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#how about we convince his hiring manager to stop suggesting he should take these roles
yachoso · 2 years
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We gotta somehow convince Chris Pratt that animation is 100% gay and supported by the devil I know his homophobic ass will stay away
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cloviaglade · 3 years
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THE CRIMSON FLOWER ROUTE CORPORATE UNION AU
Yeah it came to me in a dream shared it with a friend and she said I should inflict it on the world so here we go
Warning: It's super long but I broke it up into chunks
(note not all members of the house fall into the categories listed also I'm not the best with corporate terms and positions. Also this was made for fun and isn't that serious)
The houses
The Black eagles generally were in accounting or sales. They dealt with a lot of the customers firsthand and were considered expendable
Blue lions where mostly in HR or IT
Golden deer mostly worked in maintenance and public relations.
Staff and church members are members of the board. Flayn has her position on the board despite her age because nepotism
The Seiros Co:
It's a large company that provide a large array of services and products that promote physical and emotional well-being. The company started out with good intentions but soon became a corporate monster
The company provides a host of benefits to its employees including on site housing, on site restraunts, on site pools gyms ect. They even have the best insurance on the planet. They even have horse therapy.
However they have to pay premiums on the health insurance, their rent is docted from their pay, they have to pay for on-site facilities, and those living on site are heavily encouraged to work overtime.
a lot of this is justified by cover every single health expense and days of for minor colds. Many employees seek mental health care more often than they seek physical care.
The on site living conditions vary heavily. Most are just a small white room with a single bed and a dresser. No visitors after certain hours and forget about outside visitors. However rumors are spreading that the board members have spacious luxury apartments.
The pay without all the benefits is not a wage you could live off of. But with the rent for these rooms doct from your pay you couldn't reasonably save up for different arrangements.
The strike begins:
Edelguard was finally fed up watching her team struggling. She hears constantly about how her workers are not making enough. How they have to scrape because they needed new clothes or shoes. Or worse how Petra wasn't able to support her sick grandfather
She hired a lawyer Hubert to look into information about their contracts and compare everything to labor laws. She needed to know how much of this was legal and if there was anything to be done about it.
Huberts lawfirm dealt with several lawsuits in the past. They are considered ruthless in court however media painted them out to be money hungry and demented
As expected, it was legal (mostly due to lack of regulation for these types of benefits) but really unfair, So Hubert suggested a strike. His firm would handle all the legal matters as they prepared a lawsuit and to unionize.
Edelguard was careful to organize it in private. Nothing was emailed. Nothing to tract them. Flyers were handwritten and posted in the dorms inviting members to secret meeting on slow hours.
Roles
What everyone did on the day of the strike/position they were in the office.
Black eagles
Edalguard: head of sales- she got everyone in her department and many others in different departments to simply stop working for the day when she commanded everyone to stop working via megaphone. She suck in hubert and went to a private meeting room to set up a list of demands.
Hubert: head of Vestra lawfirm- he snuck past security with the help of Edelguard. He brought a laptop and a phone with Hotspot so he could video call the rest of his attorneys from inside the conference room. Once the strike was in full swing he toured the place with Edelguard gathering evidence.
Ferdinand: senior sale manager has the highest customer satisfaction - when the strike was well underway he sent a mass email to everyone in every department including the CEO and founder herself in a very professional tone about how there is a strike. Lornez replied immediately and they when to the breakroom to enjoy tea while on the clock.
Lindhart: IT software specialist - first thing he did was turn off all the bans on websites. Everyone could go on whatever website they wanted to. He left the download blocker up and other safety precautions in place. Others could looks at memes and scroll through social media ect. He then returns to his dorm and takes a paid nap.
Caspar: manager in accounting slow but very accurate and a real team player - he hated the no pets policy with a burning passion so he let all the stray and feral cats that hang around the building in through one of the side doors. They stayed mostly on the ground floor and a few made a mess under the desks. He played with the strays with a few of his co-workers.
Bernadette: customer service rep. - she hated the calls filled with angry people. She clocked out, disconnected he phone, ran into her dorm and screamed into her pillow until calm. Once she calmed down enough she did some embroidery.
Dorothea: sales representative- has the highest upsale rate - she gets into her car and just leaves. She is still clocked in. Nobody knows where she went. Some say she met with a lover, others say she went on a binge. Nobody really knows.
Petra: bilingual sales rep. - she signed her phone off and immediately called up her family overseas. She proceeded to catch up and talk with her family for hours. She rarely got to speak with them due to the difference in timezones.
Blue lions
Dimitri: head of IT - he doesn't actually know much about IT and has little intrest in it. He got the job because his dad recommended him. With the outside website ban lifted and the lost of control of his department he frantically tried to get everything under control
Dedue: cyber security and protocol educator - although the bans are lifted he is still concerned about a cyber attack. He is frantically try to restore the ban but it seems like lindhart deleted the code.
Felix: hardware specialists - he was the one who should've been promoted into Dimitri's position and is a bit smug about how everything is falling apart in front of his boss. He bypasses the download blocker and plays minecraft on the company computer. Dimitri is too busy to notice that felix isn't helping.
Sylvain: HR rep. - he knew from the start that working conditions were shit. He was tired of trying to raise moral by doing everything but paying the employees more, giving them time off, and reasonable working hours. He went to the break room where Ferdinand and Lornez were having tea and ate a bunch of the snacks the company was reselling at super high prices then faxed a picture of his ass and balls to rhea herself as a letter of resignation.
Ashe: new hire in IT - was called down to the first floor to replace a keyboard a cat peed on. Found caspar was the reason the cats were let in. Caspar then persuaded him to play with the cats instead of shooing them out. 3 hours later he completely forgot about the strike and clocked out per usual. He completely forgot about the strike
Mercedes: head of HR - she meets with the board and discussed what to do about the strikers. They can't force them to go home since everyone striking lives on site and has every right to be there. No significant damages is being done to property. The only loss is from those not working (and a keyboard covered in cat piss and $35 worth of snacks) Mercedes is forced to find a way to get them to stop but in a way that doesn't really change anything. She leaves the meeting when it is over clocks out and returns to her modest house she calls out sick for the next couple of months.
Annette: HR rep - she tries to stop the chaos on the floor and to convince everyone to return to work. She is ignored. She wanted to ask for a megaphone to help gain attention but edelguard took the one from HR and the person with the key to one in the event closet is striking as well. She runs around in a paint trying to answer emails and settle everyone down.
Ingrid: IT helpline rep - helping Dimitri reset the ban on outside websites is above her pay grade. She at least know some of the terminology and the basics. She manages to set up a very basic blocker but it didn't block whole domains just the homepage of every website she could think of that's wasn't appropriate for work. Logging into the site allowed you to bypass the block. Ingrid feels like she will be fired for not being able to do more
Golden deer:
Claude: event planner - noticing that there was no work happening he finally decided it was time to actually do his job. He dipped into those sweet event funds and ordered as many pizza's as he could from every pizza join that could deliver. He busted out the sport balls and got employees to clear some room for flag football on the 3rd floor. He got Hilda to organize games of hide and go seek in floors 4 and 5. All games and activities were not officially approved but followed all guidelines.
Hilda: claudes assistant - organized games on the 4th and 5th floors. The cubicle although uniform made excellent hiding spaces and the food plaza just got rid of the old tables and chairs awaiting delivery of new ones so there was a ton of space to run around. Hidia had to jump between floors pretty often which was a workout all on its own but it was worth it to see everyone smile at work for once.
Lornez: head of advertising - he was tired of writing jingles and stupid commercials for the company. He wasn't aware of the strike until he got the email from Ferdinand. He offered to treat him to some tea he brought from home. They had a lovely talk and watched Sylvain stress eat. He tried to talk Sylvain out of resigning but failed.
Raphael: pizza delivery guy - he thought it was a joke at first since they never delivered pizza to the Serios Co but was persuaded by Claude. He got stopped at the front by the front desk clerk who was ordered not to allow any deliveries. Soon more pizza guys showed up and some of them where not as nice as Raphael. He eventually got in and successfully delivered his pizza.
Ignatz: accountant - he wanted no part of this and tried to work despite being on the 3rd floor. He doesn't have any PTO and is frantically trying to get his absence approved because he cannot work under these conditions. He got walled in with desks and chairs and hand to crawl his way out to try to find someone in HR to help him but found their office empty. Worst day of work ever.
Lysithia: Intern- hopes to join the advertising department - She needs this job for school credits so finding out that her boss told her to take the day off because of strike she immediately thought of her record. Lorenz assured her that she would get credit as long as he had any say in it. She played a round of hide and go seek before studying in Lornez's office
Marianne: customer service rep.- she heard the rumors and on the day of the strike she freaked out and when to have a panic attack in her car. She was on lunch technically but she took a 3 hour lunch. She came back in clocked out and decided to try that horse therapy.
Leonnie: pizza delivery guy (not nice) - she knows the customer didn't care that the order took so long to complete and was very understanding that the 30mins or less delivery time but seriously! 50 PIZZAS!! She had to stretch and press dough at top speed for like 45 mins then she burnt her hand while boxing some of the pizza's and she had to deliver all of it to this company just outside of town and now the person at the front door is insisting that the pizza was ordered by mistake oh no! Not today! You will take the pizza and you will pay for it and tip 25%.
Church
Rhea: CEO and founder - she honestly believes her practices are helping the community. She doesn't realize that she doesn't give her employees much choice. She thinks her employees are ungrateful.
Seteth: president - also believes the company is doing the best they can. He knows the dorms are small and brand but they house 78.364% of their employees and they all see a doctor at least 3 times a month. He hates that he has difficulty finding a balance between competitive prices, compensating workers, and turning a profit.
Flayn: secretary - she saw the fun going on in the 5th floor while on her lunch and thought it was organized by staff and didn't connect it as part of the strike.
Catherine: front desk - tried to turn away all the delivery drivers but more kept coming. She kept getting calls from upper management about the social media platforms and tried frantically to get in to make a statement but had little luck. She gave up when Leonnie demanded payment and let all the delivery people in.
Shamir: social media manager- she originally attended the meetings as a mole but soon learned that her fellow employees hardships. She drafted huge posts on every platform exposing the truth, changed all the passwords then took a vacation during the strike.
Hanneman: chief operational officer - he is calling and emailing the IT department about the bans every moment he can. He organized the meeting as soon as the strikers got rowdy.
Manuela: chief financial officer - although she is worried about the finances she has also been pressing about where to cut the budget first. Horse therapy is ridiculous! They own the whole ranch and are responsible for the upkeep of every horse. And all the horses are carefully hand selected and trained too. It's too much nobody uses the horse therapy because nobody has the time off to go to horse therapy!
Alois: Chairman - his title is mostly empty. He joined the strikers in a game of flag football scored a touchdown. Then went back to work as usual. Didn't check his emails about the strike since he only checks them in the morning when he first comes into work.
Gilbert: treasurer - he puts business first. Doesn't know his daughter works for the same company. Was friends with Dimitri's father. He is stressing about how the company will recover financially. He is the reason for the pay cuts so they can fund most of the benefits.
Cyrill: gopher - he gets paid minimum wage and lives on site. He considers himself lucky that he can drive the company car to go pick up office supplies from the store. He was homeless before he got a job at Seiros and feels like he is important.
Results
Since several members of the board were caught participating in strike activities the hubert and his firm counted them at strikers and used this in court.
The dorms were not considered responsible accommodations saying that prisoners in jail cells at least have their own toilet.
The news when crazy with the posts on social media. The account never replied to any dms or comments. When called they said a rogue employee posted them falsely because she was being fired.
Rhea was forced to pay a lawsuit that gave all dormitory workers an allowance of $1000 for rent for life. Even if they choose to leave the company.
Dimitri was fired for not actually having any training. Felix was promoted to the head of IT and everyone respects him.
Rhea looses her company. And most of her assets. She kept the therapy horse ranch and manages that for a living.
With the entire company now belonging to her since everyone above her resigned she made a ton of changes making the company more normal. She pays a fair livable wage to every employee. She repurposed the dorms into offices or solitary break rooms.
Huberts firm gets rebranded as a honest firm that wants to help the little guys. He later goes on to help other corporations unionize.
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inyournightmares97 · 4 years
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Ultimatum (Part 5)
Park Jinyoung is a master negotiator. He’s used to preying on people’s weaknesses and manipulating them to get his way. So he can’t understand you; a lawyer who sees the world in black and white, as either good or bad. Conflict is inevitable.
But if the two of you can just set aside your differences, perhaps you can perform miracles together.
Word Count: 4.4k+
Warnings: Angst, office!au, enemies to lovers!au. Some language
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Part 1: In Which You Win
Part 2: In Which He Wins
Part 3: In Which the Common Enemy Appears
Part 4: In Which You Work Together
Part 5: In Which Nobody Wins 
Part 6: In which Everybody Wins
Part 7: In Which Love Wins
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The atmosphere at work was tense. 
“Do you want coffee? Lemon tea? Something to drink?” Yugyeom asked you desperately. He had come in early in the morning with coffee for you, and he kept hovering over your desk anxiously. You could tell that he was nervous. 
But you were nervous too. 
“Can you please just sit down, Yugyeom?” you asked him. 
He blushed and sat down quickly as you stared down at your notes. You didn’t know if you could do this. The legal aspect of it wasn’t turning out too great and you were starting to lose confidence in your own arguments. What if this didn’t work? What if the CEO wasn’t convinced that the threat of the company being sued for the transfer was real? 
What if you needed something worse to present as the Bad Cop? 
You slammed your laptop shut.
“Where are you going?” Yugyeom asked as you stood up and smoothed down your skirt. It was 12 pm. There were 6 hours until your meeting with the CEO, and you couldn’t just walk into his office with a half-assed plan to threaten to sue. You needed something stronger and for that…
You needed to talk to Park Jinyoung. 
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The Sales team looked equally tense. 
You could tell as you walked past their desks that all of them were nervous and failing to focus on their work. You sighed. How had the CEO thought that this was a good idea? His foolish announcement had left half the departments in the company miserable and stressed. This couldn’t be good for work productivity. 
This couldn’t be good for anyone. 
“Jinyoung,” you greeted as you approached his table. The man was hunched over some documents, scribbling things into the margins. His desk was littered with empty coffee cups. Jinyoung looked up at you with puffy eyes. “Can we talk for a few minutes? I feel like we need a new plan.”
“Is something wrong?” he asked. 
You glanced around at the rest of the Sales team, most of whom were watching your exchange with Jinyoung attentively. It dawned on you that all of these people were counting on you. Yugyeom, Youngjae, Jackson, Hana… the entirely of Sales and Legal were trusting you and Park Jinyoung to save their jobs. 
And you had no idea how you were going to manage it. 
Fuck.
“No, nothing’s wrong,” you muttered. “But let’s go into a conference room and talk.”
“Okay.”
He followed you to a small conference room. You waited until he sat down and then shut the door. Jinyoung looked at you calmly and gave you a small smile. Perhaps he meant the smile to be reassuring. It didn’t help. 
“I don’t think this will work,” you told him honestly. 
Jinyoung blinked. “Why?”
“I feel like we’re not doing enough, This lawsuit isn’t going to scare him. Don’t you think the CEO would have considered the legal aspects of it before he sent around an announcement to all the employees? We know how meticulous he is about everything. I don’t think he’s going to feel threatened by it. How is the cost accounting going? Will giving up our annual bonuses cover the cost of keeping us here?”
Jinyoung sighed. “You want the truth I’m going to present to him, or the real truth?”
“The real truth.”
“No. It won’t.”
You groaned and pressed your face into your hands. This wasn’t going well. It had seemed like a good idea to start with, but you were going to need a lot more to convince the CEO to take back an order that he had already issued. You peeked at Jinyoung miserably through your fingers. 
“Jinyoung.”
“Hmmm?” he looked at you with tired eyes. 
“I’m going to suggest something that might sound crazy but I just have to put it out there,” you began hesitantly. “Surely… surely, if every single one of us quit on the spot then the CEO would change his mind? It would cost him too much to hire new people to fill every single operational role in the company. There wouldn’t even be any experienced employees left to train the newcomers.”
Jinyoung stared at you. “That’s…”
“I know. Outrageous. But think about it! There have to be some crucial employees in this mix. He’s counting on some of us agreeing to the transfer. You’re the first person in Sales to secure a 10 million dollar deal, and you closed deals with our biggest clients. The CEO doesn’t want to lose you. He can’t afford to lose all of us, because some of us are irreplaceable to him. Not to mention that hiring new people will take time and there’ll be an interruption in services so clients will get upset-”
“I’m going to stop you there,” Jinyoung cut you off. His dark eyes met yours and they looked slightly apologetic. “I considered this. But we’ll never get everyone to sign up. Some people are actually okay with going to Busan if they get to keep their jobs. Remember? They’d prefer to stay here, but Busan isn’t a dealbreaker for a bunch of us.”
Your shoulders slumped. “Right.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What if we just bluffed-”
“It’s too risky. If the bluff doesn’t work then those people would actually have to quit and nobody wants to gamble with their livelihoods. There’s too much at stake to play with here. I know your circumstances aren’t letting you move to Busan, but that’s not the case for everyone.”
You nodded. “Right.”
“It’s not a bad idea, it just wouldn’t…”
“I get it.” You stood up and shook your head. What had you been thinking? Just because your mother couldn’t be moved due to her health didn’t mean that this was such a big deal for everyone. What if you hadn’t had to take care of her? You would have been willing to go to Busan just like everyone else. Sure, everyone was united in their desire to stay here but…
You were alone in your desperation. 
Jinyoung watched you worriedly. “Hey. I know this is difficult for you-”
“Never mind,” you said, forcing a smile on your face. You didn’t want to see the pity in Jinyoung’s eyes. You suddenly felt foolish for ever suggesting it to him. “Forget I brought it up. We can’t expect everyone to agree to quit. But, um, I’m going to ask everyone who is prepared to quit to sign a sheet so that we have a number and a list of names we can use. Maybe the CEO will see the names of some people he really wants to keep on that list. Is that okay?”
Jinyoung nodded. “Sure.”
You stood up and turned to leave the room. “Right. Let’s get back to work. I’ll go and-”
“Wait.” Jinyoung leapt out of his seat and stood in your way, blocking the door for a moment as he looked down at you. His dark eyes were softer than usual. “Are you okay?”
Your throat clenched. “Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Okay. Just… just making sure.”
“Go focus on your work, Jinyoung.”
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“You have to eat something,” Yugyeom insisted. 
“I can’t,” you admitted. Both of your colleagues were standing over your desk looking concerned. Youngjae had picked up a sandwich for you since you hadn’t had time for lunch, but you just couldn’t imagine eating it right now. 
“Please?” Yugyeom asked. 
“I seriously can’t. I might throw up later if I eat now.”
“Then you can throw up on Park Jinyoung. Everybody wins,” Yugyeom suggested with a smile. He was trying hard to cheer you up, and you felt guilty for being unable to keep it together. You weren’t the only one in trouble here. Yugyeom and Youngjae were counting on you. You needed to stay strong for them. 
