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Navigating the Waves of Casual Teaching: Your Gateway to Opportunities in Sydney
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Casual teaching has emerged as a dynamic and flexible career option, especially in the vibrant educational landscape of Sydney. If you're an educator looking for diverse opportunities that complement your lifestyle, you're in the right place. In this blog post, we'll explore the nuances of casual teaching in Sydney and how our platform, Casual Teaching Jobs Sydney, can be your compass to navigate these exciting waters.
The Sydney Advantage:
Sydney, with its bustling education scene, offers a plethora of opportunities for casual teachers. From the iconic urban landscape to the cultural diversity that defines the city, Sydney's schools are hubs of innovation and excellence. Whether you're seeking opportunities in primary, secondary, or special education, Sydney provides a canvas for educators to make a meaningful impact.
Flexibility as a Core Tenet:
One of the primary attractions of casual teaching is the unparalleled flexibility it provides. At CasualTeachSydney.com, we understand the importance of work-life balance. Our platform connects you with schools that appreciate and value the flexibility that casual teachers bring to the table. Choose your schedule, explore different teaching environments, and take control of your professional journey.
Building a Versatile Profile:
Creating a compelling profile is key to standing out in the competitive field of casual teaching. Showcase your qualifications, experience, and teaching philosophy on our user-friendly platform. The better you present yourself, the more likely you are to attract schools seeking your unique expertise.
Navigating the Application Process:
We've streamlined the application process to make it as straightforward as possible. Browse through our regularly updated job listings, find opportunities that resonate with your skills and preferences, and apply with just a few clicks. Track the status of your applications in real-time, giving you the transparency you need in your job search.
Direct Connections with Schools:
CasualTeachSydney.com facilitates direct communication between you and schools interested in your profile. Receive notifications, messages, and interview requests from schools actively seeking passionate educators like you. This direct connection empowers you to make informed decisions about your teaching journey.
Embracing the Variety:
Casual teaching opens doors to a variety of educational experiences. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons, gain experience in different grades, or explore diverse teaching methodologies, our platform connects you with schools that align with your goals. Embrace the variety, and let each teaching opportunity contribute to your professional growth.
Conclusion:
CasualTeachSydney.com is more than a job portal; it's a community that celebrates the versatility and passion of casual teachers. Join us on this journey of exploration and growth. Create your profile, discover exciting opportunities, and connect with schools that recognize and value your contribution to education. Welcome to a world where teaching meets flexibility, and your career takes center stage.
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Navigating the Waves of Casual Teaching: Your Gateway to Opportunities in Sydney
Tumblr media
Casual teaching has emerged as a dynamic and flexible career option, especially in the vibrant educational landscape of Sydney. If you're an educator looking for diverse opportunities that complement your lifestyle, you're in the right place. In this blog post, we'll explore the nuances of casual teaching in Sydney and how our platform, Casual Teaching Jobs Sydney, can be your compass to navigate these exciting waters.
The Sydney Advantage:
Sydney, with its bustling education scene, offers a plethora of opportunities for casual teachers. From the iconic urban landscape to the cultural diversity that defines the city, Sydney's schools are hubs of innovation and excellence. Whether you're seeking opportunities in primary, secondary, or special education, Sydney provides a canvas for educators to make a meaningful impact.
Flexibility as a Core Tenet:
One of the primary attractions of casual teaching is the unparalleled flexibility it provides. At CasualTeachSydney.com, we understand the importance of work-life balance. Our platform connects you with schools that appreciate and value the flexibility that casual teachers bring to the table. Choose your schedule, explore different teaching environments, and take control of your professional journey.
Building a Versatile Profile:
Creating a compelling profile is key to standing out in the competitive field of casual teaching. Showcase your qualifications, experience, and teaching philosophy on our user-friendly platform. The better you present yourself, the more likely you are to attract schools seeking your unique expertise.
Navigating the Application Process:
We've streamlined the application process to make it as straightforward as possible. Browse through our regularly updated job listings, find opportunities that resonate with your skills and preferences, and apply with just a few clicks. Track the status of your applications in real-time, giving you the transparency you need in your job search.
Direct Connections with Schools:
CasualTeachSydney.com facilitates direct communication between you and schools interested in your profile. Receive notifications, messages, and interview requests from schools actively seeking passionate educators like you. This direct connection empowers you to make informed decisions about your teaching journey.
Embracing the Variety:
Casual teaching opens doors to a variety of educational experiences. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons, gain experience in different grades, or explore diverse teaching methodologies, our platform connects you with schools that align with your goals. Embrace the variety, and let each teaching opportunity contribute to your professional growth.
Conclusion:
CasualTeachSydney.com is more than a job portal; it's a community that celebrates the versatility and passion of casual teachers. Join us on this journey of exploration and growth. Create your profile, discover exciting opportunities, and connect with schools that recognize and value your contribution to education. Welcome to a world where teaching meets flexibility, and your career takes center stage.
0 notes
Text
Navigating the Waves of Casual Teaching: Your Gateway to Opportunities in Sydney
Tumblr media
Casual teaching has emerged as a dynamic and flexible career option, especially in the vibrant educational landscape of Sydney. If you're an educator looking for diverse opportunities that complement your lifestyle, you're in the right place. In this blog post, we'll explore the nuances of casual teaching in Sydney and how our platform, Casual Teaching Jobs Sydney, can be your compass to navigate these exciting waters.
The Sydney Advantage:
Sydney, with its bustling education scene, offers a plethora of opportunities for casual teachers. From the iconic urban landscape to the cultural diversity that defines the city, Sydney's schools are hubs of innovation and excellence. Whether you're seeking opportunities in primary, secondary, or special education, Sydney provides a canvas for educators to make a meaningful impact.
Flexibility as a Core Tenet:
One of the primary attractions of casual teaching is the unparalleled flexibility it provides. At CasualTeachSydney.com, we understand the importance of work-life balance. Our platform connects you with schools that appreciate and value the flexibility that casual teachers bring to the table. Choose your schedule, explore different teaching environments, and take control of your professional journey.
Building a Versatile Profile:
Creating a compelling profile is key to standing out in the competitive field of casual teaching. Showcase your qualifications, experience, and teaching philosophy on our user-friendly platform. The better you present yourself, the more likely you are to attract schools seeking your unique expertise.
Navigating the Application Process:
We've streamlined the application process to make it as straightforward as possible. Browse through our regularly updated job listings, find opportunities that resonate with your skills and preferences, and apply with just a few clicks. Track the status of your applications in real-time, giving you the transparency you need in your job search.
Direct Connections with Schools:
CasualTeachSydney.com facilitates direct communication between you and schools interested in your profile. Receive notifications, messages, and interview requests from schools actively seeking passionate educators like you. This direct connection empowers you to make informed decisions about your teaching journey.
Embracing the Variety:
Casual teaching opens doors to a variety of educational experiences. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons, gain experience in different grades, or explore diverse teaching methodologies, our platform connects you with schools that align with your goals. Embrace the variety, and let each teaching opportunity contribute to your professional growth.
Conclusion:
CasualTeachSydney.com is more than a job portal; it's a community that celebrates the versatility and passion of casual teachers. Join us on this journey of exploration and growth. Create your profile, discover exciting opportunities, and connect with schools that recognize and value your contribution to education. Welcome to a world where teaching meets flexibility, and your career takes center stage.
0 notes
casualteachingnsw · 6 months
Text
Navigating the Waves of Casual Teaching: Your Gateway to Opportunities in Sydney
Tumblr media
Casual teaching has emerged as a dynamic and flexible career option, especially in the vibrant educational landscape of Sydney. If you're an educator looking for diverse opportunities that complement your lifestyle, you're in the right place. In this blog post, we'll explore the nuances of casual teaching in Sydney and how our platform, Casual Teaching Jobs Sydney, can be your compass to navigate these exciting waters.
The Sydney Advantage:
Sydney, with its bustling education scene, offers a plethora of opportunities for casual teachers. From the iconic urban landscape to the cultural diversity that defines the city, Sydney's schools are hubs of innovation and excellence. Whether you're seeking opportunities in primary, secondary, or special education, Sydney provides a canvas for educators to make a meaningful impact.
Flexibility as a Core Tenet:
One of the primary attractions of casual teaching is the unparalleled flexibility it provides. At CasualTeachSydney.com, we understand the importance of work-life balance. Our platform connects you with schools that appreciate and value the flexibility that casual teachers bring to the table. Choose your schedule, explore different teaching environments, and take control of your professional journey.
Building a Versatile Profile:
Creating a compelling profile is key to standing out in the competitive field of casual teaching. Showcase your qualifications, experience, and teaching philosophy on our user-friendly platform. The better you present yourself, the more likely you are to attract schools seeking your unique expertise.
Navigating the Application Process:
We've streamlined the application process to make it as straightforward as possible. Browse through our regularly updated job listings, find opportunities that resonate with your skills and preferences, and apply with just a few clicks. Track the status of your applications in real-time, giving you the transparency you need in your job search.
Direct Connections with Schools:
CasualTeachSydney.com facilitates direct communication between you and schools interested in your profile. Receive notifications, messages, and interview requests from schools actively seeking passionate educators like you. This direct connection empowers you to make informed decisions about your teaching journey.
Embracing the Variety:
Casual teaching opens doors to a variety of educational experiences. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons, gain experience in different grades, or explore diverse teaching methodologies, our platform connects you with schools that align with your goals. Embrace the variety, and let each teaching opportunity contribute to your professional growth.
Conclusion:
CasualTeachSydney.com is more than a job portal; it's a community that celebrates the versatility and passion of casual teachers. Join us on this journey of exploration and growth. Create your profile, discover exciting opportunities, and connect with schools that recognize and value your contribution to education. Welcome to a world where teaching meets flexibility, and your career takes center stage.
0 notes
casualteacher · 6 months
Text
Navigating the Waves of Casual Teaching: Your Gateway to Opportunities in Sydney
Tumblr media
Casual teaching has emerged as a dynamic and flexible career option, especially in the vibrant educational landscape of Sydney. If you're an educator looking for diverse opportunities that complement your lifestyle, you're in the right place. In this blog post, we'll explore the nuances of casual teaching in Sydney and how our platform, Casual Teaching Jobs Sydney, can be your compass to navigate these exciting waters.
The Sydney Advantage:
Sydney, with its bustling education scene, offers a plethora of opportunities for casual teachers. From the iconic urban landscape to the cultural diversity that defines the city, Sydney's schools are hubs of innovation and excellence. Whether you're seeking opportunities in primary, secondary, or special education, Sydney provides a canvas for educators to make a meaningful impact.
Flexibility as a Core Tenet:
One of the primary attractions of casual teaching is the unparalleled flexibility it provides. At CasualTeachSydney.com, we understand the importance of work-life balance. Our platform connects you with schools that appreciate and value the flexibility that casual teachers bring to the table. Choose your schedule, explore different teaching environments, and take control of your professional journey.
Building a Versatile Profile:
Creating a compelling profile is key to standing out in the competitive field of casual teaching. Showcase your qualifications, experience, and teaching philosophy on our user-friendly platform. The better you present yourself, the more likely you are to attract schools seeking your unique expertise.
Navigating the Application Process:
We've streamlined the application process to make it as straightforward as possible. Browse through our regularly updated job listings, find opportunities that resonate with your skills and preferences, and apply with just a few clicks. Track the status of your applications in real-time, giving you the transparency you need in your job search.
Direct Connections with Schools:
CasualTeachSydney.com facilitates direct communication between you and schools interested in your profile. Receive notifications, messages, and interview requests from schools actively seeking passionate educators like you. This direct connection empowers you to make informed decisions about your teaching journey.
Embracing the Variety:
Casual teaching opens doors to a variety of educational experiences. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons, gain experience in different grades, or explore diverse teaching methodologies, our platform connects you with schools that align with your goals. Embrace the variety, and let each teaching opportunity contribute to your professional growth.
Conclusion:
CasualTeachSydney.com is more than a job portal; it's a community that celebrates the versatility and passion of casual teachers. Join us on this journey of exploration and growth. Create your profile, discover exciting opportunities, and connect with schools that recognize and value your contribution to education. Welcome to a world where teaching meets flexibility, and your career takes center stage.
0 notes
airteachr · 6 months
Text
Navigating the Waves of Casual Teaching: Your Gateway to Opportunities in Sydney
Tumblr media
Casual teaching has emerged as a dynamic and flexible career option, especially in the vibrant educational landscape of Sydney. If you're an educator looking for diverse opportunities that complement your lifestyle, you're in the right place. In this blog post, we'll explore the nuances of casual teaching in Sydney and how our platform, Casual Teaching Jobs Sydney, can be your compass to navigate these exciting waters.
The Sydney Advantage:
Sydney, with its bustling education scene, offers a plethora of opportunities for casual teachers. From the iconic urban landscape to the cultural diversity that defines the city, Sydney's schools are hubs of innovation and excellence. Whether you're seeking opportunities in primary, secondary, or special education, Sydney provides a canvas for educators to make a meaningful impact.
Flexibility as a Core Tenet:
One of the primary attractions of casual teaching is the unparalleled flexibility it provides. At CasualTeachSydney.com, we understand the importance of work-life balance. Our platform connects you with schools that appreciate and value the flexibility that casual teachers bring to the table. Choose your schedule, explore different teaching environments, and take control of your professional journey.
Building a Versatile Profile:
Creating a compelling profile is key to standing out in the competitive field of casual teaching. Showcase your qualifications, experience, and teaching philosophy on our user-friendly platform. The better you present yourself, the more likely you are to attract schools seeking your unique expertise.
