#well now she's gonna have to get a real job. wait tables or work retail or get new clients where she already works. idgaf

[florafey]

Thoughts on QoN

I started reading The Queen of Nothing on 19 November, 2019, and finished it about fifteen minutes ago on 23 November, 2019. Much as I did with The Wicked King, here are my thoughts while reading.

Spoilers, of course, are under the cut

- Oak is EIGHT??? I’ve been writing him like a three year old this whole time lol whoops sorry Oak

- Idk how to feel about this whole Vivi/Heather thing it smells like manipulation to me

- Lmao Jude’s a freelancer gotta love it

- I have now named my Goblin Brain Grima Mog how dope is that name fr

- Jude is an adrenaline addict and that’s a fact

- “It feels good to be fighting someone other than myself” SWEETIE CARDAN LOVES YOU

- Oooooooh I like Grima Mog I have a feeling she and Jude are going to cross paths again, maybe in Faeire

- (Also not surprised by Grima’s prediction of Cardan being dethroned soon that boy hates his job more than retail workers during the holidays)

- Oh look, three books in and Jude is finally admitting her feelings for Cardan

- I love the juxtaposition between Taryn in her pretty dress and Jude literally being two steps from death and not seeming to care lol

- Hmmmm okay I want to believe that Taryn killed Locke but couldn’t this just be a way to get Jude back into Faerie??? Idk why they would want that but I don’t trust Taryn 

- (Also I hope Locke is dead it would be Taryn’s one redeeming quality)

- ooooooohhhhhh shit Taryn’s PREGNANT AASHHSJSDKJDKSSKLDSJDJSJ HAHAHHAHAH this is too good oh no

- There’s literally zero chance of this plan of Jude pretending to be Taryn is going to go well. Or even close to well

- “Squeeze hug” awww that’s gonna be in a fic I promise

- This feels like The Parent Trap

- I’m sweating

- ITS CAAAAAAARDAAAAAAAN 

- Oh and his tail is out wow good for him

- Fuck a duck I love his tail

- And gold eyeliner, stellar cosmetic choice if I may say so

- Yep I knew it see here she goes off to his chambers he’s gonna find out eeeeekkkkk

- He knowsssssss he been knew of COURSE he been knew how could I be so stupid to think he didn’t know it was Jude this whole time I’m a clown and a fool

- Wow I’m kind of soft right now I love my babies and they clearly love each other but they’re being so ANGSTY AAAAAA

- “Wisdom is for the meek” uhh??? Madoc what are you talking about bud

- Ahhhh see now Jude is getting protective over her throne and crown, she’s blooming into a Queen....good shit for sure

- Also Jude better be the spy she was born to be now that she’s in Madoc’s camp and he thinks she’s Taryn

- Oh, she’s going foraging in the woods? By herself? Yeah, this is gonna go great, Oriana, really

- Yeah def can’t trust Grimsen although I love how Holly Black describes his work and how they’re beautiful but also deadly and cursed

- I’d like to hear more about how he tried to kill Cardan with that ruby earring and failed lol

- tHE GHOST??? What the hell is he doing here???? Am I the only one who just thought homeboy was dead?? Yikes lol

- Ugh Locke was such a Man good thing he’s rotting now

- “You’re scheming” “I’m always scheming” yeah ain’t that the truth bby

- uh oh MOMMY KNOWS heheheheheh

- Well no wonder Cardan turned out like this look at how he was raised, poor boy

- I mean, to be fair, look at Jude while you’re at it

- Oh hey it’s the Roach

- OH HEY ITS CARDAN

- Awwww Vivi went to Cardan because she thought Jude was in trouble and not only did he go to the Roach to go get Jude but he came too !! wow for people who can’t stand each other they make quite the gang 

- I love how inconvenienced Cardan seems by Locke’s death but not actually sad lol what a mood

- Breaking into Grimsen’s forge does NOT sound like a good idea no sir

- Ugh king and queen wow

- I cannot WAIT for Madoc to realize the Jude is the High Queen I cannot

- AYYYY MY GIRL GRIMA MOG what did I tell y’all, hmmm?

- Wow Madoc really just stabbed Jude like that and is going to leave her ??? the disrespect

- Ohh my god oh wow her blood is making flowers grow she’s a QUEEN wow look at that, you go bby

- Ah fuck Jude, you got set up by the bumb ass father you have

- ABAHAHAHAHHHAH this isn’t funny but Jude falling from the rafters onto the banquet table is on par with the beauty of Kaz and Wylan falling through the ceiling onto Van Eck’s dining room table heheheh

- @hollyblack can I breathe??? Shit girl

- Cardan said THATS MY WIFE 

- Wow Cardan washing Jude’s hands herself??? This boy is in loooove

- Oak and Jude’s maid playing Uno ????? Iconic

- “You’re generally terrifying” oh same Cardan

- So Jude really could have pardoned herself this whole time!!!!!! Come ON sis how didn’t you pick up on that WE picked up on it (don’t worry tho we know you’ve been stressed it’s okay you’re here now)

- And Cardan really expected her to pardon herself I have no words for this boy 

- Jude and Cardan’s relationship is so strange but at least it’s healthy now, you know?

- Look at Cardan being vulnerable and Jude not being mean to him for it 

- He’s being KIIIIIND WHAATTT

- “This is my room, and that’s my wife” AAHAHAHHAHH

- Cardan touches her hair oh my gooooooood i’m dying send help

- Can y’all tell I’ve been deprived lol

- Hahahahah Jude trashed Lady Asha, as she should 

- So I think I like QoN Cardan the most, although I did find Cardan in the first two books terribly entertaining to read about (Srry Jude)

- So Taryn seems to be behaving better than she did in the first two books, kind of being a badass, knowing the Ghost’s true name and all

Cardan likes hearing about slushy machines are you kiDDING ME????

- “Our marriage is an alliance” okay but you sleeping in his shirts isn’t, now, is it? Or how about him petting your hair? Or you thinking he looks cute in gold eyeliner?? lol Jude get real

- Aw I like this Fand/Jude freindship us girls gotta look out for each other

- Grima Mog more like Grima MOM lol

- “Big horns, little dude” LMAO HEATHER STOPP

- I’m enjoying Heather, I have to say

- Finally they kiss it only took TWO HUNDRED PAGES 

- oh guys they really like each other im soft

- Casual hand holding? yes 

- I can’t believe these are the same idiots who were trying to drown each other in the first book 

- look they’re trying to be vulnerable and without armor I’m gonna cry

- I feel quite uneasy about this Queen Suren girl who’s parents have her leashed somehow

- Oh wow fuck Grimsen am I right

- Oh SHIT Cardan really broke the crown like it didn’t mean shit to him...the development...the wisdom

- Cardan really said I want my WIFE and my PEOPLE 

- Oh wait fuck fuck fuck oh no stop wait

- Lmao Jude collapsing on the floor is literally me whenever I have to be in charge

- Okay there’s gotta be a way out of this, I didn’t mean it literally when I said Cardan was a snake

- Hey, Jude’s like, smart as shit, no?

- Hahahaha she basically said “Cardan is like, 90% of my impulse control”

- I love how Taryn is hyping Jude up throughout this while shitshow, I love how the two of them have developed past their book one probems

- The Bomb teasing Jude about the dust on her skirts made my day

- Look at Jude really having healthy realtionships with the women around her, I’m so proud of my little murder gir

- Nicassia better come in clutch here, I don’t trust Jarel or Nore not one bit

- Uhhh that story Heather told about the snake that wanted to marry the princess made me howl with laughter and I don’t think it was supposed to

- Vivi got Cardan a snowglobe that says “Congratulations on your promotion” for his coronation gift and he kept did DID EVERYONE HEAR ME I SAID VIVI-

- Oh damn Kaye alright no need for all that

- Ohhhh I had totally forgot about the dress in book one that Jude ordered but received a different one instead... Cardan sent it?? wild 

- Okay I hope Jude knows what she’s doing but when has she ever not

- The UNDERSEA HEEEEEELLL YEAH

- Oh look and Cardan!!!!!!! Yeah Jude knew what she was doing that’s my girl

- Awwww look at that hug wow the development these two have been through is unreal I’ll keep saying it 

- “I knew little else, but I always knew you” KILL ME

- Oh wow mortals and mingling more with the folk this is good

- Robert of Jersey lmaoooo

- So the Ghost and Taryn ??? Kind of funny but I’m kind of here for it

- I’m literally so close to tears and I’m not kidding they’re having a fucking WEDDING CELEBRATION in the MORTAL WORLD with a banner that says “Congrats Newlyweds” yeah I’m crying now thanks a lot Holly

- Cardan adjusts his paper crown in the microwave reflection so it’s skewed......I don’t think I can react any more I really afjsflsdk

-Wow that was better than anything I could have imagined, hoped for, dreamed of

- The character development, the plot, the resolution, EVERTHING was astounding I’m blown away

This was long as shit If you made it this far, I appreciate you lol. Now go read all three Folk of the Air books again. Go now

#the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #jude x cardan #jurdan #holly black

[businessbusy-love]

Reason why you need to manufacture your products yourself

we're going to discuss why you need to manufacture your products yourself now I know I've been talking a lot about manufacturing in the previous videos any advantages of how much money you can make by yourself and that you don't need anybody else in this day and age but Want to go into a little detail here so let's say you do have a simple plastic product that you want to make you don't make it yourself what you do is you design it yourself and then you farm out all the injection molding processes you're not going to bring in some giant injection molding machine to get start edit's a waste of time you don't have the space. You have to know the business current affairs to be success.

Those machinesare really expensive they take a lot of skill to run you need to make the moldsand it goes on and on and on the electric bill the employees you don'twant all that you're an inventor looking to make good money in the simplest waypossible I call people lazy for coming up with their ideas and then not doingaging with them other than trying to sell them to other people but the reality of it is we also don't want to work too hard either we want to work efficiently for the maximum amount of money and we do that by manufacturingthem ourselves think about this even a 30 $40 item through business news. 

If you can make $10 on eachitem after you've shipped it out the door to your distributor reseller oreven retail imagine how much money you can make simply just selling you know to300 units to 300 units at a $10 profit each is two to three thousand dollarsfor very little effort if all you're doing is slapping labels on and you needa bedroom or a basement or a garage somewhere just to store a few of them asthey arrive from whoever's manufacturing them for you this is a win win it shouldbe a dream come true for you guys. 

It's the way I started when I first started Iwas making a hundred pieces out of aluminum at a time I had a bunch oflittle aluminum parts I would have a made at the machine shop take them overto the anodized pick him up from there bring him homeand my wife and I would sit at a table in my garage and we'd put them togetherit really it was just a weekend and part time job but here's a thing about whenyou price your products correctly now those products of mine were sellingfor two three four hundred dollars apiecethey took me about 10 15 minutes to assemble but I was doubling triplingquadrupling what it was actually costing me to make them so when I was sellingthem at a few hundred dollars and only selling twenty thirty of them a week Iwas making thousands of dollars I mean literally out the gate. 

I started makingfifty a hundred thousand dollars with my first it was one product that I didn'tspun off to two products to raise the revenue a little bit more that went tothree then went to four five six products and then that was it and I didthat for god I think five six seven years by the time I was done with thatsimple product that only cost me a few thousand dollars for that initial run ofa hundred pieces I made close to a million dollars in the life of that oneseries of product that was it that was a five year run and a million dollars overfive years is pretty darn good when you consider. 

I was working fulltime in the movie industry and then coming home and just doing that as aside thing instead of watching TV those products they took me two days to makein my garage the original prototypes and then a fewhours to drill out the parts and also go over to the machine shop and talk withthem but once the machine shop had it in her hands they did all the workit was easy it was just me picking up the parts when they were done takingthem to the anodized ER waiting a few days getting the colored parts back andyou've seen anodizing in the previous videos I talked about it but you cangoogle it or look here on YouTube if you're not sure what I mean it's ahardening colouring process that they use onaluminum and some other materials it's actually a ceramic coating which isinteresting in fact aluminum becomes non conductive after you anodized it whichis really interesting because of the coating it's a process that you justdrop the parts off you wait you wait for them to be done you pick them up youtake everything home you buy your screws whatever else you need you keep them inbags on a shelf and you assemble them as you go it's kind of a no-brainer but nowyou can control your destiny with your products and here's the other thing weneed to talk about this. 

And I'm not gonna go just pro-america here I'm gonnatalk about America and I'm gonna talk about Europe and I'm even gonna talk tomy Indian friends because I seem to have a lot of like 5% of the people on hereare from India and I know they're coming from croire and that's one of the othervideos that I showed you on how you can use Quora to attract video views so Iknow that about 5% is Indian you guys have the opportunity in India with allyour little manufacturing facilities around you to make anything you wantcheaply and then put them on eBay and sell them worldwide and then us inAmerica forget about what they have available to them we have everythingavailable to us in every state I will be surprised if you guys in any state inthe United States cannot find a machine shop and an anodized er I guarantee youcan find both and if you need screws and all that other stuff you order it onlineit's you know that everything's right there it comes in the mail here. 

If Iorder from McMaster Claire in the morning my screws are here within fourhours so you have no excuse in America everything is available to you in aninstant it's really convenient and great for you to grow your business now allyou need is a small space in your apartment or house realistically couldbe a closet I mean my wife you know she didn't mind the garage but as thebusiness started to grow it took over the house so she would complain aboutthat but so I did have to move beyond thehouse pretty quickly but it was easy for years just to stock boxes on the shelvesand ship them after about five years of doing that I was looking for the biggeryou know the bigger revenue and that's when I came up with the product attractstick the last one I was talking about was hobby camp and that's no longeraround so I really didn't mention it but track stick you can go to the websitewhen I started thinking about track stick it was a couple years after 9/11and I knew there was some concern in the world about terrorism so that's whatgave me the idea for track stick it was a product that I designed completelyhands-off when I made track stick I knew I wanted it to be big and there wereonly two ways I could do that one way would have been to invest in equipmentlike you see here but this isn't even really high speed equipment this is justfor me to do small batch runs when we're talking high speed thousands of boardsyou need much bigger pick-and-place machines and I didn't want to get intoall that I'm in California I didn't want the rent the electricity to theemployees all the insurance all the retirement expenses the medical and itgoes on and on and on I was young I was like got 32 years old. 

I wanted to stillbe able to have fun travel the world it's what you want to do it's up to youif you want that responsibility I know a lot of guys that just drive off of thatI didn't want that I didn't want the risk of going out of business I didn'twant the risk of not being able to pay the rent those types of things but Icould tell you one thing I learned if you do it you will figure out a way topay the bills no matter how much more they are than the bills you have nowit's an amazing thing I've been saying I'm worried about the rent or themortgages or all the other costs for 20 years now I haven't gone bankrupt yetin fact I've done quite well I may not have you know the huge facilities likeyou see on some of these youtube channels with the manufacturing but mostof them aren't in California where real estate is really expensive and there area few like one of the guys I love is Titan C&C look him up he talks aboutmanufacturing in in America I could not take the pressureof his responsibilities he's actually talked about how he's going bankrupt afew time his credit is bad he's nearly lost his businesses I I would I wouldlose my hair that. 

I love it would all turn gray first and that's not what I'mlooking to do it's up to you if you have the money if you have the balls to beable to put up with that go for it I don't have it and I'm not ashamed toadmit that I don't have that kind of risk taking ability I tend to just do itlittle baby steps at the time and as I make profits pay my taxes that's anotherthing when you make money taxes are coming so don't forget that I can't tellyou how many Kickstarter projects I've seen go under not because they didn'tship a product but because of the taxes you and you're an inventor you're abusinessman too this is another thing we will talk about it in the future but notonly are there responsibilities for bills the taxes can be hugeand in California believe me they come knocking they come looking for youso you need to think about that that as you become successful you are a targetfor the taxman so prepare for it and these are the realities of manufacturingand it's really not manufacturing we're talking about in most cases here we'retalking about micro manufacturing we're talking about 100 200 500 pieces at atime we're talking about not big investments for you guys I know theprices if you do all aluminum products if you do injection molded parts you canmany times get in depending on your product to three to five thousanddollars at the most for your first product I think that's a good risktolerance and then as you grow you take on a little more maybe a fifteenthousand dollar product here's another hint so my most successful products andthis has been pretty consistent I have products that have cost meanywhere from $2,000 to make up to a quarter of a millionand I will tell you a little secret my most successful products this is true mymost successful products have cost me anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 to makenow I have made hundreds of thousands of dollars in mistakes along the way takingthose $3,000 products to market I don't have to make those mistakes anymore butI did in the beginning I mean my track stick technically cost me less than$10,000 to invent but I blew twenty thousand dollars of my own money makingmy first mold that was useless because I wound up hiring people that had nevermade molds before and they were like two thousand miles away and here's thekicker so I blew twenty thousand dollars on that mold and I was so upset about itand I started googling there was a mold maker within walking distance of myhouse in California then. 

I wound up hiring and I think he did my first moldit was about 15,000 I told him I went broke for 20 grand could he please makemy next fold for 15 and I promised that I would give him more business which Idid I made about 10 molds with the guy it was just incredible the learningexperience and how much I could have saved if I knew ahead of time but that'slife and that's why we talked about you need to get out there and you need tostart talking to these people and learning the processes so you don't makethe same mistakes that I made in the beginning and if you are learningsomething from these videos I hope you're subscribing you're leavingcomments below you're giving me a thumbs up because I want to help I also want togrow this channel and you know I want to be here for you guys because it'sexciting as you guys are making things and talking to me it really encouragesme to keep going even when I have such a low view countright now thanks to YouTube and its new algorithms but we'll getthat if you just keep on leaving me comments so that I know were punchingthrough the slow views I don't care how many people are viewing this what I careabout is that the ones that are viewing this channel are learning something andimplementing it that's what you need to do because if you just start doing somemicro manufacturing invest a few thousand maybe and I know this in Indiayou guys are probably investing a few hundred the equivalent of a few hundreddollars with your friends and they're making you product so anybody can dothis in America it's gonna cost us a little more because we do have differentlaws and restrictions that don't allow us to be that cheap Europe the same wayEurope's going to be a little more expensive for manufacturing than inAmerica and definitely more than it's gonna cost in Asia but it doesn't matterit depends on what your interests are where you want to make your productswhat your commitment is I am like 100 percent make it in America butunfortunately in California because of all the environmental laws and all theother restrictions most of the time I get prices that are three times the costof what they are to make in Asia so you know if they can't compete you can'tjust say oh okay. 

