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brutal-nemesis · 4 months

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YWDaC: Turns Out, Forever Is a Long Time

Ayo we have FINALLY arrived at the end of Castys's lil pirate misadventure I hope you have enjoyed all of the delicious lore

←Previous - Castys Masterlist

Ingredients: storm at sea activity, mentioned stabbing, suicide for "convenience" (it's not quite the usual level of he doesn't care but it's still not like bro wants to die yk), a little self harm (once again, out of practicality)

What Castys really wanted was to have something for breakfast, but responsibilities came first, so here he was, delivering a message that he could have ordered anyone else to relay, just so he could go back belowdecks and hopefully grab something on the way back, which made him wonder if he should have been given responsibilities in the first place, but oh well, he didn’t put himself in charge. Now, to get this done so he could eat. Castys knocked on the door in front of him, and upon hearing a noise that sounded like a word, he entered. Captain Izogie was sitting with her shirt partially off and her back to him, exposing the bold patterns of white fire ink curling around her dark shoulders. Alfyn was standing behind her with his hands on her bare back, clearly concentrating. It was a sight he’d seen before, but he always felt a little awkward stumbling upon it.

“Uh, sorry, didn’t realize it was woman magic day.”

Izogie laughed a little as she turned her head to look at him. “Is that what you lot call it?”

“Less of a mouthful than whatever Alfyn says.”

Alfyn just sighed. “Estrogen production stimulation?”

Castys nodded. “Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Anyway, Captain, just thought I’d let you know the sunrise is red this morning, and given the clouds now, we’re all pretty sure it’s gonna storm. And yes,” Castys held up a hand, “preparations are already underway. Just wanted you to be aware.”

Alfyn, finished with Izogie’s treatment, stepped back. “In that case, I have a few things to secure in the med bay. If you’ll excuse me, Captain.”

Izogie nodded as she buttoned her shirt. “Thank you, Alfyn, you’re excused.” He gave Castys a smile as he left. “Thank you as well, Castys.” She gave him a thoughtful look as she pulled her coat on and stood up. “You know, when you first arrived, I wasn’t sure if you were going to last here, but here you are, my first mate, of all things. You’ve grown quite a bit.”

Castys rolled his eyes and smiled, leaning against the doorframe. “Well, yeah, a scared tied up kid rarely looks like he’s gonna amount to anything. And it took you a few years to get that mouth off of me,” he laughed.

“You say that like it’s gone completely,” Izogie said with a glint in her eye, coming up to stand in front of Castys. Despite more than a decade passing, she still towered over Castys, the passage of time only showing in the lines on her face and the gray streaking her hair. He hadn’t grown any taller, but he’d at least gained some muscle and quite a few scars, which was well within the realm of expectation for being a pirate. “Well then, let’s go help out, Castys. This isn’t our first storm, and we need to make sure it won’t be our last.”

“I’d prefer to go down to a sea monster, at least. And I can’t imagine anything short of a hurricane taking you, Captain.”

“I’d like to see one try.”

The storm that night certainly did.

The rain came down in sheets, driven to needlepoints by the harsh winds. It was more difficult than ever to hear the shouts of the crew as reports and orders were passed around, and Castys’s throat was raw from relaying directions to the men at the helm. He was glad for the storm sails, because even though they hadn’t had time to put all of them up, they were still making good progress through the crashing waves. At least, he hoped so.

The ship’s bow pierced through another wall of water, and it was all Castys could do to stay on his feet, holding tight to the rope tied around his waist. Shit, one of the men at the helm had collapsed, and there was no one else to take his place. Castys ran up, grabbing the wheel alongside the others as he continued to keep an eye on the angle of the bow and the oncoming waves. It was fine, he could keep this up even as his arms burned from the strain, the hairs that had escaped from his ponytail blowing in his eyes and sticking to his face, making it even harder to see, the ever-louder thunder overhead drowning out the sound of his own voice. Didn’t matter if things were only getting worse, they had to keep-