Navigating the Application Process:
We've streamlined the application process to make it as straightforward as possible. Browse through our regularly updated job listings, find opportunities that resonate with your skills and preferences, and apply with just a few clicks. Track the status of your applications in real-time, giving you the transparency you need in your job search.
Direct Connections with Schools:
CasualTeachSydney.com facilitates direct communication between you and schools interested in your profile. Receive notifications, messages, and interview requests from schools actively seeking passionate educators like you. This direct connection empowers you to make informed decisions about your teaching journey.
Embracing the Variety:
Casual teaching opens doors to a variety of educational experiences. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons, gain experience in different grades, or explore diverse teaching methodologies, our platform connects you with schools that align with your goals. Embrace the variety, and let each teaching opportunity contribute to your professional growth.
Conclusion:
CasualTeachSydney.com is more than a job portal; it's a community that celebrates the versatility and passion of casual teachers. Join us on this journey of exploration and growth. Create your profile, discover exciting opportunities, and connect with schools that recognize and value your contribution to education. Welcome to a world where teaching meets flexibility, and your career takes center stage.
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Text
Navigating the Waves of Casual Teaching: Your Gateway to Opportunities in Sydney
Tumblr media
Casual teaching has emerged as a dynamic and flexible career option, especially in the vibrant educational landscape of Sydney. If you're an educator looking for diverse opportunities that complement your lifestyle, you're in the right place. In this blog post, we'll explore the nuances of casual teaching in Sydney and how our platform, Casual Teaching Jobs Sydney, can be your compass to navigate these exciting waters.
The Sydney Advantage:
Sydney, with its bustling education scene, offers a plethora of opportunities for casual teachers. From the iconic urban landscape to the cultural diversity that defines the city, Sydney's schools are hubs of innovation and excellence. Whether you're seeking opportunities in primary, secondary, or special education, Sydney provides a canvas for educators to make a meaningful impact.
Flexibility as a Core Tenet:
One of the primary attractions of casual teaching is the unparalleled flexibility it provides. At CasualTeachSydney.com, we understand the importance of work-life balance. Our platform connects you with schools that appreciate and value the flexibility that casual teachers bring to the table. Choose your schedule, explore different teaching environments, and take control of your professional journey.
Building a Versatile Profile:
Creating a compelling profile is key to standing out in the competitive field of casual teaching. Showcase your qualifications, experience, and teaching philosophy on our user-friendly platform. The better you present yourself, the more likely you are to attract schools seeking your unique expertise.
Navigating the Application Process:
We've streamlined the application process to make it as straightforward as possible. Browse through our regularly updated job listings, find opportunities that resonate with your skills and preferences, and apply with just a few clicks. Track the status of your applications in real-time, giving you the transparency you need in your job search.
Direct Connections with Schools:
CasualTeachSydney.com facilitates direct communication between you and schools interested in your profile. Receive notifications, messages, and interview requests from schools actively seeking passionate educators like you. This direct connection empowers you to make informed decisions about your teaching journey.
Embracing the Variety:
Casual teaching opens doors to a variety of educational experiences. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons, gain experience in different grades, or explore diverse teaching methodologies, our platform connects you with schools that align with your goals. Embrace the variety, and let each teaching opportunity contribute to your professional growth.
Conclusion:
Casual Teaching Jobs Sydney is more than a job portal; it's a community that celebrates the versatility and passion of casual teachers. Join us on this journey of exploration and growth. Create your profile, discover exciting opportunities, and connect with schools that recognize and value your contribution to education. Welcome to a world where teaching meets flexibility, and your career takes center stage.
0 notes
wileys-russo · 6 months
Note
Well you already know what we want bestie….
blurb based off vics comments about Less’s driving AND the beautiful suggestions from @wonder-kid-pugh @lessilover and you PLEASE i am down so bad for being less passenger princess and viccy p best friend
reckless II a.russo x platonic!viccy p
"less. less. less!" victoria shrieked as the blonde slammed on the brakes, looking like she was about to speed through the red light but changing her mind last minute.
"stop shouting you're throwing me off my concentration!" alessia groaned, shoving the dutch girls shoulder who let out an angry string of her native language. "what did she say?" alessia turned to glance at you who knew more dutch than she did having begged viv and lotte to teach you.
"nothing you want to hear baby, trust me." you smiled knowingly causing alessias scowl to deepen as she glared at the shorter girl beside her. "you drive like a crazy woman!" victoria accused, grabbing her seatbelt tightly as alessia shot off again once the light went green.
"you panic like a grandma!" alessia shot back, the two of them bickering back and forth as vic jumped every ten seconds, cursing under her breath and grabbing the handle of her door with wide eyes.
"how do you do this every day! how!" your friend now turned to look at you with panicked eyes, head popping over the back of her seat. "because she doesn't carry on like a numpty and grab the oh shit handle every three seconds!" alessia angrily answered for you.
"numpty. what is numpty? you have not learned me that one." victoria frowned, looking between you both for an answer. "taught. not learned." you corrected gently, the dutch girl nodding and repeating the word a few times.
"less that is too close, less, less, alessia!" victoria returned to her panicked yelling as your girlfriend sped into the drive through of your favourite coffee place, stopping right behind the car in front. "honestly you are so dramatic victoria!" alessia groaned, rolling her window down to order.
"baby. usual?" her eyes flickered to meet yours through her rearview mirror with a lovesick smile, tone of voice much softer as you nodded happily. "
i will have-" vic started but a bark of laughter cut her off. "why should you get anything! all you've done the whole time is yell and panic and scream and insult me. when i am doing you a favor!" alessia protested as the car moved a little closer.
this again started their back and forth arguing as you chuckled to yourself at their expense. "lessi, its your turn to order." you leaned forward to squeeze your girlfriends bicep to gain her attention, their argument pausing for a moment.
"she is crazy!" vic mouthed to you with a scowl as you grinned and playfully rolled your eyes, a loud smack echoing through the car as alessia hit vics leg and gestured for her to order.
"hey no stop that." you put your hands in between them as vic was quick to retaliate and your girlfriend wound up to smack her again.
"and a large almond milk cappucino with one sugar and no chocolate on top pleasee." you held their hands in yours and called out the final coffee, having gone out for coffee enough with vic to know her usual.
"when i let go, neither of you hits one another." you warned, looking between them both as they begrudgingly nodded and you did so, alessia moving the car forward.
"i like this. this is good safe speed." vic sighed in relief as alessia slowly crawled through the drive through, paying for your coffees with a polite smile, murderous glare shot to the midfielder beside her.
"next time your car has any issues you can take a bus. or a long walk off a short pier!" alessia mumbled moodily, ignoring vic questioning of what she meant, accepting the tray of drinks with a grateful smile and pulling into a parking spot as she exited the drive through as they balanced on her lap.
"here baby. kiss?" alessia withheld your coffee from your outstretched hand as she puckered her lips expectantly causing a soft smile to cross your face.
"give her the coffee!" vic shoved her, ruining the moment and almost spilling the drink everywhere as you quickly leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the blondes mouth, swallowing the angry remarks directed at the dutch girl beside her before she let them fly.
"one more." alessia captured your lips in her own again with a soft smile as you attempted to pull away, eventually handing you your coffee as you settled back into your seat. "is it like this all of the time?" vic gagged as alessia pulled out of the parking spot she'd stopped in.
"normally she sits up front but no i had to pick you up first didn't i!" alessia grunted with a frown, her car making all sorts of noises at her as she backed out. "less there is a car!" vic shrieked grabbing her hand as alessia slammed on the brakes and narrowed her eyes.
"i know you idiot! thats why i have a camera." she shoved the shorter girl away with a roll of her eyes. your hand slipped forward to gently massage the older girls shoulder, sensing her thin remaining veil of patience was very close to snapping entirely.
"stop looking at her in the mirror! eyes on the road less!" vic smacked alessia's thigh rather harshly as the striker stared at you adoringly through the rear view mirror.
"you do not need a nice car. you are too clumsy!" vic scoffed, again grabbing the 'oh shit' handle in her spare hand as alessia flew over a speed bump with a roll of her eyes.
"shut up!" alessia snapped, zooming around a corner causing vic to shriek again as the two of them started to argue once more.
having long given up on trying to break it up the bickering already having commenced as you'd gotten in the car once alessia picked you up, having offered to drive vic this week while her car was being fixed after someone rear ended her.
instead you just sipped on your iced coffee and stared out the window, laughing to yourself at the childish insults they slung back and forth at one another as alessia pulled into colney, flashing the security guard at the boom gate a smile and pinching vic's leg as she pleaded with him to take alessia's license off her.
finally alessia pulled into her usual parking spot, a few of the other girls wandering through the lot toward the training centre. you didn't bother to try and intervene as your girlfriend killed the engine, her entire focus now on her argument with vic beside her, neither backing down.
with a shake of your head you grabbed your gym bag off the back seat and slid out of the car, the other two following suit. "don't slam my door!" alessia warned with a filthy look as vic re-opened and re-slammed the door to prove her point, the two girls grabbing their own bags as the argument followed the three of you inside.
"woah woah woah!" leah was the first to step in once you entered the cafeteria, yelling over the two of them to settle down as you wandered off to sit down for breakfast. "have a lovely calm mornin drive in then?" katie grinned as you slumped into the seat beside her and caitlin.
"you have no idea."
"vic, vic, victoria!" kim yelled over the top of the younger girl, silencing her with a firm glare as leah dismissed alessia to try and ease the mounting tension between the two.
"hi baby." you smiled as your girlfriend stormed over, dropping into the seat beside you and pulling you off your own to sit on her lap instead as katie and caitlin disappeared to grab breakfast.
"we are never driving her anywhere ever ever again." the taller girl mumbled into your hoodie, face pressed into your back as her long arms wrapped tightly around your torso.
"i didn't get to kiss your cheek, hold your hand, talk about how your night was, listen to your new songs of the week. none of it!" alessia frowned grumpily at the break in her usual routine, slumping back into her chair still holding onto you tightly as you turned slightly to face her better.
"okay first of all you know how my night was less, we were on facetime for like five hours!" you teased, pressing a few short but sweet kisses to her lips. "secondly, i'll ask if viv and beth can drive her for the rest of the week since laura's allowed to drive herself again now." you smiled, arms looping around her shoulders, nails scratching lightly at the base of her neck.
"thirdly, you can come over and cook me dinner tonight and i'll show you all my new songs." you smiled softly, alessia nodding in agreement, pulling you even closer to her and pressing her face into your arm, quite touch starved from the drive over making you laugh.
"-and look at them. if you think less would ever let any sort of harm come to that girl you're joking, she practically kisses the ground she walks on vic!" leah chuckled nudging the midfielder to look at you and alessia.
"they are so cute it is disgusting." victoria agreed, watching on as you and alessia stayed wrapped up in your little love bubble, exchanging soft kisses as alessia tickled your sides for something making you laugh and smack her shoulder as she grinned and stared up at you adoringly.
"fine. but i am still never ever getting in a car with her again!"
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sherifftillman · 1 year
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busy streets and busy lives • ralph penbury x reader
A strange day at work gets even stranger when you meet a man who claims he's from 1926. With no certainty as to when he can get back, you decide to take him in until that time arrives.
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masterlist | prev. | next
Tags: Timewasters (series), modern!au, slow burn, mutual pining, idiots in love™, fluff, some angst, swearing and mentions of adult themes throughout, eventual adult content, alcohol content, penbury is a fanon surname
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Word count: 9.2k
A/N: Thanks for being patient! I know this one took longer than the other two, but yeah. Back pain is no joke, and also, as you can see, this became somewhat of a monolith lol. This whole fic is my most favourite thing to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter! <3
Also, apologies for the horrific photoshop job I did trying to recreate a certain social media layout, lol.
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The first few weeks of living with Ralph are certainly… An experience. You’re able to teach him how to cook basic freezer meals, how to use a hob and the importance of never taking your attention away from food when you’re preparing it. He’s got his favourite TV shows, especially now that you’ve trusted him with access to your streaming services, too - though you did have to make him a separate profile on your account when your current obsession had been drowned out in your Continue Watching queue by Ralph watching half an hour of whatever was showing up first, giving up and moving onto the next thing. He’s got a rapport as “that eccentric young man who lives in flat 912”, who befriends all the local outdoor cats and bows to everyone he makes eye contact with. Plus, with all the extra attention Ralph gives them while you’re not there, your plants have been thriving more than ever.
Another morning of waking up on the sofa. You reach blindly for the pain relief and water bottle you now keep close to you and chug them down before peeling yourself away. At least today is a day off. Except it isn’t really, as you’re reminded when you hear the shower going. You’re still a full-time Ralph-sitter. You decide to treat the pair of you to a full breakfast, something that your new housemate had considered “grotesque” as “grease is not a food group”, but you’d acclimated him to it eventually. As long as you cut him some bread soldiers to dip into the yolks of his eggs. That’s his favourite part.
You scroll through Spotify on your phone to see what playlist you’ll ask your Echo to play for you. It recommends, based on your recent listening (by which it obviously means the battle your algorithm faces trying to find common ground between your music taste and Ralph’s), an electro-swing playlist. Excited, you ask Alexa to play the playlist as it’s titled, and start bouncing along to it as you get everything out to start cooking.
Ralph emerges, hair still wet, with a smile on his face. “Good morning!” You understand and appreciate his efforts to try and blend in a little more aesthetically, but arguably the worst thing your friends have convinced Ralph is that he looks better with a bit of facial hair. Which, of course, is true, but that’s what makes it so terrible for you. “What is this?!”
You shrug, “Dunno, it said electro-swing and I figured that sounds like the perfect mix of both of us. You like it?”
