#and one coworker refuses to do shit so i had to do all her fucking work too

[readymades2002]

it is very frustrating because my mom does not know What The Deal Is but she certainly Suspects (for good reason. to be fair to her.) and she has Insinuated and she has Implied but she has not asked anything specifically. and its...not unreasonable for her to do this i guess because the last relationship i was in i didn't tell her for a year and a half. because the relationship BEFORE that was my first and it was with a girl and i asked her EXPLICITLY AND URGENTLY to not tell my dad about it because he was a massive homophobe and i knew this and saw this where she did not and she told him anyway and i have not trusted her since though, having few other options, i have continued to confide in her things that i should not confide in her that have then mysteriously made their way through all our shared coworkers back to me. and its.....its so. i don't know what to do about it. she..."stalked" is the wrong word but she followed my blog against my wishes and knowledge as a child and the more i lost trust in her and stopped talking to her the more she pried into my private life. i know my sister had similar experiences with her. and it has created this cycle where i keep trying to keep her out for my own privacy and dignity and safety and she just gets even more desperate and pathetic trying to get in after breaking my trust over and over and OVER again but i live with her and depend on her for far too many things and so it just. is this. awesomesauce

[finalgirlfailure]

I feel like I got hit by a fucking bus because of all the shit I did at work

[kifu]

So a coworker that is a friend, but not my fiance, broke down crying today because of the way both me and my fiance are treated by management at work today. Not sure what kind of commentary that is about how shithole it is for the three of us there.

[schrodingerspsycho]

Another Shot - Chapter 1

Pairing - Sam Carpenter x Reader

Warnings - None

Word Count - 1.5k

Summary - Enemies to Lovers. An unexpected reunion throws you for a loop.

Help Palestine by clicking this link!🇵🇸

You heard the bell above the door ring and started making your way to the front counter. It was a slow day and Tara, your new coworker and friend, was already up there, but you liked talking with the customers. You saw she was already helping the group and planned on hanging back in case she needed anything. That was until you recognized the tall woman grinning down at her.

“Sam?” You approached the counter cautiously, and her face fell when she saw you. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“Y/N.” Her icy tone paired perfectly with the cold look in her eyes. You glared back at her. You couldn’t believe she had the gall to treat you this way; as if you were the one who-

“Wait, you two know each other?” Tara’s eyes darted between you, undoubtedly trying to decipher the tension that hung in the air.

“Yes,” you replied, without sparing her a glance. “We used to… hang out. Back in Modesto.”

“What are you doing in New York?” Sam asked, and you felt the pang of a long-forgotten hurt pierce your heart.

“I told you I was saving up to start classes at NYU,” you said, the bite in your voice sounding more like a whine. “You know moving here was my dream. We talked about it so many times.”

“Well, I must’ve forgotten,” she said unapologetically. “It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah,” you snapped back. “It has.”

“Woah,” breathed the guy standing behind Sam. The girl next to him slapped his arm.

“Why don’t you introduce us to your friend, Tara?” she blurted with a forced smile. “Since they’re already well acquainted with Sam.”

“Yes! This is my friend Mindy and my boyfriend Chad,” she said, and they waved at you. You smiled back at them, determined to leave Sam in the past where she belonged. “And this is Y/N. They were my trainer when I first started, and they’re my favorite person to work with.”

“Aww, thanks, T,” you smiled, placing an affectionate hand on her shoulder. Sam’s eyes flashed toward you dangerously, and you relished the fact that you could piss her off so easily. It was far from the comeuppance she deserved, but the small satisfaction almost took away the sting of seeing her again. “I’ll let you take care of your friends here. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Yeah, okay,” she nodded.

“It was nice to meet you,” you said, waving to Chad and Mindy. You couldn’t help but glare at Sam as you left, your emotions getting the better of you. “Of all the fucking people that could’ve shown up tonight,” you muttered to yourself, “why did it have to be her?”

You busied yourself with wiping down the trays, trying your best to keep your mind off of Sam. Fortunately, you were still an expert at that, and soon you were so engrossed in your task that you didn’t see Tara approaching you.

“Hey, what’s your beef with my sister?” she demanded. She didn’t sound angry, which was a relief, but she showed no intention of letting the matter go.

You shook your head, avoiding her eyes. “It’s nothing.”

“That was not nothing!”

“It’s in the past,” you declared. “If you really want to know, you can ask her what she did. But I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.”

Her brows were knotted together in a troubled expression, her voice losing the loud confidence she always had. You didn’t have to know Sam to know she hadn’t told her little sister anything about the years she’d been away. But unfortunately for you, you did. You sighed.

“It was personal shit. You don’t need to worry about it. But it would be best if you take her order whenever she comes in here.”

Tara nodded and headed back to the front of the diner. Even though it was half an hour early, you decided to clean the bathrooms. Anything was better than having to face Sam again.

“Okay, what was that?” Mindy whispered loudly as they sat down.

“What was what?” Sam said, refusing to meet her eyes.

“That thing between you and Tara’s coworker! What did they do? I haven’t seen you that unhappy to see someone since Ghostface!”

Sam closed her eyes and shook her head. “What? No, that’s not… no.”

“Oh, c’mon! You used to “hang out” back in Modesto? What does that mean?”

“Hey, that’s Sam’s private business. She doesn’t have to talk about it if she doesn’t want to,” Chad said, ignoring his sister’s gasp of betrayal. Then he turned to Sam with the most adorable, pleading expression he could muster. “But I’ll buy you a milkshake if you tell us what happened.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to bribe me? With a milkshake?”

“Is it working?”

“No, it’s not,” she replied, smiling in spite of herself. Mindy slapped Chad’s arm.

“Damn it, that totally would’ve worked when we were kids! Why aren’t you cute anymore?”

“Hey, I’m cute! I’m very cute, ask anyone! You think I’m cute, right, Sam?”

Sam just rolled her eyes. She was glad that after all these years the twins were still the same goofballs they’d always been, but that didn’t mean they weren’t a pain in the ass sometimes.

“-No, wait, shut up! We have to get to the bottom of this!” Mindy exclaimed, interrupting the argument she had started. She turned back to Sam, still far too excited considering what she was probing her about. “Please, you have to tell us! I’m literally going to die if I don’t hear this tea!”

Sam sighed and rubbed her eyes. She knew they weren’t going to stop. “We were friends, and then we had a fight. There’s really nothing else to report.”

“You are such a terrible liar, you know that?” Mindy smirked. “Fine, if you won’t tell us, we’ll figure it out on our own.”

Sam groaned, knowing she meant they planned to use Tara to get to her. But it wouldn’t work this time. Not even her beloved baby sister could get her to relive what had happened with you. At least, not for anyone to hear. That dreadful night had been replaying in her head from the moment she saw you, merciless in its vividity.

Luckily, the twins dropped the interrogation, and she didn’t see you again for the rest of the night. But the damage was done. You were in New York City and back in her life. Of all the places Tara could’ve chosen to go to school- to work- why did you have to be there too?

Sam tried not to think about you, she really did. But she’d never been good at keeping you off her mind, at least not on her own. She was thankful for the chaotic distraction the twins provided with their constant light-hearted bickering, but when they left for the bodega to get a midnight snack, she was left alone with her memories of you.

Before she could spiral too much, Sam heard the front door open. At first, she was relieved to see Tara. But she should’ve known better.

“Hey, how was the rest of your shift?”

“It was fine,” Tara replied with a tight-lipped smile. “What happened between you and Y/N?”

“What?”

“I asked them, and they told me to ask you what you did.” There was a look of apprehension in her eyes, but it wouldn’t be outdone by her morbid curiosity. “Sam, what happened?”

“It was nothing.”

“Don’t give me that “it was nothing” bullshit! I’ve never seen you freeze the way you did when you saw them, and I didn’t think Y/N could get that angry!” Tara took a deep breath and Sam shrank under her gaze. “You know I don’t judge you for whatever you did while you were gone, but the tension between you two was palpable. And you know the kind of tense shit I’ve seen.”

Sam swallowed, stuffing her hands into her back pockets and shifting her gaze to the floor. Tara waited patiently, and when she finally spoke, her voice was soft and shaking. “Let’s just say that when I knew Y/N, I was at a very bad point in my life. I did a lot of things that I regret. But there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

“That’s not an explanation,” Tara said, throwing her hands up exasperatedly. “I have to work with them every day now, I think I deserve to know what happened!”

“But you don’t, though,” Sam said, finally meeting her eyes and sounding as tired as she felt. “You can be friends with them if you want, I don’t care, but what happened between us doesn’t concern you, Tara! You need to leave it alone.”

“Sam-”

“I’m going to bed,” she stated, turning around swiftly and cutting off Tara’s attempted apology. She shut her bedroom door without a backward glance and leaned against it, covering her face with her hands. She wouldn’t cry for you. She refused to give you that kind of power.

A few miles away, in your own second-floor apartment, you didn’t grant yourself the same respect.

[leviathanspain]

don’t let me go

carmy berzatto x reader

synopsis: you had hoped he would never know, but what was carmy if not complicated

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

carmen had been ignoring you all day. it wasn’t like him, but you also never cared before. but that was before, and this was now.

you wiped your brow with the back of your hand, the spatula in the sauce still moving at a furious pace. you looked over at sydney, glancing at what she was doing before you tried to call her over. “yo syd..” you waved a hand over and pointed to your sauce, “try it. let me know what you think.” you stepped back to lean on the counter behind you. sydney smiled slightly as she stepped up to the plate, bringing the spatula up, she let her finger swipe just slightly off the top, before tasting it.

her eyes lit up as she nodded, “holy shit.” she looked at you, “that’s really good- oh my god. what is that?” she looked down at the sauce, and you laughed, “just some-“

“carm’s gotta try this.” sydney glanced back at you before picking up the spatula, “where is he?” she looked at you but didn’t even bother for an answer as she walked around the kitchen.

“syd- maybe it’s not a good idea, yknow carm-“ you tried to explain why it really wasn’t a good idea, but the girl had already started running off with your sauce, getting the rest of the kitchen to taste it.

tina had given her nod of approval, though she avoided your eye. richie had refused to try it, and even if you hadn’t planned for anyone to try it beside syd, you still slipped him a ‘fuck you’.

carmy had been in the office, staring at the mountain of paper work when he looked up, seeing sydney in the doorway with a pot, and you, not even looking at him but hanging around behind sydney. he raised his eyebrows, “what?”

“y/n made this amazing sauce, everyone’s loved it, and you should really try it-“ sydney brought the pot close to him but carm shook his head, “i’m good, i’m good.” his response created disbelief in sydney’s face, but you wanted to scream ‘i told you so’ to the girl. god you wanted to slap him, and you wanted to slap him good.

sydney and carm exchanged a private couple of words until sydney looked at you sympathetically. she took your sauce and you stood there, seeing just carmy’s arm as he moved around in the office.

taking a good breath in, you walked into the office, slamming the door behind you.

“ignoring me is one thing, but refusing my food is another thing.” you stared at him, but carmen instead stared at the wall. silence met your words and you inhaled, “goddamnit! stop being like this, for fuck sakes carmen, it was one time! one really fucked up time.” you threw your hands up, running them over your hair.

carmy stood up suddenly, the sound of his chair being thrown back into his desk met your ears, and you blinked, “you should’ve told me.” he looked at you, “you should’ve been the one to tell me. not tina, not richie, no one.” carmy looked at you and for once, the look in those big blue eyes was something more.

you sniffled, feeling your face get hot at the confrontation. you hadn’t expected it to go like this, but it was carmy, and things didn’t always go as expected.

you shrugged, “what do you want me to say? apologize? i don’t have to because this,” you pointed between you two, “is nothing. we are nothing but coworkers, carm, you’re the one-“

carmy shook his head, “no- this isn’t about that-“

“then what is it about? what else could me sleeping with your brother be? it was one time, carmy.” you kept repeating it, but the words were beginning to lose their meaning. carmen was frustrated, and it was building up in this tiny room.

he laughed, almost like he couldn’t believe it. “fuck this.” he grabbed at the door handle but you threw yourself against the door, “we’re not done. and i refuse to have those assholes hear any of this.” you paused, staring at the floor, “i didn’t know you then, carm. all i knew was that mikey had a kid brother who was this award winning chef. then,” you shrugged, “that award winning chef suddenly became my boss. and my boss became something more.”

carmy was looking at the ground, as if afraid to face the truth.