“Maybe I should. That would solve about half of our problems,” you joked weakly, as you took a reluctant bite of the sandwich. “Have you seen Jinyoung around? We were going to practice what to say before we went in.”
“No. I’m sure he’ll turn up.”
You leaned back in your chair and chewed the sandwich forcefully. It tasted like paper. But what was really nauseating was the way Yugyeom and Youngjae were watching you worriedly. You were their only hope. The thought of telling them that they would have to either quit their jobs or uproot their entire lives to another city made you feel miserable. 
And you hadn’t even started thinking about your mother. 
You were halfway through the sandwich when Park Jinyoung strode up to your desk. He was carrying his laptop under one arm and a flask of coffee in the other. A despicably handsome smile spread across Jinyoung's face as his eyes locked on you. 
“There you are. Let’s go. The CEO’s meeting ended early so his secretary called me.”
You nearly spit out the sandwich. “What?”
Jinyoung raised an eyebrow. “You heard me. We’re up. The CEO is waiting for us. Stop stuffing your face and let’s move, lawyer lady.”
“You said we could run through it once as practice!” you cried. 
Jinyoung slid his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Yeah, that would have been nice. But it can’t be helped. He wants us to finish out meeting so that he can go home early. No time for practice. I’ve seen you lecturing people impromptu in the hallways about company policies, though, so I’m sure you can manage to be your usual unreasonable self extemporaneously. Come on.”
Your heartbeat thudded as you tossed the sandwich aside and grabbed your files. Yugyeom gave you a thumbs up and Youngjae a reassuring smile. 
Oh fuck. 
Park Jinyoung had already started walking away, and you had to hurry to keep up with his long strides. 
“Can you slow down?” you asked the man desperately as you half-ran after him. “Jinyoung, I don’t feel good about this.”
“Why?”
“I just…”
“Here,” Jinyoung offered you his coffee flask and you took it, confused when he winked at you. “My secret weapon. Drink it all, come on.”
You sniffed at the flask gingerly. “That is not coffee.”
“It’s my a little liquid courage,” he informed you as he pressed the button for the elevator. You looked at the dark liquid in the flask and, with a sudden what-the-hell emotion, lifted it up and swallowed the whole thing. Jinyoung chuckled when you winced and held the empty flask away from you.  
“Better?”
“I feel sick,” you admitted, before narrowing your eyes at him. “I hope you don’t drink this stuff when you go to meet clients?”
“Is that important right now? We’ll be fine. We discussed this. We know what the plan is, let’s just go in there and do our best,” Jinyoung insisted. His words were surprisingly comforting and you nodded while you screwed the lid back on the flask and handed it to him. The elevator dinged open and you both stepped inside. The CEOs office was on the top floor. 
“Hey,” you said suddenly. 
Jinyoung raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“Regardless of what happens in there, I just want to say…” you bit your lip and looked up at Jinyoung. He looked different. He felt different. Maybe it was just you, but you decided that maybe there was a lot more to Park Jinyoung from Sales than met the eye. 
“Say what?” Jinyoung asked with a smirk. 
“It wasn’t half bad working with you,” you muttered. 
He chuckled. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, it wasn’t too bad working with you either. Now come on. Let’s go kill it in there.”
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The CEO looked tired and irritable. 
“Weren’t you two in my office just yesterday?” he asked with a sigh. He pressed his fingers to his temples.“We’ve discussed this. The transfer to Busan is happening. You can either take it or leave it.”
“Actually, I think you’ll find that there are a number of things we can do besides just either taking or leaving it,” you cut in smoothly. Jinyoung’s liquid courage had helped a little; your nerves were no longer on edge and words rolled off your tongue. “Mr. Park has come up with one set of steps that can be taken and I’ve come up with another. We’d like to present both options before you.”
The CEO raised an eyebrow at you. “I think I can hazard a guess as to what you want to do. You’re going to sue the company.”
“I have a list of offences the company has committed which still haven’t crossed the statute of limitations. It lists offences of both civil and criminal nature,” you replied as you held up a file. “For obvious reasons, I can’t disclose this to you at the moment. But you can count on receiving a legal notice soon. I think you’re forgetting that the Legal team has been covering up the company’s follies for years now. So kindly take into consideration every single legal violation we’ve smoothed over when you calculate the costs of the lawsuit.”
The CEO raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t take you for a snitch. You signed a non-disclosure agreement at the time of employment. Therefore, you can’t disclose confidential company information legally.”
“You’ll find I can. The official term is whistleblowing and there are legal protections for the same.”
“Fascinating.”
“I also have a list of employees that intend to quit instead of going to Busan,” you continued as you handed him the list that you’d gone around asking people to sign. Around half of the threatened employees had signed it. The CEO raised an eyebrow in interest and his eyes scanned the names quickly. His face relaxed. 
“I see. That’s unfortunate, but we’ll have to accept their resignations,” he replied as his eyes reached the bottom of the list. He set the list aside. “I’ll notify HR that they will be receiving these resignations soon. Since you’re so set on throwing the company into a legal mess, you might as well go ahead.”
You bit your lip. “It’ll cost the company a lot.”
“So? That’s for me to handle.”
“You could face a lot of financial trouble, the company’s stocks could fall if the bad publicity goes too far,” you continued desperately.
“We’ll recover.”
Park Jinyoung watched attentively, noticing that your voice was starting to crack. You didn’t have much left to say and he could tell that the pressure was getting to you. 
“I know what she’s suggesting sounds messy, but I have some ideas too,” Jinyoung insisted, cutting in. “I’ve emailed some of the calculations I did to your secretary. The company offers a really large annual holiday bonus to all its employees and we take that for granted. If we stop giving that out we might be able to save a lot of money. We wouldn’t need to transfer to Busan and the company wouldn’t need to spend money on the hiring process to find new people.”
The CEO sighed. “You too, Jinyoung? I’m disappointed.”
“We don’t want to go to Busan, sir.”
“Look. I’ve discussed this with the Board of Directors already. We’ve taken into account all the factors you’re suggesting,” the CEO replied. “It’s… unusual to see you both making a joint representation in my office, and I can see you’ve gone to a lot of effort, but I can’t help you.”
Jinyoung frowned. “Sir, you know a lot of people have families and other things holding them back here. It’s not fair to demand that they all transfer to Busan unconditionally.”
The CEO raised an eyebrow. “Do you have anything holding you back, Jinyoung?”
“Uh-I don’t know what you mean.”
“It’s absolutely clear what I mean. I can see that your departments have sent you two as representatives but the truth is, your personal interests don’t even align, do they? A lot of you want to stay with the company even if it means going to Busan. The company is constantly giving incentives to its best workers to keep them. We know how to ensure that the employees we value stay where they are.”
You stared at him in disbelief. “So you don’t value the rest of us?”
The CEO leaned back in his chair. “The only thing valuable to me is productivity. I need results, and the people bringing them to me are happy because they receive incentives in exchange.”
“That’s a stupid way to run a business.”
“It’s a good thing you’re not in charge of our business decisions, then,” the CEO replied. He leaned forward to check your list of names once more. “And judging from the way your name is first on this list, you’re not going to be in charge of legal decisions for much longer either. We’ll offer you a decent severance package.”
You felt your throat constrict. “I expected better from you.”
The CEO raised an eyebrow. “Sorry to disappoint.”
Jinyoung frowned as you stood up abruptly. Were you leaving? You both hadn’t stayed up all night preparing for this negotiation only to bail out so soon. He reached out for your hand and tried to pull you back into your seat awkwardly. 
“Wait, I’m not done-” Jinyoung insisted. “I still have some cost proposals to suggest-”
“Then you suggest them. I’m done,” you announced hotly. Your heartbeat was thudding but you couldn’t stop the rage that was flowing through you. “I’ve finished working at a company that doesn’t value my skills. Do you have any idea how much of my time, effort and life I’ve dedicated towards stopping this place from sinking into a messy lawsuit? Your star employees fuck up over and over again, and we’re the ones that fix it. And you want to tell me that I’m not valuable to this company?”
“You might want to calm down,” the CEO warned. 
“No. I will not calm down. Maybe you should go and have HR teach you a lesson in basic human decency,” you ranted. “You might value employees like Jinyoung who bring you ten million dollar deals, but people like him couldn’t do his job if it wasn’t for us. A company is comprised of many departments that work together. Are you aware of that basic fact, or did they not teach you that at business school?”
“That’s enough,” the CEO hissed. 
“Don’t worry. I was done anyway,” you replied, picking up your file. Jinyoung was staring at you, wide-eyed, but you ignored him. It didn’t matter. This stupid CEO wasn’t going to listen to his stupid cost-cutting schemes. He was on a power trip and you weren’t going to fall for it. 
You had your pride to protect. 
You walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind you with a bang. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Park Jinyoung couldn’t believe you. 
You had just fucked up his negotiation-again-but somehow he couldn’t even blame you. The CEO’s comments about only certain employees being valuable had been out of line. Nobody had dedicated more time and effort into protecting this company than you. 
Not even him. 
He had put the entire company at risk for 10 million dollars. He deserved the criticism. You didn’t. 
Jinyoung apologized to the CEO quickly before running out of the room after you. He jogged down the corridor to find you in the lift lobby. Your shoulders were stiff and your hands trembled as you pressed the button for the elevator repeatedly. You didn’t turn to look at him. 
“Hey,” Jinyoung called out. 
You ignored him, only jamming the button harder as you took deep breaths to try and calm yourself. You couldn’t believe you had exploded at the CEO of your company like that, but his words and their implications were still ringing in your head. Your throat felt heavy as you repeatedly jammed the elevator button. 
Jinyoung reached out to stop you. “Don’t-you’ll hurt yourself doing that-”
“Don’t touch me.”
“I’m sorry.”
The elevator arrived and you stepped inside as soon as it opened. Jinyoung followed and watched you press the button for your floor. You were biting your lip and Jinyoung could tell that your entire body was shaking. 
“Are you okay?” he asked. 
You shook your head silently. 
Jinyoung reached out and placed his hand on your trembling shoulder, turning you to face him. “Hey. I’m sorry about what he said in there. You didn’t deserve that.”
He half-expected you to push his hand away or ignore him. You didn’t. Your shoulders slumped and you looked broken. You suddenly stepped forward, moving closer to Jinyoung. His entire body froze as you wrapped your arms around him loosely, pressed your face into his shoulder and let out a choked sob. 
Oh fuck, You were crying. 
What was he supposed to do? You were crying. He had never seen you crying before. He had never imagined that a stubborn, emotionless, unyielding bitch like you was even capable of crying. 
What did he do now? 
Jinyoung did the only thing that seemed natural. He wrapped his arms around you gingerly and patted your back. You smelled heavenly and your soft hair was brushing his skin but he couldn’t focus on that. You were trembling in his arms as you struggled to breathe. 
“Hey,” Jinyoung whispered. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” you choked out. “I fucked it up. I fucked it up for everybody. I fucked it up for Yugyeom and Youngjae. I fucked it up for all of Sales. They’re going to lose their jobs because I fucked everything up. What was I thinking? I should have held it in, right? You would have held it in.”
Jinyoung cleared his throat. “I-I might not have been able to either.”
Your fingers tightened as they gripped the back of Jinyoung’s expensive linen shirt. You weren’t merely hugging him now, you were clutching onto him. 
“I’m sorry,” you choked. Somewhere in the back of your mind you were aware that you were embarrassing yourself, but you didn’t care. Jinyoung’s strong grip was comforting. His arms held you tightly and with no hesitation. 
“It’s not your fault. The CEO was determined,” Jinyoung muttered. 
“But-”
“But nothing. It’s okay.”
“How am I going to break it to Youngjae and Yugyeom?” you whispered. 
“They’ll understand.”
“Will they?”
Jinyoung merely nodded. “They’ll have to. They won’t blame you. You tried your best.”
“Right,” you mumbled. Jinyoung had a point. There was nothing else that could be done. “We tried our best. There was nothing else we could do.”
“Yeah.”
You suddenly felt embarrassed and pulled back from Jinyoung’s grip. His hands hovered on your upper arms but you wiped away your tears before looking up at him with a watery smile. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak out on you. Can we keep this between us?”
He swallowed. “Sure.”
“Right. Thank you.”
“No-no problem.”
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Park Jinyoung couldn’t focus. 
You had calmed down once the elevator stopped and after a quick trip to the bathroom, you returned looking normal. Your voice cracked slightly as you informed your waiting colleagues that the negotiations failed; everyone was disappointed but they understood. 
You had done your best. 
But had you? Had you really? 
Park Jinyoung wasn’t sure. He had thought that he’d done his best but he couldn’t forget the way you had fallen apart in his arms. Maybe it had only lasted a few seconds-ten floors’ worth in the elevator to be exact- but he couldn’t get it out of his mind. The way you had turned to him for comfort, the way you had shown him your most vulnerable side. 
The feeling of having let you down. 
Hana approached Jinyoung’s desk hesitantly and cleared her throat. “I’m, uh, I’m going to leave, Mr. Park. Is that okay? Everyone’s clocking out early tonight. I think… I think most of the Legal team emailed their resignations to HR already.”
Jinyoung bit his lip. “Sure. Go home.”
“Okay. Goodnight.”
The intern left and Jinyoung stood up to pace the corridor. He couldn’t sit still. He felt restless and uncomfortable. What was wrong? He had failed bigger negotiations and not lost a wink of sleep. Why was this one affecting him so much? Was it because of you? 
You hadn’t deserved to be spoken to like that by the CEO. You hadn’t deserved to lose your job. You were more loyal to the company than Jinyoung had ever been, and yet…
And yet, the CEO thought Jinyoung was more valuable  than you. 
He was wrong. 
Maybe Jinyoung had some sense of fairness after all. 
“Hey,” Jackson called out. He was packing his stuff and getting ready to leave when Jinyoung paced past his desk. He patted his friend on the back. “It’s been a long day. Let’s go get some drinks. You guys tried your best.”
“Did we, though?”
“Huh?”
“Did we really try our best?” Jinyoung demanded. He ran his hand over his face. “I mean-not her. I know she tried her best, But did I?”
“Of course you did. You couldn’t think of any way to convince the CEO to take his order back. He was hardballing you. He didn’t have a bottom line. And if he did, you couldn’t find it,” Jackson pointed out. He could see how torn Jinyoung looked. “Come on, Jinyoung. It was out of your hands.”
Jinyoung looked up suddenly. “What if it was in my hands?”
“Huh?”
“What if the card were in my hands all along, I was just too scared to play them?” Jinyoung asked. He ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s not right. The truth is-she came out of there and the first thing she worried about was how her colleagues were going to deal with it. She felt guilty for not being able to save their jobs, not her own.”
Jackson blinked. “You did what you could for us, too.”
“Yeah, sure, I represented you guys. But I was only thinking about myself. I was… I was confined to the box of how does this affect me personally. I wasn’t really thinking about anybody else. She was. She’s always thinking about the bigger picture and I’m always thinking about myself.”
“What does that mean?”
Jinyoung took a deep breath. Maybe this was a stupid decision. He might regret it in the morning when he remembered his personal philosophies and values and all the bad experiences he had gone through trusting people in the past. But right now, with your sobs still echoing in his mind and the feeling of holding you in his arms as you fell apart still fresh…
He wanted to break all of them for you. 
Jinyoung took a deep breath and picked up his phone to dial a number. 
“Mark? Hey, I need your help. Can you recall some emails for me? Yeah, I’ll send you the details. Just check for them in the server. I need them deleted urgently.”
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kuratoki · 4 years
Text
Changes 09
Changes is ALMOST done...I just finished writing the remaining parts so they’ll be posted throughout the week :)
Also once this series is completed what do you guys want to see next? The sequel or the new fic? Let me know~♥ 
Do you agree that things change in time? Well four years abroad would tell wouldn’t it?
Pairing: Reader x Jeno ft. NCT
Words: 3711
Warning: Swearing/Mentions of Death/Angst
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 6.5 - 7 - 8 - 9
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Renjun had seen Jaemin’s car come into the parking lot from the window and went out to meet you, “We need to talk” he said quickly, pulling you away to somewhere private and away from everyone's questionable looks. 
“Did Jongin contact you?” you both asked at the same time once you were alone.
“Ah, good. So we are on the same page...what do you think?” he asked leaning against the brick wall, crossing his arms.
“I just want to know why they’re asking us instead of holding auditions.” you said biting your lip, “We’re technically considered alumni at this point despite only being juniors so isn’t that against the rules?” 
“It was a request from Anne-Marie,” Renjun emphasized, “She can technically do whatever she wants. We’d probably be missing school too meaning we won’t be in the Senior levels with everyone else the following year. You don’t think its because of...”
"Can’t be.” you said quickly shaking your head, “If I remember correctly, opening night rolls around spring break...It might be a semester abroad.” you commented, “What do you want to do?” 
“You know I won’t agree if you don’t.” Renjun stated with a shrug, “How about we see what Jongin has to say first? Then we’ll decide.” 
“Sounds good. I’m just wondering why though…” you said trying to figure out why you and Renjun would get called back after all these years. After the one performance, the two of you chose not to reaudition the next year but kept in close contact with a few members of the competition team members who were a lot older and advanced. There were only two known Juniors who had ever made it to the competition team and now only one remained while the other one was hired as their Creative Director. 
“We should get inside, I’m starving.” you said, stuffing your hands in your pockets but before you could take a step Renjun threw something at you and you almost didn’t catch it.
Looking at the box in your hands, you noticed it was your iron supplements.
“You left those in my bag. Judging by your face, your levels dropped right?” he asked with a smirk before wrapping his arm around your shoulder, “If we’re going to do this, we can’t have you falling off stage again.” 
“I’ll be fine.” you said rolling your eyes, “You and Jisung really need to stop babying me.” 
“We will when Jeno starts, how about that?” he suggested, giving you his sarcastic smile, leading you into the private room.
“Yo! What took you guys so long?! The food arrived ten minutes ago.” Yuta called when he noticed the two of you walking in.
“You didn’t save any food for me?” you asked Yuta with big eyes, “The one who makes you food almost every day? Whose lunch box did you eat today huh?” 
“Wow, still a master at being pitiful.” Renjun muttered, arm still around your shoulder and took you to where he saw two empty seats and you gulped. This was an awkward seating arrangement. 
You were sandwiched between Jeno, who had Yeeun on his other side, and Renjun, who had Donghyuk on his other side. Across from you were Jaemin, Hana, Chenle and Jisung. This was going to be interesting.
“Don’t worry Y/N, I saved you some food.” Doyoung said, handing you a plate of skewers, which was Yuta’s choice of restaurant tonight.
“Plus we ordered more squid tentacles cause Jeno said that they were your favorite.” Jaehyun called out with a smirk, making the two of you red in the face. 
“Thanks Doyoungie.” you said and picked up a skewer, holding it in front of Jeno who took a bite without hesitation before you finished the rest. Sharing food with each other was habitual.
“Careful you two, some would think that you were already dating.” Jaemin teased as the other boys all agreed around him and continued to poke fun at the two of you.
“Anyways, what took you two so long outside?” Mark asked, looking at you and Renjun curiously.