I'll pay three times more that three timesrepresents the entire cost of my product which means that they've raised theprice by three times at the same C shops my retail is going to double my cost tothe distributors is probably going to triple I'm gonna price myself right outof the market so when it comes to manufacturing you'regonna have to pick all different places if you know something's cheap to makearound the corner do it around the corner don't send it to Asia you know doit locally but at the same time if you're good if you have a part that'smachined and let's say it'll cost you 75 dollars to make in the US but China willsell to you for $30 a piece in a quantity of 100 where do you think youhave to go you're going to have to go to Asia toChina and I'm going to mention Titan C&C again because I'm watching his videosthis guy gets me pumped up I mean he's different he's differentjust like I'm different big guy big strong guy I'll put a link down belowand he he's a genius I know a genius when I see one this guy's so smart andthe way he looks he may not even realize how smart he is because he talks aboutmachining like I've never heard it talked about before and I know machinisthe has beautiful shops Titan C&C has shops that you could eat off the floorseverything is pristine when I look at his machines they shine there's no chipsthere's no oil they're beautiful and it's not because he's not using them andthey're brand new this guy loves what he's doing and he's pumping me upbecause I gotta say he's making stuff in the US I'm saying make stuff in the USwe're both doing it and you can too and if you're in Asia make it in Asia ifyou're in Europe make it in Europe make your commitment to the people around youthat's all that's important it's not about nationalism it's aboutmanufacturing because manufacturing is what made America great we all need tomanufacture if we want to see our countries do well so look at Titan andwhat he says the only way that America is going to compete in the world is ifthe machines make the parts quicker we already know that especially inCalifornia labor is expensive and the liability that goes with itit is prohibitive for companies. 

it does create a burden for companies so what hesays is you hire less people but you make the machines run quicker you buynewer machines you program so they're fastyou make efficient ways to manufacture so you can get more product out the doornow I should listen to this advice because the stuff that I run on thesemachines many times gets back ordered by days by weeks it's frustrating for mebecause I can never predict the amount of sales that I'm going to get and nomatter what I put on the Shelf it seems to sell out so you can actually and thisis a weird thing about business even though my profits on purpose are high Ican actually put myself out of business by making too much product yes I knowthat people are going to buy it but at what cost to me in terms of stocking iton the shelves Titan talked about this too we're a company said we need to stopour orders but he kept going and these were expensive millions of dollars inparts it was actually a hundred million dollar contract you can look at hisvideo he just said you know what they're gonna come back and they're gonna ordermore so I'll just start keep making them for weeks maybe months he went on and hemade all these parts they never came back for them so when you do this yougot to watch how many you put on yourself manufacturing is a game youjuggle how many do I make versus how many I think are going to sell not howmany are actually selling because remember there's a delay after orderparts from Asia I order parts from down the street they all take time to come inthen there's processes like anodizing painting whatever processes you add tothat they all take time and god forbid one of those manufacturers get busybecause then the time that you normally get them in becomes longer so when itcomes to manufacturing start thinking of a plan because that's how you're gonnamake your money you.

If you need many business blogs like this then you can visit VISHLOGIC BUSINESS.

#business #business guide #bussiness news #vishlogic

[rocket-roach]

Bruce Wayne has to go undercover working at Bat Burger. He hates his life. He tells no one, but somehow, everyone finds out anyway.

allow me to share some of my experiences working in retail pharmacy through bruce suffering in fast food

word count: 2164

“I’llbe dark for the next few weeks. Do not try to contact or find me. I can’tstress this enough,” Bruce said as he spun in his chain to face his assembledkids. “Gotham is resting on all of your shoulders. I know you can handle it. So,take care of her, okay? I’ll be back whenever the mission is done.”

Dicknibbled on his lip as his eyes flashed to the batsuit encased in glass.

“Do youwant me to go out as Batman?” He asked as his brothers and sisters eyestraveled to the offending case.

“No,”Bruce stood. “That won’t be necessary. We’ve gotten them quiet, and they shouldstay that way for a while. But don’t start any big cases until I get back. Thisis just patrol.”

Jasonpulled a pack of blue Camels out which was quickly followed by his Zippolighter. He lit up, blowing a smoke ring towards the roof of the cave. “What’sthe mission?”

“Stopsmoking in the cave. It upsets the bats. Also, that’s classified.”

“Classifiedfrom family?” Tim asked as he headed towards the fire extinguisher.

“I gethow the Justice League feels now,” Steph added.

“We’llkeep Gotham safe,” Dick said as Tim sprayed Jason with the fire extinguisher.

Withthe arrival of Bruce’s third decade of his vigilante career, he was getting damngood at putting on wigs and applying fake beards. He pulled the carefullyrumpled and wrinkled big box store button up from his suitcase and lookedaround at the crappy bedroom he’d rented in the larger, shittier two bedroomdeep within Gotham. He’d found this place after scouring Craigslist. It was 750square feet, with a gunk covered stove, blackened oven, and dish filled sink.Additionally, the bathroom appeared to have been designed in the 1920’s andthen had never been cleaned. His roommate was one Isaiah Addams.

Arecent grad from Gotham University, Isaiah was a country boy trying to make itbig in the big city. He was working at Big Belly Burger as well as a dive bardown the street. Isaiah was simple, ineffective, and for the sake of this case,an ideal roommate. But Isaiah only knew Bruce as Paul Scott, a down on his luckrecent divorcee who was out a wife, a job, and a house.

“HeyPaul?” Isaiah asked as Bruce finished checking over the resume he printed.

“Yeah?”

“Areyou uh, hungry? My friend Deb recommended this ramen place down the road. Shesaid I needed to try real ramen. I guess Maruchan isn’t the gold standard.”

“Thankyou, but I think I’ll pass. I need to save money until I can find a job.”

“Yourloss, man. By the way, Bat Burger is hiring. They’ll take anyone with a pulse.Have a good night.”

Brucewaved as Isaiah grabbed his keys, and slammed the rickety front door shut.Bruce ran a hand through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh. The apartmentreeked like the backed-up sewer that ran beneath it, and the stench of sewerwater was helping Bruce get further into character.

Thenext day found Bruce sitting in the chaotic closet that was the manager’soffice. Zach was a burly man, nearly too large to fit in the room. With eachmovement, the black swivel chair groaned.

“Yourresume’s impressive,” Zach started. “But you don’t have any food serviceexperience.”

“I’m aquick learner. I have some retail, customer service experience. To be honest,working in food is something I’ve always wanted to try. I’m always on time.”

“Youlive close?”

“Justdown the block.”

Zachsighed as he placed the resume on the television tray that was apparentlyserving as a desk. “Well, jobs yours. You can start today. Janey can starttraining you. You just missed the lunch rush, but by dinner we’ll have youflipping burgers.”

Janeywas a single mom of three, with only a GED and a 1990 silver Toyota Camry toher name. Her teeth were yellow from the cigarettes she’d been smoking sincesixteen and her hair had been permed into oblivion. But she was patient, whichmade his training go exceptionally.

“Alright,so Paul. You’re gonna get complainers. Old people, mainly. They’ll throw a fitif you so much as look at the burger wrong. The easiest thing to do is justredo it. But sometimes, they’ll throw a fit for a voucher. Cashiers can’t give‘em vouchers, and they know that. They’re gonna scream for the manager andZach’s always here. Just get Zach, sweetie. It’s less of a headache.”

Paulnodded, filing all this information away. He looked around at the fewcustomers, each sitting in their own booth, chowing down on the grease filledburgers with relish. Janey carried on through the training, showing him how tooperate the registers, which codes to call when he needed change, or when therewas too much cash in register. Then she moved him back into the kitchen. Oldfridges and even older ovens lined the walls, covered with black grease. He wasafraid to look into the grease traps.

Janeypassed him off to Daniel, the cook for the midshift.

“Youever flip burgers before?”

“No,”he answered honestly.

“Youabout to learn.”

Eventually,Daniel banished Paul from the kitchen. He had burned just one too many burgers,and that was how he found himself standing back at the register next to Jackie.It was five o’clock.

Brucewatched as the parking lot began to fill up with the cars of the people justgetting off work from Gotham’s downtown. Janey took a steadying breath, and thesmell of her most recent cigarette filled Paul’s nostrils.

DickGrayson walked in, his eyes rimmed by dark circles.

“Lemmeget Bat-beef deluxe with cheese and no tomatoes, please, Janey.”

“Surething, hon. You want to Jokerize that?” Janey asked as she typed in the order.

“Pleaseand thank you,” Dick narrowed his eyes as he took in Paul. “Haven’t seen you inhere before.”    

“He’s anew hire. Name’s Paul. Little shy but got a good head on his shoulders. Paul, Iwant you to meet Dick. He’s a cop.”

Dick’seyes were still narrowed.

“Paul,huh?”

“Uh,yes sir. Today’s my first day.”

“Anyoneever tell you, you kind of look like Bruce Wayne?”

 Afterthat, and a few more days of training, Paul offered to take theovernight shift. As he wiped down the tables, counting the customers in therestaurant, the amount of food they’d ordered, he decided that there was no waythis franchise was making enough money to stay open twenty-four hours a day andpay workers and other bills. When he was back in his mold-ridden apartment, headded notes to the ever-growing file he kept stashed underneath his mattress.He dressed in the ill-fitting batsuit and began his trek towards his job.

Theyellow streetlamps were bright enough to see the sidewalk, but not brightenough to illuminate the cracks and uneven slabs. He had a few skinned knees toprove it. But tonight, had been fall free. He stretched his arms above hishead, his neck cracking loudly as Sal, a regular, stomped back up to theregister.

Heslammed a half-eaten Mister Freeze dog onto the counter.

“I onlygot half a dog!”

Brucewatched as the ketchup oozed. “I gave you the full dog you ordered, Sal.”

“Don’t‘Sal’ me, Paul. You only gave me halfa dog. I want my money back. And a voucher. You know what? Get me your manager.I want to talk to Zach.”

“Hewent home for the day.”

“Thencall him! I can wait.”

“It’stwo in the morning. Zach won’t be in till about eight. I can get you Jazz,she’s working now.”

“No. Iwant to speak with the store manager. I want you fired.”

Brucealso wanted to be fired.

“I’llbuy his dog,” a deep voice that Bruce knew very well, cut in. “Sal, do you wantanother Freeze dog?”

“No!”

Redhood turned to face Sal, his hands drifting towards his hip holsters.

“I’mgonna ask one more time.”

 Brucequickly picked up on Janey’s tactic of going outside for a smoke. He didn’t smoke;maintaining his peak physical form and all that, but getting the fresh, sewagescented air of Gotham did help clear his head. Usually. When Jason wasn’tsmoking a cigarette three feet from him.

“Howlong?” Jay asked.

“Howlong what?”

“Don’tplay dumb, old man. I know who you are. Who you really are.”

“I’mPaul,” Bruce wanted to yell at him.

“Okay, Paul,” he said after blowing a smokeright. “Why are you here?”

“I needmoney,” Paul was starting to get a little pissed.

Jasonlaughed as he crushed the butt under his boot. “I need money, too. Yet, Ididn’t realize we were so destitute that you had to pick up a side gig at BigBelly.”

“I haveto go back to work,” Bruce’s face was pinched. If his damn kids didn’t stop,the whole thing would be blown. “Have a good day, sir.”

“’Sir’,” Jason started laughing. “You’re agoddamn hoot, Paul.”

 Paulwas locked into his room, buried in his notes when he heard Isaiah shouting forhim. He ignored him, hoping that Isaiah would shut up and let him work inpeace. It usually worked in the past. Usually. But soon the sounds of a scufflereached his bedroom.

Aheadache bloomed behind his eyes as he heard Tim Drake shouting his way toPaul’s room.

“Listen,kid, I dunno ho yougot in here, but you have to leave!”

“Isaiah,right? I just really need to talk to Bru- Paul. He’s behind… on his loanpayments.”

“Youlook like you’re twelve!” Isaiah said.

“Internship,”Tim fired back before he jimmied open Paul’s lock.

Paulhad been desperately trying to shove all his papers under the mattress, butthis damn kid was too fast. He darted over, snatching up as many papers as hecould. Bruce lunged for him. Tim dodged.

“Goddamnit!What part of ‘Dark, do not contact me,’was unclear to you all?” Bruce nearly snarled.

“It wasfine until we realized you’re trying to dethrone the Falcones. They knowsomeone is working against them from the inside, Bruce,” Tim waved as hescanned Bruce’s notes. “You’re writing as Paul, not Bruce. There are key factsmissing from this case—”

Brucewalked over to Tim. He grabbed the back of the boy’s shirt, and bodily liftedhim into the air. It was only then that Tim saw the anger bubbling in Bruce’seyes. He’d thought his dad would have been happy to see him after so many weeksgone, but Bruce just tired, frustrated, and bordering on pissed.

“Gohome,” he said lowly. “Tell everybody else this area is off limits. If I see any of you, you’ll all begrounded for the rest of your lives. Clear?”

“Crystal,”Tim gulped, slowly curling into a small ball.

   Paulwas coming up on two months on being undercover. After his conversation withTim, his children’s visits had cut down significantly. But tonight, as he threwthe heavy black trash bags into the dumpster behind the building, he noticedone small shadow that was out of place. He wiped his hands on his pants legs, looking up at his daughter.

“Cass.”

Theshadow disappeared for a moment, then appeared right in front of him. Her darkeyes were staring intensely at him; and with that Bruce realized she was aboutto ream him out. Her hands began flying, and it took every ounce of Bruce’sstrength not to immediately head home and start packing up his stuff.

“Iknow. I’m nearly done.”

“You’relying. To me,” she said.

“I’llkeep trying till you buy it,” He smiled sheepishly.

“Even Icould tell that you were,” Damian’s voice reached him from above.

Brucelooked up, mildly impressed with his youngest’s ability to sneak. He wasgetting better. Glacial blue eyes flickered to Cass, and she was grinningproudly.

“Oh,god. You two have been teaming up,” he groaned. “Fine, two more weeks. I’llhave it all wrapped up.”

It didn’ttake two weeks. It didn’t even take one. The Falcone’s goons blew up hisapartment as he was leaving for work that night. Isaiah, thankfully, had gone outto sing in the subway. Bruce sighed as the flaming remnants of his notesfloated to the ground. He went to work after giving a statement to the policeand ignoring the way Gordon kept staring at him.

The doorcreaked open.

Insidesat Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Orphan, Robin and Spoiler. Hog tied at theirfeet sat the Falcone family, gagged and growling.

“Paul,”Nightwing smiled. “Did you know you were working for the most notorious crimefamily in Gotham?”

#requests #writing this was therapeutic lmfao #batman #bruce wayne #nightwing #dick grayson #red hood #jason todd #red robin #tim drake #orphan #cassandra cain #robin #Damian wayne #OC #Bat Burger #crack #bruce wayne experiences true customer service for the first time in his life #and boy does he hate it! #thanks again mem! #memorydragon

[teratalia]

Empusa girlfriend x reader

Hi it's been quite a while since I last posted so here have an attempt at a lil bit of horror monster love. I'm gonna be real with you, ok - what we've got here is a mix of actual Greek myth and some of my own additions so is this 100% faithful to myth? No. But did I have fun? Absolutely.

Quick notes: nb reader, some violence, blood, character death, my attempt at a somewhat creepier story (sorry in advance)

*****

You open your eyes, vision clouded over in an odd shade of orange. The scent of cinnamon and honey wafts over you as a beautiful woman climbs into bed with you, straddling you. Realizing that this must be a dream, you decide to just go with it. With a smile, you lean up to kiss her, letting your hands tangle in her ash silver hair.

She giggles against your lips, pressing her slender body against yours, hands wandering over your chest and shoulders. The woman breaks the kiss, trailing her lips down your face to nip at your neck. Your hand idly roams over her, reaching down, and you don't know why your fingertips feel so cold. Looking down, you see that the thigh where you hand is resting is shiny, reflecting the moonlight. It's made of coppery metal.

As you realize this, the hand in her hair suddenly burns and you reel back with a shout, pushing her away. Your palm and fingers are charred - you look up and see that her hair has burst into flames, but the woman is completely unfazed. Instead, she grins widely, and that's when you see the long fangs poking over her bottom lip.

You try to jump off the bed, try to get away, but you're frozen in fear. The woman crawls back over to you, opening her mouth wide. Before you can stop her, she lunges forward and sinks her teeth into your neck.

You wake up with a scream, looking around the room wildly. There's no one there. The suspicious shadow in the corner is just a pile of clothes flung carelessly over a chair. Taking a shaky breath, you slip back under the covers, pressing a hand to your neck and making sure there's nothing there. That dream felt so terribly real…

You can barely fall back asleep, and it feels like seconds later the alarm clock is blaring in your ears, urging you up. You sigh and force yourself to go start your day.

What a terrible thought to have stuck in your mind as you get ready for a first day of a new job. You grumble to yourself as you get ready and prepare a cup of coffee, but you're determined to not let it get to you. If only it was one of those nightmares that you promptly forgot upon waking up, but no, of course not. You knew it would be in the back of your mind all day.

*****

Regardless, you get to work early and start your day with a smile. It's a retail job at your local mall that pays more than minimum wage and you're actually pretty excited to start. You don't really mind working with customers, it's just the annoying and rude ones that make life difficult. For the most part, you know that your job will probably just start with folding clothes and answering simple questions.

Your hunch is right, and after meeting your coworkers, you follow your new manager around and shadow her as she works.

"Quick question, Miss Heath," you say.

"Oh, honey, just call me Eliane." She smiles at you and for a second your brain short circuits, just like it always does when talking to pretty women. Naturally light brown skin, a killer smile, what's not to like? She flips long black hair over one shoulder and captures you in her brown-eyed stare. "What is it?"

"I-I was just wondering, will you need me to package and send deliveries of inventory to other stores?"

"You seem like such a go-getter, and I really like that." Eliane smiles again and you nearly drop the clothes you're holding. "Yes, that will be part of your job later, and I can show you how to do that today. Sound good?"

All you can do is nod in response. You can't help but wonder how you're going to be able to work without getting a full-fledged crush on your manager, and throw yourself into your work. Before the day is done, you've already managed to sell quite a few clothes and accessories, and you've helped plenty of customers. Your coworkers pat you on the back and Eliane nods approvingly.

"With a work ethic like that, you'll be looking at a promotion before you know it." She's taller than you, and leans down to add, "I've got a good feeling about you."

You nod jerkily and hastily clock out, heading back home. You're halfway home before you realize that Miss Eliane, when she leaned down to whisper in your ear, smelled a lot like honey. She liked tea, and always had a mug of it nearby, so that's what that smell was.

Shaking that ridiculous thought out of your head, you continue to walk. Thankfully the mall is actually a short walk from your apartment, so you don't need to drive or catch public transport. The only problem is warding off creeps in the street.

As you walk, you think that you hear another set of footsteps following you, but when you spin around, there's no one there. You reach into your pocket and grip your keys, holding them so that they poke out from between your fingers, and walk a bit faster. Nothing else happens, and you don't hear anything else, but you're still relieved to reach your apartment safe and sound.

*****

During the following weeks, you get used to your new job and get to know your coworkers. Your favorite by far is Adrian, who's a very laid back guy. However, when he needed to work, he was so charming and great at getting people to buy things that they didn't even know they needed.

"How do you even do that, Adrian?" You ask enviously, watching a customer head off with twice as much as they wanted. "That must be a skill."

"Oh, you don't know? Just bat your eyelashes and give them puppy dog eyes," says your other favorite coworker, Rose. It took a while to get to know her, with her customary deadpan stare, but now you know that her teasing is all in good fun. "They won't be able to resist your persuasion then."

Adrian just laughs, leaning against the wall behind the register. "She's not far off, actually. But more than puppy dog eyes, try to gently persuade them. I call it suggesting, like say they want...this bracelet." He reaches over you to grab a bracelet from the display next to the registers. "And see, these earrings match, right?" Again, he reaches right past you to pick them up, his hand brushing your shoulder. "There's no way the customer can leave without the matching set."

"Dude, those aren't actually a set though." Rose casually leans against the table next to you, your arms touching.

"Of course they're not. But the customer doesn't need to know that."

"Ooh, what a great strategy. I'm so glad I can learn from the master," you tease.

Adrian puts the jewelry back. "Laugh all you want, but I can guarantee results."

Just then, the phone rings. You glare at it, as you hate answering the phone but you know it's something you need to do.

"Don't worry, I got it." Rose grabs it and answers, still very close to you.

By now, you know that your coworkers are a little touchy-feely at times, but it doesn't really bother you. It only feels a little weird when Eliane is around, because she always stares disapprovingly and says something about workplace conduct.

That night, as you walk home, you hear other footsteps. Since the very first night you walked back, you hadn't heard a second set of footsteps, and it terrifies you. Clutching your keys in your fist just like last time, you pick up the pace, hurrying home. This time, though, the person catches up to you. They grab you around your shoulders and start pulling you backwards. You scream and try to fight, but their grip on your arms is too tough to break.