CRACK

Everything was too loud, or maybe too quiet, roaring and buzzing, he was pressed up against the soaking wood of the deck and there was a ball of dense, sharp agony buried in his chest, making it hard to breathe, he kept coughing, couldn’t stand, couldn’t see, the blackness was coming, fading in and out, and all of a sudden he was belowdecks, blood and rain puddling around him, hands on his chest, pulling up his shirt, the words muffled, his chin moved up, Alfyn’s eyes were gray and full of fear, he hadn’t seen that expression before, or maybe he had, and maybe he was going to die, here, because of the storm, because he couldn’t breathe, time was up, that was it, those thirty-four years were over and done he wasn’t getting that time back no more tries he was satisfied with that right he had to be he couldn’t have any regrets because he wasn’t supposed to but it would have been nice if…if…

Castys woke up to a vast expanse of yellowish-white, which was not the color he expected the afterlife to be. Upon further inspection, though, it turned out that it was just a sheet over his head. After tossing it off and sitting up, he was greeted by a shrill scream that should have come from a young girl but actually came from Alfyn.

“Chill, dude, you shouldn’t have put that over me if you’d healed me.” Castys narrowed his eyes a bit as he talked. Did his voice always sound like that? Maybe whatever injuries he’d had had damaged his hearing or something. He wasn’t in any pain now, though, so that was good.

“C-Castys you-you’re-how are you-” Alfyn ran over, nearly tackling Castys as he pulled up his tattered shirt to reveal a rather bloodstained but otherwise perfectly fine torso. Castys gave him a weird look, leaning away.

“Uh, you’re the one who fixed whatever it was, weren’t you?” He brushed his wet hair off of his face as he stared down at himself. Why the fuck did he grow his hair out, again? It was annoying as hell like this.

Alfyn shook his head in disbelief. “I didn’t heal you, Castys. You-you were…both of your lungs had collapsed and I-I couldn’t fix it but-” He looked Castys in the eye, frowning. “You…you look different. Younger.” He ran a hand over Castys’s ribs, and Castys was very glad that he was more than used to the medic touching his bare skin. “There’s no scar from what just-”

“Hey, what are you-” Castys yelped as Alfyn forced him to lean forward, pulling up his shirt even more to expose his back.

“You still had scars from your first day, didn’t you? When you were flogged?”

“Uh, I think so? I don’t really make it a hobby to look at my back, so you’d probably know better than me.”

Alfyn sighed, letting go of Castys and standing up. “Well, if they were there before, they’re gone now. You…” He looked around at the patients lying on the cots on the other side of the room. “Do you feel alright, Castys?”

“I think so? I’m not in any pain or anything, but…I dunno, does my voice sound weird to you?” There were a few other things that were bothering him, but he couldn’t really get a solid hold on what they were. He just felt different, his thoughts more scattered, his arms less muscular than he remembered, the persistent ache in his left knee from a battle wound a few years ago completely gone now.

Alfyn nodded slowly. “Now that you mention it, it does seem a little…off.” He frowned again. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you, Castys, but I have more urgent patients to attend to, and I’m going to ask you to stay put until we can get this sorted out.”

“But the s-”

“Fine then, I’m not asking, I’m ordering. Doctor’s orders supersede everything else, you know that. And the storm has almost passed. So stay. Put.”

Castys grumbled and crossed his arms, but he didn’t move to get up. He knew all too well that Alfyn wasn’t above restraining disobedient patients, and he’d rather avoid that today. Bored, he peeked at his chest again. It was very bloody, but there were no injuries anywhere, and poking his ribs didn’t hurt like a bitch, so they weren’t broken or anything. What was weird though was that he still had some scars, just not all of them. The twisted one on his tummy and the clean line over his heart were still there. He slapped a hand on his right cheek and tried very hard to smile, finding that, yup, he still couldn’t really do it on that side, so the remnant of the gash on his face was still there. But the one on his knee, on his arm, and apparently the ones on his back…gone. It didn’t make sense. Unless…

He put a hand over his heart. Every scar he still had now, he’d gotten before…before that day. The day he still didn’t want to believe had happened. Just as he was about to dig up that lovely little box of buried memories, Captain Izogie rushed in, worry etched in her face.

