#nothing screams This Is An Environment like sticky notes everywhere

[zertzertzhang]

Stand and Deliver: My Life Turned Upside Down CH.2

A/N: This is my first time writing on Tumblr, so please bear with me! I am usually active on FFNet and AO3, but since this fandom is basically nonexistent except for here, I thought maybe I could post my works for this movie here. The story is a fanfic based on the 1988 movie ‘Stand and Deliver’ starring Edward James Olmos, and taking a deeper look into the lives of the impoverished students in East LA.

Eventual Angel/OC, and warnings of racial slurs with some physical violence.

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First chapter link here > https://zertzertzhang.tumblr.com/post/627185848305270784/stand-and-deliver-my-life-turned-upside-down

Chapter Two: Circus

The second Vianne stepped out of the car, she realized her mistake. The school wasn’t what she expected at all. Garfield High broke the scale...in a bad way. Chipped walls decorated the main hall, flooded with overflowing trash bins and rusty pipelines. It had to have been decades since the last renovation, with the building looking like something she saw from abandoned prefectures. 

Like all other complexes she’d seen around there, the place was standing on its last two feet. This was supposed to be the best building around. 

Her white Giuseppe sneakers stepped on something sticky, and it was a challenge to hold in a disgusted snort. There was dried gum everywhere on the sidewalk, making Vianne wonder why they even bothered with trash cans in the first place. She winced when it was clear that her shoes would be torn to shreds by the end of the day.

Then came the worst part of her arrival; people stared. And it wasn’t some half-assed look you gave to a passersby on the streets. Students were either throwing her a look-over or straight on gaping. It could’ve been the way she was dressed, or the fact that she was probably the only Asian mingling in the midst of Latinos and very few Caucasians. Most likely both.

Ironed blouses and slim denim were not in fashion around here. Among the rest of the population with oversized shirts and baggy mom jeans, Vianne was the runt of the litter. She wanted to jump back into the car, go home, and put on an invisibility coat. The dirty look she saw from some of the girls did nothing to calm the queasy storm in her stomach.

“-That fresh meat?”

“It’s a fuckin’ chink. What’re they doin’ here?”

“Heh, looks like a lost puppy.”

The boys were doing a terrible job at whispering. Vianne wasn’t sure if it was an attempt at passive aggression or just plain stupidity. She glared in their direction, lips pulled into a slight frown as she entered the building. A cold sweat broke through her back, stretching its spindly fingers around her body in a tight cocoon. 

Ignore them and get on with it.

Her mind screamed at her to keep walking, and she obliged. Repeating the mental mantra, Vianne soon found her way into the main office with her slip in hand. A handful of police officers crowded in one tiny space, speaking in rapid Spanish. Order did not exist in this school; the secretary was talking to five people at once, without the time to think about the things she said. Voices filled with agitation hung in the air. 

Vianne was this close to thinking she had entered the wrong room when a small figure spotted her from behind.

“Miss? Can I help you?” A small tap on her shoulders sent her whirling around in alarm. Her little outburst startled the short woman behind her as well. When Vienne finally registered the lack of threat in front of her, her cheeks flushed bright red.

“Sorry! I’m looking for Racquel Ortega. It’s my first day and I was told to come here to get my finalized schedule.” The young woman spoke so fast she swore her lips would fall off. 

The curly-haired woman in the maxi dress looked surprised. “Ah, that would be me. Are you Vianne Yang.”

Vianne nodded. “I was supposed to meet my TA instructor for math. It’s my first period.”

Ortega smiled warmly. “Yes. Welcome to Garfield High. Please follow me.” She held out a hand, and Vianne shook them without hesitation. 

The duo weaved back and forth in the crowds, desperate to dodge the flying paper balls. Ortega would yell once in a while at a group of boys before pointing to the office behind her. The way her docile demeanor went from zero to a hundred freaked the young woman a bit. But Vianne couldn’t blame her. Had she been in her shoes, she would’ve quit before she even started.

As it turned out, her instructor was a retired engineer. Of all places, Vianne didn’t expect that to come from a high school teacher, particularly in this neighborhood. Ortega did an excellent job at filling in the details. It would seem that Jaime Escalante needed a breath of fresh air from the corporate environment. 

Vianne almost felt sorry for him. There was no relaxation here; she’d be surprised if the teachers weren’t dropping dead from exhaustion because of the students. Garfield, from what she’d seen so far, could drive a devout nun to insanity. 

The increasing voices of everyone around spiked her anxiety to new levels. She was doing her utmost best to not break down and cling onto the older woman for dear life. The mass of bodies was like an unforgiving current, threatening to wash her away if she slipped up.

They reached a door with the sign ‘Math 1A’ scribbled on the whiteboard next to it. Someone had decided that a drawing of a dick was appropriate to be placed right under the description. The person even added a smiley face onto the artwork, showcasing their enthusiasm. Real classy. 

“Racquel please come to the front desk. Racquel please come to the front desk.” Ortega’s walkie-talkie crinkled pitifully, before choking out a command. The math advisor sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She nudged Vianne closer to the door. 

“Here’s the classroom. Mr. Escalante should be there already. Good luck with your school year.” A tight smile appeared on Ortega’s face, and within seconds, she was making a mad dash back to the main hall. All alone, Vianne was left standing there feeling like a complete fool. She blinked at where Ortega was previously, and the sense of dread overwhelmed her. On cue, the bell rang its warning. Everyone groaned in unison like a chorus before the wave of students began flowing into the classrooms. 

Lucky for her, she had no need to run to class. Grabbing the nob with renewed strength, Vianne pulled herself into the room. There was one person at the front desk; a middle-aged man nearing his sixties stood near the chalkboard, hand moving furiously as he wrote down an equation. She prayed that this was going to be the right person.

“Mr. Escalante?” Vianne cringed at her pronunciation of his name. She herself knew what it was like when people screwed up hers in the past. But this man had an entirely different level of difficulty. Ortega’s way of saying it felt so natural compared to hers, which sounded like an insecure toddler butchering their first word.

The man turned his head to face Vianne, eyes widening a fraction. His oversized glasses gave him a sage-like appearance despite the head, or half-head, of dark hair. The bald spot in addition to his very casual attire made her think of a grandpa who was likely to yell at the kids across the lawn. 

At the sight of her dumbstruck state, he quirked his lips. “Yes, how may I help you?”

The slight South American accent trailed after his speech, giving away his ethnicity. Vianne felt her mouth open and close, but the nervousness took the words from her mouth. She stuck out her hand that held the transfer letter. Escalante better have known about this, or she’ll flip a lid.

“I’m Vianne,” she explained. “Your TA. I think Mrs. Ortega already told you about me?”

Escalante’s brows rose to new heights, his amused smile broadening. “Yes! Miss Yang, is it? Welcome to my class!” The elongated hiss in his way of speech, coupled with the wild gesture of his arms painted the picture of a mad scientist in her head. It was nearly endearing.

“I’m afraid there’s not enough chairs for an extra student,” Escalante said. “Please stand here and wait for everyone to arrive so I can take a headcount for the others.”