"Just stop struggling and I won't hurt you," they hiss into your ear. "You're in danger."

"What are you talking about?" Any attempts to hit them go ignored.

You feel them lean down, hear them take a deep breath. "I can smell it on you, that scent...Don't go to your job anymore or bad things will happen."

"You know where I work? You stalker!" You cry, trying and failing to escape their grasp, not even bothering with how creepy it was that they sniffed your hair.

"You don't understand. It was the only way..."

Moments later, they stop talking and their hands fall away, releasing you. Without a pause, you jump away, ignoring the assailant's yell to wait, and you run.

The yells turn into wordless screams. You run and you don't look back.

Once at home, you can't stop shaking. Deciding that you can't handle anything else that night, you just change into pajamas and go straight to bed.

*****

The next day, you wake up late from a dreamless sleep and have to rush to get to work on time. Without really looking, you grab a shirt and toss on yesterday's pants and fly out the door, barely making it to work and clocking in.

"Wow, you look like hell," says Adrian. "You feeling okay?"

You wave off his concern. "I'm good, rough night is all. I'll be fine."

"If you say so." Rose doesn't look like she believes you, but lets it go.

"Good morning, you three," says Eliane, coming out of her office. Seeing your slightly disheveled appearance, her brow knits together. "Are you okay? I can call someone else to cover your shift if you need to sit out today."

You shake your head stubbornly. "Thank you, Eliane, but I'm fine. I am," you insist, glaring at Adrian's and Rose's skeptical looks. "Don't worry about me."

"Very well. But you let me know if you need to head home early, yes?" Eliane reaches forward to pat your shoulder, but before she can touch you she flinches and quickly draws her hand back. "If you need me I'll be in my office." And she walks away.

"Well, that was weird," mutters Rose.

You shrug and get to work setting up the window displays. Distracting yourself with work seems effective, because you barely think about the previous night.

Eventually you stop to take a lunch break, heading to the mall food court as you always do. When you sit down with your food, you feel something in your pocket for the first time. Reaching in, you pull out a thin iron chain from which a strange wooden pendant dangles. It looks like an evil eye, but instead of shades of blue it's painted black and shades of red.

"What is this…?" you mumble. That attacker must have slipped it in your pocket before letting you go. What were you supposed to do with it, though? You don't want to keep something from someone who grabbed you so forcefully, but their words repeat in your head.

"Don't go to your job anymore, or bad things will happen," you whisper, turning the pendant in your fingers. Something about the necklace made you want to keep it, so you put it back in your pocket to decide on it later.

Once your break was over and you were back at work, you noticed that Eliane was avoiding you. Usually, when she would come around and see how things were going, she would greet everyone and chat a bit. This time, she merely gave you a small smile and barely said anything before heading back into her office.

"Is the manager acting weird, or is it just me?"

You shake your head. "It's not just you, Adrian. I don't really know what's up, though."

"If it means that Eliane isn't gonna ask us to do extra work, then I really don't mind," Rose comments.

"You would say that," you chuckle.

The rest of the day passes by rather uneventfully, and before long you're on your way home. You clutch onto the necklace in one hand and your keys in the other. They keys hadn't been much help, but they were still comforting. And the necklace made you feel calm, somehow.

You get home without incident, and after that you fall back into a regular routine. Going to work, chatting with your coworkers, relaxing on days you don't work, the cycle repeats. The only change is that Eliane doesn't talk to you as much anymore, and you can't help but wonder if you did something to anger her, but nothing comes to mind.

*****

One cool day, once at work, you leave the necklace in your jacket pocket. It felt weird carrying around a necklace that you weren't wearing anyway.

Eliane stops by to say hello, but instead of passing by, she pauses and stares at you.

"Is...is something wrong?" You tug at your shirt self-consciously.

"Oh, nothing. Work hard today." And she pats your back before heading to her office.

It's the first time she's so much as touched you in weeks, and it takes you a moment to unfreeze and get on with your day.

Rose smirks at you. "I know that the manager is pretty and all, but could you be any more obvious?"

"Hey, leave 'em alone." Adrian bumps your shoulder as he walks past you. "You'll interrupt the wedding planning that's clearly going on."

You groan, frowning at them both. "I'm gonna get her to assign me a shift with people who won't endlessly tease me."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop." Before you can thank her, Rose adds, "I'll stop if I get to be the bridesmaid."

You roll your eyes and ignore her for only about ten minutes, because then you remember that you actually have to communicate to work together.

Later on, coming back into the store from your lunch break, you notice Eliane by the coat racks, fiddling with her coat.

"What's up? Do you need something?" You ask curiously. Eliane jumps and spins to face you.

"No, just getting something from my coat," she says. "Anyway, since you're back, can you tell Rose to go take her break?"

"Sure."

At the end of the day, as you head home, you realize your jacket pocket is a bit lighter than expected. You feel around. The necklace isn't there anymore.

"Ugh, maybe I left it at work?" You mumble. But it's far too late to go back and get it now; the mall is surely closed and it's dark outside as well. Unsure about whether to feel relieved or worried about losing the strange necklace, you just shrug and head back home.

During the week, you secretly try to look around the store for your necklace. You don't find it anywhere and eventually give up the search. Eliane is much more friendly now as well, so eventually you end up forgetting about it entirely anyway.

*****

That Friday as you stand by the registers, Adrian pokes you in the side. "Let's hang out, you two."

Rose leans against you, chin resting on your shoulder to peer over at him. "Aren't we technically hanging out right now?"

He reaches over to flick her forehead. "You know what I mean. Wanna get brunch or watch a movie or something?"

"Sure, why not?" You think for a moment. "There are some new movies in the cinema on the top floor. Or we could do something outside the mall?"

"Honestly, I'd rather do something outside the place where we work," says Rose.

The three of you make plans to meet up during the weekend, to take a bit of a roadtrip to an area of the city that you don't often go to. That weekend flies by as the three of you spend the whole time in each other’s company, just hanging out and having a good time. After that weekend, the three of you grow ever closer and start spending more time outside work together. Sometimes after work, instead of heading right home, you and Adrian hop in Rose’s car and crash at her place. Within a few months, you have designated Rose’s place as the best place for movie nights and hangouts, and she likes to complain about how often you two stay over, but you know it’s use her way of showing affection.

With your attention on your friends both in and out of work, you don’t really think about Eliane as much. In fact, you haven’t had any weird dreams or felt like you’ve been followed for a long time now, and you feel really good about how things are going.

On one early Monday, you and Rose are giggling about some silly joke Adrian told you over the weekend as you set up the store. Eliane passes by with a greeting and pauses next to you.

“What’s so funny, girls?” She asks curiously, and you and Rose exchange an awkward glance.

“It’s just a dumb inside joke,” explains Rose.

“Yeah, Adrian could probably tell you about it best,” you say just as he walks by.

He groans. “Give me a break. You’re still laughing about it? I said that like two days ago.”

“You three have been getting close lately,” says Eliane, her smile looking a bit strained.

“You could say that,” you respond cheerfully.

“Maybe a bit too close,” Rose grumbles good-naturedly. “You guys should just start paying rent if you’re going to stay at my place so often.”

“Yeah, yeah, landlady. How about a friend discount?” Adrian suggests.

The three of you continue to chat as you work, and Eliane just walks away with a wave. Momentarily you feel a bit bad because she probably feels left out, but then Adrian distracts you with a poke.

“What, do you want the manager to join us over the weekend?”

You shudder. “That would feel too weird, no thanks.”

“Might be a good idea. Maybe we could help set them up?”

“Rose, don’t you start,” you say with a glare, just knowing that if they keep on about it, you won’t hear the end of it for the rest of the day.

And you’re right, they spend most of the day talking about your obvious little crush, and you can’t do anything but hope that Eliane can’t hear them. As payback for their incessant teasing, you refuse to go to Rose’s place, instead walking alone back to your own apartment despite their complaints.

*****

Days later, you settle down to sleep in your apartment, feeling relaxed.

You open your eyes, seeing your bedroom through an orange haze. Smelling cinnamon and honey, you look to the window to see the dream woman from before standing there.

You instantly shrink away, gathering the blankets around you for safety. You know it's a dream, but you can't help it. She smiles a little sadly and sits on the far end of the bed, extending a hand to you. Realizing that her long, sharp nails aren't exactly appealing, she actually draws them in like a cat retracting its claws until they're much shorter. Her flaming hair extinguishes, replaced by the long strands of silvery gray ash.

"Come to me," she says, her distorted voice resonating throughout your mind. It is enthralling, and maybe the most beautiful sound you've ever heard. “I do not wish to be apart from you anymore. I will never harm you. I swear I will protect you.”

As she speaks, you slowly push the blankets down back onto your bed. You're drawn in by that voice, by her hypnotizing red-eyed stare. You start to crawl towards her, wanting to feel her skin against yours.

The woman starts to smile genuinely, revealing those fangs that don't deter you anymore. "Yes, that's it, sweet thing. Come here...I love you."

Those three words pass her lips and you freeze, your hand just inches from hers. Something doesn't feel right - do you actually want this? You withdraw your hand and her face falls. It breaks your heart to see such a sorrowful expression on her face, but you continue to back away, wrapping the blankets around yourself once more.

She drops her hand to the bed. "Is this your answer?"

Wordlessly, you nod.

"Very well."

Her hair sparks back into flame and her lovely features contort into a grimace. You tremble, wondering if she'd incinerate you or maybe tear you to shreds, but instead she jumps off the bed.

"Farewell for now..."

You wake with a start, realizing that you're clutching your sheets the same way you were in the dream. You shiver, not liking the "for now" added to the end of her last statement, and it's impossible for you to just fall back asleep. You woke up in a cold sweat, your fingers are now sore from squeezing the sheets, and you can feel a headache coming on.

Giving up on sleep entirely, you pick up your phone on an impulse. It's just past midnight, and you'd only fallen asleep an hour or two ago. You wished you could simply sleep off the weird feeling crawling up your spine, but maybe someone could help take your mind off it.

You call Rose, and she picks up pretty quickly.

"Hey, what's up? I thought you liked to go to sleep earlier than this."

"I-I do." You can't keep the tremor from your voice.

"Something wrong? You can tell me."

But how would you possibly describe a creepy monster dream lady that's haunting you and won't leave you alone? You go for something much more believable. "I didn't tell you guys, but I have a stalker that's been after me for a while. I tried so hard to make sure that person doesn't find out where I live, but I think they have, and I don't know what to do..."

All you hear in her voice is concern. "Oh my god, that's crazy...have you called the police?"

"I'm afraid that if I do, that person will just run away and come back when they're gone."

"Okay, I get that. Hmm...how do you feel about a sleepover?"

"What?"

"Yeah, a sleepover!" Rose's voice rises with her excitement. "I can come get you and bring you over to my place, so that you won't be alone. I can call Adrian too and we can just hang out!"

"That sounds great," you chuckle. "You sound so thrilled, like we didn't just have an entire shift together today. And yesterday. And nearly every day for months now."

"Hush, you. Is it a crime to be happy about hanging out with my friends? Especially if it means helping one of them. Hang on, I'll be there in a bit."

True to her word, Rose is outside your place in less than twenty minutes, loudly honking her horn. Grabbing a small bag with clothes and essentials, you lock your door and rush out to meet her, slipping into the passenger seat.

"Rose, with all that honking you probably woke the entire neighborhood!"

"Whatever. Maybe I also scared away that stalker person." She sounds so earnest that it pains you to have lied to her, but you really couldn't see yourself telling her the whole truth.

After stopping to pick up Adrian, the three of you head to Rose's place.

"Even though it's not the most fun way to meet up, I still can’t wait to marathon some shows with you two," Rose gushes as she drives. "And since it's the weekend, we can have a sleepover the whole time!"

"Rose, you are way too excited." Adrian rolls his eyes, but can't hide a smile. "It's as if the three of us didn't work a whole shift today. Like we haven't been working together for ages now."

She groans. "Ugh, why do you both have to be such downers? Let me have this."

Once inside Rose's apartment, you and Adrian still can't help joking around with Rose until she throws up her hands in mock frustration.

"If that's how you two are gonna be, I might as well drown my sorrows in snacks," she complains, heading to her kitchen.

You and Adrian share a laugh, plopping down on Rose's couch side by side.

"So Rose told me about your stalker situation," he says.

You sigh, nodding. "Not very fun. At least it's an excuse to be with you guys this weekend."

"True, yeah." Adrian lowers his voice, his usual lighthearted tone going dark. "Listen, if you need me to find this stalker and beat them up until they leave you alone, I'll do it."

Your eyes fly wide open and you stare at him. "Adrian! What're you talking about?"

"I'm serious. Anyone who messes with my friends and scares them like this deserves to be knocked down a peg or two. And sometimes the physical way is the only way."

"Adrian, no." Rose, setting down a tray of snacks and drinks, crosses her arms and stares down Adrian. "While I think your heart's in the right place, there's no way either of us would be okay with you doing something so incredibly stupid and risking your life. Right?" She glances at you and you frantically nod.

"I really appreciate it but I'd rather no one get hurt."

Adrian shakes his head. "You are way too nice, but have it your way."

"Anyway!" Rose claps her hands, getting your attention. "I have tons of movies we can watch until we fall asleep."

"Sounds good."

Curled up between your friends on the couch, you barely make it through half of one movie before you fall asleep. When you wake up the next morning, you don't remember anything about it or even what movie it was, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is that you're wrapped in a blanket you don't remember picking up, and you're so comfortable. Rose's head is resting on your shoulder as she quietly snores, and Adrian is poking around in the kitchen. When he sees that you're awake, he grins and holds a finger to his lips. You smile back and rest your cheek on the top of Rose's head, shutting your eyes for just a little longer.

You spend a relaxing morning having breakfast with your friends and talking idly. You can almost forget about your dreams, but then the fireplace sparks to life out of nowhere. The tall flames remind you of the monster woman’s hair.

You jump in your seat, spilling orange juice on the table. “Oh, I-I’m sorry,” you mumble. “Guess I’m more on edge than I thought.”

“Don’t worry.” Rose says sympathetically. “That’s just a fake fireplace, sometimes it starts up on its own. It’s okay.”

“No, no, I feel bad. Hang on, I’ll get paper towels.” And you get up and head into the kitchen, taking some dirty plates with you. The second you’re in there, you can hear Rose and Adrian muttering to each other and sigh, thinking it’s probably about how jumpy you are now.

Placing the plates in the sink, you fill it with soapy water and take some deep breaths to calm down. You stare down into the water, expecting to see soap bubbles.

You don’t expect to see the monster woman’s face, staring back up at you.

Blinking rapidly, you shake your head and look again. There’s nothing there.

“God, am I going crazy?” You grumble, rubbing your eyes and looking out through the kitchen window.

The monster woman is right outside, grinning toothily at you.

With a scream, you lurch backwards, falling to the floor.

The monster woman winks at you, amused.

“What’s wrong?” Rose and Adrian rush into the room, picking you up.

“The-the-the…” You can barely string words together, terrified as you are. “The stalker, they’re here—”

You point to the window, but all you can see are tree branches waving in the wind.

“…This is the third floor,” Rose reminds you gently.

“I know that, but I swear I saw them,” you say, growing frustrated. Now they probably thought you were going insane too. “I…”

“I believe you.” Adrian rubs a comforting hand across your back. “Whether or not you imagined it, the reality is that the stalker has you freaked out. How about we get out of here?”

You blink up at him. “What?” Sure, this apartment no longer felt safe and you wanted to leave, but wasn’t it an inconvenience for them?

“Road trip!” Rose is already waving her car keys at you. “Let’s go for a drive.”

*****

"You guys don't have to do all this for me," you repeat for what feels like the millionth time.

And for the millionth time, Rose replies, "Don't worry about it, okay? What kind of garbage friends would we be if we just let you feel scared this whole time?"

"Just in case you wanted to know, my offer to confront and beat up your stalker is still on the table," says Adrian from the back.

"No, Adrian," you and Rose say instantly. You both exchange a glance and end up cracking up.

"Trust you two to bond over something like that," grumbles Adrian, trying and failing to hide his own laughter.

Rose teases him and you listen to their silly banter, smile not leaving your face. So good to have people on your side, that listen to you and take care of you. The foggy, overcast morning weather doesn’t affect your mood at all.

As she drives, Rose squints at something down the road. "Do you guys see that?" she asks.

"See what?" You stare through the windshield, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"Could've sworn I saw a deer," she mutters. "Well, if it's off the road I guess it doesn't matter. Music, anyone?" She looks to the radio, one hand turning the dial to find a good station.

The second Rose's eyes are off the road, you see it. The deer, standing completely still in the glow of the headlights.

"Rose, look out—"

She looks up and yells, yanking the steering wheel to make a hard left turn. As she does, you swear that the deer's eyes follow you.

All three of you scream as the car practically flies off the road, crashing right through a railing and going straight into a huge tree by the side of the forest. Airbags deploy just in time to prevent you from slamming into the windshield.

Shaken, you call out for your friends but don't hear an answer. You manage to get to the door handle on your side, falling out of the totaled car just as it suddenly bursts into flames.

"What…?" You simply stare at the fiery wreckage for a moment, utterly at a loss, before gathering your frazzled thoughts together. Stumbling to the back car door, you wrench it open and try to drag Adrian's limp body out of his seat.

"Stop, stop," he wheezes. "My leg...it's stuck." He gestures, indicating the leg that is trapped underneath part of the caved in car roof. "Go...get Rose. Please."

You nod and, after trying to make him a bit comfortable in his seat, run over to the driver's side. It looks even worse, with the window cracked open and streaked with blood and one of her hands poking out through the hole.

Tears streaming down your face, partly from the sting of the thick smoke, you open the driver door and Rose falls out of her seat. The airbag had deployed, yes, but it didn't protect her from pieces of glass. Pieces of the window had broken and stabbed her in multiple places. You try to stop trembling long enough to get her pulse. You don't feel anything at her wrist.

"This is all my fault," you choke out. "I'm so sorry."

With a sob, you lay Rose's body down on the forest floor and go back to check on Adrian.

"Adrian, Rose is gone, and I'm so sor—"

You stop in your tracks.

The sight before you is unmistakable, even through the gloomy fog. The woman that you've only seen in hazy orange-tinted dreams is leaning over Adrian's unmoving body. Her copper leg glints in the light from the flames that match those erupting from her head. Blood drips from the open car door, pooling in the grass.

She turns to you, giving you a bloody grin. You can see her clearly now and despite your pain, your jaw drops.

"Eliane…?"

This shock proves to be too much for you, and you rapidly lose consciousness.

*****

You wake up in your own bed, feeling sore all over. You've got a pounding headache and you're not entirely sure why. Sitting up, you rub at your eyes and look around.

Eliane sits at the foot of your bed, watching you fondly. You freeze, uncertain of what to do.

"No need to fear me, dear," she says with a comforting smile. It just makes you shudder. You lean back against the headboard and wrap your blankets around yourself. You're not cold, and yet you can't stop shivering.

Memories of recent events come flooding back. "Oh, no, Rose and Adrian..."

Eliane's face falls dramatically. "I'm afraid they're both gone now. They didn't even have your best interests at heart. Not to worry, though. You have me now." And her expression brightens right back up.

You can only stare at her, wide eyed. What is she talking about? And what about that dream woman?

As if she senses your thoughts, she holds up a finger. Then she stands, twirling in circles. As she does, tongues of flame lick their way up her body. Her skin ripples and changes, one of her legs turns to copper, and her hair gets longer and grayer. When she stops, she doesn't hide her long claw-like nails or her fangs as she sits back down.

"What-what are you?"

"Empusa." The foreign word rolls off her tongue. "A servant of the goddess Hecate. And I have chosen you to be my human."