Ralph nods, “I mean, it’s certainly not the classics, but I could definitely get used to this!” He starts moving his feet in very deliberate ways, and you smirk at him.
“Did you ever learn how to swing dance, by any chance?”
“Guilty!” he lilts, rolling his eyes up. No matter how much he may try to look like a 21st century man, he’s still unmistakably Ralph. “Yes, Mother got Victoria and I enrolled in a school to get us out of the house. Father wanted me to join some new-fangled group, the Scouts?” You’d think you’d be used to all the culture shocks by now, but hearing that Ralph could have been one of the first ever Scouts still knocks the wind out of you a little. Ralph, completely unaware, continues rambling, “Yes, but it was all… Swimming and climbing and… Outdoor survival,” he shudders. “So, Mother sent me away with Victoria to her dance classes.”
“Were you any good? Or did you enjoy it, at least?” you ask.
Ralph smiles as his head bobs with excitement, “I was rather exemplary, yes! Ms Lillian often paired Victoria and I together, knowing we could practise at home as well, though when we got to a… Certain age, Victoria decided she would rather have other male partners.” You can tell from the sadness in Ralph’s tone what he’s about to say next. “And, well, she was on such good terms with the other girls in the group that… Well, none of them wanted to be paired with little brother Ralph, so the teacher was my partner. ‘Little brother’, I ask you, only by twelve minutes!” he starts to mutter under his breath.
An urge swells within you to find Homeless Pete, insist he find a way to fix that time machine up as soon as possible, and travel back to that time just to shove every one of those rich little brats. Instead, you focus that energy on comforting Ralph, reaching your arms around his shoulders in a quick hug. “I’m sorry, mate. Though, I don’t suppose you remember those moves you learned?”
His eyes light up. “I certainly do! Did you want to learn how to? The teacher did say I was quite the natural, I could teach you if you wanted!”
You grin, “I’d love nothing more.”
You spend the best part of an hour learning how to do things like the Charleston Step, the bow tie and the one that Ralph calls one turns, two turns, which you can tell is his favourite based on the smile he gets when it’s his turn to get twirled around.
Eventually, you heave with exhaustion. “Well, that’s worked up the old appetite, though I dunno how I’m gonna cook when I can barely feel my legs!”
Ralph giggles, “Oh, please, that was nothing! Ms Lillian would have you in tatters.” You give him a death stare and he stops laughing immediately. “Would you like me to get us something from the baker’s? I could get you some of those doughed nuts that you enjoy.”
“For the last time, Ralph, doughnuts don’t actually contain nuts and you can have some yourself, too!” you groan as you start replacing everything you’d taken out of the fridge.
Ralph tuts, shaking his head. “I have no interest in your nuts, thank you.” That’s one to send to Scott and Connor later, you think to yourself as you open up your phone and add to the note “Ralph Quotes”. “Perhaps the nice old lady who calls me chap will be there,” he muses with a small smile, “I like her.”
“Hop to it, then, old sport,” you say in a mock-posh voice, earning you a glare from Ralph, which only makes you laugh as you make your own way to the shower.
When you’re out and dressed for the day - in the clothes Ralph had worn on his first night with you, but only because they’re your go-to comfort clothes anyway and you don’t exactly plan on leaving the flat - you go through your usual routine of checking the news app for the headlines, and then the trending topics on Twitter, just to see if there’s anything your friends will be talking about. 
You giggle at the fact that the name Ralph is trending, screenshotting it to send to the group chat later. Out of curiosity as to which Ralph the internet is obsessing over today, you tap it and scroll through. It’s mostly people in fandoms, making threads called ‘[series] as ralph tweets’. The “ralph tweets” in question seem to be of someone tweeting as though they think Twitter works in the same way as Google.
Your stomach drops as you realise some of them look a little too familiar. Almost as though you know a Ralph who’d be this far out of touch with the modern world. Almost as though you could track the very conversations that would lead to some of these to that particular Ralph.
You click through to the profile @RalphOnTwitter and scroll all the way down to see exactly when he must have gotten an account:
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You send a single message in the group chat: GROUP MEETING, MY FLAT, ASAP. ALL MUST ATTEND.
Your friends all arrive relatively quickly after that. You simply herd them all onto the sofa one by one until the last of them has arrived, but just as you’re about to lay into them, the man of the hour arrives, having fumbled with the lock for a good minute with his arms full of baked goods.
“Ah, good morning, all! It’s a good job you’re all here, it was that young woman serving today and she always gives me extra food even though I don’t ask for it or pay for it, I don’t know why -”
“It’s ‘cause she fancies you, mate,” Connor grins, causing Ralph’s ears to turn a vibrant shade of red.
“Can we please discuss Ralph’s love life another time?!” you interrupt. “I need to know which of you is responsible for giving him access to a Twitter account.”
You know Anna’s in the clear, you’d been helping her in the kitchen, but the other three look at each other shiftily. “Well, it was sort of all of us? We just thought it might be fun to teach him,” Grace explains. “It’s not often you meet someone who’s never heard of social media.”
You pinch the bridge of your nose, squeezing your eyes shut. “Ralph,” you call out, eyes still closed, “what do you do when you need to know the answer to something?”
“I do what you taught me when you first gave me my phone,” Ralph answers, perplexed. “I tap the very last square, I type in my question and I wait for an answer. A lot of them are just people being rude, but eventually someone will be helpful.”
“Sounds about right,” you groan, rubbing your face.
“Wait, you mean, you still do that even after we put - you didn’t think to just move one to the -” Scott’s eyes widen. “Oh, god.”
“Why would it move?!” Ralph asks, taking a bite out of his favourite pastry and chewing anxiously.
Anna starts giggling as she scrolls through his account, “Aww, but it’s so funny! And it’s not hurting anyone, what’s the damage in it?”
The fact he’s not supposed to be alive and yet he’s suddenly very much perceived, maybe? The fact he could accidentally tweet something that would give him away? The fact he could tweet something vastly inappropriate at any moment?
“Yeah, you could really capitalise on him while he’s here,” Connor smirks. “Get him on Instagram, too, get those brand deals coming.”
“Yeah! Ralph On Twitter’s face reveal, make it a whole thing,” Grace grins.
You sigh. “I dunno. It feels like a really bad idea.” You look at Ralph, who looks blankly back at you. “But… Maybe we could make something of you. As long as I’m your PR manager, obviously, and you don’t go talking directly to anyone.”
“I don’t think I know how,” Ralph shakes his head, “I thought it was the searching thing that you’d told me about.”
“Good. Never learn,” you point at him, “and give me your phone.” Your friends all cheer as they crowd around you, watching you download Instagram onto his phone, as well. You give him the handle @ralphoninsta “to keep the brand alive,” you explain as you set up his profile.
“Now we need a good first photo,” Scott holds his fingers and thumbs up in a rectangle shape to frame Ralph in his own field of vision. “Let’s get him into some good lighting.”
Sitting him in the best-lit corner of the flat, Scott insists on playing photographer, telling Ralph to sit and smile. However, Ralph does not seem to do well in front of the camera. He sits bolt upright, every part of him looking stiff and uncomfortable, and his smile isn’t right. It’s far too forced, it shows all his teeth and yet somehow the smile itself stretches beyond them. “Maybe we should take him out and about, get some candid shots of him,” Anna suggests.
You groan, having just started on your second doughnut. “Fine! I’ll leave the house today, but I won’t be pleased about it!” You shake your half-eaten breakfast at your friends, who laugh. “And you guys better come eat these, too, Ralph wasn’t kidding about these freebies.” You hold out another doughnut and wave it in Ralph’s direction, “Sure I can’t tempt you with one?”
He leaps onto his feet and backs away from you, “How many times must I ask you to keep your doughed nuts out of my face, please!” As expected, Scott and Connor crease up in laughter.
“You’ll love ‘em when you try ‘em, Ralphie,” you grin, taking another bite of your own, but Ralph isn’t as amused by it all.
Once you’re all adequately full, you begrudgingly throw on a hoodie and go out with everyone else, trying to find the right lighting, the right backdrop. Even with everything, Ralph just doesn’t seem to pose very well. His posture becomes so much more awkward and his facial expressions just aren’t… Ralph.
When he starts to express his apathy for the whole thing, you think of one more thing that might help. Standing him in front of a brick wall, you position Scott and set his phone camera to video, earning you an, “Ahh, good shout.”
Scott starts recording as Ralph stands in place, looking over at all of you. “So, what is it I’m supposed to do, now? Do I have to pose again? How?”
You shrug, “I dunno, just… Be Ralph. Stand however you want. Look however you want. Just, keep it moving around, yeah?”
He may still look a little awkward but you’re able to get him to do plenty, at least. Getting him comfortable is easy enough, you start getting him talking about his new favourite TV programmes and he very vaguely - and mostly not entirely correctly - describes the plots of them, with all the excited sincerity of a lifelong fan. Grace also asks him about his favourite local cats he’s befriended whenever he’s been out and about, which he lists happily and extensively. 
When Scott feels as though he’s got some good angles, he stops recording and you all crowd around him to review the footage together. While you all have different opinions on which angles are best, you can all agree on one thing - Ralph certainly photographs far, far better candidly. You all eventually settle on pausing and screenshotting at two specific moments, though Ralph is still perplexed. “But I’m not posed for either of those pictures, doesn’t that make them bad? I mean, I’m not even looking in that second one!” He points to a shot where he’s looking down, itching his jaw.
“No, trust me, it’s fine, they’re great,” you insist, maybe a little too quickly. Nobody seems to have noticed, though. Thankfully.
“And in this one, the sun is in my eyes! I’m all squinty!” He frowns, swiping to the previous shot.
“That’s called a smoulder, babes, everyone loves a smoulder.” You watch in amusement as Ralph’s ears turn pink at Grace’s words. No matter how many times you’ve told him that Grace calls everyone by that name, it still gets Ralph all nervous to be referred to by it himself. “You’re a natural, when you’re not actually trying.”
“Is that a good thing?” Ralph asks, his eyes darting around the group to gauge everyone’s reactions.
Anna nods, “It shows promise, right, Scott? Scott’s big into his photography shit, he’s got a proper camera and everything, don’t you?”
Scott nods. “If you ever wanted to try and get more comfortable with it, we could definitely shoot together sometime.”
Ralph shuffles over to you to whisper in your ear, “What do guns have to do with -”
You interrupt him to quietly explain, “You shoot photos on a camera.”
“Ah. Thank you.” Addressing Scott, he smiles and claps, bouncing on the balls of his feet, “If I am still around, I should rather enjoy that!”
“Fuck, I forgot we’ve only got you on borrowed time,” Anna complains, before gasping and clapping her hands, addressing you. “This is your weekend off, right?!” You nod, and she squeals, holding her face in her hands. “So, we have to show Ralph what a good night out is, right?!”
Excited reactions from the entire group, except one, obviously, but the others seem too keen on planning tonight now to respond to any of his reactions. “So, do we just take him out, or out-out?” Connor asks.
You look over at Ralph’s face, trying not to laugh too loudly at him looking as though he’s been asked to solve quantum equations in his head. “You trying to figure out the difference there, mate?” you ask, and he nods. “Right, so going out usually means just to the local pub, pretty casual attire, you say you’re only going for a couple of beers but then it’s approaching midnight, the poor sod behind the bar is calling last orders and you’re five deep, trying to gather everyone for the walk home where you drop them all off one by one. Going out-out is dressing up, it’s going into the city itself, it’s going to bars and nightclubs and getting super overpriced cocktails until it’s 3am and you’re sat outside a McDonald’s waiting for a taxi home with whichever stragglers you’ve managed to hold onto by the end of the night.”
“Dressing up, you say?!” Ralph lights up at the idea, but you put a hand on his arm.
“Not in the suit and tie way, I’m afraid.” You frown, “I don’t actually know if we’ve got any out-out clothes for you at home, you know. I haven’t had a chance to get you to any shops where you can try nice clothes on yourself.”
With a collective gasp, Grace and Anna each loop an arm around each of Ralph’s, with Scott joining in their chorus of, “Shopping trip?!”
You groan, “Can I at least go back and get changed if you’re gonna keep making me leave the house?”
“I mean, you don’t have to come with us, if you want a break,” Anna suggests. “You trust us with Ralph, right?”
“So what, just the four of you will be going, then?” Connor asks, to the others’ groans. “Oh, come off it, what use would I be?!”
“Connor,” Anna starts. “How often are we ever likely to ask you for your opinion as a straight man again? You need to come with, for your people.”
Connor sighs in resignation, though he can’t fight his own smile. “Alright, fine, but you lot are buying all the coffees I’m gonna need to get through this.”
You slip Ralph your bank card, mutter to him that the others will teach him how to use it, and salute the others as they all make their way to the high street before turning on your heel and heading back to the sanctuary of an empty flat.
Straight away, it feels too empty. Too quiet. Sure, you’ve trusted Ralph to just pop across the road and back, but you’ve got way more alone time now. You ask your Echo to play your favourite playlist as you make a start on the chores you normally can’t do with Ralph around.
Though you expect that to take up until they return, you’re done before the hour is up. You let out a long exhale, tutting through it as you look around your little living space and wonder what on earth to do with yourself. You start watching the next episode of the show you’d been watching, but even that didn’t feel right without the constant interjections, feeling as though you have to explain who characters are, what plots have already happened and why certain scenes are especially important.
You text the group chat a few times, but only Connor ever responds, and as is on brand for him, it’s always a sarcastic comment about how Ralph is obviously going to show up in the most garish outfits known to man. You take comfort in Connor being the one to make those jokes, at least, as if anyone else were to, you might be more inclined to worry that Ralph’s own tastes might just be a little too eclectic for the South London nightlife. At least Connor will be there to talk him down into dressing somewhat appropriately.