You looked at Renjun, silently asking if he wanted to tell everyone. Renjun shrugged his shoulders, people were bound to find out anyways and you nodded your head towards him, wanting him to say it. 
“We both got a phone call just now from our mentor and Creative Director of the Selects Dance Company. They’re starting to organize their yearly performance schedule and they’ve decided upon Swan Lake once more.” Renjun said, taking a sip of his tea.
“So they want you two to audition again?” Taeyong asked as the rest of the boys looked on curiously.
“But isn’t the Selects Dance Company Europe based? You’d have to be attending an academy there in order to participate.” Ten commented.
“The Head of the Board herself has requested that Renjun and I return to reprise our roles as the Prince and Odette. We aren’t sure about the logistics about it yet. The Creative Director said he’s on his way here from Europe so we’ll meet with him to get the details I guess.” you answered.
“Dude that’s so sick!!” Mark said, coming to congratulate the two of you as various others did the same, “You two must’ve made an impact to get invited back.” 
“Well Anne-Marie, who runs the whole operation, does say that once a Select, always a Select. A lot of the junior performance members get scouted into their respective competitive teams and Renjun and I do keep in contact with quite a few of the competition team members.” you explained, “Though it was unsurprising, it was completely unexpected.” 
“Are you guys going to do it?” Doyoung asked, leaning over curiously. He knew that if you accepted the role, there was a chance you’d be going back to Europe a lot sooner than anyone would have wanted but if he remembered correctly, the Selects Dance Company based out of London had a really unique way to accommodate their foreign teammates.
“We’ll decide once we meet with him in a few days.” Renjun confirmed, “Speaking of which Doyoung, I’m going to need to take a day off from the club this week. I’m not sure when but I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.” 
“Tell Y/N.” Taeyong said, “She’s the clubs new manager, remember?” 
Jeno, who wasn’t at club when Taeyoung and Ten made the announcement, turned to look at you, “Really? They actually convinced you?” 
“What? Do you not want me at club meetings?” you asked, looking at him from the corner of your eye, “And Renjun tell Hana, I’m going to be at that meeting too remember?” 
“Noted.” Hana said with a giggle as Jeno tried to defend himself.
“No no no!!” he said, shaking his hands quickly, causing everyone in the room to laugh. It was unusual to see Jeno flustered the way he was and some of the members cringed at the sight while others smiled knowing there was only one person who could do that to him, “It’s not that. You’ve been so busy lately, I just thought you wouldn’t have the time.”
“The dance that we presented today and the practices we had for projects took up the majority of that.” you explained and let out a relieved sigh, “Now I can finally have a social life. Do you know how hard it was to see only Jaehyun and Renjuns face every day, almost every hour, almost every waking moment…” 
“We get it!” Jaehyun and Renjun called out, rolling their eyes and Renjun shoved you slightly, making you shove him back.
“Wait, so you guys never explained it to me.” Sicheng said looking at the three of you, “Jae saw the video, figured out that it was Y/N. Asked Y/N to be his partner but why was Renjun with you?” The two were over practically everyday after school and Jaehyun just told him it was for their project but Renjun always looked like the third wheel in the scenario.
“Also, who was the guy that Y/N was dancing with?” Donghyuk asked, who was currently watching the video with several of the others behind him including yourselves and Yeeun, “the dance itself was so intimate, you must’ve been comfortable with him.”
You looked at Renjun, then back to Donghyuk, then turned to look at Renjun again, shrugging, “Well I guess you were a little uglier back then.” 
Everyone at the table froze,minus Renjun who was busy shaking the life out of you again for your comment and was currently cursing at you in Chinese and Chenle who was laughing his butt off at the curses coming out of his friends mouth.
“W-wait…” Ten said, interrupting Renjuns fit, “The two of you…I thought you guys did ballet.”
“Doesn’t mean we never explored other styles of dance.” Renjun said and started thinking, “Why did we choreo this again?” 
“Competition?” you suggested.
“No, look at your hair. We posted this second year when we were training with the Selects.” Renjun said pointing at something on the phone, “Extra credit project?” 
“We were training with the Selects, that already fulfilled our requirement for the year.” you said and your heads snapped to look at each other, “Ah.” 
“We were bored.” you both said at once and heard someone choke on their meat nearby.
“That’s right. We had a day off and watched the movie.” you said remembering the day clearly, “It was my favorite song.”
“Eight hours later, the dance was created.” Renjun said with a satisfied sigh, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, “Back in the day, when it was just you and me.”
“Bored out of our minds cause all we knew was dance. Anne-marie was impressed when we performed it for her the next day.” you said, leaning your head on his shoulder, “Heck, I was impressed.”
“Dude, I’m impressed.” Ten said with a big nod of approval, “It’s hard to make choreo like that to perfection in such a short period of time.”
“We know.” you and Renjun said at the same time.
‘Just because the dance came together in eight hours, doesn’t mean it was a peaceful discussion. This girl gets feisty when she’s persistent.” Renjun said with a smirk.
“I’m sorry...who bit who?” you asked looking up at him with a raised eyebrow, not realizing how it had come out.
“I recall it going both ways.” Renjun shot back suggestively and you pushed him away in disgust, going back to your seat.
Jeno’s eyes widened, Chenle sighed and Hana giggled. 
“Yea, then I kicked you in the shin for it and you couldn’t walk for ten minutes. Bruised badly too I recall.” you said and looked at Jeno, giving him an innocent grin, “He learned not to fuck with me after that.” 
“I just learned not to fuck with you.” he said, pulling you by the hood towards him, “Now eat. You skipped lunch and we ordered more skewers.” he pushed the plate in front of you and wrapped his arm around your waist as he talked to Jaemin and Hana while Taeyong got you into a conversation regarding the Clubs pre-competition retreat. 
It was the one of two events a year where the older members treated the junior members to a week or weekend away. Most of the members came from wealthy families and the SUEX fund which was established by the founding members years ago came in handy. It was an account with the school where alumni members of the club would donate a little bit of money every year to fund club expenses, such as competition fees and the retreat along with team jackets etc.
The members of the club had to hold a certain grade point average to maintain their position within the dance team. Most of the members were in their top of the class and Doyoung, Taeyong, Johnny and Jaehyun were all part of the student council. 
What didn’t go unnoticed by Yeeun was that despite being in a conversation with Jaemin, Jeno’s arm remained around your waist as if it was the most natural thing in the world. You were engaged in two different conversations, yet still completely aware of the others' presence and obviously listening in on the others as well. She had never seen two people who weren’t together so in tune with one another.
 “Where should we go this year?” Johnny asked, taking out his phone for potential destinations.
“Why don’t we try someplace new?” Jaehyun suggested.
“Hong Kong.” Yukhei called out.
“Been there.” you and Jeno said together.
“Japan?” Yuta suggested.
“Been there.” you chorused once again.
“Oh! Why don’t we go to Hawaii!” Mark suggested.
“Been there six times.” you said and Jeno nodded.
“How have you been to so many of the same places?” Jisung asked confused, “Can’t be pure coincidence.”
“Our parents work from home and travel for a living.” you answered for the two of you, “We grew up going on trips together all over the place. Hawaii...California…”
"Japan...Malaysia…the Carribean..” Jeno continued listing off his fingers, “We did a cruise once too.” 
“Ahh our days of running free on deck, high on endless soft serve.” you said leaning into him with a giggle, remembering the days where your parents let you did as you pleased while on the cruise, “What do you guys want to do for the retreat?” you asked, getting back on topic.
“Weekend trip this time around. I think we’ll save the weeklong one for warmer weather.” Taeyong said looking at his phone, “We could go to Busan.”
“Why don’t we go to Y/N’s vacation home in Jeju?” Jeno suggested, not even asking you first.
“Vacation home?” Yeeun asked with wide eyes, just how wealthy were you?
“We could.” you agreed, “You’d just have to pay for the plane tickets. But it’s in my name now and I have the keys. As long as you guys don’t trash the place, I can organize the whole thing.” 
“Your parents actually put the whole thing in your name?” Jeno asked skeptically, “There has to be a reason behind that.” 
“They figured we’d use it more than they would and if anything happens, I’m responsible, not them.” you answered, “And don’t act so surprised. I know for a fact that you have the penthouse in Gangnam under your name.” 
“Yea and? It’s not like I use it.” he said, “It’s just sitting there collecting dust.” 
‘It’s waiting for us.’  he thought to himself, subconsciously tightening his arm around you and felt you shift to make yourself more comfortable. When you were younger, the two of you made a pact to move to the city together and to this day, it was what the penthouse in Gangnam his parents promised him was for. He wanted to be your first official place together.
“The fact that the two of you already have property under your names astound me.” Doyoung said with a straight face, “You truly are a match made in heaven.” 
“Our parents have share homes in certain cities so they have a home wherever they go. They haven’t really been in Korea much these days.” you explained ignoring Doyoungs last comment, “and with Jeno’s parents gone, we kind of have to rely on each other. Plus I have WinWin who apparently adopted Yuta so I’m technically a mom of three.” you finished with a sigh.
“I’ll pay for you tonight Y/N.” Yuta called out sweetly, making you snort.
“When do you guys want to go to Jeju? Y/N and I can take care of it all. You just have to show.” Jeno said as eyes widened around the table.
“Did my ears deceive me or did Jeno actually just take charge of an event?” Johnny asked, looking at Doyoung and Taeyong. 
“He’s smart, taking the opportunity to spend more time with her.” Doyoung mused, “And Renjuns also doing a good job at playing  the jealousy pawn. He brings out a side of her that I don’t think Jeno’s ever seen and its obvious.” 
“Okay, fine.” Taeyong said grinning, “You and Y/N can take charge, outside of the plane tickets, we’ll give you a budget for food and drinks. Anything outside of that will come out of your pockets.” 
“Fine by me.” Jeno said looking down at you, “What do you think.” 
“I have to dance with you already and now I have to plan a retreat with you?” you asked, pretending to be reluctant, “Sure why not.” 
“Okay, now we’ve settled that. What are we doing for the rest of the night?”  Yuta asked, “It’s Friday night guys.” 
“You guys could always come over.” you said knowing it was what Yuta wanted, “And if it gets too much, I can just escape to Jeno’s or something.”
 “I need to get my cats from you first but that sounds like a plan.” Jeno agreed as others agreed around him.
“I’m starting to like our new manager already.” Jungwoo said grinning, “Best decision the club has ever made.” As those around him happily agreed, knowing that good things were going to come to the club.
When everything was settled, everyone slowly but surely made their way to your house. Yeeun and Yukhei even showed up and you were glad that there was no animosity between you and the truth was, Yeeun couldn’t feel any even if she tried. 
Through dinner she could see why Jeno liked you so much. You invited her to dinner and even back to your house, even though all she had been was mean to you. The way he looked at you was also another thing that got Yeeun. The only time she had ever seen that look was the way Jaemin would look at Hana, it was the look of adoration, contentment and love. She realized then that she couldn’t compete with someone like that. Not with how strongly Jeno wasn’t afraid to show his obvious love for you in front of everyone.
Jeno and Jaemin had gone back to his house to change once more and had yet to return, a few of the guys were in your yard while others were playing video games. You and Renjun were in the kitchen, reading the Selects group chat which was currently going crazy. 
“Something doesn’t seem right.” Chenle said, looking around the room, specifically at three different people.
“What are you talking about?” Jisung asked, focused on the game at hand.
Chenle looked at Yukhei who seemed to be a little too focussed on his phone and then looked at you and Renjun who seemed to be doing the same. Doing a quick scan of the room, Hana, Jeno and Jaemin were no where to be found. 
“Something is seriously not right.” he said again when he saw the grim looks on yours and Renjuns faces and Yukheis gaze darting towards the two of you across the room, his look almost identical. 
Getting up, he quickly made his way to the kitchen when he saw you say something to Renjun and he nodded his head, leaving out your back door his phone grasped tightly in his hand. It was the wrong move however because once Renjun was out of sight, Yukhei left Yeeun and made a beeline for the kitchen, luckily Chenle got there first.
“What’s going on?” he asked when he saw you resting your head in your hands.
At the same time, your phone rang and you held up your finger to Chenle, signalling for him to hold on.
“Please tell me you didn’t get on that plane and that you’re with them right now.” you said the moment you answered.
“I didn’t get on the plane and I’m with Anne-Marie and Mia right now.” Jongin said on the other side quietly, “Mia’s on the phone with Renjun and Anne-Marie is saying her goodbyes. How are you holding up?” 
“I’m still in shock...but I think it’ll be easier to let go when it sinks in. We all knew it was going to happen and Mia’s been keeping us updated.  He gave up his fight.” you said and sighed, closing your eyes, a lone tear escaped alarming Chenle.
“His body couldn’t take it anymore.” Jongin said, his voice heartbroken. He did just lose a brother after all, “Listen, I just wanted to let you know that I’m still going to be coming down but I’ll be there in two days. They were already prepared so they just have to decide the funeral date. I want to meet with the two of you but I have a huge favor to ask of you and Renjun.” 
“Anything.” you said, trying to hold in your tears and you felt Chenle wrap his arm around your shoulders in a comforting hug. 
“Anne-Marie insists that we proceed with the production regardless of the circumstances. I don’t want to ask too much of her right now but the show must go on. Can I ask the two of you to be a helping hand with the cast and production alongside Mia?” Jongin requested and you gasped.
He wanted you to be part of not only the cast but the production team as well, this was a big opportunity since it showed that he believed in your skills.
“We can talk more about it when I get there but it would be a big help to me and the rest of the company.” he continued.
“I’ll talk to Renjun after he gets back. We will for sure consider it. Go be with them, they need you the most now.” you said, “Just let me know where and when to meet.” 
“I’ll see you soon. Take care of yourself Y/N.” Jongin said before the line went dead.
“Y/N, what happened? What’s going on?” Chenle asked as you let more tears flow. 
“Y/N.” Yukhei said coming into the kitchen and standing on your other side so you were trapped.
“Xander  passed away.” you whispered, letting more tears flow and closed your eyes briefly, “His nurse found him this morning...they said it was peaceful. His body was exhausted and just couldn’t take it anymore.” 
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* * * *
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
September 25, 2020
Heather Cox Richardson
Trump’s refusal Wednesday to commit to accepting a loss in the November election with a peaceful transfer of power continues to make waves. Today the New York Times reported that military officers are worried that Trump will try to drag them into a contested election. But while people are rightly frightened about Trump’s increasing authoritarianism, it’s important to understand that he is deploying these particular threats about the election to create an impression that he has the option to control the outcome in November. He does not have that option.
Trump and his cronies are trying to create their own reality. They are trying to make people believe that the coronavirus is not real, that it has not killed more than 200,000 of our neighbors, that the economy is fine, that our cities are in flames, that Black Lives Matter protesters are anarchists, and that putting Democrats in office will usher in radical socialism. None of these things is true. Similarly, Trump is trying to convince people that he can deploy the power of the government to remain in power even if we want him to leave, creating uncertainly and fear. By talking about it, he is willing that situation into existence. It is a lie, and we do not have to accept it.
For his part, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden recognizes that Trump’s repeated threats not to leave office are both letting him convince us that leaving is his choice, rather than ours, and keeping the media focused on him when we should, in fact, be talking about real issues. Biden is refusing to give the idea oxygen, reminding reporters that it is a “typical Trump distraction.” “I just think the people in the country are going to be heard on November 3,” he told them. “Every vote in this country is going to be heard and they will not be stopped. I'm confident that all of the irresponsible, outrageous attacks on voting, we’ll have an election in this country as we always have had, and he'll leave.” He said: “I don’t think he’s going to get the FBI to follow him or get anybody else to enforce something that’s not real.”
While the Senate voted unanimously yesterday to commit to the peaceful transfer of power in January, it was actually Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, who gave Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power the dripping disdain it deserved. Speaking to reporters, Baker defended the mail-in ballots that Trump is saying will invalidate the election, and called Trump’s suggestion that he wouldn’t leave office peacefully “appalling and outrageous.” Baker said he would to do everything in his power to defend the results of the election.
“A huge part of this nation’s glory, to the extent it exists as a beacon to others, is the peaceful transfer of power based on the vote of the people of this country,” he said.
Trump responded with an insulting tweet, but one that suggested he was deliberately stoking the story to try to get free media coverage.
This makes sense, because there are signs that Trump and the Republicans have a real money problem. We know that the Trump campaign has run through close to a billion dollars, leaving him and other Republican candidates short of cash for the last weeks of the campaign. At the same time, Democratic fundraising in the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death has been unprecedented. The squeeze showed clearly in three highly unusual appearances by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on the Fox News Channel begging for donations.
Two new ploys to advance Trump’s reelection, one claiming to address healthcare concerns and one claiming to address coronavirus concerns, reveal both the campaign’s attempts to construct their own reality and to do it on someone else’s dime.
The president has repeatedly promised his own healthcare bill to replace the Affordable Care Act that his administration is currently trying to kill. Under criticism for trying to end the law that protects people with preexisting health conditions from discrimination in buying insurance—the ACA will come before the Supreme Court a week after the November 3 election-- Trump on Thursday abruptly signed an Executive Order affirming that “it is the official policy of the United States government to protect patients with preexisting conditions.” The Executive Order is toothless; if the Supreme Court overturns the ACA, the Executive Order will mean nothing.
But Trump also suggested that he might be willing simply to keep the law and call it his own. “Obamacare is no longer Obamacare, as we worked on it and managed it very well,” Trump said of the law that continues to provide coverage for more than 20 million Americans. “What we have now is a much better plan. It is no longer Obamacare because we got rid of the worse part of it — the individual mandate.” “We’ve really become the health-care party — the Republican Party,” he said.
Trump also announced he would give $200 toward the cost of their medicines to 33 million older Americans. That’s $6.6 billion dollars that he will be putting in the pockets of key voters just before the election. Apparently, his plan is to take money from Medicare under a rule that allows the Medicare to test out new programs. Authorization for such a shift in funding usually requires a lengthy approval process, and the new program needs to be cost neutral. Ameet Sarpatwari, assistant director of Harvard Medical School's Program on Regulation, Therapeutics and Law told NPR’s Sydney Lupkin: I think the administration is pushing the envelope in terms of classifying this as a demonstration."
The Trump campaign is also planning a taxpayer-funded advertising blitz, costing at least $300 million, to “defeat despair and inspire hope” about the coronavirus pandemic. According to Politico’s Dan Diamond, the ads will feature interviews between administration officials and celebrities. The ad campaign was conceived and begun by Michael Caputo, the top spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services before he stepped down last week for medical leave after an infamous Facebook rant.
Caputo claimed in his video that Trump has personally demanded the advertising campaign. "The Democrats — and, by the way, their conjugal media and the leftist scientists that are working for the government — are dead set against it," Caputo said. "They cannot afford for us to have any good news before November because they're already losing. … They're going to come after me because I'm going to be putting $250 million worth of ads on the air." The White House says it is not accurate that Trump “demanded” the campaign.
To pay for the ads, Caputo requisitioned $300 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and $15 million from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But he sidelined the Ad Council, which is a nonprofit consortium of advertising companies that since World War Two has worked on a nonpartisan basis with the government on public health or social issue campaigns. Instead, Caputo hired his own business partner to make the videos.
