner at 6pmâ âThursdays are always burger nightsâ âClear your plate when youâre done eating.â (Forgive me, Iâm a chef by trade, so food is my metaphor or choice). It isnât until you get away from them and live for a bit that you see how the rest of the world lives. Not even class differences, but much smaller than that â going to a friends house and seeing what they eat for dinner, how they arrange the furniture in their living room or even which parent does which tasks. ITâs one of those eye-opening experiences that makes tou think about the way things are and how they potentially could be â it makes you ask, âWhy?â
 And thatâs when conflict starts. âBut why do I have to make my bed every morning?â âBut why do I have to do the dishes before I go to bed EVERY NIGHT? Theyâll still be there in the morning.â âWhy canât we eat dinner at 8pm instead of 6 so we can go see this movie?â I remember asking my parents why we didnât go out to eat more. We were relatively well off family, everyone was always home at a decent hour and I wasnât asking for a Michelin dinner â just Portilloâs or something easy. I always got dirty looks from my parents and they asked, âWell, are you going to pay for it?â I was nine years old. I was more interested in collecting Pokemon cards (the original 150) than collecting dollars and coins. It became a sticking point for me, so much so that I would stay at a friends house, at least 3 nights a week, for dinner because we would go out somewhere. My friends parents had no issue getting all of us some cheeseburgers from McDonalds or Hot Dogs from the place around the corner. It saved them time, made everyone happy and was inexpensive. The nights I would come home for dinner were always spent sulking because I didnât want to eat the Shake and Bake nonsense my Mom would make, or the gray steak Dad would make (our broiler was not very good). So I went on trying to avoid coming home for dinner. Avoid the problem and it would just go away, right?
 Fast forward 6 years. Iâm 15, in high school, just got my braces off and I have my first boyfriend. Coming out in high school was not something I was ready to do. I had told a few of my close friends and that was good enough for me, but âflauntingâ it was not something I was prepared to do.
 **Sidebar: I, as most young, scared gay kids, covered by fear with active homophobia. I never hurt anyone (to my knowledge) but I used to think of it as a bad thing. Iâve since grown up, but weâll get to that.**
 I had my boyfriend and we were together outside of school whenever possible. He lived by school, so I would always say I had to stay for an extra rehearsal or something and just go to his house. Both of his parents worked late, so we would usually have the house to ourselves for a few hours. Things got pretty serious pretty fast. Six months in (remember weâre 15) we decided to tell our families. Well, he told his family, and I chickened out. I remember calling him from the laundry room in my parents basement, crying. I told him I wasnât strong enough, or good enough for him and we needed to break it off. It wasnât fair for him to be with someone who couldnât bring himself to admit the relationship to his family. I wasnât good enough. I wasnât strong enough. I broke up with him. At the time, this was the best course of action I could think of. Avoiding the problem, once again.
 Jump ahead another six years. Iâm 21, living âon my ownâ with roommates on our college campus in an apartment my Dad is paying for. So adult. Iâm doing small catering gigs out of our apartment to pay my rent and casually seeing someone. Iâm pulling Cs in my classes (I used to be an A student) and Iâve gained about 80 pounds since coming to college. It comes time for winter finals, and I end up sleeping through my last one. Iâm already doing poorly in the class, but theres no way I can make it up. I end up failing the class and I get put on academic probation. This is very new for me. I didnât know what to do. I couldnât avoid my parents finding out â the university mailed a letter home. I took the next semester off to âfigure everything out.â I went to see a therapist. He told me I have âperformance anxiety.â That didnât register with me. How could I have performance anxiety? I have been performing on stages since I was 7. His evaluation told me that the performances I was used to â being in large groups and not really singled out â didnât affect me or my life like the ones I was currently doing. Tests in classes that I knew I needed for my degree. Coming to terms with people â one on one â in relationships that could lead to something more fulfilling, more real, than just hanging out and having sex here and there. These were the things that were giving me anxiety, that I were afraid of.
 So I dropped out of college. It was definitely a mutual decision. I went to talk to my advisor and dean, and we came to the decision that me retaking courses and pulling my grades up wouldnât be enough, and Iâd end up somewhere mediocre when I graduated. I didnât want that, and honestly I wasnât happy in the career I chose. I thought the material was interesting and exciting, but the day to day drudgery was eating at me soul. I wasnât happy.
 I moved home, mustered up some courage, and enrolled myself in a culinary schoolâŚwithout telling my parents. They werenât very happy with me. We had a few fights, one lasting about a month where my Dad didnât really speak to me, and one big one at the end. The final one happened all over the house, us following each other screaming and crying, and ended up with me making the biggest admittance Iâve ever made to anyone in my life â âI just want you guys to be proud of meâ was what I told my parents through tears.  It was one of those âa-haâ moments that only came about because I had nothing left in me â nowhere else to hide.
 Over the last six years, I have gone to culinary school, graduated and worked countless jobs around the city networking with chefs and people I never imagined I would ever meet, moved out on my own (for real this time, mortgage and all), bought my own car, and have had the same job for almost two years now. Iâve dropped the 80 pounds Iâve gained from college and try to eat healthy whemever I can. Ironically, itâs taking me quitting the job Iâve worked the past two yeasrs for me to have this âa-haâ moment.
 I have been a chef for the last three years at two places. The first was a grocery store and butcher and the second was a restaurant. Both have taught me more in three years than my seven collective years of college ever did. And the latter job has taught me to question everything again. Iâve been asking âwhy?â again â and not accepting âthatâs just how it isâ as a legitimate answer. I love the restaurant industry. Looking at it from afar and seeing how many people it gives jobs to, how much the industry as a whole does for every single person every single day, and seeing the individuals who come in, bust their asses for a minimum wage paycheck, and are satisfied with a pat on the back and a âgood job, see you tomorrowâ really make me take pause. The great things people can do when they accept each other, put aside their differences and come together is great, but also seeing the hard work, dedication and sometimes overworking it takes to just get the doors open really makes me proud to do what I do. Iâve seen life from a lot of different viewpoints over the last 27 years, and I feel like Iâve seen the man behind the curtain. I know pain for losing someone you love and I know the joy of seeing new life come to be. I know how to start a business and Iâve seen businesses Iâve run nosedive when I leave. Iâve seen people flourish in jobs weâve given them after a tough life on the streets or even jail time. Iâve seen rich, worry-free grown men who think theyâre shit doesnât stick humbled to the point that I have to teach them how to clean lettuce properly so the customers and their restaurants donât end up chewing on sand.
 Itâs important to keep perspective and know where youâve been. Some people say that you should never look back because it distracts you from looking forward, but I disagree with that. Looking back gives you the knowledge you need to be able to move forward and be greater than the sum of your parts.
 I am a man. I am gay. I am white. I am loving. I am generous. And I am Human.
 We can all fight about politics, race, gender, inequality, pay, or even how to fold a bedsheet. When it all boils down, weâre all human, and we need to work together to be great. As one of my best friends and mentors put it, âEveryone just needs to do their fucking job. Stop fighting and complaining, just do your job.â Our jobs are to be greater than the individual. Letâs do it.
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