“Alfyn, is it true Castys is-” she laid eyes on Castys and the tension visibly drained from her body. “Oh thank Mydnar.” She walked over and crouched down in front of where he was seated on the floor, eyeing him suspiciously. “What…what did Alfyn do to you? You look like a kid again.”

“Not my fault!” Alfyn called from where he was working on someone’s fucked-up arm.

“Uh, yeah, I, um,” Castys laughed nervously. “It’s my fault. I think. But I’m okay! All the breathing is happening fine.”

Izogie shook her head. “You’re not making any sense. Laias said a broken piece of the mizzen top yard poked a hole through your chest.”

“It did,” Alfyn said, wiping his hands as he walked over. “Both of his lungs were punctured. I worked as quickly as I could after I pulled it out, but…” he swallowed. “Your pulse was gone, Castys.”

“But I…I’m fine. I’m…” He swallowed. Everything was so cold all of a sudden, that was the only reason he’d be shaking like this, right? Had to be. Unsure if he even wanted to know the answer to this question, Castys lifted his shirt, poking at the scar on his stomach. “Alfyn…what if a person was…was stabbed right here. And the knife was dragged and twisted a bit before being pulled out. And then it went,” his finger was over his heart now, “right here. Would that person…would they die?”

Alfyn looked at Castys in slight horror before slowly nodding. “Without medical attention, in a matter of minutes. Possibly less depending on how much the stomach wound had bled and how much damage had been done.”

Every worry line in Izogie’s face stood out more than ever before. “Castys, you-what are you saying? Are those scars-”

“I think so.” Castys dropped his shirt. “At least, from what I can remember. So maybe I…I already died. Before this. All this time I just thought I might be remembering things wrong, but if what Alfyn said about earlier is true, then…and it might explain why I’m…different.”

“So you think you’re some kind of…” the furrow in Alfyn’s brow deepened, “immortal?”

Immortal. The thought was sort of exciting, as ridiculous as it seemed, but it was also sort of terrifying. Why the fuck was he one, anyway, if it was true? He was just Castys, a random pirate with incurable amnesia about his childhood and hadn’t done anything special besides the whole…maybe this was some kind of fucked-up reward for finishing his mission? But then where had-fuck, okay, no more of that, his brain hurt too much. Why think about things when he could get some results?

“Hey, Captain, could you stab me or something? I wanna see what happens.”

Izogie, who was still clearly trying to process whatever the hell was going on, gave him a very concerned look. “No, Castys, what-even if you think you’ll-you’ll come back what if-”

“Well, I should have died twice now. So I feel like I’ve already gotten a second chance if I was going to be dead anyway.” He glanced over at Alfyn. “Could you-”

“I’m a fucking doctor, Castys. My hands aren’t-I can’t. No.” The other pirates cursed pretty much every other word, but coming from Alfyn, that word might as well have been a cannon blast. Seeing that neither of his friends were willing to stab him for science, Castys dropped the idea and let them examine him for a bit before finally getting cleared to go back to his quarters. The crew gave him odd looks as he passed by, just hammering it in even more that he was different somehow. Either that or they’d heard he fucking died and was now walking around perfectly healthy, which was also probably cause for concern.

Once he was alone, he pulled out his sword and looked at his reflection in the blade. From what he could tell in this shitty makeshift mirror, his face did look a lot more youthful than he remembered. The scruff on his chin and his longer hair did make him look a bit older than the age he supposed his body was now, but the beard was itchy and long hair was a pain in the ass. Part of him wanted to hack his ponytail off right now with his knife, but he’d rather not look like a total mess on top of everything else, so he could wait to ask for a haircut tomorrow. He could shave, however, and he felt a lot better once it was done.

Turning the razor over in his hands, Castys wondered if he really would come back to life again if he slit his throat or whatever. Well, only one way to find out. His clothes were already super bloody, anyway, so that wouldn’t be a problem. Here goes nothing, then.