“carm-“ you called his attention, feeling tears well up in your eyes, “carm. fuck, carmy,” you wiped them away but you couldn’t control the sob that escaped your lips. it was loud, a guttural noise that left you wondering if you had even made it.

carmen looked up, and saw you, red faced and teary eyed, “fucking hold me, carmen.” you demanded, and immediately felt his arms wrap themselves around you.

you let your hands tie at his waist, feeling the cotton material of his ridiculously expensive white shirt, a remnant of the life he had lived in new york.

carmy held you for a while, even tried to let go once but you had yelled at him, “don’t let me go.” the words felt gritty, but so did most things. carmen was most things, whatever it was between you was as electric as it was complicated. you both ignited a drive in the other that normally would’ve caused disfunction between normal people, but you two were different.

except moments like these. moments of true emotion that left you wondering if you weren’t different, if you two were superficial in your hate and anger, and if you truly despised the other.

you heard him mutter your name, “y/n..” you looked up, and carmen kissed you suddenly, a quick kiss that you hadn’t had time to blink, “finish your fucking sauce,” he breathed into your lips. you pulled away, inhaling and fixed your apron, “yes, chef.” carmy crossed his arms, “and get started on those potatoes. i don’t wanna see some mashed up shit anymore, get it right.”

“yes, chef.”

[exhaslo]

I HATE Retail.

So, quick summary.

This old lady comes in and my coworker spots her first. She tells the lady to give her just a second bc she was helping someone else. I enter the paint pit and saw the lady and asked if she needed help. The lady was talking to me in Spanish and I had to tell her, "One second, let me get someone to translate"

I maybe spanish, but I dont speak a lick of it. Only Japanese.

So, as Im calling someone to come over and translate, the women huffs and leaves. Like okay? The translator comes over, spots the woman two aisles away and we are trying to motion her over. We can only take orders at the one computer.

The lady refuses to move and demands we get her white paint. So the translator is asking her, "What brand? How shiny?" the normal questions. This lady still demands in a rude fucking tone just white paint.

Finally, my coworker comes over and tells the lady that we have to take the order on the computer. We cant read minds like wtf. So the lady storms over and demands white paint. AGAIN we keep asking for shine and whatnot. This takes 4 minutes bc she keeps telling us to just grab something.

We can't do that. The customer needs to be the only to pick. So finally she slams her finger on Eggshell. So I go to grab a gallon, then she bitches about a 5-gallon. So I go to grab the 5 gallon, shake it up and told her husband it was ready befpre helping my coworker out with her 6 5-gallon order.

Fast forward 10 min, one of my managers comes to me and asks if I yelled at a lady and gave her the wrong paint. I explained everything to him and NO WHERE IN THE CONVO DID THE LADY SAY CEILING PAINT.

LIKE THAT IS A DIFFERENT STORY AND PAINT.

So he drops it bc the lady was being dramatic about how she was gonna faint bc we yelled at her. Blah blah blah

Fast forward like an hour. Im helping a different customer and I see a different manager by paint. I ignore it until this lady storms in front of me and my customer and says,

"YOU NEED TO PICK ON SOMEBODY YOUR OWN SHAPE AND SIZE! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU INSULT AND SCREAM AT MY MOTHER! YOU ARE DISGUSTING-"

"Ma'am, I have no idea what you're talking about," I try to tell her.

"DON'T YOU GIVE ME THAT SHIT. YOU TREAT MY MOM LIKE SHIT YOU FUCKING BITCH. YOU ARE FUCKING RUDE AND DISGUSTING SO FUCK YOU!"

"Fuck you too." I snapped bc who the FUCK does this bitxh think she is?

Even my customer was shocked. I then saw the lady from earlier fucking crying. Like are you actually shitting me?

I GET YELLED AT! I GET TREATED LIKE SHIT BUT GOD FORBID I SAY SOMETHING!

IF I SAY SOMETHING THEN I'M IN THE WRONG.

I was seething. I called my supervisor and she stormed over along with another manager. Note, the daughter is HUNTING for my coworker and the translator bc she needs to fight someone.

Honey, you're mom is a fucking liar and she isnt a saint.

Once they left the managers all came to me to ask what happened and I just started crying. Like they will always take the customer's side no matter how wrong they are. I only said one thing to the fucking lady and that was I was getting a translator, but yet Im the one who gets cussed out?

I'm not mad about being yelled at. Im more mad that I cpuldnt say anything back. Bc all these companies only care about the customer.

They treat the customers like gods and we just have to shut up and take their shit like we're ants. Im sick of it. Im sick of all of it.

I'm sorry, unpopualr opinion, but customer service doesnt mean shit. You're either going to buy at the store you are going to or your not. We need to stop treating customers like they are angels bc it just fuels their entilted behavior.

I need a fucking drink now.

Thanks for letting me vent. Have a great day.

[whatdoeseverybodywant]

Rebuild & Restore - Chapter 4

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS

Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated ❤

All OC Characters belong to me

Joe grunted as his text message to Kiyana went unanswered for another day. “Gotta be Josh’s punk ass.” He muttered, throwing his phone onto the couch next to him. It’s been six months since he had Kiyana in his bed and he was feening for more. 

He closed his eyes and let his head fall back as he remembered how tight she felt wrapped around him. How intoxicating her moans sounded as she moaned in his ear . “Fuck” He whispered as he felt his pants grow tighter. He groaned and opened his eyes. “Fuck.” he muttered again, grabbing his phone and sending Kiyana another text message.

“Baby, when the last time you had some dick?” Kiyana choked on her lunch and glared at Samara as she reached for her cup of soda. 

“Girl what?” Kiyana asked. Samara shrugged. 

“You so wound up. That’s exactly what we’re doing this weekend. Getting you some dick.. Grade A dick.” 

“Can you stop saying dick?!” Kiyana hissed. “I do not need any of my coworkers over hearing this conversation.” Kiyana looked around, grateful that they were seated towards the back of the cafeteria and only one person was near them but he had on headphones. Samara had shown up to the hospital on Kiyana’s first day to have lunch with her and to hear about her day out with Josh and the boys. 

“I’m just saying.” Samara shrugged again with a smirk on her face. “Last person you had sex with was Joe, right?” Kiyana nodded. 

“Oh speaking of Joe. He texted me again.” 

“Did you respond?” Kiyana shook her head and Shrugged. 

“What was I supposed to say?” 

“Oh, big daddy Joe. I need you and that dick.” Samara said playfully, batting her eyelashes at Kiyana and laughed loudly, ducking the french fry that Kiyana threw her way. 

“Sorry to interrupt.” Kiyana and Samara looked towards the person and both of their jaws dropped open causing him to laugh a bit.  “I just wanted to introduce myself.” He said, his eyes never leaving Kiyana’s.  “I’m Elijah but everyone calls me Eli. You the new labor and delivery nurse right?”  Kiyana nodded, her mouth going dry when he flashed her a grin. “Nice to finally meet you. See you around.” He said, giving her a nice once over before biting his lip and walking away from them. 

“Fuck what I said about Joe.”  Samara said, eyes wide as she and Kiyana watched Elijah walk away from them. “If you don’t ride that man six ways to Sunday… I will.” 

Josh let out a growl when he saw Shanté waiting outside by his rental. He knew it was too good to be true. He could have swore her crazy ass had got sent back down to NXT but here she was, wearing a customized YEET shirt that had “MRS. USO” on the back. 

“Bruh, you trippin’” He muttered. Standing as far away from her as possible. “Whatchu want?” He looked around to see if there were any lingering fans around. He did not need any picture of him and Shanté hitting social media. 

“I miss you.” She pouted and Josh rolled his eyes. “C’mon Josh. Those four months meant something to you too.” 

“I didn't,” he said bluntly. “We had sex that’s it.” Shante rolled his eyes not believing what he was saying. 

“Josh, come on! You were so mad that I went out with Theory.” 

“Nah” He shook his head., “I was mad that Kiyana was being a bitch and refusing to bring the boys to see me because we were fighting and I took it out on you. I don’t give a damn about you and Austin.”  Shante furrowed her eyebrows. 

“What?”

Josh sighed. “It was nothing but sex Shanté. Yeah I said some shit that I shouldn’t of said. But I never wanted to be with you.” He shrugged, not caring if it came off mean. He was sick and tired of popping up everywhere. “It was just sex.” He repeated, and as expected Shanté marched up to him and smacked him in his face.

“I’m happy Kiyana divorced you, you piece of shit” She glared at him before ripping her shirt over her head and throwing it in a nearby trash can. Not caring that she was now walking around in her bra. 

“You and everyone else.” He muttered before climbing into his rental and driving towards the hotel. 

Kiyana fell backwards onto her bed. She was beyond exhausted. She closed her eyes and sighed. She would have to get used to this feeling, no longer a stay at home mom or a wife. She was almost asleep when he phone dinged with a notification, 

ElijahDaniels has requested to follow you. 

Kiyana bit her lip as she scrolled through his instagram account.

This man was too fine for his own good. She accepted his follow request and immediately received a DM from him. 

ElijahDaniels: those your kids? They look just like u.  KiyanaJackson_: yeah and thank you, lol. You’re the only person to ever say that.  ElijahDaniels: i aint know you was married tho. Tell you husband my bad lmao.  KiyanaJackson_: divorced actually.  ElijahDaniels: good KiyanaJackson_ good? Lol ElijahDaniels: yeah, now i can get to know u better.  ElijahDaniels: see u tomorrow ❤️

Mr Elijah Daniels MD 😉... our girl KiKi is back in the game!

(Joe is coming, i promise.)

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[fuck-customers]

never before have i worked under a supervisor who got mad at me for trying to help with other tasks when i otherwise had nothing the fuck else to do. 👨‍🍳🌌

i’m doing temp work at a catering kitchen with a few other coworkers and my usual chef while our usual location under the same company is closed for reasons. it’s literally my third fucking day here. today they tagged me in to help with “hand-outs” for a buffet service—basically i just had to stand there and wait for a buffet runner to come back and ask for a salad. the salads were already on their shelf, ready to unwrap and pass out. i am straight up just standing there doing fuck all. my usual chef from the kitchen i’m typically at (i’ll call Chef) is helping oversee the buffet service as the on-duty chef, there’s another guy actually managing it and touching base with the organizers running the event (i’ll call Guy), and then there’s this hot line supervisor (i’ll call Bibi) and the two other temps helping her.

Bibi goes off to do god-knows-what, and again, i’m literally just standing there doing fuck all, so i step over to help Chef and the other temps arrange shit for the hot plates on buffet—garnishing pans, etc. we get their shit dressed, put it back in the hot holding boxes, ready to hand out to the runners. i’m keeping general track of where everything is because…i don’t know, i’m fucking paying attention and make sure i can snap into action at a moment’s notice if called to do so? mostly i’m just transferring pans back and forth for dressing and finding the odd places things have been stowed so it’s not that hard for me to follow when i’m the one being told to put shit back. Chef and Guy walk off to do something, i think to do with the organizers or the buffet attendants, making sure we have all our garnishes to match spec, etc.