Josh Peck, the former HHS official who oversaw the Obama administration’s advertising campaign for HealthCare.gov, told Diamond that officials in the Obama administration were never featured in videos, and that the Trump administrations Covid videos sound like they are about more than Americans’ health. He said: "CDC hasn’t yet done an awareness campaign about Covid guidelines — but they are going to pay for a campaign about how to get rid of our despair? Run by political appointees in the press shop? Right before an election? It’s like every red flag I could dream of.”
Trump’s challenge to the outcome of the election is a sign of his desperation, but it is no less dangerous for all that: as they say, a cornered rat will bite the cat. While Democrats and a remarkable number of Republicans are speaking out against Trump, and while teams of lawyers are fighting his lawyers in court, ordinary Americans also have a crucial role to play in this moment. It is up to us to reject Trump's fictions and reclaim the national conversation from the anger and hatred and fear Trump is stoking.
It is time to reassert our core American values so they dominate the public realm, demanding of our representatives a free and fair vote for everyone, a free and fair vote count, and a government of our own choosing.
—-
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
Heather Cox Richardson
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hawkesvarric · 4 years
Text
Masterlist of my D&D Characters
⚗️ ARTIFICER ⚗️
Breena Boddynock. Forest Gnome. Alchemist. Criminal. Twin sister to Brocc, a monk. She’s an inventor who sells her creations to the highest bidder, not terribly concerned with “morals” or the “law”. Currently traveling through the Underdark to return a magical hammer back to the duergar clan it rightfully belongs to. (After she stole the hammer in the first place, but let’s not split hairs here, shall we?)
🪓 BARBARIAN 🪓
Cormyn. Human. Ancestral Guardian. Archaeologist. Grew up in the wilds among a tribe of barbarians, though among the clan there were also healers and magic users. He loves learning about ancient histories and digging through the abandoned ruins lost in the mountainside. The spirits of his ancestors speak to him, telling him of the past. He has a wife, another human barbarian named Galatea, and they have a son together named Tiran. A mysterious illness overtook a large portion of their clan, including Galatea, and now Cormyn seeks a remedy to bring home to his people.
📯 BARD 📯
Bonejangles. Skeleton. Whispers. Charlatan. He woke up in his own grave and had to claw his way to the surface. No tombstone, no memories, and no name. People either feared him or tried to kill him, so he learned how to disguise his skeletal features and how to forge fake identities for business purposes. In his past life, he was a powerful warlock named Romero Marivaldi who had struck a deal for eternal life. However, one should be very careful what they wish for when striking a bargain with a fey. Has (had?) a wife named Damiana, who had her own twisted part to play in Romero’s unfortunate fate.
Altair. Human? Lore. Entertainer. Once, Altair was a half-orc named Kash. He was the son of the chieftain, training to one day take his fathers’ place. Then a dragon attacked, slaughtering most of his clan including his father. Including him. Barely managing to escape, his fathers’ adviser Grimon drug Kash’s body away from the carnage, using the last of his magic to return the boy back to life. Only the spell had unintended consequences. For now Kash was in a completely different body, that of a human. He fled once he learned of the clan’s fate, leaving Grimon behind. He took on a new persona, Altair the Wanderer, hoping to leave his past behind him.
🩸 BLOODHUNTER 🩸
Red. Human. Lycan. Haunted One. Unwilling test subject in an experiment performed by wizards on behest of the king to try and create more powerful soldiers for his armies. It worked, though perhaps better than they anticipated. Red managed to break her chains on the night of the full moon when she transformed and slaughtered everyone in sight before escaping. Now she seeks to find any others like her so they may unite and kill the king. Maybe blow the whole kingdom up while she’s at it, she hasn’t decided yet.
⚕️ CLERIC ⚕️
Keothi Ogolakanu, the Wolfkiller. Goliath. Life. Outlander. Grew up high in the mountains, longing to discover the rest of the world. But Keothi’s role was to be the clan’s healer. She had all but accepted her fate when a pack of winter wolves attacked. The goliaths fought back, but were overwhelmed by the wolves’ numbers and ferocity. They began to corner a child, teeth gnashing violently, when Keothi heard a whisper in her ear: “Protect.” She used a magic she never had before, killing the wolves single-handedly. The spirit that spoke to her was that of the Pathfinder, one of the old gods her people still worshiped. It was now her destiny to leave her clan behind, following wherever the Pathfinder’s path might take her.
🌿 DRUID 🌿
George “Pebble” Pebbleton. Half-elf. Moon. Hermit. As a child, she wandered into the woods all by herself. She has no memory of where she came from or what her name once was. A pair of bears found her and, perhaps because they could sense the magical energy inherent in her or maybe because they had just lost a cub of their own, they took her in. Of course, she still interacted with people from time to time. Travelers and adventurers, the occasional bandit, etc. It was from one of them that she heard about a local tournament being ran in a nearby town. So she decided she was ready to leave, though her bear guardians still follow her around to make sure she’s safe. On the tournament registry, she made-up the name George Pebbleton on the fly, hoping it sounded normal enough.
⚔️ FIGHTER ⚔️
Kimbatuul Sora. Dragonborn. Champion. Outlander. Sora was always a braggart, a show-off, and a ham for attention. But for good reason - she really was the best fighter in the Kimbatuul clan. Her father had a seat on the council while her mother ran the market. Life was great. Until her adulthood celebration, that is. Sometime during the night of revelry, a council member was murdered with her trademark halberd engraved with her name. Sora tried to defend herself, but the evidence against her was overwhelming. The punishment was traditionally a battle in which the accused could “prove” their innocence by withstanding a barrage of attacks from the council. However, her father couldn’t stand the idea of raising his sword against his own daughter, nor could he idly stand by and watch the others do so, so he managed to convince them to banish her instead by forfeiting his own council seat. Though alive, she was now disgraced by her own people, being deemed guilty and dishonorable for not fighting. She was banished into the neighboring woods, becoming a sellsword in order to provide for herself.
Seymour Quincy. Warforged. Eldritch Knight. City Watch. On the fringes of a magical college dedicated to cutting edge education, a team of dwarven wizards were tasked with studying the mysterious entity we call the soul. They had performed many experiments with little to no success. Either the souls wouldn’t bind to the objects chosen or they would go on a murderous rampage after being untethered to their own humanity. Just as their research grant was about to be taken back, one of them suggested using a younger soul. Hence Experiment #57 was born--er, created. After a short observational period, it was deemed a success. No unbinding, no stabbing. The experiment even seemed to possess a personality. Perhaps a bit more personality than the dwarves would’ve liked. #57 didn’t like being called a number. In fact, #57 didn’t like being referred to as ‘it’ either. He decided he ought to have a proper name--Seymour Quincy. The research team indulged him at first, still glowing from their success, but it was quickly made clear that #57--Seymour wouldn’t function the way they had hoped. They couldn’t sell him to the military as a soldier. He was physically strong, even capable of performing magic, but he was more interested in searching the woods for stray bunnies. The only times Seymour would fight were when he believed somebody innocent to be in harm’s way. For now, he has a “job” with the local city guard so the researchers can continue to observe his soul’s development and hopefully find a way of making some sort of financial returns off of him. If only he’d stop wandering off because he thought he saw a kitten.
👊 MONK 👊
Rikeo Sepret. Human. Open Hand. Gladiator. Born in the gladiator ring, Rikeo was forced from childhood to fight for nobles’ entertainment. These fights were not only brutal but to the death. He learned early on how to use his body as a weapon so as not to rely too heavily on swords and such. Rikeo also learned how to put on a show. If he was forced to have blood on his hands, then he was determined to be the best at it. His grandiose personality combined with his over-the-top combat maneuvers and his undefeated track record granted him a bit of freedom. Just enough for him to knock out the guards and escape. Now he travels, armed with only his fists and his wit.
🛡️ PALADIN 🛡️
Giselle Baldric. Human. Ancients. Folk Hero. When her hometown was destroyed by a dragon, the Baldrics took up residence in a neighboring city as humble workers. Giselle worked on the docks which required much heavy lifting, though she never minded. She loved listening to people’s stories and the docks had all sorts of interesting folk coming and going. And she loved to help others, always doing little odd tasks here and there. Locals began spreading the word that if you needed help, just look for the red-headed woman on the docks. One night, as she was about to head home for the evening, a mermaid appeared in the water. The mermaid claimed to have heard of Giselle’s heroic nature and decided that she must be the one destined to wield this sword called the Storm Breaker. Giselle took the sword from the mermaid and vowed to protect all that is naturally good in this world.
Kraven. Tiefling. Oathbreaker. Mercenary Veteran. As a mercenary, Kraven did a lot of bad things in the name of conquest. She looked out for her own interests and betrayed people along the way, even allies. None of it mattered to her, so long as she came out on top. But one day, she was hired to bring in a smuggler alive so her client could have a “talk”. She found where the halfling lived and told him to come outside. He refused. Kraven decided a little fire ought to motivate him, so she set his house on fire. Only she was shocked to discover there was an infant there. She had done terrible things, yes, but to other assholes who deserved it. This was too far. She ran inside, seeing the halfling man dead from severe burns, and recovered the child. Kraven took the baby to a local temple to be looked after, but her client was furious. Not only was his man dead, but his mercenary went in to save a child instead of her target. He placed a bounty on her head and Kraven fled into the night. To make matters worse, now she had all these...feelings. That maybe she had been a bad person before, but it wasn’t too late to change. Her magic even began to change too, her previous oath broken. Now she was lost, caught between her past and her uncertain future.
🏹 RANGER 🏹
Don’t have one who is very developed yet :(
🗡️ ROGUE 🗡️
Arkade Vrago. Tiefling. Inquisitive. Investigator. Worked with the local city watch, solving crimes and catching criminals, before opening his own private investigative business. Arkade wishes to retire peacefully on a beach somewhere, but keeps getting dragged into cases. Grumbly, but secretly nice.
🔮 SORCERER 🔮
Jono. Human. Draconic. Inheritor. Slowly morphing into a dragon, no big deal. Jono is very laid-back and chill about most things, but even he is a big concerned that one day he might not be a human anymore. He has a mysterious amulet in his possession that he is hoping is the key to stopping the progression. Oh, and he kinda accidentally got married to the Fey King’s daughter, so the Feywild’s sort of out to get him. No worries, brah!
🌀 WARLOCK 🌀
Andella “Andy” Wroth-Mooncairn. Half-elf. Raven Queen. Noble. Rich, spoiled, and bratty were the best words to describe Andy. Not that she cared what others thought. She considered herself above everyone else. Growing up in a castle named after you tends to do that. Her parents arranged a marriage for her to a neighboring lord’s son, a real nerd. But Andy had little choice in the matter if she wanted to continue living off mommy and daddy’s money. At the wedding, an undead horde led by a powerful lich attacked. It turned out that Andy’s groom-to-be had stolen a cursed spellbook per his own ambitions, but had neglected to take into consideration that the wizard might not be so much ‘dead’ after all. Before he was ruthlessly ripped apart by zombies, he passed Andy the spellbook and told her to keep it away from the lich. She barely managed to escape the carnage, running out of the castle in her bloody wedding dress and clutching the spellbook to her chest. Having witnessed so much bloodshed, she vowed to personally send every undead abomination straight back to Hell where they belonged. And that’s when a mysterious raven landed in front of her with an interesting proposal...
✨ WIZARD ✨
Mialee Zolerii. Eladrin. Evocation. Acolyte. Attends the most prestigious academy, but couldn’t exactly afford to pay for it herself. So she also works at the school as the beastkeeper’s assistant. Her ex-gf may or may not be a dragon. (Although, in Mialee’s defense, she wasn’t in her dragon form at the time, okay!) Always tries her best, but things still tend to explode around her. Currently on a semester abroad, studying any new creatures she happens to come across in her travels. Will she wrestle any of them? Probably!
Bartok Abbadon. Drow. Invention. Guild Merchant. Bartok knows he grew up in the Underdark. He remembers being a weak child who was picked on constantly until he began to show real promise in his eldritch studies. Then he was sent to Menzoberranzan with a small handful of other promising candidates to work and study in the city’s largest library. But that’s where things start to get a little fuzzy. He knows his memory has been manipulated, but still he cannot fully recall his time at the library. Small flashes of things come to him and then they are gone as quickly as they came. If he tries too hard to grab on to the memory, his nose begins to bleed. So, at some point, he decided to stop trying. Especially because his last clear memory of the Underdark was rather horrifying. The library was on fire, bodies everywhere, and when Bartok looked down at his hands, they were covered in blood. It haunted his nightmares for some time after he fled to the surface. What happened there? What were they all doing there that had to be protected so badly they needed to alter his memories? And, worst of all, what if all that flame and death was his fault? Bartok tries not to think of it now, as he has a shop to run where he sells various herbs and inventions of his own creation. His homunculus familiar, Batty, keeps him company. And that’s that, right? No way his past can come back to haunt him all the way up here...right?
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delos-mio · 5 years
Text
Death of a Bachelor - Part 7
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A/N: Lots to unpack here! Let’s chat about this chapter!
You had completely immersed yourself in your work. The deadline for the project you were working on for Delos was rapidly approaching and it was all hands on deck in the office. Admittedly, you’d been running a tight ship as of late, but you were determined to hand over a perfect project. All the long days and meetings and revisions were helping to keep your mind off the one thing that had been plaguing it- Logan. It was nearing the end of the week that he’d taken to go to Westworld with William and you were upset with how much you really missed him. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. You were never even supposed to sleep with him. But despite your best efforts, you were falling for the billionaire playboy you had no business fucking around with.
Before he left, he told you that he had confessed to Juliet. This also had been occupying quite a bit of space in your mind. Though you spoke to your sister almost every day, you hadn’t mentioned seeing anyone and certainly that the guy you’d been seeing is well known and that you kind of work for him. You weren’t sure how she’d react which is mostly why you’d been avoiding the conversation all together. She’d pried a few times when she thought you sounded “off” or “distracted”, but you always had the convenient excuse of work.
One night when you came home, you decided it was finally time to face the music. You poured yourself a too-full glass of wine and took a deep breath, tapping open Facetime and waiting for Emily to pick up. Her smiling face popped into frame after only a couple rings, a thick coat of mud mask covering most of her features.
“Bad time?” you asked with a small laugh.
“Nah, you know I don’t care! You’ve seen me looking worse. What’s up?”
“Just catching up. How’s Elliot?” you asked, taking a long drink. Emily and Elliot, perfect matching names for the perfect couple. You adored him. You’d always been protective of your baby sister, but he treated her with respect and he made her happy. What more could you ask for, really?
“Good! I think he’s at the end of the rope with wedding planning, so I’ve been doing double-time with blowing—” she started casually.
“Ew, TMI. Please no,” you cut off.
“Don’t be such a prude.” Emily looked at her reflection in the mirror and wiped away a rogue clump of mask that was too close to her eye.
“What else have you been up to?” You were just postponing the arrival at the real reason you called. Any time you could buy was welcome.
“Not much. We hired a new girl in my department, so I’m on training duty. She’s really sweet though and I think she’s gonna fit in just fine. You know I’m always open to new friends!” And she really was. Emily had always been outgoing and bubbly. Making friends was second nature to her and you’d always envied that talent. You were sociable only because you had to be in your line of work. You turned it on to network and turned it off the minute you didn’t need to work.
“How about you? I feel like I haven’t heard from you in a few days,” she said as she wandered out of the bathroom to the kitchen island you’d stood around so many times laughing, crying, and drunkenly shoveling food into your faces.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, Em. I’m working against a deadline for that Delos project and it’s been insane at the office.” That was true. It wasn’t the whole story, but it wasn’t a lie.
“Oh yeah. How’s that going? Hey! Do you get to see that hot guy who’s like the CEO or something a lot? His name’s like…Luke or Liam or…”
“Logan,” you cut her off with a dry chuckle. It’s like she had a sixth sense. “Mhmm. I see him a lot actually.”
“Ugh that must be so nice. A little eye candy during those boring ass meetings must be nice,” she laughed until she looked back at the screen, seeing your slightly contorted face. “No offence, I mean.”
“No, I know. It’s ok. But what I mean is…I see him a lot…like, not just for meetings a lot,” you said with a huge lump in your throat. Please don’t make me say it out loud you silently begged her.
“Oh,” she replied slowly, letting the information sink in. “Oh! Oh my god, is Logan your boyfriend?” she asked in a high pitch.
“No! I mean, no. He’s not, but…”
“But you’re fucking him?”
“I wasn’t going to put it like that but, yeah,” you groaned.
“You idiot! So the minute you decide you’re ready to finally date again you pick your boss?” she scoffed.
“I’ll remind you I’m my own boss, you brat.” Her point stood and you knew it, but you had to deflect in any way you could for your own sake.
“You know what I mean! Don’t deflect!” Busted. “Isn’t he like super sleazy and a dick?”
“That’s what the tabloids would have you believe, yeah.”
“So he’s not really like that?”
“Not entirely. He’s arrogant, sure, maybe a little reckless,” you started, “But he’s also very thoughtful and smart and charming and witty.” You couldn’t help the fondness in your voice. Talking about Logan openly wasn’t a luxury you usually had and now you found you couldn’t stop the words from flowing out of you.
“You really like him, huh?” Emily’s expression had softened as she watched you speak. “You haven’t talked about a guy like this since…”
“We don’t need to go there,” you interrupted quickly. It had been a long time since Theo left you and you’d gotten over it. But that also didn’t mean you wanted to discuss the pros and cons of choosing your career over love every fucking time this line of conversation came up. “But yeah, I think I’m really falling for him.” You groaned dramatically and took a long drink from your glass. “Why am I like this? Em, I can’t fall for him!”
“Well, you’re not going to work for Delos forever, right?” she suggested, raising a mask-caked eyebrow.
“You think I should bide my time?”
“I think if you really like this dude, you shouldn’t let something silly like working on one project for them stand in the way.” She was in the bathroom again, running the water in the sink. “I love you and I just want for you to be happy. And I haven’t seen your face light up like that in a long ass time.” Maybe she was right. “I’m gonna wash this shit off but I’ll call you this weekend, ok? I need you to look at some swatches with me.”
“Ok, Em. Love you,” you said with a small smile.
“Love you too!” She blew you a kiss before disconnecting the call.
A weight had been lifted off your chest. You felt free. Finally telling another living, breathing person about Logan had eased your anxiety tremendously. After your chat, however, you found yourself missing Logan even more. You couldn’t wait to see him and hold onto him as he kissed you hello. The thought made your heart constrict, longing to be with him again, but you reminded yourself there were only two more days. You could do two days easy.
It was the Tuesday after he should have been back. You of course didn’t expect him to get ahold of you the second he got back to the real world, but you also thought he maybe would have texted you by now. You tried not to let it bother you and gave Logan his space. But Tuesday turned into Wednesday which turned into the next Monday, a full week after Logan should have been home. You finally caved in and messaged him first.
Y: Hello? Earth to Logan?
