#'oh I'd just take whatever they paid me' NO! NO CHILD!

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Ok but Dick is so big brother shaped. Plz give the kid a sibling.

The trials of working for a young married couple with a child, Alfred sighed. Some of the things he'd clearly forgotten in the intervening years.

And he wasn't sure what was worse. Walking in on a private conversation or walking in on said married couple in- or about to be in a compromising position. But he did know there was a third worse option that was a mix of both.

Still. At least everyone was still mostly clothed. And he wouldn't need to see if his insurance benefits covered therapy.

Whatever the precipitating factors were didn't matter. He was sure it would all come out eventually. Though he had suspicions.

Bruce had been obnoxiously fussy where you were concerned. Even more than normal.

So either a spat had been resolved or he'd decided you were terminally ill.

He glanced up from getting the stains out of Dick's school uniform and quirked an eyebrow but other wise said nothing as you loaded the washing machine- you perfered to wash your own intimates and he didn't blame you. Even if he wasn't phased. But from his understanding, you'd been doing laundry since you were 8. So- it was probably equal parts it being weird to have someone else washing your undergarments and having some sense of normalcy. Either way it was less work for the staff- something they appreciated.

"You're home early," he observed watching you start folding shirts- he wasn't sure how many jobs you'd worked but he suspected a considerable amount of retail.

"I've been working from upstairs," you tell him. "Working at the office has been making things... distracting for everone."

"Ah yes. The unintended consequences of the lime light."

"I'm not sure why interviews keep going viral-"

"It's not the interviews," Alfred snorted. "People find you fascinating."

When you roll your eyes he smiled just a little. You seemed to have a very inaccurate picture of yourself outside of a courtroom. You were charming. And had enough wits about you to keep up with Bruce- in his public persona or out of it. To the outside you looked like an odd couple. A lawyer with a deadpan biting wit and a reformed playboy... He could see the appeal of you. Why people still fixated on you.

"Well calling my office is rude," you tell him. "Particularly when we can't unlist the number."

"Yes that is annoying I'd imagine; how-"

"I have a secretary filter calls. Interview requests and weirdos get rerouted to wherever all the PR shit goes and Ranga sends me anything important."

He nodded. He'd never considered how you'd managed to get anything done working from home. But it made sense.

"How many socks can this kid run through?" you muse, folding what felt like the 50th pair.

"It is an eternal mystery. How every child I've ever known winds up with so many mismatched socks."

"That's why I just bought socks that it didn't matter if they matched- until I was in law school it was a good day and I was on my A game if they came out of the same pack."

Alfred shuddered reflexively and wondered if you still did that, he'd never paid attention to your socks.

"Alfred where is- Oh hey Y/N," Dick said, "Bruce wants you."

"Why?" you ask, returning his one armed hug when he skipped over.

He shrugged, "Didn't ask."

"Rude."

He grinned, "You piss people off today?"

"Language. And just Gordon- that doesn't count."

"How come?"

"ACAB until they stop beating up civilians and taking bribes, Dickie.""

"Please don't say that in interviews, someone will shoot you," Dick said. "This is like the longest it's bee since someone tried to shoot you. B finally stopped trying to hire bodyguards."

"Pretty sure they could get bribed, baby bird."

"I couldn't-"

"I bribe you all the time," you tell him, ruffling his hair.

"It's not a bribe if you do it before I act up. It's just an incentive," he huffed.

"True enough, finish folding your socks," you tell him swooping down to kiss his cheek before going to find Bruce.

[theseerasures]

notes on the owl house, season 1

was gonna do a sequence of liveblogs but then??? i got really into it??? so i guess the most important tl;dr is that yes lesbians you were right this time

S01E01

*watches first scene, where a single brown mother gives her kid a brochure for Conformity Camp with a cartoonish image of a child being crowded into a box, when her kid has already been established as being comically and cartoonishly imaginative, while a flock of doves fly into the air spelling out the words THIS IS A JOKE PLEASE DO NOT MAKE A DISCOURSE ABOUT THIS*

*pauses episode*

*gently and reverently rests finger on screen* a discourse happened here

i knew that Wendie Malick voices Eda before i started and thought i'd properly girded my loins and yet every time she opens her mouth i think she's gonna tell Luz she's punishing Luz for being alive

S01E03: gotta say i'm appreciative of this show's policy of "NO BOYS ALLOWED" unless the boys are the LITTLEST GUYS IN THE WORLD in which case "SON BOY ALLOWED"

S01E05

it's weird that the Adora in this show has Catra's haircut

wait

siSTER???

i guess kudos for subverting my expectations but between this and Frozen what is it with Disney properties courting the Incest Yay people

was the thought that since Eda and Lilith are Old(tm) it wouldn't happen this time because. uhhhhhh

i guess since Catradora was NebulaGamora you could argue Dana Terrace was just returning the trope to old familial roots??? bah i'm not gonna think about this anymore. Lilith def cursed Eda tho

spotted: Amity Blight and her best frenemy Luz Noceda dueling over the last open spot to the Magic Yale welcome luncheon!!!! xoxo GossipWitch

S01E07

not only does Amity have siblings her siblings are VEX AND VAX??? what is happening

Amity: you're a bully Luz!!!! i would know, because i call myself that in the mirror every morning!!!! not because i'm self aware though. it's to pump me up for another day of Bratz the Movie level shenanigans

wow this enemies-to-lovers is turning around fast. i was expecting Amity to at least girlboss if not gaslight but she barely got to gatekeep before being all "i guess :) we both learned something today :)"

yes Amity Luz accidentally hurting your precarious sense of self once is definitely the same as you tormenting Willow for years

S01E12

oh i've seen this Steven Universe episode.

*sees the monster* and so have the storyboarders

why is everyone so mean to Hooty :(

seriously tho i get having one person in the friend group that everyone inexplicably dislikes is a comedy standard or whatever but. it feels out of place for a show that otherwise bellows "it's great to be weird!!!" from the rooftops

Hooty never did nothing to nobody!!! except be all powerful and occasionally asking to be included in shenanigans

on the other hand given King's design they had to work REALLY hard for me to dislike him, but wow! it's definitely paid off, he's the worst

this is the third episode in a row where King's plot is that he has to learn a lesson about not being Disney-brand-selfish and i know this didn't happen but i'm suddenly imagining the world where he eventually takes over as the main character and The Owl House became Disney's answer to Teen Titans Go

S01E13: okay fine King reaching Todd Chavez levels of shenanigans in this episode was good. he can stay

S01E14: MAYBE THEY SHOULD CALL IT SHAPESHIFT LAND. BECAUSE IT'S A LAND WHERE YOU GO TO SHAPESHIFT

S01E15

can i just say that. naming a powerful-but-overlooked witch--who is the BFF to the main character, who thrives on both a) The Hubris and b) The Resentment--Willow is. well no harm in wearing your influence on your sleeve i guess

she does plant magic! it's not like they could have called her Glimmer

i can't believe Amity was made to end her friendship with Willow by CAITLIN GLASS'S SHADOW LAUGHING ON A WALL

*Amity pulls on Skara's invitation like she's gonna rip it apart* NO AMITY THAT'S AN ACTUAL BUTTERFLY

Amity: i'm not actually gonna rip it because it's a real butterfly, but you get the gesture, right?

me: ...fine. FINE

>:(

*watches Amity release the butterfly invitation as a symbol of overcoming her past self* wow. trans Amity confirmed

all the Blight kids are trans actually the twins transed and nobody even made a fuss bc their parents are terrible and Amity is a fourteen year old with youngest most specialest child syndrome

S01E16

Amity: i can't fight my worst fear because it's SO EMBARASSING

me: Amity if it's the one where you fail a test and then your mother shows up and calls you fat i guarantee everyone in school has already guessed

i guess we're just getting everybody's mommy issues huh

Luz's greatest flaw is how hard she commits to the bit, truly the ADHD representation we need

like it has literally not occurred to her that she could change course with what to tell Camila at any time. she chose her path and it's the only one for her now forever

oh Amity's greatest fear isn't even the obvious mom thing!! it's that Luz might turn her down!!! that's so fucking stupid Amity never ever change

S01E17

the recurring potshots at JoRane's intellectual property this season sure are.

this was produced and came out during the years she went public about losing her fucking mind, so like. everyone had to deal with it in the way they felt was appropriate. i'm not really out to judge the exact timbre of one's response so long as said response does not align with her bigotry, and i sympathize with the petty joy of belittling something owned by somone hateful, especially if that something once meant a lot to you...

i guess i'm just not super comfortable with it because a) you're still picking at a wound even if you end up making funny shapes out of the scabs, b) these hot takes are about general magic-school tropes but often are so specifically about her it feels like we're giving her credit for creating them, and c) owning her like this feels like an opiate when the real issue isn't that her fictional society is founded on 11 year olds taking one uquiz, or that the fake sport she made up is hideously unbalanced, it's that she's...the leader of hate group

all of which are misgivings i have about the Disney Corporation as well and i get that people don't watch this show to be REMINDED that we live in a society, so like. whatever i'm gonna stop talking about this

that Amity sure is gay amirite! she went from "mostly bormal about her obvious crush" to "Jodie Foster at the Golden Globes" in the span of one episode

S01E18

wow!!! Hooty saved everyone's bacon by being all-powerful. thank you Hooty sorry your squatters just take you for granted

oh hey Hordak

the fact that Willow and Gus immediately figured out what Luz was up to because of the helpful diagrams she drew for her non-plan is just so. i'm love them, actually

LILITH??? cursed Eda???? what an unexpected turn of events

okay yes Eda sacrificing her soul to her chronic illness for Luz provoked some genuine emotion from my flinty irreverent heart

it was just the emotional climax of Brave with a Last Agni Kai color scheme but hey i cry during the emotional climax of Brave, so

S01E19

is King...not sad his momowner is about to die??? i get that Luz is the focus here but it's weird that he's not even a little bit distraught

um

Lilith

oh my god what

what????

you really think someone would do that??? just ESTABLISH A FASCIST STATE AND TELL LIES????

Lilith how the fuck did you become the head of the secret police when you're like THIS

MINDWIPED WILLOW HAD MORE DEDUCTIVE SKILLS, LILITH

i thought there'd be SOME fascist ideology buy-in like cursing Eda made her scared of Power without Discipline or something but she's...only here??? because this one thing Hordak said he'd do???? HE DIDN'T EVEN PINKIE SWEAR LILITH

like yes yes i know. "cop older sister fails upwards and yikes her way into defending her genocidal boss" I KNOW the only way she could be more my type is if she had dyed her hair white, but i can't pay attention to any of that bc i'm too distracted by the logic-defying stupidity

Lilith when you ditched your glasses for your Goth makeover did you just. never get contacts??? because the only reason i can think of for even you blithely sailing past every red flag is that you were literally too blind to see them

i just

i can't believe i thought Winter Schnee was the purest encapsulation of "in my defense your honor i really am the dumbest bitch alive" when Lilith was there all along

i guess her existence is a powerful statement that MILFs can be morons too

*Luz confronting Lilith and displaying a level of anger that's probably supposed to be unsettling* oh my god Luz YES GET HER PUT HER OUT OF HER FUCKING MISERY

Lilith: i just don't understand why even after i've restrained and assaulted them no one believes i just want to have a civil conversation :(

tHIRTY YEARS????

like yes okay i'm sure there are some profound implications here we can draw about grooming and abuse and sunk cost fallacies but i just

Lilith: i was on the fence about cursing my sister, but when i asked for the Emperor's advice he said "god forbid women do anything."