Bibi comes back losing her mind because apparently there’s *another* event that got their hot entrees mixed up with ours? so i, trying to be helpful, pipe up to mention which hotbox the just-dressed pans were put into, because like. we don’t fucking want those being taken. and instead of something simple like “i’ve got this handled, thank you” and going back to her shit, she drops everything she’s fucking doing and starts giving me this, like, straight up almost two minute condescending LECTURE. talking to me like i’m fresh out of kindergarten and never stepped foot in a kitchen before instead of a fucking 30-year-old man who’s been in this industry for the better part of a decade, about how *she* can handle *her* hot side and *i* can handle *my* cold side and a bunch of circular bullshit reiterating on that point and by her tone and body language, not so subtly disparaging my intelligence as she did so. straight up i would have felt more highly respected if she just called me a slur to my face.

i’m staring at her like she’s sprouted a second head, but again, it’s my third day here and she has seniority, so i bite my tongue. like, what the fuck? you’ve got a guy here who’s willing to step up and do something other than stand there with one thumb up my ass and the other on my phone to fight the urge to take a nap for the goddamn hour and a half until we even open service. and you’re going to stand there and lecture me for it? like i’m a child?? with your whole chest??? you are 40 years old and acting like this. wow. i appreciate the refusal to adhere to “time to lean, time to clean” mentalities but jesus fucking christ. it’s like she was perfectly genetically engineered to irritate me specifically and decided to speedrun pissing me off.

anyway, Bibi fucks off with the hotbox holding the vast majority of our backups for the beef entree. (we would later run out and have to call her to fucking bring some back because all we had otherwise was chicken and salads.) brief interlude with the return of Guy and him touching base with the temps. we’re standing around on our phones and chatting bc there’s nothing to do; he asks where the other hotbox went, and i actually AM allowed to explain that Bibi came and took it for the other buffet, but we’ve got X number in this other one, because Guy is actually halfway understanding of how operating a fucking kitchen as a team works, i guess. they check and confirm. rinse and repeat with Chef, also a halfway reasonable person to work with. again, they walk off to do whatever.

Bibi returns. she’s looking for a garnish. i start to point it out. this time she just cuts me off to dive into *another* lecture. i’m fed up at this point so i just interject “i’m communicating where i put it because i’m the one who was told to put it away” and this time it turns into an almost three minute lecture about the same bullshit of her handling her shit and me handling mine. i am physically struggling to keep my cool at this point and biting my tongue to keep from getting into an argument with her. i have to step back and put the speed rack with my salads on it between the two of us so i don’t have to fucking look at her.

Bibi walks away as Chef comes back. he’s worked with me a year he knows the Look i get when someone’s crossed a line with me and it’s taking everything in me not to metaphorically spontaneously polymorph into a silverback gorilla. and he comes back over to the buffet arrangement.

Chef: “So, what do you think of Bibi?”

Me, making unblinking eye contact: 🫠 (the longest, slowest, deepest inhale i have ever taken in his presence)

Chef: “Yeah, that’s why she doesn’t work for me anymore.”

turns out he has repeatedly had to get HR involved because of her behavior/attitude, resulting in her getting in the hot seat almost every time they have to work together when she just needs to learn when to stop fucking talking to people like that, and Guy agreed that she’s constantly out of line damn near every fucking time they’ve had to work with her, and they’re one of the location’s powerhouse workers. the fact that she still has a job there at all is so far fucking beyond me.

again, it was my THIRD DAY at this location, my first time working buffet service there, my first time working with her, and i barely got through a full sentence trying to be helpful and expedite things before she decides to take it upon herself to waste her own time by trying to break years of “doing more than your job description instead of simply doing nothing when you have no active tasks” conditioning in the most condescending way i could have possibly conceived of.

i’m so fucking insulted i’m seriously considering telling Chef not to volunteer me for any more temp shifts over there until i’m not at risk of having to work with her, because if she doesn’t learn to talk to me like i’m a fellow fucking human being, i will end up losing my temper, and i will certainly be asked not to come back regardless. i’ll just have less choice in the matter.

i might have to figure something out for seasonal work anyway while things are getting squared back away at my usual site, but i’d rather take my chances with a second job than risk having to deal with this fucking bullshit, and i don’t think i’ve made the best first impression at this other site anyway.

Posted by admin Rodney

[bbanghiitomi]

| your dreams are mine

synopsis: after graduating, you land your first job at a company and end up working with kim minji; the company's renowned grumpy, quiet, and mysterious senior.

—nonidol!senior!kminji × nonidol!junior!fem!reader

(⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡(⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡(⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡(⁠*⁠˘⁠︶

minji feels her fingers stiff as she pulls her hands away from the keyboard, minji groans and tries to stretch the bones in her fingers by moving but immediately feeling how frozen the tips of her fingers are. maybe it's the cold air of the office cubicle? could it be the hard surface of her table? or the stiff, old, and small keyboard? minji does not know anymore, she's been sitting on the swivel chair for so long that she doesn't realize how late it has been. the muscles in her buttocks are hurt, almost to the point she can't feel them anymore. minji's sat for so long that her calves are practically begging to be moved, her forearms are screaming for some rest.

it's been so long since the last time minji actually felt happy, where she felt like she's free. hell, minji doesn't even remember the last time she held a book in her hands, she never got the time to do something she actually loved after she had this horrible job of hers.

4 years ago, minji is a fresh graduate from college, free from the stress of university. the first thing she did was have fun and it lasted for a few months only before she had to find a job and eventually landed herself in a pretty decent company with a decent pay. everything was going well the first few weeks, everyone was nice to her, they're all smiling, it felt like minji actually found the place she really was meant for.

but oh was she very wrong, after a month everything started going downhill. her boss started to actually be a boss, everyone is stressed and are always frowning — people actually started seeing her as a kid and not an adult. and starting from that point, nothing ever mattered to minji other than finishing stuff and just going home.

her life revolved around waking up, taking a shower, breakfast, work for who knows how long? then home, less than 4 hours of sleep, then the same shit. again and again.

it's not like she was ever happy doing this, minji had always dreamt of being an author, writing a book and publishing one some day. minji is typing but instead of her thoughts, it's loads of emails and crap for her company. at this point, minji had never hoped she'd ever find herself again, maybe never? it's just later or never at all.

whenever minji finishes stacks of papers, tabs of report, analysis of data — she doesn't feel relief anymore, all she knows is she's going to do the same shit over and over again next time. company trips don't excite her, none of her coworkers are friends with her, and she refuses to make one. it's like living hell through the present. the time feels like a loop of the same things, she's always in the same space at the same time. spatiotemporally continuous lineages of the same events, the same expressions of bitterness shared by the employees and the same curses she mutters everytime she fucks up.

minji never had the time to even go on a date or dinner with someone, never had the time to be in a relationship, not even hang out with friends. it's like she's tied to the computer inside her cubicle, she's got no reason to escape the trap that is the working space. every night, minji grabs the chance to curse the world for how cruel it is, not having any reason to actually live like a human anymore.

"excited for ai, those scums are probably going to replace us anytime soon. great." as minji stands up to grab her flask and get a good amount of water, she hears her coworker in the other cubicle say. ignoring him, minji grabs a glass on the counter and fills it up with fresh, cold water — chugging it down almost immediately.

"oh for fuck sake, with how shit this work is, i doubt even a robot would last under all this pressure. probably would explode after an 18 hour shift." one coworker butts in, minji hears a few chuckles but still was uninterested and went inside her cubicle once again with her flask and sat back on her swivel chair with a sharp groan.

minji takes a few minutes trying to regain herself back and her consciousness by swiveling her chair a little, cracking the bones on her hands before starting to type away the rest of the papers she needs to print by the end of the day. it's only 6pm, which means she still has a few hours left before the end of her shift and it's probably a nightmare on her way back home too.

"the only bad side of having artificial intelligence replacing us is that we won't have anything to get money from. but other than that it's solid, we're treated like robots anyway, so what would be the difference?" the first guy chuckles, minji blinks her eyes and hears the ticking of her clock.

her eyes are once again glued to the screen, scanning every word she's typing on the paper, looking for any mistakes or errors before continuing. she's conditioned to do this and we'll be continued to keep doing it after a few more years, which should be equivalent to a tremendous hours of torture.

the office is once again quiet but loud at the same time, minji can hear the mixture of her clock's ticking, the sound of the air condition, the tapping of keyboards scratching the ridges of her brain and footsteps from other employees walking around.

it feels like they are in a jail, everything is dull and lifeless, with the brightest color being the lights and the white walls — everything else is dead.

everyone in the office feels like they have no personality other than the work they're doing, it sucks and they're no fun at all.

"everyone, listen! attention all on me!" the boss shouts, his voice echoing around the walls of the hell also known as their office. everyone turns their head, or stands up to see him — whilst minji just stops from what she's doing.

the boss clears his throat and speaks. "starting tomorrow, we will have a newest addition to the office working with us. aren't you all excited? she's a fresh graduate too, working under the graphics office. i hope you all welcome her with the warmest greetings." he stops abruptly, looking around the office before continuing.

"and may i remind you of all the papers needed today, if there are missing papers i will make sure that lazy idiot gets fired. understood?" he does not ask, more like demands with his stone hard tone and his killer glare. everyone mutters their reluctant agreement before heading back to what they were once doing again.

minji sighs and runs her luscious hair back, furrowing her thick brows in frustration.

another addition to this hell of a place, isn't that great?

everytime minji thinks about it, there's just nothing positive about another annoying figure inside the office who knows nothing. it''s sad that the poor girl might just end up getting her dreams crushed too.

but minji doesn't really care, does she?

of course not, at least that's what minji thinks.

on the way home, her brain is plagued by thoughts of the new addition. a girl, a new graduate too — great, how lucky the graphics office really are. it's safe to assume that she's no different to minji, just like every other girl. she must be someone enthusiastic to start a new journey — maybe one that isn't so good.

whilst minji watches the buildings from afar inside the bustling train, she thinks whether she should care enough and be that good senior, warning the younger girl to stay out and live a life somewhere else except this cruel city they call seoul.

ironic, for it's name — everyone seemed to have none of that soul, just a body without a clear purpose in this world.

why is minji even like this?

minji asks herself that question almost everyday.

when she arrives in front of the apartment complex she stays in, she lets out a small sigh, not even looking forward to her sleep as it just welcomes another day of suffering. minji steps a foot in the comfort of her home, pushing her shoes off and making her way inside the corridor to her bed when she laid and curled into a ball.

minji doesn't even know why she's so caught up, there's no reason for her to be feeling like this over some girl she doesn't even know — why is she so worried?

she hasn't spoken a word today, and maybe not tomorrow too.

it's best to just be quiet and keep things to herself.

that's how her life has been.

it's lonely inside an empty home,

not even her presence can fill the spaces.

maybe it's time for her to make a room,

inside her heart.

so someone can give her that emotion she's been lacking for so long.

and the night's so cold too, that the breeze of the cold air is embracing her just like it did in her office.

the next morning, minji finds herself partaking in the same routine once again. although it's tiring, there was no space for changes — no time for such commitments.

"loneliness is the capacity to love."

"that space left by loneliness can be filled by someone you will love. it's time to open that heart of yours."

minji scoffs when she reaches for the remote and turns the television off.

always the same bullshit, there's always a time when some kind of thing reminds her she's lonely, in need of help.

transcendence, they say, is when you overcome a challenge.

how will she achieve transcendence when factors of challenges find their way back to her, every single time?

vulnerability, loneliness, love, and it keeps going.

she wonders if her other self in the other universe goes through the same problems as she does in the current one.

to the office, she's locked inside her cubicle, stuck in her own world of emails and statistics. it's quite impressive how minji still has a great vision even after burying herself in loads of work, eyes practically burning in the monitor of her computer.

but she couldn't care less.

the same footsteps, but now two pairs make their way in the office.

minji assumes it's the new girl with their boss, minji pays them no mind and continues to type away.

"hello to everyone, i would like everyone to meet the newest addition to our family."

minji's eye twitches at the mention of the word, and she turns around to take a peek.

her eyes — she swore it was playing games on her.

the girl is a lot shorter than their boss, hair adorned by clips and neatly styled. her choice of clothing is… impressive, the blouse — the frilly collars. how does minji describe it?

it's cute and pretty, with her pencil skirt firmly hugging her figure.

everything about this girl screamed fresh, even the smile on her face.

such energy was like chugging water after walking on a desert.

"good morning! i'm l/n y/n! i will do my best and i hope everyone takes good care of me."

after that, minji finds herself nervous every now and then.

you walk around the office quite often, initiating conversations with other officemates every now and then. you're so peaceful but not in a way it's hard to approach you, considerate, kind and joyful.

you're like the water and the sun.

minji can't get you off of her mind,

and it's only the first week.

it's a torture.

the second week came.

like a game, when you spot minji getting a drink, you offer her the coffee you made, you watch as her eyes examine yours — her reddish ear tips went unnoticed but she slowly takes it from your hand and walks away. she starts to wonder whether you can read her mind, afraid you might read along her lines.

not only your coffee tasted heavenly, your voice is like the call of angels.

your outfits were always on the same level of cuteness, it seems like you're always ready for the day.

you go to work happy and go home the same.

everyone likes your energy and for the first time, the boss wasn't trying to torture a newbie.

she should be mad, jealous, insecure or whatever.

but she can't bring herself to hate you.

your eyes, your smile, your hair, your perfume — the flower patterns in your socks you wear every thursday. even the bear in your phone case and lock screen.

oh how bad it would be for minji to find out you're taken.

but she doesn't realize it yet, she doesn't realize that she's wishing you're single.