You also ask Scott to send you the photos for Ralph’s Instagram profile, telling him you’re happy to edit them to pass the time before eventually getting them onto Ralph’s phone to upload them. He sends you the screenshots, along with the video itself. One little watch, you tell yourself. Then to editing.
An indeterminable amount of time later, you’re replaying a part where you’re constantly correcting Ralph on the actual plot of Gilmore Girls versus what he seems to have retained that it’s about, where you’ve reached the point of uncontrollable laughter and he’s laughing at your laughter. His smile is so pure when he’s genuinely happy, and yet it’s so rare to see it that way. Even without his manufactured pose, when he’s smiling amongst you and your friends it still feels stilted. You often wonder whether he misses the familiarity of home, whether you’re doing a good enough job at helping Ralph to fit in. But seeing that look on his face, it fills you with an overwhelming sense of relief. It’s the first time you’ve been able to really notice him looking comfortable. You take a screenshot of that moment, but not necessarily to add to Ralph’s profile. Maybe this one stays as a memento of Ralph’s time here, just for you.
When you get the text in the group chat letting you know that a) they’re finished, and b) everyone’s getting ready at Grace’s since her housemates are all out for the evening, you hurriedly edit those two photos Scott sent, empty your wardrobe of all your “out-out” clothes into a duffel bag, throw in whatever toiletries and cosmetics you can find and make your way over there.
Scott, Anna and Ralph are nowhere to be found, at first, but Grace assures you that they’re simply helping him “look the part”. You’re more worried about checking in with Ralph, seeing if he’s overwhelmed at all, and most importantly, making sure he hasn’t blown his cover.
Grace is more than happy to help you pick out your outfit for the night, while Connor’s input remains a constant and totally helpful series of grunts without even looking up from his phone. Grace helps you get your face and hair ready, too, though not without scolding Connor for not participating either way, despite his constant rebuttals that he is taking care of “the most important thing”. You quickly shoot him a text thanking him for helping to take Ralph off your hands for an afternoon, and reassuring him you’ll buy him a drink to show your appreciation. The absolute wordsmith that he is, Connor sends a thumbs-up emoji in response.
There’s a ring at the doorbell, which even Grace is puzzled at. That fills you with a sense of concern, too - if Grace isn’t expecting someone at her door, who could it be? Connor seems pretty confident at going to open it, though, and you see why when he eventually shows up with the pizzas that he clearly ordered. “You didn’t have to be so cryptic about it!” You shake your head at him as you make sure everyone has drinks made up as well.
Scott’s head pokes out of a door to ask, “Everything okay? Who was at the door?” You and Connor both point to the food and Scott grins, “Ah, nice! Right on time! Okay, folks, are you ready to meet The New Ralph?”
The three of you clap and cheer as Scott and Anna make a big show of revealing Ralph, and thankfully you weren’t holding any of the glasses you were making drinks in, or you’d have surely dropped them. Wearing a dark fitted polo, very well-fitting jeans and some crisp new Adidas trainers, Ralph stands between your friends, looking around at the three of you. When he catches your eye, he only makes very fleeting eye contact before looking your own outfit up and down and then hastily looking back at the others. He rubs at the tops of his ears - you can’t quite see from this distance, but you wonder if he’s blushing, and whether he’s doing it over everyone’s reaction, or just yours.
You set everyone’s drinks up around the living room, deliberately seating you and Ralph together. “I wasn’t sure what kind of fancy-schmancy drinks you’re used to, and none of us exactly have champagne on tap, but I thought you might like a martini?” You say to him as he takes his seat on the sofa next to you.
Ralph’s eyes light up. “I do rather enjoy a martini!”
“That’s my guy!” Connor cheers from his corner, raising a slice of pizza in a toast of sorts. Ralph tentatively takes a slice and does the same, but you hurriedly follow it up by grabbing a plate and holding it beneath Ralph’s slice for him.
“Don’t want to ruin your nice outfit before you’ve even been seen out in it, do you?” You fuss, and Ralph nods, taking the plate from you and holding it directly under his chin as he eats, which makes you laugh. He could literally look like anyone in the world, but little mannerisms like that will always tell you that that’s your Ralph.
When he’s had enough to eat, you take the plate from him to take it out to the kitchen, though Grace is quick to whip it out of your hands, too. That’s when you notice the plate seems to have moved something underneath the collar of Ralph’s shirt. You move it aside slightly and, with all the might of keeping any kind of flustering behaviour at bay, you ask, “Is that a neck chain you’re wearing?” Is this what manifesting is?
“Yes! Do you like it?” Ralph scoops it out into view with his finger. “Just a plain one, but Anna said it really brought the whole outfit together, didn’t you?” He asks her excitedly, and she nods back.
“She’s got a good eye, that one,” you grin. “You look so good, Ralph.”
“As do you,” he mutters, gesturing quickly to your outfit. “I see what you mean about dressing to the nines, now. It’s nice to see this side of you, too. All of you, really,” he stammers, looking around.
“Right, last minute hair and make-up touches and then I want photos of all of us!” Grace announces.
Ralph’s face falls as he asks you quietly, “Would you like to teach me how to take them, since I’m not good at being in them?”
“Don’t be silly,” you nudge him. “We’ll get some good ones of you tonight, trust me. And if you wanna see a bad photo, wait until you see the atrocities this lot take by the end of the night.”
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. We’ll prepare a slideshow of your finest moments for him, shall we?” Scott retorts, to both yours and Ralph’s laughter.
“Maybe we should save that for a special occasion. A birthday, perhaps?” Ralph asks with amusement.
“Yes, Ralph!” Connor and Scott cheer in unison, both slapping his shoulders excitedly as you gasp in mock offence.
“The betrayal!” You can’t actually be mad at Ralph, though, not with how good he looks when he’s this happy. It’s even more captivating in person.
You shake your head as you go to make sure you’re all freshened up after your meal. You can’t keep thinking these things when you’re sober, or else who knows how that’ll manifest when you’re less so.
Your friends all love learning how to get Ralph distracted enough that he doesn’t even realise half the time that his photo is being taken. Scott, being the photography setup genius that he is, even gets his phone out, sets it on a timer, and manages to get Ralph laughing while looking at the camera, in the middle of the group, all while successfully running into the shot himself. Everyone’s in love with that photo, even Ralph, and when Scott sends it in the group chat, you promise him you’ll print one for the flat, and an extra one just for his room. 
“What about the other ones that everyone else took?” Ralph asks. “Could I get those ones on my phone, too?”
“I’ll do that tomorrow. Ooh, speaking of! Before we go! Gimme, gimme,” you make a grabby hand at Ralph, who eventually takes the hint that you want his phone as he hands it to you. You send over the two edited shots - and that’s all - and, on his phone, successfully upload them:
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“No caption?” Anna asks, looking over your shoulder.
“Well, it’d look a bit dodge if he’s tweeting to ask his phone to stop changing his words for him, but then he’s a total whiz at Instagram, wouldn’t it?” You explain, to everyone’s agreement.
Finally, you’re all piled into an Uber and on your way to your favourite bar. It’s in the car, cramped between you and the door, that Ralph realises something in a panic. Frantically tapping your arm, he whispers, “Won’t they ask me to prove I’m of age to drink there?”
You shake your head. “Don’t sweat it. The staff know us like the backs of their hands, they’ll trust us that we’re not bringing in some teenager. Besides, you look far less baby-faced now,” you wrestle your arm out enough to ruffle the beard he’s starting to grow with your fingertips. “So we’ll be fine. Promise.”
Ralph, too, wrangles a hand out to hold his little finger towards you. “Promise?”
With a small laugh, you link your own with his. “Yes, but less of that around the people we have to convince that you’re not a kid, okay?” Ralph nods with a very serious expression, and you copy him before settling back into conversation with your friends.
It takes a few bats of the group’s eyelids and some convincing c’mon, mates but the bouncer soon lets Ralph in with you all, to which he enthusiastically thanks them over and over again. You hurriedly rush him in ahead of you before he arouses too much suspicion.
Connor makes a point of letting Ralph know where the toilets are, and Ralph immediately disappears off into that direction. You ask the boys if one of them should make sure he’s okay getting there, but everyone scolds you for fussing over him too much and moves you along with the rest of them to order everyone’s drinks. You want to hold onto Ralph’s for him but, as Scott reminds you, it’s safer for him to, so that you can look after your own. Just in case.
Soon enough, as with every night out, the group starts to scatter. Scott is happily chatting between Connor and a girl you don’t recognise, most likely playing wingman. You can spot Anna and Grace in amidst a small group of people whose heads are turned away from you. Still no sign of Ralph for a while. Ringing his phone does nothing, but the music is quite loud, he might not be able to hear. The bar is small enough, you tell yourself. He’ll find you eventually.
As you’re craning your head around the bar one more time, you don’t realise anyone is in your immediate vicinity until you almost trip over someone behind you. They catch you with a, “Whoa, easy there! How many have you had?!”
“Barely any, that’s the scary thing!” You laugh.
The man smiles at you. “Sounds like I ought to buy you one then, eh?”
You shrug, “Sure, what’s a free drink?” You gesture that you’ll walk up to the bar with him and order your drink. He tries to make small conversation, and you start to get into it a little, until he starts trying to flirt. He’s not exactly your type, anyway, and his total lack of game really doesn’t help matters. You try and get away with a simple thank you, a promise that you’ll find him later to buy him one back but you really must get back to your friends.
“Ah, what’s the rush? Surely it’s easier for them to come and find you if we stay here, right?” He asks. You look around desperately, trying with all your might to use some of that manifesting power you seemed to have earlier to will one of the boys back, both to rescue you and salvage Ralph.
~~~
Ralph was having quite the experience. Having heard the other boys talk of the bathroom, he assumed that was a prompt for everyone to go, but only once he could see the door to it did Ralph turn around and realise he was completely on his own. Suddenly, the atmosphere changes. What seemed dimly lit now appears almost pitch black. There are lights of all colours shining everywhere. Music that doesn’t quite sound like music thumps in the background. Twenty conversations happening around him turn into white noise, until someone approaches him. A total stranger. Two of them, actually.
 “Alright, mate? Do me a favour?” One asks, despite Ralph’s expression clearly being one that should let anyone know that he is in no position to be giving out any favours. They continue anyway, “Look, I have to draw something, and you have to guess what it is, okay?” Ralph, still bewildered, does not respond in the slightest, but before he knows it, the other person has turned around so that their back can be used as a surface. The original asker now splays a napkin of sorts against their friend’s back as they try and draw something.
Ralph tries his absolute hardest, but as no amount of squinting and focusing can help him, he tells them, “Oh bother, I’m terribly sorry, chaps, I’m honestly trying but I’m really coming up trumps, I do apologise.”
They give him looks of confusion and concern. “Are you on something?”
“Why does everybody assume that of me, just because I’m ever so slightly more well spoken than the average resident here?!” Ralph complains with a frown. “Can this not just be how I talk?”
“Oh my days, you’re a right laugh,” the other grins. “Here, come and do a shot with us, you have to!”
“I- Do I?” Ralph asks, and they nod. “Well, I really should get back to my friends -”
“Oh, c’mon, one shot and we’ll help you find them. Deal?” They ask.
“Well… Alright,” Ralph sighs in defeat. If he can’t find you, he can at least find a constant to anchor onto in the meantime.
“Oi, lads!” The two call out as they approach the table they’re leading Ralph to. “Time out on that game for a minute, we’re doing shots with this legend!” They both look at Ralph expectantly, waiting for him to introduce himself.
“Oh! Yes! Hello, everyone. My name is Ralph. Fabulous to meet you all,” he smiles as he looks around the table.
“Isn’t he sick?!” The artist of the pair grins at his friends.
“Quite the picture of health, actually,” Ralph retorts with a side glance.
“Oh, isn’t he a cutie,” a girl coos from the table. The other of the pair starts to clench his jaw.
“Oi, come off it,” another comforts from around the table. “Any bloke that uses the word fabulous isn’t exactly stealing your girlfriend, is he.”
Ralph’s not even sure how to answer to that, but he isn’t given much time to, either, before being whisked away to the bar with this new group. They hand him a tiny glass filled with clear liquid. Ralph wonders if a shot is perhaps some sort of palate cleanser, a mouthful of water between drinks.
The fiery sensation that travels down his throat as he drinks teaches him that it certainly is not. But once the unpleasantness clears, the strange comfort of alcohol starts to fill Ralph with warmth. It’s certainly happening a lot faster than he’s used to, but then these drinks are far stronger than Ralph’s usual tastes.
Briefly forgetting his own arrangement, he returns from the bar with his new acquaintances - and another martini in hand - and sits back at the table with them as they continue playing their game. It’s played on one of their phones. Someone taps through prompts and reads them aloud. Sometimes it’s challenging a player to do something themselves, sometimes it’s challenging them to approach a stranger, as they had done with Ralph. Sometimes it’s asking them completely arbitrary questions to vote upon amongst the group. They all certainly seem to be having a great time playing, anyway.
Once they declare a round over, they ask Ralph if he wants to join in the next one. “Oh, I’m rather… Old-fashioned, I don’t think I’d be a good fit for this, but I’m sure my friends would love it! Shall I go and find them?”
“More the merrier,” one shrugs.
Ralph excitedly jumps up and starts patrolling the bar to find a familiar face amongst the crowd. He’s yet to see any at all, until one makes his heart drop. He sees you, in the arms of another man. Ralph had really been priding himself on repressing his feelings around you. He wasn’t going to repeat what happened with Lauren. He wasn’t going to scare you off too soon. He was going to keep it to himself. He had tried so hard. And yet, this sight is truly unbearable.