Luz:

Lilith: i'm realizing now that was bad advice. and that he probably meant it in a different, even worse way than how i interpreted it.

but don't worry gang! her solution to fixing all the evil she's been complicit in is to...uh, continue being complicit in the evils! it's the best way to ensure that the incredibly specific scenario that befell Eda and herself will never!!! happen!!! again!!!

quick Lilith, Hordak just ensnared you in tentacles! this is a perfect opportunity for you to show exactly how you're going to prevent "~this" from ever happening ag--oh she's gone

Eda, finding out Lilith didn't actually mean to curse her forever and this was all her sister's incredibly weird way to make amends: what kind of fucking mORON--wait actually this makes perfect sense

Eda honey obviously i love you for trying to shield your sister and petson from petrification but i don't think Lilith noticed you did that

given the established buffer speed of her brain i'm not sure she's even put together that the owlbeast and her sister are the same person

okay okay i'll move on

:') Luz you brave darling sunflower you've never done anything wrong ever in your life and i'm glad you committing to the bit saved the day, even if it came at such a high price

not sure you'll be taking home the coveted gold for Committing to the Bit tho, now that your witch-aunt has revealed herself as the undisputed champion of Blindly Committing to the Bit for the thirtieth consecutive ye--OKAY YES WE'RE NOT BEATING THIS DEAD HORSE ANYMORE

because i do want to take this show seriously, and nothing demonstrates "i'm gonna take responsibility for my own actions now" better than using your literal body to bear some of the harm you inflicted on others. it's a very nice way to bring their relationship full circle, and it resonates with other instances when characters are forced to stop defining themselves by outside standards and embrace what they're already good at.

(and what Lilith is good at is soothing the pain of others via self-harm! which i think is the point the Helen's-Type-Generator starts emitting confetti and oily black smoke)

is this the first instance of magic having a cost or rebound in this world? beyond "whew i did a lot of magic today, i'm tired?" hm

Dana Terrace really went "i'm gonna give the whump enthusiasts everything they want" with this trope huh

Going Forward

yes i liked it yes i know the second season is more heavily serialized yes i will watch that soon

this did make me think about how all seriality in TV these days seem to be about building up to one series-wide showdown as opposed to different seasons having their own mytharcs, but that has less to do with this show specific and more with the death of television as a medium and we ain't got time for that

given how much my exposure to this show beforehand was Lumity (to the point where i wasn't sure there were other characters besides Eda) i'm...kinda surprised at how sparse Amity's presence was in this season. i liked what we did see of her, but i went in expecting a lot more antagonism for a lot longer in that dynamic

but i guess that's tied in with this season not having much in the way of antagonism until the very end, and not-Hordak seems to be the only one actually invested in his whole world order. we don't have any sympathetic true believers, which I assumed would be Lilith and/or Amity? i guess neither Shadow Weaver nor Catra really gave a shit about the Horde's ideology either, but Shadow Weaver remained an unrepentant ball of spite until the end and it didn't really matter that Catra didn't give a shit about the Horde because the Horde was the only thing she knew. in contrast Amity and Lilith's ties to the existing system feel very shallow--in the latter case so much so it kind of boggles my willing suspension of disbelief?

i suppose the next season can change that, i know new characters get introduced so--

oh wait is that what's gonna happen to the bad sad twink

i've only seen his armor but given how many AO3 fics seem to be about him i'm just gonna assume that he's a bad sad twink

wait can i call someone a twink when he's probably in his early teens like the rest of the cast?

is there discourse about this i hope not

don't make me break out the flock of doves

[icarus-suraki]

Oh; apologies if I should already know this. I have a vague sense that I might, but my vague senses don’t match reality much of the time, and if I’m being honest the mismatch is probably growing.

But the question: are you actually a librarian, not just in terms of stereotypical perception of your appearance but in terms of your actual job? And if so (or if not) what are your thoughts on being a librarian?

Uh oh. Are you ready for my Tragic Backstory? (read in "heated basket" voice)

I am certified as a librarian--as in, I have an MLS (Master of Library Science) degree. And I made use of it for something like ten years until I basically had a mental breakdown lmao and now I'm an administrative assistant and much happier.

But, yeah, I was assigned "library duty" in 4th grade as part of the whole safety patrol/hall monitor program and I was actually really disappointed because the kids who got to help with the buses and carpool kids got to wear reflective vests and badges and even official raincoats (bright yellow with "SAFETY PATROL" on the back in black letters). But I got stuck in the library where I had to shelve books and, when the "special" for the day was library time, I'd check out my classmates' books to them. Not exactly thrilling. I guess my reading level was "above average" so the teachers and librarian assumed I'd be happy there? My undiagnosed ADHD ass was not all that happy and I was easily distracted by interesting books (this will become a theme later). I mean, I like books, and I was taken to the library a lot by my mom, but damn I get distracted.

Anyway, because of that, it meant that when I was in middle school and early high school, when I needed volunteer hours for graduation or honor societies or whatever, I could waltz up to the local public library and say, hey, I know how libraries work and you should let me volunteer here. So they did and the head of the youth services department basically counted down the days until I was 16 and they could hire me (rather than just have me volunteering). And, holy hell, I hated it lmfao.

Like, yeah, at least I got paid, but at what cost??? I was basically shelving books for four hours, five hours, six hours at a stretch. I was putting in 20 hours a week in the summers (as my parents demanded) and all I was doing was shelving. Endlessly. And mostly picture books--which meant that, once again, I'd get distracted by interesting illustrations, which got me scolded by the librarians. Sorry I suck so much, I guess?

Anyway, I had to quit when I went to college, but the college library hired me as a circulation desk assistant, which was okay if boring (at least I could play on the internet) except in the summers when we would have to shelf read for four, five, six hours at a time--that means we'd take a list of all the books that should be on the shelf and in what order and check each shelf and each book individually to make sure they're all there and all in the correct order. (I read most of the original Amityville Horror book one afternoon rather than shelf-reading and I learned one could ride on some of the smaller shelving cards like skateboards.)

Once again, I had to quit when I graduated. I wanted to be an editor or maybe wanted to get a PhD in literature (with a concentration on Modernist literature mostly because I had a 22 year-old's obsession with Ulysses). Skipping the disastrous summer of 2004 backpacking in Europe, I went to talk to my academic advisor about PhD stuff, and she suggested I get an MLS instead. She thought I'd be happier with that. Dr. G, I love you but... I was still hung up on the PhD thing so I got a job at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in November as a seasonal hire but I wound up staying there for a little over 2 years. I had a friend working on an MLS and she was pushing me towards it but I think it was the evening I had to do a turnaround, closing that night and opening the next day, and I heard a child being violently sick in the bathroom stall next to me (there was no staff bathroom) and knowing that I might have to clean it up, that I thought maybe I should get an MLS.

I quit B&N when I got a part-time library assistant job in the public library system here. I started about the same time as this other guy and every time a work email came in announcing an opening for a professional librarian position (needing an MLS), we'd look at the salary range, look at each other, and say that we needed to get our MLS degrees. So we did. I mean, we had to kick around at that library for a bit while we wrote admissions essays and the like, but we ended up at the same school, starting in the same semester, but in different concentrations (I was library science, he was information science). No, I didn't marry him. He was my work spouse. That would be weird. And, yes, of course I worked part-time in the library at my grad school. Obviously. I was a student reference assistant and I got really good at dealing with gov docs and showing undergrads how to use Wikipedia without using Wikipedia (the links, kid, the links at the bottom).

And then began my four year nightmare of applying, interviewing, getting rejected, getting rejected, getting rejected, hiring freezes, hustling, temping, driving all over the county, getting pushed around, getting insulted, having to smile and take it, and hating it all. It was 2010 and no one was hiring and I was hustling so hard as a temp in that same public library system that had hired me when I was 16. But hiring was frozen (it was 2010, after all, and everything sucked) and all I could do is work as a temporary library assistant for 39.5 hours a week and drive across the county to get those hours to prove I was worthy of hiring. It still took four years (and in between I was told I was "grumpy" and "huffy" and kept getting rejected in favor of more internal candidates) but I got hired and then I had to hustle even harder. Because even if you're not driving all over the county, you still have to prove that you're worth keeping around. The jockeying, the politics, the metaphorical chessboard--holy shit, it was awful and it only got worse. I have Tales.

After about 5 years as a full-time professional librarian, I burned out. But I didn't realize it. I just started calling in sick all the time because I couldn't get out of bed. Or I'd just not really participate in meetings. Or I'd just kind of sit there at the reference desk, waiting for my shift to be over. It was Bad.

So I put in to move to a different location--a new location, with a new building, a new staff, a new everything. I figured that would fix me. Spoilers: it did not fix me. And I just got worse and worse. I got put on an improvement plan and everything. And, eventually, I just straight-up took a demotion and went to do internal, support work. Still full-time, at least, right? That didn't help either. I kept calling out, I had notes from my psychiatrist, I was calling the EAP, I was taking FMLA, I was running out of FMLA, I got an official warning, I got a second official warning, and, in the end...I got fired.

So I went home and stayed there. For two years.

And, yeah, I was a NEET: not in education, employment, (or) training. (I was also verging on hikikomori status, but since that's more of a culture-bound phenomenon I don't think I can really claim it. But I digress.)

I had been saving up with the delusion of buying my own place at some point in the near future, so I had more than a few months' worth of living expenses saved up. I talked to a job coach, went to therapy (a lot), playing Animal Crossing (a lot), applied to jobs, slept (a lot), and just kind of...hung around, doing nothing. And it was, ironically, both the best and worst time of my life.

And this whole story is glossing over a lot, but that's how my career in libraries and as a librarian ended. I like to joke that I was apprenticed to a librarian but it really feels like I was just shunted into librarianship without any input on my part. I've never really had any idea of what career I wanted to pursue because it didn't seem like there were other options. I was going to go do library stuff whether I liked it or not. It was acceptable, it was safe (physically and financially), it was secure, it didn't matter if I wanted to do it because it was just a set of skills to be used to earn a living--no different from, say, HVAC repair. I didn't like it but it was like I was set on a track when I was 9 years old.

To close it out, after about two years of recovering from nearly 20 years of library work, I was hired at my current job and I'm much happier here now than I ever was in libraries.

[plangentia]

was the family you baby sat last summer that bad? (lmao im curious and new)

this is actually an oddly long story lol

yeahhhhh, like they weren't like the worst people in the world but uh. so i met them at a pub quiz in like late august and we overheard them discussing that they didn't have a babysitter for two days time. so i offered to help out since i've babysat large families before and i've been a girl guide leader and a football referees, so i can generally handle rowdy kids.

they tell me they have a seven year old and two five year old twins, and then the mum is currently pregnant whilst the dad works at home. so usually one of the parents would be in the house with me, but busy or unable to help out. and i'd be paid £10 an hour. a pretty good deal for just babysitting. he also asked if i wanted to bring my own dinner or eat what would be cooked for the kids. i agreed to have the meal there just bc it made things easier for me.

so i arrive at 4pm on the friday and meet the dad and the cleaner, who it turns out used to nanny for them, but now refuses to. she literally hands me a note as she leaves that says "don't let them manipulate you" and it's hard to tell if the them she's referring to is the parents or the kids.

the seven year old and the mum are currently out and about, so it's just me and the twins. the twins are in the garden and my first introduction to them is me getting sprayed with the hose whilst the dad watches. the dad scolds them, but they pay him no mind and then he gets back to work.

they then throw a tantrum spray me with water again and the next hour or so is a cycle of me trying to distract them and failing. the mum and the seven year old arrive back during this time as well.

the dad then calls them in for dinner and i'm like oh cool dinner time for me. and then he starts cooking and turns to me and goes, the kids are having tomato pasta for dinner.

okay, so i'm cooking for the kids. that's fine, it's pasta, i've done cooking for kids i've babysat before. i probably would have charged a little more per hour if it's 3 kids and cooking, but oh well. then he doesn't tell me where the pasta and stuff are, whilst he proceeds to cook spaghetti for him and his wife. idk if it's just bc i'm an only child, but i find it such a red flag when parents refuse to contemplate eating with their kids. but yeah whatever, i cook for the kids and myself and it's Fine. they take a little convincing to eat, but whatever.

he then goes oh it's bath time for the twins. and i'm like yeah cool, i assume you're doing that, bc you know you met me two days ago in a pub and you don't know if my child safeguarding qualifications are real. but he doesn't move and he says, oh you're bathing the kids.

huh?

that seems a little extreme, but whatever it's just the twins. i try to get them to wash, they throw a tantrum, whatever. i was not vibing with the fact that i was looking at two naked five year old boys up close, but whatever. surely the seven year old will be able to wash himself? i certainly was at that age.

no.

i then have to put them all to bed bc that's another battle, despite the fact that their parents are literally in the house.

but it's fine.

they then ask if i can do it again next week. i don't really want to, but i don't have anymore jobs nailed down. plus they'd be back at school so maybe they'd be worn out and easier to manage.

it's the same again, but it's Fine.

then i do it a third time. i really don't want to. the queen has been dying all day and i figure ig she dies before i leave to go, then babysitting will be cancelled. it's the worst time yet. i'm swearing that i'll never do it again. and then the queen is announced to have died whilst i'm bathing the kids naked in the bath.

everyone talks about where they were when the queen died. i was fighting two five year olds who were spraying me with a broken shower and trying to climb out the bathroom window.

plus i won't even mention the fact that they asked me to babysit on christmas eve. nor the fact that they also asked me to babysit in june, six months in advance in the same call. like no because a) they'd just had a newborn and i have no experience with kids under the age of 4 b) no because i wasn't back from uni c) no because it was mum's birthday d) no because your kids are the literal worst

so yeah.