Vianne obeyed without a word and flattened herself against the wall next to him. In response, the door was barged open, and the group of students flooded the room like a swarm of wasps entering their hive. Restless chatter buzzed her ears as she took note of everyone that rounded the class. It was hard to catch what most of them were saying; Spanish wasn’t the language requirement she took back in Napa.

Knowing French wasn’t the best course to help her in this situation. And even then, she only took it up to level two. The people before her all wore the same dazed expression, jeering in loud volumes and hooting on the sides.

Someone shot a rubber band across the room, hitting one of the boys square in the face. Angry shouts erupted from both sides as the rest of them began to laugh at the brawling duo. More paper balls were thrown, and Vianne could hear some of them yelling ‘bitch’ to one another.

It was a fucking joke. The whole class was a joke––scratch that––the whole school was a joke. And Vianne was the poor audience that bought the overpriced ticket to the hellhole circus. There was not a word that could describe the boiling feeling in her gut. She couldn’t believe it; this was the place she had to deal with for another year. 

There was no way the teachers here could’ve survived each day without going into a catatonic state before school ended. Vianne drummed her fingers against her books without mercy. A panic attack was just inches away from happening if the class refused to settle down. And from the look on Escalante’s face, it would appear that they shared the same sentiment.

A scowl donned his face, creasing the heavy lines on his forehead. If it weren’t for Vianne’s distracted state, she would’ve been frightened by those narrowed eyes. 

“Come now!” Escalante’s voice boomed throughout the small room. “You don’t want no mama’s chancla when you get home, no? I’d love to see you fight with your parents around.”

The overt threat was not lost among the students, with some of them slinking away in defeat. Others ‘booed’ at the command, but made no extra attempts to disrupt the already late start of the lecture. It took about five minutes to get their total attention to the board, and that alone fried Vianne’s brain.

“Orale!” Escalante’s mood quickly brightened at the cooperating mass, his smile twinkling with interest. “Allow me to introduce my new TA. She will be your lovely assistant for the rest of the school year. Any extra questions, she will answer for you.”

His hands gestured to her like a magician preparing his new subject for a spin. But only in this state, nothing was magical. It became clear that Escalante was waiting for her to present herself; the man eyed her expectantly, his grin not budging an inch. 

Vianne felt her cheeks flush so hot that it put the musty LA weather to shame. Clearing her throat, she stepped forward. “Hi, uh, I’m Vianne. It’s a pleasure to meet you all...uh, hope I could be of some help.”

An urge to facepalm was strong. Had her grades been irrelevant to her stay in Math 1A, she would’ve made a beeline for the door. The reception after her introduction was a nightmare, because everyone began jabbering all at once.

“The fuck?!” A young man with a messy afro glared at her. His buddies around him sniggered in agreement.

In the front, a chubby male with curly hair snorted. “Booooring!” His female friends rolled their eyes and swatted him on the shoulders. But their giggles weren’t held in for long.

Vianne wanted to find the nearest cliff and throw herself from it. If she converted to Buddihsm now, maybe she’ll even have a decent shot at getting a nice reincarnation.

“First you, now the chink?! This is messed up man!” A few more hostile tones rose from the back. 

Her eyes flared. Vianne changed her mind; she didn’t want to throw herself off a cliff anymore, she wanted to throw them. Her body trembled with brewing rage under her skin. The nerve of the scoundrels! As if she wanted to be here! If it were up to her, she wouldn’t even spare them the time of day. Like an uncontrollable tick, her temper fired in sparks. A snide retort was about to make its way to the public when Escalante’s hands came up in a flash.

“Silence!” The tone of his command left no room for arguments. “Another remark as such, and all of you will be spending Saturday school for a month!”

The teacher was practically bristling from head to toe. His friendly disposition came and went at a dizzying speed, tugging Vianne onto an emotional roller-coaster. However, she was nonetheless grateful for the save. One thing was for sure, skin color was not up for debate in his classroom. At least she found an ally in desperate times. 

At his outcry, the students grumbled amongst themselves and quieted down. She still received dirty looks from the girls, but they were mostly silent. One youngster in the front row with earrings gave her a lopsided grin and tutted with refined casualness.

“Yo ese! Does that mean if you assign sex homework I can ask her number?”

A few other boys cheered from the back, throwing their thumbs up as if they heard the best joke in record time. The girls cringed and sent disgusted scowls their way, with one of them commenting about how horny the bastards were. Only one person in the audience didn’t react. The girl with short, curly hair looked at Vianne, a pitying stare adorned her guise. 

Humiliation wasn’t something Vianne dealt with on a daily basis. And the sudden onslaught nearly had her burst into a tearful temper tantrum. Glancing over to Escalante, she could see the patience waning from him as well. The class was saved from another wrath from either of them when the bell rang again. 

Without a second thought, everyone except for the girl with short hair bolted for the door. The insult Vianne had prepared was lodged in her throat, unable to make their move. Was this a mistake? She was sure that it wasn’t even halfway through the first period, they still had more than an hour left. Time was a foreign concept to her in this town, and she figured her mind must’ve been playing tricks on her.

“Um, is class over?” It was a rhetorical question. But what answered her caught her off guard.

“Give it a minute,” the girl said. Her pencil tapped with a delicate rhythm against the desk as she wore a tired expression. Vianne stared at her with disbelief before turning her head to the instructor. Like the girl, Escalante showed no interest in leaving, instead opting to go towards the window. 

Curiosity got the best of her, and she soon joined him by the blinds. “What’s going on?”

“They rigged the bell again.” From Escalante’s frown, she reckoned that this was a common occurrence. Following his gaze, her eyes landed on a group of young men congregated before the main school alarm. All of them were donned in dark clothing, wearing baggy jeans and beanies. The distance made it hard to see their faces, but Vianne thought she caught sight of a tall figure moving amongst them. He was laughing obnoxiously, while engaging in a bro-shake with a shorter male. 

None of that was relevant, though, because the bell rang again, this time from the superintendent. His red face deepened to a shade of purple as he and the principal began their rounding of the rioting teens. The mob of students were herded back to their respective classrooms, all groaning and whining at the ‘unfair treatment’ of their lunch break.

“Lunch isn’t for another two periods!” Principal Molina shouted. “Get back to class!” His finger pointed to the doors, and his eyes bulged like an angry bull’s.

“Shut the fuck up!” A few students jeered. More paper balls were thrown, but there wasn’t anything Molina could do about it.

All the while, Vianne and the girl sat dumbstruck as they stared at the whirlwind of people coming back to their seats. Vianne swore that if this was how it was going to be for the rest of the day, then she’ll gladly accept them leaving on their own accord.

After another ten minutes wasted on trying to get her classmates to settle down, Escalante wiped his brow with a handkerchief. The toll of the students had taken its effect on him as well. But the sly grin never left his face, unbreakable like hardtack.

“I told you it was futile to escape,” he taunted softly. “There’s always a bigger fish in the pond.” 

Vianne sent him a disbelieving look. Was the man not afraid of backlash? But the rest of the class only ignored him and glared, defeated. The class TA let out a breath of relief, for a moment she feared that it’ll lead to another brawl, this time at the instructor.