"hi ms. kim, i thought you'd like another cup of my coffee so i brought you one again." you peek from the walls of her cubicle, eyes burning on the back of her head as you watch her type in a steady motion.

minji stops and breathes a small huff before turning her head a bit. "just place it on my table, thanks." she mutters, eyes trying not to graze over your figure who walks slowly towards her cubicle and stops right in front of the table, gently placing the cup of copy on top of the wood painted table.

it's been 4 weeks since you've started. the office tried planning to conduct a small party to welcome you but you declined saying that all the time can be given to work so no one gets burdened.

how dare you…

how dare you snatch minji's heart just like that?

you're so understanding, caring and pretty. minji's mind whirlpools when she sees you, her heartbeat races in your presence and her knees fall weak at your smiles.

"ms. kim? you've been working for quite some time and you haven't thought of going out of your cubicle at all… is everything going out fine?" you ask her, your voice ever-so-lovely when those words slip out of your lips. minji pauses and leans on the table, her eyes everywhere but yours.

"i'm alright here, i don't really go outside. so i'm fine." she says, you couldn't help but nod yet you feel compelled, you really did want her to have a conversation with everyone as she's always alone in her own little world.

you nod in understanding, not forgetting to beam a smile at her.

when you left, it felt like there was a cold wisp of air blowing on her face— now, it truly felt lonely inside her small space. minji stares at the screen, wondering what you might be thinking right now as she turns around to see you talking to a male colleague of the same age. her heart clenches in worry, realizing how much she needed your presence to ease her tense feelings.

you continue on your own little job, working on designs and papers inside the office, printing posters every now and then and talking to the chief.

minji goes out of her cubicle, not forgetting to peek and she makes her way to the small kitchen of the office, where you were hanging out with other office mates during break. the others spot her, all being left in surprise when they spot the quiet, reserved and cold girl.

"o-oh! minji…" this was the first time they saw her out during the hour where others were out too. you can clearly see the shock written on their faces, you smile at minji and grin. "oh my, ms. kim good to see you!" you tell her.

minji nods at you before excusing herself for some coffee and you follow.

"hi, i can make the coffee for you and you can sit down for a moment ms. kim, i don't mind." minji and you stand in front of the counter, where minji holds a cup reaching out to the coffee machine. her eyes follow yours, feeling flustered. "u-uhm, it's okay." she mutters.

"no really! i don't mind, i'll be making your coffee as long as you want me to." you smile as you reach out to the cup in her hand, your delicate fingers touching hers.

truth to be told is that you like your senior, her presence puts you in a trance, you love her passion in her work but at the same time worried for her. she's so calm and collected, clearly not in a rush like the world is, she's so intelligent.

you love checking her cubicle to make sure she's doing well, like getting her to talk to you so you can hear her voice call your name.

you love doing things for her, that salary doesn't matter much when you're working — you just love her that much.

her hard work pays her well, but she's very lonely and you can tell that, hearing from the others that she often comes home to an empty house and does all the work herself.

that leads her to being independent about any stuff.

when both of you got promoted, the boss insisted on a party and a small dinner at a restaurant. you were happy but worried minji might not be up to it, so you decided to speak up and say.

"if it's fine, we can ask ms. minji if she's okay with it. i'm fine with whatever though." you tell everyone, turning your head to minji's office — now that she's promoted, seeing as she's busy once again.

your boss sighs and looks up at you.

"how about you ask her? she might not care if it came from us."

so you did,

you knock at the walls surrounding her office, peeking your head.

when your eyes meet hers, you feel your heart melt. you take a deep breath, preparing yourself before speaking.

"hi ms. minji, are you busy?" she only stares at you before standing up.

"not really… why?" she asks you, her voice patient.

you feel your face heat up at the intensity of her gaze.

"well, the boss was planning to hold a small dinner later to celebrate and i was worried you might not want to come. because i can postpone it if you want."

minji shifts her gaze.

"why? if you want to then go." she says, you frown and bite your bottom lip.

"no it's because… i want you to be there."

minji holds her breath before clearing her throat.

"oh, i — i guess, i'll come. if you want."

you couldn't help your smile as you hop, before laughing and putting a hand on your mouth.

"wait, really?" you look up at her, eyes glimmering in happiness.

she nods and gives you a small smirk.

"yeah."

the dinner was kind of awkward, almost everyone wanted to say something to minji but were all holding back in fear of pushing a button or two,

except of you of course.

you're sure she likes your presence, sitting beside her at dinner and asking her things — the type of work she enjoys, what's her favorite drink, food and more.

she answers them occasionally and sometimes just looks at you as you converse with other people.

you drank a little too much…

and minji excused herself to the restroom in which you followed, seeing her washing her hands.

"ms. kim." you call out to her, you see her turning her head — eyes recognizing you immediately. "hey, y/n." she says almost as soon as she sees you get closer.

you reach out to her forearm, caressing her as you lean to her shoulder, taking her off guard.

"u-uh… uhm. hey, ms. l/n?"

you huff, smelling her fresh perfume.

"ms. kim? do you like me?" you ask her in a hush whisper.

meanwhile you reek the smell of mixed alcohol with a peach scent, the scent wafts around the restroom and sends minji into an orbit.

she feels a sharp breath inside of her.

"w-what do you mean..?" she asks.

you laugh at her and clutch her arm, leaning closer.

she would like to lean in for a kiss but you are drunk.

maybe one would taste better if you were sober.

"you know what i mean, dummy." you giggle.

minji looks away, blushing — she clears her throat and tries to push you away but you hold her wrist. "no! ms. kim! answer me." you lean closer, this time minji reaches for your waist and squeezes the body under her palm.

the action made you weak.

"you're drunk." she reminds you, but you shake your head and put a hand on her shoulder, refusing to back down. "no, you just have to answer me." your persistence really shakes her core.

minji sighs.

"yes, you're really cute. that's all."

your eyes shift to her plump lips and you smile, leaning in but minji was quick to turn her head so your lips touch her cheek instead.

you can't stop giggling after, making minji frustrated.

"i'll accompany you home."

contrary to popular belief, you do remember what happened— it's quite vivid, the memories of that night.

you think maybe, she really just sees you as nothing but the cute junior in work and that's all…

you didn't want to make it that deep but it made you sad, quite.

at least she acknowledges you, but it really doesn't feel enough.

does ms. kim really just don't like me?

minji on the other hand, was weird because you didn't visit her office like you usually did.

did something happen?

well something did happen.

she makes a mission to reach out to you and when she sees you, you're alone in the kitchen — staring at the wall.

you don't notice her footsteps as she gets closer, stuck in your little own world where you imagine a different (maybe?) universe with her, living in one home, sharing stuff, doing the laundry together and cooking for her…

"ms. l/n." her voice is firm, you shoot up and look at her with wide eyes.

"ms. kim?!" you place a hand on your mouth before standing up. her eyes show worry, but she brushes it off and puffs her chest. "is something the matter? you're not your usual self today." she says, as if she knew.

well, she does.

doesn't she?

you shift your gaze with a small sheepish laugh.

"i'm just occupied with stuff on my plate right now, do you need anything, ma'am?" you ask her, in which she shakes her head and leaves, slightly regretting not confronting you about the last time when she just heard your small but vague confession.

"fuck." she whispers when she closes the door to her office, planting her face on her palms, feeling the slight sweat.

packing your things to head home, you bid your goodbye to your colleagues with a warm smile. you make your way to an elevator and when it was about to shut a hand sneaks its way inside, a rather familiar large hand by the way. when the doors were forced to open, it reveals your senior now turned into manager.

"ms. kim!" you were surprised, because she usually doesn't take the same route as you do.

minji looks at you with her round eyes and enters inside, pressing a button to the ground floor. it was quiet for a short amount of time only, with minji trying to gather all the courage inside her to talk to you.

"do you have plans tonight?" she asks, after she saved enough money to get a car (which she used to take you home last time), she's been wanting to take you somewhere else.

you look at her, clearing your throat as you smile and push strands of your hair behind your ear.

"no. not much." you answer.

"good, i want to tell you something." she says, exactly when the elevator opened.

you walk out and turn around. "about what?"

you notice how her hand flinches.

"something… about that night." your eyes widens as you shake your head — smiling at her.

"actually — i remembered i have something… up, tonight." you say, walking immediately away from her. minji noticed the behavior and followed suit until both of you were in the parking lot where the exit was found and her car was parked.

"ms. l/n, what's the matter? did i say something wrong?" minji asks, catching up quickly and you stop before shaking your head rapidly and frowning on her. "no! it's just that… i'm so sorry i put you in that situation and i'm so stupid for saying such things it's just because — ms. kim i love you. you don't have to love me back because it's okay. i understand that… but all i wanted was for us to be something — i wanted to be your girlfriend and do things for you, like i want to cook for you and do your laundry. make you coffee and fix your collar. everyday."

you pause and feel your cheeks heating up.

"but of course you don't like me that way and maybe i was so drunk and i really didn't mean to sound off putting but i did really like you. it's true." you add before looking down.

"i never said i don't like you." minji mutters, you slowly look up to her and see her approaching closely.

with slump shoulders, she continues.

"i said yes, you're cute."

you blink and reply. "but that's all, right?"

minji chuckles and shakes her head. "no, not quite. it's because you're drunk and you might not get it, but i do like you as much as you do, maybe more. yeah, i appreciate what you do for me and what you will do."

you feel tears prickling in the corner of your eyes, sobbing.

"you love me too?"

minji laughs, eyes turning crescents with her cheeks red.

"yes, i love you too."

with that, you rush towards her and embrace her in a hug, she catches you and wraps her arms around you.

your lips touch hers in a kiss, with her still holding you tight in her arms where you nestle closer for warmth.

feeling so happy, minji realizes she's never felt this type of happiness ever before — clearly missing out your existence. there's always been a space for you in her life, maybe she just didn't find it earlier — but there it is! with everything for you to have, she gives up the loneliness she's always had for a long time before you came into her life and makes a space for you to settle in forever.

she's not the same old grumpy, quiet, and mysterious colleague anymore.

well—

maybe still grumpy, but less sad and not lonely anymore.

[nohoperadio]

Some of my coworkers (I work in a bookshop, I'm getting kinda tired of having to add that parenthetical to every work story I tell on here but it's often essential context, I wish there was a better way. Why can't you just fucking pay attention and remember where I work, that would be nice?) are very smug and proud of themselves about the fact that they make a habit of ratting out teenagers to their parents when they're trying to buy books (to be fair I could probably have just let the context do its own work in this particular post, I didn't really need to say anything. I'm sorry I spoke to you like that earlier) which are, according to the bookseller's no doubt eminently wise and edifying judgment, not age-appropriate--not outright refusing sales, but like when a teen and their parent are both at the till, saying something like "oh just so you're aware this book has some controversial stuff in it"--and I hope I continue to successfully hide how much this pisses me off because oh my fucking god.

Mostly this happens with Colleen Hoover books, who if you're unaware is a very tiktok-popular romance author whose books are sometimes accused of glorifying abusive relationship dynamics, I haven't read her and don't have a good sense of to what extent this is a fair accusation vs people misrepresenting the books to score backlash discourse points, neither possibility would surprise me, but also I don't think the answer to that question is very relevant to anything.