Biting at his quivering lower lip, he storms back into the direction of the bathrooms and keeps going, shoving the first door he finds open as he tries not to cry.
His sorrow is quickly replaced with horror as he finds several women all standing in various places around the room. Some just standing and chatting, some calling to friends in the stalls, some checking themselves in the mirror. After the scene finally sets in for Ralph, he lets out an ultimately high-pitched shriek, swivels around and immediately starts scolding himself. “Oh, bother and blast! Please, forgive me, girls, oh, what an absolute cad I am, I’ve truly disgraced myself, just when it couldn’t get any worse!” His voice gets shakier with every word, and he flinches when a hand appears on his shoulder.
“Sorry!” One of the girls apologises hurriedly. “I just wanted to let you know it’s okay. Are you alright?”
“Please do not ask me if I have taken any sort of drug just because I am well-spoken!” Ralph half-cries, and the hand squeezes him comfortingly.
“We won’t, promise. Did you need a wee, or just a wind down?”
“I’m not sure, I just… Ran. I’m terribly sorry,” Ralph sighs.
“It’s fine,” the voice reassures. “Wanna turn around and talk to us? I promise, there’s no better therapy than a night in the girls’ loos. Right?” A chorus of agreement fills the room.
Ralph slowly turns around to see an awful lot of smiling faces. He sniffs harshly and nods, “Good evening.”
“Hi!” The one who had approached him smiles. “I’m Lauren!” 
Of all the names! “L-Lauren?” Ralph practically squeaks out as he feels himself start to well up, and her own face falls in some kind of realisation as she shakes her head. 
“Or Loz! Just call me Loz! All my friends do! Forget the other name entirely. Sound good?”
Ralph nods. “I’m Ralph. A pleasure to meet you, despite it being under my most horrific actions.”
The other girls introduce themselves, as well. “So, Ralph, this, uh… Girl With The Forbidden Name, is she why you’re all upset?”
“Is she?” One pipes up from the very back. “Because you point her out and I’ll sort her out, no holds barred.”
“See, this is what I tell you, you get like two vodka red bulls down you and you’re ready to throw hands at any inconvenience,” her friend groans next to her. Ralph very quickly taps the square with the bird on it and types a message out to ask the internet “why do people throw hands at each other”, quickly followed by “what sort of hands do people throw”. He decides he’ll check people’s answers later, so as not to appear rude.
“Look at him, though!” The more hot-headed one gestures to Ralph as he wipes away the tears that had been threatening to fall. “Look at those eyes! Like melted chocolate, they are. What kinda sadist would possibly make that happen?!”
“Oh, it’s nothing, it’s all futile,” Ralph shakes his head, but his new friend Loz points at him.
“Oi. Nothing’s futile here. This is a safe space. Let it out.”
Ralph starts to explain that he had fallen for a Lauren, dove in headfirst, had his heart broken and vowed not to let it happen again, but that seeing the housemate he cared so deeply for in the arms of another just brought all of that sadness back up again. The girls are all very sympathetic, and very good at knowing exactly what to say to make Ralph feel better. The rather boisterous one keeps trying to speak negatively of you, but Ralph won’t have any of that. You’re your own person, and it’s up to Ralph to get over his own feelings. The girls commend him on his emotional maturity. Apparently not a lot of men have that.
They ask if he wants to talk it through with you, but he shakes his head, telling them that he isn’t certain how long it is before he can go home again, and so he doesn’t want to commit to anything or risk either staying with you with such an emotionally charged elephant in the room at all times, or being turfed out indefinitely.
"That's quite the predicament you've got yourself in, Ralphie, babes," Loz hugs him arm, and he allows himself the comfort of leaning against her.
Suddenly, a stall door swings open violently, and a whole new girl appears, holding her phone up to her face. Before anyone else can ask if she's okay, she gasps loudly, "I bloody knew it!"
Everyone looks at her quizzically, including Ralph, and she continues. "Well, I thought, guy called Ralph who sounds really old-fashioned, I wonder if… And then some of the things he's said kind of sounded like those tweets, have any of you seen that Ralph On Twitter guy?"
A few more gasps of realisation dot about the room. Ralph's ears turn pink as he recognises the word Twitter from the conversation you’d had with the other four this morning. Loz frowns, "Are you sure it's -"
"Is this your insta?" She turns her phone around to show Ralph her screen. It says Instagram on the top, so Ralph takes out his phone and presses the square that also says that, showing it around to see if that's right. Excitedly, all the girls crowd around to make sure they get Ralph's handle right so they can follow him.
One girl - Ralph's already lost track of them, honestly - announces, "So what I'm hearing is, girls' room photoshoot with Ralph from Twitter?!"
Ralph laughs nervously, "Oh goodness, I'm flattered, but those are all taken candidly, would you believe! I am certainly no poser, I have been told this enough times today already."
"Bollocks to that!" The loud one shouts. "We'll teach you how, won't we, girls?"
Before Ralph knows it, he's squatting amongst all his new friends who are trying to teach him how to do the smoulder look he was doing in his photo on purpose when the main door opens to reveal you standing there, looking absolutely bewildered. "Oh my god, Ralph! You're okay! Thank fuck for that!"
As you frantically update the group chat that you’ve found Ralph safe and well, Loz reaches for his hand to squeeze it. The loud girl starts to tense up behind him but Loz waves her down from behind his back. “Yeah, he’s just been having some drunk girl therapy,” she explains calmly.
“God, I could do with some of that right now,” you groan. “Honestly, you trip and fall onto a guy one time and he thinks you’re soulmates, it’s horrendous!”
Ralph’s face lights up all of a sudden. “You’d… You’d fallen on him?” Concern falls back onto his expression. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, physically, I’m fine, but I don’t know how I’m going to mentally recover from listening to one man talk about himself so much,” you groan into your hands as you hold your face. “I forgot why I stopped dating in London.” You notice that one of the girls puts her arm down after having held her phone up at a particular angle. “Oh my god, wait, you guys were taking photos together?” A few of them nod. “Would you like me to take them for you? Rather than one of you trying to fit everyone in at arm’s length.”
“Oh my god, would you?” one of them sighs with relief.
You nod, gesturing to Ralph to hand you his phone again.
Maybe it’s the alcohol, maybe it’s the presence of so many other people in the photo with him, but Ralph blends in so much more naturally in the photos you take now, even when you suggest different poses and expressions. One of them - Ralph quickly introduces her as Loz, and no other name - asks around for phone numbers of the girls that, you assume, had all just met and bonded over whatever Ralph was in here for. You take over the role of adding everyone’s numbers into Ralph’s phone, and see that Loz adds him to a group chat that she names “Ralphie’s Angels”. You laugh at the name, and send all the photos you’ve taken into the group chat.
“Right, I can feel myself sobering up now, and we can’t have that,” one of them calls out, making the rest of you laugh. “Shall we all go and face the music?”
You pull a face, “Ugh, that means I have to go back and face… Him.”
“Nah, you stick with us, hun,” the one who seemed hostile with you at first suddenly seems to be fighting your corner now. “He even looks in your direction when I’m around, I’ll make him wish he didn’t.” You give her a comforted smile in response and the whole horde starts making its way out of the bathroom.
Your friends also catch up with you at the bar, grateful to see Ralph’s face again, too. Grace is hanging off some new guy’s arm, Anna is half-present in the whole conversation but also half-texting somebody, and Scott is catching up with Ralph. You spot that Connor isn’t talking to anyone and head over to him, “What are you drinking?” you ask loudly over all the music. “I still owe you, remember!”
Connor shakes his head, “Nah, don’t sweat it. Ralph’s a good’un, it was no bother.” Speak of the devil, Ralph excitedly hands you and Connor drinks that one of his new friends insists on buying for everyone, then grabs his own glass from Scott who’s followed him to clink against yours and Connor’s before hurriedly rejoining his group. You and your friends laugh in unison before Connor downs his martini, gives you a quick hug and heads home for the night. Grace and her new friend are the next to leave - you never did catch his name, and you’re not sure you’ll have a reason to remember it anyway.
You dismiss Anna and Scott, telling them that Ralph will probably be a while yet, and that they don’t have to wait up for him just because you do. At first they insist on staying with you, but eventually tiredness consumes them both and they bid you goodnight.
As though preying from afar - because that’s most likely what he was doing - your admirer from earlier appears as soon as your friends are out of the door. “Well, well, we meet again.”
Your eyes narrow as you groan out a breath. “Yeah, hi -”
“I can’t believe your friends would leave you alone like that,” he shakes his head.
“Oh, they haven’t, I’m still waiting on -” Your knight in 21st century armour, Ralph, walks over to the pair of you. “Ah, there he is! Are we going home now?”
“Would you like to?” Ralph asks, concern in his eyes, and you nod with fervour. “Then yes!”
The other man pulls a face. “Wait, sorry, you’re going home with - who the fuck is this?!” He gestures at Ralph, a nasty expression on his face.
Thankfully, Ralph’s cavalry come to your defence, led by none other than an incredibly loud, “Oi, dickhead! Who the fuck are you?! Fucking look at my friend like that again, see what happens, yeah?” Despite being perhaps half a foot shorter, Ralph’s most fiery friend easily squares up against him.
You tap her shoulder in thanks, take Ralph’s hand and guide him out of the bar. The cool air outside hits your face, but the alcohol in your system acts as a blanket around the rest of you. “You good?” You ask Ralph, and he nods. “Good. I’ll call for an Uber.”
Ralph frowns, “But aren’t those taxis, parked up over there?”
“Well remembered! Yeah, but a drunk girl once told me that those charge extra for all the time they’ve spent sitting there, and I’ve never felt bougie enough to spend the money to find out if it is true, so I like to play it safe.” You book an Uber that says it’s four minutes away and sit on the edge of the path. Ralph joins you. “Sorry we lost you, earlier, by the way. I did keep trying to look for you.”
“Pah! My own fault, really. I got all frazzled, you know,” Ralph’s eyes widen as he gestures wildly, making you laugh. “I still feel a tad so now!”
“It helps to kind of start resting your head for a bit. Here,” you pat your shoulder and Ralph takes the hint, tucking himself inwards to rest his head on your shoulder. Yours head falls onto his instinctively, and you set your phone to the front camera. You see Ralph’s small, contented smile, quickly plaster one of your own on and snap a photo.
Ralph then frowns, “Oh, no! I wasn’t prepared!”
“Exactly. Look,” you say fondly as you show him the photo. Both of you looking happy and comfortable, despite some bumps in the road. A perfectly normal first night out for Ralph.
“Can you put that one on my phone too, please?” he asks sleepily.
Reluctantly, you push his head away from you. “Yes, but c’mon, sleepyhead. We still have to get home.”
Ralph doesn’t make it the whole journey home, his head once again flopping against yours in the back seat of the taxi as he sleeps. You manage to prod him awake once you’re back outside your block of flats, though, and he trudges along behind you into the lift and along the hallway until you’re back in the safety of the flat again. “Gimme a minute to grab some PJs for the night, yeah?” 
“Of course. I think I should use the bathroom properly now,” he nods.
You pull a face, “Yeah, the fact you’ve gone the whole night without it is honestly impressive!” You hear Ralph chuckle under his breath as you go back into your room, blindly head to your pyjama drawer, take out the first top and bottoms that you can feel, regardless of whether or not they match, and head back into the front room, opting to duck beneath the kitchen counter to change.
Ralph re-emerges a few minutes later, his voice drawling wearily as he asks, “Would you like the bed for tonight? I can’t imagine the morning should be pleasant for either of us.”
You walk over to him and put your hand on his shoulder as you chuckle, “It’ll be fine. You probably need it more than I do, that was probably heavier than what you’re used to.”
“I had a shot tonight, you know,” Ralph tells you with intrigue.
Your eyebrows shoot up, “Oh, yeah? And how did that go for you?”
“Absolutely awful,” he replies simply, pulling a face of disgust, and you both laugh.
“Yeah, you’ll definitely need the bed, then,” you nod. “Did you have a good time, though?”
“Oh, most certainly!” he grins. “I’ve made so many new friends! And I really rather think I’ve made a good impression on your friends, as well.”
“You know they’re your friends too, right?” you ask, cocking your head. Ralph tries to wave you off, and you pull a face of disbelief. “Come off it, they love you! I bet you had a great time with them earlier, didn’t you?”
“Oh, yes, absolutely! Um, but… I did… Um… It wasn’t quite the same without your presence there,” he mumbles.
You frown, “Did you say anything about your past?”
“Oh, no, that never came up! Just… Oh, ignore me, I’m dreadfully tired,” Ralph rubs his face wearily.
“Yeah, you’ll be thanking me for the greasy-ass breakfast I’ll be making us in the morning, so get ready for that,” you grin at him before pulling him in for a goodnight hug. He may smell like a fragrance store with all the proximity he’s had to several perfumed people, but there’s still something comforting about being able to bury your face into his shoulder and taking a deep breath in. Ralph’s arms tighten around you as you do so, as he allows himself the luxury of squeezing his eyes shut and just enjoying the moment.
You eventually pull away with a yawn, “Alright, I think we’re both about to fall asleep standing up, so… Night, Ralph.”
“Y-yes. Of course. Goodnight. Pleasant dreams,” Ralph smiles awkwardly at you before walking quickly to the bedroom.