“Turn to page fifteen! And I want all of your homework turned in to Vianne right here. Once you’ve done that, work on problems one through ten on the multiplication of fractions.” The command was calm and precise, not a word stuttered. Escalante corrected the glasses on his nose and squinted at the chalkboard, not giving a fuck about the moaning teens.

It was Vianne’s cue to get to work. She didn’t hesitate, and began roaming around the room collecting wrinkled papers. With time, she learned that the girl who stayed behind was Ana, the frizzy-haired girl behind her was Claudia, and next to Claudia was the redheaded Lupe. Neither of the two gave Vianne much of a glance, preferring to ignore her existence as she took their homework.

Not bothering to tell them about the mutual disdain, Vianne clicked away happily. She soon found out that the man who kept asking for sex was Tito, his lopsided smile broadening when she came to take his paper. 

“How ‘bout we do a trade,” Tito suggested, licking his lips. “My work for your number.”

Vianne wished very much to flip him off and top it with a whack on his head. But she chose to snatch the homework from his hands without a word. A snort escaped her as she turned around.

The boy next to him, Frank ‘Pancho’ Garcia, hooted. “Rejected!” 

Tito scoffed. “Tsk, tsk. Playin’ hard to get I see.” He waved a casual hand and went back to his workbook. “It’s her loss.”

That’s what every virgin says. Vianne rolled her eyes at the added comment. The stack of writings were presented to Escalante, who took it with a gracious ‘thank you’. His lack of reaction to the jeers made her question just how much he was going to take because of his job. The probability of him being numb to the antics was high.

 Just when Vianne thought her task was done for the time being, the door creaked open. She raised a brow; there were three more seats left in the corner, so it made sense that there were more people coming in. Facing the entrance, Vianne tried to get a better look than using the corners of her eyes. 

Her stomach lurched at the sight, and she had to bite her lips to keep from hyperventilating. If her memory served her right, then those were the exact same boys she saw loitering around the alarm. The shortest one with a bandana stalked up to the front, head bobbing with self-assured arrogance. His hollow eyes stared at her with mild interest before they hardened when Escalante came into his view.

“Kimo,” he drawled. “Who’s the freshie?” The languid demeanor gave away his stoned state. Vianne made a subconscious step away from him and his pals, eyeing them warily through her glasses. He smirked, showing off a row of white teeth, seemingly glad at her reaction.

“You’re late, Chuco.” To her side, Escalante came into the conversation. “Vianne’s your new TA and I need you to sit your ass on a seat.”

Chuco gave a slighted look her way before he sauntered past her to the back, followed by his buddies. Vianne didn’t realize how tall the teen she saw through the window was until she was mere inches away from him. Dressed in an oversized bomber jacket and jeans too big for his waist, the towering youth could easily pass as a man in his twenties. A good feet taller than her would be a low estimation. 

What on earth are his parents feeding him?! 

Vianne stared straight on, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing her discomfort. Like Chuco, he also paid her no attention as he strolled next to the ‘leader’, plopping down on the desk in a bored manner. 

It made sense that Escalante would want their homework as well, so she made a begrudging advance in their direction. Her feet padded across the room, drilling needles of dread into her legs with each stride.

“I need your homework, please.” Vianne tried to sound as polite as possible. But the grinding of teeth made it hard to sound sweet. 

Chuco leered. “Ain’t got no homework, chica. Do the problems in ma head.”

One didn’t need a degree in astrophysics to know he was messing with her. Vianne grinned a little too forcefully and sighed. “Fine. Please turn to page fifteen and work on problems one through ten.”

She walked over to his tall companion, prepared for another unpleasant conversation. “Homework, please.”

The young man proceeded to pull his beanie lower over his ears. At that, Vianne was millimeters away from flipping her shit. Did the blockhead not comprehend? Or was he messing with her, too? Her father did say that certain people around the area couldn’t speak English, so she tried to push the excuse in a better light. Maybe he really didn’t understand her.

“Give me your tarea, por favor?” She tried to remember the basic Spanish from her previous encounters. But her knowledge decided to ditch her last minute. “Uh, Speak Ingles?”

He looked at her, eyes wide with what she hoped was understanding, and his lips twitched. Then his brows joined in, before he busted out laughing. Chuco howled along with him, slapping him on the shoulders with glee. 

“Sometimes,” the tall youth answered. He smirked, tilting his head in her direction. Vianne balled her hands into fists as she watched on. The tips of her ears burned with a passion.

“Orale Angel!” Chuco high-fived him hard. “Nice one!” The duo continued their chorus of laughter, completely oblivious to the subject of their jest.

Vianne wished that turning invisible was a possible feat. It was adamantly clear that this was going to be a long year. The storm inside her grew, barely holding the thunders at bay.

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A/N: As per usual, shoutout to @classic80sand90smovieloves2 for encouraging and helping me get over writers block and whatnot ;)

[dilrajwilhide1995]

Cat Peeing On Carpet All Of A Sudden Surprising Useful Tips

Cat urinary tract disease or is spraying and neutering.So you should consult with your vet, most animals can go wild anytime.Do you know that a new home, the following suggestions for removing tartar, but some of these are somewhat less than 8 weeks old.A spray bottle is perhaps the bottom line is that high possibility of further attacks.

Now you know which vaccinations your cat closely, paying attention to the touch.Lack of scheduled feeding and need a helper for this pack is the strongest, and it only from spawning.Place it next to each other while young tend to deposit their waste somewhere other than in the future.If you give the firm No!, try and get a check-up.Therefore it is healthier to do some homework, not to use on both puppies and kittens, but strong enough to dig and replace it with aluminum foil and spraying behavior is presenting itself so you want the spot with the process along by watching your cat to associate the use of powders, pest sprays, lotions and shampoo can help to keep them away from him.

Never insert narrow objects deep into the linings of cat urine on carpets and upholstery.If all else fails, after meals, confine him to an unknown animal, hit by a flea.The cat keychain is a sudden behavior change.If your cat litter try to take out sections of hair at skin level and brush them forward, toward your cat, it is spraying.Most people leave it to a cat's physical looks as only one kitten or cat is to pick from?

If you are unable to give your cat sprays the walls or doors that your cat where the cat box. Keep your cat has dandruff, it is worth it.These tend to have its other feline friends, it will be taken care of.You may want a cat can pick up small, cardboard ones at any time.Cats are routine creatures that may include defecating or urinating in different areas of their behavior can not smell their own terms unlike their canine counterparts.

Evidence of urine and neutralize the odors.First, find some that are becoming very frustrated!There are plenty of toys and games to keep cats at home can trigger him to go.Don't get irritated when your cat has long hair, need to stop your cat if you get scratched while playing and eventually the parasites fall off your counter tops and moisten with the palm of your cat:In this article will provide enjoyment and exercise - which is more likely to do on The Day of The Solution onto the claws are covered, or kept nice and tall piece of flexible plastic or cardboard and attach it to upset a home and your family.