Why were his hands shaking so much? It was just dying, he’d apparently done it before, it was fine, he’d come back, he wasn’t leaving anyone behind, just a quick swipe of the blade and then…then…he’d come back, right? Right. A-and if he didn’t, he’d already cheated death before, so it was only fair for things to end now. Deep breath maybe his last-

The blade moved a little more slowly than he would have liked, a flash of pain before-

Castys opened his eyes. He was still in his cabin, lying on the floor, razor still gripped in his hand, fresh blood warm and sticky on his neck. S-so then…he’d died. And come back. And wasn’t in any pain.

Some sick fascination drove him to slice a deep gash in his arm before turning the blade on his neck again.

He woke up just as healthy as before, no cut in sight.

That settled it, then. Castys…he was immortal. A deep feeling of freedom unlike anything he’d ever known washed over him. He could do anything, go anywhere, not having to worry about wasting his time or being in danger, because fuck that he was immortal nothing would ever stop him again.

Lying in a puddle of his own blood, Castys couldn’t help but laugh.

He got slapped and lectured the next day for testing things out on himself, sure, but it was nothing in the face of his infinite future. He could go on with everyone forever and e-

Kamon left.

Alfyn died.

Izogie retired.

And then, one day, Castys was standing on the deck of the ship, his ship, and he realized he didn’t recognize a single face looking back at him. Well, he recognized them, but he didn’t know them, didn’t remember any of them from his life before the years felt like minutes. There was a divide between them, and he wasn’t sure who put it there.

Immortality was…lonely. Isolating.

Someone else like him had to be out there, right? So he’d look all over, chase down every lead, even an immortal monster or something would do, he just needed-

Castys felt as alone as he was all those years ago, trapped on that deserted island, the passage of time impossible to follow.

But no matter what, he’d find that ship on the horizon.

Castys Cult: @as-a-matter-of-whump @blackrosesandwhump @fanmanga1357-blog @thehopelessopus @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @hearse-song @muddy-swamp-bitch @whumpasaurus101 @yet-another-heathen @galaxywhump @starnight-whump @his-unspoken-words @misspelledwitch @suspicious-whumping-egg @pumpkin-spice-whump @painsandconfusion @i-can-even-burn-salad @befuddled-calico-whump @whumpinggrounds @whump-queen @whumpedydump @theelvishcowgirl

#i wrote something #whump #castys #immortal whumpee #pirate whump #suicide for convenience #why is it so hard to write things that arent pain why do people have to talk to each other so much #but uh there you go there's Boy Finds Out lore #ive said it before in like an ask answer but now it is right there in the canon:#castys acts the way he does partly due to the fact that he is mentally 19 and his brain is not fully mature!#he's also just. like that. but he would mellow out some with age for sure #uh what else...oh rip to kamon i was planning on including them more and then it just felt forced so sorry bruh #yes izogie is trans and during this time period HRT is similar to our world where it's something that has to be upkept constantly #it's just a magical procedure instead of a shot #later as shit advances magic will be able to force the endocrine bitches to produce the preferred hormones forever with only one procedure!#it's still a slow process but much less upkeep #i could talk more (you can send an ask if you want me to 🤧) but back to this actual thing #alfyn i just took his name from the octopath apothecary and no one called me out so im doing it myself #poor castys gets so excited about being immortal and then immediately gets hit with the reality of crippling lonliness lmaoooo #i say immediately but it was like 20 years or smth #i can FINALLY work on next erebus chapter oh we are finally at the Place no one will be excited but me

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faithfulcat111 · 2 months

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🧃❄️ for the writers truth or dare!

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

Ooooh, what have I actually never shared here? Oh, I know! I did that thing that everyone says not to do and moved in with people I met on the internet. Lo, R, and I met on Tiktok of all places in a cosplay group we were all a part of. I don't think I've share that here. And then we picked a random place to move to that was nearish to family for all of us but also somewhere different.