And look, I accept that my free speech absolutist radical position of "teenagers are less stupid than you probably think but even the stupid ones probably should be allowed some intellectual liberties maybe, they're going to be adults in like five minutes jesus christ" is not something everyone can embrace, I do. But the sheer glee with which this one guy the other day was telling the story of a mom getting quite angry with her daughter when he told her about what she's trying to buy, like "haha someone's gonna have an awkward conversation when they leave the shop!", is so so ugly to me... like it would be much easier to believe this was a principled moral stance if you weren't actively making fun of the people you're claiming to protect! And holy shit do you not remember this exact experience, of being a teenager and a bunch of adults who are clearly not actually smarter or better than you nonetheless having strong opinions about what kinds of things you ought to be enjoying and spending time on and thinking about? Do you not remember how much that sucked? (I'm like a decade older than most of these booksellers, I should be the cranky old person whose heart has been consumed by cheap cynical moralism, not them!!)

I could add a little bit here about how obviously it's only the books that are girl-coded that receive this higher level of scrutiny and shaming, but sadly it's getting dark and I had intended to make this a short post so I could go for a run after and I should really do that now if I'm gonna do it at all, you'll have to think about that part in your own time. Sorry for ranting everyone I hope we're all having a chill Saturday apart from me. Are we having a chill Saturday?

[renxzs]

Aelin Week - Day 6: Rowaelin | @rowaelinscourt | AO3 | Masterlist

Summary: Aelin is having a very bad day… or week. Okay, more like a very bad year. She’s in dire need of a little kindness and comfort. Although she tries to deny herself of it, feeling utterly undeserving—Rowan Whitethorn will deny her none of it.

Word Count: 3.5k

CW: basically shameless smut (18+ only), hurt/comfort, mutual pining, depressive thoughts, Aelin desperately needs a hug, mention of parental deaths, coworkers who become..a bit more, modern au

I won't always have the words  to pull you back from the dark.

But I will always be here  to sit with you in it  and take your hand or wrap my arms around you  until it passes.

For every day of sunshine  there will be a night of darkness, 

but I want to spend  both of them with you.

—S.K. Williams

Arobynn Hamel, her prick of a boss, slowly shook his head as the crease between his brows deepened. He flipped harshly through the pages of the case folder she had handed him moments ago.

Aelin’s body went rigid, preparing for whatever verbal lashing he was about to spew. Entirely negating the amount of time and effort she poured into this case over the last two weeks, discounting hard work she was actually proud of. 

She would not allow him the satisfaction of seeing the effect his condescension had on her, how truly deep it sometimes cut. She maintained a look of impassivity and waited.

“This is your best work? Really?” Arobynn scoffed derisively and leveled her with a hard stare, contempt rolling off him. Aelin focused on breathing steadily through her nose.

“If this is it, then I need you to do the fucking best of someone better.” His words were small glass shards being hurled at her, slicing and stinging upon contact. She curled her shaking hands into tight fists on her lap, nails digging into the flesh of her palms. 

Today had been shit, the general week a living hell. 

Then again, Aelin couldn’t honestly say many of her weeks spanning the past twelve months have been much different. 

This weekend marked the one-year death anniversary of her parents. One year since the tragic accident that  had left her entirely alone in this world. One year since unwavering guilt and shame had settled and made a home in her chest. 

Spoken out of hurt and anger amidst a heated argument, those final words to her parents only a handful of hours before they were just… gone would haunt her until the dark god came to claim her. 

Aelin could usually endure Arobynn’s volatile mood swings and mistreatment—weather the rage storm and emerge from his office relatively unscathed.

But this particular week…?

The very moment consciousness had greeted her this morning, she knew she should have stayed curled under the blankets and out of reach from the rest of the world.

Aelin expelled a long breath. It did nothing to relieve the heaviness twisting in her gut and weighing in her bones. It was a marvel how one could feel so heavy yet utterly empty at the same time.

She tipped her drained glass towards the nearby bartender. “Another, please.”

A moment later, a new glass was slid in front of her and her eyes fell to the sloshing liquid. She must look as pathetically dejected as she presently felt, considering the very generous pour. 

A chill of awareness pricked across her nape and skittered down the smooth curve of her spine as a presence sidled up next to her. Quiet flutters stirred low in her belly, and Aelin cursed her traitorous body’s response to his proximity.

Because of course it was him—she knew it was him without needing to look. It was as if she had a preternatural sense specially tuned to him. And she’d been more than aware of his presence across the room—felt him all evening. Those piercing green eyes boring into the back of her. 

Aelin refused to look at him. “Can I help you, Whitethorn?”

“You know,” he drawled, leaning his forearms onto the bar top next to her. “Agreeing to drinks after work typically entails actually sitting within the remote vicinity of those who extended the invitation.”

Aelin lifted the glass of dark amber liquid to her lips and took a long, pointed sip before speaking cooly, “I’m here for the drinks, not the company.”

Rowan slid into the vacant stool next to her. 

Not easily deterred, then.

A few silent minutes passed between them. Rowan patiently waited, watching her still. Aelin inhaled a long breath as frustration started to build. Couldn’t he just leave her alone to sulk in solitude? 

“What do you want, Whitethorn?” 

She couldn’t fully tamper the edge in her voice. All the better though. Maybe he’d take the hint and finally rejoin his rightful group of coworker-turned-friends.

The heat of Rowan’s gaze flitted across the side of her face. She took another drink. 

“Are you okay?” His soft sincerity caused her chest to constrict.

“Christ, Aelin—what do I even pay you for?” Arobynn flung the heavy file folder back across the desk at her. “Being a pretty face around the firm? You barely manage that lately.”

Her eyes closed against the resurfacing memory. The slight burn of unbidden tears pricked in her nose. Aelin sniffed then cleared her throat before speaking. “I’m fine.” 

Aelin met his stare in challenge, to show just how fine she was. But her voice had sounded strained, even to her own ears. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Rowan either, if the gentle look of disbelief and concern were any indication.

Her chest felt like it was going to cave in. She couldn’t stand him looking at her like that. She didn’t need his kindness or concern. 

Didn’t deserve it.

Yet Rowan is always so fucking nice to her. Checking in during the day and inviting her to outings with their coworkers. Most recently, he’s started bringing his lunch over to eat at her desk once he realized she was never going to take him up on the invitation to join him and the others in the break room. 

Time and time again, he has tried to scale the icy fortress she’s spent years carefully constructing around herself. Yet his efforts seemingly remained undeterred, even with her doubled efforts to keep all others out throughout this past year of hell. 

Aelin threw back the last of her drink. She needed to get away from him before he made a crack in her barrier. Only the gods know he’s come close before. And something deep, deep down screamed at her to let him do it.

But once he did crack her open, only to find cold, ugly darkness seeping out—what then? He’d inevitably discard her like everyone else. Because why would he want that? Why would anyone? 

She couldn’t bare it. Couldn’t risk the hope of maybe having him just to lose him and have her chest hallowed out once more. 

Aelin slid from her seat and threw a few bills onto the bar top.

“Hey, hey—Aelin.” Rowan reached for her arm.

She whipped towards him with a withering glare that could usually send anyone running. Rowan didn’t falter.

“Talk to me,” he implored. 

“Why do you even care?” She demanded. 

Still seated, Rowan tugged her into the space between his legs. A quiet sadness swirled with the flecks of deep green in his eyes. 

“I just… do.” 

Aelin’s heart felt crumpled and emotionally stripped. 

Home. She just wanted to go home and curl up in her bed. Wanted to be done with this day—this dreaded weekend. 

“You shouldn’t.” 

Her lips pressed into a firm line to keep from wobbling.  Her gaze lingered in the direction of their coworkers huddled together in a circular booth. Laughing and joking and clinking glasses. Rowan should be over there with them, not here attending to her mess. 

She averted her eyes upwards, blinking a few times to keep impending tears at bay. A calloused hand smoothed down her arm until he wrapped his hand around hers. He squeezed gently.

“What do you need?”

A single tear streaked her cheek. Rowan’s free hand gently wiped it away. He kept quiet, but she didn’t even know what to say. What did she need?

So many things, all seemingly out of reach. 

So often the silence was deafening and the loneliness gutting within the dark place she’s locked herself, behind the icy fortress wall. Numbed for so long, she’s forgotten what it feels like to live. 

The silence stretched between them before she finally rasped, “To feel something.”

Rowan traced a thumb along her cheek. “Then let me help you feel.”

His words hung between them, their implication glaring and heavy. Every nerve in her body roared for his touch, his kindness, his comfort. Him. 

Aelin’s denied herself of all of it for so long, from anyone. Let alone from this beautiful man who refuses to let her fade to the black nothingness constantly on the brink of consuming her whole. This man who has unknowingly taken hold of her beaten down heart, bit by bit. 

Just this once. 

Just this once she could allow herself to give in, to  want him. Just for tonight. 

Her voice barely a whisper above the din of the bar, “Yes.” 

His small answering smile so soft, so warm, it made her chest ache. 

~

Aelin toed off her heels before stepping past the entry way. Her eyes flitted around the apartment, tidy and warm. Her focus snagged momentarily on a bookshelf nestled against the far wall. The spines a variety of colors, sizes, and conditions of wear. She was inclined to step closer and nose through what kinds of books filled his shelves, to gain a small insight into his mind—

Rowan moving deeper into the living room caught her eye though, and she turned to watch him ease onto a plush sofa. He offered her one of his rare soft smiles, then reached a hand out. 

“C’mere.”

Aelin approached him slowly until she stood between his parted legs. He looked so good like that, splayed out lazily. Lap and warm smile more than inviting. Heat emanated from his large hands as he gently gripped her hips. She didn’t resist, allowing him to settle her astride his muscled thighs. 

Her form-fitted work skirt rucked up to her hips so her legs could accommodate his width. Deep green eyes devoured the newly exposed skin, tracing calloused hands up the soft flesh before hooking behind her to pull her impossibly closer. 

Aelin’s stomach curled and skin pricked with the intimacy of their position. Never imagined they would ever be this close—never allowed herself to.

Rowan ran a hand up her back and she arched gently into the touch, chest pressing into his. It’d been so long since she was last touched like this. Her body craved it. 

So did her heart.

She closed her eyes against that thought. 

“This is just sex.” 

Rowan hummed noncommittally. He brushed loose tendrils from her face and smoothed them behind her ear. Her chest tightened as she settled her gaze back on him. 

“I’m serious, Rowan,” she hedged. 

He nodded softly, running a thumb along her jawline, over her bottom lip. “Is that truly what you want?” his voice hushed.

Was it? No. At least she didn’t think so. But…

“It has to be,” she whispered, resolute. 

His eyes pierced through her, burned to her very soul. As if he could unearth all of her darkest thoughts and secrets and turn them to ash.

“Why?”

Because I am nothing. Worthless. And you should be running—away from this, away from me. 

She wanted to push him away, protect him from herself. Instead her fingers flexed in the soft silvery hair at his nape. The tightness in her chest splintered out as unwanted emotions and thoughts bubbled to the surface, a familiar numbing ache seeping into the hollow parts.

A slow, sad shake of her head. “I have nothing to give.”

Something crumpled behind those pretty green eyes. Then Rowan pulled her face closer, grazing his lips over hers. “I don’t want anything.” The featherlight touch of his lips as he spoke sent a chill up her spine. “Just you, Aelin.”

His words… the way her name sounded on his tongue—it fractured something deep within. And she was helpless to the sob that racked up through her body. No one has ever wanted her before, not for just her.

“Shhh,” Rowan soothed. “I’ve got you.” He gently wiped the salty streaks from her flushed cheeks. Ran soothing fingers through her long golden waves. Held her so close to stave off any fears that he’d let her go. “I’ve got you,” he repeated.

Aelin nuzzled into the crook of his neck, too far past the ability to feel embarrassed over her tears seeping into his shirt collar and skin. Rowan didn’t seem to care anyways. So she sunk into him—reveled in the strength and warmth of his arms wrapped tightly around her. Tentatively allowed herself to be comforted by his unyielding presence. 

It wasn’t until her breathing had steadied and the dampness on her cheeks nearly dried that she pulled back to find eyes open and searching, a gentle caress across her face. 

She stared back, in disbelief of this man and his kindness and his heart. Always so stoic and broody to the outside world… but for whatever reason she’d always had a special pass to the softer, gentler parts of him. Gods knew she’d done nothing to earn that trust of vulnerability.

But she was… thankful, anyways. And she wanted him to know. She could at least give him this. 