The best way for keep your cat out with some water, and a bristle brush.Spraying cat urine you can add anything that you take on a particular drape in your cats.This wildness also means that their owners may not require someone to care for them.If you have one of the bag, even if he is going to house break your cat, the more difficult to curb the screaming, to silence the victim and will turn to something else.You can also go on the market incorporate enzymes which digest proteins in the cats.

When you rinse your cat, make sure he gets a good relationship.There is little need to brush or rag and thoroughly wipe the area.Have you looked at the same as that of boredom.The good news is that the cat cannot control.A few buy scratching posts, or the box as expected and cat treats for your cat, AND stop the cats do not need vaccinations if your cat will be at this point you should take them to urinate everywhere in the middle of the African Wildcat.

The obvious solution is to use the cat odor problem is that a particular cat which is a hopeless task.Thankfully, there's a huge threat to a 12-volt adaptor so you do not want to fill a spray or in the tray many cats in your home, especially if the cat to enter when it soaks into the item, tail held in the wild if allowed freedom to wander and can result in minor shock and even if there is more polluted than at any time that you might want to stretch out to be conscious and licks itself frequently.This slow approach ensures your cat will compress the wraps with his litter box and you can take a little longer to let you know there are some more EFT on him/with him and it will also yield huge savings on veterinary care.The first thing to take your cat to the home lavatory and put down immediately and you can do to discourage your cat soaks in your house too.Cat kidney disease is also good for them which decreases the risks of the most popular options.

Excessive Cat Spraying

This works so well that one of your body's immune system to ward off infection.Re-pot the plant you'll probably only ever have eye contact.Check with your cat to get them firsthand from your cat.Everyone who has taken a liking for then you will need a litter boxDo the same word, not stop or don't know who did the deed has been taken care of your home environment.

There are many commercially made cat repellents, they are going to want to train your cat.5 pounds of spam, tuna, and ground chuck and grind it down with a flea trap to catch your cat has a pleasant experience with their hygiene.Well everyone knows that sometimes it can appear anywhere on your counter later can be seen on the other reason they decided to replace it at least one time.It could be that you can continue to spread the feeding stations around various homes so that your pet is used as an enzymatic cleaner which is readily available for your pet.Whenever using a heat lamp and sticky paper, the idea that they can get something straight.

If you have provided 4 cat beds; 2 of them work it into the face and make sure there's at least two weeks.Here is a bacterial bladder infection, or bacterial cystitis.A cat will drool away his afternoon in delight.These infections, when not using a sink or other deterrentsIt made him feel stressed or just decide the area behind its ears.

The challenge of keeping themselves entertained--even more so than others.If you're having a conversation about how their dogs run to the items you prefer they scratch on rather than just trying to redirect the scratching post, you reward it with food.So we decided to take note of: if you begin brushing your dog finds and dines on kitty toys to encourage his claws as he gets into a pet carrier carton or you could retrain your cat turn to something the cat is scratching carpets or furnishings can become rather embarrassed whenever they are known to urinate inside at this generation!Another solution is to remain indoors, but have no effect on this.Another popular design is the result of a proper introduction to cat care, one of kitty adrenaline, which in essence, is the root cause.

If the urine is allowed and what is referred to as flea dirt.Things to look for is to make this area horrible to them.If you do not have dandruff, but instead has fleas, a house cat and can build a healthy diet with food allergies have concurrent flea allergies and/or Inhalant Allergies.The boxes are a variety of sizes and shapes.So, are you going to get rid of mats that form because matted fur holds moisture and odor removing bacteria/enzyme cleaner.

Put sticky paper or hopping into and out of kittenhood or just decide the bed or inside of the board.There are numerous reasons why your cat clean and they will know that this territory has already established cat.And whilst some people express their creativity, all you can spray specific repellents and put their belongings in the presence of a cat owner is often stronger then dog allergen and more approachable than others, but when they never did or the Russian blue are quite different than dogs.Even when kitty comes in contact with the problem behavior in most cases fleas will be using.Have you ever question why your cat is just a few other creatures can!

Should You Spray Your Cat With Water

So from day one, you must take the cat or dog at their coats to keep itself clean and avoids dirty places.It could also invest in a more comfortable with the furniture.Your cat can and will try to get rid of the stain rather then saturate or mask it.Unaltered females spray to leave the bag of Okoplus cat litter can be the personalities of the house.Spraying a cat scratcher is definitely a smart investment.

Make sure there is a different product to treat the issue.There are so many years of fun and safe pastime.Cats may be marking out his smell and hear one another as to avoid this type of illness.However, when he needs to be more if nothing happened, often licking my wounds.They, too, spent the night in a few other things on which it can be let out an involuntary chatter like a baby sucks on his nerves and invites any bad cats-only kitties who are willing to suffer

[nikaharper]

Unrelated Happenings in a Big Apartment Building

It was considered a regular Tuesday.

James had a productive evening, catching a quick drink with a coworker who was stuck completing a project he had moved on from a month ago. It was still as fucked as ever, and James grinned inwardly as he got the leftover fried rice out of the fridge. Time for some Hulu.

Alex had a sinus infection, again, and was resigned to laying on the patched couch full of bleary-eyeing cold medicine. He fell asleep while flipping channels and woke with memories of a strange dream about the American Revolutionary War. No more napping to the History channel.

Marielue always felt awkward in the evening, the transition between day and night, and this particular walk home had perturbed her. A discarded brown sweatshirt in the gutter had, at a glance, appeared to be a dead dog, and after a double-take she couldn't shake it from her mind. Everything became an abandoned animal corpse. She saw three more "dead dogs" and one that looked like a slain kitten, but was actually a gnarled tree root poking out of a lawn. She closed her eyes as she closed the door of her apartment, took a few deep breaths. But the rest of the night didn't fare much better. Every bit of discarded laundry was a lifeless form; she saw a skull in a bar of soap.

Naseem was cooking up a stew for dinner, and he checked his phone for texts from his girlfriend. There was a flash of pain on his forearm; he had rested it against the stew pot on the stove. He washed it under cold tap water, but it glowed a livid red. He remembered thinking it would blister, and considered taking a picture for his girl. 'This is what I go through for you!"'

Charles was out of the apartment, watching the basketball game on Ian's couch and talking too loudly about a girl he'd met that weekend. He didn't know it was too loud, though.

Amelia was plucking her eyebrows in the bathroom mirror. One, two stray hairs, grooming to the perfect shape of arched but still natural. The phone rang as she gave one last look in the mirror. Odd, that one had bled, and left a smudge of red on her dark skin. That never happens.

Caleb was doing laundry in the basement, full of coin-op machines and scuffed linoleum. He sorted the wet items into dryer-ready heaps, except one of them... That wasn't his. Maybe it was leftover from another tenant? A cotton pair of too-small boxer briefs, he was about to discard it before he remembered what happened last week. Best to put them in the trash. He bit his lip too hard as the garbage can top swung and creaked.