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

So I shared the Chrissy and Jonathan childhood friends plot thought already. But I also have a thought of a fic (that again, I'll probably never personally ever write) of the Arcade Disaster that ends in Steve, Robin, Jonathan, and Argyle all being banned from the Hawkins Arcade. What did they do? Well, no one is telling Nancy for fear of their own lives, that is for sure. Whoever writes it has to be way better at writing Argyle than I am.

Writers Truth & Dare Ask Game

#ask game #faith answers #i do not recommend what i did for meeting roommates #be careful who you decide to live with #we did know each other for a good few years before making the move-in leap #i think i've mentioned the arcade disaster in a headcanon post before #those four are a chaotic mess when left to their own devices without nancy to reign them in #and i stand by that #i just struggle with argyle #and i wish i didn't #but i do #also my only other sure thought on the disaster is that it is dustin that spills the beans on what happened eventually #but it is like 20 years later

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strawberry-cowmilk · 5 months

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I finally passed neuroscience!!

#nana talks #I walked out of that exam hall making plans on what to do if it all went wrong but I scored 20 out of 28 points what #there is a second exam but thats a worry for months later #I'm literally retaking this course because it all went wrong last year #anyways finally randomly guessing half of the answers went well #please bless me with that luck monday during the stats midterm too

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nievea · 1 month

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(I hope this is okay to send in! ;w; )

The Cursebreaker had worried over this for far longer than he'd meant to. He knew very well that it wasn't his place to step forward, and more than that -- to ask forgiveness from Jill or Clive for his failures. Especially Jill, for if he had never taken her from her home in the north, would she have suffered a fraction of what she had endured after The Night of Flames?

He could only pray to Metia that the pair would find peace now, the peace they had deserved every day since their first meeting back in their youth. The peace that they had fought so hard 'til now to gain.

But in the end, Elwin had persuaded himself into approaching: a word of congratulations wouldn't be the worst thing to offer them, now would it? By now, the gushing praise and excitement for Jill had surely become common from others, considering most -- if not all -- of Hideaway knew about her and Clive. This, he reasoned, made the gesture perfectly harmless. Yet "Miles" still continued to hesitate. Each time his gloved hand would raise to offer a gentle knock to the door in front of him, it would, without fail, stop just short of making contact.

The natural furrow of his brow only deepened as the moments pressed on. One failed attempt after another seemed destined to continue 'til the last, and it wasn't until the fallen royal was about to turn to leave that he finally, finally managed to muster the courage to knock -- albeit quietly. From there, it became a matter of waiting, and carefully steadying the breaths that threatened to hitch in his throat.

she'd practically been singing these last few days. Clive had awoken from his coma, they had been officially wed. she would now be able to introduce herself as Jill Rosfield ⸻ a thought that always brought butterflies to her stomach. a smile to lips. if she weren't standing, surely it would have caused her feet to kick. now they were going to travel, just as he promised. as newlyweds. so she packs. humming the whole time. Clive had left to take care of little things to ensure the Hideaway would not fall apart without its two leaders. the torch would be passed to either Otto & Gav. should they return, it would be for their final goodbye.

Valestheia was no longer at risk of the end, but it did not mean that it was not falling apart. the loss of the mother crystals largely affected the law of the land, yet that cannot be said for what lays beyond the twins. while they felt slight guilt to depart at such a time, they had done enough. far too many times had their lives been on hold. it was time to go. interruptions or requests still came in from time to time, yet they were passed on to The Hideaway's new leadership; Clive himself would handle the smaller ones. sometimes there would be a knock, but they became less frequent as the time of their departure approached. So when a knock stops her song, she tilts her head with curiosity, but does not hesitate to answer the door with a smile.

her smile falls, then. not out of upset, but of confusion. who stood before her was an older man, one that hadn't been seen around The Hideaway before. ( not that it was anything new for others to join at any point in time. ) there was something about him that felt familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. she was far too distracted in her mind. too many things raced within it. but she studied him ⸻ he seemed insecure in his current stance. he had scars, one of a bearer with mark removed. their eyes did not meet.