[dreamii-yume]

Yume you don't have to be sorry (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠)! As a fanfic author too, I tend to get lost to pleasing my readers to things they want to read instead of wat I really wanna write (of course, I also like what I write but I tend to restrict myself cuz I get scared if it comes off a bit too much (⁠ ⁠˵⁠ ⁠°⁠ ⁠~⁠ ⁠°⁠ ⁠˵⁠ ⁠) but now, I don't care that much cuz I grew some balls lmao)

so I really understand you 💞 it's not like you're getting paid for this either so just write whatever u wanna write ✍️ we enjoy all of it anyway! (Since it's also the same filthy and sinful stuff u write so it's not anything unfamiliar)

I know it's kinda early to ask you but, when you finish writing euphoria, will you also write another fic similar to that as well? (Like for example, "School Days" u know that famous anime hentai (or game) where yandere school girls crushes on this plan guy (Makoto, annoying bitch) then because the guy was a player, he triggered their yandere tendency and went apeshit, "if I can't have u, no one can" shit, and decapitated his head LMAO I'd love to see your version of that, with the reverse harem (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠))

But of course I know u only wrote euphoria cuz u like it, I'm just asking if you'd also make another fic like that, inspired by your favorite show(or some shit) I'd read all your FICS anyway~!

- euphoria anon (ps. I won't give a recommendation of ASMR yet, I think I'll save it for the next message, cuz this is just an appreciation message for ya !!)

(another ps. It's also a REALLY filthy ASMR, I know you'll love it)

THANK YOUU 😭 People-pleasing is such a tough habit to break, but I’m really glad I’ve grown to understand my limits lol (I was late to this “growing-up” thing, but at least I still somehow made it haha)

Anyway, I don’t think I’m planning to write another fic anytime soon after Euphoria? At least, not right now—My creative juices are focused only on what I’m writing now lol

But Oh, boy—SCHOOL DAYS?? Any anime weeb who lived through the 2010s era should know this piece of literature! It was everywhere 😭 I was spoiled, of course (It’s inevitable really ☠️) and had never played the game but I always thought that it was so interesting that the anime decided to go through with the BAD ENDING instead of a good one ☠️

And aside from the guy getting decapitated in the end, wasn’t the other bitch PREGNANT with his child?? 😭 and the other yandere SLICED her up to prove that she wasn’t? ☠️☠️ That shit had me absolutely GAGGED 🫣 the first time I saw it, like holy shit

Even I don’t know how to make a reverse-genderbent story of that lmao I personally am not a fan of the protagonist-dying-in-the-end trope so…☠️

Oh, and take your time with the ASMR recommendations—I’m sure everyone can wait 🗣🔥 Imma let you cook

[drebur123]

Promptober Day: 6

Trick-or-Treating | Child!Minx X Child!Reader

Prompt: "Trick-or-treating" 

(wc: 546)

~~~~~

"Be careful!" My mother calls out as I rush out the door. "I will!" I assure her, starting down the road to the end of the block, where my friend sits underneath the stop sign. "Finally- What are you wearing?" Minx asks as soon as they see me.

"Look, Minx, not everyone is rich." I scoff, folding my arms over my chest. "I only paid a few dollars for mine. You have a sheet with holes in it." 

"And? It's not like your costume is better." They're going as some singer from a band they like. A goth band to be exact. "Whatever. Let's go before all the little kids get all the good stuff." That's the problem going as a teenager. 

The young children get all the good stuff because they're cute or whatever. We, we're just there. Besides, the kids go out first because of their bedtime. It's currently seven p.m. and the sun is just setting. 

An envelope of darkness slowly swallows the sky as it becomes later and later. The first house we hit is Minx's next-door neighbors. A sweet old couple lives there and they often ask us if we want to dog sit for them.

And we do. Minx is the one to knock on the door this time and we wait for it to open. Mrs. Smith answers, a large mixing bowl tucked in his arm. "Oh, kids! How are you two?" She greets with a friendly smile. 

"We're doing fine, how are you?" I reply. "Frank and I are doing alright. You two are our first Trick-or-Treaters tonight," she says, holding out the bowl for us to pick a few pieces. I go for (favorite candy) and Minx picks something random. 

"I'd love to talk longer, but Frank and I were just in the middle if making cookies." Minx and I both nod, mildly glad she doesn't want to talk longer. She's the type that'll take you into a conversation, then never let you out.

"Ok, talk to you later," Minx speaks, with a small wave of their free hand. "Bye!" With that the door is closed and we start on our way to the next house that looks kind of like they're handing out Halloween. 

 "Ugg, I picked up a rubber," Minx groans, looking at the eraser in the shape of a black cat. "Aw, that sucks." I comment. They look up from the eraser to me. "You want it? I don't." I nod, holding out my basket.  

Before I can even react, they drop in the rubber, only to take out a piece of candy with it. "Hey, that wasn't part of the deal!" They chuckle, opening the package anyways. 

~~~~~

Minx and I finished out the rest of the night going door to door, occasionally trading off pieces with each other. "I should get home," I say, "My mother's probably getting worried." They nod humming an ok.

"Your mother's too strict. I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow." They state, playing around with the mini Rubix Cube they acquired from one of the many houses we paid a visit to. "Ok, bye."  

We share a hug, before departing from each other. 

[thurisazsalail]

Tumblr people, do you know how lucky I am?

Today is 9/9/24

Around september 2004, i was about a year from graduating high school

It was so hard. I am lucky I graduated at all. What good is hyperlexia at a college level when *entering kindergarten* if your surroundings and finances prohibit education

I think that was the year i had begged my way into a mostly-black, very socially segregated F-rated school in one of the worst states in the US for education. The teachers (and classmates) were awesome, but what can they do under No Child Left Behind defunding them to institute the Air Force recruiting (and less stated, school to prison don't got a pipeline there. It's the pond that pipeline dumps out at before prison, like a moat.)

But it meant 2 hours of transit across town. I'd get up around 5am, walk blocks to a dark bus stop near a semi-wooded private road by 5:20ish to meet the 5:30ish bus (*usually* it came. Not always.) The bus transfer didn't always get to school on time, so i often missed breakfast and sometimes home room period, which meant fighting absences I didn't have. When I got home, it would be 5:30pm or later. I had homework, sometimes HOURS of it to compensate for the learning disabilities everyone said I definitely didn't have. I also babysat siblings, cooked, did laundry, unloaded dishes, and had animal care duties. Depending on the day, I also had assorted under the table jobs. I might get to sleep by midnight or 1am. Normal for years. And all the damage that comes with it.

While fighting worse and worse anaemia and whatever was making me bruise to the touch since about 12-13. Docs kept saying it was nothing. I couldn't ride my grandmother's bike anymore, not even for one whole street. My lungs felt like I had been hit in the chest. The more air I tried to get, the less oxygen I felt like I had.

In Sept 2014, I was getting ready to quit a job. It was that or die. I thought that then, I think so now. I wanted to keep working it though.

In Sept 2013, my partner was working full time and I had 3 part time jobs, but ome wasn't scheduling except rarely (off season for catering) and wages in this area were abysmal. This was the beginning of the housing investor crisis, before anyone but the poorest were paying attention to it. Rent had almost doubled, too much to pay but moving cost first and last month's rent, plus security deposit (up to a month's rent) plus pet fees, plus moving costs like paying to change both our driver's licenses (mandatory in 30 days,) electric bill transfer fee + new deposit (often $200-400 at the time,)... pet fee + pet rent, etc. Oh yeah, and each application could be $50-80 PER PERSON for a new apartment. Non refundable. Also requirements are a surprise! And if they got your identity wrong (they did w my partner, twice) there is no recourse. :)

So when a guy in a new-new bmw decided that traffic laws weren't for him, slammed into my car, and drove off, i didn't *just* have a severe concussion + injuries he didn't pay for. Witnesses didn't stay, of course. The car was wrecked. The cops *eventually* found him- because he reported that I hit HIM amd drove away.

I lost all 3 jobs. No transportation. When my partner's boss found out, he was fired. Even though he was literally 15mins single bus trip down the road. That's legal in Florida.

So that day, we had nothing.

It takes months to collect unemployent and Florida had recently been held by the DOJ for violating federal rules on that, too, for illegal employment tests. So that was out. And my jobs wouldn't qualify anyways. And they only pay a few hundred a month, if that. And we wouldn't qualify for food stamps (SNAP/EBT) bc of minimum work requirements.

Oh yeah, injuries and no car.

Also the cops gave the guy a moving violation ticket, which he fought in court, sparking a lawsuit that took years. At the end, it barely paid for a other 10 year old used car.

So I got the only job that would hire me within that 2-3 weeks: a restaurant that didn't care how I got there or ask questions. Or do paperwork, really.

It saved us. They saved us.

It paid below wages but I ate for free, unlimited soup + salad, and whatever the kitchen made for employees at lunch and dinner. Often that was what I could get. Sometimes what customers sent back, if it wasn't picked over or 'wet,' like a soup or something. Whatever. I have eaten flowers and moss, long before this "foraging" trend. I do not care.

But the hours were often long. Up around 6:30, walk to the bus by 7:15 (i think?) Get to work by 9, prep food, stock, clean my area of the kitchen + front. Double shifts until close. I preferred that anyways. Take the money, and lower bus:work ratio. Sometimes I hauled laundry with me so I could do it nearby between breaks. We didn't have a washer or dryer.

There were 2-3 of us for the floor, but by 2014, it was just me. Some people came and went, one went back to another state, one I fired while the boss was gone and learned enough mandarin to explain "heroin," and another lied for weeks to get paid and not show. Things were as bad for the boss. Their partner had a very bad pregnancy, and he couldn't afford to hire people to run the place. The remaining 3-4 of us did what we could. I learned kitchen stock, appetizer cooking, did all the dishes, prep for front + inventoried/ordered beer, figured out how to make it work with vendors (wonderful people) and more. Another financial devastation cropped up when Walmart bought the space. Landlord made everyone move BUT refused to pay for adequate, up to code restaurant space. Shut down or pay up.

Soon, I went from working 4-5 days a week, open-close, and then getting home to do chores and run the etsy shop, to doing the same but working 7 days a week with a few days off a month. My partner was in the middle of a total breakdown while looking for work (while over 45. Not looking good.) No mental health or medical services in Florida. So... just die.