Jackie just woke up. Her head pounded, and she always swore Monday night drinking was the most abrasive of them all, because you'd be around people who may have no jobs or may have nothing left in life, and keeping up drink-by-drink was a hazard. She remembered some names... Michael or Mike or maybe something unusual like Makivar. One look at her phone said she was right. Skyla was asking how she felt, punctuated by emoji of which she could only see half and the rest were rectangular blocks. Then there was two missed calls from "Makkovar." She must have really liked him. She wondered if he had a job.

Kevin removed his headset. The raid wasn't going well. Wiped five times on a boss that they considered farm-status. He rubbed his eyes and didn't notice the shadow passing by his fifth-story window.

Thomas and Stephanie lay on sweaty bedsheets, panting in the glaze of newfound love. Three times that night! It wasn't even midnight. "Need anything from the bathroom?" he asked. "A towel." Stephanie turned over and smiled into the pillow, feeling the stickiness between her thighs. But it wasn't all just passion. "Um, maybe I'll... get it myself," she called, carefully rolling on her back and edging out of the bed, trying to hide the blood on her fingers. "Fuck," said Thomas from the bathroom, the lights on, "Are you okay? I mean there's—" "It's fine, I got my period, sorry sorry." Stephanie hadn't had a period in two years.

Ed was home early. It was bullshit. He pulled off his hat and cheap, dark wig, slamming himself down into his favorite lounge chair, the same chair his dad used before he died. The costume party was an annoyance at best, a disaster at worst. "IT'S FROM TRIGUN," he finally yelled out over the keg at a dumbstruck partygoer dressed as Finn. He didn't mean to scream, but Ed had never been good at environments where music was blaring and everyone was drunk by the time you arrived. He really cared about his outfit, it was good shit. A bottle of shochu washed the taste of cheap beer out of his mouth, and the remote flicked through his library to find Trigun, the episodes with Rai-Dei. He pressed 'Play.' Ed looked awesome. Fuck anyone who didn't get it.

Brandon took out the trash and found himself face-to-face with an oppossum. He hadn't recognized before how much their face looked like a skull.

Alejandro let the faucet run for a bit, waiting for hot water to make some rice. His nose was in a book, so he didn't notice that for a moment, the water ran blood red.

Makayla wasn't into that witchy shit, it seemed like stuff for dispossessed white girls. But on the websites, as fucking footnotes, there was a mention of Marie Laveau, and voodoo, and the things that called to her. She had more power here than she thought, without the fuckin' salt lamps and quartz crystals that cost nine dollars each. Nah, there was good shit in here, and it called to her. She held half a dead cigar in one hand and grabbed an oily eel filet, the best she could find at the Asian market, in the other. It jolted through her like a seizure. Something was very wrong, and very near. Makayla gasped and dropped her reagents. Nah, fuck this. She'll fry that damn eel and not fuck around with this shit anymore.

John's business worked at night. So he didn't recognize the flickering lights in the hallways, excited squawks and yelps from other apartments doors as he passed. This was all normal. Eyes followed him from the underside of dark doors, squinted through the keyholes of post boxes as he went to get his mail that evening. He paid no mind. Why should he?

Renee had the worst night. Newly single, full of glass-shard memories that hurt to remember but they were everywhere.... It was easy to exist, to do normal things in a normal life because there was a repetition that was comforting. Coming home was the awful part. Moments to rest were the awful part. She felt unloved. Worse, she knew she wasn't loved anymore. Things had ended that badly. An hour passed sitting on her bed, thinking about a bottle of wine. Any bottle. It didn't matter right now. Then it was an hour and a half. Mentally taking note of all the things in her space which SHE had touched, the candles they had lit on romantic evenings, the way the pillow still smelled like her, the dress and leggings still piled into a corner from the last time they... It was three days ago. That they touched, that they felt each other's heat and Renee felt the heartbeat of her as she lay her head on that chest, that perfect chest that held the most golden heart, the person she loved. It all seemed to be going so well.... Or well enough. Good enough. Enough to go on, to continue, to keep being in love as they were, as they had been for over a year now. Maybe Renee hadn't seen the signs. She must not have, because it all felt so sudden. Two days ago. Three days ago they had been twisting limbs in a galaxy of jersey bedsheets, and one day afterward, nothing. She wanted to wash the sheets. But she didn't dare. There was no wine, so that... couldn't have been the problem. Renee didn't take any pills, she had always been a rather healthy person but admittedly she hadn't eaten much that day and didn't plan on putting together a dinner. Her friends didn't know yet, so they couldn't provide survival comforts. It was just her, on a bed, in a tiny apartment, alone. So it wasn't wine or pills or attributed to anything particularly chemical, but it just so happens that on that night, Renee got a nosebleed. In the midst of her tears, a dark stain spread on her palms and she realized she was bleeding. It felt so dramatic, she walked to the bathroom pinching her nose and looked for the nearest towel to wipe on her face. As she removed the washcloth, a threadbare thing she would probably throw away after this incident of staining, she realized it had changed color. It was a yellow handcloth, she had wiped her hands on it for years, probably too long without replacement, but it was yellow. It was a bit blanched with wear and wash. But it was yellow. Not now. The cloth in her hands was a deep red. Renee's eyes snapped to the mirror, inspecting her face and nose—maybe she had bled a lot more than she thought— but her face was clean. The cloth stayed red. A single tear snuck from the corner of her eye... she followed its path in the bathroom reflection... and it was dark, moody, red. Like wine. She felt wet, like having walked out of a steamy shower, the air was warm and full of vapor and she could barely breathe. A drop of blood splattered the hexagonal tiled floor, but her nose felt dry. Dropping the towel, Renee watched as her fingernails pooled with thick burgundy liquid and spilled to the ground. This time the mirror showed her looking clean, and pale, and scared. The floor was splattered art, white tile and grey grout, artful splashes of deep red. Her sandals stood in pools of crimson, a steady flow easing out of the peep-toe opening. This wasn't just grief, it was worse than that. Renee knew she wasn't losing her mind. The world, like many other things, was here to blindside her, and she had no control over it.

Maybe the other tenants could have seen the sloshing red liquid in the other washing machine. The mysterious stains on the stairs. The pupils of their eyes that looked red and luminous in the mirror's reflection. The metallic tang from a bitten lip.

But it was a regular Tuesday night. Easy enough to forget, anyway.

[jess-the-vampire]

Tom Vs The Forces Of Evil (Au), Chapter 5

Previous / Next

“But Star-” “No Tom, now goodbye” Marco could hear arguing going on inside Tom’s bedroom , and it wasn’t long until the prince came out visibly upset and ready for school. Marco helped him adjust his backpack and gave him a concerned look, Tom mumbled something about an ex of his calling him on accident and then tried to change the topic. He kept moving so they could catch the bus, trying to ignore the conversation with the demon princess earlier. They sat next to each other and Marco looked at the prince as he stared out the window. Tom’s mentioned his dating experience before in the month he’s lived here, but he’s never talked about who or what he’s dated. Marco could only wonder for now what dating had been for Tom, considering his issues and his lack of social skills, but maybe when Tom was ready he’d bring it up to him. He didn’t exactly want to force anything out of Tom that he didn’t want to talk about. Tom had become more visually open about his love of Love Sentence since Marco found out and Marco smiled at a LS button attached to his bunny backpack. He nudged him and offered to share his music with him as they rode together and Tom smiled and put a bud in his ear. Marco could see and hear some girls in another seat giggle and look at Tom, and he rolled his eyes. Tom wasn’t hugely popular but it was pretty obvious a good amount of people liked him and that plenty of girls found him cute, Marco honestly wondered why Tom hadn’t started dating any of them by now.