"Why me..." Your voice is barely above a whisper.

"I was drawn to you, and to your blood," she says with a predatory glint in her eyes. "I've had the blood of many a person, but none smell as sweet as yours. That is why."

Shuddering, you think about her leaning over Adrian's prone form and feel nauseous. "So you're a vampire?"

Eliane throws back her head and laughs. "Many have mistaken me for a vampire, which I suppose isn't very far off. I can shapeshift into more than just a bat, though. My goddess has given me more useful powers."

"Goddess? Vampires?"

"Oh, so many creatures are very much real, darling." She casually runs a hand through silvery hair. "However, I won't allow any of them near you. None of them can have you."

At those words you flinch, shrinking away from her. "Wh-what are you saying?"

Eliane's fangs shine in the moonlight as she comes closer to you. "I'm saying that you're mine. Now and forever. I'll forgive you just this once, but don't ever try to escape from me again..." She lifts a hand, running razor-sharp nails down your cheek. "You'll learn to love me. You'll see."

*****

The next day, you work alongside two new people you haven't met before. Aside from work-related topics, they hardly speak to you, and you notice that the both of them tend to physically stay away from you at all times. Even when you're all side-by-side at the registers, they manage to keep their distance.

Eliane walks by to see how everything's doing, and both of them nod at her and then quickly look back to their work. When she comes to you, she smiles sweetly. You force yourself to smile back. Satisfied, she walks away, not seeing how your hands tremble underneath the table. As she passes you, a scent that used to be so pleasant now paralyzes you. Cinnamon and honey, a little spicy and sickly sweet.

#exophilia #monster girlfriend #empusa #empusa girlfriend #my writing #sfw #mostly #tbh i had a lot of fun writing this #tho it took quite a while #bc i'm bad at horror lmao #anyway #i wanna know if people prefer creepy or romantic?? opinions? #oops almost forgot a tag #mythology

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day One Hundred Three: A Stack of Boxes ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

It’s here. The big day. After a year and a half of dating, she’s finally agreed to take the next step.

Moving in together.

She’s assured him there’s not much to take. She has no real furniture of her own beyond a bed and a desk, which her friend Kiba is taking in a truck. The rest she’s got in boxes. Going straight from college dorms to an apartment mean neither of them have much beyond their bedrooms back home. Sasuke went first to set the place up a bit. Hinata had agreed to stay home the coming Summer to watch her little sister, an upcoming senior in highschool, as Hiashi kept working full time.

But now it’s Fall, and Hanabi’s back in class for the majority of every weekday. Hinata is officially free.

So, Sasuke pulls up to the curb the first Saturday after high school starts. Kiba’s truck is still there, loaded with the furniture Hinata’s got to take. The pair of them have already moved the boxes outside.

And...what a stack of boxes it is.

Sasuke can’t help a small drop of his jaw as they emerge from the house.

“Sasuke!”

“...what is this?”

“...my stuff?”

“Hinata, I can’t fit this in my car. You told me it would fit!”

“Well, we can put some in the cab of Kiba’s truck! And I’ll take some in my car. I think we can make it work!”

He gives her an incredulous look. “What...is all this stuff?”

“Well, some of it’s mine...and some of it’s my mother’s.”

...oh.

Hinata shrugs a bit. “...Dad says he doesn’t want it anymore, and...that I could take it. Otherwise I’m afraid he might throw it out.”

Cue the guilt. “No, he...he can’t do that. We’ll get it moved. It just...might take another trip.”

“Trust me, I’m a professional box Tetris player. You get a lot of practice with it in retail,” Hinata assures him, a clear callback to her job while in school.

“Okay...work your magic then, I suppose.”

They fill up Kiba’s truck first (which thankfully is a full cab). Sasuke will admit, he’s impressed how much she manages to get in there. Next is her car, stuffed from trunk to front seat. And last, they put just a few boxes into Sasuke’s back seat.

“...okay, remind me to never challenge you to play Tetris,” he laughs once they’re done. “Because you will most certainly kick my ass.”

Hinata just gives a small laugh.

“Well, let’s get going - don’t wanna wait until traffic decides to get bad.”

“Okay. Um...one thing first.” Before he can say anything else, she dashes back inside, Kiba going to get into his truck.

A scant minute later, she’s back.

“What was that?”

“Lit one last incense stick at my mom’s memory altar. Just to say goodbye.”

Sasuke softens. “...gonna miss this place?”

“...yes and no.”

“Yeah...I know the feeling. Onward and upward, right?”

“Right.”

The trek across town takes them twenty minutes, traffic thankfully still light in the early afternoon. Their new building is in a quieter part of town. Mostly houses, a few businesses branching out from the city. It’s a bit on the spendy side, but it was too perfect not to indulge in. And Sasuke’s already got work going with his father right out of school. Hinata’s still looking, but it likely won’t take her long. Last he heard, she had an interview with a local museum of art and anthropology to put her humanities degree to use.

Thankfully it also comes partially furnished, so they won’t be eating dinner sitting on the floor for a while.

Pulling up, they start with the furniture. They’re only on the second floor, and the place only has five floors anyway. Kiba and Sasuke do all the heavy lifting as Hinata flits around carrying spare boxes until they’re all packing cardboard. By the time they’re done, it’s early evening.

Hinata offers to buy Kiba dinner, but he insists he’s got plans. So, it’s just the pair of them, ordering a pizza from a place just down the block and sitting at the tiny kitchen table.

“...so?”

“Hm?”

“What do you think?”

She considers that, looking around. “...I think it’ll take a bit to sink in. It helps I’ve moved back and forth into dorms all through college. I’m a bit well-versed in m-moving all my stuff and changing environments. But this one’s ours.” A pause. “...well, sort of. It’s not a house, and we’re not buying. But still. It’s just the two of us!”

“Yup.” Sasuke grins. “Hopefully we can upgrade to a house in a few years. Guess just see how things go.”

“Yeah...it’d be nice to have a yard. I want to start a garden like my mother had. The yard was always so full of flowers every Spring and Summer...I miss that. Oh, and we could get pets!”

“Pets? Like, what...a cat?”

“Sure! Or a dog.”

Sasuke’s nose wrinkles.

“I know, I know...but we could take them to the park! And for walks! It’d be good exercise.”

“So would just walking.”

She just pouts at him.

“Well, it’s a little early to think about all that. For now, this is what we’ve got to work with. And a pet deposit on top of everything else isn’t what we need.”

“I know...Dad’s never let us have pets. Guess I’m just eager to be able to break out of that.”

“We will. Someday. One step at a time.”

“Yeah…” Hinata leans against him with a small sigh. “I’m sure it won’t be long before something happens and makes me wish to be back at Dad’s again.”

That earns a small snicker. “Independence has its prices, yeah. But we’ll handle them.”

For now, most things go unpacked that aren’t the basics. They’ll slowly go through boxes as they have the time. But for now, they’re both too exhausted to bother digging things out. After dinner, they watch a movie, and Sasuke catches Hinata nodding off halfway through. “C’mon now, you didn’t even do any of the heavy lifting.”

“I know, I’m just...tuckered out for some reason.”

“Time to hit the hay, then.”

For now, they keep separate rooms. Each of them are armed with twin beds, and...neither of them feel like getting that cozy. A bigger bed: one more thing to save up for. Each dressed down for sleep - Hinata in a t-shirt and shorts, Sasuke in sweats - they part in the main room, each looking hesitant.

“Well...see you in the morning.”

“Yeah...I’ll make breakfast when I get up.”

“Not if I beat you to it.”

“But I make the best pancakes!”

Sasuke leans out his bedroom door. “Prove it by getting up first, then!”

“I will!”

“All right then.”

A pause, and then they both laugh.

“Goodnight, Sasuke.”

“Night, Hinata.”

Doors shut with two clicks, and the apartment goes quiet.

At least, until morning.

     Oof, finally done! Today was all sorts of busy, but at least it's not as late as I've been lately!      This one's more simple: just a wee slice of life fic about moving in together. It could probably be longer, but...I'm a lil wiped after my long day ^^; So I thought I'd just keep it simple.      That's all for today though. Thanks for reading! :D

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #best years of your life [ au ] #365daysofsasuhina

[the-canary]

Languages of Saints - C.R (4/10)

Summary: A deal isn’t supposed to involve feelings, right? (Reader/Carter Baizen). 

Prompt: “Did you enjoy yourself last night?”

Masterlist

A/N: I am kinda of surprised by the amount of people enjoying the story, but thank you for the support. 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 

Feedback is always appreciated.

After reading the little message left for you, you end up napping through the rest of the weekend. It isn’t until Monday that you really get any solid food in your stomach, as you try to slowly go through all the messages and emails left for you, and while most of them were congratulations and well wishes, you just wanted to hurl your computer out the window. You hadn’t been lying to Carter Baizen when saying that the office team was one of the best, hell Nick had saved the former CEO countless times over with his maths skills, but now that you thought about it -- not all of them had the best personalities, sometimes you hated Harold and there were times you wanted to stick a pen down Marcy’s throat.

You weren’t sure if the suffering you were going to be going through now was worth them still going on and treating each other --and by extension you-- like they did. You were having buyer’s remorse over helping them, and you couldn't help the mixture of anger and guilt that bother you for the rest of the day.

It isn’t until Wednesday that you finally hear from Rocio, as she is standing in front of your apartment door with a short pixie cut and dressed in pure Dior which obviously cost more than everything in your small apartment. She has a bottle of wine with her, but you can smell that she has already started drinking long before that, but you welcome her in anyways as you end up ordering some of your favorite Salvadorian food from down the block and proceed to tell Rocio about everything that she has missed during her mysterious hiatus.

“ Fuck him ,” is all she says after you done and you can’t help but choke on your food.

“W-What?” you cough out before taking a sip of the bottle water from the coffee table.

“I don’t mean it in that way, silly,” she lets out a bubbly laugh from her place on the loveseat, as you shake your head. Rocio always had a way with words.

“I’ve known you long enough to know that you only ever mean it in that way,” you state, reminiscing of all the advice Rocio had ever given you and knowing by now that it usually ended up one way.

“Well, whatever. What I mean is: fuck over that white boy,” she says with a predatory grin as she gets up, making a speech out of it like Robespierre in front of the Jacobin Club, “Show him you ain’t going to break just because he thinks you’re his new plaything, or because you might be scared of what he can do -- that isn’t the you I know.”     

“And how am I going to do that?” you question, as she looks down on you with her bright green eyes. In her element, Rocio could remind anyone of her father as she came up with plans and dealt out sweet words to close the deal.  

“The Cinderella Effect, my dear,” she explains, as she goes back to sitting down, but not before grabbing another pupusa, “Rich people always think poor people want handout, that’s why they’re all Republicans, but you’re gonna work your ass off and show him who’s the boss.”

“And once that happens?” you asks, ignoring the faults and obvious signs that she hadn’t really worked a day in her life either.  

“Let’s take it one step at a time, sweetheart,” she finishes before taking another gulp of her drink, “But, first new wardrobe.”

“I don’t want you paying for anything,” you remark as she frowns. Even after ten plus years of friendship, it felt weird using Rocio’s money that way and she knew that, though there was always little loopholes she found, like that dress back at the party.  

“I know , we’ll go somewhere cheap like Macy’s or TJMaxx ,” she lets out those vile words with a roll of her eyes. 

“Are you sure this is gonna work?” you can’t help but doubt her, something always went wrong in the long run, she was a big picture sort of gal.

“Have I ever steered you wrong before?” she smiles and the answer automatically falls from your lips.

“Yeah, Montreal.”

“We don’t talk about Montreal,” she quips, waving her hand back and forth as if trying to dispel a bad memory, “And I was talking about more recently, you don’t always have to be stuck in the past, doll.” 

“Part of my butt is still stuck on that frozen street, Roci,” you mumble in annoyance, as she doubles over remembering what had happened all those years ago.

“I know, I know,” she says after controlling her laughing fit, as she gives your that soft grin that you can’t help but return -- if only Rocio had the hindsight to know exactly how well her plan would work.

 A couple of days, three shopping sprees, and a nearly maxed out credit card later you and Rocio were a little proud of the wardrobe you had put together and once Monday rolled in you were healthier and in a nicely fitted navy blue blazer and pants ensemble. A little new makes you feel like you can take on the day, as you banter with Nick once more in the elevator.

Everything is fine until you hit your office and see the large pile of paperwork piled on top of your desk. You open the door and almost let out a groan at the handwritten letter on top of it all.

Welcome back. Have these ready by the end of the day. -- CB.      

“He’s gonna be a real slave driver, that one,” Nick says with a shake of his head before giving you a sympathetic smile and leaving.

“That’s the least he could be,” you whisper into your empty office and roll back your shoulders before starting the work day, which you know it going to be a long one.

It’s half way through the first month of working for Carter Baizen, filled with a lack of sleep and dreaming about numbers, that he calls near the end of the work day -- that he needs you in his office. And for the first time since he took over Wyman, you’re standing there in front of his desk as he puts on his jacket. You raise an eyebrow, as he simply motions you to follow him.

“As much as I would follow blindly the next person, you need to tell me where we’re going, Mr. Baizen,” you exclaims as blue eyes look at you with amusement, “Just to let someone know if I end up in the Hudson.”

“You can only be paranoid of someone for so long,” he states with a crooked smile.

“Still paranoid of you,” is all you say on the matter, though it makes him laugh.

“It’s a charity event for the company, nothing but donors,” he explains as you nod and follow. A black car waiting near the entrance of the building takes you near the Rockefeller Center. You keep eyeing him suspiciously, as you enter a large but empty ballroom. You turn to look at him, as he smiles.

“And the event?” you question.

“In a month’s time, so you have plenty of time to figure it all out,” he declares, as you turn to look at him with surprise written all over your face. It almost makes him laugh right then and there.

“That isn’t part of my job description,” you counter weakly.

“Well, I’m the boss and for now on it is,” he laughs a little towards the end before pushing all the paper in your hands.

This was going to be a long month.

 Some nights are filled with sleepless nights while others you can sleep a little better with everything you had done for the day, between playing different events on top of your data work you barely see Rocio -- barely have time to for a social life. However, you don’t break -- you refuse to cry and quit (because you know that’s the underlying motive to his cruelty) a job that you loved so much. Every other night you signed off another pile of work on his desk or send him pictures of another well done step towards the big charity event for the now-Baizen/Wyman Co., immaculate and with a smile.   

His face never shows his true feelings, but you hope it bothers him deep down.

“ Fuck him ,” like Rocio had declared the last time you saw her.

On the night of the event, you are wearing a simple white blouse and black skirt combo. You aren’t here to enjoy the night, but rather to make sure that everything is going well -- running around with smiles and making sure that everyone is having a good time. It feels like your first job out of college, pleasing everyone was the curse of retail. The night is a rush for you that you don’t notice someone watching you the whole night.

‘Thanks to all of you we have exceeded our goals for the 3rd year in a row,” Carter Baizen declares from the stage upfront, turning up that deadly charm of his in his dark Giorgio Armani suit, as the rest of the guests clap -- patting themselves on the back. Blue eyes roaming and taking a secret glee in seeing the old men praising his “philanthropy” were the ones that once used to laugh and sneer behind his back.

However, his eyes stop near the back for a single moment, as he watches you talking to some staff with a tired smile on your face and your hair in slight disarray but everything else is on point, and if Carter didn’t know any better, simply by the aura --confident and exact-- he could automatically tell who was running this event. As much as he hates to admit, you had gone above and beyond all his expectations in the past two months.

In the moment, he doesn’t why he does it.

“However, none of this would have been possible without my wonderful employee ,” he points to you as the spotlight finds you immediately, “In the back!”

Everyone turns to look, unsure of what to do but clap, as he grins though unsure if it is out of arrogance or something else. You blink for a moment, confused as to what is going for a moment before giving a bright, red lipstick matted smile to the crowd and taking a small bow. Your eyes meet his and you keep smiling, tired but proud, and something gets stuck in the middle of his throat.

And in that moment, Carter Baizen was fucked all right.  

Part 5

#baezens4k #carter baizen #carter baizen x reader #carter x reader #carter baizen fanfic #carter baizen fanfiction #carter baizen au #gossip girl #gossip girl fanfic #gossip girl fanfiction #series: of saints #fabiola trying to write

[kassandra-lorelei]

"Stop buying the pets clothes! At this rate they'll have more clothes than we do!" N-cc prompt

Here we are, my friend! 

@missbabcocks1 @holomoriarty

C.C. didn’t get it, and to be frank, it was starting to pissher off a little. She’d gone to grab a clean shirt after showering, but thefirst thing her hand had come into contact with in the closet was not any kindof clothing she could wear. What had instead met her fingers was small – toosmall for a person to even attempt putting on!

It was a tiny, periwinkle blue dress. And as C.C. pulledopen the closet door even further, it wasn’t alone. There were more tinydresses. And tiny shirts. Tiny raincoats and jackets. Tiny scarves and bowties.Anything that one could imagine putting on a person, it was miniaturised and eitherhung on a coat hanger or lined up on the floor in there! And all of them weretaking up more room in the closet than her things ever had!

They hadn’t been there when she’d gone into the bathroom.Niles must’ve put them there when she’d been busy showering. He’d developed thehabit of buying their three pugs (Ronnie, Richie, and Rosie) clothes wheneverhe’d found them, but C.C. hadn’t realised it had been this many! A littlejacket or a shirt to keep them warm every now and then on rare cold days wasfine, but this…well, it was something else! It wasn’t like it had been withChester, back in New York – they’d lived in California for years now (long enoughfor their youngest to have just started university), and it wasn’t like theentire state was suddenly gonna turn cold!

She had to talk with him. It was going too far, and he wasgonna have to see sense one way or another. As his wife, it was herresponsibility to make sure that he did.

So, making sure she grabbed a small handful of the hangersas evidence, she left the room and went downstairs.

She found her husband at the table, and she halted abruptlywhen she saw that he had a bag with him from one ofthe pet stores downtown. Ronnie was sat obediently on the floor in front ofhim, probably lured there with a dog treat, already decked out in a littlegreen poncho.

Niles looked up and saw her before she could say anythingabout it, though.

“Hello love,” he smiled. “How was your shower?”

C.C. pursed her lips, wandering forward with her hands (andthe clothing items) behind her back.

“It was fine, but I could’ve done without what happenedafter,” she replied, only then pulling the clothes out and dropping them on thetable. “When I reached into the closet and pulled out the stock of a retailstore in Munchkin Land!”

Niles blinked down at the clothes.

“Oh,” he looked back up at her, apparently ready to explain.“Well, you see, I noticed there was room in there and it made more sense to meto put everything away, rather than-”

“That’s not what I’m upset about, Niles! What gets to me ishow much of it there is!” C.C. exclaimed, wiping at her eyes briefly. “Stopbuying the pets clothes! At this rate, they’ll have more clothes than we do!”

Her husband looked upset at that.

“I haven’t gotten them that much, sweetheart!” he cried inreturn, reaching down to pick up their dog. “And besides, look at how adorablethis little poncho makes Ronnie look…!”

C.C. found herself wiping her eyes again, and she sighed, “So,your age isn’t the only thing around here that’s advanced – clearly, thesenility that goes with it has as well!”

Niles rolled his eyes at her, letting Ronnie curl back up onthe floor, “I am not going senile!”

In return, she gestured at the bag on the table, close toshouting, “Then how do you explain the fact that you’ve bought shoes for ourdogs?!”

Before Niles could argue back, the phone rang.

Giving him a look that told him the conversation wasn’tover, C.C. picked it up.

“Hello?”

A familiar voice came from the other end, “Mom?”