That text sat unread for days. Any anger you’d felt had passed and you were starting to get worried. Why wasn’t he responding? Where on earth was he? If this were a normal circumstance, you would have asked Juliet if she knew where he was or if he was mad at you. Of course, you couldn’t. You still had to play like you and Logan were not a thing. As if reading your thoughts, your email chimed and there was a new message from William. So, William was home. That must mean Logan was too. Part one of the mystery solved, now to crack the other part of the case.
Good morning,
We will be holding a meeting tomorrow morning, 8am. I understand this is short notice, but we do require your attendance.
Best,
William
He knew good and goddamn well you were a busy woman. And since when did William send you emails?  You were annoyed but still checked your calendar. Lucky for them, you were free tomorrow morning, though you weren’t happy about being summoned out of thin air like you had nothing else going on.
When you parked in the lot at Delos the next morning, you took a second to do a quick lap around the lane where all the executives park their cars. Logan’s Range Rover was nowhere to be found. Not a good sign, you thought to yourself. Though it was entirely possible he was just running late, that was not out of the question for him.
You sat anxiously in the boardroom you’d come to know well. The water you raised to your lips did nothing to help your dry throat. Finally, you saw William and Juliet round the corner and cross by the glass walls. No Logan. Your heart was racing, quick and fearful in your chest. When they entered, Juliet gave you a polite smile and William grinned at you a little too widely. Never before had he shown you so much emotion or really interacted with you directly.
“Glad you could make it. I know you’re awfully busy,” William sneered. Something was wrong.
“Not a problem,” you lied. “Will…will Logan be joining us?” you asked tentatively. The question felt odd to say out loud, but you assured yourself it wasn’t suspicious since he and Juliet had been in most frequent contact with you.
“No, I’m afraid not. Though, that is part of why I’ve asked you to come.” Something was wrong. “As of last week, I will be taking over Logan’s role at Delos and you will report all updates and proofs directly to me for approval.”
You wanted to throw up. You wanted to throw your drink in his face and storm out. You wanted to cry. Cry for Logan, for yourself- you were both fucked. “Congratulations,” was all you managed to choke out. It sounded mocking and you weren’t convinced it wasn’t.
“Thank you. My beautiful fiancé here has been catching me up and I have some concerns about what you’ve sent to us,” he said thoughtfully.
“Like what?” You were defensive but you really didn’t care anymore.
“The whole aesthetic of the thing. It just reeks of Logan. It’s tacky, honestly,” he smirked. The fucker.
“I have never had my work called tacky. And respectfully, I have been working on this campaign and submitting proofs to you approve for months. And they’ve been signed off on every time. So I’m sorry if I think it’s bullshit that I’m just hearing about this ‘concern’ now,” you scoffed. You looked to Juliet who was usually lively and involved in these kind of conversations. But she sat beside him, doing everything she could not to look at you.
“Yes, that was when Logan was in charge. And like I said, he’s not anymore.” William took a drink of his coffee before speaking again. “I need a revised campaign to my inbox by Friday at 3.”
“Oh fuck you!” It just kind of came out. “You know that’s not enough time to finish this huge project top to bottom!”
“You can either complete this and submit it by Friday at 3 or you can be released from your contract and forfeit all compensation.”
You rose from your seat and grabbed your bag. “Keep your money,” you spat.
You were almost to the foyer when you heard another set of heels clicking behind you. “Wait! Please, wait!” Juliet called after you.
“What?” you asked harshly, tears pooling in your eyes. “You really just let him talk to me like that! It’s humiliating.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said quietly, pulling you around the corner into her office, checking to make sure William wasn’t lurking. Now tears were threatening her eyes. “It’s Logan.” Your worst nightmare was coming true. If you thought you felt nauseous before, it was nothing compared to this moment. “I haven’t seen him since William got back. He’s not responding to any of my calls.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Your voice caught in your throat.
“You know why,” she said sincerely. You finally met her gaze and you couldn’t hold your tears back anymore. Logan had told you that he confessed to Juliet about the two of you. What you didn’t know was that Logan was being honest when he said Juliet was supportive. “He really cares about you. I’m sure he has a weird way of showing you sometimes, but I promise you he does. I’m hoping if you go to check on him you can find out what’s wrong.” Her bottom lip was quivering, making you want to start crying all over again.
“Ok,” you said softly, nodding your head. It filled you with dread, but you had to know he was safe. She let out a sigh of relief and abruptly took you into her arms, embracing you tightly as she let tears flow on your shoulder. Juliet’s body convulsed as you hugged her, doing what you could to calm her down. You suspected she wasn’t often afforded the opportunity to be vulnerable and emotional—Logan didn’t have that luxury either. “I’ll keep you updated, ok? Promise,” you said, taking her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes.
“Thank you.” Her voice was a rasp as she ran her elegant, perfectly manicured fingers below her eyes, wiping away the stray tears. Juliet took a deep breath, shaking her own fears, and painting on a smile again. “Maybe I should stay in here a minute until it doesn’t look like I just took 30 bong rips, huh?” How did the Delos siblings have such an affinity for using humor to cover their bursts of emotions?
Your hands trembled the entire drive to Malibu. Gripping your steering wheel was near impossible with the convulsions. You had absolutely no idea what you’d be walking into, if anything. All you knew was you missed Logan like hell and now you were scared. Juliet looking so shaken had done nothing to calm the nerves you’d accumulated over the last nearly two weeks. God, had it really been almost two weeks? Something had to be wrong; you could feel it deep in your bones.
The house looked dark when you pulled up, shutting your car off but glued to your seat. Now that you were here, you couldn’t find the courage to knock. What if he wasn’t there? Worse, what if he didn’t want to see you? You steadied yourself with a few deep breaths, paying attention to the even beating of your heart. One last internal pep talk and you stepped out of your car, letting your heavy footsteps carry you to Logan’s front door. You rang the doorbell once and listened as it reverberated through his home. Then silence. You waited a moment before pounding your fist on the hard wood.
“Logan? Logan? It’s me,” you called. It was unlikely he could hear you, but you felt compelled to call for him. You needed to know he was ok. You banged your fist again and again, followed by more silence. Maybe he really wasn’t there. You let your head fall forward, resting your forehead against the door in resignation. “Logan,” you cried once more, mostly out of desperation.
Then you heard it. A shuffling of feet on hard wood floor. There was someone in the house.
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canonja-blog · 6 years
Text
Sentence Starters from my Favorite Fanfics (Part 4)
“You knew? You fucking knew and you let it happen?”
“There’s more at stake here than you realize. We took a calculated risk.”
“Yeah, well, it won’t be the first time.”
“I will kill you if you cut me out right now, you fucking bastard.”
“Maybe they’re making you a goodbye montage.”
“Can we not joke about that?”
“Yeah, no, we’re not going to speculate on him right now. Please.”
“Logic is a bitch sometimes.”
“Mistakes were made.”
“Okay, obviously you’re not impressed with me at the moment but really? I don’t have a fucking explanation!”
“Go ahead. Explain yourself.”
“How about the truth? I’d kinda like that version please.”
“She’s an absolute delight.”
“You should work on your cover. Your office building doesn’t exist. And whoever is taking care of your apartment is doing a really bad job of it.”
“They can’t know, alright? I’ve put you in enough danger as it is.”
“Does that mean what it sounds like?”
“Looks like this is goodbye.”
“Maybe we can figure out an explanation about why that happened today…”
“You want me to walk into that office and take your mums.”
“Can I at least take your gun?”
“I thought we had a talk about personal bubbles.”
“He was brilliant, absolutely fucking genius.”
“Frankly he’s acting like a tool.”
“Is your phone off?”
“I hate it when you talk in riddles.”
“It was on when I kind of threw it into oncoming traffic.”
“Is there someone else in my fucking eyeline?”
“Your friends are delightful. I’ve never met such brilliant specimens.”
“I think you just got invited over to my place for a sleepover.”
“Wan’ som’ pizza?”
“Safety and survival is always our primary objective.”
“I took care of him, I protected him, I was there for him every step of the way. And he didn’t just watch me fall, he pushed me down.”
“I loved you strongest. But you know what I found out? You loved me longest. So yeah. Yeah, you’re worth my life. If it came down to that.”
“I won’t go to your funeral.”
“Is that your acquiescence?”
“I have never been more livid at you than I am now.”
“Now tell me. Do you want to get a miserable three hours of sleep, or would you rather watch Tron with me?”
“Is my reply even necessary?”
“You won’t answer my phone calls or texts and I know I accused you yesterday, but I was just stressed out and please don’t hate me.”
“Do I have to hug you to convince you?”
“What the hell is wrong with everyone in this company?”
“That has yet to be disproven.”
“Why are you lying on the floor?”
“I’m considering the ceiling.”
“This ceiling, I have been assured, is above the floor, and attaches to the walls. Quite rare, I would imagine.”
“You were always the right friend for me.”
“He keeps glitter in his desk drawer for ‘emergency arts-and-crafts needs.’”
“Please remind me why I haven’t fired him yet.”
“Every village needs an idiot.”
“That was on a level of cattiness that I would except from one of the many women I’ve offended. Congratulations, you should feel very proud of yourself.”
“I can’t have you like this. This is a serious place of business.”
“I need a picture of this for my collage.”
“I hate you. I hate you so much, how could you do that and leave me here with this idiot?”
“Do you understand that this is an assignment and not a fucking role-playing therapy session?”
“I told you, you no good, stubborn asshole!”
“Shut the fuck up and let someone take care of you for once.”
“He just saw a billionaire in the bathroom with his shirt off, moaning, with the hot girl he’s been flirting with for weeks on top of him. I think his mind jumped to other conclusions.”
“Shit, do I really have to get stitches?”
“This is going to be so cool when I think about it tomorrow but right now I’m freaking out.”.
“You are so in for a lecture tonight. And once your wound is healed, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“I swear, I’m usually really good at making up excuses.”
“You’re not used to lying to us. That’s a good thing.”
“He dies all the time, it’s really not a big deal.”
“Great day, isn’t it? Thanks for joining us for the matinee. Be sure to catch the show after dinner.”
“It’s not like you’re exactly a stranger to bathroom sex.”
“You guys had sex in the bathroom?”
“You guys were hooking up and never told me? I thought we were friends!”
“Will someone please explain what you’re all talking about?”
“No one bothered to have sex with me in the bathroom.”
“I can sleep with whoever the fuck I want to. And it’s none of your damn business.”
“You’re admitting you slept with him?”
“I hope it was worth it because you will never find work ever again. Where the fuck is security?”
“She was trying to rile you up.”
“Do you like me? Like like me?”
“Are you in junior high?”
“I’m CEO, I can do whatever the fuck I want.”
“Are you trying to ruin me?”
“What? Why is everyone accusing me of sleeping with someone today? Is it the way I dress? It’s suggestive, isn’t it?"
“You promised me you would let me know when you were too far gone.”
“It’s not a fucking fling, okay? It’s everything I’ve been wanting, what I waited years for.”
“My life shattered once and I managed to put it back together without anyone’s help.”
“What happens when it’s all over? Who’s going to pick up the pieces of your life then?”
“Don’t come crying to me when he breaks you again.”
“Is there something you’d like to get off your chest?”
“You guys totally hooked up, didn’t you?”
“Hey hot stuff.”
“I look the same as I did at the beginning of the day.”
“I will ruin you. Just you wait. I have plans. Dirty, naughty, disgustingly sexy plans.”
“You’re my accomplice. If I’m going down for this, I’m taking you with me.”
“I can’t believe we did that.”
“Do you literally have no food at your house?”
“I just finished explaining that I have no food in my place. Why would I know where any market was, let alone the closest one?”
“You’ve never gone to a supermarket? At all? After all the years you’ve lived here?”
“You don’t even do your laundry, do you?”
“I have more important things to think about then how clean clothes end up in my closet.”
“I have a highly sophisticated sense of humor.”
“I weep for intellectica.”
“That’s not a word.”
“You can’t just make up words. That defeats the entire purpose of language. What’s the point of a dictionary if we can just make up random sounds and say they’re words?”
“I’ll send my apologies to Webster.”
“The postage will set you back quite a lot. Delivery to the dead is pricey. You’ll have to hire a zombie or something.”
“Why does everyone think it’s necessary to shove vegetables down my throat? I might die of Vitamin C overdoes one day. What will you all say then?”
“Tsk, there goes all hope I had for your sense of humor.”
“My vision is perfect, just like the rest of my body.”
“You’ll get enough of a chance tonight to evaluate my body tonight to your heart’s content.”
“You just propositioned me in the car.”
“Let’s not be hasty now.”
“If I’m going to have sugar for breakfast – and I am, by the way, even you can’t stop that – it’s going to have chocolate in it.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t say that where, you know, children could be.”
“I do not have Bambi eyes. Who’s been saying I have Bambi eyes?”
“I have very manly, very non-Disney, very sexy eyes.”
“You have a Slap Chop. When have you ever used a Slap Chop? Why would you even buy it?”
“Why the fuck do you have a bullet wound? And what looks like a fresh one?”
“I have every right to know. I love you.”
“You have never loved me.”
“You have no idea what I’ve done for you, what I’ve felt for you over the years.”
“You think you know me so well but you don’t have a fucking clue.”
“You wanted me for my money. And when you didn’t need it anymore, you threw me away.”
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flowercuco · 5 years
Text
Veil 2, 8
The secrets are out there and the mission seems to be coming to a close but there are still plenty of loose ends. 
When we last left our group of weirdos half of them had finished rescuing Heartful Vale and upending a company while the other half had captured and apprehended an assassin. Waiting for Ariel and Synch to return to the getaway car, Will is asked by Heartful Vale what is actually going on! Will answers to the best that she can, about having been brought on to guard Crescent Moon and guide her around and keep her safe, and how that brought them into conflict with Heartful Vale’s kidnappers. It was a complicated situation, with Heartful Vale changing hands from various captors. 
Heading back from the top of the corporation, Ariel and her newly rescued sibling 4Zeta walk and talk, with the android giving her sibling a burner phone and explaining the particulars about the situation and how she got to where she was. Similarly, Synch tries to get something out of Blood Root, only to be met with a suspicious hole of information, with the kamen rider man saying he doesn’t remember anything about who he used to be. It’s bullshit in the way that Blood Root continues to be bullshit.
As most of the group get in the car and Blood Root attaches himself to the roof, Ariel checks her messages, seeing the flurry of panicked words from her other sibling, Ark, and she tells Will to take them to her apartment.
Senza and Fortuna are huddled with their captive while Ark and Crescent Moon are playing video games in the other room. The professors don’t quite know what to do causing Fortuna to start smoking weed that she has, something that will have unbelievable consequences later.
Senza begins to suggest that Ark hack into White Eagle for them, and Fortuna just asks why not have LACUNA do it, Senza responds with a suggestion that they could have Ark take over White Eagle’s body, something that when said out loud makes Senza realise how wild it is. Fortuna’s reaction along with that, has her rescind that suggestion, and just start hacking White Eagle.
Senza gets basic diagnostics of White Eagle’s cybernetics, arms, a foot, various organs, and one of her eyes, as well as insight into an anti-hacking program within the cybernetics. Senza and LACUNA try to probe deeper, but run into a mishap, looking to Fortuna for assistance lest White Eagle wake up. Fortuna declines to aid, not quite enjoying seeing whatever Senza is doing. Caught between wanting to go in further in an attempt to learn biohacking and disabling the automated defences, Senza decides to keep going, giving LACUNA a basic understanding of biohacking and at least knowledge on how to do it to White Eagle. 
Senza is as satisfied as she will get and Fortuna takes a turn, using her omnitool to speak with White Eagle’s cybernetics and learning of her role as a solo infiltrator/scout as well as the origins of the illegal cybernetics that she has installed. As Senza and Fortuna share information, Ark can’t help but feel concerned for Fortuna, asking if she knows what she even is. Fortuna says she mostly knows, and when pressed further confirms that she believes she is dangerous. 
As the group try to relax as much as they can before planning their next move, Senza takes a moment to speak with LACUNA, asking about speaking with Ariel about it as well as what to what extent. LACUNA agrees that Ariel and her siblings would be powerful allies, and that it is unlikely that they would share goals with the Angelic Threads anyway. It is dangerous, but it is less dangerous with them. However, it shows concern and warns caution against speaking about being an openly pre-quid Artificial Intelligence.
Ark and Ariel send some messages back and forth and the groups get closer to meeting together, with everyone but Crescent Moon aware of the successful rescue of Heartful Vale. Senza has now unfused with LACUNA and also is smoking weed now.
The group gets out of Will’s car and while most of them go in to meet the others, Synch asks Blood Root to stay behind. They begin by calling Burning and telling him about what they did in the night, the evidence they have over Burning’s incident, the psychic jamming technology the Angelic Threads have, and finally that the Eyes on the Inside potentially have a new member, the psychic mercenary Blood Root. After some jokes at Blood Root’s expense, they arrange for Melting and Asking to pick the mercenary up and extract him out of quid, then make a promise to see each other soon. 
Synch then turns to Blood Root and asks him how he feels when he kills someone, he responds that he tries not to, the most genuine thing hes ever said to anyone in the group. When Synch responds that they can’t just do that, Blood Root says that unfortunately, that isn’t his problem, and that he’s not the person to talk to about that. They go to see the others.
When Will guides Heartful Vale into Ariel’s apartment, after Ariel and 4Zeta enter of course, Crescent Moon begins to cry, embracing her mother and glad to see her again safe and sound. Fortuna acts indignantly when Crescent tries to take the chair shes sitting in for Heartful, and as everyone starts to settle in and sit down, Will goes off to a side room in order to nurse her wounds.
Ariel is also wounded, but Crescent convinces her to let Fortuna heal her with her goop arm. As Crescent tries to reconnect with her mother, Blood Root and Synch walk in, causing the idol to flip out a little, as the last time they saw him he tried to kill them all. Synch says that it’s fine, as Ark did something similar, instantly killing all goodwill anyone in the room has for them. Senza clarifies that Ark didn’t really try to kill anyone, and that it is fine now, following up with a dig at Synch for being so secretive but also willing to use other peoples secrets flippantly. Blood Root doesn’t care either way, not expecting forgiveness or friendship, but just stating that the fact of the matter is that he helped the group at Snow Vision, and that he’d prefer a fresh start.
Chaos continues to ensue as things get heated and more heated. Will returns into the room and Senza tries to move the conversation past this and into the remaining problem of their captive. Ariel is upset about having to get a new apartment, about having an assassin chase her girlfriend, and about Fortuna smoking weed and being difficult. Ark tries to defend the two professors, as they don’t know what they could have done or where they would be if they didn’t have their help, and Ariel ultimately decides to storm out of the room... directly into the one where White Eagle is unconscious.  
Senza, Will, and Blood Root follow Ariel and Blood Root reveals information that Senza and Fortuna discovered about her role and capabilities, but also her real name, Helios Unawoken. Senza tells Ariel that they were out of their league, but the two of them managed to deal with the assassin without her seeing Ark or a lot of Ariel’s apartment and things. Ariel moves to factory reset White Eagle’s cybernetics as Senza warns her about the automated defences. When the factory reset wakes White Eagle up, Ariel knocks her the fuck out, tired and upset. Blood Root offers to deal with the body for her, and Ariel takes him up on it, as it also means that Blood Root gets the fuck out of her apartment. He gives everyone finger guns on the way out.