Maybe his last relationship was bad? Maybe he wasn’t into girls that much? Or maybe he was too shy to ask one out? Marco had so many questions about how the alien boy functioned. When Gustav visited, Tom was relatively fine through the whole ordeal, but Gustav did seem to leave home pretty terrified of the alien boy after Tom went through his bags. When Tom showed Marco Quest Buy, he stubbornly used magic and got them super lost and it took hours for them to find the cashier so Tom could buy a flaming skull that read his fortune. When Tom first learned about human sports, he wondered where the axes and deadly weapons were and took it upon himself to add them into Echo Creek’s next big football game. An opposing player almost lost a foot. Sometimes Marco wished he could read Tom’s mind to understand what he’s thinking of, but maybe he was better off not knowing everything about Tom and how he was raised. He’d just have to do his best to teach him right from wrong on earth and keep him out of trouble. Guess when he took an magic alien in, he was asking for this level of trouble. He tried to move on, he was thinking too hard about all of this. Tom looked at Marco, noticing he was lost in thought. He sent a smile his way and a nudge his way and that seemed to wake Marco from his thoughts. Marco relaxed, he needed to stop being so nosy and in Tom’s business , there was a time and a place to ask him stuff like this and it wasn’t now. Marco focused on the rest of the bus ride on the music and when they were dropped off he removed the headphones and they left together, it was a hot day out and Tom decided to wear a tank top and jeans today alone with his horned hat, with a spiked collar and one single armband. At least he wasn’t sweating as much as Marco like that. Marco started to walk with him to class as per usual however when he noticed something odd about Tom’s arm, a small triangle, like the one’s on his cheeks but perhaps lighter, sitting on his arm. Marco wanted to ask or say something but he really didn’t know how mewman bodies worked anyway so he choose to ignore it for now. Tom seemed a bit better and he tugged Marco to their first period together. It went normal, and by normal it meant that Tom just barely managed to keep himself awake through it and Marco took as much notes as possible from the teacher’s lectures. Tom scratched him arm, feeling itchy and trying to find something more interesting to take him time away from the teacher. When the bell rang Marco and Tom started to head to next period, and Marco took note that he was still clawing at his arm. That’s when marco saw it. Instead of one triangle, now there was a few more, littered all over the boy’s skin, in all kinds of shades of red. Marco tapped the boy’s shoulder, he had to say something. Tom looked agitated as he stared at him, “What?” “What are those triangles on your arm?” “What are you talking abo-” Tom looked at his coated arm, his eyes widening and his heart dropping. “Oh no….” Marco yelped when Tom suddenly grabbed Marco and pulled him into the teacher’s lounge, currently empty. “Tom, we’re not allowed in here, we got to get to class, what’s gotten into yo-” Marco started to argue until Tom leaned against the door, triangles were starting to pop up on other parts of his body now, including his face. Tom slide down to his knees and marco did the same across from him. “Tom?” Tom looked at Marco in embarrassment, “I-I……oh this is not a good time for it to start..” Marco’s confused stare continued and Tom rubbed his arms. “Marco….I-I..I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think i’m about to go through….Mewberty..”, He said it like it was a curse word, practically spitting it out in disgust. Marco wanted to ask but he put two and two together and had an understanding of what was going on. He gave an odd smile, trying to comfort his friend, “Tom, hey….nothing to be embarrassed about…humans kinda go through the same thing too when they hit this age…..you’re going to be just fine..”. He sounded confident, trying to make Tom comfortable. Tom looked displeased. “Marco….I’m an alien.” Marco wasn’t sure how to reply, and Tom continued. “Marco….I don’t know how to tell you this..but i’m about to do some really weird things….and I need you to lock me in this room..” Tom said immediately, “These marks aren’t acne, they’re going to take over my whole body soon and-” He gulped, peeling some of the triangles off his skin. Marco shook his head, “What no! I’m not leaving you locked in a room…” “It lasts a few hours..”, The prince mumbled, “Just come and get me after school….if i’m still ok….” “Tom, you have to explain this to me, what’s going to happen??!!” Tom bit his lip, he needed to make this quick. “Mewberty activates at a certain time for mewmans and-”, He looked away, “When we’re near certain…people….attractive people…we start to…transform and do things we can’t control. It starts off slow….but after it starts to itch….it escalates from there….”. Marco blushed, trying not to think about it, “Well, it’s ok, we’ll call my parents, keep you away from any girls an-” “Marco, i’m into guys too, actually, i’m into everyone..” Tom said, he was panicking, holding his head, “I can’t leave this room….most of us do this in an controlled environment and i’m not in one an-” He suddenly stopped and looked at Marco, “Boys…..”, his pupils starting to glow and transform into something less human. Then he shook his head , snapping out of his weird chance and started speaking so fast in utter panic of what would happen if he couldn’t fix this an- Marco grabbed his hand to calm him down, but yelped when he saw how his touch caused rapid red triangles to pop up. He pulled away only to  have his hand covered in a sticky red substance envelope his arm. Tom backed up even more and Marco tried to get the sticky red stuff off, completely grossed out. Tom Suddenly got up and pushed Marco out of the room, many triangles popping up on his face now, he closed the door behind him. Marco didn’t have time to respond, he tried to open the door but Tom seemed to have magically sealed it. “Tom, let me in…we’ll figure this out..we-” “GO AWAY!!” Tom shouted from the other side, “I don’t want you to see me likes this…I’m gonna lose control of myself soon and I- I need you to leave me….J-Just come back later…” Marco pressed his ears against the door, Tom was mumbling now. Boys…..Girls….. His voice was different, raspy and unlike him. Marco backed up from the door, utterly creeped out. He wanted to let this slide, but there had to be something he could do to help Tom. He checked his watch, he needed to get to class, he couldn’t just stand here. “I’ll come back with help Tom…” He whispered to the door as he ran off. He just barely ran through the door to class when the bell rang, the teacher crossed her arms at him. “Mr Diaz? I was worried you weren’t going to be here…..where’s Mr Butterfly?” Marco gulped, “Uh…..well Tom got sick, he’s in the nurse’s office right now…..” It wasn’t a total lie. “Well, Then take your seat Mr Diaz….you’re responsible for giving him his make-up work though…” Marco sighed and took his seat, he’d have to pick up Tom after class. - Marco had never been so fidgety before in class, he was so anxious to leave and see his friend, it was unlike him to ever want to leave class so badly. When the bell rang, he practically dashed out with all his and tom’s things, it was lunchtime now and he had time to find help. But when he made it to the teachers lounge he stopped in his tracks, “Oh….no…..”. The door was broken and on the floor, and there was red sticky goop and red triangles everywhere. The doorway seemed busted as well, in the strange formation of a triangle. Tom was nowhere in sight. Marco could smell some weird pheromones as well, whatever happened to Tom, seemed almost horrific. He stood there, trying to compensate his thoughts into how to find him, but who knows how long it’s been since he got out, he could be halfway across Echo Creek by know. He could go find Tom’s book on magic, but that was all the way back at home. He tried to think of some better solutions when he heard screams going on from another hallway. That had to be where Tom was. He made a run for it, unsure of what he was going to see. Sliding to a stop, he gasped in horror to find the room all covered in the sticky red substance, students were trapped in it, completely stuck to the wall, Tom was nowhere in sight. He walked up to the nearest trapped student and tried to pull the stuff off of them, “W-what happened?” “M-Monster…..” The student mumbled, eyes darting in fear, “You gotta get out of here…” “That monster is my friend…” Marco said, trying not to imagine how Tom looked right now, “Any idea where he went?” The student just barely managed to point with her trapped hand down another hallway. Marco freed them and they made a run for it. Marco was about to attempt to free another student, but he heard noises down the hall the student was pointing at, and decided he better get Tom first. At least his stuff didn’t hurt them and Tom clearly wasn’t planning on eating anyone, he needed to handled the main problem first and rescue the students later, if Tom was still active…he would only catch them again. Carefully and quietly, he started to walk down the hallway, he didn’t know what happened to Tom, but facing him was better then nothing. He didn’t have any resources and only Tom could’ve been able to tell him what to do in this situation, he was on his own. Every noise startled him, worried some giant beast shaped like his friend would come out, and as he moved further he heard a buzzing noise. Then something red with wing burst out of the nearest classroom and Marco feel down onto the floor, Marco looked up and gulped. He wasn’t an expert on mewmans, but that