You set yourself up on the sofa and start looking through the day’s photos. Ralph’s little instagram photoshoot doesn’t feel like it was only this morning, and you can’t help but let yourself fall into the trap of looking at the photo of him laughing again. Shaking your head again, as though that’ll do anything at this point, you scroll through to the photo of all six of you in Grace’s house and set it as your lock screen. You keep scrolling through hurriedly to your other favourite photo of the night, and, while it may be a little delusional, you set the photo of the two of you at the end of the night as your home screen. You’re used to being into people who you can’t have, be it from their disinterest or other reasons, so what’s the harm in indulging yourself a little by imagining a world where the two of you could always be like that?
That’s what Ralph tells himself too as he stares at the photo on his own phone screen until the need for sleep finally takes over.
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andydrysdalerogers · 1 year
Text
The ABCs of Nick Vaughn - "D"
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Pairing: Reader x Nick Vaughn (Before We Go)
Summary: Children its time to learn your ABCs. And Nick Vaughn is here to teach you the lessons. 26 glimpses in the world of you and Nick Vaughn
Warnings: S-M-U-T!!!! (under 18 please leave the chat!) descriptions of sexual activity including some themes of BDSM, loss of virginity, fluffy bits, pet name etc...
I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS. Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated
Divider by @firefly-graphics
Previous - C - Cum
ABC Masterlist - Main Masterlist
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D – Dirty Secret 
Everyone has a secret, a habit that they keep from the world. You bit your fingernails, no big deal.  
Nick, on the other hand, well he had a dirty secret.  
A very dirty secret.  
You didn’t notice the first time.  Or the second.  But when you realized that you were running low, you asked Nick if he knew.  
“Honey, have you seen my underwear?” 
Nick froze on the spot. He hesitated before answering, “No, Angel. Are they not in the wash?” 
You looked through the baskets of laundry.  “Some of them are but my nicest ones have disappeared. I really hope someone hasn’t been stealing them at the laundry mat. They were my expensive ones from Victoria’s Secret.”  
Nick quietly sighed in relief.  Because you hadn’t discovered his dirty secret. 
Yet.  
After a rather evil session of teasing and phenomenal sex, you scooched out of bed while Nick was still recovering to grab a glass of water. But turned around because it was cold to grab your robe. And what you walked in on explained a lot.  
You made no noise as you watched Nick pick up the discarded clothes and put them in the hamper to wash.  Except for your panties. He took those in his hand and sat next to his bedside table.  He remembered how much he teased you over your clothes, stoking your heat at dinner under the table. He got you nice and wet, dripping into your lace panties.  He had made you cum while still in said panties.  He could feel the wetness of your juices still on them. He held them to his nose and inhaled your heavenly scent, the scent of your arousal that just made him hard again. He licks the garment a little before putting into his drawer.  
Where you spot your other missing panties.  
“If you are going to continue to steal my good panties, I think you should open an account at Victoria Secret.”  Nick jumps as you walk towards him, a sway in your hips. He smiled as he realized you weren’t upset with him. 
“I was thinking more Agent Provocateur.”  
“Want to ruin hundred-dollar panties just to keep them in a drawer?” You straddled his naked lap, making sure your warm cunt was right over his cock.  
“Fuck yeah I do.”  
Its one hell of an expensive dirty secret.  
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t00turnttrauma · 2 years
Text
strong 2- jtk
cutesy lil part two for this one
word count: 5465
“It’s hot.” 
“I know,” Jake sighed, shifting the small child on his lap. He narrowly avoided an elbow to the cheek from where she was moving the hair from her sticky neck. 
“These people are kinda smelly.” 
“Mhm.” 
“Why are we packed so tight?” 
“I don’t know.” 
“Can’t we be outside? It’s nice out.” 
“No idea.” 
“Aren’t these seats too hard? Where’s mom with my cushion?”
“Sam, will you knock it off,” Jake snapped, leaning back to look around Y/N. “You’re a grown man, mom is not bringing your cushion.” 
Y/N leaned around to look at Sam. “You pay taxes, Sam. You are more than old enough to remember the cushion for your bony ass.” 
Sam grumbled something about taxes beneath his breath, crossing his legs and moving the cake. Susan giggled, mumbling something back to him. Josh climbed the stairs, James and Sebastian holding onto his hands. “Bathroom was a success.” 
Cody shook his head behind him, mouthing to Jake and Y/N. Sebastian broke the soap dispenser. 
Y/N smiled, motioning for James to sit between her and Jake. He squeezed in, leaning into his mother and wrapping his arm around her back. He was often wrapped around her like a belt, holding her hand during movie nights and asking her for homework help first. 
In the two years that they’d been placed together, the Strongs were growing more and more confident by the day. The stability from their foster to adoptive family had given them a new outlook on life. James and Sebastian joined a soccer team. Victoria was in dance lessons after watching a movie about dancers. Cody and Susan were moving further into high school, learning how to drive, legally. Susan joined theater, Josh once making a compelling case over dinner one night. Now she was center stage, playing the goofy comic relief characters and pulling laughs from the audience. Anthony was thinking about the military. With his shitty disciplinary records, he had little hopes that he’d get into a good college. Jake hoped to shoo away the negativity with today���s event, Noah’s graduation. 
Noah was somewhere in another room, cap and gown thrown on over a suit. The suit shopping was the worst. All his life, he thought that shopping with his parents was hell, but shopping as a parent was much worse and he made sure to apologize to his own parents for his tantrums as an adolescent. While Noah would have gone in something more casual, Jake convinced him to buy a few business casual outfits for when he might need them. They tried on suit after suit, Jake reminded why he liked more casual wear. He was shocked when he rose this morning to see Noah ironing his slacks and button up, a video on his phone teaching him how to tie a tie.
Truthfully, Noah didn’t think he’d make it to graduation. He was convinced his entire life that he would never amount to much. He believed he’d join the work force the day he turned 18, taking his siblings as far away as possible. Instead, he went from a father to a brother. He no longer made executive decisions for the kids, handing them off to Jake and Y/N. While they valued his opinion and what he felt would be best, he trusted them to do what’s right. 
The rest of the family shuffled in, Jake’s parents and Danny. They sat on the row of bleachers behind them, taking Victoria from Jake’s lap and passing her back and forth when she grew restless. There they sat, waiting patiently for the music to start. Once it did, they soon realized that they were not out of the woods just yet. The program dragged on for what felt like an eternity. Opening remarks were made, then a speech from the over achieving class president. She introduced herself, then her Vice President. He smiled, wished everyone a farewell and a good life. Then he handed the reins over to the board member who was presenting the scholarships. Sam sighed, handing the boxed cake to Danny as he stumbled over other families. More recipients were called and celebrated. 
“The recipient of the eight thousand dollar Life of Advancement Grant is Noah Strong.” 
Jake looked at his wife. “Did you know he applied?” 
She shook her head. “No.” 
Sam returned from wherever he’d disappeared, sliding something to Danny. He’d come back just in time for the graduates to be called out. They sat through the A’s, and the B’s. Victoria dozed off in the middle only to be jostled awake when Josh stood up as the S’s started. 
“Nicole Brett Sanders.” 
“Come on,” Jake mumbled, seeing Noah looking around for his family. He willed the universe to bring his attention to the balcony they were in. “Up here, kid.” 
“Everett Michael Smith.” 
Noah finally looked up, waving at all of them. He quickly turned around, realizing he was next to go up the ramp. He gripped the handrail nervously, scratching his nose quickly. His heart rate picked. He thanked god that he put on two layers of deodorant in the morning. As he walked across the stage, he thought about his siblings and how he was setting the example. 
“Noah Clayton Strong-Kiszka.” 
Jake felt his heart stop upon hearing his name called out through the speakers. He squeezed Y/N’s hand. Through blurry tears, he watched as Noah shook his hands in the air, his diploma on proud display. He pointed at his family, smiling. Jake finally came to when he felt Josh’s arm around his shoulder, his other hand against his mouth to whistle for his nephew. He wiped away his tears and clapped, quieting as the next person approached the stage. Jake couldn’t focus on anything else. He felt like he was floating as Y/N and Josh led him down the bleachers. He raised Victoria on his shoulders, her tugs on his hair pulling him back to reality. 
Y/N turned to Sam and Danny who’d been in charge of the cake. The bakery was only available for a morning pick up, meaning they had to walk around with the dessert all morning. “How’s the cake?” 
Sam chuckled lightly as he tucked two forks into the nearby garbage can. “We, uh, took a few bites.” 
Danny wiped the last of the frosting from the corner of his mouth. “Maybe a little more.” He grinned at her suspicious glare, showing the blue staining his teeth. 
Y/N opened the box, staring for a moment. “I suppose that’s… fine. It’s too late to fix it now. I- I really don’t know what to say about this. Jake?” 
Jake kept searching the crowd for Noah. He looked for the mop of dark hair, a glimpse of that shine in his eyes when he was truly happy. He finally spotted him talking to a teacher, the two of them with serious expressions. He walked over, Y/N following him. Josh grabbed Victoria from his twin’s shoulders. “Let’s go ask Uncle Danny why his mouth is blue,” he smiled, catching the attention of his mother. “Mom. The children picked at the cake.” 
Sam, despite being an adult with a career and his own home, he tried to defend himself from his disappointed parents who were trying to keep track of the other kids within the massive crowd. “In my defense, we haven’t eaten.” 
Danny nodded. “Since breakfast.” One thing about Daniel is that no one knew where he packed his food. He almost always had something nearby to curb his cravings. 
Mrs. Kiszka glared at him. “So, you ate half of a sheet cake meant for 40 people?”
“It had a jelly filling!” 
The two elated parents approached their oldest son and his guidance counselor. Y/N had met with her a few times to talk about how the Strongs might struggle with a new school, but they’d proved her wrong. She hugged her eldest son, quietly congratulating his achievement. 
Jake shook the guidance counselor’s hand. “I’m Jake and this is Y/N, my wife.” 
“This is my mom and dad,” Noah said, throwing his arms over Y/N and Jake’s shoulders. 
Jake blinked. Dad. He’d just been introduced as Noah’s dad, without the adoptive part. His hearing buzzed until the guidance counselor began speaking. 
“Noah is a very bright boy. I was shocked when he came to me with his applications.” 
“Applications?” Y/N asked.
“Colleges, scholarships, anything under the sun,” she said. “Noah is one of the most prepared students I’ve met. You two are phenomenal parents. Anthony and Susan are very lucky to have you two to guide them.” 
Y/N blushed, knowing that this was all of Noah’s own doing. She knew Noah had plans but he didn’t talk about them much so she assumed he was dragging his feet about college. She thanked the guidance counselor, guiding her son to the parking lot where the rest of the family had gathered. Noah grinned, tucking his cap and diploma beneath his arm. 
“Where’s my cake? I’m starving.” 
Sam and Danny looked at each other. The two silently agreed to approach him, opening the box nervously. Almost immediately, Victoria lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of cake. Noah grinned, setting Vicky down on the pavement. “Guess we’ll have to go for ice cream.” 
Upon hearing the words of another sugar filled dessert, Victoria was no longer interested in the cake. She reached forward again, cleaning her hands off on Danny’s pants and shirt. “I’m ready for ice cream, mama.”
Y/N laughed, rooting through her bag for wipes. She knelt down to clean her hands off. Danny took another wipe, taking a bit of frosting from his pants, smearing it across Victoria’s nose. She giggled, shying away from her uncle and squealing. “Danny,” Y/N sighed, seeing how Victoria’s sleeves were now smeared with frosting. 
Josh crept over to stand behind Sam. He looked down at his phone. No one noticed the childish glint in his eye or the subtle smirk on his lips. After sliding his phone into his pocket, he placed one hand beneath the cake. “Sam, let me carry it?” 
Sam nodded. In the blink of an eye, Josh moved both of his arms together, raising the cake to Sam’s face and pushed his head down to meet in the middle. Sam pulled back slowly, blinking the frosting from his eyes. 
“How’s the jelly filling?” Josh snickered, shying away from his father swatting at him. “It’s just a prank, Dad!” 
Noah picked up a line of frosting from Sam’s cheek. 
“Couldn’t get it from the eye?” Sam asked, trying to blink away the sweetness as he was still holding the now crumbled cake. 
Ignoring his uncle, Noah swiped it onto Jake’s cheek. “Thank you, for everything.” 
Jake pulled him into a hug, wiping the frosting onto Noah’s gown as he pulled away. “Anytime, kid.” 
-
As the summer heat passed through, the activity bustled in the home. The Strongs had made friends with the neighborhood kids, creating a hangout spot. Feet ran through the house, Y/N preparing snacks in between chores that everyone would leave half finished. Jake and Y/N had hired contractors to build the guest house, limiting the kids of a play area for the time being. They planned for an in-ground pool the last time they spoke with the company, but now they were making a three bedroom extension to their home. Noah spent his days working in order to save up money for the semester. Jake knew better than to argue. Noah’s goal was to be as independent as possible while at school. Y/N and Jake both knew that it was a pride thing and let him work himself to the bone, but only for the summer. As the building grew, so did the kids. Susan and Cody were finally at Jake’s height, Sebastian hot on their trail. 
The family embraced their first and final summer as a family. Between beach trips, concerts, and days at the lake house, they’d grown fond of each other. It was sweet until they reached the stage of wanting to tear each other’s throats out. 
“Y/N, Susan just told James that his ear is going to fall off!” Sebastian shouted, pulling a weeping James into the kitchen, blubbering about his ear. He’d had an earache, swimmer’s ear as Y/N had learned, from the amount of time he’d been spending in pools. The poor boy had been sick back to back the entire summer. 
“James,” she sighed. “Your ear is not going to fall off. If anything,” she raised her voice as Suzy walked past the door, “Susan’s will for lying to you!” 
“Good save, Y/N,” Jake grumbled, seeing as James’s tears were not stopping. He pulled the drops out of the cabinet. Tilting James’s head, he let a few drops fall into his ear canal before patting his back. “Go play and come back if it hurts in an hour.”