Pretty soon, the body couldn't take it. I was having panic attacks when getting dressed. My feet felt like they were broken, and worse if I put weight on them. I couldn't afford a day off. Literally, couldn't afford it.

What rare time off I'd had months before, *of course* I'd applied for other work. All kinds. Duh. Minimum wage jobs like Barnes + Noble told me that they'd had SO MANY BA grads apply, they wanted someone with a Master's in lit or english. For $9/hr or less. This was normal.

Also the mold in my apartment, courtesy of a slumlord, was causing me to lock up if I was home too long. I spent hours in a cold shower to breathe again. The vents were black. The A/C caught fire- good thing my partner didn't have a job! He was home to stop it! In weeks, I broke into hives and was hospitalized.

I had to find something physically easier.

In Sept 2024, yeah I'm on SSD. No, it pays nothing. Less than $1000/mo to cover all meds, doctor appointments, MRIs, transportation, etc. So less than medical alone costs. I get nothing else. My partner's job is in-person in FL and supports his health issues without a problem.

I eat every single day now.

My health is much worse, so I routinely freak out over how much food I wasted money on, only to not be able to make it or if I wasted precious money and energy making it, I can't eat it.

But I could eat every day. Without working in restaurants and "stealing" fries or pieces of leftover meat. Without relying on free tea and soup. If I don't eat all of something, I don't even have to think about the exact number of calories I got today and what I lose by not eating that thing. I can *even* just throw it away. Something I could not do for years.

I eat a sushi lunch special probably once a week now. Some of it is luxury. Some is because certain fish seems to be one of few things that doesn't make me bloat or itch, and I cannot stand the smell of cooked fish *at all.* Even if I don't/can't eat it in one sitting, I can finish it in a few hours or so. I still eat the soups and salads. I can eat miso soup again without having the "american college student reaction to ramen." My partner insists, even if we need to save the money.

My apartment is pretty nice now, actually. It's older than I am but inside, it's nice. I don't need to do flights of stairs now and the outdoor space is very green. I haven't worried about paying rent in a few years.

What a completely different life than 2014 or 2004.

Idk what the point of all this was. Except that I'm lucky. And I definitely couldn't forsee any of this, except how disabling the body was going to get. I didn't think we'd get this far.

Stay tuned y'all. Everything sucks and the world is on fire.

For right now, the lunch special is $17.

[casspurrjoybell-29]

Healing Ties - Chapter 33 - Part 4

*Warning Adult Content*

"So, do you have a girlfriend or wife?"

Fanner asked.

His fingers didn't move but suddenly there was a sharp, stinging pain in Yore's shaft, similar to what happened when he started to get aroused, though he was fairly sure he hadn't done that.

Yore drew a breath in through his teeth and shook his head.

"No, but I have someone lined up to have my child. Aime. She beat my ass in a mock fight when she was nine and I was eight, and we made the decision that same day."

"When you were children?"

There was that terrible, sharp pain again.

It was difficult to ignore or accept.

There was a deep, biological instinct to stop doing whatever you were doing if it was causing sharp pains to your genitals but in this case it was for his own good.

"Yeah. I mean, it was a little odd even to people in our own community but she's from a family with an important bloodline too, so we were both raised with those sorts of ideas."

"Will you marry her now or...?"

"No."

Yore bit down on the inside of his cheek and shut his eyes as he felt another sharp pain in his cock.

This was just like trying to masturbate, except when he did that he got to stop at the first pain and not try again for another six months.

"She already has a husband, actually."

"Her husband won't mind?"

"No. This is quite normal for werewolves. Marriage is for love. Children are for the bloodline. For some families, anyway. Having children with your spouse is also common."

"Have you thought about how many kids you want?"

Fanner asked at the same time another sharp pain jolted through Yore's cock.

Was he asking questions to try to distract him?

It was helping a little bit.

"Hmm. Not sure how many but I always planned to wait at least five years between my first and second child. My mother had me when she was sixteen."

"That's very young."

"Yeah."

Yore paused, waiting for pain but Fanner seemed to have stopped for a moment to actually listen.

"It wasn't even because she particularly cared about her child being the one who inherited. She was my grandmother's oldest child. The next oldest, my mother's younger sister, was twelve and already talking about plans to get pregnant as soon as she was physically able to. My mother didn't want that for her, so she took away the incentive."

"Oh, that's... admirable, I suppose. Though tragic for everyone involved, in a way."

"More than you know. That younger sister is Sani and Raya's mother. She waited until she was older to have children but she still had them with the same adult man she'd intended to father them when she was twelve. She unfortunately mistook a fragile temper for strength and she and her daughters paid the price. She never was able to leave him for good and now her daughters don't have a relationship with either of their parents."

"I can see why you wouldn't want that for your own children."

"Yes, though I don't know if I'll stick to that plan. Can I really go back to taking my ongoing fertility for granted like that?"

"Well, you can never have certainty but I think it's a good plan. Having children compete over who can have children of their own first seems... less than ideal."

"Hmm."

Yore breathed through another spike of pain.

"Sometimes I envy Slone. There are so many things that are major considerations for me that he doesn't have to worry about at all. Though, I think I need direction in my life. I think I'd struggle to find my own purpose."

"I'm struggling," Fanner said, voice barely above a whisper.

"But maybe for both of us, it's because we were never taught any other way."

"I suspect you're right about that. By the way, do you want to tell everyone about what you can do now? It's going to be hard for me to justify the deal we made if we don't and the more of me you heal, the easier it will be for people to figure it out on their own."

"I suppose I'll have to, but... maybe when you'll be around for at least a few days? I don't want to do it on my own."

"Of course."

"We don't have to tell everyone right away, though. I think... I think I'd like a few days to think about it? Maybe if you need to do things with, um... things with making a child? You could do that first."

"Okay. I'll ask Slone to stay with you again while I'm gone."

"He won't mind?"

"Not when I get back and we explain what's going on to him. I'm sure he'd want to know right away and if he leaves now I might not see him for months. This is best for everyone."

"Oh, yes. I suppose he would want to know. He seems like a good brother. Like he cares about you."

Yore found himself smiling.

"He is, yeah. We didn't spend as much time together as kids as most brothers would because we were on very different paths in life right from the start, but those times when it was just the two of us were always special to me. I had friends my own age but we'd do a lot of training together and it always felt like that seeped into everything, including our play. We couldn't just have fun. But Slone knew how. He was all about just... living. He still is."

"He's never been jealous of you?"

Yore shook his head.

"He's never wanted what I have. Hell, he's never even been the type to want attention from our parents. He just wants to do his own thing. I can respect that."

"I guess he never would have tried to fight you for your inheritance."

"Well, I mean. True. But that wasn't really an option anyway. We were raised by two mothers, and each born to a different one of them. We have different fathers, too. We're brothers, but not of the same bloodline."

"Oh. That makes sense. I always thought of Danya as my brother, but then it turned out we actually are. Well, half brothers, anyway. Of course, I feel the same way about Duran but we're not real brothers at all."

The pain had stopped and Yore hoped that the painful part of this healing was over, but he suspected Fanner had just been momentarily distracted by the conversation.

"Family can be a lot more complex and run a lot deeper than blood." "That's true. You said you talked to Duran, didn't you?"

"When we were looking for you, yes. It wasn't possible for Danya to get in to see him, considering Danya is a mage and is also supposed to be dead, so I went instead."

"He's well?"

"Last I saw him he was... as well as I could expect someone living life as a slave to be. I offered him freedom but he declined because he felt he would be safer with his master."

"Maybe safer," Fanner agreed.

His fingertips were idly brushing up and down against a small section of Yore's inner thigh.

Yore wasn't sure if it served any utility or if he was just fidgeting his fingers.

Either way, it was extremely distracting.

"Well, perhaps that's something I could offer you in exchange for healing some other part of me. I can go and speak to him again and see if he'll change his mind now that you're here with us as well."

Fanner nodded.

He seemed to realise what he'd been doing and his fingers fluttered awkwardly away.

"We should check in on him at least once a year regardless. He was always clear that he didn't think his master loved him. I mean, it's silly to expect to be loved but he was always particularly good at knowing and accepting the situation he was in... and making it work for him."

"I got the impression he was a sharp young man with a mind of his own. A survivor, at least in the mental sense."

"I miss him," Fanner whispered.

"Well, it seems like you're a part of my life now. Permanently, if that's what you continue to want. When I get home, we'll sit down with my mother and we'll sort out my schedule. We'll make time for you to heal me and we'll also make time to visit Duran."

"Thank you. I'd like that. Um..."

Yore waited but Fanner didn't seem to be planning to continue his sentence.

"Yeah?"

"Um, while you're away, could I... um... could I stay in here, in your room? Or in another room just for myself? The guest cabin is... other people can go in there. It doesn't feel secure."

"Did someone bother you?"

"Raya said she would talk to you about it herself but..."

Fanner shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. That's not the point. I don't think I could really hurt a werewolf accidentally, but even so..."

"You can stay here until I get back, and then... I don't know. We'll figure something out. I can have your own cabin built for you if you want to stay here long term, but that'll take time."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Do you mind if I tell my grandmother about all of this? Just between me and her."

"Yes. If you want to tell someone, well... I trust your judgment. Everyone will know soon enough, anyway."

"Once I get back, yes."

"Hmm." "

I'll make sure it's okay. Whatever that means for you, I'll make sure that it is. I promised you that."

"Thank you. I trust you."

Fanner returned his attention to his task after that and Yore was dismayed to find out that he was indeed not done with the painful parts.

He seemed to have run out of distracting conversation, though or perhaps just realised that he was distracting himself more than he was distracting Yore because he continued his work in silence after that.

Yore found his own distraction in watching Fanner's face.

Yore was used to seeing him fearful and anxious, attention leaping from one thing to another but just then he was calm and focussed.

There wasn't much involved in the healing process in a visual sense.

He would either gently set his hand against Yore's skin or hover it just above it.

The only sensation Yore felt, besides the spikes of pain, was a general warming of the area and the occasional prickling sensation, a little like pins and needles.

It was the intensity of Fanner's gaze, the way he occasionally bit at his lip, that revealed the focus the task required of him.

He looked like he was trying to figure out a complex math problem in his head.

It felt a little odd to be laying there doing absolutely nothing when Fanner was so hard at work but he supposed that was just the way life was sometimes.

At times, doing nothing was the most useful thing you could do.

[elainemorisi]

what the hell do people define as a date night, babysitting-wise?

[vivi-taylorsversion]

Imagine Being Diego Hargreeves Teenage Daughter & Finding Out About Your (Alleged) Brother, Stanley...

WC: 656

You were currently sitting at one of the many wooden table in the lobby of the Hotel Obsidian with your father, and uncles, Klaus, Luther and Five. Five was ranting about something to do with doppelgangers, at least you thought. To be honest, you didn't care as the matter didn't concern you all that much- as far as you knew. That's when your dad suddenly had a look of confusion and shock upon his features and, before anyone could question him or his odd behaviour, he fled from his seat and hurriedly dashed from the room.. Bewilderment evidently took over your features, what on earth has caused your dad to go from a state of calm and conteness to one of fluster and panic? Your uncles paid no mind to it, listening intently to Five and his ramblings.

Soon after everyone departed, going off to do whatever they wished, you took off in search of your father. You shuffled awkwardly out of your seat and followed the same way Diego had gone fifteen minutes ago, give or take. Finally the elevator doors slid open to reveal both a familiar and an unfamiliar face. One being your dad, pale and perplexed, the other being a child, seemingly around 12. The ping! of the elevator door alerted Diego and the boy of your presence and they turned to look at you. The boy's face contorted into a grimace, appearing to be disgusted by your presence, whilst your dad's remained the same.