It surprised C.C., whose mood immediately lifted. Their Charity-Charlottehad married Jonah Sheffield (to the particular delight of Nanny Fine, who’d jumpedat the chance of planning a wedding) only a few years after graduating college. The young couple had both left theiruniversity with good, secure job offers that had turned into good, secure jobsand had just recently bought their first house, (with a little help from theirparents).

She greeted the voice of their eldest daughter with abeaming smile.

“Charity!” she cradled the phone against her ear. “Hi,sweetie! How are you? How’s things with Jonah?”

That was when she felt a tug on her sleeve, and she lookeddownwards towards it. Of course it was Niles, trying to attract her attention.

He always got excited when any of their girls called, andeven if she was a little bit annoyed with him over the whole “dog clothes”thing, it was cute to see him so worked up.

“Speaker – put it on speaker…!” he quietly urged her.

Not that it was quiet enough.

“Is that Daddy in the back?”

Their girl certainly had developed her father’s ability tooverhear things – though hers was more an inherited gift, whereas Niles’ hadcome with years of practice, from all the closed or partially-open doors he’dlistened at.

“The one and only,” C.C. answered with a look of amusement.

In a couple of seconds, she’d put the phone on speaker modeso that Niles could join in on the conversation.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he called out. “How are you?”

There was a noise at Charity’s end that sounded like someoneshifting in their seat.

“Well, that’s…kinda what I called you for.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the two parents. Charitysounded like she was holding something back from them, and not knowing what itwas had currently made C.C.’s stomach turn itself over and form an unpleasantlytight knot. She slowly lowered herself into a chair at the table.

She must’ve had a strange look on her face, too, becauseNiles reached out and squeezed her forearm before taking her hands.

He managed to pluck up the courage to ask what C.C. had beenterrified was true.

“Is��something the matter?”

Charity’s reply was immediate, “No, no – nothing’s thematter…it’s actually something really good.”

“What is?” C.C. could feel fear gripping at her heart, butshe managed to battle through it and get the question out.

“I…” Charity began, but she stopped to take in a breathbefore finishing. “I’m pregnant.”

And suddenly the crushing tightness was gone, replaced bothby relief and by overwhelming happiness. The two parents looked at each other,eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

It didn’t take much longer for C.C.’s mouth to turn up atthe corners, and her eyes began to mist over.

“Pregnant…?” she echoed, half-whispering. “You’re pregnant!”

Charity laughed, “Yeah…!”

“When did you find out?!” Niles joined in.

“About half an hour ago – I had to wait for Jonah to getback, so I could tell him first!” their daughter explained.

The couple had probably spent all that time celebrating tothemselves. They were having a baby – their own little one! They’d been reallyexcited to get a house so that they could start trying for a family, and now itlooked like they’d managed to get said house just in time!

“Of course you did!” C.C. nodded at her daughter’s words,feeling real tears start to well up and spill over. “That’s wonderful news,sweetie!”

There was a pause at the other end.

“…Mom, are you crying?”

“No…” C.C. badly concealed a sniff, before deflecting theaccusation. “It’s your father who’s completely gone already!”

Niles discreetly turned away to wipe his own eyes, “Have not…!”

C.C. caught it, though.

“Sure you haven’t,” she gave a watery smirk, before turningback to the phone with an idea that had just sprung up in her mind. “We’re allgonna have to get together for dinner and make this a real celebration!”

“That sounds great!” the grin was implicit in Charity’svoice. “When?”

They set a date for the next night. Jonah even called hisown parents (C.C. swore that she could hear Fran on the other end, through theother phone), and they all agreed to meet at Charity and Jonah’s house.

But the conversation wasn’t done once that was covered. Theystayed on the phone for a long time, talking about what was going to happenbefore the baby arrived. They chatted and laughed over all kinds of things –what the nursery could look like, if there were any names they already liked, howCharity’s maternity leave was going to work…

C.C. was feeling in a much better mood by the time theyeventually hung up. She leaned back in her seat, huffing out a quiet laugh toherself.

“So…we’re gonna be grandparents,” she said, nudging Nilescheekily with her foot. “At long last, the label’s gonna fit the age.”

Her husband didn’t respond. He was busy staring at thetable.

C.C. leaned over further to look at him, trying again, “Niles?”

That seemed to bring him out of it.

“Hm?” he blinked up at her and realised what was going on. “Oh,sorry love. I was just…”

He trailed off, shaking his head as his eyes wandered backto where they’d been before. It had clearly been a huge surprise for him, and itwas taking some time for him to process the news.

She shifted her seat further around, so it was closer tohis.

“It’s alright,” she smiled at him softly, taking his hand. “Iknow it’s a shock for that ol’ ticker of yours. Our baby having a baby.”

Niles returned the smile, but his eyes were sad, “None ofour babies are babies anymore.”

Well, no. None of them were. Charity had her job and her husband,and soon they’d have their baby. Faith-Francine was finishing up her degree andlooking for jobs at the same time from the rented apartment they’d helped her findin Junior Year. And Hope-Harriet had just started university, living in the dormsand enjoying every minute of her freedom…

And suddenly, it all made sense. Niles’ shock at Charityhaving a baby, him getting so excited any time one of their girls called…even dressingup the dogs, to some extent!

He was missing it all – watching their girls grow up, doing thingslike dressing them, or getting to talk to them every day…

But they couldn’t go back, even if they wanted to. Time had goneby, and they had to move with it, making more happy memories as they went.

“Nope,” she told him, bringing her hand up to cup his cheekso he’d look at her. “And that’s exactly the way that things should be, Hazel.”

“I know; we are old, whether we like it or not,” Nilessighed, leaning into her touch. “I was just…hoping for a little more time.”

“We’ve still got plenty of time, Niles!” she stroked hischeek with her thumb and smiled. “I know one look at your decrepit body might suggestotherwise, but we’re not dead yet!”

His lack of a response told her that might’ve been a wrongangle, so she tried again.

“And you’re gonna be a fantastic grandpa.”

That sent a bright spark back to her husband’s eyes, “You reallythink so?”

“I know so,” she replied. “You’re gonna do all the thingswith this new grandkid that you did with our girls. Taking them to the park, bakingon weekends, singing songs at the piano…”

She remembered each of those things. Pushing Faith on theswings while Hope copied her big sister and went down the slide, Niles catchingthem in his arms and lifting them into the air as they made it to the end. Laughterand a cloud of flour as they all made a mess of the kitchen, and later enjoyingthe delicious cupcakes with hot chocolate as the rain came down outside. Sharingbooks and arguments over right and wrong notes that turned to tears, that thenturned to family cuddles on the sofa until everyone felt alright again…

C.C. felt her chest tighten. She missed it as well – those earlydays. But she knew they’d get them back in a way, as their grandchildren grewup. They’d do more baking, go out on more trips, sing more songs. They’d justbe older.

Her eyes wandered to the floor, where Ronnie had just thrownhimself against her feet. The fabric of his little poncho brushed against herskin, and she smiled.

Perhaps the pet clothes weren’t so bad, as long as no onewent overboard…

She stroked the little pug with her foot, “And Ronnie actuallydoes look kinda cute in that…”

“I got one for each of them,” Niles said, looking over towardsthe pet store bag. “Although, I might actually take them back…we should besaving up for the new little one.”

“We’re millionaires,Niles. We can afford to spoil our pets and our grandchildren. As long as wedon’t do either too much,” she waved a dismissive hand, before reaching down torub Ronnie’s head. “You got one for each?”

Her husband nodded, “Yes, the others are in the bag.”

C.C. looked, and pulled the bag across the table. She openedit and brought out the two other ponchos.

She hummed thoughtfully, studying them, “Who’s getting thered and who’s getting the blue? The blue would look good with Rosie’s lighterfur…”

That was when she felt Niles boring holes into her, and whenshe looked up he was smirking at her in amusement.

She blinked, “What?”

“Now who’s going a little senile?” he teased.

C.C. wasn’t going to take that. She leaned in towards him, asmirk forming on her lips.

“Not me, Scrubbing Bubbles,” she murmured. “I’m still awarethat a man in full control of his sensibilities wouldn’t make fun of his wifewhen she decided to play dress-up, if he wanted her to play an undressing gamelater…”

Without missing a beat, Niles practically leapt up from the table.

“How about I go call Richie and Rosie in?” he suggested. “Wecan see which poncho really does suit them best!”

C.C. laughed, and leaned back again in her chair, rubbingthe dog with her foot as she watched her husband go out into the garden.

“You’re damn right we can, Butler Boy…!”

#anon asks #the nanny #niles and cc #niles the butler #cc babcock #otp: always been bitter together #otp: butler bitch

[steves-on-a-plane]

Average Avenger’s Gal Part 1

Part Two  Words:1426 Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader Guest Staring: Sam Wilson  Author’s Note: Work’s been getting me down lately. (Retail during holiday season & post holiday. Ugh *eyeroll*) And I literally was stocking a shelf one day thinking “I bet Captain America’s girlfriend doesn’t have to do this shit!” Which got me thinking, but what if she did? And basically this will probably become a series where Cap’s girlfriend just works an everyday job in retail and he never stops admiring her for it.

You weren't like the others; the girlfriends, wives, boyfriends, and significant others of the Avengers. You hadn't mastered forty different fighting styles like Natashia. You weren't a Brilliant scientist or impressive CEO of a tech company like Jane and Pepper. There was nothing that made you particularly special like the others.  

You had a full-time job at the mall, working in an artisanal soap shop. It was a smallish chain company but a good one. It was the kind of company that upheld promises like selling cruelty free products that were handmade. It was a job all the same, but you love it. Being your store's Assistant Manager meant that you spent a lot of time at work. In fact, you were working the day you met Captain Steve Rogers.  

Your company had just released a collection of products inspired by the Avengers. Fancy bar soaps each shaped to resemble one of the Avenger's symbols were arranged in baskets stuffed with shredded paper. There was a body scrub that promised an exfoliant with the strength of The Hulk that would leave the users skin as soft as Bruce Banner. The collection was very cutesy, but you imagined it would sell well. The Avengers were practically known worldwide.  

Two men walked into your store, one seemed to be dragging the other along. Something about them looked familiar, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it. Of course, the fact that most of their faces were disguised by baseball caps and large sunglasses made their features difficult to identify. One of the men was tall, probably about six feet. He had wide shoulders and a hard jaw line. The other man was maybe a couple inches shorter than his friend and his most noticeable feature was the wide grin he wore as he pulled his friend along.  

"Oh man, have you seen this?" He asked excitedly. "I saw an ad online for this stuff, look," He pointed to one of the soaps on the front table. "This soap is a set of wings! It's me man! No one ever has merch with my symbol on it!"  

"Sam, that's great and I'm very excited for you, but keep it down!" His friend looked around the shop nervously. You're gonna blow our cover over soap." You decided to approach the two men to see if there was anything you could help them with.  

"Afternoon!" You smiled up at them before giving your usual cheery greeting. "My name is [Y/N], is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah can I have a full case of these Falcon soaps?" The excitable man with the friendly smile asked.  

"Sam you don't even know how much they cost!" His friend scolded.  

"Seven ninety-five a bar." You told the two men helpfully.  

"Seven ninety-five?!" The second man was shocked. You weren't the least bit offended by this type a reaction. It was common for customers who didn't shop in your store frequently. "Back in my day soap was fourteen cents a bar!"

"Hang on!" The first man whipped his head up at his friend. "You're worried about me blowing our cover, but we've been in the mall five minutes any you've already busted out the back in my day!" He rolled his eyes. "What next? You gonna tell me how your first car cost you fifty dollars?"

"No, I never had a car and a I think you know that." His friend countered quietly.

"I'm sorry, should I leave you guys to do you're shopping?" You tried to nicely remind the customers that you were standing there, before slowing beginning to back away.  

"No, no, please, [Y/N] was it? It's nice to meet you. My name is Sam." The first man removed his sunglasses and you suddenly recognized who they were.

"It's nice to meet you Sam." You smiled, doing a terrible job of not letting on that you knew who he was.

"This is my good friend Steve." Sam introduced. Steve pulled his sunglasses down to the end of his nose and gave you a wink before sliding the glasses back up into place. "You'll have to excuse him. He's a bit of an old soul."  

For a while after that Sam and Steve were regular customers of yours. They would come by the store once or twice a month. They knew that you could be trusted to keep their cover, and you always treated them like they were normal frequent customers. Over time you began to form a friendship with them that extended beyond just business.  Sam and Steve would share non-classified details about whatever the latest Avengers mission was, and you would try to share little bits about your life.

At first it seemed ridiculous telling them such trivial things, like your cat who was named Sirius because he acted more like a dog than a cat. But Steve insisted that they always looked forward to your anecdotes. It helped them feel grounded and reminded them why they continued to fight as Avengers. After a few months, their visits become more frequent. Sometimes Steve or Sam would come alone and other times they would bring the other Avengers along as well. In just under four months you were fairly certain you'd met them all. They were like family to you.  

"There she is! Come here girl!" Sam Wilson wore his usual giant grin as he sauntered into your store one afternoon. Without waiting for an invitation, he pulled you into a tight hug.  

"Always good to see you too, Sam." You smiled as you separated. "Who'd you bring along with you this time?" You tried peaking around his tall frame, looking for your friends.  

"Just Rogers and Banner. Apparently, he loves your lavender soap and has been buying it from this company for years. Now he shops exclusively at your branch. You're welcome." Sam's grin transformed slightly to a resting smirk.  

"I'm not going to lie, it's getting harder and harder to explain you guys to people, without saying who you really are. I think my whole team just things that I'm that good of a seller that I've built up a loyal customer base."  

"Well, that's true in a way." Steve had entered the store now. He walked over to you and Sam and joined the conversation. "You're excellent professionalism is what led to our friendship in the first place." Sam rolled his eyes are Steve.

"Really? That's it? You're not even going to try?" Sam was glaring at Steve. You got the distinct impression that Sam and Steve had been talking about you without you around.  

"Sam it's inappropriate. We talked about this." Steve replied, also giving his friend his best pointed look.  

"Hi sorry, Is there something..." You started to ask.

"Actually yes, Let's say hypothetically one of us were to ask you out on a date." Sam explained. "Would you consider that inappropriate?"  

"I would have no problem with that." You shrugged.  "Assuming that my possibly accepting or rejecting this hypothetical invitation wouldn't impact our very real friendship."  

"See, man, I told you!" Sam gave Steve's arm a gentle slap. "Just ask her!"  

"What's gotten into him?" You laughed as you and Steve both watched Sam walk over to the display where Bruce Banner had been quietly shopping.

"Is entirely my fault." Steve apologized. "I mentioned to him once how I wish we could see you more, you know outside of work. When we're here, you know, you have to keep your energy at one hundred percent. I just thought maybe it would be nice for you to get out and relax."  

"Ah, and Sam's idea is that you and I should get out and relax together?" You nodded, now understanding their difference of opinion.  

"Yeah." Steve scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "That's not to say that I wouldn't like...love to ah...um...you know. But your friendship is very important to me. You're one of the only civilian friends I have."

"Your friendship is very important to me too, Steve." You looked up at him, which forced him to look back at you. "And I'd also like to see you guys more outside of work, all of you. But maybe I'd like to spend some time with just you too. I know you're a little old fashion, and it's hard enough for you to stomach the fact that soap in my time is seven ninety-five a bar, but you would consider going out on a date with me?"

"It would be my honor!" Steve beamed.  

#Captain America #Steve Rogers x Reader #Steve Rogers FF #Steve Rogers Fan Fiction #Steve Rogers Reader Insert #Captain America FF #captain america fan fiction #Captain America Fan Fic #Steve Rogers Fan Fic #Captain America x Reader #Captain America Reader Insert #AverageAvengersGal

[johnboothus]

VinePair Podcast: Giving Thanks in a Difficult Year for the Drinks Industry

2020 has been the hardest year in the drinks industry in living memory. The incredible damage that Covid-19 has wrought on bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries, and more can’t be overstated — not just putting businesses at risk, but leading to massive unemployment in the service industry and forcing many others to risk their health to keep their jobs. In addition, devastating fires struck most of the West Coast, the U.S. government continued to impose senseless tariffs on many imported wines and spirits, and, in many cases, state and local governments were slow to provide flexible outdoor options for both business owners and consumers alike.

Yet with all that, there are some genuine reasons to be thankful in 2020, and those are what Adam Teeter and Zach Geballe explore on this week’s episode of the VinePair Podcast.

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Adam: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Zach: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is a version of the OG VinePair Podcast, because we have no guest hosts today, Zach.

Z: Just you and me, man. Just like back when we were young whippersnappers, trying to plant our flag in this whole podcasting space.

A: I feel like people are gonna be like, “Oh God, I don’t want to just listen to Adam and Zach.”

Z: I mean, that is a lot what a lot of them said back in the day too, to be fair.

A: Hey, so what’s going on, man? I mean, I know we had banter, we also talked drinks. What have you been drinking recently?

Z: Well, my favorite fun story lately was I got an email from my mother, who I do see on occasion. She takes care of my son once a week, and she comes down here and usually has dinner with us. And she emailed me and basically said, “Oh, a friend of mine was telling me about this thing called ‘orange wine.’ Do you know anything about this? Or can you tell me a little about it?”And I was like, “well, yeah. And if you’re interested, I have some, we can try one when you’re down here.” So, she was down here last night for dinner and she tried her first orange wine, which was from a producer here in Washington called Two Vintners, and it’s an orange wine made from Gewürztraminer that I quite like, actually. And, I wasn’t sure what to expect but, yeah, Mom was into it, which was cool. She wasn’t like “buy me a case,” but she was like, “I would drink it again” which is great. So yeah, that was kind of fun. And, I don’t get the opportunity to pour something new for people ever anymore ’cause you know, here I am locked in my house. But once in a while, I get that opportunity, at least with my mom, and occasionally my wife, but my wife has definitely tried more wine in her life than my mom has. How about you?

A: So I had a really cool — have we run the Popina interview yet?

Z: We have not, that’ll be out for those of you listening to this on Monday, it’ll be out Wednesday and it’s very fun.