James obviously felt better. Jake glanced outside to see Sebastian and James roughhousing in the garden. 
“Control your children, Jake,” she mumbled back, stirring the concoction on the stove she’d spent all morning on.
“My children?” 
“Yes, your children.” 
“If anything-” 
“Do not start this,” she snapped. Y/N sighed deeply, composing herself once again. “When are the kids going back to school?” 
“Tuesday.” 
“Not close enough.” She moved the pot to the side. “And Noah?” 
“Th-” Jake stopped to think. “Thursday.” 
“Dinner!” Y/N shouted, pouring bowls of soup for each child. 
Suzy pouted. “Soup? In the summer?” She picked up the bowl and sniffed it. “Can’t we get some pi-” 
Y/N shushed her quickly. “Do not mention the p word. Otherwise we’ll never get them to calm down.” 
Susan grabbed Victoria’s bowl, leading the little girl over to the table. There was an empty spot, the family waiting for Noah to walk in. He was a little later than usual, but the festival a few blocks over made his drive home a tad bit longer. Jake had spent all summer trying to forget that Noah would be gone. Now as time was running out, his heart felt heavy. By next week, he’d be in his dorm away from his siblings. Most of Noah’s belongings were already packed in the garage. He and Y/N bonded over buying decorations for his room.
 The two of them had gone out, running between department stores for duvets and curtains and mattress pads. Noah and Y/N decided to end their day over early dinner at a local restaurant. They ate quietly while watching the college football game that was blaring over the tv speakers above the bar. 
“Thank you,” Noah said, grabbing the leather bill folder out of Y/N’s reach. 
Y/N could never take compliments or positive feedback. “You know how much I love shopping.” 
“It’s really cool,” he said, filling out the tip section and tucking even more cash into the folder. “I’ve never really had a mom, much less one that would do something like… this,” he waved the pen for a moment, “with me. Without everyone else.” 
“Do you really think I would bring Jake?” 
Noah laughed. “I think that the totals would have given him an early heart attack.” 
She nodded. “The cigarettes he sneaks on the back porch definitely wouldn’t help, I’ll say that. But he really loves you guys. He’d get over it.” 
“I know,” Noah grinned, raising his hand as the waiter walked past. 
As the final week of summer faded away, last minute preparations were made. Hair was trimmed and nails were done. School shopping lists were checked off and supplies were labeled. Open houses were attended and items were dropped off. Jake felt a sort of buzz he’d never felt before or during the events. It felt different than when he finished a riff or when one of his kids handed him a finger painting. He couldn’t pinpoint the feeling, and that’s what bothered him the most. 
Move-in day came in a flash. Jake and Noah spent all night loading the cars, avoiding the plethora of neighborhood kids running around. Y/N and the rest of the family stayed behind, their school still in session. They said their goodbyes, Noah watching them pile onto their buses and into their cars on their own. Jake and Noah made the drive to his campus, the car packed with all of his belongings. After checking in, the two began organizing Noah’s new living space. Jake never lived on a college campus, though he had been to a few parties here and there. School never appealed to him and he had his lucky break. Noah was terrified to leave his siblings. His entire life was nothing but one big shift. Change was his homeostasis. He never had a stable place. He finally settled into the Kiszka home, finding a warm bed to come home to every night and a meal whenever he wanted. Now he was going to have to completely readjust to a new environment. He started to get worried when as he came in and out of the building, he’d locked himself out three times. 
They were almost finished with bringing everything in. Their only issue now was trying to set everything up. The room was small but still larger than they thought it would be. Jake had tasked himself with opening the boxes while Noah placed his things where he needed them. As the drawers filled and cardboard boxes were collapsed, Noah was delighted to see 
“Go ahead,” Jake smiled. “I’ll finish the boxes and wait here.” 
Noah looked back at his friends for a second. Thank you, he mouthed before disappearing down the hallway. 
-
The first week without Noah was the toughest, mostly for James and Jake. James had gotten into the habit of crawling into Noah’s bed despite having his own room. Y/N was becoming slightly concerned over him. The kiszka household was mostly dark, save a few nightlights and the master bedroom. Y/N had 
“Do you think James needs to see someone?” She asked, dropping her earrings into the jewelry dish. “He’s been really depressed about Noah moving away. He was a nervous wreck before, but I think he’s getting worse without him around.” 
“Mhm,” Jake hummed, polishing his guitar. 
“What about the therapist that the Donocans took Kenny to when they were going through their divorce?” 
“That’s nice.” 
“Maybe I could find someone who specializes in separation anxiety.” She shook her head. “Is it even separation anxiety? What do you think, Jake?” 
Upon hearing his name, he finally looked at his waiting wife, realizing he had no idea what she was talking about. “I’m sorry, what?” 
“I think we need to put James in therapy for his nerves.” 
Jake nodded. “I think it’s definitely an option.” He knew James needed help, but he had years to get it. “Y/N, do you think Noah ate today? I haven’t seen any activity on his debit card.” 
Y/N pulled back her side of the comforter. “He has a meal plan. He has plenty of options there.” 
Noah was thriving in college. He had everything he could ever need on campus. He had friends to satisfy his social needs and food, he could live there for ages. There were a few people he couldn’t stand. There were those who complained about having to live with others. They constantly reported those who played music too loud fifteen minutes before quiet hours or complained that their rooms were too small. Noah was just grateful to be able to further his education and to have his basic needs. 
It came crumbling down after two months. Jake and Y/N were taking the family to the city museum and they decided to take a detour to pick up Noah. Y/N was excited to finally see the campus, as were the other kids. Jake had been up almost every weekend, spending a few hours with Noah before driving himself back. He knew he was being a helicopter parent, but he wanted to make sure Noah was taking care of himself. He’d been distant all week, yet still agreed to go on the trip. Jake hadn’t received a text or anything from Noah. He was nervous to see his son again. He convinced himself of two possibilities: Noah hates him or he’d just gotten busy.
“I want to see your dorm,” Y/N beamed, hugging her oldest son as he barely came out of his building. 
“Are you sure? It’s not that riveting.” 
The family traveled up to his dorm, shushing each other so as to not disturb the other guests. Noah now understood why people were upset about their rooms being too small. With nine people, it was a tight squeeze. He gave them a tour of his room, snapping at Sebastian and James for jumping on his bed, but at least they’d taken off their boots. Autumn had rolled around and wet leaves littered the ground outside. 
When they returned from the city museum, Jake followed Noah up, helping him carry the groceries they picked up on the way back. 
“Goodbye,” Noah muttered, tossing things into his mini fridge. “You don’t have to come next weekend, I’ll be busy.” 
“I-” Jake shook his head. “I don’t understand.” 
“Just stop coming around!” 
“Why!” 
“Because people only want to be friends with me because of you.” 
Jake stayed quiet, mumbling a goodbye before trudging through the fall rain to the car. 
For two weeks he decided to give Noah his space. During his weekly video chats, he no longer made on screen appearances, staying out of the room. Jake never noticed that when he would visit Noah, there would be a crowd. He just assumed that Noah had such good friends, not because he had a famous dad. A target had been painted on his back and Jake only shined a light on him. 
Jake had been in a funk all week. He knew it was time to reach out to Noah, but he had no idea how. A text would only be ignored. A phone call would be directed to voicemail. He could always drive up and see him in person, but that would just make it worse if Noah turned him away. 
He’d been distracted, finding that the studio was the only place he could really focus on something else. Josh was in the recording booth, redoing some of his parts that he felt were weak. Outside of the booth, Jake sat with Sam and Danny, listening to their brother wail. 
Jake felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He scrambled for it, hoping it to be Noah. Instead he saw his wife’s face. He considered denying it, thinking it was just about dinner or something. The longer he stared at her photo, the more his brain ran with a negative feeling. 
“Jake!” 
“Y/N, hey-“ 
“I can’t find Sebastian or James. Oh my god,” she cried. “I can’t find them. Suzy and Anthony are out looking by the school and stuff, but-“
“What do you mean you can’t find them?” Jake demanded, standing up and knocking over a mic stand. The clatter interrupted Josh’s session in the booth, the music coming to a halt. 
“I-I can’t find them! They’re gone. Their beds are made and their homework is done but their backpacks are gone.” She sobbed, shushing Victoria quickly. “I think they ran away, Jake.” 
“Why would they do that?” Jake struggled to grab his keys from his coat pocket. Sam held the bottom of his jacket to make it easier for him. Jake nodded at his younger brother. He dropped the phone. “The kids ran away. I have to-“ 
“Just go!” They all shouted, pulling their own phones out. 
Jake raced home. He stopped at the mini mart a few blocks between the home and the studio. The kids often walked together, but Noah, Anthony, or Susan had to be with them. They would often take trips on Friday, spending their allowance on a fountain drink, a hot dog, and chips before coming home for a movie night to kick off the weekend. He looked around, going to the woman at the counter. 
“Have you seen two boys? They look just alike but they’re not twins. They’re about this tall and have shaggy blond, maybe light brown hair.” 
She shook her head. “It’s been dead all afternoon.” 
Jake left the store. His mind raced with every possible option. They went to the playground and lost track of time. Maybe they stopped at another store. They’re looking for Y/N’s birthday gift and she obviously can’t drive them. He held onto the nearby garbage can as his stomach churned, the worst options coming to light. Kidnapping at the top of his list. He had some crazy followers but none would be that insane, would they? He gagged, trying hard to hold his lunch down. Instead, he leaned over and into the garbage can. He coughed as his body tried to rid itself of the negativity, mistaking the reuben sandwich for the cause of his stomach ache. He winced at the burning of his nose, pinching off the mucus and spitting one last time. 
By the time he made it home, there were two police cars in the street, their lights on. Y/N was on the porch, telling the police about her day. 
“They came home from school like always. They changed their shoes and went up to do their homework. I went to clean up downstairs. Susan was going to bring friends over tonight so I wanted to set it up for a girls night. When I came back to call them for a snack, they were nowhere to be found.” 
An officer turned to Jake. “And you are?” 
“Their father. Adoptive.” 
He nodded. “And where have you been all day?” 
Jake felt his blood boil. “You think I did something to my own kids?!”
The officer shook his head. “No, but we want to get our ducks in a row.” 
He apologized quietly. “I was at the studio all day with my brothers. We’re in a band.” 
The man nodded. “We have an Amber Alert out. Chances are, they’re going somewhere they know. If anyone knows anything, we’ll tell you immediately.” 
The two officers returned to their cars, leaving quietly. Jake sat beside his wife, feeling useless. 
“How are we going to tell Noah?” She whispered, her eyes fixated on the sidewalk ahead of them.
-
Noah felt weird being on campus on a Friday night. Usually he’d be home by now, telling his siblings the funny stories from that week. He was itching to tell Susan about the head cheerleader he’d seen sneaking out of the stoner’s room at 3 in the morning with her clothes in hand. He wanted to tell Anthony about the girl in his anatomy class that he’d been trying to gain the courage to ask out for ice cream. But instead, here he was sitting in his dorm, throwing a hackysack into the air. His roommate had left earlier, catching an earlier train home. He looked at the guitar in the corner of his room, thinking about the lessons Jake had sent him. If he couldn’t talk to him, he’d have to get the next best thing. 
Noah barely set his things up when there was a pounding on his door. Sliding off his bed, he opened the door to see Steven and Brady standing there. 
“Party?” Steve asked, holding up a six pack. Noah nodded, grabbing his shoes and keys. 
The frat house was the only one on campus, but it was legally not on the same property. People ran wild, letting all of their inhibitions loose. He dodged the drunk patrons, running back and forth. He’d been to plenty of parties before, ones even more wild than this. He spotted dancers on a table, the legs about to break from the pressure. He followed his friends, cradling a single warm beer for most of the night. Despite being interested in the music and the ambiance, he was no longer in the party mood. He tapped Steve's shoulder, muttering that he was leaving. 
He felt much better in the fresh air of the cool autumn night. Noah checked the time, wondering if it was too late to call Jake. He felt the apology brewing in his mind, but he didn’t know how to shove them out. He jumped at the rustling near the dumpsters. Noah looked closer. A chill ran down his spine as he recognized the backpacks. The two names sprawled at the bottom made his blood run cold. 
“What are you two doing here?” 
“Noah?” Sebastian croaked out, holding James as he slept on his chest.
“Yeah, bud. What are you doing here?” He asked softly, picking up James, cradling him. James mumbled softly, cuddling into his brother’s chest. 
Sebastian grabbed both backpacks. “We want you to stop fighting with Mr. Jake.” 
Noah felt his heart drop. “What happened?” 
The three of them walked back to his dorm. Sebastian unlocked the door, still crying as Noah put James into his bed. Sebastian began to cry. “I don’t want to go back.” 
“Where?” 
“To our old house.”
“Why would we go back there?” 
“E-every time you fight with a foster family… we go back there. I don’t want to!” 
Noah held Sebastian in his lap. At that moment he felt like he was 14 again, trying to keep his family together. He brushed his brown hair from Sebastian’s forehead. “Did you tell Jake and Y/N where you are?” 
Jake stared at his phone, his stomach churning. He didn’t want to call Noah to tell him he’d lost two of his siblings. He’d been ignored all week and now he was terrified. He was so scared of how Noah would react. Susan had been in and out of the bathroom, bouts of nausea as she thought about her brothers. Anthony was still out looking with another group of people from the neighborhood. Y/N and Jake were instructed to stay home in case the two boys returned. 
Jake, in a bout of blind confidence, raised his phone to his ear. “Noah, don’t freak out, but… you need to come home.” 
Noah sighed. “I have them. Sebastian and James.” 