"Uhm... Dad? Who's the.. uh.. kid?" you enquired.

" (Y/N), this is... your brother, Stanley." he hesitantly replied.

A look of horror flashed across your face, in your midst of shock you call out,

"WHAT THE FUCK?!?!"

☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎

"Christ... what a dump.." Stanley murmured grumpily while the two of you scooped the mediocre hotel food onto your porcelain plates, you gave him a quick glance of annoyance before moving on.

"That little delinquent is your son?!" Your uncle Klaus wheezes out, amusement laced into his voice.

"Allegedly, my son." your father chimed in, hastily correcting your giggling uncle.

"Oh, is that what you said about me as well?" you called out, overhearing their little exchange. You moved to sit beside the two whilst Stanley sat by himself, wasting no time in stuffing his face.

"No, you were different!" he huffed "I knew you were my daughter!" You raised your eyebrow quizzically, questioning how he knew this for definite. Catching on rather speedily he murmured,

"I did a DNA test when you were little, I don't know how on earth I'd get a test ,that determines whether or not that little shit is my son, right now."

Seemingly out of nowhere, your Uncle Five appeared. He had somehow known about your fathers (alleged) and had a rather significant query relating to the situation.

"Wait- who's.. who's the mother..?"

"Lila.'" your father deadpanned, you proceeding to a spit take.

"THE CRAZY BITCH WHO LITERALLY TRIED TO DECIMATE OUR WHOLE FAMILY BARELY TWENTY-FOUR AGO?" you were only met with an eye roll from your father and a mutter of agreement from Klaus.

"Lila's here?!" Five exclaimed, ignoring the scene you had just created.

"Was," your dad replied, once again having to correct one of his brothers "she dropped him off in my lap last night then bolted."

"Again, is that how you described me?"

Your father, once again, ignored you and you stood up, becoming bored with the conversation, joining the preteen boy at his table. He looked you up and down before returning to his food. You began a lousy, disengaging conversation with the boy.

☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎☻︎☺︎︎

"OH MY FUCKING GOD, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" you cried out, exasperated.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, the heck is going on here?" your dad said, stepping between you and Stanley, grabbing both of your wrists. Big mistake. The two of you simultaneously began screeching over each other, having wildly different explanations for the current situation. Your voice eventually powered over Stanley's voice and your father was able to grasp a simple explanation of the outburst.

"He stole my favourite shirt!!"

Oh god, this was only the start of the sibling drama...

[that-sarcastic-writer]

Coach (1)

Fandom: Dylan O'Brien

Pairing: AU Dylan x Fem!Reader

Mini series summary: Being a newly single mom of two kids wasn't exactly easy. And love wasn't exactly part of your agenda. So, should you avoid lusting over your son's baseball coach? Absolutely. But with a man like Dylan, could you really resist? Probably not.

Warnings: nothing major yet, small sexual innuendo, mentions of cheating and divorce

WC: 1.9k

A/N: a yes, to those who have been following me for a while may recognize this title, it's my old Dylan AU fic. Yes I decided to continue it. Updates will come periodically, because I write spontaneously and I cant guarantee quick updates. But I do promise I wont wait a whole year to update. And since I did some slight updates in the first 2 parts I decided to archive the old ones and repost them again. So yeah, if you've read them before great, give it another read, my writing is much better now I promise and if you're new welcome, I hope you like this mini series.

(You are here, part 2, part 3)

Dylan stood by the side of the large field, near the home plate, occasionally yelling out suggestions and pointing out mistakes to the young boys. 

"Ezra! You have to watch the ball! C'mon! I know you can do better!" He called out to the blonde boy standing on the home plate with a bat in hand. Dylan then turned his attention to the dark haired boy with the baseball mitt and ball in hand.

"Roman! What's going on, buddy? You gotta focus, alright? You gotta work on that throw!" Dylan called out to the young boy, who half nodded and sighed heavily in response.

Not long after, Dylan signaled the young boys scattered throughout the large field to gather around. He spoke some encouraging words to the boys before allowing them to disperse and gather their equipment which meant practice was over.

Your son, however, stayed behind for a minute. There was an inaudible conversation happening between Dylan and your ten year-old, Roman. You watched from the bleachers as your son made some tired gestures at his coach followed by a small pat on the back from Dylan. You couldn't help but follow them with your eyes as they made their way to the bleachers, your eyes lingering a bit too long on the brown haired coach. An action that wasn't taken lightly by the female sitting beside you.

"You're staring at him again." Your best friend, Ezra's mother, Eliza -or just Liz, commented.

"I'm not." You muttered out quickly, tearing your eyes away from the handsome coach, your mouth hanging open for a couple of seconds. "I wasn't staring." You stated matter of factly and shrugged as you looked down at the small six year-old sitting on your lap, making sure she wasn't paying attention to the conversation.

"Really? The drool coming from your mouth says otherwise." Liz playfully ran her finger across your chin, pretending to wipe away at it. You slightly glared at her, an eye roll going her way.

"I'm not drooling. I wasn't even staring." You tried to defend yourself, making a small sassy gesture to her.

"Hey, I don't blame you. If I wasn't married," she took a pause as she eyed Dylan as he removed his baseball hat to run a hand through his messy chocolate locks, you couldn't help but stare as well. "I'd jump on his bones any day."

"Hey, there's young ears present." You said quietly to Liz as not to disturb the young girl in your arms.

Despite your attempt not to, you couldn't help but allow your eyes to fall once again on the field, following the handsome male that was the topic of your conversation. You had to hide the infatuated sigh that left your lips at the sight of your son's coach running around the field, talking to the kids and picking up equipment.

"Well he is handsome, I'll give him that.." You admitted quietly, "and he's really good with the kids."

Your friend smirked slightly at your words and wiggled her eyebrows at you.

"I bet that's not the only thing he's really good at." She eyed you suggestively and slightly nudged at you with her shoulder, "You should find out what other things he's good at."

Your mouth instantly fell open and your eyes widened at the insinuation.

"Eliza! Oh, my god. Don't say that." You slightly shook your head to brush off the embarrassment and hid your face on your hands to cover the crimson on your skin.

"Mommy you're warm!" Athena, your six year-old giggled as she grabbed your warm, sweaty hands. Even your daughter noticed the nervousness that crept up on you when it came to Dylan, even if it was just the topic of him. Truth was, you had been shamelessly crushing on your son's baseball coach ever since he joined the team a couple of months ago. 

Get it together, you should not be crushing on your son's baseball coach.

"I know baby, it's just hot out here." You tried to brush it off, but the knowing smirk on Liz's face wasn't exactly helping. "Thena, why don't you go get Roman and Ezra? They're over there." You pointed to the field where Roman and Ezra were talking —or more like just Ezra was, to the other kids on the team. She quickly nodded and bolted off the bleachers, somehow not tripping over the steps as she went down. You sighed heavily the moment the young girl was far enough and slightly turned your head in Liz's direction.

"You should totally ask him out." She said out of nowhere with a shrug and a smirk on her face. Your eyes widened for the hundredth time, and you instantly shook your head frantically, the idea alone giving you a headache.

"Ask Dylan out? No way. I.. No.. That's just.. No." Your cheeks slightly heat up at the preposition. But you quickly turned it down with a vigorous shake of your head, not even giving the idea a minute to sink into your brain. "No, he's Roman's coach. It's just wrong."

"Why? I mean, you're single, and as far as I know, he's very single. Soo," she dragged the 'o' as she wiggled her eyebrows and she nudged your shoulder, pushing you over a little in a high school girl manner, "Why not get ready to mingle with the hot coach?"

"First of all, I'm technically not single, not yet." You groaned with an eyeroll. As much as you and your husband —or ex-husband or whatever were no longer living together, the divorce process had been unnecessarily long and dreadful. So as much as you wanted to be legally single, you were still married to that piece of shit. 

"And second of all, if I were to date someone, which is a big if, I can't date Roman's coach out of all people. He already has enough as it is. It'll just confuse him and probably upset him more." You sighed heavily as you looked over to the side of the field, where all the boys were having a conversation about elementary boys' things. And there you saw your son, trying, and ultimately failing at joining said conversations. And with little Athena tugging at his side, all he got from the other kids was laughing and rejection.

Seeing your son's sad and hurt expression when the other boys laughed at him or even told him to go away broke your heart. You wanted him to be happy again. You wanted him to be the energetic and loving kid he was before your waste of a husband left. Ever since Ryan —your waste of a husband left, Roman hasn't been the same. 

For the past six or so months, he has been distant and seemingly unhappy. All he ever did was lock himself up in his room and play video games. He barely ever interacted with you and Athena anymore. He barely interacted with anyone, period. Once Ryan left, it was up to you to support your kids financially. Of course, their father still paid child support, but he sure as hell didn't pay your bills or everything you needed to spend on your children. Which meant you had to take him out of the fancy school he went to in order to still pay the monthly expenses of your home. And he just didn't quite fit in at school, especially now. 

So, you hoped that him joining the baseball team would change that, that it would help him open up again and that it would help him make new friends. But so far, it's worked just the opposite.

"So, I'm making dinner tonight. Do you want to come over with the kids and get drunk? Luke will watch over the kids." Liz spoke, interrupting your train of thought.

"That sounds a-mazing," you spoke in a song-like tune, a sigh of contentment leaving your lips. "But I can't. I told Roman I'd take him to that Italian place he likes."

"Tomorrow then. I'll have that Chardonnay you love so much waiting for you." She winked at you as you both stood up, ready to greet your children.

"Thank God for your alcohol stash." You joked, flinging your arms up in praise. 

You both laughed and smiled in your children's direction, but your smile dropped as your kids and Ezra approached you. Ezra was holding Athena's hand, while Roman walked behind them, with a certain heaviness on his step and an annoyed look on his face. And Athena had a small pout on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Rome doesn't want to hold my hand!" Athena whined with a pout of her lower lip. She released Ezra's hand and exchanged it for your own. Ezra going to his own mom. While Roman simply stood there, with a hand stuffed into his pockets and the other messing with the strap of his bag, his gaze stuck on the ground.

"Roman, baby," you sighed softly, not wanting to give the poor kid a hard time. You understood he didn't exactly fit in, no matter how much he wanted to, and that upset him. You didn't want to add up to that. "Your sister just wanted you to hold her hand."

"She was embarrassing me.. I'm already the kid without a dad, I don't need to be the kid with an annoying  baby sister." He muttered, his gaze not once leaving the ground.

 His words were harsh, but lacked emotion. And it broke your heart. But as much as you wanted to tell him that it wasn't true, that he did have a dad, you'd be lying if you did. Ryan was already absent in your children's lives before the split, but at the same time he was there, and Roman felt as if he was. But now, his father really wasn't there, at all. And there was nothing you could do about it.

You sighed softly, gesturing your free hand out for him, "Roman, come here," a heavy sigh left the young boy's lips as he took a few steps closer, standing in front of you with his head hanging low and his eyes stuck to the ground. You used your hand to hold the side of his face, his eyes meeting with your own. "Baby, Thena just wanted to show you that she loves you. She didn't mean to embarrass you, right Thena?" You turned your attention to the small girl that hid behind your arm, her eyes glistening with tears.

The small girl sniffled and shook her head, "No.. I'm sorry Rome.. I won't do it ever again, I-I promise."

You exchanged looks between your children, your eyes finally landing on Roman as you waited for a response. You raised an eyebrow at him, your eyes speaking a silent 'and' to the boy. He eventually signed, almost too heavily, and nodded. 

"It's okay, I guess.. I don't really mind all that much." He half smiled, shrugging slightly.

Athena's expression quickly lightened, the small girl detached herself from your hand and hugged her older brother. And as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't mind the affection. He returned the hug and smiled, for a moment at least.

After a second or two, Roman slightly pushed Athena off him, signaling that that had been enough affection for a day. You breathed out softly, turning to look at Liz, who gave you a sympathetic smile in response. 