A: Yeah. So, I interviewed James O’Brien, who owns Popina, which is a great restaurant in Brooklyn. So he basically has like the tiniest indoor space, like it’s very small. And then in New York before Covid times you would call it cozy and you’d love it, because you’d basically have to make sure the other table knew you were getting up and you were going to squeeze by their’s and maybe your butt would like bump their glass or plate, but you loved it. Right? But then he has this massive outdoor space. I mean, so big that it’s crazy. I’m like, “This exists in Brooklyn?” It’s just a huge backyard. He used to have a bocce court back there now there’s tables on the bocce court and then like a driveway. And so I interviewed him just about what’s going on for him. And then he invited me to come by on Friday of last week and have a glass of wine. And so I went with him and then a friend of mine, Dave, who I’ve actually also interviewed on the podcast who owns Lalou in Brooklyn, as well. And it’s funny, I got to try a wine that you and I have talked about before, but I’ve actually never had before. So there’s a wine that I think we’ve chatted about, Zach, that has blown up in New York. That doesn’t seem to have really expanded much outside of New York, but in New York, it’s like a very hard Barolo to get. And it’s Roagna Pajé, so sorry if I butchered that, and in the city it sells for $150 to $200 a bottle easily, and it’s very heavily allocated. I think it’s either brought in by Polaner or Skurnik, one of the two. And it’s just very prized by somms here. And I’d never had it before. And because, sadly, there’s been restaurants that have closed, some of these wines that were allocated are now easier to find again. And so, James had a few bottles and I just was mentioning that I’d never had it before, because the way he’s now doing his whole restaurant is obviously a counter service. And you can see all the wines on these beautiful racks, across the counter. And I saw it, I was like, I’ve never had that before. And he’s like, well, do you want to pop it? And so we did. And it was a really delicious Barbaresco. I thought it was great. I’ve had other really amazing wines from other Barbaresco and Barolo producers that I think are as good, if not better. But I did think it was a really beautiful bottle of wine and so then I just tried to chat with them about why it has become “the thing.” And it just seems to have become the thing in the way that a lot of things become a thing. Right? Initially this was a producer that obviously is, I think they’re organic and biodynamic, but about 10, 12 years ago, they were more affordable on the market. And so a lot of somms are discovering this one, ‘cause it was a producer they could afford. And then everyone in New York got more and more excited about it, and it became “a thing” because everyone was drinking it. And so then it became more and more allocated and that’s what drove the price up. But there wasn’t a random piece of press that came out about it or a big collector that had a huge collection of it. Again, it was a bunch of people in the industry in New York who got so excited about it that everyone just started buying it. And so it got more and more and more expensive. And originally they were just excited about it because they were originally able to like sell a glass of, I think he was saying their Dolcetto, which is delicious, for $8 a glass. And that’s how people got into the producer, and then it drove from there. And I think that’s really interesting how that can happen in wine markets. Beer markets, too, spirits, too, but especially in these little pockets ‘cause I remember when I was talking to you about it when we were in Italy and you were like, “What producer?” And you know Italian wine. So it was very funny. And that happened to me, too, with a well-known somm from D.C. I said the same thing and I’m like, “Wow, we’re only four hours from you.” And it just proves it. Yeah. It’s just like a weird phenomenon here in New York that has always been funny, but it was fun to try it. And I’m glad that I had the opportunity to. So this is coming out right before Thanksgiving. We thought we’d take the time to have an episode about what we’re thankful for this year. And I know that it feels like for most of us, there’s not a lot to be thankful for. This has been a really insane year. Probably one of the most insane years of most of our lives. Not to discount anything that anyone might’ve gone through personally, that probably could have been just as hard if not harder than this year. But this has been a year of collective hardship for everyone around the world, but there are still some things to be thankful for. And so Zach, I thought I’d kick it off to you first to just ask what are some things that you’ve thought about as we’ve reflected on this episode that you’ve been thankful for this year?

Z: Yeah, well, it’s actually interesting. One of the things that was on my list, and it’s such a natural transition from what you were just talking about is that one thing that I think has really been nice in a sense as a side effect or silver lining of Covid, and unfortunately all the harm that it caused the restaurant and bar industry, is that it has reset the wine allocation market. And I think that we’ve talked about this a little bit in past episodes and at least in passing about one of the real unfortunate elements of the way that wine wholesaling tends to work in this country is that there is a lot of wine that you would think that as a restaurant or as a bar, or even as a retail shop that you’re willing to pay whatever the wholesaler wants for it, but because you don’t have a long track record of buying it, or you haven’t been around for a while, or your sales rep isn’t super well connected, or who knows what — you have a really hard time getting those wines. And it can be a long process to work your way onto those lists. And you know, that isn’t a thing that’s unique to wine or unique to the wholesale business. Obviously there are certainly wine clubs out there that if you as a consumer want to join, you might have to wait on the list for years for but I think that one thing that’s been kind of nice, as I think you’re seeing, some distributors and the importers start to reconsider whether a model where these wines that are considered “some of the prize gems” in their collection, does it really do them good in the long run? Does it do the producer good? Does it do the importer and distributor good to have those wines keep going through the same few accounts over and over again? And that in the end, if you’re an importer, producer, or distributor who wants to both get more people drinking your wine and frankly, eventually be able to sell it for more. It actually probably behooves you to have it a few more places. And I think that you’re going to see, even as we move back to a slightly more normal restaurant and bar situation, whatever that looks like in 2021, or whatever. I do think that I will be curious to see and I suspect that a lot of these wines that were so difficult to get are — for one, there’s going to be just more of them out there because people aren’t going to have as much capital to invest in very high-end wines. But also, I really do think people are going to say, you know what, maybe it is better for us if we have a little bit more presence in various different restaurants, instead of only high-end retail shops, instead of only selling to a few because they’re the longstanding partners.

A: Yeah, man, I agree with you. I think that’s something that I’ve been thankful for as well as there have been just a lot of really cool wines that I’ve now been able to get at places close to me that they’ve all told me they never would have been able to have before. And that’s been great. And I get the allocation market. I get why it exists. There’s just producers that don’t produce a lot of stuff, but it’s cool right now to see that there’s people who are getting that access to wines that they might not normally have been able to have access to because they’re not the friends of the person normally selling the wine or whatever. And so they don’t get first dibs. So that’s been great. I’m really thankful for the fact that I think a lot of us have rediscovered how pleasurable it is to make cocktails at home. I think I have really challenged myself and watched my friends challenge themselves as well, to make really delicious drinks in the comfort of their own home. I discovered the Daiquiri this year. I mean, it’s always been a drink that I liked, but never thought enough to make often. And in the summer, I think we talked about it, I made it every Friday evening. I discovered why you should alway have a bottle of simple syrup in your fridge. I challenged myself, making really interesting whiskey cocktails and things I wouldn’t normally make and looked up recipes from bars I used to love. And I think that that experimentation has made me actually a stronger appreciator of cocktails when I go out, because I actually understand what’s going into the drinks more. And I understand the craft that it takes to make really high-quality drinks, but it’s also made me really enjoy being home and whipping something up as well. That has been a really nice thing and an excuse. ‘Cause I don’t think I would ever have delved as deeply into making cocktails at home as I have had we not been in quarantine for the months we’ve been in quarantine.

Z: Yeah. And I think that in general, cocktails are the biggest example, I think for sure, but in some ways I think one of the things I’ve been thankful for this year is like just remembering how nice it can be to just have a drink at home, period. Whether that’s a cocktail, glass of wine, a beer, whatever. There are things I love about going out and I miss desperately, but because it’s been all that most of us have had, or the main thing that most of us have had, I have had to remember, yeah, it can be really nice to not have the stress and pressure that goes with being out and even something as simple, which is probably not as big a consideration for you as it is for me in Seattle, but yeah it’s nice to be able to have that third drink and be like, I literally just have to walk up a flight of stairs. I don’t have to do any more to get home. I wonder, I’m curious about this, Adam, do you sense that for you or maybe for people more broadly, that when hopefully we move — whether there’s a more widespread vaccine distribution or whatever in the six to 12 months down the road — do you anticipate being more willing to entertain and have cocktail parties? Is this newfound knowledge or at least expanded knowledge and comfort gonna translate into sharing with people? ‘Cause to me, that’s the one thing that I do miss, really, is being able to have drinks with people besides my immediate family.

A: So, yeah, I think that the first time I get to entertain, I’m probably going to go crazy. We have one friend who’s in our pod. She lives alone and is really close friends with Naomi and I, she’s been coming over, and even when she comes over, like every other week and she’ll stay over for the night in our spare bedroom, I go crazy. ‘Cause it’s another person, and I get to entertain. I think I will do that to like the thousandth degree. And I definitely think I will be more likely than I used to, to have a cocktail when people arrive. Like I used to always be like, “Oh, I’m already cooking and stuff.” And you know what I mean? When Naomi and I are busy getting ready we would have people over for dinner and say “Oh, here’s a bottle of bubbly,” and don’t get me wrong. I love a bottle of bubbly, but now I feel like I’ve gotten really good at making cocktails, I want to show that off. Right? So it’s like, I’ll have cocktails ready to go, which is super fun and exciting and something that I didn’t used to do that often. But I think I’m really thankful for, and I think we’re talking about entertaining, but the perspective that this has given. And I’ve seen you on Instagram doing this as well, and I love that we’ve realized that we just need to open shit that we think is delicious. There used to be so many bottles of wine that I had gotten and I’d been saving, and these past nine months, I’ve just opened so many of those, and it’s been awesome. And I’ve always thought, “Why was I saving this?” Like, this made Friday night even better. And so Saturday night, Naomi and I are obviously having another night in, but someone, a good friend of ours, sent me some truffles. And so I’m just going to make fresh pasta with butter and open one of these really amazing bottles of Nebbiolo I have. And, it’s Cigliuti, one of my favorite producers. I’m going to open her Barbaresco. And I’m really excited about it. And I think, again, that was a bottle of wine that I would’ve saved for a dinner party probably, and I’m like, no, no. The best thing is to make fresh pasta with butter and truffles and eat it with Naomi. Like, why would I not want to do that? You know? So I think those are things that we’ve all kind of realized we should be doing more of and has been something to reconnect with in all of this.

Z: I’m going to switch gears a little bit and talk about something else that I’ve been really pleased by, which is that you’re and it’s again by necessity, not necessarily by choice, but I think we’re seeing a really interesting shift among craft brewers to really canning and bottling almost all of their production. And I say this as someone who lives around a lot of craft breweries, one of the downsides for me about that in the last couple of years is that with a young kid, pre-Covid, we would sometimes go hang out at a brewery and have a beer or two, but like, he’s not super happy to do that and wants to be entertained. And I don’t want to ruin other people’s experience if they’re not out with kids, which is a challenging thing. But the problem is with a lot of these breweries, yeah, you can buy a bottle or a 6-pack or 4-pack or whatever of some of their core beers, but most of the things that they’re doing that are really interesting were only on draft. And I totally get why. For one, in many of these cases, the beer itself is maybe slightly better when it comes off draft, as opposed to out of a can or a bottle. And I also understand that the margin is much better on a draft beer and they don’t have to pay for canning and all that. But I will say, selfishly, as someone who does most of his drinking as previously mentioned at home, and we’ll probably be doing that even when Covid is not as big a concern, I really love being able to go get really cool, interesting beers from breweries around me and there’s more than ever before, from breweries all over the place in distribution now. And I think that’s hopefully something that persists. I get it, I won’t fault breweries for returning to the previous model of saving a lot of their special beers for taproom-only, draft-only release, but I really hope that there’s a recognition that they’re missing certain bits of their potential customer base, who just can’t go to a brewery all the time. You know, they just don’t have that ability for whatever set of reasons.

A: I agree, man, that’s been super cool. I think we’ve talked about this before, but all of a sudden, the grocery store two or three blocks away from me, that’s not a Whole Foods and not a Trader Joe’s, it’s one of these corner grocery stores, one of these local chains that we have in New York. It’s not an Associated, but it’s kind of an Associated for those of you that are New Yorkers that also kind of get what I’m going with. And all of a sudden their beer selection has just gotten way better. And they have Threes, and KCBC and all these really great beers, and they are beers that, you’re right, I wouldn’t have been able to get unless I’d gone to the brewery. And now they’re there, and it’s cool. And I also, a lot of breweries have started really getting heavily into delivery and that’s also been awesome. So I’ve been able to do cool beer deliveries from places like Torch and Crown, and there’s so many. I want to say KCBC again, ‘cause that’s what I just did recently. But, all these really great breweries in New York City, Other Half, that you just normally wouldn’t have been able to do, you would have had to go to the brewery to get them, and I think delivery has been dope for that, and for cocktails, to be honest. There’s been really cool cocktail bars that have done really great delivery menus that have really added to my weekends, you know? So those are things that I’ve been really, really excited about as we’ve continued to watch people innovate. I think that’s my overall thing I’m thankful for, is that the restaurant and bar world never fail to disappoint when it comes to innovation. It’s always pushing forward. And that’s what I think makes this industry so exciting to you, me, and everyone that listens, is that it’s an industry that’s never stagnant. There’s always people trying to do new things. Always people who are pushing the envelope and even in Covid-19, when and I know we talk about this every week, but it’s true: Please write your congresspeople. Even when Congress has failed to provide restaurant relief, the people who work in these businesses are still pushing forward, and they are still trying to figure out how to have the most amazing experiences for their guests outside. They’re trying to figure out what menus look like. They’re changing their models. They are creating incredible cocktails that you can take to-go. They are figuring out how to turn their restaurants into hybrid wine shops, they’re creating to-go cocktail bars on wheels, like we talked about the company in L.A. that created an ice cream truck that was also a cocktail bar. Like people were just doing the most amazing things. It just proves that there’s a special kind of person that goes into this industry and cannot be held down by anything, even when the government is not wanting to support them at all, which, what the f*** is happening. So that to me has been really awesome to watch, and to watch how much the industry is supporting each other. We talked about it in one of these other interviews that I did recently. I think it was with Ruffian or Popina, there’s just not the competition. Everyone just wants to help each other succeed. And everyone’s really sad when they see something go out and I think that’s just awesome. And it proves that there’s just a special kind of individual that goes into the world of restaurants and bars. And I think it’s great that the other side of the business, the producers, have been supportive. I would encourage the producers to be more supportive. This is not me on my soapbox, but I’m seeing a lot of restaurant people who were very vocal when they were trying to help a lot of the producers stop the tariffs. And were trying to help a lot of the producers make sure that the prices were the way that they should be. I’m not seeing as many producers, to be very honest, being as vocal on social media and things like that in helping the restaurants and pushing Congress to pass relief. And I understand that’s because a lot of producers are making a lot of money right now because your channels just change to off-premise, but it’d be great to see that same kind of support that the industry gives when there’s wildfires and things like that for the producers, that the producers give the restaurant industry. I’m not saying it’s all producers, let’s be clear, but I do think that there should be a much louder voice than people like Bobby Stuckey always on Instagram and Twitter and whatever, reminding people to constantly call their congresspeople and elected officials and say, look, like we gotta help the restaurant industry because if we don’t, we’re going to be screwed come January. And this has got to happen before then. So, I’m thankful for the amazing camaraderie and resilience the restaurant business has, and the people, and I’m a little disappointed in some of the other stuff.

Z: Well, we’ll try and keep things on the positive note. I think actually to that effect, a thing that as someone who spent a long time working in restaurants, I have felt a lot during this year is that one, I think it’s a positive thing for me is that the “reality” of the restaurant industry is being examined and explored in a way that it just had not previously. And that’s in part about just the financial realities of the industry and how precarious it is, even in good times, and how unsustainable in some ways a lot of the things that we took for granted pre-Covid were. It also goes to some really, really painful and hard conversations about representation, and frankly, discrimination, and abuse and all these things in the industry. And again, these things coming to light are painful, for sure. They’re painful for most of all the people who have suffered in these situations, but also for people who generally love the industry and love things about it. It’s never fun to have this stuff come to light, but it’s so essential to moving forward as an industry, moving forward as a broader conversation about drinks and their place in society. And so I do think that one of the great things, in addition to all the innovation you talked about, Adam, with service and delivery and even how drinks are made and designed, and all that, there’s also been some real incredible forums created, conversations started around inclusion and equality and fairness in these industries. And there’s a long way to go. I don’t mean to say we have arrived, but 2020 feels like a year that we will remember for a lot of reasons. And I hope that this is one of them.

A: I agree. I completely agree. I feel like there’s a lot to be thankful for, to be honest. There has been some really good stuff that’s happened this year in a year that has been also really shitty. And these are just a few of them. But I don’t want to have an hour of us rallying off all things we are thankful for. I think we could. But I think these are a good amount of things that we feel really good about and that we think are things that will continue to persist moving forward. I just think we have to have perspective and support each other and continue to enjoy the things we’re enjoying and don’t be precious about those bottles that you’ve been holding. And if you’ve got a beer or a Bourbon County Stout, pop it now, and just enjoy yourself.

Z: Yeah. And let us know what you’re thankful for. We would love to hear. Is it these things? Is it other things? Is it this podcast? That would be delightful.

A: We’ll just give ourselves a little compliment there.

Z: I mean, you know, gotta kind of look out for the home team on occasion.

A: Yeah. As always, shoot us an email at [email protected], and let us know what you’re thankful for. We’d love to hear it. And we’ll read some of those off on a future episode, ‘cause it’d be great to share with everyone who’s been listening to the podcast since Covid, pre-Covid, et cetera to know what you’ve been thankful for this year as we continue to push forward as a beverage industry. Zach, you’ll be here next week. We’ll be talking about Bubbly Week, which is one of my favorite weeks of the year. And for everyone else, thanks for listening. We’ll see you back next week.

Z: Sounds great.

Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair Podcast. If you enjoy listening to us every week, please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits, VinePair produced by myself and Zach. It is also mixed and edited by him. Yeah, Zach, we know you do a lot. I’d also like to thank the entire VinePair team, including my co-founder, Josh, and our associate editor, Cat. Thanks so much for listening. See you next week.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: Giving Thanks in a Difficult Year for the Drinks Industry appeared first on VinePair.

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[wineanddinosaur]

Giving Thanks in a Difficult Year for the Drinks Industry

2020 has been the hardest year in the drinks industry in living memory. The incredible damage that Covid-19 has wrought on bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries, and more can’t be overstated — not just putting businesses at risk, but leading to massive unemployment in the service industry and forcing many others to risk their health to keep their jobs. In addition, devastating fires struck most of the West Coast, the U.S. government continued to impose senseless tariffs on many imported wines and spirits, and, in many cases, state and local governments were slow to provide flexible outdoor options for both business owners and consumers alike.

Yet with all that, there are some genuine reasons to be thankful in 2020, and those are what Adam Teeter and Zach Geballe explore on this week’s episode of the VinePair Podcast.

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Adam: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Zach: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is a version of the OG VinePair Podcast, because we have no guest hosts today, Zach.

Z: Just you and me, man. Just like back when we were young whippersnappers, trying to plant our flag in this whole podcasting space.

A: I feel like people are gonna be like, “Oh God, I don’t want to just listen to Adam and Zach.”

Z: I mean, that is a lot what a lot of them said back in the day too, to be fair.

A: Hey, so what’s going on, man? I mean, I know we had banter, we also talked drinks. What have you been drinking recently?

Z: Well, my favorite fun story lately was I got an email from my mother, who I do see on occasion. She takes care of my son once a week, and she comes down here and usually has dinner with us. And she emailed me and basically said, “Oh, a friend of mine was telling me about this thing called ‘orange wine.’ Do you know anything about this? Or can you tell me a little about it?”And I was like, “well, yeah. And if you’re interested, I have some, we can try one when you’re down here.” So, she was down here last night for dinner and she tried her first orange wine, which was from a producer here in Washington called Two Vintners, and it’s an orange wine made from Gewürztraminer that I quite like, actually. And, I wasn’t sure what to expect but, yeah, Mom was into it, which was cool. She wasn’t like “buy me a case,” but she was like, “I would drink it again” which is great. So yeah, that was kind of fun. And, I don’t get the opportunity to pour something new for people ever anymore ’cause you know, here I am locked in my house. But once in a while, I get that opportunity, at least with my mom, and occasionally my wife, but my wife has definitely tried more wine in her life than my mom has. How about you?

A: So I had a really cool — have we run the Popina interview yet?

Z: We have not, that’ll be out for those of you listening to this on Monday, it’ll be out Wednesday and it’s very fun.