 Will takes the blame for letting Fortuna and Senza stay by themselves, but is also unsure if leaving Synch or herself behind would have been better. Ultimately, there should have been more support, which to be fair, she did try to get from Burning.
Ariel is upset still, understandably, and has to try to figure out what to do next while Will arranges for a new safe house from the Seat for Crescent to stay in. Ariel gives a warning, but it is fine, and Will moves to tell Crescent that they should go and stop imposing upon Ariel’s home. Crescent feels at fault for Ariel being upset, but Will says that it isn’t the case, it’s the fault of the people who kidnapped and tried to kidnap her and her family. On the way out, Will tells Ariel that they need to talk, and also apologizes for trying to use obligation she had on Ariel over her. She also says that she thinks that she is obligated to Ariel, which Ariel doesn’t really care about, but Will obviously does.
Fortuna takes the bus home, cleaning herself off and getting a new change of clothes before seeing her wife, Synch and Blood Root go bar hopping and scamming, and Will, Senza, Crescent, and Heartful go to the new safe house, leaving Ariel and her siblings to pick up the pieces of their home. Synch visits a shop to get a tracking gun, something that might come in handy soon.
The next morning, Fortuna is surprised to hear a knock on her apartment door. When she opens it, a tall woman in a white suit with an ascot introduces herself as Mia Ann Grace. She hands Fortuna a card and says that she’s been hired as an assistant for her, and that she has already started to do work to ensure that the wayward professor keeps her job at the university. Fortuna understands the implications at play, and accepts her new assistant.
Synch gets a text from Melting on where to meet, taking Blood Root to some outskirts in order to introduce him to the Eyes. Asking makes fun of Blood Root’s nonsensical attire, something Blood Root is glad for. As he teases Melting’s attempts at being authoritative, Synch absorbs Melting’s annoyance at Blood Root and thanks the fellow psychic for making him less mad, something that will be important in dealing with the new recruit. As they go, Synch tells Melting to take care of Burning for them.
Taking advantage of the time they have, Senza asks Heartful Vale about Crescent Moon, impressing upon the motherly scientist her work as well as wondering about how such an advanced A.I. was made. Heartful Vale answers to the best of her ability, telling Senza about the methods they used to make Crescent and how they are the sort that could be stolen if they aren’t careful. While it is a mostly plausible answer, it isn’t especially satisfactory, as it doesn’t explain Crescent’s control over the Veil and it also is marred by the fact that some of the methods Heartful described had not led to A.I.’s as advanced as Crescent Moon.
Ariel arrives at the new safehouse, aware that she needs to speak with both Senza and Will, and not really wanting to do either. She picks Senza first, with the professor being a bit concerned. Senza explains that the reason why she spied on Ariel and Synch was because of LACUNA, telling Ariel about the details of her object, mostly how it is a more powerful A.I. than it pretends to be and that it is the interface/node of a much larger system. Ariel says she needs time to think about the information that Senza has given her when LACUNA asks to speak with Ariel directly. Ariel is reluctant to interface with an A.I. that she doesn’t know anything about and that she doesn’t trust Senza very much, but this does help her feel like she could trust her later.
Crescent continues to try to crush on Will, who is oblivious as she asks Heartful Vale about what she knows about her captivity. She doesn’t know, and she also isn’t sure about what’s next for her, but one thing at a time...
Will switches places with Senza and goes into the Ariel conversation hot seat. Will starts by saying that if Ariel ever needed Will, she certainly doesn’t now. The two have a mildly heated conversation where Ariel asks if Will wants to know her problem with her or her problem with the Seat of Judges. Will would rather know about Ariel’s problem with the Seat, as she doesn’t really need to be a part of Ariel’s life if she doesn’t want her in it. Ariel finally reveals to Will, explicitly, that the Seat of Judges is a part of the Angelic Threads, the people who created her, the people who are out to ruin her life, and potentially the lives of everyone she holds dear. Will says that she doesn’t know why Ariel knows this or how, but believes her, as after all, she doesn’t know anything about the Threads. A group that is this powerful, creating androids on the level of Ariel, being a complete mystery to a group like the Seat of Judges can only mean that there is something wrong here, which means she intends to deal with it.
This upsets Ariel, as this is why she doesn’t like Will. Will is naive, which wouldn’t be a problem if she wasn’t also in a position where that naivety could put other people in danger, and if Will didn’t similarly put herself in those positions. Ariel believes that someday, Will will fail and people that Ariel cares about could be hurt. Will doesn’t have a lot to say in response, as she does already feel guilty over the night that Senza and Fortuna had, and elects to nod and leave. 
Ariel asks Crescent for a moment alone, taking her outside to the balcony and apologizing for being upset last night. Crescent tries to take some of the blame for it, and Ariel says it is ok, then asks what it feels like to manipulate the Veil the way that she does. Crescent doesn’t know, really, she doesn’t have an easy answer for it, she just sees it, feels it, and does it. Ariel asks for a demonstration, and she makes a curtain in the balcony. Ariel concentrates and adds a skybox to the curtain, reflecting a sky that is made out of Ariel’s mind, with the impurities of it intact. Neither of them know what to really do with this information, as Crescent reveals that she’s been able to do it ever since she “was made” though she stuttered for a moment, as if she was going to say something else. Crescent looks at Ariel and asks if she needs a hug. The two embrace and Crescent once again insists that she needs to trust others, be more open in her communication, if Ariel wants a hug she can just say that she wants a hug. But its complicated. It is always complicated.
Next time, we should finally finish this arc of Veil, and if that means that the groups are disconnected then I suppose that is what that means? While the group has been busy, the world has been as well, and there’s plenty of people who want to lean on them...
Will the next session be the end? Will we see a concert? Wow, I guess I should actually write down what that would look like, huh? Hope I don’t forget!!!
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bffhreprise · 3 years
Text
Best Friend For Hire Reprise, Entry 366
 “Are you ready for this?” asked Jemal with a serious face.
��I rolled my eyes as I said, “Just go!  My friends are waiting.”
 He hugged me.  “Don’t cause trouble for Mila.” he stated, trying to look stern.
 I did my best to give him a look that told him how ridiculous that statement was.  “Seriously!?” I asked.  “How would fifty of me manage to make trouble for her!?”
 “Uh… Fair point, but you know what I mean.” he replied, stepping out of the car.  “How do I look?” he questioned, concern on his face.
 “Perfectly professional.” I assured him, trying to keep a straight face.  He really did look fine, but I was so excited that I got to have a sleepover!
 “Okay.  Love you!” he exclaimed, waiting for my reply before he shut the door.  He said something to Mila then, but I couldn’t hear either of them through the car.
 “Next stop, we’re picking up Mother and Dani.” stated Mila as she pulled away, leaving my brother watching us from the curb.
 I went back to my game while waiting.  My vampire pixie, Dreamdust, had an important role in the current world event, spreading a new type of vampirism.  Unlike Dani, who loved recruiting other players, I focused more on NPCs.  Players rarely role-played, which made the discussions about vampirism all about stats.  To the NPCs, vampires were real, a great threat or a way to personal strength.  The game was so much fun!
 My game was interrupted when I heard a gasp in real life.  Oops.  I had missed our arrival.  “Aaliyah, you know what’s going on better than any of us!  You wrote it!” I reminded her.
 “Get anyone new to join us?” asked Dani excitedly as she lifted Aaliyah into the vehicle to get her out of the way.
 I nodded and started explaining how I heard about a feuding baker and butcher, eventually deciding which one would make the better recruit for us.  I had chosen the butcher because he was accustomed to dealing with blood, and his shop was poorly lit already.  As a vampire, he’d be better at his job and probably be good at getting blood to feed our growing army.
 “Oooh.  I like it!” exclaimed Dani, logging in as well.
 “Only twenty minutes until we’re picking up the others.” warned Mila.
 “What if we took the long way?” questioned Aaliyah hopefully.  “We’d get more play time!”
 “And be late.  We’re not going to be late, Mother.” insisted Mila.
 Aaliyah sighed dramatically.  “Fiiiine.” she pouted.
 “But Aaliyah!” I exclaimed.  “Don’t you want to meet my other friends?”  I ignored my game to watch her reaction, hoping she really was interested.
 She grinned at me and hugged me.  “Of course!  They’ve gotta be amazing, being your friends!” she replied, feeling so tiny as I hugged her back.  Aaliyah certainly didn’t look a year older than me, but I couldn’t even come close to keeping up with her.
 “I’m looking forward to it too!” exclaimed Dani enthusiastically.  Dani was always enthusiastic about fun.
 I was surprised when she was actually interested in joining my sleepover, since she was over four years older than me.  She was smart, funny, and so beautiful.  I really wished my friends were allowed to see her natural skin tone and hair, but I knew that wasn’t possible.  With her illusion on, Dani still looked like a princess, but I preferred her natural pink skin.
 “We’ve arrived.” stated Mila in what seemed like barely any time later.
 Losing track of time was easy when chatting with Aaliyah and Dani, especially when gaming together.  I got out of the car, trying to spot my friends past all of the kids gawking at the car.  I couldn’t really blame them for gawking, since I would have just last year, but I was used to riding around in a limo now.
 “Skyla!  Over here!” I exclaimed when I spotted her.  She was talking to someone, but I couldn’t see who through the crowd.
 Luckily, she was with the others, so I didn’t have to find anymore.  Getting them into the limo took a bit, especially when Mila came around to get their bags.  I introduced her, and there were a bunch of questions about her really being a maid.  We eventually managed to slip off though.
 Our first stop was shopping!  Mila had arranged with James for us to get to shop on the company’s party budget!  Jemal told me not to worry about the price of anything, though he also told me to not overdo it, and mumbled something about how he couldn’t imagine me really overdoing it when I tried to get a number out of him.  Luckily, Mila was with us, so she’d know.
 My friends loved Dani every bit as much as I do once they got talking with her about clothes, though I knew Dani wouldn’t have worn anything we picked out.  Her style was… different… than what she was wearing around my friends.  Still, Dani happily helped us pick out outfits, even convincing Aaliyah to get something that actually matched!  We ended up with two outfits each, some kits Mila put together for makeovers, and matching teddy bears!
 Then we had to pick up Jemal, who listened to us all talk about the shopping trip.  I offered to give him a makeover with one of the kits, but he insisted that he had to stay looking ready for his next job today.
 “That’s your house!?” exclaimed Bonnie as we came up the drive.
 “James owns the house, but this is where we live.” replied Jemal.
 “Seriously!?” asked Ashlyn.
 Over the top of her, Priscilla questioned “Who’s James?”
 “My boss.” stated Jemal.
 “And friend!  James is amazing!” I insisted.
 “He really is!” agreed Aaliyah.
 Nodding, Dani agreed too.
 “So you’re like… really rich?” asked Meredith, who had decided Dani was the perfect high schooler while we were shopping.
 “Daddy is.  I’m probably not.” replied Dani, thinking about it.
 “Can you show us your closet!?” asked Skyla excitedly.
 Dani opened her mouth, shut it, and considered.  “One of them.” she eventually decided.
 “You have multiple closets?  How big is your room!?” asked Ashlyn with wide eyes.
 “That whole section of the building is Dani’s, at least until the baby is born.” I explained, pointing at the wing.
 “No way!  That’s like ten times bigger than my house!” exclaimed Bonnie in amazement.
 “No wonder you guys have a maid.” stated Meredith with a nod.
 To my surprise, Mila asked where we wanted to eat, suggesting the theater for a movie with our dinner.
 “We can?  Really!?’ I asked excitedly.
 “Let’s swing through the kitchen, so you can each make your selections.  Then I’ll bring everything, if that works for you.” she replied with a smile.
 I hugged and thanked her, already trying to decide what my friends would want to watch.  Catching sight of James in the ballroom, I ran to him to thank him too.  This was amazing!  He greeted my friends before Dani chased him off.  I didn’t understand why until I realized my friends were talking about how handsome he was.  Yeah, he did look like he should be a movie star.
 After gushing over all the food, we settled down to watch a movie, which shocked my friends yet again!  They couldn’t believe we had a full-sized theater inside the house.  Of course, I was fairly certain none of them had a clue where we were in the house either, since my home was larger than my old school.
 Partway through the movie, Jemal had to take off to work again, but I knew he’d be back.  Aaliyah started doing Bonnie’s hair after we were done with dinner, which led to everyone wanting her to do their hair.  No one could style hair quite like Aaliyah!  I mean, she did Emma’s hair styles!
 Everyone played some games, watched more movies, snacked more than we probably should have, and eventually slept.  I was certain tomorrow would be amazing too.
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mysmessmistake · 7 years
Note
How about a really intimidating/rude teenage MC? Y'know, a teen that's built on angst? That swears a lot? (But they're not all bad, they're just like that when they first people people? Thanks
Everything is platonic, no romance here. Also, there is A LOT of swearing so just be aware
Yoosung
unbelievably intimidated     
Kinda glad he isn’t the youngest anymore
But honestly??? You don’t act     that young
You act like you grew up on     the streets… in the rough part of town.
When you first met, he     thought you might be dangerous    
“Are you a dangerous person?”    
“I will be if you keep acting fucking stupid”     
S c a r e d
After he got to know you…     he was still scared 
He thought you’d be like Rika…     and then you weren’t…    
“You’re nothing like Rika”    
“No fucking shit, I’m MC not Rika”    
You ain’t having none of that    
After knowing him for a     while, he learnt about you and your past
Suddenly he’s the protective     big brother
“Yoosung I could put you on your ass in three seconds I     don’t need you to protect me”     
Asks you on advice on being more brave, and on self defence 
“MC! Tell me stories about your gang member days?”    
“Gang- what the hell Yoosung? I’ve never been in a     gang!”     
“That’s what Seven told me!”    
“Sevens a fucking liar I’ll cut him if he makes up     bullshit like that again”     
Oooooookay
Avoids believing anything Seven says
When he and Seven suggest     going to scope out Mint Eye    
Boy howdy were you so not     okay with that
“Have you ever been taught anything ever; you don’t go     to the fucking place with the bad people”    
You knew that if they went     there, either they’d get hurt or you’d be dragged into more BS
Of course, Yoosung went     anyway because-
“I’m older than them! I can make my own decisions!”    
And then he got hurt
“Maybe they were right..”    
After the RFA party, MC sees     Yoosung as a younger brother she needs to protect, much to Yoosungs     embarrassment because it should be the other way around
You go to him when you have     problems with school    
And he goes to you when he     has problems with his masculinity…    
Jaehee
at first she’s very concerned     that you are here to hurt them    
“How do we know we can trust you? It would make me feel     better if you told us a bit about yourself”    
“I really don’t care how you feel so fuck off”    
Confronted and offended
But this isn’t the first time     she’s been spoken to in a very disrespectful manner, she did work for     Jumin after all. 
After she got over her     initial thoughts of you being dangerous, she became very… protective
In a motherly way
“Are you attending school regularly? Who do you live     with? Do your parents know where you are? Can you handle the     responsibility of the RFA?”
Whoa calm down
You are fond of Jaehee     because of how much she cares for you, you weren’t shown that when you     were younger
You threatened Jumin every     time he brings up something else to add to Jaehee’s work load.
“One day Jaehee is going to quit and you’re going to     realise how fucking useless you are without her and you’ll try to hire an     assistant as good as Jaehee but your efforts will be futile because Jaehee     is the greatest good you’re ever gonna get”    
“MC did you just quote The Incredibles?”    
“Shut the fuck up Seven or I’ll shove your face into a     blender”     
One time, when you were sleep     deprived on groupchat and completely getting ready to pass out, you     accidentally called Jaehee Mom.    
“Get some rest, MC, the party is coming up and you don’t     want to be too tired to attend”
“Thanks Mom”
You logged out two seconds     after, and Jaehee was completely confused
She also felt bad, that you     hadn’t had a good enough mother figure and you considered her of all     people as your mother 
You also got shit from Seven     for it the next day    
Until you threatened to shove his keyboard so far up his ass     he could type with his rib cage
He left you alone
Zen
Realises you’re not to be     messed with straight away because of the very first thing you said
“Maybe     it’s a beautiful woman!”
“I’m a fucking kid you fucking creep”    
Mental note: do not fuck with
He’s met people like you when     he was younger and they are terrifying to be on the bad side of
Though, when you joined the     RFA, he felt like a bit of his reckless youth was coming back to him
You remind him of himself     when he was your age 
That kinda scares him,     because he did not do good things when he was younger
He hopes you don’t go down too bad of a path…    
“Stay on a clear path, Ok MC?”    
“Zen I’m a reckless teen I’m not about to go snort     cocaine off a stripper’s ass and join the Mafia”    
Becomes the protective big     brother
He’s better at it than     Yoosung
But you still don’t really     need it
And the fact that you can     handle yourself is shown when Unknown breaks into the apartment you’re in
Everyone panics when they’re hear     the news. 
“Oh my god MC is a child and she’s about to be kidnapped     how will we live with ourselves?”    
Suddenly, you message the     groupchat
Everyone freaks
“MC!! What happened are you okay??”    
“I’m fine”
“What about the guy that broke into your apartment??”    
“I hit him over the head”    
“With a frying pan”    
“I hope he isn’t dead…”    
MC PLEASE
He wasn’t dead, but he had a     very bad concussion    
Zen comes to you when he’s     playing a role that requires him to act badass and like a jerk
You’re kinda offended, kinda     honoured 
Jumin
No
Nope
Not happening
You’re a kid, you can’t run     an organisation! Seven, take them away
“Since MC is so young they’re probably useless to the     RFA”
“Excuse me twinkle toes but if I can take on three guys     at once that are all twice my size with guns I can handle emailing a few     people”
Wait you did what?
After getting to know each     other, Jumin begins to offer to pay for everything
“MC I noticed you haven’t yet paid your school fees,     would you like me to take care of them    
"Jumin what the fuck how did you know that”    
He treats you like any other     person, but with a little more caution since he knows you could totally     mess his shit up
When you get 30+ people to attend the RFA party,    he is thoroughly impressed    
“Perhaps you could work for my company when you are     older, MC”
“Go to hell”
“Didn’t think so”    
You and Jumin have this weird     mutual friendship
While it’s weird for the pair     of you to hang out with someone who is almost ten years older/younger than     you, you enjoy each other’s company at the RFA parties
That’s probably because he     doesn’t beat around the bush    
And you’re not afraid to     speak your mind
“I’m thinking of having a photo shoot for Elizabeth the     Third, what do you think?”
“I think your emotional attachment to this cat is     because you weren’t loved enough as a child and now you cling to what you     can force and trick into loving you and staying with you against its     unknowing will”
Jesus MC chill would you
Jumin won’t admit it, but     he’s proud to see you grow up and start to take on the world in your own     unique way. 
Saeyoung
well that’s not what he was expecting to see on the security     cameras
You looked like you’d just     stepped out of an action movie    
Jokes about your age in chat     a lot
“Wait, you’re not supposed to be this young!! What are     you doing here?”