Aelin swallowed then placed a gentle hand along his jaw. “Rowan…” she rasped, voice not sounding like her own, hoarse with spent emotion. 

The rest of her gratitudes died on her tongue. She wasn’t any good at these kinds of things. Aelin resolved to showing him then.

His eyes didn’t leave hers as she shifted on his lap, tilting his head back so she could lean over him. Their breaths mingled in the space between them, then Aelin pressed her lips to his. Rowan didn’t hesitate in returning the kiss, slow and deep.

Her mother used to always say Aelin was born with wildfire in her heart. Burning bright and wild, yielding to nothing and no one. Always one to unapologetically blaze her own trail. And oh, how far Aelin has fallen from that little girl once with wildfire. Her heart has been cold and shrouded in darkness for so long, she didn’t remember what it felt like to burn.

Until now. As Rowan breathed flame back into her and it crackled through her blood with every touch and brush of lips. This single kiss fractured her very foundation and reforged her anew. 

A prolonged moan fell from her lips as Rowan’s hands ran down her body then back up her bare thighs, smoothing around to knead and cup her ass. Using the leverage, he ground her thinly cladded core against his straining arousal and devoured the little gasps and whimpers coaxed from her. 

Aelin broke away and pressed open mouthed kisses along his strong jawline as deft fingers worked the front buttons of his dress shirt, only pausing for him to yank hers overhead. The second it was off, her mouth and hands were back on him—touching, licking, tasting. 

Her bra was next to go and Rowan soaked in the sight with pupils blown wide. He almost looked crazed with want, and hell—maybe he was. She surely was. 

The corner of her mouth tugged into a small smirk before tangling her fingers into his hair and guiding him back to her in a messy kiss. Rowan licked into her mouth and greedily swallowed her moan when his fingers slipped beneath the hem of her underwear. And he was so good.

All coherent thoughts fell away. Leaving her with just the feel of him beneath her—of them, moving together.

“Rowan,” she panted, hips rolling against his very skilled fingers. 

Small hands flitted over broad shoulders, across the expanse of firm chest, over thick biceps, into silvery tendrils—unable to decide where to land. Entirely overwhelmed with an incessant need for him—for more. 

Finally her hands landed on his belt buckle, then the button and zipper of his slacks. Shimmying them and his boxers down just enough to free his cock. Her mouth went dry at the sight of him, jutting proud and  head glistening with his desire. The urge to wrap her mouth around him pulsed through her. But first—

Aelin rose on her knees to align herself above him. Rowan’s eyes widened slightly and gripped her hips to keep her from sinking down.

“Aelin… like this?”

His eyes darted over their still half-clothed bodies then back up to her face as if he were asking, Here? She was sure he had a perfectly fine bed somewhere but Aelin swore she was going to die from scorching need if she didn’t have him in the next five seconds.

She didn’t need romantic gestures and soft mattresses. Just to be filled with him, consumed by him.

Aelin nodded emphatically. “Please.” Desperation to feel something—to connect—threatened to swallow her whole.

A look passed through the green depths of his eyes and she knew he understood. Rowan pressed a kiss to her sternum. “Okay, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Tell me how you need it.”

“Hard.”

Mischief glinted in his eyes as he smirked up at her and her stomach flipped. “As you wish.”

Rowan’s mouth crashed against hers in a bruising kiss—demanding, claiming. His thumb hooked and pulled aside the dainty lace that still covered her core, and guided her down onto his cock. 

A throaty whimper fell from her. The way he stretched her open fell just on the side of painful, stealing the breath from her lungs.

“Fuuuck, Aelin,” he groaned. “So fucking tight.”

Before she could fully adjust to his size, Rowan snapped his hips and set into a punishing pace. And she was glad for it—eager to be ruined by him.

Aelin’s head fell back with a cry.

All she could do was hold on, nails digging into beautiful bronze tattooed skin, and lose herself to the burn building within her. Nothing else mattered outside this moment, outside of them and the way he made the flames flicker and dance in her soul.

Rowan wound long gold tresses around a hand and tugged to draw her head back, keeping the hold on her hair taught. Aelin moaned and arched just as he nipped at the exposed skin before licking up the length of her throat.

“Rowan, please,” she begged. Desperate for a release that dangled just out of reach.

Rowan latched on to her pulse point and pressed a thumb to her clit, the added sensations just what she needed to be sent hurtling over the edge with his name singed on her lips.

His breaths turned jagged while he shook with restraint. “Again,” he ground out. Molten pleasure sparked through her core in response to the command. 

Aelin rolled her hips into his, milking the drag of his swollen cock along her oversensitive inner walls. All the while his ministrations didn’t falter, thumb still pressing tight circles against her clit. The the pleasure sharp and bordering too much.

Her nails dug deeper into his heated skin, she wouldn’t be surprised if she drew blood and— 

O-oH, gods!

Rowan grunted as her body began contracting around him again, and a prolonged moan fell from her lips as she drowned once more in a blanketed wave of pleasure. He thrusted one final time before spilling deep into her and joining her in bliss.

Golden waves tumbled down her back as Rowan finally released his hold. He sagged against the sofa cushions, bringing Aelin with him, both of them panting and boneless.

Minutes ticked past, maybe hours. It didn’t really matter as she’d lost all concept of time. Only aware of the warm drag of his fingers up and down her back; of  the soft brush of his lips against her temple. 

Rowan shifted beneath her, slipping out, then effortlessly hauled them both up from the sofa. Aelin’s legs wrapped around him as he carried her deeper into the apartment. 

A mattress gave way at her back as Rowan gently lowered her to the bed. He looked her over for a moment with shining eyes and a soft smile before wordlessly removing her remaining garments, leaving her fully bare before him. 

With eyes glued to her lithe body sprawled out across his bed, Rowan groaned in appreciation while discarding the rest of his own clothes. 

Aelin sucked in a breath. 

He was glorious standing there in the nude—all corded muscle, bronze skin, and tattoos. 

Heat reignited in her core. 

Rowan eased onto the bed and crawled slowly up her body, kissing and nipping along the way. Aelin stretched beneath him and arched into his touch. His hand ran up along her ribcage, thumb brushing the  underside of her breast.

“Gods, Aelin, you’re beautiful.” His reverence washed over her with gentle warmth.

She smiled lazily. “I know.”

Rowan snorted, a broad grin stretching across his handsome face. “There you are,” he murmured. 

Yes, there she was. With the whisper of a flame finally flickering back to life in her heart. 

The smile remained until Rowan leaned down to capture her awaiting lips once more. 

--

Masterlist

[gardenianoire]

alright so my aunt died and now my dad is sad because that was his last living sibling so he against all odds is the oldest living person in his bloodline my sister told me about it and without thinking about it I simply said I'm sorry for your lost she told me to call my dad because he's depressed but I've been debating cutting my parents out of my life for 9 years now and in January I just stopped talking to them and I don't think I'll do that again. as previously stated I don't have any affection for this aunt she like my dad's first wife and always treated me and my sister (my dad's second wife's children) like the social rejects of the family when I was 17 or so I admitted to myself I didn't love any of these people let alone like them. at best I sympathize with some of them because they've been through some shit but they always managed to try to build themselves up by tearing me or my sister down so I'm not callous except I told my cousin I hate her and she deserved the hell she created for herself but I was 17. and right about that. the rest I just stopped talking to them a few of them follow me on ig but my page is public some of them are blocked tho. my aunt's death isn't a celebration or a relief I'm just indifferent it's like hearing a coworker's partner's relative died but the relative like yeah that was a human person but ultimately it was old age/50 year smoking habit it's not tragic unexpected sudden but I think about calling my dad and then I think about the 3 stints in the mental hospital I did for trying to kill myself because he and my mother fucked me up in ways were even to this day I think about killing my at least once a week (down from multiple times a day so progress I guess <3) why should I comfort them also my sister does my dad's mychart and his doctor tod him something is erong with his heart valve or something and depression from losing a family member forced into retirement (he had two strokes) depression from a child refusing to speak to you not changing your diet/exercise after a stroke means he hasn't got a lot of time left but then I remember when he punched me in the face so hard it swelled up my lip an a social worker told me I'll be graduating and going off to college soon so suck it up I guess (paraphrase but so many of them do not care at all) so why the goddamn hell should I care but I still sleep with the teddy bear he gave me 25 years ago and suppose I always will what will his death mean to me will I be indifferent will I go to work like nothing happened it'll destory my sister who desperately wants a relationship with them both but calls me confessing that she knows deep that won't happen I trauma dumped about being worried that social services won't care about the possible criminally neglected children in my class during professional development and ended up telling the whole spiel about my deal with physical and emotional abuse and the indifferent from almost every adult in my life if no one cared that I had my life threatened and was beaten no one but me is going to care that one of the girls seems to be scared of her father (never happy to see him, doesn't go to him unless walked over to him, hides from him sometimes...) did my teachers care and they knew no one else would do anything does anyone care should I kill myself now I bet it would hurt him the most if I did it now I won't but I know it would hurt if I did and it might be the last chance I get but it would hurt my sister in a way she doesn't deserve and who would be there to say no you're not crazy I was there when he pushed you into the painting and broke the glass and you fell down the stairs I didn't know falls down the stairs could be deadly at the time I told myself it was normal I told myself it was normal when our mom said committing suicide is selfish when you told her you wanted die I think you were 12 and I had to help you untie the phone cord you wrapped around your neck I don't allow myself to think about it often and I'll never bring it up it feels like I'm not supposed to

[ominaterthegreat]

My sister, who spent four years at Mailchimp, just got laid off yesterday. She called me sobbing to let me know she got the email. No amount of a fat severance package can fix the damage to her psyche this job did imo. Her birthday is coming up soon. So i made her this cake.

(i only decorate a cake like once every few years lol don't come for me)

She started in customer support, and sure enough was skilled and talented enough in apprenticeships with a higher up team in a different department that she was happily brought onto the team.

She ran events, improved entire workflows that saved the company thousands of dollars, delivered tasks on time and of high quality, and was highly praised by leaders of other teams and from those above her boss. She kicked ass and took names.

On that team, she spent two years experiencing bullying and discrimination for having ADHD. Yes, arguably the most common ND condition out there just about. She had to take 2 months off for mental health leave to get her ADHD diagnosis to defend herself from all the corporate bullying. She documented her boss literally making things up and her coworker refusing to communicate with her and then blaming her for things not being done how she wanted. They actively ignored all the times she went above and beyond expectations and all the times she did receive praise from other teams. I watched two corporate goons crush the confidence my sister had finally closed together for herself.

The CEO of Intuit called her and 1800 other employees that were laid off "low performers" in a public statement. A convenient 10% of Mailchimp was completely laid off. We knew this was coming because over the past year or so, Intuit has been forcing managers to label a specific percentage of people as "Does Not Meet Expectations" on year end reviews to justify letting people go, no matter how much they actually did meet expectations.

I look in the Intuit Mailchimp tags and only see one post about them Union busting. The only posts are just geared towards companies comparing and contrasting products and marketing strategies. Reddit isn't much better because the only sub on there is the official one modded by MC themselves. This isn't the biggest fire rn by any means but it's once again proof that the people behind these corporations are as soulless and evil as the corporations themselves. No matter how much good you do they will never appreciate you.

I hope the company eats shit and dies. Intuit is ruining everything people liked about MC, from the product to the culture. Fuck you.

[redwolfxx]

Memories pt 2.

previous

James Lee/DG x reader

A/N: I wasn't gonna do a part 2, but because it was requested, I figured why not? There are also 2 different endings.

---------------------------------------------------------------

"Diego"

An interesting name, definitely not a common one in South Korea. The only Diego you knew was Diego, Dora's cousin. Laughing at the thought, you figured it was a wrong number and replied with:

"Sorry you have the wrong number."

Then turned off your phone for the night.

----

It was early when you heard the ding coming from your phone. Glancing over you see that it was just your coworker asking if you could cover her early shift.

Groaning, you text back a "No," before rolling back over.

Not long after you hear your ringtone, annoyed and slightly pissed you grab the phone and answer the call,

"Yuna, I keep telling you that I am not going to be covering your shift. I work closing, and I refuse to be there to open for your shift. Unless you have an amazing reason I-"

"Sorry, this isn't Yuna, but she definitely sounds annoying."