❛ I'm not sure we've met before. could it be that you are looking for Clive? ❜

a pause.

❛ ...Are you unwell? ❜

yet there was this uneasy feeling that she had hoped would go away as soon as he spoke. maybe then she would understand where that feeling of familiarity came from.

#phoenix flamed #「 V •❅• Lucky Ones. 」#( IM GONNA ROLL WITH THEY'RE NOT GIVING EYE CONTACT SO SHE CANT TELL RIGHT AWAY BC UH ITS BEEN 20 YEARS SO THATS FAIR )#( 20 YEARS LATER I ANSWER THIS )

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endingsmakeroom · 6 months

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how many years has kaya been alive by the time she meets aeren (and/or how many years has the universe existed)?

aeren, reading a book: sometimes u act like ur the older sibling man kaya, making dinner: [snorts] good one aeren, mentally: this is humorous because she is so much younger than me and she is aware of this kaya, mentally: this is humorous because he is so much younger than me and he is aware of this

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galacticslugs · 8 months

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yo im fucked in the head 😶‍🌫️

#yall ever have realizations in the shower specifically #im banking on monday i know i shouldn't but it's a start . like. something ain't right #but the shit im like thinking about 20 years later shouldnt be happening but it is so what the fuckk is up im trying to live and survive !!#shhchri #vague posting basically my psych is having me tested for adhd and ptsd but shes like certain i have it we just have to do 3 hour testing 🙏#idk whats gonna happen in there but theyve gotta give me some kind of answer i really want to try to live my life #does that make sense i feel frozen

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idk-i-want-mcl-content · 8 months

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fuuuuuuck

#this save is where i answer without guides #it's a fun experiment where i can practice english with my fav silly otome #and i also did it because i wanted to know who would i be more attracted to #i'm a lysander girlie ok? like i love Armin he's the second loml #but this past three years nathaniel??? idk i just like him quite a lot #and i'm trying real hard to answer things that i would say but shit #i don't want to break nath's heart in later episodes #bUT COME ON NATH IT'S LYSANDER YOU ARE COMPETING WITH #i say it with love but know your place in my heart bestie #should i tag this rant? idk #anyways lysander ily #also i'm on ep 20 and i really wanted to do sleeping beauty and Alice in Wonderland #chose the ladder because of the lov'ometer but for the record #this is my THIRD time doing that one and was hoping to chose Sleeping Beauty but-#you see why i didn't

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mangoamango · 1 year

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tagged by my mutual comrades @brofisting and @sixohsixoheightfourtwo !!

three ships: this question ouugughhgh it's TOO HARD. so i'm just going off of my last 3 ships i got ao3 emails about: ed/stede (ofmd), eddie/richie (it movies - muschietti), hua cheng/xie lian (heaven official's blessing). i already feel like i have revealed Too Much.

first ever ship: TK/Kari (Takeru/Hikari) from Digimon. Yes. I know. YES. I AM AWARE. but if I am going off of the "first ship i read fic for" then this is 100% the truthful answer. I still completely unironically love digimon btw, it is a Good Show. WHO else had characters falling into depression caves in 2000 hmmm? NO ONE

last song: “Hypnotic" by Dead Sara (via my discover weekly playlist)

last movie: “The Menu." love 2 support women

currently reading: V5 of "Heaven Official's Blessing", and rereading the first two books of the Dreamer trilogy by Stiefvater so I can read the last one. Just finished V4 of "The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" (there was only one bath!!!!!!!!!!! area man biggest idiot alive!!!!), and "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida" by Shehan Karunatilaka, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

currently watching: The Bear, My Love Mix Up!, To Your Eternity, Abbott Elementary, Vox Machina S2, various and sundry kdramas and brit crime tv

currently consuming: mandarin orange that i tore into like a feral animal bc the skin was too hard to peel

currently craving: frozen rosé drink from a local neighborhood restaurant

tagging @valdemort18 @bripops @misterhaderach @jemware @shortcrust @beeintransit

#sry. sry i took way too long answering bc i got Self Conches about some of these answers lmfao #anyway do u guys wanna know more about my digimon hot takes.#the takes are: it's good.#ALSO. anybody want the link to a ff.net christian tk/kari fic where they go to another world and get worshipped by squirrel ppl #bc i have it. i have the goods.#this fic left SUCH a lasting impression on me that i was able to find it fuckin 20 years later.#ask meme