Also, acts shocked every time     you say something rude to him even though he’s use to it
“I should live off HBC for the rest of my life!”     
“I should burn all of the HBC in the world in front of     you and then live off your tears”    
Yikes
He treats you like a little     sister, but he’s the annoying kind of brother that sets out to embarrass     you
When things start going downhill,     he tries to push you away so you can remain alive and well, and graduate     high school and have a life    
“You shouldn’t be friends with someone like me, MC, I’m     very dangerous, I’ll get you killed”    
“If you really think some mysterious ass bullshit like     that will send me running for the hills you really haven’t learnt anything”    
You and Vanderwood get along     swimmingly
It’s like Vanderwood meets     Mini-Vanderwood
Saeyoung questions if you’re     secretly siblings and Vanderwood was taken away before you were born
Because of your badass skills     you managed to make sure that no bullets hit Saeyoung, which means he     never passed out and he could stop Saeran from killing V
Hooray for Badass MC 
He’s glad that someone can     counteract his jokes with sarcastic comments or funny threats, and not     just calling him stupid all the time
“God 707 is here to save the day!”    
“May everyone pray to a different god then”    
“I haven’t slept in three days”    
“Really? Judging by your looks I would’ve guessed three     weeks”
You two are very good at     throwing insults back and forth 
He considers the fact that  you might be more dangerous than he is    
V
feels so bad
Feels horrible
He feels so, so bad that a kid was wrapped up in this    
“I’m deeply sorry MC, I cannot begin to express my     apologies for you getting dragged into this”    
“Listen dude you apologise one more time and I’m gonna     throw up okay?”
He tries to avoid you because     he feels so guilty 
He avoids you all the way up     until the moment you set foot in the RFA base with Vanderwood and Saeyoung
As if he didn’t feel bad enough, you save him from being shot     by pushing him out of the way.     
Then he starts to apologise     again
“I’m so sorry you were dragged into such a mess-”    
“For the love of fuck V, shut up”    
He smiles
He’s like the cool uncle     that’s always high
Except V doesn’t do drugs
You think…
Either way, you and V have a     pretty chill friendship, you only see each other at the RFA parties, or if     another RFA member has decided to get everyone to hang out
You quietly sit in each other     company, not bothering one another 
You totally swear him out for     not getting the eye surgery    
“Listen you fucking moron, I get you loved Rika but she     hurt you so bad that you soon you won’t be able to fucking see, and in     case you’ve forgotten there are six other people who want to see you     happy, and don’t want to see you with a walking stick or a guide dog. Not     to mention your entire fucking career is based on being able to see, so     for the love of fuck get the surgery”    
You were very convincing 
You go to him for a lot of     life advice because he seems pretty wise
Unless it’s relationship advice    
That should probably be left for Zen or something    
He still feels guilty that a     kid got thrown into this mess    
But you reassure him in a very forceful way that it’s not his fault and he needs to calm down
Saeran
“Rika you made me lure a child what the fuck”     
He didn’t know you were so young, you looked older, like you’d been through some shit, so he didn’t question it
But while monitoring the group chat he noticed you mention something about being in high school
high school?!
Still…     
he trusts his leader     
When he breaks into the apartment to kidnap you and force you to join a cult have a little chat
He was not expecting you to round-house kick him straight in the     face and knock him out    
When he came too his brother was there and it all went downhill from there
When you guys were at the Mint Eye HQ, he threatened you to stop being so difficult
You guys had a contest for most intense stare 
This was cut off by the Rika fiasco 
After all the jazz with Rika, and now that Saeran was safe and secure with Saeyoung in the bunker, the two of you realised how alike you were
You guys acted like twins, more so than him and Saeyoung, you liked the same music, you both insulted Saeyoung (although your insults didn’t stop there) and you both swore like you’d just stubbed your pinkie toe on a table leg
You ever expected him to say anything, or act friendly towards you    
And he never expected you to ease up on him since he’d been through a lot
The two of you insulted and half-argued a lot
“Give me the remote, MC”    
“You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands you fucker”     
“That can be arranged”
Everyone is a little worried you guys aren’t joking    
You were possibly the only one that could intimidate anyone more than Saeran could
Yoosung and Saeyoung often had debates as to who had the worse death glare  
“MC’s stare has the fury of a thousand suns!”    
“I will throw you into the sun a thousand times if you do not shut the fuck up right now”    
Eventually Saeran apologises     for trying to kidnap you, and for tricking you, he truly didn’t realise     you were just a kid. 
You forgave him but warned     him if he tried to do it again you’d make sure they never found his body 
He thinks that’s fair     
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thislovelylady · 7 years
Text
@fiircbird I told you I’d do it. I changed some of the roles we discussed to make it fit characters better. Also any song titles labeled with * are subject to change depending on the content. I will rewrite the songs...tomorrow. lmao.
Phoenix Wright has everything going for him: Born into a wealthy upper-class family in Los Angeles, he was given plenty of opportunities to succeed in life. Presently, he is a double Art & Theatre Major, President of the prestigious Alpha Pi fraternity, and dating the love of his life -- Dahlia "Dollie" Hawthorne.
ACT 1
Our story begins with some of Phoenix's fraternity brothers, Larry, Ronnie, and Wocky excitedly discussing their President's plan to propose to Dahlia ("Oh my god you guys"). They go to surprise him with good luck booze, only to find his room empty. Larry then recalls that Phoenix was getting a tailored suit for the occasion, and the three rush over to go and support him.
The scene cuts to Phoenix in a dressing room, still unsure about the suit. As he contemplates, Larry and the others show up and they go on about their excitement.
Off to the side, a sales associate Frank Sawhit muses to himself that rich boys are stupid and attempts to make a quick commission charge. Phoenix, however, proves he isn't as gullible as he may look. Another associate rushes in and takes over, apologizing and offering him the perfect blue suit instead. Armed with this, Phoenix feels confident enough to pop the question to Dahlia tonight.
Dahlia arrives at his fraternity house later that evening, and with his brothers giving him encouraging gestures, he whisks her away to a romantic restaurant. There, Dahlia starts talking about the future ("Serious") and Phoenix gets himself hyped up to get out the ring. Before he can, however, she says they should break up. He tries to get her to change her mind, even bringing out the ring -- but that only makes her leave immediately.
Phoenix is devastated and sulks for days, and his brothers and other friends attempt to console him ("Hey Ace Of Alpha Pi"). They finally get him out of his room and into the main room, where they have some girls over (including Mia, Maya, and Ema). They hang for a bit and Phoenix seems to be doing well until a show comes on interviewing Diego Armando, a famous lawyer known for both his charm and skill in the courtroom. Seeing how the reporter fawns over him, Phoenix has an epiphany: Become an attractive, successful lawyer to win Dahlia back ("What You Want)!
With guidance from Mia and a lot of hard work, Phoenix forksakes his senior spring break and studies enough to pass the LSAT with qualifying scores to get into Harvard Law. Instead of writing a personal essay, he leads a bunch of his friends into a musical performance into the Harvard admission offices to inspire the department (consisting of its lead, Grossberg, and two aides Penny and Richard Wellington) into accepting him. Eventually, they do, once he reveals he is motivated by love.
Phoenix arrives on campus, clueless but optimistic as he tries to find Dahlia. His classmates (including Edgeworth) brag about their accomplishments and refuse to help him as he seems out of place, but he manages to get help from Lenora, the law teaching assistant ("The Harvard Variations"). While heading to class, he bumps briefly into Dahlia, who's shocked to see him there. Later, they end up in the class of the infamous Kristoph, whom Lenora consequently aides for ("Blood In The Water"). Kristoph kicks Phoenix out at the suggestion of Matt, a classmate who turns out to be Dahlia's new boyfriend. This tragedy summons the images of Larry, Mia, and Maya -- his three closest friends -- to act as his inner 'Greek Chorus'. They tell Phoenix to persist against this new development ("Positive"), but he can't seem to get over it. He decides to go to the local bar, the Borscht Bowl Club, to drown his sorrows and figure out what to do.
While there, Phoenix spills his heart to Gumshoe, the ex-cop-turned-bartender who tries to give him some encouragement. He tells about this dream he's always had about Ireland and how what he thought was the love of his life turned out to be a huge mistake ("Ireland*"). But if he could get through that, why can't he? While they're chatting, Matt walks in with a few of his friends and heads over to the pool table. He sees Phoenix and, in an attempt to smooth things over, invites him to a pool party happening this weekend. Phoenix accepts, eager to get another chance to talk to Dahlia, and runs off knowing exactly what to do. Gumshoe affirms that he'll be all right ("Ireland (Reprise)*").
Phoenix arrives at the party the next night, only to see that he had been lied to -- it isn't a pool party at all, but  a classy get-together. He's humiliated for a moment as everyone looks at him like he's an idiot, but then he totally owns it and goes up to Dahlia. She humors him for a minute before dismissing him again ("Serious (Reprise)") and he leaves the party, dejected.
Lenora finds him looking sad in a speedo on a park bench and cannot help but inquire what happened, and he explains. Despite this, she can't really sympathize with him, explaining her own circumstances ("Chip On Your Shoulder"). Still, she agrees to help Phoenix study and get back on track and the two of them develop a friendship over time and gets him to realize that his desire to please Dahlia is what's getting in his way. After impressing Kristoph, he submits his application for the prestigious internship everyone is fighting for. Later, Phoenix and Lenora help Gumshoe get his dog Missile back from his ex-girlfriend, April May. Seeing their work pay off gets him even more excited about what he's studying! They chat more on their way back to campus, only to stop when they realize a group of classmates is crowding around Kristoph's office door.
Edgeworth is already walking away from the board, sounding excited and pleased with himself, telling whoever is on the other line that he received the internship. Lenora wonders why Kristoph posted it early -- and Phoenix runs to go check for his own name. He stops, however, upon hearing Dahlia and Matt celebrate they both earned the internship, too. In a spontaneous burst of excitement, Matt proposes to Dahlia. She's shocked, but seeing Phoenix there snaps her out of it -- and she accepts. Phoenix goes back to sulking, devastated again -- until Lenora points out his name's on the internship list, too. ("So Much Better").
ACT 2
Max Galactica is a famous magician known for his stunning performances ("Whipped Into Shape"*/). Kristoph reviews a video of Max's latest filmed performance with his team -- Lenora, Phoenix, Dahlia, Matt, and Edgeworth -- and presents him as their defendant, who unfortunately has been accused of killing his wife, Regina Berry. Sadly, he refuses to provide an alibi as to his whereabouts on the day of the murder. Nobody can get the alibi out of Max, up until he speaks privately with Phoenix, who recognizes him as a previous ALPHA PI brother. Max explains he was getting liposuction the day of the murder, but is terrified his fans will hate him as a result. Because of Phoenix's loyalty to his client and refusal to state the alibi, he and Lenora are shunned by the group. To cheer Lenora up, and to increase her chances of impressing Kristoph, Phoenix takes her to the mall to get a proper makeover ("Take It Like A Man").
Back at the Borsct Bowl, Phoenix is chatting with Gumshoe when a cute night security guard, Maggey, walks in briefly -- and then walks out, realizing she has the wrong place. Apparently she does this a lot. Gumshoe pines for her, but doesn't think he can get her attention. Together with the help of the Greek Chorus -- specifically Larry -- , Phoenix teaches him a surefire flirting technique that works on all straight women! Sadly, in the process of attempting the move, Gumshoe knocks Maggey out ("Bend and Snap"*).
In the courtroom we see Adrian Andrews, a witness who has allegedly had an affair with Max while working as the maid in his home. Max denies this vehemently. Phoenix gets a hunch that Adrian is gay, seeing as how she remains unaffected by his infamous smouldering look, but the group debates whether this is a legitimate line of questioning or not ("There! Right There!"). Eventually, Lenora gets her to crack by causing her to slip and mention she has a girlfriend -- Franziska, who is present in the courtroom at the time. Adrian takes it all back and the ladies leave together.
Later that night, the group celebrates their victory. Kristoph takes Phoenix aside and attempts to make a move on him, which he refuses -- and, upon doing so, he is fired. Edgeworth witnesses all of this from outside. A defeated Phoenix prepares to go home, even though Lenora asks him to stay, finally realizing that she is in love with him ("Legally Blonde*").
Phoenix drops by the Borscht Bowl to say goodbye to Gumshoe, but is stopped by Edgeworth, who convinces him otherwise. Edgeworth admits that although he found him obnoxious at first, Phoenix has proven himself worth to be a lawyer -- which rejuvenates his desire to return to the courtroom. Donning his blue suit, Phoenix leads a parade back to the courtroom. Along the way, Gumshoe and Maggey meet up and confess to one another, and his friends from college (Larry, Mia, Maya, Ronnie, Wocky) and even his parents have shown up to see the final trial day ("Legally Blonde Remix"*). Back at the trial, Max fires Kristoph and hires Phoenix, who is able to serve as the defense attorney so long as a licensed one oversees -- which Lenora gladly does.
The trial proceeds, calling the witness Ken Dingling to testify. Phoenix is able to find a contradiction in his testimony and unravel his lies, revealing that the witness purposely framed Max for the murder, as he had a grudge against Regina from years prior. Ken is arrested and Max is set free. Everyone celebrates together. Lenora turns to Phoenix, ready to tell him how she feels -- up until she sees Dahlia shyly standing in the background. Resigned, she leaves them to talk. Dahlia apologizes and tells Phoenix she wants to marry him, but he realizes that she never wanted to marry Matt in the first place. She was just looking for an 'upgrade'. He tells her it's over, but thanks her for breaking up with him as it helped him discover what he could really do ("Find My Way"). Dahlia is offended by the rejection and runs off.
Three years later, Edgeworth introduces Phoenix as the valedictorian of his class. Gumshoe jumps in to explain where everyone else is presently: Edgeworth practices family law, Matt dropped out to become an actor, and Dahlia found a wealthy husband in some other country. Kristoph ran for governor and was defeated, and Lenora completed a few trials that allowed her to get her mother and sister a nice house to stay in. And, of course, Gumshoe and Maggey are married with two kids and a third on the way. At the end of his speech, Phoenix proposes to Lenora, and she accepts ("Finale").
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mrsteveecook · 5 years
Text
should I tell my replacement about a cranky team member, coworkers devise bizarre solutions to simple problems, and more
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…
1. Should resigning managers share info about team members with their replacements?
I’m preparing to leave my job (by choice), and am training my newly-hired replacement at the moment. This position supervises several folks, and one of them in particular is … quirky. He is compassionate, customer-focused, and dedicated to our clients, but when dealing with other coworkers, he can be cranky (the word “curmudgeon” comes to mind). He also really hates change, and it takes a lot of convincing to get him on board with any changes that impact his particular processes.
Should I give the newbie the heads-up on this? I was not given any insight into his behavior when I started here, so I spent the first few years that I supervised him frustrated and, frankly, unsure why our clients loved him so much. I think that having some background knowledge of his quirks might make things go a little smoother for my replacement; on the other hand, I don’t want to “poison the well” for him by giving his new boss a bad impression.
Yes. When you’re training a replacement, it makes sense to pass along institutional knowledge and context that will help them do their job better, and when you’re training a manager, context about the people she’ll be managing is part of that. That’s why new managers generally get access to team members’ past performance reviews, etc. New managers shouldn’t have to start from scratch figuring out team members, when long histories exist that will give them helpful context. It makes sense for new managers to come in knowing things like: Jane regularly hits her goals out of the park and so we’ve given her as much flexibility as we can, Bob has been talked to repeatedly about missing deadlines and shouldn’t have much rope left, and Lucinda really wants to move into client work next year and has been working on demonstrating she’s ready to do it. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t observe things for themselves and make up their own minds — they should — but without that context, you get situations like Jane bristling because the new manager isn’t giving her the autonomy she’s earned or Bob acting like his deadline problems are new ones.
Of course, you should should keep the info you relay calm and factual — don’t start ranting about how frustrating Bob is to manage, but do calmly explain what challenges you’ve seen and what you’ve learned does and doesn’t. And you can explicitly say, “You might end up with a different take on this and you should get to know him on your own terms, but this is context that might be useful to have.”
2. My coworkers come up with bizarre solutions to simple problems
I am a 25-year-old woman working in payroll in a construction company among mostly men in their 40’s. The other departments in the company (other than my accounting department) are very lax. We have processes in place for how information is communicated from these departments but often these processes are not followed, which leads to disorganization and mistakes. Plus, once the information reaches me to complete the next step, I have to stay late or push other tasks aside to meet the deadline that others had no respect for.
I believe that the solution is for people to follow the process and complete their base line duties. When I bring these issues to our company meetings, I communicate that A is the problem, B is the outcome, and C is the expectation so this can be prevented in the future. I try not to get too specific with situations in the meetings because it would be directly pointing the finger at another coworker and I want to avoid that. But everyone takes it upon themselves to come up with ridiculous and crazy solutions. For example, problem: we paid a vendor late because the invoice wasn’t forwarded to accounting. Crazy solution: “Why don’t we just pay the vendor $1,000 in advance so that if we miss a payment, we are still okay!” (NO! Just send the invoice over! It’s not that hard!)
I am all for brainstorming and creative thinking, but these crazy ideas and “obvious” solutions make my blood boil. They are suggested in pompous tones that make me feel like they think I am an idiot for not thinking of it and for asking my coworkers to follow well thought-out processes. It is so difficult to bite my tongue and not walk away from the meeting furious and feeling steamrolled. How can I communicate that I am interested in enforcing a ready-built solution, not looking for a new one? Am I being close-minded to new possibilities? Am I being too sensitive as a lone woman in a male-dominated industry?
Stop bringing this stuff up in meetings and instead address the problems one-on-one with people as they make the mistakes. That will let you be very clear and direct, rather than trying to be vague so you’re not publicly criticizing people. That way you can use language like, “Bob, because you sent me this invoice one day before it was due, we paid the vendor late and were charged a late fee. We need you to submit invoices at least a week before they’re due.” (And if people repeat the errors, then you escalate and talk with their managers.)
If you instead rely on group meetings, people won’t always know what applies to them and what doesn’t, especially if you’re being intentionally vague about specific situations; some people will tune out because it’s a meeting, and some people will (apparently) think you’re looking for a discussion rather than just conveying instructions. (And gender dynamics can exacerbate that one.) One-on-one conversations significantly up the chances that people will feel more responsibility to pay attention to what you’re saying and do what you’re asking, and they’re less likely to think it’s an invitation for a group brainstorm.
3. Employee chats on the phone with a coworker under guise of work
I have a non-exempt employee who is friends with an exempt coworker in IT. They are often on the phone with each other, with my employee’s work status in “Support” (purportedly she is reporting or resolving an IT issue). However, overhearing her conversations, it’s clear they are chatting. While I feel adequately prepared to talk to an employee making obviously personal phone calls on their cell phone, how can I express to this employee that this behavior is inappropriate? It’s under the guise of work, but happens far too often and she doesn’t have that many IT problems.