Shocked, you check the name and to your surprise it was the mystery Diego.

"Oh, so sorry, I thought you were my coworker. Sorry, who is this?"

"Diego"

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Annoyed you huff and sit up in bed wondering if this was an old classmate or someone you met a while ago.

"Yeah, I called to apologize."

"Sorry I still have no idea who this is."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I shouldn't have left the way I did. Fuck that was dumb, I wish I never left. Ever since I did I imagined you in my arms every night, waiting by the door. I missed your scent, I missed the way you always spoke your mind. Your smile, your hair, and your passion for (insert your guilty pleasure food). I should've gone back. If I could go back I woul-"

"Stop."

Shaking you mute your side of the call. It couldn't be, he left. He left and everyone said he was dead. You mourned the loss, you fell into a depression, you and the entire city of Seoul thought he was dead. How could he be alive?

He is alive? He is ...alive? And he didn't say goodbye. He left. He left you, he left you all alone. This had better be some kind of sick prank because if this truly was your James... why would he have left.  

"Is this a prank?"

"Never. (Y/n) I love you, I always have and always will. Please let me explain, let me make up for all the lost time. I never want to lose you again. Please let me back in, I have so much more love to give you, so much mo-"

----------- (2 options) --------------------------/-

------------------  Ending 1: The OG ----------------

"No. No. You will not come crawling back after you left me. You left me without a goodbye, not even a fucking note. I thought you died, we all did. We held a fucking memorial, we mourned you- I mourned you. How dare you crawl back, how dare you think I'll take you in.

James, it's been ten years. I can't believe you. Why the hell would you change your name? Did you actually because that is a dumb as you leaving the way you did. I wish you had stayed dead to my mind, I'd at least get closure. I would be able to still hold you in regard, but now? Now, you are a piece of shit who deserves nothing but pain because you clearly think after breaking my heart you can come crawling back like nothing happened.

You destroyed my world, after promising me you would never leave. You promised I wasn't a week long fling to get bored of, but you left like I was a one night stand whose name was nothing more than another word. You left me with scars that would never heal. I'm lucky I had support, I had friends and family, I had people to keep me from drowning. I was holding onto the debris of the wrecked ship of our love, and you took the lifeboat and left me to drown.

How. Dare. You."

Anger coursed through your veins, tears ran down your cheeks and your hands gripped the blanket with white knuckles.

There was a long pause, the only sound was the breathing from his end.

"I'm sorry, it was a mistake. I never meant to hurt you. Please let me make it up I-"

"James. It's been ten years. I wasn't going to wait for a ghost who I thought was dead. I found someone who actually would never leave me. They helped pick up the pieces you shattered, they were there when you weren't. I have a (s/o title here of your choosing), I can't just stop my life for yours. James, I cared for you and you threw me away like a used cigarette. Used, broken, and discarded. If you cared you would have stayed, you would have gave me some message that you were okay. But you didn't."

"(Y/n) please."

"James- No Diego is it? Don't call again. You left my life once, you can leave again. Don't try to contact me again."

Silently you end the call.

7:20AM. You still half the day before work. Silently you returned under the covers. Crying softly you held the blanket taught. Thinking of all the things you used to do with him, the tears increased.

A soft knocking on the door followed by soft footsteps caused you to look up. Gently they took your face in their hands, wiping your tears.

"Is everything okay? I just got back from my late shift? Wanna talk?"

Silently shaking your head no, your (s/o) climbs into bed behind you gently holding you as you cried yourself to sleep in the comfort of their arms.

After that, you wouldn't hear from him, you wouldn't see him. He left, just like you told him to.

But, he would never truly leave, he would always be there, quietly stalking through the shadows, scaring off thugs and keeping you safe. He would wait, he would wait for you to hear him out. He loved you too much to let you go like that. He wasn't ready to.

-------------- Ending 2: for all of you suckers------- 2.

"I've missed you." You softly whisper into the phone.

"(Y/n)" he softly replies "Please let me have another chance."

"We're strangers James- Diego. You don't even have the same name anymore. It's been ten years. I'm not the same person I was. I've changed, I've loved and I've lived. It's been ten years."

"I know. I know. We can get to know each other again, we can go on dates, we can start fresh. I'll tell you everything, I won't leave-"

"How can I trust that? You left once, you'll leave again."

"Not this time. This time, the story ends with you and me. We'll live together with our shiny new rings. We'll have kids - only if you want. We'll get those ten cats you always talked about. You can have whatever you want. I'll do whatever it takes to gain your trust. As long as your eyes are on me and you let me stay by your side I don't care."

"James. Can I call you that?"

"You can call me whatever you want."

"Friday at 7. I want to try that new restaurant that opened up. I'll text my address."

"Thank you, thank you. You won't regret it I-"

"Stop. This is just to see how much you've changed. This is not a guarantee."

"Thank you."

[gingersp1ce547]

Thiago was not expecting to be dad. Not now, nor anytime in the future. He knew how he was, and the life he led. Neither of which were suited for parenthood even though since his own father passed the idea of what kind of one he would be refused to leave his head.

Would he be able to give them half as good as a childhood as the one his father gave him? Would he leave them grieving and wondering how much of their father they knew like he did?

Should someone that shot a 15 year old in the foot be trusted with a child at all?

In the end these questions didn’t matter. Because he had a kid now and she was a sentient egg.

Fortunately, his work on the island was much less dangerous than it was back in brazil. So he could bring hope with him on his daily rounds. She seemed to like it a lot, which was a good thing because he wasn’t sure what he would do with her if she didnt other than leave her in the house with cesar but she spent more than enough time with the hacker already.

Before they had learned what liz had been up to and saved hope, thiago had been spending a lot of time with one badboyhalo. After he had saved dapper bad insisted on giving him a gift, which ended up being a whole thing of enchanted gear. He took some of it but he kept a couple pieces of his old set that liz and cesar had enchanted on, and the rest in an unsorted chest somewhere in his room like everything else he couldn’t get rid of.

He kept hanging around bad after that. Mostly because he was a real good source of information on pretty much everything happening on the island, but also because something he said to Thiago once wouldn’t seem to leave his mind.

Bad was asking about what thiago did before the island, around a month into their stay here they decided it would be ok to tell people the truth as long as they didn’t go into too much detail, so he did. Only for bad to reply “why would somebody marked by death want to fight her creatures?”

“What?”

Bad tiled his head like some kind of owl. His pure white eyes staring through thiago from under his hood. “Or at least i think it’s death. Maybe not our goddess but something similar.”

He looked thiago up and down once more. “Do you not feel it?”

The urge to throw off his hoodie and run to the nearest mirror to double check that the symbol of that fucking place was still gone was tempting. But thiago knew he didnt need it. He knew what it was like for his hand to not be his hand and this wasn’t it.

He shook his head, forcing his tongue to move from where it had glued itself to the top of his mouth, “No.”

Bad made a noise of curiosity in response but moved on. Thiago wasn’t sure if it was out of noticing his discomfort or something else entirely but he thanked the change of pace.

Unfortunately, the fact that he even got that bit of information in the first place meant he needed to go back and continue to prod for more

So far hed gotten out of bad that only the rest of team was “marked” like this. Some clearly were by an entity like thiago, cesar and arthur (bad upset about blood), but with joui and liz it was unclear. Same went for the mark itself, which bad described as almost being fuzzy. Like fog was obscuring his vision of it.

He was pretty sure that this was all bad knew, but bad was bad and liked to be a tricky little shit. One of his coworkers once wrote an article just for fun about creatures from folklore across the world. He was bored on his break and read it which was a good thing because he was not unconvinced that bad wasnt some sort of Irish fae creature. It definitely wouldn’t be the strangest thing a person was on the island (that was etoiles).

Even if bad didnt know anything else about their team, he definitely knew a lot about what happened on island, Especially when it came to politics, or as liz liked to call it, a telenovela pretending to be politics. Which was a blessing in disguise as it made writing about it much less boring on thiago’s part.

Hope was with him today since her quests had already been completed for the week. They bounced across the map as he handed out the latest information about the islands happenings as well as gathered it.

Cellbit and roier were off being sickeningly romantic somewhere and hope asked very politely if she could go say hi to him. Not that thiago would ever say to no to something asked as sweetly as that, he told her yes since Cellbit was technically also her dad even if it was only like 5% since he helped in the investigation to find her.

They then headed to pierre’s to restock on some potions, only to find him and maximus… maybe arguing? Thiago wasnt really sure but it could have also been flirting, or manipulation. It could go many many different ways with those two and honestly even though it was his job to know, thiago didnt wanna know. Neither did he want hope to have to witness it. So he quickly sweeped her up into his arms and turned back around to the teleporter.

She gave him a look of silent curiosity but didn’t ask. He was thankful for it today as opposed to usual worriedness. She had been alone in one spot for so long, and had so much curiosity about the world. Thaigo (and the rest for the team) wanted her to be cautious of the what she was getting into yes, but he also wanted her to feel safe enough to be able to run up to a flower she liked without asking if it was ok first.

Deciding to foster her curiosity at the cost of having to try and find a child friendly way to explain whatever the fuck pierre and max had going on, he told her that they were having a private conversation that he didnt want to interrupt. Hope, who knew all about private conversations because of her secretive ass parents, nodded seriously at this and thaigo took a mental note to explain to her at some point that not all private conversations were matters of life and death.

Next they headed to bad’s, who thaigo knew had a good stock of potions he wouldn’t mind missing if it meant keeping an egg safe. He wasnt there and a look at the map told him he was off on some adventure with dapper most likely in search of creature that the kid wanted to tame.

There was a couple other people awake but he really didnt feel like crossing thousands of blocks to go and find them, so instead the two wandered about spawn. Hope taking the lead and investigating the different buildings up close. She already knew at this point that her pais and mae where not the people to ask about how crafting materials worked and seemed happy just to silently investigate.

In the past he would have expected it to be a good break from taking care of a kid, a time to collect his thoughts. Instead he just watched her and his heart felt warm. No thoughts of the what he was gonna write about next, or how everyone back in brazil was doing drifted through his head. All he could focus on was the way hope would walk up to block, completely transfixed by it, bend down to get a look at it better, maybe tilt her head or touch it lightly before moving on to the next one.

Or at least it was all he could focus on till a sound caught his attention. Mentally, he praised the fact that his still functioning ear worked perfectly if not better than that before turning to look in the direction of the sound. In it’s place he saw “charlie” slimecicle teleporting off somewhere.

This was odd for a couple of reasons. The first being that slime did not wake up often. The second was that when he did he usually hanged around big groups of people and the third was that thiago wasnt sure where he got enough exp to teleport in the first place.

Ok, maybe that last one was a stretch but still. Call it investogators intuition or whatever you want but there was something odd happening here and thaigo wanted to know what.

A light tug on his pants brought him out of his head. He read hope’s sign pai, who was that?

“He’s another islander my dear” he replied

She broke the sign before placing down another, Where is he going?

“Most likely home”

Hope stared at him. It was a stare she most definitely learned from cesar and liz because it screamed bullshit

“He really could be going home,” hope’s stare persisted in intensity “buuuuuuuuut your instinct is right. Theres something fishy about this. I feel it too”

Are you gonna go check? she didnt have to write the and can i come for thiago to know she was thinking it.

“Yep. Do you wanna go teleport to pai cellbits and go hang out with him and tio roier while i do?”

I can go there if you want.

He frowned. A sentence like that was the hope equivalent of saying no. She was just too afraid to say that was what she actually wanted.

Still. There was a possibility, however slim, that whatever awaited them on the other side of that waystone was dangerous. If something ever happened to her and thiago knew he could have prevented it he wasnt sure what he would do with himself outside of that it wasn’t good.

He had a enough innocent peoples blood on his hands already, but to have a child’s?

You don’t know if there were any children in the holy cradle, a voice whispered. It swirled around his ears and even though the non-functioning one was well non-functioning, he swore he could almost hear in it and yet you burned them all the same.

Now wasn’t the time for thoughts like this. Hope was still waiting for a reply and who knew what slime was doing.

“You can come with if you promise you’ll teleport away when i tell you too”

Hope beamed up at him nodding vigorously before placing a sign down quickly writing I promise! And then beginning to run over to the waystone excitedly.