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lathrine · 1 year

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im reading an article about how vitriolic people visiting the national parks have gotten, and it is SO cathartic to see my exact experiences in grocery retail be restated by the customer service reps working in the parks.

like its awful, obvious. the average customer has gotten so nasty, and the employees Do Not deserve the treatment they’re receiving. but during 2020/2021, people seemed to think that those viral Nasty Customer videos were 1) not common and 2) relegated just to grocery/retail. and i cant speak for every single hospitality and customer service sector and store, but i can say that at my store that sort of vitriolic outbreak became VERY common. not constant, but common enough to bump the baseline up.

my manager and i had a conversation where she said a lot of her friends-- some of whom had been in the hospitality or customer service industry for over a decade-- were considering a career change because it was SO BAD and no one could even fathom how to move forward. none of us could imagine it ever getting better. our New Normal was people screaming at and berating us every day, blaming us for mask mandates and vaccines and supply shortages. threatening legal action and physical violence. of people intentionally trying to get us sick and terrorizing us. everything was an argument with no hope of de-escalation; it genuinely wouldve been less inciting to tell some of those customers “go fuck yourself” than it was to tell them “im so sorry, but.” and all that while we were surrounded by the extremely smothering reality that no one cared if we died and everyone considered us sub-human.

everyone i know who gave a fuck quit shortly after i did, because none of us could handle it anymore. this includes people who’d worked at that store since it opened, some of our most decorated and knowledgeable coworkers.

like. i dunno yall. its kind of like how you cant describe how things just Make Sense as you near the latter half of your 20s; i cant put into words just how horrifically awful customer service was at that time. if you didnt personally experience it, everything we say sounds like an exaggeration and hyperbole.

and i cannot stress this enough: its still that bad. i would imagine most customer service and hospitality places had the same thing happen: a mass exodus of everyone who knew what they were doing because they could not stand the abuse anymore, and a rotating door of new hires that Refuse (rightfully so!!!) to tolerate the abuse. there is a new breed of customer that genuinely Does Not Care about employees and see pleas of humanity and kindness as a challenge to see how quickly they can break the employee at the desk.

this is especially relevant now, with it being the holidays. employees are more short staffed and overworked than ever, and customers some how have even less patience. customers dont plan literally five minutes out, and then blame employees for not materializing their needs before them on a silver platter.

anyways. i dont know how this article ends, but i have a pretty good guess.

#ive mentioned this before but right before i quit i was having massive disassociation episodes and 8+ hr long anxiety attacks #then my work place announced they were ending employee mask mandates on what basically amounted to a pinky promise of vaccination #i Broke and i wrote up my resignation on the spot and i was out two work-days later.#i was so scared that it took me a month to even write up a new resume and start applying to jobs #blocked / forgot a LOT of the shit but like. we had to call the cops on a Bunch of people.#we had a whole group of like 20+ individuals come in maskless in like may of 2020 who didnt buy anything and just wanted to terrorize us #i had an old dude accuse my coffee bar of being in on a seattle-wide conspiracy to discontinue decaf coffee For Him Specifically #some lady berated me for ten minutes because she didnt like the answer i gave when she asked what filling we used for our eclairs #a regular had been banned from the local ulta for abusing the employees so NATURALLY she came to our store and rammed people with carts #threw shit at us and repeatedly pressured the cashiers into committing fraud #like it just. it Gets To You.#i genuinely loved that job. i planned on staying there for Years.#but it was so soul crushingly awful.#take prepandemic retail and triple how bad it was and you'll probably be close to COVID era customer service

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