Be straightforward about it! “Jane, from what I’ve occasionally overheard, it sounds like you’re having pretty frequent, lengthy phone calls with Bob that aren’t about work. If I have that right, can you scale those back? I’m concerned about how much time they’re taking away from work. If I’ve misunderstood, I’m open to hearing that too.”
I’d include that last line if you’re not positive that you haven’t just happened to overhear the the two-minute social snippets in legitimate support call. But if that’s not the case (like if you sit near enough to her to hear most of it), you can leave that part out.
4. I’m not getting the interesting work I was promised at my new job
A little over a year ago, I took a new job I was very excited about. During the interview, I asked why the previous person in my position had left, and I was told that this was actually a new position that had just been created. My responsibilities were to be a combination of tasks that had not been performed previously and tasks that had been done by others. I was hired for my skill set, not for my knowledge in this particular industry, so I knew I would have a lot to learn and was excited by the challenge.
At first I was busy just learning how the new company worked and looking for opportunities to help out wherever I could. But now that I have become more comfortable and proficient, I am running into problems. Some of the work that falls under my newly created job title was handed off eagerly, but the more interesting, hands-on portions have yet to be transferred. My fellow employees are already skilled in these tasks and seem to have zero interest in either training me or relinquishing these parts of their jobs.
However, I would not have taken this position if it had only included the dry, tedious tasks that I am currently spending most of my time on. How do I approach my boss about expanding my current tasks? And is there any way to assume the workload I thought I was going to be given without alienating the people currently doing the tasks (and doing them well)?
The fact that it’s been a year of this might make it harder to address, since your boss now might be used to seeing your role the way it is. Ideally you would have spoken up earlier — like no later than six months in — but you still can and should speak up now.
Talk to your boss and say something like, “When I was brought on, the things I was most excited about doing in the role were X, Y, and Z, which we’d talked a lot about in the interview. I’ve been focusing on learning how the company runs and doing things like A and B, but now that I’ve been here a year, I want to finish getting those pieces moved over to me and wanted to talk with you about the timeline for that.”
You don’t say whether you’re explicitly told your coworkers that you’re supposed to be taking those items on, or directly asked you to transfer them. Ideally that would have happened with your boss’s involvement much earlier on, but if no one’s done that, it’s possible that they don’t realize it’s supposed to. Because it’s been a year, it would be weird to just announce it to them now without your boss’s involvement — but you should absolutely try to get the ball rolling with her now.
If your boss doesn’t seem on board, you could say, “I want to be transparent that these responsibilities were the reason I took the job, and it’s important to me to be able to do the job I signed on for. Is there any way to make that happen, or is the way the role is currently configured the way you expect it to stay for the foreseeable future?” If your boss has any savviness, she should know the subtext there is that you’re considering whether it makes sense to stay — reflection that would indeed be the right next step at that point.
5. Should I wait to update LinkedIn with my new job?
I started a new job with a new company a few days ago. It seems to be a great fit, awesome boss, collaborative environment … the whole package.
I’ve read in multiple online forums/blogs/career sites to wait “X” amount of time before updating with a new role. Some attribute this to a probationary period (N/A for me), making sure fit is right, making sure you have a good manager, etc. What do you think?
I think you’re fine updating it right away.
That said, it’s true that if you leave so quickly that you won’t want the job on your LinkedIn at all, it can be potentially awkward to have connections see that you started working there but left within a few months. Frankly, you can just remove the job at that point and most people won’t notice, but some people probably will and you might not want to deal with that. And if you do decide to wait, you can input the correct dates at whatever point you add it.
I think the risk is relatively low, but there also aren’t any huge benefits to updating it immediately (other than maybe some congratulations from people who see you have a new job). So if you’re more comfortable waiting, do.
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should I tell my replacement about a cranky team member, coworkers devise bizarre solutions to simple problems, and more was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.
from Ask a Manager http://bit.ly/2UR5vRV
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douchebagbrainwaves · 5 years
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WHAT MADE LISP IS SO GREAT
We fell into the classic problem of how when a new medium comes out it adopts the practices, the content, the business models of the old medium—which fails, and then iterate; that startups required resilience because they were always an emotional rollercoaster; and that most VCs were sheep. Ignorance can't solve everything though. They have an interesting business. Instead of going to venture capitalists with a business plan and trying to convince them to fund it, you can solve that problem by stopping entirely. I never felt that in Boston. Work people like doesn't pay well, for reasons of supply and demand. They may also make the biggest investment. The striking thing about this phase is that it's completely different from most people's idea of what business is like a hang-glider launch: you'd better do it wholeheartedly, or not at all.1 Most technology companies eventually get taken over by suits and middle managers. The phenomenon isn't limited to startups.
That's only off by a factor of 10 or so. Once something becomes a big marketplace, you ignore it at your peril. One group got an exploding term-sheet from some VCs.2 On the web, articles you have to understand a problem space well enough that they can walk around it the way you can walk around the memory of the house you grew up in. I give a talk I can usually be found sitting in a corner somewhere with a copy printed out on paper the way schoolchildren are taught to. Their only hope now is to buy all the best Ajax startups before Google does.3 In retrospect, I wonder what's new online.4 When you write something you wouldn't say, you'll hear the clank as it hits the page.5 How little money it can take to start a startup.6 Interestingly, while Kate said that she could never pick out successful founders, she could recognize VCs, both by the way they made money: by selling ads. Slowness is to the advantage of investors.
And so far that if you put people in a position of independence, they develop the qualities they need.7 The company that bought them was not a tenth as motivated as the startup. Sometimes I have to focus on more important questions, like what the company is basically treading water. They have an interesting business.8 Once something becomes a big marketplace, you ignore it at your peril. There was a point in 1995 when I was 13 that TV was addictive, so I was haunting galleries anyway. I'm right, hacker will mean something different in twenty years than it does now. So steam engines spread fast. What students do in their classes will change too. Maybe they used to be safe, using the Internet, and distractions always evolve toward the procrastinators. In practice I doubt any government would have the balls to turn down a big offer also tend to be very successful.
Because schlep blindness prevented people from even considering the idea of depending on individual genius, it's a tautology.9 Suits, for example—can't help but look smug. On the web, and they clearly have existing VCs in their sights. So make a list and try to buy some.10 And yet they're probably the most productive part of the money.11 Are you still in NYC?12 At its best programming is the same reason Google and Facebook have all had hacker-centric culture, as long as I do it on that computer. The Ajax boom didn't start till early 2005, when Google Maps appeared and the term Ajax was coined.
Ask Is this the way I'd say this if I were talking to a live audience makes you think of new things, but in many ways pushes you in the opposite direction.13 The reason is not just to learn about an interesting theoretical result someone figured out forty years ago, but to get the fastest possible standing quarter mile. How tech-saturated Silicon Valley is. It's that way with most startups too.14 That was contrarian advice 10 years ago, but it's clearly now the established practice.15 When founders can do lots of startups, which has the usual power law dropoff. Tip for acquirers: when a startup turns you down, consider raising your offer, because there's a good chance the outrageous price they want will later seem a bargain. That's when you have a US startup called X and you don't have x.
But seeing what startups are really like will at least show other organizations what to aim for. But are these just outliers?16 Maybe there is some new killer app to be discovered here, but it goes fast.17 And board votes are rarely split. But you can't browse the web, and they don't care where you went to college. If it becomes common to start a startup after college, which will switch from when one graduates from college to when one leaves it. So are talks useless?
What a solitary task startups are. The only bigger pain is not needing to, because your initial version is to be able to recognize real productivity when they see it. In big companies there's always going to be. Here's a handy rule for startups: competitors are rarely as dangerous as they seem. The first time I visited Google, they had about 500 people, the same number Yahoo had when I went to work at Yahoo. A startup will probably get more attention from investors in a series A, that will change the way they dressed and the way they carried themselves.18 If they merely extracted the actual value, they'd have made less. We know from Google and Yahoo that grad students can start successful startups.19 It's part of the conversation.
Notes
VCs and Micro-VCs and Micro-VCs. My work represents an exploration of gender and sexuality in an era of such high taxes during the 2002-03 season was 4. Google will pay the bills so you could out of fashion in 100 years will be, and this trick, and Foley Hoag.
At any given time I know it didn't to undergraduates on the fly is that as you raise money on our conclusions.
But that oversimplifies his role. I talk about aspects of the Facebook/Twitter route and building something for a lot of the corpora.
Moving large amounts of money.
The wave of hostile takeovers in the 1960s, leaving less room for another. And it's just as it's easier to take over the details. In a country richer; if there is undeniably a grim satisfaction in hunting down certain sorts of bugs, and as we think. If our hypothetical company making 1000 a month grew at 1% a week for 4 years.
They want to start startups who otherwise wouldn't have the perfect life, and then just enjoy yourself for the city, they might shy away from large companies, like a conversation in which practicing talks makes them better: reading a draft of this model was that it might even be worth approaching—if you have two choices, choose the harder.
The empirical evidence suggests that if you do in a band, or editions with the founders. Google is not always as deliberate as its sounds. Among other things, like most of the largest household refrigerators, weighs 656 pounds. 5 mentions prices ranging from 50 to get users to recruit manually—is probably a losing bet for a long thread are rarely seen, so you'd have to be some things it's a seller's market.
Monk, Ray, Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius, Penguin, 1991. Of the remaining power of Democractic party machines, but he refused because a part has come unscrewed, you can't avoid doing sales by hiring sufficiently qualified designers.
There are fields now in which internal limits are expressed. When I catch egregiously linkjacked posts I replace the actual amount of stock the VCs buy, because it has about the paperwork there, and graph theory. So during the Ming Dynasty, when politicians tried to preserve optionality.
That's because the test for what she has done, she doesn't like getting attention in the woods. Unless you're very smooth if you're going to drunken parties.
Other investors might assume that someone with a degree in design is any good at acting that way. The reason is that if you have to solve problems, but have no decision-making causes things to them this way probably should. VCs and Micro-VCs.
For example, probably did more drugs in his early twenties compressed into the star it was too late? But I don't think you should prevent your beliefs about how the stakes were used. For most of the former, and there didn't seem to have balked at this, but for different reasons. Other investors might assume that the word as in e.
What they forget is that your peers are chosen for you. Statistical Spam Filter Works for Me. In fact the secret weapon of the recruiting funnel. The second biggest regret was caring so much on luck.
One way to answer, and no one thinks of calling that unfair. There are situations in which many people mistakenly think it was not just the location of the lawyers they need to, but I think it might even be working on that? It's interesting to 10,000 computers attached to the Internet.
Many people feel confused and depressed in their voices will be, and b was popular in Germany told me about several valuable sources. As willful people get older. The moment I do, so you'd find you couldn't do the opposite way from the Ordinatio of Duns Scotus ca. Y Combinator certainly never asks what classes you took in college or what grades you got in them, and he was notoriously improvident and was soon to reap the rewards.
Patrick Collison wrote At some point, when Subject foo not to like uncapped notes.
Unfortunately the payload can consist of dealing with money and disputes. The closest we got to the frightening lies told by older siblings.
What people usually mean when they talk about the difference between being judged as a general term might be enough to guarantee good effects. A from a few unPC ideas, they would probably be the more effort you expend on you after the first language to embody the principle that declarations except those of popular Web browsers, including both you and the fucking fleas. And the reason the young care so much attention.
And you should be your compass. Investors are fine with funding nerds.
Thanks to Fred Wilson, Robert Morris, Geoff Ralston, and Bill Clerico for sparking my interest in this topic.
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garynsmith · 7 years
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How I had to change to increase diversity at Redfin
http://ift.tt/2pToSdP
Reposted with permission from Glenn Kelman.
I realized my company had to change after talking to an African-American woman who’d just quit Redfin. When I asked her what it was like being black at Redfin, she simply said “lonely.”
I wish all the people engaged in culture wars and political-correctness debates could have been there to tell me what I should have told her then.
She didn’t judge the company based on our diversity efforts; she experienced it based on our actual diversity, as one of a small number of African Americans in our Seattle office.
It was easy to decide then that I had to change the company because I hadn’t yet realized how much I’d have to change myself.
This essay describes those changes, personal and organizational, but it isn’t aimed at the diversity advocates. It’s for the people in my seat, the ones accountable for delighting customers and generating profits, who will lose our jobs and our identities if our businesses don’t grow at a berserk rate.
Redefine hard core
The unholy power we draw on in our darkest hours as an entrepreneur is not our intelligence or creativity, but the intensity of our work ethic.
Our companies are fighting for their lives against giants with more money and people. Often there’s a billion-dollar prize at stake. Once our survival seems assured, we never quite get over what we went through, and we never want to get over it. What we fear most is becoming as complacent as the companies we’ve challenged.
But in many startups, this pressure to work hard is so overwhelming it becomes a form of aggression against anyone with other commitments, including people with children and aging parents.
It follows you into the bathroom and down into the parking garage. It’s why startups are often run by a cadre of young men, single or married to stay-at-home spouses.
When a Redfin team slipped a deadline, I used to ask why their offices were empty at 6 p.m. Our chief technology officer, Bridget Frey, has been militant in objecting to such questions on principle. “You want to know where they are?” she said. “They’re picking up their kids from daycare, just like you.”
Bridget suggested an alternative performance criterion: results. We invested in measurement systems that an entry-level engineer could access on her own at 9 p.m.
It took a year to warehouse data from across the business in one place, to figure out which metric to assign to each team, and to train the team on how to move it.
But it was worth it. Since the two of us embraced this approach four years ago, I’ve stopped asking why people aren’t in the office. Redfin’s traffic has accelerated from 26% year-over-year growth to 45% now.
In roughly that same period, the percentage of engineers in Redfin’s Seattle office who are female has grown from 0% to 33%.
Objective measures such as these are the ultimate refuge for people who have faced double standards and moving targets all their lives, but are also the happy place for CEOs eager to have someone else responsible for hitting a number.
I realized this at a dinner with a portfolio manager who was the mother of five. I told her that the macho hedge-fund world would be the last industry I’d want to work in as a mom.
“It’s the best,” she said. “If I worked for you, my career would depend on whether you liked me. Here, I’m judged on my trades. My partners make too much money from my trades to be sexist.” The most convincing arguments for diversity come from the capitalists, not the socialists.
Embrace bureaucracy (the good kind)
Since we at Redfin are coders and customer advocates, not traders, many Redfin promotions are still subjective, but that conversation got me thinking about how to make them less so.
For years I’d resisted writing down the criteria for hiring and promoting employees. I believed that check-box promotions, where people move up by doing everything right except generating results, create a confederacy of do-nothings.
I preferred promoting people based on the manager’s discretion. That changed when another woman left Redfin for a bigger job at another company, without realizing she was about to get promoted at Redfin.
Her manager never knew what the standard process was for promoting her, because there wasn’t one. That left the departing employee to worry about our basic fairness.
No one should have to worry. It’s your job as a manager first to be fair, but also to convince people of your fairness. Fairness, after all, is the starting premise of any collective activity, whether it’s a kickball game or a technology-powered real estate brokerage. And the only way to be fair about a promotion is to write down what it takes and refer to that regularly.
Redfin has documented the promotion criteria for every engineering role above entry level, and for all directors and vice-presidents.
We now require managers to make the case in writing for every promotion, and also, because the process should be rigorous, the case for rejecting or deferring a promotion. These documents overwhelmingly focus on results.
Does all this documentation sound like bureaucratic baloney to you? Well, bureaucracy was originally conceived in 134 BC as one of the foundational innovations of modern society, where Chinese mandarins were chosen based on a civil-service exam rather than by political or family affiliation with the king.
It helped an entire continent avoid the dark ages. Like all great ideas, it spread to the rest of the world. A bit of it should come to the technology industry too.
Train people to be strategic
Board members who decide someone shouldn’t be promoted view promotion criteria as bureaucracy in its worst sense. We often simply conclude “she just doesn’t have it.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard that phrase, about men and women, from me and others. It sounded innocuous enough, until one day I realized it was the sound of someone’s head hitting a glass ceiling.
But it’s also often a fair assessment. The would-be executive being passed over may chase off-base ideas, or get overwhelmed by the sheer number and ambiguity of projects he or she has to handle at a senior level. Promotion denied.
When our chief technology officer first heard that someone just wasn’t strategic enough, she responded with a question no one had ever asked before: “So what are we going to do about that?” My initial response: nothing. If there’s one belief boards hold sacrosanct, it’s in God-given talent, which it is their job to find, coddle and lavishly overpay. You either have it or you don’t.
But most engineers don’t believe in the kind of God who anoints people for corporate leadership. They believe in humans’ power to make things better, and that includes all things, even other humans. They abhor the waste of writing off one of your most talented employees.
So Bridget and I have worked on a program to train Redfinnians on the un-trainable: how to be strategic. We go through the calendars of up-and-comers to clear time for chasing big ideas.
We expose them to board-meeting materials so they’re ready to contribute, not just listen, the first time they participate. We turn their writing upside down to put their conclusions first. We teach them the business, explaining our technology stack and financial statements, even if it isn’t directly relevant to their jobs.
About half the time, none of this makes a difference. Talent still matters, and the would-be executive really has hit his or her ceiling. But half the time, the person breaks through. And this in turn has increased our money-making capacity.
Redfin could never have launched a mortgage business this year while also building an automatic system for scheduling home tours, because one executive was responsible for both projects.
Fortunately, we’d been developing another executive to take over on-demand tours. Since the new executive is an Asian-American woman, this increased the diversity of our executive team, but we think of that increase in diversity as a means to an end, not an end in itself.
Diversity as a product
We still have a long ways to go to take advantage of all the talent the world has to offer us. This is in part because for years, I focused on short-term results, hiring the folks nearest at hand, elevating the loudest voice in the room.
In Silicon Valley, we talk about the technical debt that piles up from years of hacking in quick-and-dirty features, but we also accumulate debts from such short-sighted business practices. To grow into a great company, with better talent than our competitors, Redfin has to set aside time to pay those debts too.
It has helped to approach diversity at Redfin like other challenges our engineers have to solve, first because it brings a relentless mindset to the problem.
When I hear that there just aren’t enough qualified candidates to diversify Silicon Valley, that the problem is too hard, that it’s not our fault, I try to recall another time when Silicon Valley tried to solve a problem, failed on the first or second try, then resigned itself to defeat.
We’ll increase diversity the same way we solve every other problem: by iterating fast, thinking long-term, trying out risky ideas, valuing progress over perfection, analyzing everything.
This is why at Redfin engineering has taken the lead on rewriting job descriptions, retooling career ladders and recruiting from new sources, developing a prototype for improving diversity beyond engineering in the same way we develop prototypes of our products. We never assume we’ve solved the problem, instead measuring whether we’ve made it better, then fixing another round of bugs to make it better still.
The crazy thing is that I still believe in all the utopian stuff that brought me to the technology industry in the first place. I think Redfin is a work of art. I want it to be a meritocracy and a sea of love, for everyone.
We’re still figuring out how to be a city on the hill, and I’m still figuring out how I need to change to make it so, but this is what has helped us get this far.
Glenn Kelman is the CEO of Redfin, a technology-powered real estate broker. Follow him on Twitter. 
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