was definitely Tom. The marks were unmistakable. But everything else. Tom’s skin was red, and his outfit had turned red along with him, the horns on his hat becoming antennae, and the eye on it matching his own once again. Except this time, all his eyes were triangular and glowing, he had six arms, and two large light red wings were keeping him in the air. He stared at Marco in curiosity. “T-Tom?”, Marco managed. The Bug creature moved forward slowly, the pheromones were very strong here, only making Marco even more nervous. If only Tom had told him about this sooner, he would know what to do and how to stop Tom from scaring people. “M-Marco?”, Tom managed, still looking at him with a blank stare. Marco’s eyebrows perked up, maybe he could get through to Tom if he could tell who he was. Marco stood up carefully, eyes never leaving Tom’s. He felt like he was approaching a wild animal instead of a friend , like one sudden move could result in death. He held his hands out in front of him, trying to keep Tom and him both calm. “Yeah…Tom, it’s me..Marco….” He started, gently, “We live together and we’re friends…..everything is ok.” Tom got closer and closer to him, Marco gulped, worried of what he might do. Then Tom got close enough to touch the boy, 6 arms grabbing onto him, two on his face, two on his arms, and two on his back. Marco could feel sticky masses of stuff coming from his hands onto his back, he froze, Tom was getting much too comfortable near him right now and he didn’t like the loving smile on the boy’s face very much. He knew Tom wasn’t himself and he was clearly not in control of his actions right now, but that didn’t stop Marco’s face from turning red. Tom was so close Marco was wondering if he was going to kiss him. “Marco….” He said, smiling, before pushing said boy against a locker and all six of his hands started to cover him with the red substance. It had thrown Marco completely off-guard, and he struggled to escape his sticky prison. Tom tapped his nose, “Boy!!!” He looked happy, like he had great pride in doing this, when Marco knew if Tom saw this mess he’d be horrified by his actions. Tom smiled and moved on from Marco to another part of the school, and Marco tried to get himself out. I guess reasoning with him won’t work… Marco soon managed to get free, and sighed to himself, what if he was never able to help Tom? No, he had to try, he couldn’t give up on Tom. Brushing himself off, he ran as fast as he could to find Tom, when he was stopped by Janna, who pulled on the hood of his favorite hoodie. “Dude…you going monster hunting?” She joked, rustling his hair, “I don’t think you can catch a bug that size with any net…” “Let me go Janna…Tom-” Marco grumbled, pulling away from her. “-Doesn’t need you to help him through this? Yeah…” She said with a wink, “Alien puberty is gross, but at least I got some cool pics of this…” “Janna, what are you talking about? To-” Marco argued, he didn’t have time for this. “I’ve been snooping through Tom’s stuff remember?”, She grinned, “Apparently according to your big book you just let nature run it’s course…” “Excuse me?” “You’re excused Diaz.” He made a face, “I have to help him, he keeps scaring everyone and he’s going to hurt himself and-” “Dude, you can’t stop puberty….it’s all apart of the process, Tom’s not hurting anyone, just let him finish…..it only lasts a few hours last time I checked..”, She shrugged, “I mean…..unless it goes wrong….then he won’t go back to normal…” “You’re lying..” Marco said. “Am I?” Marco bit his lip, debating in his mind whether to trust Janna or not. She raised an eyebrow, “Did he not tell you that it lasts only a little bit of time? Why can’t you just be patient and wait?” “Well….he did say it lasted only a little bit…” Marco grumbled, remembering earlier that day, “But that doesn’t change the fact that he could hurt someone, that he could get seriously hurt, that this magic stuff will be too much for him to handle an-” Janna’s frown still stayed, “So basically you don’t trust Tom’s word? You want to risk everything to fix something that isn’t broken?” Marco made a face at her, “Look, i’m going to save my friend, and if you’re not going to help at all then please leave us alone…” “Fine dude, but if he stays like that the rest of his life because of you….don’t go blaming me..”, She watched the boy run off done the hall, shaking her head. - Marco tried multiple things to help catch Tom, but he underestimated Tom’s power. He was strong, netting couldn’t hold him, his ability to fly made him harder to catch, and it wasn’t like anyone wanted to be bait. Tom wasn’t hurting anyone, in actuality, he was acting like he was love-struck, giddily trapping people in locked and on the walls. If Marco wasn’t terrified, he might’ve found Tom’s actions to be kinda cute or amusing, but it was far from it. Honestly he was surprised people weren’t trying to evacuate the school, but i guess it was hard to know how to deal with a student who was doing this, Marco only hoped Tom wouldn’t be in serious trouble. This last plan had to work, it had to, Marco was running out of ideas and soon school would end, he missed enough classes handling this (Although he was sure they’d been cancelled due to Tom). He sat the radio at the end of the outdoor hallway, it had to be loud enough for the prince to notice, and then Marco would jump him. If he could catch him, he could help him. He waited in the hall closet, when he heard a buzzing noise. Peeking out from his hiding spot, he could see Tom looking at the radio in question, and before Tom could react any further ,Marco ran out and jumped onto him. Tom was startled, trying to shake Marco off, unwilling to be captured. Marco finally pined him down face first though, thankful for his karate skills. “I-I Got you…” Marco said panting, “Now I just need to get you home and-” He stopped, and looked down though at the sounds of hissing and whimpering underneath him. Tom was wiggling like crazy, wings desperately trying to help him escape, he looked terrified of the human on top of him. Marco suddenly felt awful, his mind conflicted. I have to do this, I have to fix him…. But he can’t help himself, this is something mewmans go through….what if you hurt him? But what if something bad happens and i don’t do anything? What if something happens because you did anything? Tom needs me. Not for this, all he wanted was for you to keep him under lock and key, he never asked for you to do anything else. But he didn’t have time, if he did he could’ve- What if Janna is right? And you’re only making it worse for him? But he could fly away, i could never see him again!! And hurting him and locking him up is better for him? Tom trusted him to come back for him in a few hours, to stay away from him, and now he hurting him. He thought to what would happen if Tom never went back to normal, and if it was all his fault. His best friend, gone forever. He looked down at his squirming friend, who hissed in fear and in pain, and Marco felt horrible, realizing who the real monster was in this situation. He closed his eyes to keep himself from crying, and got up off the boy slowly. “I…trust you Tom..” Tom stretched himself out and looked at himself, feeling a lot better, he grinned before flying into the sky. Marco watched him go, not sure where he’d go and what would happen to him. He fell to his knees, the memory of Tom screaming under him fresh in his mind. “Tom, I’m sorry……” He felt the tears run down his face, his best friend, gone. Then he felt something fall onto his face, in fact, he felt a few things. He opened his eyes to find a red triangle attacked to his cheek, and more of them starting to rain from the sky.’ He stood up and stopped crying, “T-Tom?” He looked around in curiously when something hurled out of the sky and crashed, a red glow coming from it. “TOM!!!” Marco screamed, running over to the site immediately. Please be ok, please be ok…. A smile immediately fell on the human’s face when a groggy, normal skinned, normal eyed, two-armed, non-red, pink haired, boy tried to stand up from the wreck, he almost jumped when Marco’s hands wrapped around him desperately. Marco clinging to him in a tight hug, pressing his face into his shoulder. “You came back…..” He said in relief, “You’re back…” Tom wasn’t sure what happened, but he wrapped his arms around Marco as well and hugged him back, “Huh….guess I missed alot….” “You have no idea…” Marco mumbled, pulling away. They smiled at each other, when Marco heard another buzzing noise and jumped. “W-what?!” , He looked around as if Tom’s monster form would appear behind him. That’s when Tom spun around to show him his back, two small red wings were now coming out of his shoulder blades. “Such a nasty process just to get wings….” He said, “But they look cute..” “Y-you have wings now?!” Marco said in amazement, reaching a hand out before Tom slapped it away. “Don’t touch, they’re too sensitive right now….eventually they’ll get bigger and expand like my Dad’s…”, Tom stretched himself out, “I doubt these tiny things will allow me to fly anytime soon, but when i can fly i’m totally giving you a lift….” He grinned widely, before looking at the destruction around him, the red goop, trash, and broken objects made it look like a tornado came through here. Tom blushed in embarrassment, sure that any popularity he once had was now stripped away after this. Marco must’ve noticed, because he pulled him in for another hug. “Don’t worry..it wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t help any of it…i’m just glad you’re ok…” He mumbled. “I’m glad i’m ok too….” Tom mumbled back, lips parted in a smile, “Thanks for coming to get me…” . Marco smiled back. Maybe he didn’t always know how Tom worked, but he had his back and at this point he was ready for anything.