“Wh-” 
“I’ll bring them home tonight.” 
Upon hearing that the boys were with their brother, Jake felt like he could finally breathe. He pulled his wife to the side. She choked out a sob, gripping onto her husband. “Oh, thank god,” she wailed. “I was so worried.” 
Jake pet her hair, happy tears leaking out of his own eyes. He called Anthony and Susan, telling them that they’d found the boys. Anthony grabbed his keys. “Permit hours? I need night driving.” 
The guitarist shook his head. “Too dangerous right now.” 
They arrived in record time, Y/N sat in the back with a sleeping Victoria in her arms. Upon sensing that something was wrong, she refused to be let down out of her mother’s arms, even in her sleep. Jake noticed that Noah’s room was the only one that was still on. Noah had propped open the door for them. They shuffled up to his room as quietly as possible. Jake rapped his knuckles on the door only once before Noah swung the door open. 
“Oh thank god,” Jake sighed, seeing the two boys in Noah’s bed cuddled together beneath the blankets. 
The eight of them cried quietly, greeting Noah in the shuffle. When it was Jake’s turn, Noah nodded towards the hallway. 
“Do you know why they ran?” 
Jake shook his head. “It doesn’t mat-” 
“Yes it does. They ran because we were fighting. They thought you were going to send us back to our bio family, like the others.” 
“I would never.” 
“I know. I’m sorry,” Noah sighed. “I’m just not used to being there. All my life we’ve been kicked to the curb and now we’re not struggling for the basics. It was an overnight change and I know that’s a cop-out answer, but-” 
Jake pulled him into a hug. “You don’t have to answer.” He pulled back. “We can talk about it later.” 
Noah nodded. “Can we go to Waffle House? I’m starving.” 
Jake opened the door, seeing the family soundly asleep together. “Just you and I?” 
Noah shook his head, flickering the light. “Rise and shine family!” He shouted. 
Almost immediately, a shout from the room across the hall came through the air. “Shut up! No one cares about your cookie cutter family!”
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Toulliver was actually Victoria's next door neighbor for a long time. Her home was a rather cold and sterile place with humans that treated their cats more as decorations than living things with needs, and little Victoria was often neglected there. Toully's home, on the other hand, was full of kindness and life and cats (and dogs and birds!) who actually cared about what she had to say, so she would often sneak out at night to spend time there. The old hospital cat quickly became a sort of grandfatherly figure to her, playing with her, showing her around the house and the rest of the neighborhood, and teaching her to communicate with the other animals they met. He never had any kittens of his own--never had time, never found a mate who really wanted to settle down--but he came to consider Victoria as good as his. When she disappeared from her human home, he heard whispers that she'd been abandoned and immediately went out looking for her. To his relief, the Junkyard had become a much happier and safer home for her than that stuffy old townhouse could ever be, and he couldn't have been prouder to see her so content in her new life. Whenever he isn't busy with his human, Toully often comes out to visit, and Victoria always greets him with the same warm, tip-of-her-toes hug that she did as a kitten.
(He's a fantastic great-grandpa to hers and Plato's future kittens, too, of course. Bianca in particular always loves showing off her newest acquisitions from the rubbish piles, and Toully sees a lot of his younger self in her. "Perhaps I could have gone into the inventing business myself," he says, "if I didn't like sitting around and talking so much." And Bianca always laughs.)
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Embracing Flexibility: The Joys and Benefits of Casual Teaching Positions
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Welcome to our educational hub, where we celebrate the dynamic world of casual teaching positions. In the realm of education, flexibility has become more than just a buzzword – it's a lifestyle that empowers educators and enriches the learning experience for students. In this blog post, we'll delve into the joys and benefits of casual teaching positions, exploring why this pathway has become an exciting choice for educators seeking versatility in their careers.
1. Freedom to Choose:
Casual teaching provides educators with the freedom to choose when and where they teach. Imagine having the ability to tailor your schedule to suit your lifestyle, whether you're an experienced teacher seeking a change of pace or a recent graduate ready to explore diverse classroom environments. This flexibility not only promotes a healthier work-life balance but also allows teachers to maintain their passion for education by adapting to different settings.
2. Diverse Experiences, Broadened Perspectives:
One of the most significant advantages of casual teaching is the exposure to diverse experiences. As a casual teacher, you have the opportunity to work in various schools, with students of different ages and backgrounds. This not only enhances your adaptability but also broadens your perspective on teaching methodologies and classroom dynamics. Embracing diversity in education contributes to personal and professional growth, making you a more versatile and resilient educator.
3. Building a Robust Professional Network:
Casual teaching opens doors to an extensive professional network. As you move through different schools and interact with various educators, administrators, and support staff, you create valuable connections that can be instrumental in your teaching journey. Networking is not just about finding job opportunities; it's about sharing knowledge, collaborating on projects, and gaining insights from a community of dedicated professionals.
4. Gaining a Competitive Edge:
For new graduates or educators transitioning into a new phase of their career, casual teaching provides a platform to gain a competitive edge. It's an opportunity to demonstrate your skills, showcase your teaching philosophy, and make a lasting impression on schools looking for passionate and dedicated educators. These experiences not only enhance your resume but also contribute to your professional development, setting you apart in a competitive job market.
Conclusion:
In the realm of education, casual teaching positions offer a unique and fulfilling pathway. Embracing flexibility, enjoying diverse experiences, building a robust professional network, and gaining a competitive edge – these are just a few of the joys and benefits that come with being a casual teacher. Whether you're an experienced educator or a recent graduate, consider the exciting possibilities that await you in the world of casual teaching.
At Casual Teaching Positions, we're here to support and connect educators on their journey. Join our community and explore the opportunities that await you in the dynamic field of casual teaching. Because in the world of education, the only constant is change, and casual teaching positions allow you to embrace it with open arms.
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Navigating Education with Casual Teachers in Melbourne: A Seamless Solution
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In the ever-evolving landscape of education, consistency is key to a student's success. But what happens when the unexpected occurs, and a teacher is unable to attend class? That's where the role of a casual teacher in Melbourne becomes pivotal, ensuring that the learning journey remains uninterrupted. In this blog post, we'll delve into the significance of casual teachers  in Melbourne and how they are shaping the educational experience in the city.
The Importance of Casual Teachers in Melbourne
Melbourne is known for its vibrant and diverse educational institutions. From primary schools to universities, the city prides itself on delivering high-quality education. However, even the most well-structured institutions can face unforeseen challenges, such as teacher absences due to illness, professional development, or personal reasons. This is where casual teachers come into play.
1. Continuity of Learning
Casual teachers are the unsung heroes who step in to maintain the continuity of learning. They bring their expertise and passion to the classroom, ensuring that students receive the same level of education they would with their regular teachers. This seamless transition is crucial in a student's academic journey.
2. Diverse Expertise
Melbourne's casual teachers come from diverse backgrounds, offering a wide range of expertise across subjects and grade levels. Whether it's teaching mathematics, science, languages, or the arts, these educators are well-equipped to cater to the unique needs of different institutions and their students.
3. Flexibility and Adaptability
Flexibility is a hallmark of casual teachers. They are prepared to step into new classrooms, adapt to various teaching styles, and work with different curricula. Their ability to quickly integrate into a school's environment is a testament to their professionalism.
4. Supporting Educational Institutions
For educational institutions, having access to a pool of reliable casual teachers in Melbourne is invaluable. It ensures that disruptions caused by teacher absences are minimized, and the institution can maintain its commitment to providing quality education.
For Casual Teachers in Melbourne
If you're a casual teacher in Melbourne, you play a vital role in shaping the educational landscape of the city. Your dedication, adaptability, and passion for teaching are what make you an asset to the educational community. Embrace the opportunities to inspire and guide students on their academic journey.
Conclusion
Casual teachers in Melbourne are an integral part of the educational ecosystem. They ensure that education remains consistent and uninterrupted, regardless of the challenges that may arise. As the city continues to grow and evolve, these educators will remain a crucial resource, contributing to the excellence of Melbourne's educational institutions.
At Casual Teacher Melbourne, we recognize the importance of these educators and are dedicated to connecting schools and institutions with the best casual teachers in the city. Together, we can uphold the standards of education that Melbourne is renowned for, providing students with a bright and promising future.
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casualteachingnsw · 7 months
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Embracing Flexibility: The Joys and Benefits of Casual Teaching Positions
Tumblr media
Welcome to our educational hub, where we celebrate the dynamic world of casual teaching positions. In the realm of education, flexibility has become more than just a buzzword – it's a lifestyle that empowers educators and enriches the learning experience for students. In this blog post, we'll delve into the joys and benefits of casual teaching positions, exploring why this pathway has become an exciting choice for educators seeking versatility in their careers.
1. Freedom to Choose:
Casual teaching provides educators with the freedom to choose when and where they teach. Imagine having the ability to tailor your schedule to suit your lifestyle, whether you're an experienced teacher seeking a change of pace or a recent graduate ready to explore diverse classroom environments. This flexibility not only promotes a healthier work-life balance but also allows teachers to maintain their passion for education by adapting to different settings.
2. Diverse Experiences, Broadened Perspectives:
One of the most significant advantages of casual teaching is the exposure to diverse experiences. As a casual teacher, you have the opportunity to work in various schools, with students of different ages and backgrounds. This not only enhances your adaptability but also broadens your perspective on teaching methodologies and classroom dynamics. Embracing diversity in education contributes to personal and professional growth, making you a more versatile and resilient educator.
3. Building a Robust Professional Network:
Casual teaching opens doors to an extensive professional network. As you move through different schools and interact with various educators, administrators, and support staff, you create valuable connections that can be instrumental in your teaching journey. Networking is not just about finding job opportunities; it's about sharing knowledge, collaborating on projects, and gaining insights from a community of dedicated professionals.
4. Gaining a Competitive Edge:
For new graduates or educators transitioning into a new phase of their career, casual teaching provides a platform to gain a competitive edge. It's an opportunity to demonstrate your skills, showcase your teaching philosophy, and make a lasting impression on schools looking for passionate and dedicated educators. These experiences not only enhance your resume but also contribute to your professional development, setting you apart in a competitive job market.
Conclusion:
In the realm of education, casual teaching positions offer a unique and fulfilling pathway. Embracing flexibility, enjoying diverse experiences, building a robust professional network, and gaining a competitive edge – these are just a few of the joys and benefits that come with being a casual teacher. Whether you're an experienced educator or a recent graduate, consider the exciting possibilities that await you in the world of casual teaching.
At Casual Teaching Positions, we're here to support and connect educators on their journey. Join our community and explore the opportunities that await you in the dynamic field of casual teaching. Because in the world of education, the only constant is change, and casual teaching positions allow you to embrace it with open arms.
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Put On Your Raincoats | The New Barbarians (Pachard, 1990)
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I'd been watching a bunch of '80s sword and sandal movies recently, and while the quality of them has certainly varied, they've been consistent enough in delivering a handful of pleasures, namely charmingly low rent sets, crude violence and a reliable amount of nudity. I'd had this one on my Letterboxd watchlist for quite some time, and figured, while I'm watching the mainstream versions of these things, I might as well get around to the pornographic take on the same material. I figured that the sets would be cheaper, the violence less graphic, and the sex more so. You've got a veteran director, a number of stars who I've enjoyed elsewhere, and looking at the listed runtime of around eighty minutes, I figured this would be a breezy enough watch. Unfortunately, as I neared the end of those eighty minutes, I'd realized that we were in for a cliffhanger ending, and this was a two-parter with a total runtime of over two and a half hours. The maximum ninety minute runtimes of the Golden Age were a thing of the past. We are firmly in the video era, when these things started getting longer and longer, and runtimes that would steer one away even with a mainstream movie were becoming the norm.
So by the end of this, I was maybe a bit over it, in large part because it ended up being twice the time commitment I was expecting. But I must note that the runtime isn't purely driven by extending the sex scenes, but actual plot. Despite the pornographic elements, this actually commits to the sword and sandal fantasy story and treats it with a straight face. There is comic relief (chiefly from Joey Silvera and Nina Hartley as two modern day characters transported to barbarian times, the former of whom loses his pants and the latter of whom teaches a barbarian to play the drums), but not such that it undermines the premise. It also helps that in Sharon Kane and Randies West and Spears, you have some pretty good actors who treat the material with a certain amount of commitment and help prop up the shakier performance of Victoria Paris in the lead role. (Spears is especially enjoyable as the teeth gnashing villain, who marvels that "there's magic all around us!", referring of course to Magic Johnson as he watches a basketball game on TV.) While I can't say this makes a case for her as a great actress, she is likable, and her deer in the headlights, mouth agape look serves her character well (and emphasizes her rather fetching overbite). Between them, as well as an empathetic turn from Sabrina Dawn, they try to wring some emotional resonance out of the material, even if I found it didn't quite square up given the patience-testing runtime. It's the thought that counts.
Now, this is a video era production, and the standards of craft have certainly deteriorated from the Golden Age when these things were shot on film and probably with better skilled and staffed crews. I will however say that the sword and sandal genre makes it less of an issue given that the average budget of these things is already pretty low (and this one has enough for costumes, sets and horses), and this movie further sidesteps the problem by shifting the action to present day through a time travel plot. (Silvera remarks: "Shit, man, out of all the periods in history, this one sucks the most.") There is even some attempted style, namely an early scene where the movie cuts between a character being slain and two others having sex, building the intensity of the sequence with some well deployed tribal drumbeats. And as a porno, while your enjoyment will largely depend on your affinity for big-haired babes in loincloths, they do gain a certain energy from the use of music, and the more primitive of the female barbarians are in appealingly feral form, despite going through standard porn choreography.
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