"Well my loves, off we go. Say goodbye to Auntie Liz and Ezra." Both your children did as you said. Athena hugging both of them, and Roman simply waving at them. Good enough.

And at last, you gave Liz a quick but tight hug, "I'll call you tomorrow." You said shortly before you grabbed a hold of your daughter's hand and your son's bag, and eventually parted ways.

Today was gonna be a long day.

《Here's an edited version of part 1. As always I hope y'all enjoyed it. I'm trying to get back into writing after a long year, hopefully this will help me get back on track. Let me know your thoughts. And let me know if you'd like to be added to my dylan/coach taglist which I do have》

[scuttle-buttle]

Chapter 11

WC: 2077

Rated: E

Chapter Tags: full on angst, discussions of emotional trauma, mild depictions of blood/gore, mentions of self h*rm & su*cide, mentions of child abuse, discussions of physical disabilities, institutionalization, some dialogue & plot canon to TV show, hurt/comfort

🧠

The rest of the conference went by much like the first day did. Both you and Laszlo bought a few books for your collections. An ease had settled over your conversations with the help of Sara and John's presence; you spoke more freely with each other. You tell yourself it is not because he's going soft on you or vice versa, but rather that you have found yourself in this imaginary bubble where you happen to get on well. It's inevitable that it will pop once you’re back at school and Laszlo will revert back to his usual callous state.

Laszlo. It still felt odd to think of him like that, rather than by his title. You couldn't lie, it gave you a sort of thrill. Even in your dreams you had only called him by his honorific. Thankfully you didn't have another dream after Friday. You couldn't escape the feeling that you'd said something incriminating in front of the man in question. So you chose to pretend it didn't happen.

Monday morning came and you headed to the train station. Once again he had secured a private cabin for the journey. This time you came prepared with a book since you had yet to replace your broken phone.

"Thank you again for inviting me to this, I really enjoyed myself. It was really nice of the department to foot my travel expenses, the hotel was really fancy. I may have helped myself to a mini-bottle or two," you joked.

"There is no need to worry about the department's finances; they were not involved."

You pause. He paid for you? Laszlo did say he would take care of the arrangements; but the four-star hotel, the private compartment train tickets, the admission to the conference, and every meal? Shit, that must have been a fortune, hundreds of dollars at least.

You don't know what to say, so you settle for an awkward "oh." A moment passes before you add "I appreciate that, um, I can pay you back. Might take some time but I can."

The professor is flippant in his reply. "There is no need, it was well spent for the research and knowledge acquired." He opens his book signaling the conversation is over.

You lick your lips. Fine then, I'll just consider it payment for emotional suffering and damages of the last eight weeks.

The first few hours of the journey were spent reading one of the new books you picked up at the convention. Occasionally you would peek over the pages at the professor. He was engrossed in his own selection; sometimes he would pause to write down a thought.

Around the seventh hour of your journey you had given up on reading anymore in favor of looking at the fields outside. The silence was comforting.

Laszlo had trouble concentrating on the book in his hand. He saw you as a conundrum. One minute you could be sociable and teasing with your comments, then next you were biting at his throat with your quick wit and fierce ideals. He decides that he wants to know what made you into who you are today. Now is as good a time as any.

His eyes on you cause a tingle up your spine but you ignore it. Laszlo breaks the silence; "may I ask a personal question?"

"You just did," you answer, still peering out of the large window. He huffed once, amused. At his following silence you face him. You raise your eyebrows to signal him to go on with his question. Curiosity grows at the thought of what he intends to ask.

"Twice now you have made implications of a traumatic past," he begins.

Bubble popped.

Interrupting, you snark "is this the part where you psychoanalyze me, doc? Because trust me, I've been through enough of that." You pick at the lint on your jeans.

Laszlo tries to choose his words more carefully the next time he speaks. "What I mean to say is, the first afternoon in the classroom where you defended that student you implied you had been witness to a trauma. You then displayed signs of anger and embarrassment before leaving prematurely. Yesterday you mentioned having entered a psychiatric facility. As an alienist I can't help but find myself curious about your experiences."

You slide your eyes to meet his from across the cabin. Your face is devoid of any emotion. "We all have our demons. Even you can't argue with that."

Your jaw clenches. Everyone had warned you. They all said he would try to worm his way into your head to figure you out. All the reviews, the gossip, everything. It was a big fat 'I told you so'. You give a pitiful laugh at the situation. "You know, everyone told me that you would pull this stunt."

He seems confused by your statement. "And what is that?"

"That you'd get inside my head and try to figure me all out or whatever. You already know I googled you beforehand, what everyone says about your methods. By now I assume you've done a little research yourself. I promise you there is nothing exciting here," you scoff and point to yourself.

"You would be correct in your assumption." You chew at your cheek as he starts. "I do know some of what happened in your past. Yet I also know that society likes to dilute the truth into something either more palatable, more entertaining, for people to consume greedily. What I want to know is what you have faced. How you have not allowed the experience to overcome you so much so that your humanity is erased like the characters I lecture on."

Eyes closing of their own volition you are thrown back in time to that night so many years ago. You didn't talk about it anymore. Bitsy knew of course, but that was the extent.

Laszlo waits. He knows this is likely to push you over the edge if your history with him means anything. Quite frankly, anyone would be tossed to their limit at his interrogation had they gone through what you had. John always told him that he needed to work on his bedside manner; that he had a habit of coming on too strong in his pursuit of learning the intricacies of the human mind. But your earlier comment about being sent to a so-called 'nuthouse' rubbed him the wrong way. It left a bad taste in his mouth. He needed to know. He needed to understand.

Laszlo can imagine the reprimand that he would receive from John and Sara for this. Just as he considers apologizing for his intrusion you open your eyes.

"She was fine. None of us suspected anything was wrong. I came home from having dinner with some… boy, and she had locked herself in the bathroom. She- she must have started over the sink and moved to sit on the side of the tub. She was hunched inside it when I got the door open. I pulled her out. Blood was… everywhere." Your voice is clinical as you explain.

"After, I shut down. So I checked myself into a psych ward a few days later when I couldn't get the feel of her blood off my hands. It's slippery, you know. And it smells. You wouldn't think so but it does." You clear your throat. "I did the therapy, took the meds they prescribed, all the standard treatments. Later I started watching true crime documentaries. I'd heard about exposure therapy so I figured the more I saw the gore, the less the image of my dead roommate would bother me. And it did help. The nightmares stopped after a while, I came back to school. I was better, just not the same.” You had watched the passing landscape as you explained. Turning to face him you speak again. “That's why those pictures didn't bother me. They weren't anything I hadn't seen before."

He contemplates you. The discovery and subsequent loss of your friend in this manner would no doubt cause lingering effects to your psyche. A stain that would forever remind you. "I offer my sincerest condolences. I do not presume to know what that would be like to experience, but I am glad you sought help afterwards. To make the choice to alleviate yourself of your own suffering where possible.”

As he says this he realizes that your anger towards the idea of being enslaved to unconscious impulse makes perfect sense. It explains why you focused so much energy on defending your belief in free will. That you have the power to choose how you carry your joy, your anger, your healing. It reminds him of how he held onto his own guilt and hurt, ignoring how it festered within him for so long. He feels as though he needs to share a piece of himself with you.

“I played piano as a child, quite well too. My mother hoped I would someday make a career of it. I vividly remember playing Mozart’s Concerto for Piano No. 20 in D Minor at a holiday party when I was seven years old. It was my favorite to play.... It requires two hands." You finally look at him. "My father...” He pauses to gather himself.

Now it is the doctor that cannot meet your eyes. As you listen you feel your confusion grow. How could he have been a talented pianist if he only had full use of his left hand? Unless..., the realization dawns on you just as he continues, his words slow.

“My father had two sides. One loving and the other brutal, the two often coexisting. It was something as trivial as putting me to bed, I recall... A game of tug of war. We were laughing…” He inhales a sharp breath. Already you can feel the tears begin to blur your vision. “I don't remember if he was drunk or if I said something that offended him. He must have pulled my arm behind my back.” Laszlo exhales shakily. “In small children, fractures can often affect…” he trails off, unable to finish. You can hear how he barely holds himself together.

Your heart aches for the broken man that sits in front of you. He never let on how much his arm bothered him, at least not within your presence. Suddenly you don’t see him as this rude, insufferable, obsessive man, but instead as someone that spends his life trying to protect himself. He projects his own anger and hurt so that he may, just for a minute, forget about his own demons. He wants to help others even when he feels he cannot bear to help himself.

But unlike you, he has to live with the physical reminder of his past every day of his life.

You stand and move to sit on his right side. Before allowing yourself to think too much of your actions, you place your hand atop his own, curling your fingers around his palm and squeezing delicately. You don’t bother wiping away the tears on your cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Laszlo;” the whisper is barely heard above the sound of the train. A second passes where you fear you have overstepped and offended him by touching the affected limb. When his thumb tightens against the backs of your fingers you know he is not. He holds you in place.

“You asked me how I kept my humanity. How does anyone really? We learn to take what we get and we carry it in a bag. Sometimes you have to drag the damn thing behind you. But eventually the weight gets less and less if you allow yourself to move forward, even if it’s still there with you all the time. I dealt with what happened years ago and it does still haunt me. It’s easier now than it was, but… I- I suppose I’ve learned from you too. Sitting in those lectures and hearing you talk. We can either let it haunt us for the rest of our lives… or we can accept it… and use the memory of our pain to help ourselves and others.”

“I’m not sure the choice is entirely in our hands.” His tone is mournful.

You turn to smile at him through your tears. His own eyes are bloodshot. “I disagree. If it weren’t, if we didn’t have the freedom to choose that, we’d all be murderers.”

Tag list

@hardlyinteresting @lorna-d-m @livvyshmiv @somethingthatsaysbubbles @greeneyedblondie44 @unbeatablecurlgirl @apparrio @marchingicenotes7 @anteroom-of-death @bruhidaniel @lemairepstuff @thehuiabird @zemosimp05 @alindeluce @iamnotthecatladynextdoor @laura-naruto-fan1998 @trelaney @boneheadduluc @i-am-dead-inside-666 @fictionlandslanddreams

[duffs-shot-glass]

I Was Gonna Tell You (Axl Rose x *sister!* Reader)

I Was Gonna Tell You

Axl Rose x (sister!) reader

fluff , angst???

WARNINGS:profanities

Word Count: 855

Requested by: @foxinaforestofstars

“I loved what you wrote for my request, so much! I hope you don't mind if I request more for Axl's sister!reader. Basically, I'd imagine he'd try to keep her out of the spotlight as much as he can, so not many people are aware he has a sister or that she's in his custody. And one day his girlfriend (maybe Erin, idk) comes over for a surprise visit and finds them cuddled up on the couch watching movies and is like "Eww, you're cheating on me with a child?!" and the explanation that follows?”

I know it has taken me a really long time to post this so thank you for your patience! Also, I’m sorry if this is really bad. I feel like I could have done a lot better on it. Anyways, hopefully it doesn’t disappoint too much. Also, this is a bit smaller than normal so hope that’s okay.

Narrator’s POV:

Life as Axl Rose’s sister wasn’t easy. Y/N spent most of her days inside. Other than school and the occasional night over at a friend's house, her life was boring. That isn’t something you’d expect to hear from the sister of a rock star. Axl tried to keep her out of the spotlight. Most people didn’t even know he had a sister, including Erin. Axl had told Y/N about Erin a while ago, and he talked about her quite frequently too. Y/N was in the kitchen opening a soda when she looked over at Axl on the couch. “Hey Ax?” “hm?” “When are you gonna tell Erin you have a sister?” Y/N questioned as she took a swig of her drink. “Well..” he trailed off as he stared out the window. Axl had planned to tell Erin soon. The topic of siblings had never come up in conversation before and surprisingly he had never thought to tell her. “I’m planning on telling her next time I see her.” He said as he laid down on the couch. Y/N nodded her head in agreement. Y/N grabbed a blanket and sat next to Axl on the couch. “What should we watch?” he asked as he flipped through channels on the TV. “Whatever you wanna watch is fine.”