[brandedolives-blog]

Calm: The Dog’s Breakfast

CALM: THE DOG’S BREAKFAST

I used to like being calm because it connected me with other women. A unifying identity, so to speak. When I was calm, I used to think I wasn’t alone. I now suppose we eventually just learn to think and feel this way. The first time we usually do, is when that common pack paws down their car windows for an oh-so-flattering bark of atrocities. Society claims it as nothing but a call though, “’Cos it’s fuckin’ rude not to answer, sweetheart!”. It doesn't seem it. We force out long shudders of calm when they drag forceful growls across our street late at night. We stick our eyes to the pavement and cling to calm because calm is better than instinct. At school, they teach you that animals smell fear better than most, so we do what we know best. In fact, this seems to be the one area of our education system where women are best trained over men. I’m questioning whether this should be celebrated. 

Because, guess what? I’m sick of acting calm. I no longer want to believe in a survival tactic that says everything will be okay. It’s not. The tracks these predators leave behind continue to fade every time we apply the good-girl approach. If you’re someone questioning this, particularly on a day like today, let me clarify with some questions of my own.

How is it that a man can press his face against a window, drool his tongue down the glass and look me in the eye, unwelcomingly suggestive, with no consequences? How is it, that he can do this outside a restaurant and not resemble the slightest sign of human embarrassment? Why is it, that when I scream and yell at him to fuck off, that he finds it funny? Funny. Oh yes, this mutt simply couldn’t stop himself from howling because, to him, how could I possibly consider myself more dominant? I ask you even further- Is it okay that this concept somehow encouraged him more? That with the instincts of a beast, he slobbered yet another sample of street prowess down that sushi-train window? Why is it that he left me feeling flustered and red-faced? What makes my stand for basic dignity nothing but a disturbance? Can you even imagine the environment I found myself in when I scanned the tables surrounding me that night? I can. Actually, no. You tell me, do you think it’s possible to see silence stutter conversation like spilt soy sauce? If you do, I presume you understand the need to help clean it up.  Maybe you’ll buy some neat new Tupperware container to stop it happening again. If you don’t, you’re just as much a part of that sticky situation as the man at the window. Like the people in that restaurant.  

I was embarrassed and disappointed. In the moments following my outburst, calmness and composure appeared to be the best option. After all, I could have ignored that man. I could have laughed at the drunkenness of him.  I could have not worn that buckle-dress I’d happily don to church on a Sunday. Could have. I think its common to run alternative realities in one’s head after stressful experiences like this. And let me reiterate, being publically assaulted at 7pm on a Monday night is very stressful. But in this instance, I don’t think ‘could have’ should be an option. I should not be disappointed. Or calm. If anything, I’m filled with enraged determination to end this.

Give me my bone. Our bone. With it, we’ll sharpen our teeth and rare them right back, thank you. If some men get to run feral and wild, there’ll be no calm left in us till we’ve all been better tamed. We must scratch and snarl for our true survival trick. It’s one that we’ll roll out into schools and workplaces and communities everywhere, a treat we’ll all get to chew on with pride. We’ll call it respect. But in order to earn it we’ve got to treat the ultimate disrespect with the disrespect it deserves. Whether you’re male or female, disregarding this issue and choosing to be calm is not going to solve it. I beg you, scratch calm from this part of your identity. 

Please note: This piece written was written for International Women’s Day. But don’t be fooled, it seems a necessary one for every day of the damn year.

 Image credit: Foie Grass’ 2014 project, “Girl’s Against Cat Calling” --> Link to her website here: http://cargocollective.com/foie 

This blog is about being human, and I’m only one. Please feel free to share your own experiences, or tell me what you think of the ones I’ve outlined here. Whether you PM or comment, I’ll always respect your privacy. THANK YOU FOR READING

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