A: Yeah. So, I interviewed James O’Brien, who owns Popina, which is a great restaurant in Brooklyn. So he basically has like the tiniest indoor space, like it’s very small. And then in New York before Covid times you would call it cozy and you’d love it, because you’d basically have to make sure the other table knew you were getting up and you were going to squeeze by their’s and maybe your butt would like bump their glass or plate, but you loved it. Right? But then he has this massive outdoor space. I mean, so big that it’s crazy. I’m like, “This exists in Brooklyn?” It’s just a huge backyard. He used to have a bocce court back there now there’s tables on the bocce court and then like a driveway. And so I interviewed him just about what’s going on for him. And then he invited me to come by on Friday of last week and have a glass of wine. And so I went with him and then a friend of mine, Dave, who I’ve actually also interviewed on the podcast who owns Lalou in Brooklyn, as well. And it’s funny, I got to try a wine that you and I have talked about before, but I’ve actually never had before. So there’s a wine that I think we’ve chatted about, Zach, that has blown up in New York. That doesn’t seem to have really expanded much outside of New York, but in New York, it’s like a very hard Barolo to get. And it’s Roagna Pajé, so sorry if I butchered that, and in the city it sells for $150 to $200 a bottle easily, and it’s very heavily allocated. I think it’s either brought in by Polaner or Skurnik, one of the two. And it’s just very prized by somms here. And I’d never had it before. And because, sadly, there’s been restaurants that have closed, some of these wines that were allocated are now easier to find again. And so, James had a few bottles and I just was mentioning that I’d never had it before, because the way he’s now doing his whole restaurant is obviously a counter service. And you can see all the wines on these beautiful racks, across the counter. And I saw it, I was like, I’ve never had that before. And he’s like, well, do you want to pop it? And so we did. And it was a really delicious Barbaresco. I thought it was great. I’ve had other really amazing wines from other Barbaresco and Barolo producers that I think are as good, if not better. But I did think it was a really beautiful bottle of wine and so then I just tried to chat with them about why it has become “the thing.” And it just seems to have become the thing in the way that a lot of things become a thing. Right? Initially this was a producer that obviously is, I think they’re organic and biodynamic, but about 10, 12 years ago, they were more affordable on the market. And so a lot of somms are discovering this one, ‘cause it was a producer they could afford. And then everyone in New York got more and more excited about it, and it became “a thing” because everyone was drinking it. And so then it became more and more allocated and that’s what drove the price up. But there wasn’t a random piece of press that came out about it or a big collector that had a huge collection of it. Again, it was a bunch of people in the industry in New York who got so excited about it that everyone just started buying it. And so it got more and more and more expensive. And originally they were just excited about it because they were originally able to like sell a glass of, I think he was saying their Dolcetto, which is delicious, for $8 a glass. And that’s how people got into the producer, and then it drove from there. And I think that’s really interesting how that can happen in wine markets. Beer markets, too, spirits, too, but especially in these little pockets ‘cause I remember when I was talking to you about it when we were in Italy and you were like, “What producer?” And you know Italian wine. So it was very funny. And that happened to me, too, with a well-known somm from D.C. I said the same thing and I’m like, “Wow, we’re only four hours from you.” And it just proves it. Yeah. It’s just like a weird phenomenon here in New York that has always been funny, but it was fun to try it. And I’m glad that I had the opportunity to. So this is coming out right before Thanksgiving. We thought we’d take the time to have an episode about what we’re thankful for this year. And I know that it feels like for most of us, there’s not a lot to be thankful for. This has been a really insane year. Probably one of the most insane years of most of our lives. Not to discount anything that anyone might’ve gone through personally, that probably could have been just as hard if not harder than this year. But this has been a year of collective hardship for everyone around the world, but there are still some things to be thankful for. And so Zach, I thought I’d kick it off to you first to just ask what are some things that you’ve thought about as we’ve reflected on this episode that you’ve been thankful for this year?

Z: Yeah, well, it’s actually interesting. One of the things that was on my list, and it’s such a natural transition from what you were just talking about is that one thing that I think has really been nice in a sense as a side effect or silver lining of Covid, and unfortunately all the harm that it caused the restaurant and bar industry, is that it has reset the wine allocation market. And I think that we’ve talked about this a little bit in past episodes and at least in passing about one of the real unfortunate elements of the way that wine wholesaling tends to work in this country is that there is a lot of wine that you would think that as a restaurant or as a bar, or even as a retail shop that you’re willing to pay whatever the wholesaler wants for it, but because you don’t have a long track record of buying it, or you haven’t been around for a while, or your sales rep isn’t super well connected, or who knows what — you have a really hard time getting those wines. And it can be a long process to work your way onto those lists. And you know, that isn’t a thing that’s unique to wine or unique to the wholesale business. Obviously there are certainly wine clubs out there that if you as a consumer want to join, you might have to wait on the list for years for but I think that one thing that’s been kind of nice, as I think you’re seeing, some distributors and the importers start to reconsider whether a model where these wines that are considered “some of the prize gems” in their collection, does it really do them good in the long run? Does it do the producer good? Does it do the importer and distributor good to have those wines keep going through the same few accounts over and over again? And that in the end, if you’re an importer, producer, or distributor who wants to both get more people drinking your wine and frankly, eventually be able to sell it for more. It actually probably behooves you to have it a few more places. And I think that you’re going to see, even as we move back to a slightly more normal restaurant and bar situation, whatever that looks like in 2021, or whatever. I do think that I will be curious to see and I suspect that a lot of these wines that were so difficult to get are — for one, there’s going to be just more of them out there because people aren’t going to have as much capital to invest in very high-end wines. But also, I really do think people are going to say, you know what, maybe it is better for us if we have a little bit more presence in various different restaurants, instead of only high-end retail shops, instead of only selling to a few because they’re the longstanding partners.

A: Yeah, man, I agree with you. I think that’s something that I’ve been thankful for as well as there have been just a lot of really cool wines that I’ve now been able to get at places close to me that they’ve all told me they never would have been able to have before. And that’s been great. And I get the allocation market. I get why it exists. There’s just producers that don’t produce a lot of stuff, but it’s cool right now to see that there’s people who are getting that access to wines that they might not normally have been able to have access to because they’re not the friends of the person normally selling the wine or whatever. And so they don’t get first dibs. So that’s been great. I’m really thankful for the fact that I think a lot of us have rediscovered how pleasurable it is to make cocktails at home. I think I have really challenged myself and watched my friends challenge themselves as well, to make really delicious drinks in the comfort of their own home. I discovered the Daiquiri this year. I mean, it’s always been a drink that I liked, but never thought enough to make often. And in the summer, I think we talked about it, I made it every Friday evening. I discovered why you should alway have a bottle of simple syrup in your fridge. I challenged myself, making really interesting whiskey cocktails and things I wouldn’t normally make and looked up recipes from bars I used to love. And I think that that experimentation has made me actually a stronger appreciator of cocktails when I go out, because I actually understand what’s going into the drinks more. And I understand the craft that it takes to make really high-quality drinks, but it’s also made me really enjoy being home and whipping something up as well. That has been a really nice thing and an excuse. ‘Cause I don’t think I would ever have delved as deeply into making cocktails at home as I have had we not been in quarantine for the months we’ve been in quarantine.

Z: Yeah. And I think that in general, cocktails are the biggest example, I think for sure, but in some ways I think one of the things I’ve been thankful for this year is like just remembering how nice it can be to just have a drink at home, period. Whether that’s a cocktail, glass of wine, a beer, whatever. There are things I love about going out and I miss desperately, but because it’s been all that most of us have had, or the main thing that most of us have had, I have had to remember, yeah, it can be really nice to not have the stress and pressure that goes with being out and even something as simple, which is probably not as big a consideration for you as it is for me in Seattle, but yeah it’s nice to be able to have that third drink and be like, I literally just have to walk up a flight of stairs. I don’t have to do any more to get home. I wonder, I’m curious about this, Adam, do you sense that for you or maybe for people more broadly, that when hopefully we move — whether there’s a more widespread vaccine distribution or whatever in the six to 12 months down the road — do you anticipate being more willing to entertain and have cocktail parties? Is this newfound knowledge or at least expanded knowledge and comfort gonna translate into sharing with people? ‘Cause to me, that’s the one thing that I do miss, really, is being able to have drinks with people besides my immediate family.

A: So, yeah, I think that the first time I get to entertain, I’m probably going to go crazy. We have one friend who’s in our pod. She lives alone and is really close friends with Naomi and I, she’s been coming over, and even when she comes over, like every other week and she’ll stay over for the night in our spare bedroom, I go crazy. ‘Cause it’s another person, and I get to entertain. I think I will do that to like the thousandth degree. And I definitely think I will be more likely than I used to, to have a cocktail when people arrive. Like I used to always be like, “Oh, I’m already cooking and stuff.” And you know what I mean? When Naomi and I are busy getting ready we would have people over for dinner and say “Oh, here’s a bottle of bubbly,” and don’t get me wrong. I love a bottle of bubbly, but now I feel like I’ve gotten really good at making cocktails, I want to show that off. Right? So it’s like, I’ll have cocktails ready to go, which is super fun and exciting and something that I didn’t used to do that often. But I think I’m really thankful for, and I think we’re talking about entertaining, but the perspective that this has given. And I’ve seen you on Instagram doing this as well, and I love that we’ve realized that we just need to open shit that we think is delicious. There used to be so many bottles of wine that I had gotten and I’d been saving, and these past nine months, I’ve just opened so many of those, and it’s been awesome. And I’ve always thought, “Why was I saving this?” Like, this made Friday night even better. And so Saturday night, Naomi and I are obviously having another night in, but someone, a good friend of ours, sent me some truffles. And so I’m just going to make fresh pasta with butter and open one of these really amazing bottles of Nebbiolo I have. And, it’s Cigliuti, one of my favorite producers. I’m going to open her Barbaresco. And I’m really excited about it. And I think, again, that was a bottle of wine that I would’ve saved for a dinner party probably, and I’m like, no, no. The best thing is to make fresh pasta with butter and truffles and eat it with Naomi. Like, why would I not want to do that? You know? So I think those are things that we’ve all kind of realized we should be doing more of and has been something to reconnect with in all of this.

Z: I’m going to switch gears a little bit and talk about something else that I’ve been really pleased by, which is that you’re and it’s again by necessity, not necessarily by choice, but I think we’re seeing a really interesting shift among craft brewers to really canning and bottling almost all of their production. And I say this as someone who lives around a lot of craft breweries, one of the downsides for me about that in the last couple of years is that with a young kid, pre-Covid, we would sometimes go hang out at a brewery and have a beer or two, but like, he’s not super happy to do that and wants to be entertained. And I don’t want to ruin other people’s experience if they’re not out with kids, which is a challenging thing. But the problem is with a lot of these breweries, yeah, you can buy a bottle or a 6-pack or 4-pack or whatever of some of their core beers, but most of the things that they’re doing that are really interesting were only on draft. And I totally get why. For one, in many of these cases, the beer itself is maybe slightly better when it comes off draft, as opposed to out of a can or a bottle. And I also understand that the margin is much better on a draft beer and they don’t have to pay for canning and all that. But I will say, selfishly, as someone who does most of his drinking as previously mentioned at home, and we’ll probably be doing that even when Covid is not as big a concern, I really love being able to go get really cool, interesting beers from breweries around me and there’s more than ever before, from breweries all over the place in distribution now. And I think that’s hopefully something that persists. I get it, I won’t fault breweries for returning to the previous model of saving a lot of their special beers for taproom-only, draft-only release, but I really hope that there’s a recognition that they’re missing certain bits of their potential customer base, who just can’t go to a brewery all the time. You know, they just don’t have that ability for whatever set of reasons.

A: I agree, man, that’s been super cool. I think we’ve talked about this before, but all of a sudden, the grocery store two or three blocks away from me, that’s not a Whole Foods and not a Trader Joe’s, it’s one of these corner grocery stores, one of these local chains that we have in New York. It’s not an Associated, but it’s kind of an Associated for those of you that are New Yorkers that also kind of get what I’m going with. And all of a sudden their beer selection has just gotten way better. And they have Threes, and KCBC and all these really great beers, and they are beers that, you’re right, I wouldn’t have been able to get unless I’d gone to the brewery. And now they’re there, and it’s cool. And I also, a lot of breweries have started really getting heavily into delivery and that’s also been awesome. So I’ve been able to do cool beer deliveries from places like Torch and Crown, and there’s so many. I want to say KCBC again, ‘cause that’s what I just did recently. But, all these really great breweries in New York City, Other Half, that you just normally wouldn’t have been able to do, you would have had to go to the brewery to get them, and I think delivery has been dope for that, and for cocktails, to be honest. There’s been really cool cocktail bars that have done really great delivery menus that have really added to my weekends, you know? So those are things that I’ve been really, really excited about as we’ve continued to watch people innovate. I think that’s my overall thing I’m thankful for, is that the restaurant and bar world never fail to disappoint when it comes to innovation. It’s always pushing forward. And that’s what I think makes this industry so exciting to you, me, and everyone that listens, is that it’s an industry that’s never stagnant. There’s always people trying to do new things. Always people who are pushing the envelope and even in Covid-19, when and I know we talk about this every week, but it’s true: Please write your congresspeople. Even when Congress has failed to provide restaurant relief, the people who work in these businesses are still pushing forward, and they are still trying to figure out how to have the most amazing experiences for their guests outside. They’re trying to figure out what menus look like. They’re changing their models. They are creating incredible cocktails that you can take to-go. They are figuring out how to turn their restaurants into hybrid wine shops, they’re creating to-go cocktail bars on wheels, like we talked about the company in L.A. that created an ice cream truck that was also a cocktail bar. Like people were just doing the most amazing things. It just proves that there’s a special kind of person that goes into this industry and cannot be held down by anything, even when the government is not wanting to support them at all, which, what the f*** is happening. So that to me has been really awesome to watch, and to watch how much the industry is supporting each other. We talked about it in one of these other interviews that I did recently. I think it was with Ruffian or Popina, there’s just not the competition. Everyone just wants to help each other succeed. And everyone’s really sad when they see something go out and I think that’s just awesome. And it proves that there’s just a special kind of individual that goes into the world of restaurants and bars. And I think it’s great that the other side of the business, the producers, have been supportive. I would encourage the producers to be more supportive. This is not me on my soapbox, but I’m seeing a lot of restaurant people who were very vocal when they were trying to help a lot of the producers stop the tariffs. And were trying to help a lot of the producers make sure that the prices were the way that they should be. I’m not seeing as many producers, to be very honest, being as vocal on social media and things like that in helping the restaurants and pushing Congress to pass relief. And I understand that’s because a lot of producers are making a lot of money right now because your channels just change to off-premise, but it’d be great to see that same kind of support that the industry gives when there’s wildfires and things like that for the producers, that the producers give the restaurant industry. I’m not saying it’s all producers, let’s be clear, but I do think that there should be a much louder voice than people like Bobby Stuckey always on Instagram and Twitter and whatever, reminding people to constantly call their congresspeople and elected officials and say, look, like we gotta help the restaurant industry because if we don’t, we’re going to be screwed come January. And this has got to happen before then. So, I’m thankful for the amazing camaraderie and resilience the restaurant business has, and the people, and I’m a little disappointed in some of the other stuff.

Z: Well, we’ll try and keep things on the positive note. I think actually to that effect, a thing that as someone who spent a long time working in restaurants, I have felt a lot during this year is that one, I think it’s a positive thing for me is that the “reality” of the restaurant industry is being examined and explored in a way that it just had not previously. And that’s in part about just the financial realities of the industry and how precarious it is, even in good times, and how unsustainable in some ways a lot of the things that we took for granted pre-Covid were. It also goes to some really, really painful and hard conversations about representation, and frankly, discrimination, and abuse and all these things in the industry. And again, these things coming to light are painful, for sure. They’re painful for most of all the people who have suffered in these situations, but also for people who generally love the industry and love things about it. It’s never fun to have this stuff come to light, but it’s so essential to moving forward as an industry, moving forward as a broader conversation about drinks and their place in society. And so I do think that one of the great things, in addition to all the innovation you talked about, Adam, with service and delivery and even how drinks are made and designed, and all that, there’s also been some real incredible forums created, conversations started around inclusion and equality and fairness in these industries. And there’s a long way to go. I don’t mean to say we have arrived, but 2020 feels like a year that we will remember for a lot of reasons. And I hope that this is one of them.

A: I agree. I completely agree. I feel like there’s a lot to be thankful for, to be honest. There has been some really good stuff that’s happened this year in a year that has been also really shitty. And these are just a few of them. But I don’t want to have an hour of us rallying off all things we are thankful for. I think we could. But I think these are a good amount of things that we feel really good about and that we think are things that will continue to persist moving forward. I just think we have to have perspective and support each other and continue to enjoy the things we’re enjoying and don’t be precious about those bottles that you’ve been holding. And if you’ve got a beer or a Bourbon County Stout, pop it now, and just enjoy yourself.

Z: Yeah. And let us know what you’re thankful for. We would love to hear. Is it these things? Is it other things? Is it this podcast? That would be delightful.

A: We’ll just give ourselves a little compliment there.

Z: I mean, you know, gotta kind of look out for the home team on occasion.

A: Yeah. As always, shoot us an email at [email protected], and let us know what you’re thankful for. We’d love to hear it. And we’ll read some of those off on a future episode, ‘cause it’d be great to share with everyone who’s been listening to the podcast since Covid, pre-Covid, et cetera to know what you’ve been thankful for this year as we continue to push forward as a beverage industry. Zach, you’ll be here next week. We’ll be talking about Bubbly Week, which is one of my favorite weeks of the year. And for everyone else, thanks for listening. We’ll see you back next week.

Z: Sounds great.

Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair Podcast. If you enjoy listening to us every week, please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits, VinePair produced by myself and Zach. It is also mixed and edited by him. Yeah, Zach, we know you do a lot. I’d also like to thank the entire VinePair team, including my co-founder, Josh, and our associate editor, Cat. Thanks so much for listening. See you next week.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Giving Thanks in a Difficult Year for the Drinks Industry appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/thanksgiving-podcast-2020/

[handsomewrites]

Catching Up With The Fastball - Ch. 2

this is all that we have planned, choices taken from our hands. finally this fades to stand alone. my mind is a runaway, and I find it too hard to breathe.

Jeremy doesn't have legs, and no one seems to understand his life is over. The doctor doesn't make it better, but he makes it different.

Posted on Friday because I’ll be away from the computer on Saturday.

Jeremy’s hands felt the rough fabric of bandage again. Thick, but not so thick that he couldn’t feel the pressure of his grip on the wounds underneath. With a palm on each side of his thigh, his fingers could touch on the top and bottom. That wasn’t new, but as he slid his hands lower, the flesh of his leg tapered away to nothing. Right above where his left knee should be. He still had his right knee, but the flesh tapered off a few inches below that, too. Thinking about it, he pressed his hands a bit harder.

He wasn’t really feeling it yet. Well--he was feeling it, as much as the drugs would allow, but it didn’t… feel real. Maybe he would still wake up. He ran his hands back up to the top of the bandages, pressing a little harder than maybe he should. It had been a couple days since he’d woken up, so they’d cut back his drugs. He probably wasn’t doing any more damage, or it’d hurt a lot more. Plus, the small sparks of pain grounded him. He felt like he wasn’t blinking enough.

“Oh, Baby.” He hadn’t heard his Ma’s heels clicking down the hallway like usual, but then, he was sort of distracted. She dropped the bag of food she’d brought on the small side-table that had replaced his heart monitor before walking over to the side of his bed. Her small, manicured hands grabbed his wrists, and he let her move them from his leg--his stump, rather--and back to his lap.

He looked up at her face as she moved the blanket to cover up to his hips, and it took him a few moment to focus his eyes. “Oh, hey Ma.”

“Jeremy… How are you feelin’?” She had her hands on his again, both of them holding one. Well, sort of--one hand was still in her arm cast, so it was like one hand held his, and the other was just grabbing at it with her fingers. But the intent was there.

He shrugged. She sighed.

“I brought ya some lunch. Fried chicken, your favourite…!”

He glanced over to it and nodded.

“Thanks, Ma.”

She stood and watched him for a moment more before sighing and squeezing his hand.

“Oh, Jer-bear…”

They stood there together for a bit, silent. Jeremy always felt a little better when she was there, but not… a lot. He hasn’t felt a lot of anything, for the past few days since he woke up. After a few moments, though, his stomach made a noise, and his mother smiled, reaching over to the bag and pulling out a drumstick.

He took it with a weak smile and started eating, and she pushed away from the bed. She wandered over to the window and pulled the curtains open, letting the sunlight in--Jeremy looked paler than usual, with heavy dark bags under his eyes. His hair stuck up in every direction, and he was looking at his chicken like he was looking through it. Like he barely even tasted it.