[...]

Erin stepped foot in the airport, excited that soon she would see her boyfriend. She hadn’t told him that she was coming to visit. She liked surprising Axl every now and then. Her heels clicked on the airport’s tile floor as she looked for the exit. She was holding a couple bags that she packed for the trip. The glowing red ‘exit’ sign hung above a glass door at the end of a large hallway. She struggled slightly to get the door open with her bags in her hands. They eventually swung open, exposing the crisp air outside. Her eyes searched the street until she saw a yellow taxi parked by the curb. As she climbed into the backseat the driver looked her over in the rear view mirror. Please don’t be a creep. Is all she could think as she put on her seat belt. “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.” The driver’s voice was low and raspy as he spoke. “Really? Oh um yeah I don’t know.” It was perfectly possible that he could have seen her on magazine covers. “You’re Erin aren’t you? Erin Everly?” shit. Erin usually didn’t take taxis for this exact reason. “Um well yes I am.” The conversation on the way to Axl’s house was surprisingly normal, to Erin’s relief. As the taxi pulled into Axl’s driveway Erin could feel excitement growing inside her. She hadn’t seen him for the past couple months and she couldn’t wait to have her arms wrapped around him again. She paid the taxi driver and made her way to the front door. She felt slightly nervous as she turned the golden door knob. Though, what she saw when she opened the door crushed her heart into a million pieces. She felt as if her heart had been taken and thrown into the trash, completely disregarded. Tears brimmed Erin’s eyes. “A-axl?” she croaked out. How could he do this? She wondered. Axl’s attention was drawn to the woman and immediately his face lit up. “Erin! Wait..what’s wrong baby?” By this time he was off the couch and walking towards her. “Oh don’t you baby me.” She said sternly as tears rolled down her face. There was no denying she was upset. Axl felt hurt by her words though he tried not to show it. “I..I don’t understand. What’s wrong?” He sounded worried. “What’s wrong?! Are you seriously asking me that right now?! Axl you’re cheating on me. And not only are you cheating on me, but you’re cheating on me with a fucking child!” Erin pointed in Y/N’s direction as she spoke. Axl’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked between Y/N and Erin. “You..you think I’m cheating on you with Y/N?” he quietly chuckled, slightly amused by the situation. “Why are you laughing? You’re messed up rose you really are.” she said, shaking her head as she began walking out the door. “No Erin! I guess it’s time I introduce you two.” Erin raised her eyebrows as he spoke. “Erin, this is my sister Y/N. Y/N, this is my girlfriend Erin.” Y/N couldn’t help herself from laughing. She slowly burst into laughter, and Axl was soon to follow. “You’re lying. Why the fuck wouldn’t you have told me you have a sister?” Erin said in a bitter tone. “I’m sorry Erin.” Axl whispered as he wiped a tear from his eye. He truly did find this very funny. “Hello Erin. Axl has told me so much about you.” Y/N hugged Erin as she tried to calm herself from the laughing fit she just had. “I wish I could say the same.” Erin stated as she glared at Axl. He put his hands up in defense. “I was gonna tell you I swear.”

Have a great day and remember to drink some water. You’re beautiful! :) <3

[starlightshadowsworld]

Behind the Hockey Mask Part 1

Instead of writing... Literally all the other things I have... Here we are 👍

If you've seen any tmnt stuff from me you'll know I adore Casey Jones and didn't like how he didn't have much of a backstory or stuff in the 2012 series. I posted here about the backstory I would have used and here we are writing it out.

@moonlover04 I hope it came out okay 😅

Warning for chapter: mentions of child abuse and alcohol.

Casey smiled as Angel rambled on about the new episode of Space Heroes that she'd watched last night. He himself couldn't remember, having slept through most of it but listened intently as he ate his toast.

"And than Captain Ryan said, they'd never give into evil and they defeated Hypnotica." Said Angel, a bright smile on her face that Casey matched. "Damn, that's awesome. Wonder if she'll come back soon, maybe they've got a secret plan " He said, enthusiastically, Angel nodded "yeah they always do, but Captain Ryan won't let them win" she said, determined.

Casey chuckled as he started cleaning up their dishes and setting them aside for later. "Got everything? Don't forget your homework" he called, grabbing his own beaten up rucksack as she grabbed hers.

Before leaving, Casey set aside some left overs on the table. His dad would be hungry when he got up.

"Don't forget art club finishes at 6:30, on the dot " said Angel with a pointed look. Casey gasped, hand on his chest "Angel Lilith Jones... Do you think I'd forget to pick you up from art club?" He asked, Angel nodded seriously.

"... Just for that I'm not reading you a bed time atory tonight" said Casey, trying to hide his smile as she loudly protested. "You can't do that! That's... Evil" she spluttered. "Okay okay, you got me" he relented, ruffling her hair "I'll remember, kay? Though I've got a shift at 24/7 after, so be nice to Mr Murakami." Said Casey, wat hung her sigh in relief.

He was lucky that his jobs didn't mind his sister coming with him, didn't ask questions either. As long as she was quiet, some of em let her chill in the staff room which he appreciated greatly.

Mr Murakami was definitely her favourite of his bosses and Casey agreed. He also let them take leftovers home which again he greatly appreciated. Not that Casey couldn't cook but it saved time and energy.

"I will, promise" said Angel, with as much earnest as a 7 year old could possess. "Good, now go have fun or whatever you kids do" He said, bidding her farewell as she walked into school.

With Angel gone, Casey felt himself deflate and sag. It was as if his strength went with her and he was more aware of how his clothes smelt faintly of booze and the dull ache in his side.

His dad hadn't come home happy last night, apparently he got kicked outta the bar for not paying his tab that month. A tab that Casey paid for along with everything else, he hadn't managed to fit in the extra shift at the diner in time. He'd managed to pay their rent but forgotten about the tab till his dad stormed in.

Luckily Mr Bridge, the owner of said bar was old friends with Arnold Jones and allowed a extention to the deadline, albeit a small one. Though it meant Arnold would be home till it was paid off, digging into his booze stash in his room.

Casey decided not to think about that for now.

He made himself look semi presentable, giving himself a quick look over in the mirror. He was getting way to good at this make up thing before heading into class.

__________________________________________

"Jones, how's it going?" greeted April, sat waiting for him at lunch. "I dunno about you Red but if I have to hear Mr Connors drone on about quadratic equations again, I'm going to knock myself out." Said Casey, sitting across from her.

"Oh come on, Mr Connors isn't that bad" protested April, though at Casey's pointed look she sighed in defeat. "Yeah I guess so, he does go on without realising it. One of my friends is... A lot like that" she said, going quiet.

Casey sat in silence, he wasn't sure what else to say, were they that close for him to ask? April wasn't really a friend.

She'd been nice enough to tutor him in maths and from there they hung out sometimes. She was a well meaning dork who was fun to tease and chat to but could hold her own.

Although she'd been hanging out with him more lately, not he was complaining. He didn't have friends, the hockey team was the closest thing he had. Casey didn't really have time for them and he was the angry werid hockey kid so there was that.

But April had mentioned she was having issues with her own friends. Apparently they went to a different school or something and had a major falling out.

Well being Casey Jones he decided, fuck it.

"Speaking of which, you okay? This er... Whole thing's gotta be hard on ya." Said Casey, April blinked in surprise "I.. I don't know, I just don't know to how to feel about it. It's out of my hands and there's nothing I can do.. You know?" She said, surprised at how easy it was to say.

"Things get out of your control, it happens and it's okay to be scared of when it does. You can't control everything, somethings you gotta see out to the end." Said Casey, he unfortunately knew that feeling every well.

If he could control anything it would be to bring his mum back, than his dad wouldn't have fallen as he had done.

April got a funny look in her eyes, smiling softly "wow you can be really smart when you want to Jones, maybe you don't need my help anymore." She teased, but her smile was thankful. Casey chuckled "I have my moments Red, don't leave me now not with the rest coming up" he pleaded.

Both of them dissolving into laughter as the bell rang.

________________________________________

True to his word, Casey did infact pick Angel up from art club on time. She was very excited to tell him all about the painting she'd seen one of the other students made as they headed to 24/7.

"Mr Murakami, its me Casey" Greeted Casey, throwing on his apron as he walked into the shop. "Casey, its good to see you again. And is that Angel with you?" Asked Mr Murakami, walking over with a smile.

"Hiya" greeted Angel, and his smile grew. "Good, Casey why don't you get started and I'll meet you in there. Angel you can find a seat on the back if you'd like, the TV is on the remote will be there." He said, Angel grinned thanking him and zooming off.

Casey smiled softly, Mr Murakami was a gift if there ever was one. He got started cleaning up the kitchen and doing the odd few dishes that were left. While Mr Murakami began making his noodles.

"I'm glad it was you two, there's been a lot of noise around here lately." He said, now that Angel couldn't hear them. Casey frowned "purple dragons?" He asked, hoping with everything in him that it wasn't.

They did bust in from time to time, he definitely saw them but luckily they didn't recognise him. They'd have a field day if they knew he was Arnold Jones, the traitors son.

"Yes, though they weren't alone. They had friends, sounded very angry, very large almost like beasts. Tried to break in but someone stopped them" Said Mr Murakami, not seeing the anger flash across Casey's face.

Mutants.

Oh how Casey Jones despised mutants. They just had to be here didn't they, messing up his city, as if the purple dragons weren't enough.

As if they hadn't taken his mum from him, dragged his dad into a downward spiral, no they had to go about threathing innocents like Mr Murakami who couldn't even defend himself and joining gangs like the purple dragons.

"They probably been getting out the booze, though you be careful, kay? I'm glad you weren't hurt" Mr Murakami smiled, "I will boy, I will. And you be safe too" He said.

Casey smiled but it didn't reach his eyes, he neglected to mention that the purple dragons were taken out by a masked assailant in a hockey mask.

Didn't mention how those mutants were driven away by paint bombs and hand made grenades in the shape of hockey pucks.

Or that this wasn't the first time he'd done such a thing.

No, instead Casey hummed along to the radio, chattered with Mr Murakami and Angel and wondered who in their right mind was ordering so much pizza gyōza.

Part 2

[ms-indifferwnt]

I’m Cold

“I'm cold"

"And?"

"Can't you give me your jacket or something?"

"Can't you accept my proposal and marry me already?"

In which Prince Donghyuck's parents are forcing him to get married and he decided to propose to the first girl he sees to shut his parents up

Genre: Prince!Lee Donghyuck x Maid!Reader, Angst, Fluff, Arranged Marriage (kinda), Slowburn

Warnings: Curse words, Suggestive (I'll add more if there are)

Notes: Chapter 4 of Im Cold. Sorry this one took longer, hope you guys enjoy

WORD COUNT: 1.8k

Prev / Chapter 4 / Next

Y/n sat, legs crossed by the ankles as she tries her best to avoid eye contact with the person infront of her, granted he was busy trying to sell his proposal to the Prince but the way he stared at her made Y/n uncomfortable and kept adjusting ho she sat in order to keep her mind of the man

Donghyuck noticed how uncomfortable she was, through out the conversation he had with the man across from him and Y/n he was inching closer to Y/n in order to shield her but the man would stare at any pretty thing that would pass them by and Donghyuck was absolutely disgusted, he placed a caring and affectionate hand on Y/n's knee to catch her attention and once their eyes meet he could already see how distressed she was, pulling away to unbutton his blazer and placed it on her legs

"Get out" The Prince says to the man with an obnoxious grin, his eyes serious and harsh, making the man stop and stare at the prince in shock "Didn't you hear me?"