“Woah woah woah slow down my dear!” He called out after her. Once he caught up he added “let me go first and hold my hand the whole time.”

Trying to contain her excitement hope gave one strong nod. It seemed to be an attempt at showing she was serious.

Smiling at this and taking her hand into his, thiago and hope teleported to charlie’s base

There wasn’t much there outside of a small shack which thiago assumed was Charlie’s house. The two investigating the outside area a bit before thiago used his still functioning ear to listen to the door. After hearing nothing inside, the two carefully proceeded to enter the building with thiago leading the way.

He didnt notice anything odd at first glance until hope gently tugged his hand in the direction of something, a small opening made of dirt.

Traveling into it, they found a large cavern filled with various plants and some sort of train system. Ignoring it, thiago and hope stealthily made their way down till they could see charlie standing in front of what seemed to be. a house. Only, he wasn’t alone.

There was an egg with him. One that thiago hadn’t seen before.

Grabbing a sign of hopes he had stored away he wrote out do you know them? Before breaking it and passing the back sign to hope.

No, Was the response he got. So not another test subject egg, which meant considering how Charlie was treating this egg (with warmth and excitement), they were most likely Charlie’s egg.

Only issue was that Charlie’s egg, juanaflippa if thiago remembered right, had died months ago.

“Stay right here,” thiago whispered to hope before giving a light kiss to her head and letting go of her hand. “I’ll be right back.”

Hope nodded and stayed in her spot as thiago got closer and focused his eyes on the outline of this egg. It was times like this that he missed the range of his gun but sword and shield would have to do.

The dead don’t come back. Thiago had known this as fact since the day he learned about the “airplane crash.” But it wasn’t till he joined the order that he learned the second half of the statement.

The dead don’t come back, so when they do. It’s not them anymore. Whether that meant they were a hallucination or a creature, thiago wasn’t sure. What he was sure of was the fact that he wouldn’t let slime be killed by whatever was pretending to wear his child’s face.

Thiago jumped down ready to strike but just as he did, the egg ran back into the house with Charlie sprinting after them, leaving thiago’s sword stuck in the ground. Cursing, he ran after them, only to see the egg disappear into specks of code as Charlie cried out for it.

Code meant code monsters. Thiago was not prepared for code monsters, he was prepared for paranormal bullshit even though none had ever appeared on this island before.

Regardless, he needed to write all of this down while it was still fresh on his mind. It didn’t matter if this wasn’t paranormal, it was still dangerous even if that danger had momentarily passed.

So, thiago turned and quietly walked out the house, back to hope and then the two teleported back home.

Pai, hope wrote upon arriving what was that?

Thiago bite his lip. God what he wouldn’t give for a cigarette right now.

“We’ll figure it out.” He crouched down to her level “So for now let’s not worry about it. Okay my dear?”

Worry crossed over hope’s face for a split second, and it landed sharp like a stab in thiago’s chest.

“This scar?” Arnaldo said pointing at a long scar that wrapped around his upper arm. Usually it was hidden by long sleeve shirts but he had rolled those up to be able to kneed the dough of the bread he was making, “It’s just from a stunt that i messed up once. Nothing to worry about my dear”

Thiago took a deep breath in. No nicotine hit his lungs but the oxygen worked just fine. “How about this? I’ll let you know everything new i learn about this case. After all i need an expert on eggs, and who’s a better expert than the best egg on the island?”

Hope looked down at her feet bashfully, but with a glow of praise, “you promise?”

Extending out his pinky finger, thiago smiled gently, “of course my dear.”

Hope wrapped her own around it, and the promise was sealed.

[sergeantnarwhalwrites]

The Worker and The Protestor

I finally finished my notebook *victory screech*. This is what ended off my notebook. I see this being revamped a bit to fit in with my actual Robots & Gardens not just a side off thing. Here we get a dive on Digits' work life and her little crush on Peace. I have so much shit to do XD But I have chosen instead to drink and type this out then get back to work. Me and this Jeager got me through this so I apologize for fuck ups now.

Tag list: @outpost51 @nanashi23 @winterandwords @jezifster @kk7-rbs @aether-wasteland-s @dumbthunder @manathen @the-void-writes @liv-is (Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist!) 

Digits grumbled beneath her breath. Lumber over either shoulder that should have been loaded onto one of the transport machines. Shitty little bots that had a variety of bed sizes. Most of the workers just referred to them as “luggers”. They were kinda like trucks with brains but way harder to love. At least you could camp out in a truck bed. These little fucks would toss you into the nearest pit, thinking you were just the next load of building material. 

Just as their name foretold. The damn thing busted. Go fucking figure. Some dumbass probably loading too much on a lugger with too small of a bed size. 

“Do you even think they tried to get decent ones? Swear this is the fifth lugger to bust this week. They don’t even get a pair at a time no more.” Brian, her roommate and favorite coworker said. 

Both grimaced at the lumber added to their stacks. The weight making their feet sink lower into the padding of their shoes. Arguably neither of them had much of that to begin with. Digits’ voice deepened, wavering as she took a step forward. Refusing for any more weight to be added to her bad shoulders. Still aching from a seize up in her arms that had happened a few days prior. 

“Only the best for our bitch ass employees.” Digits mocked, pursing her lips and sounding off with a kiss far more enthusiastic than she felt. 

Brian’s laughs left in huffs. Carrying his own load over broad shoulders. Uncovered at that, and yes everyone thought he was a weirdo for it. 

“Better be cautious.” 

Digits scoffed, “Or what they’ll find a way to fuck me up worse?”

“I guess. Carrying around all this isn’t gonna bust some hydraulics or something right?” Brian gave her that concerned look. 

That one that was hilarious when he had his bright green emotional support vape hanging from his mouth. Fruity clouds slowly seep from the cracks in his mouth. Slow, unmotivated puffs from his nose too. Headache-inducing, Fruit Loop scented, probably flavored too, clouds forming a field of fumes. It was amazing the man’s eyes never teared up from it. Instead, they drooped to focus intently on Digits. Urgently drifting back to the game. 

Arguably Digits still found his concern in her right now hilarious. 

“I don’t even know if my prosthetics have hydraulics,” Digits said.

“Haven’t you busted them like a dozen times?” 

“Doesn’t mean I know what’s inside of them.” 

“I really think that’s part of the problem.” 

“You’re really siding with the shit prosthetics. That are probably cooking some nerves in my arms?” 

With a quiet arrangement of grunts, she lowered herself to her knee. Muscles flexing beneath her clothing. She slowly leaned aside sliding the stacks into one of the feeders for bulk cuts. She rolled her eyes. Cursing when a stack had briefly tugged her by her high-vis vest. Brian forced the lumber into a tarped bed that would have been attached to a lugger. 

“We can’t afford to get them fixed if you bust them Digits,” Brian said breathless. 

“We can’t afford. It’s that simple.” Digits stated forcing her way free. 

Digits flexed her fingers individually, forcibly straightening out one. She rolled up the sleeves of her hoodie tugging the work issued phone from her back pocket. Arms burning from the strain. Artificial skin unhappily passing over the cracked screen. 

She tapped around blankly, eyes scanning the plans for the build and the objectives for the day. Eyes darting back to the time. 

“Looks like we need to have the general framework up. Can’t tell if they want a factory or a home though.” Digits joked a bit. 

“So we’ve been carting stuff around without any bot help for a fucking private home?” Brian silently fumed. 

“An estate,” Digits corrected holding back a laugh at the look on Brain’s face. 

He pulled down a pair of safety glasses, running his finger along the top of the lens. A yellow light flickering on in the corner, indicating he was viewing the plans. His fingers tapped absentmindedly at his tool belt. His high-vis vest hung limply from his back pocket. Brian grunted to himself. His eyes darting behind the glasses as he looked at the same schematics Digits was looking at. 

Charging feet of other construction members rushed past them. Some hoisting lumber. Some bullying the growing collection of busted machinery. 

“I’d start prepping the cuts but I think the gaggle needs some help.” 

“You can always set the cuts for the bulk sets. Hold out though.” Digits lifted her head suddenly far more interested in her surroundings, “The protestors will be around soon.” 

“Makes sense why those goofs are running then. Trying to look busy on the cameras.” Brian sounded like he was almost scolding them but he did linger around the cutter longer than usual.

Digits laughed softly. She unbuckled her vest, rolling her sleeves back down. 

“Yeah, and I’m gonna go see if the lasers on the cutters are actually working.” 

Brian laughed, “Uh huh. Might as well check if the machine is working.” 

“That’ll take up so much time,” Digits grinned enjoying their banter. 

“Enough time to have a personal moment with the red-headed deviant?” 

“No such thing as enough time for that.” Digits crossed her arms, face going redder than it currently was from the labor. 

The redheaded protestor had approached the grounds. Most of the workers slowing to look over in her direction. A dozen or so of her followers having filtered through to block cameras with signs. Probably advising against this land usage or maybe the waste of money this was. Digits wasn’t really sure. She hadn’t wanted to ruin the mood by asking. 

The redhead had paint staining her jersey and hands. Meaning she had probably made those signs. And had probably caused some other destruction on the way. 

Digits wondered if she should hate the protestors. Sometimes they did make their lives harder. But even Digits realized it was the company that forced them to deal with it at the end of the day. So the workers can only be mad at the people who hired them. Since the company they worked for had loved to totter the line of giving enough fucks for their workers. It was nice to have the company leads mad at additional people. Almost healing. 

The redhead's eyes found Digits. Digits grinned at the silent recognition, her eyes already on the protestor. Peace walked over to the woman, tapping Digits with her foot. The battered shoe knocked dirt off of Digits’ jeans. 

“Cameras aren’t watching. Think you’ve worked hard enough?” Peace asked leaning down some in attempts to minimize the distance between them. 

“Hey, Peace,” Digits grinned shoving her hands in her hoodie pockets, “Definitely.” 

Peace and Digits wandered off to a spray painted curb nearby. Digits sat first sighing content, even though she was resting weary muscles on cement. Peace followed shortly after sitting beside her. She placed both of her arms behind her, stretching her legs out.

“Anything special you want to talk about?” Peace asked curiously, tilting her head in Digits’ direction. 

Digits tugged at her fingers inside of her hoodie pocket. Not knowing if there was something big to mention. They had been getting closer as of late. But she refused to give too much away too soon. Arguably it might be too late for that anyway. 

Her eyes focused on Peace’s face. Glistening from the sweat, sun seeming to hit her skin just right. She noticed that she could spot Peace’s freckles more easily than usual. She blinked softly seeing the shimmer. 

“Not really. Thanks for the paid break though.” Digits laughed trying and failing to get herself to look anywhere else. 

“I’d do it for you anytime. It’s kinda fun pissing off the people that put money into being in charge of y’all.” Peace responded, flashing teeth as she grinned. 

Digits skinned flushed. She tapped her fingers anxiously on the curb now. Gawking at the beauty beside her. It felt nice not being surrounded by her coworkers all day. Even if her heartbeat was pounding at her temples. 

“Appreciated.” Digits spoke, struggling to keep her voice level, proceeding to ask, “Is that makeup?” 

Peace beamed now. All teeth, all excitement. She grabbed Digits’ hand dusting it off on the knee of her far less dirty pants. Fully unaware of the widening of Digits’ eyes. Peace guided her hand to her cheek. 

“Touch. It doesn’t even smear.” Peace’s joy radiated like the sun on them right now, damn there killer, “Green got it for me.” 

Digits tried to speak. Her words nothing more than off pitch babbles. Glad that nodding starstruck was taken as an acceptable answer. Sweat sliding down her forehead and almost into her eye as she tried to memorize the feeling of Peace’s skin. Face reddening as she trailed her hand along Peace’s jaw. Wishing the protestor would just kiss her hand. 

Peace quickly tapped the edge of her forehead to Digits’s. 

“See told you. Doesn’t even smear.” 

Peace grabbed Digits’s hand, holding it out. Her hand remained as unremarkable as before. But her busted hands got to touch the woman of dreams. 

Digits sighed, damn there dreamily, smiling with a little more teeth than usual “Yeah. She got you good shit.”