"B-but" the man started to defend himself and the Prince sighs and crosses his arms

"If there's one thing I don't tolerate is when people like you treat women like some kind of prize, you've been doing it to every single thing that has two legs and a pulse since we got here and it's rude, doing it to my fiance is just down right disgusting, I don't tolerate that behavior in my kingdom nor in my presence so I'm going to say it again," He says in a calm tone yet it held authority "Get out, you've wasted our time enough"

Y/n watches as the man bows and leaves, "Thank you" she whispers

The Prince looks at her with a raised eyebrow and fixed his blazer that on her legs "Next time tell me" He replies calmly to soothe the girl's frightened gaze, The Prince could be scary if he wanted to and he didn't want to scare her more than she already is "I dragged you into this mess, let me protect you when you're scared"

She nods slowly "Y-you didn't have to kick him out-"

"Were you even listening to what he said?"

She shakes her head

"Me neither"

She looks at him "Sorry?"

"I stopped listening after the first sentence, I noticed he was eyeing a couple of waitresses and I noticed you were uncomfortable but you weren't saying anything, anyway, I paid more attention to you then whatever he said," He concludes and noticed she had her head down and he hums in an attempt to get her mind off it "We should eat lunch, anything you want in particular?"

"Anything is fine"

"No seriously? Seafood, Pasta, Chicken, Beef, Pork? Anything?"

"Whatever is ok, My Prince"

"Ok, next time I will not answer you if it isn't Donghyuck. Second," He cups her cheeks so she'll look at him "Right now you're my Fiance , so do me a favor and take advantage of me yeah?"

She blushes and looks down, nodding

"Words, love" he presses

"Yes, ok"

"Yes, ok, what?"

"um?" she looks up and into his eyes "Donghyuck?"

He nods "Good girl," he approves and smiles sweetly "So lunch? made up your mind yet?"

"Yes, um Seafood?"

"ooh, there's this really good restaurant Taeyong Hyung brought me too, I'll take you there"

"Just two more meetings," He informs and held her hand "And I promise I'll take you shopping"

"You really don't-" Y/n was cut off when she yelped in pain when the prince squeezed her hand, giving her a sweet yet warning smile she sighs and decided to get into character, making a mental note to scold the Prince "But- Its so boring, Please can we go now?"

Donghyuck looks at the man opposite them and smiles softly and apologetically "Love, just a little longer," she pouts and Donghyuck wanted to pinch her cheeks, granted he was the one who asked her be disagreeable so he can doesn't have to stay and attend this meeting, but he found her whining absolutely adorable that he might actually obey her if leaving was what she really wanted "ten minutes, then we go ok?"

She grins, Y/n and the Prince spoke about this while they ate lunch that he was not in the best mood after dealing with the man with an obnoxious grin and that he doesn't want to attend the meeting, so he developed a plan, managing to get the female to join his plan, "Alright"

After ten minutes as promised, the man bowed and apologized with the prince assuring him that it was alright and that they'll talk tomorrow

The Prince watched as the man leaves then beams at Y/n "life saver," he says and nods "I'll buy you anything you want" he promises and Y/n shakes her head "and before you decline, choose, you pick out something you like or I'll buy the whole store?"

She gasps and grabs his sleeve "Donghyuck!" she exclaimed in a scolding voice, like you would to a child but instead of the prince beibg offended or atleast shocked by the female's tone he grinned

"You," He looks at her happily "You called me by my name"

"No-"

"Yes you did! Say it again, come on Y/n"

"Your Highness-"

He clicks his tongue and raises his eyebrow "Come again?"

"Donghyuck"

He grins and nods "half an hour before the next meeting then shopping, ok?"

"We really don't have to"

"Well, true" He hums and orders two more hot chocolate "but its good publicity, people see me, the prince shopping with his fiance, you, and I'd get recognition and my The King and Queen would believe our love" he thanks the waiter and looks at her again, leaning in making the Prince's breath fan against hear cheek, voice quiet as he whispers "besides you need more clothes that will match with me"

"Prince Donghyuck?" A man calls from behind him and Y/n pulls away and looks to the side, a bit of pink coloring her cheeks at how they were caught

The Prince turns and smiles "Oh, you're early, please, have a seat" and the man obeyed "Can I get you anything?"

The mam shakes his head "No, thank you" His maroon suit standing out in the cafe, his whole persona made Y/n feel uneasy like something was wrong with him, she was on edge

The Prince smiles and nodded "You may start whenever you are ready"

"By putting this new building up it will give  us more chance to meet with people outside of the kingdom" He proposes and then looks at the Prince for approval who had his eyebrows furrowed at the man's words

"And where are you proposing we build that?" He asks

Y/n looks at the Prince as he spoke, something about his tone was off, and Y/n doesn't like it

"There's this plot of land that would be absolutely perfect for it," He takes his phone out and shows the Prince where it was planned "This spot would surely get a lot of attention"

Y/n's breath caught on to her throat, "That is a neighborhood" she says in disbelief, "Where would those people live? Where would they go?"

Donghyuck looks at her and tilts his head "Are you seriously planning on building that in a place were people live? where they have claimed as their home?" he glares at the man "Y/n how do you know this neighborhood?"

She looks at the Prince only to see him calmly yet dangerously looking at the man, like a predator would, The Prince was furious, "My Grandparents live there" She answers

The prince scoffs in disbelief "There are people there, Mr. Choi Samin. What do you propose we do to them? where will you put them?"

"Well I didn't really-" He started and The Prince cuts him off

"That's enough," He says and waves him off "Thank you for your time, you may leave now"

"But, my Prince-" He starts

"I'm sorry I think I didn't make my self clear, I no longer have any business with you," He declares "I have no business with someone who would do anything for money, even when it means making hundreds of families loose their homes? You don't deserve speaking to me, to my fiance or my family, get out"

Y/n flinches and looks at the Prince in fear, one thing was known about the Prince is that he was happy-go-lucky, playful and absolutely flirty but if there is one thing that every single person in the palace avoids it the Prince getting angry, granted he doesn't get angry often but when he does he's intimidating.

Y/n grabs the Prince by the sleeves holding in to it when he makes a move to stand, she doesn't understand where she developed the courage to do that, but she did and the Prince stopped looking at her with a harsh glare only to see her e/c colored eyes staring at him in fear, he takes a breath to calm himself down, taking the female's hand with his other one to pull it away from his sleeve and place it down to his hand, to hold it, protectively and carefully, locking their fingers together as he looks at the man

"well?" The Prince asks, he was still angry, but he was calmer, Y/n helped calm him down, his thumb rubbing softly against Y/n's skin "Leave"

The man stands and bows, leaving the two of them in the cafe, The prince looks at Y/n "You ok? I scared you didn't I?"

She shakes her head "I'm ok, thank you" he keeps on watching her as she spoke "I'm definitely ok, thankyou for not approving the proposal, I don't know what my grandparents would have done, oh and the children there, I'm thankful you declined but you didn't have to get angry at a public pace your reputation might-"

But did any of that get through to the Prince? No. He wasn't listening, actually he stopped listening, he got sidetracked by watching her speak and the way her hand moves while she tells him truths, speaking of hand, he looks down, the two of them still have hands interlocked and the rubbing of his thumb against her skin still hasn't stopped, Donghyuck's cheeks grow warm, was this not affecting her? "Y/n, stop your rambling," he comments and stands tugging her along by the hand making her stop "I wanna give you something, come on"

I’m cold Taglist:

@staysstrays​

If you wanna be added leave a comment

[ukrfeminism]

The Attorney General has called for a culture change around maternity rights, saying too many employers are breaching employment rules.

Suella Braverman, who last year became the first ever cabinet minister to take maternity leave, said: "Unfortunately, employers are breaking the law, and we do need to change that culture. We do need to ensure that more employers provide support to women in the workplace."

In an exclusive interview to mark Mothering Sunday, she told Sky's political editor Beth Rigby it was "pretty surreal" to call the prime minister and tell him she was pregnant and wanted to take maternity leave.

Mrs Braverman said she was "daunted" by the prospect of making the call, but the prime minister's response was to say it was "great news" and that she should "take whatever time(she) needs", "we'll sort it out."

But for the Attorney General to take up the prime minister's encouragement to go on paid maternity leave, a law had to be rushed through Parliament.

The 'Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Act' was passed into law in March last year - had it not, she would have had to resign from the government.

'This hadn't happened before at cabinet level - I would have had to resign'

"I started working with the civil service and my officials in the Attorney General's office to start preparing to see what would need to be done. And we quickly discovered that this hadn't happened before at cabinet level," she told Sky News.

"As a result, there was no provision and I would have had to resign if I wanted to have the baby and take some time off to spend with her".

"When we discovered that, when the prime minister discovered that, we were all pretty horrified. And that's what led to passing a new act of Parliament to rectify that anomaly."

'I was crying all the time' after being looked over for a promotion after maternity leave

But other mothers and campaigners argue there are many such anomalies and agree with the Attorney General that laws around maternity leave need to change to prevent discrimination.

Jodie Sims had her first child eight years ago. Weeks before she returned from maternity leave, the person covering her role was promoted - without the new opening first being offered to Jodie.

She told Sky News she felt isolated but lacked the energy - and money - to fight a potentially protracted legal battle. Instead, she eventually resigned.

"I didn't have the emotional strength at that time," Jodie said. "I wish I pushed against them. Now there's a bit more distance, and I've got a bit more fire in me. I didn't have it in me then. I was crying all the time. I just had to let it go."

"There was a cultural change as well, in that as part of my job we used to attend music awards and sort of go to live music events - I wasn't really included in those anymore."

"There was a particular one, and when I said 'oh I'd have quite liked to have gone to that actually' and they just said 'oh we just presumed you wouldn't have been able to because of childcare', so immediately I was being excluded from things."

Quarter of pregnant women experienced discrimination during pandemic

Government data shows that more than 50,000 women a year feel they have to leave their jobs while pregnant, and 1 in 20 a year are made redundant.

The TUC found that a quarter of pregnant women or new mothers experienced discrimination during the pandemic, including being singled out for redundancy or furlough.

Current laws do offer pregnant women, or women on maternity, some protection from redundancy. ​​Under Regulation 10 of the Maternity and Paternity Leave Regulations 1999, a woman on maternity leave is "entitled to be offered" a "suitable" vacancy where one is available, as soon as her job is at risk of redundancy.

The intention is to prioritise women on maternity leave over other people at risk of redundancy. But charities say some employers breach the law because they know it requires a full employment tribunal to challenge their actions - a route few women take up, having either just given birth or been away from the workplace for up to a year.

Read more: Boris Johnson tells Sky News he fears Vladimir Putin may use chemical weapons as it is 'straight out of Russia's playbook'

According to research previously carried out by the Department for Business and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, fewer than 1% of women subject to maternity discrimination seek remedy at a tribunal.

The government has committed to extending the existing rules from three months to six months after a woman returns to work to help tackle discrimination over a longer period.

'I want to see women protected from being redundant' after maternity leave

But Conservative MP and former cabinet minister, Maria Miller, is behind a private member's bill currently going through Parliament which calls for stronger job protections for new mothers and pregnant women.

She believes there should be a wider ban on making pregnant or new mothers redundant to take the legal onus and responsibility off the women themselves.

"At the moment women have to go to a tribunal within three months of the redundancy happening, of the discrimination happening. If you're a pregnant Mum, just had a new baby, the idea of doing that - really it's not a priority", she said.

"The government has already announced they will increase the time length to six months - but simply giving people more time to go to a system that doesn't work for them, isn't going to solve the problem. I want to see women protected from being made redundant in the first place."

However, ministers believe a culture change is more likely to be embraced by employers if there is a more flexible set of requirements for an extended period, rather than a less flexible for a shorter time.