She sighed again, the sight pulling at her heart as much as what she was about to tell him. “...Hey, Jer?”

“Hmm?” Jeremy looked up at her, mouth full.

“You know you’re… gonna be here for a bit.” He didn’t say anything, mouth full, so she continued. “And hospitals cost money, after all, so--”

Jeremy’s eyes widened as she spoke, and he swallowed quickly to respond. “If we can’t afford it, Ma, I can just--get better at home, or somethin’, I don’t--”

“Oh, now, hush, Jeremy, lemmie finish!” He frowned, but fell quiet. “It’s taken care of, don’t you worry. We got a little insurance from the Kroger’s, you know, and the rest of it is paid for with a couple’a loans an’ a couple’a credit cards.” Her accent drew out the word cahds in a way that always made him want to smile. Her accent had always been stronger than his. “But, you know, you won’t be workin’ for a while, and I gotta start payin’ shit back pretty soon, so I’m gonna be pickin’ up a couple’a extra shifts, maybe even a third job…”

“Aw, Ma, no…” She already had two jobs, both retail bullshit. She always seemed so tired.

“No, no, I can handle it, it’s no problem. Nicky’s been hangin’ around, helpin’ out a bit, so maybe he wouldn’ mind chippin’ in…” Nicky was Jeremy’s brother, the one closest to him in age. Still a few years older, but he lived nearby and didn’t have any kids yet. “Bottom line is, we’ll make it work. But I won’t be able to come around an’ visit as much as I have been.” She looked at him with… concern. Not pity, legitimate concern. “Are you gonna be okay, Jer-bear?”

God. This was all his fault--he’d gotten them both into an accident, and now because of him, his Ma had to get another job and more shifts. “Yeah, Ma, whatever you need’ta do. I’ll be fine.” He’d probably lose his job, too, missing so much time--if he even could’ve kept doing it at all, now that he was a cripple. He wished he could do more for her, but...

“Are ya sure?” She went back over to rub his back, and he nodded. He needed to do whatever he could to make her life easier, and one of those things was trying to keep her from worrying. That was the least he could do.

“Yeah. I’m just sorry you gotta go through all this shit…”

“Don’t worry about me, honey. We’ll be fine. Just focus on gettin’ better, okay?”

There really didn’t seem to be any road towards better --legs didn’t regrow, after all--but he smiled and nodded for her.

---

There were forty-seven tiles on the ceiling of Jeremy’s room. He’d counted them three times. Wait, was it forty-seven or forty-eight? Had he counted the half-tiles as one each or added them in as halves?

Well. Better count them again.

At tile number seventeen and a half, since he was counting half-tiles as halves now, the door of his room opened. He didn’t look away from the ceiling tiles to look at them, lest he lose count.

“Good afternoon, Jeremy,” his visitor chimed. It was the doctor again, judging by his weird accent. Something European. “How are you feeling today?” It was a harsh accent. Not very good for a doctor, he thought. “Jeremy?” And he had trouble pronouncing the letter ‘R’. Which made saying his name sound kind of weird. “Jeremy.” It was too guttural, like he was putting too much spit into it? Or making it too round, or something, but he wasn’t sure how a sound could be round--

A big red-gloved hand filled his vision and snapped a few times, which was kind of impressive with said gloves, and it startled Jeremy out of his reverie. He looked over to the doctor, who was frowning down at him. “Oh, hey Doc.”

“Hello, Jeremy.” He pushed his little glasses up his nose with one finger, his other hand holding a clipboard. “How are you feeling today?”

Jeremy shrugged. “I don’t have legs.”

“I mean. No, I suppose not. I guess we can just go through the list, then.” He walked across the room to grab the one chair, and dragged it over to sit down next to the bed. Jeremy sat up as the doctor continued. “How does your head feel?”

“A little fuzzy, I guess, and it hurts over here,” Jeremy waved a hand idly around the left side of his head.

“Alright. Are you seeing alright?” Jeremy nodded. “Hearing?” Again, Jeremy nodded. “Good, good.” He paused, scribbling on his clipboard. “Now, I’ve noticed you haven’t been eating very much.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Not real hungry, I guess.”

The doctor hummed. “Feeling sick to your stomach?”

“Nah.” He looked over to the food his mother had brought earlier. He’d only eaten the one drumstick. It was okay, but eating didn’t really feel worth the effort.

“...She said that was your favourite,” the doctor pointed out, his pen pointing towards the uneaten chicken. “She was very excited to bring it up to you.”

“Yeah. She’s a good Ma.”

There was a small stretch of silence before the doctor put his pen down on the board. “You may feel better if you eat, you know.”

“I feel fine.”

“You know, it’s okay not to feel fine.”

Jeremy felt a hand on his shoulder, and frowned, still staring away from the doctor, at the chicken. “Good to know. Still fine.”

The doctor sighed. “It’s completely normal.” Jeremy continued to look away from him, so he stood. “Well, alright. I’ll be back before nightfall to check on you again. And if you decide you do want to talk, just press this button.” He held up the device attached to the bed and pointed to the green button as he spoke. “The red one is for if you believe yourself to be dying. The yellow one is for nurses, if you are hungry or need something… changed, or whatever. Green gets me, for non-emergencies.” Another beat of silence passed before the doctor put it back down and moved to walk out.

“Hey, Doc?”

“Hm?” He turned his head to look at his patient, one eyebrow raised.

“You got a name, or should I just keep callin’ you Doc?”

The doctor chuckled. “You may continue to call me Doc if you wish, but my name is Dr. Ludwig.”

Jeremy nodded.

“Thanks, Doc.”

The doctor chuckled as he walked out of the room.

---

Over the hours spent sitting alone in his room, Jeremy had begun to enjoy the feeling of massaging his stitches through the bandages. The one on his head was convenient to reach, but only two stitches, and not as fleshy. His legs, though, had a satisfying squish when he pressed it, and a white-hot pain that made him feel real, though whether he wanted to feel real or not he still wasn’t sure.

This wasn’t the life he’d wanted.

As his thumbnail dug under a stitch, he found himself thinking about the life he had, now. The first thing that came to mind was the track team. It was just the local rec team, yeah, but it was something he enjoyed--maybe the only thing he enjoyed, now that he thought about it. He loved the people, he loved flirting with the coach, even if she clearly wasn’t interested, he loved joking with the team and listening to the old-timers and playing with the kids. He loved competing with them, getting faster, making them proud. He loved their smiles at the finish line of the sprint and their jokes about his hurdle jumps.

But more than all that, he loved… the track. It was stupid, but god, that patchy plot of grass with its plain black oval of asphalt, that felt like home. Even when the team wasn’t meeting, that’s where he went whenever he was upset, or confused, or mad, or… happy. He went there after work and in the morning when he woke up, to clear his head or relax his body or simply to feel the pliant old track give just slightly under his feet, to feel the impact shudder up through his calves and his knees to his hips and his heart. The smog on his face. If he went fast enough, it felt like fresh air.

His thumb dug in harder. He wouldn’t be doing that any more. He couldn’t feel anything in his feet or calves or left knee any more, for one thing, but he wasn’t stupid, either. They could barely afford to keep him alive, there was no way they’d be able to get him prosthetics. Even if they could, it took years to learn how to walk on them, much less run, and he wasn’t exactly the best student. He could barely learn arithmetic, how could he re-learn walking?

Jeremy was torn from his thoughts as he felt wetness under his thumb, and looking down, he saw that he’d torn some bandage with his nail. He also noticed that said bandage was bloody, as was his thumb. He hurriedly wiped his thumb off on the bandage to clear the evidence, covered his lower half again with his blankets, and grabbed the remote attached to his bed. Red is emergencies, which this definitely wasn’t, but he didn’t like the nurse, or her fake smile or her fake face. He pushed the green button, then, and dropped the remote back into its tray before settling into bed.

No one came for a few minutes, and Jeremy had almost nodded off by the time the door opened and Doc came in, white coat fluttering behind him. “Jeremy--did you need something?”

The boy blinked a few times before sitting up. “Yeah, uh… My leg hurts. Was just sleepin’ and it, uh. You know. Started hurtin’, so…”

As he spoke, the doctor walked over to his bedside and threw the blankets away from his legs. Jeremy’s hands immediately went to hold his gown down in front of him, for some sort of modesty’s sake, and Doc failed to suppress his eye roll. “Jeremy, please. You had a catheter in for a week, do you think that happened magically?”

Jeremy felt his face heat as he looked away, definitely not pouting. The doctor chuckled, briefly, but fell quiet when he saw his patient’s leg.

“You are bleeding quite heavily again,” he pointed out, pulling the chair back over so he could get a closer look.

“Yeah. Dunno how that happened.”

The doctor began to unwind the bandages, and his frown deepened. “Your last stitch is nearly torn free entirely…”

“Rough sleeper.”

“...Indeed. Well.” He put a lot of emphasis on the word well, but it didn’t sound right. Like vell. “Try to stay awake while I am gone. I need to get a few things in order to fix this.”  

“Right on, Doc.” Jeremy folded his hands behind his head. Admittedly, he did almost fall back asleep before the doctor returned, but his eyes snapped open again with the loud click of his boots.

“Sit still, please.” His demeanor seemed clipped, this time, like he was irritated. He had a tray with him, and when he sat again, Jeremy saw a long curved needle. It was spooky looking.

“Wow, that thing’s spooky lookin’,” he said.

“Indeed,” the doctor agreed absently, threading the needle. He wiped it down with a wet wipe, and wiped Jeremy’s wound with another, which stung a little, but Jeremy didn’t say anything about it.

Doc pushed some stuff around in his wound, which felt weird, and then thrust the needle into his flesh with no further preamble or anesthetic. Jeremy did yelp, this time, right hand moving up to his mouth so he could dig his buck teeth into it. He felt the flesh tug against the metal, and the rough fibers of the stitch pull through the hole it left, inch by inch. Centimetre by centimetre. After what felt like an eternity, the fiber reached its knot, and pulled taut. Jeremy whimpered. Then the doctor did it all again, to make another stitch, and Jeremy dug his teeth into his hand even harder.

Then, with a snip, it was done. “There you are. All better. Just need to bandage it up again. Oh, and, let me see your hand. I need to check your pulse.”

Panting slightly, Jeremy did as told, but the doctor didn’t check his pulse. He tugged Jeremy forward roughly, bringing the hand--Jeremy’s left, since the right was in his mouth--up towards his own face, with a look of anger on his face. Even Jeremy had to admit, it was… scary.

“There is blood under your thumb nail,” the doctor pointed out dismissively, before releasing the hand and allowing the boy to collapse back into bed. He retrieved a roll of gauze from his tray and began to re-bandage the wound before continuing. “Stitches do not come out easily, Jeremy. I can recognise a self-destructive injury when I see one.”

Jeremy was quiet. What could he say to that? It wasn’t often he was so bluntly called out.

“You called me before any serious damage could be done, though. I see you do not wish to prolong your stay, or to… procure more drugs from me. So why?”

The doctor didn’t look at him when he spoke, focusing on his task. It was a little weird, but it made Jeremy more comfortable, somehow. The Doc was still waiting for an answer, though, and any doubt Jeremy had about that fact was dispelled by the glance he got from the corner of the doctor’s eye. “...I dunno. It felt good, I guess.”

They were both quiet until Dr. Ludwig finished his task, and put his tools back on his tray. Then he looked Jeremy in the eye, serious but no longer scary, with Jeremy’s blood still warm on his gloves.

“No one expects this to be easy for you, Jeremy. You have lost a part of your body. It should be difficult. But talking may make it easier.” He gave a gentle pat to the leg he’d just bandaged, leaving a small smear of red on the pristine white bandages. “If nothing else, tearing out your stitches will not. It will just make it scar worse.”

Jeremy stayed quiet, chewing his lip, avoiding eye contact. The doctor’s hand on his leg was warm, and large, and the pressure was… nice. Different from his own pressure. He couldn’t explain it. But he felt it, perhaps more so than he’d felt the pain of pulling out his own stitch, radiating through the layers of fabric to loosely grip his newly acquired deficiency. Warm. Real. Comfortable.

A few moments passed without anything being said. Jeremy looked up to see the doctor still looking at him, with a pointed expression. It wasn’t invasive, though, or irritated as it had been before. Almost friendly. A few more moments passed before he spoke.

“...Doc?”

“Yes, Jeremy?”

Another beat passed. “Uh... Where’s your accent from?”

The doctor smiled. “Germany. Stuttgart, to be exact.” He patted Jeremy’s leg before standing, warm hand leaving Jeremy’s leg, picking up his tray to take with him as he left. He continued to speak, even as he walked away. “I imagine being cooped in this room all day must be boring. Tomorrow morning I will bring by a wheelchair and show you around the hospital, if you’d like.” He glanced over his shoulder to gauge Jeremy’s response.

Deep down, he didn’t really want to do anything. But something about the doctor interested him, from his weird accent to his rapidly cycling facial expressions to his warm hands. He was strange and scary, but… “Yeah, alright. Sure thing, Doc.”

#mediscout #slow burn #longfic #tf2 #catching up with the fastball

[pussymagicuniverse]

Let's Go Crazy

#meowlist by Angela M. Castelli

Well, kittens. We are in the midst of a global pandemic. Not exactly the lightest of openers here, but it’s our scary reality. You may still be working because your job is an essential one for us humans to survive (and for that, I thank you!). You may be working from home indefinitely, which may be a new way of life for you (as a teacher, it’s been incredibly tiring trying to teach six year olds from my kitchen table and yeah, I haven’t worn real clothes in 12 days). Or you may not be working at all, having been laid off due to the closures of bars, restaurants, gyms, retail spaces, etc. You are worried. Worried about how your bills will be paid, worried about the quickness of this virus being spread, worried about your parents or grandparents, worried about your friends whom you haven’t seen in weeks, worried for the economic hit we as a world are dealing with. It’s all too much.

Usually when I am dealing with something heavy, my first reaction is to wallow in that space. Listen to the most depressing music ever written and just sit there. It’s not exactly the wisest of aides, but it has always been my go-to. For some unknown reason, I’ve been avoiding that routine during this extremely dark time. My mind can’t fully understand how big this all is. Being from Southern California, I have seen devastation from fires and earthquakes and the way our communities rally together to get through it. I have never experienced something that the entire world is dealing with like this. And we’re all just sitting at home (at least, supposed to be!) trying to make sense of it all. 

So that’s why my go-to has been music I can dance to. Each day, I put on my headphones or put a record on and I just move. It gets me through work, it gets me through the awful hump in the middle of the day where I realize why we are all at home and why I can’t leave to go hug a friend, it gets me through the heaviness of it all. 

For this month’s playlist, I wanted the listener to lean into their feelings of crazy. Each song has a particular nod to this apocalyptic feeling we are experiencing but it’s impossible to not move to the first ten songs. Clocking in at about 45 minutes, it’s perfect if you want or need to get your body moving. Make up your own workout routine. Play it while organizing that closet of yours you’ve been putting off. Find an activity that is away from technology and listen to your body.

The last song is a slow one, but I wanted to end it on a beautiful song called “A Lot is Gonna Change” by the great Weyes Blood. It was actually a song that I included on our “Renewal” playlist at the start of the new year, because it just made me yearn for a moment where things could feel lighter and happier. I felt like I was so close to that feeling. Now when I hear this song, it has a stronger, more universal feeling for peace and good health. It’s impossible for me to not have an emotional reaction to it. A great song to stretch to or just lay down and listen to.

I keep thinking that a lot is gonna change. I hope we come out of this with more love for each other and for our world. I can’t wait to come out of this and go dancing with the people I love. But until that glorious day, this will do.

Stay safe, kittens. And stay home!

Angela M. Castelli is and educator, pop culture and music enthusiast, and Pussy Magic’s Music Editor as well as curator and columnist for the Magical Meowlists column.

She is also co-host of the podcast Hotpod Thoughts and Totally Buggin’. She resides in Los Angeles.

#meowlist #magical meowlist #playlist #angela m. castelli #prince #tame impala #kali uchis #tyler #tyler the creator #robyn #phoenix #scissor sisters #daniel bedingfield #charli xcx #troye sivan #howard jones #ariana grande #weyes blood #let's go crazy

[cwnerd12]

Family

prepare to get (emotionally) REKT bitch

“Family” Leadership meeting at Chez Iggy. Abby, “The bad news is Amal got away.” Shay: “How the fuck did that happen? We know who he is, we know who his followers are and how he’s recruiting them. We’ve got to be able to find him. Silas found us, for fuck’s sake.” Jack: “The first time, we had a mole, the second time, we kind of gave our position away.” Shay: “So should we send out an Amalekite mole? If he’s poaching dissatisfied AFG soldiers…” David: “I’m not gonna send someone out into that dangerous of a position. We can keep using Gilboan intel, and disseminate Amal’s image and information everywhere.” Abby: “If we make it well-known that Amal’s some random fucko with an unremarkable military record and a series of shitty retail jobs, we can deconstruct his scary, untouchable image.” Asher looks down at a newspaper, “If we’re on the subject of image, we came out looking like fucking heroes while Silas just sat on his fat ass.” He holds up the front page, showing images of David, Shay, Jack, and Isaiah. Isaiah, “Last night, I tweeted that I didn’t have a safety suit because we don’t have the resources to buy me a safety suit. Do you know how many people started sending me money after that?” Asher, “After seeing Jack go from hard-partying prince to dude who rescues babies, mother suddenly want their sons to join the AFG. We’ve got recruits coming in from all over.” David, snapping in frustration, “Amal got away, this is not a fucking good thing for us! And honestly what good are new recruits if we can’t train them?” Shay: “We need to be training recruits if we want to overthrow Silas. I can figure some sort of basic training regimen out. If we’re in the middle of a cease-fire, we might as well take full advantage of it.” David sighs, “Yeah, fine, as long as it doesn’t interfere with our campaign against Amal. He’s still our main focus.” Abby’s phone rings. Everyone looks at her as she answers it, “Shit, it’s from the palace,” she answers, “Hello?” On the other end, Helen speaks nervously into a speaker phone with Rose and Silas behind her, “Hello, who am I speaking to?” Abby: “Abigail Hatch of the Army of Free Gilboa, who is this?” Helen: “Helen Chawla. I- I’d like to speak to Prince Jack and Princess Michelle.” Rose and Silas both stand in the background. Abby, uneasily, “Hold on a second.” She lowers the phone, “Helen Chawla wants to speak to Jack and Michelle.” Jack and Michelle look at each other. Jack, “There’s no way Helen is talking to us without Mom and Dad listening in somehow.” Michelle, to Abby: “Is it about Seth?” Abby into the phone, “Is this about Seth?” Helen, “Yes.” Abby nods. Michelle draws in a sharp breath. Jack: “We’ll talk to Helen but we’ll do it through you.” Abby, into the phone, “They’ll talk, but through me.” Michelle turns to David, “Can we have some privacy, please?” Everyone quietly nods, gets up, and leaves. Abby, “I’ll put the speaker phone on,” she presses the button, “What do you want to say, Helen?” Helen wipes away a tear, “Their little brother, Seth, is very sick. He’s reached end-stage heart failure, and he’s been put on the transplant waiting list.” Michelle puts her hands over her mouth and holds back tears. Helen, “He- he wants to meet his brother and sister.” Jack, quietly, “Will Mom and Dad be there?”  Behind Helen, Rose hears Jack’s voice for the first time in over a year and tears up. Abby, “Will King Silas and Queen Rose be there?” Helen, “Seth has asked for his family to be together.” Jack, “No. I’m not doing that. I don’t want to be in the same room as my parents, neither does Michelle.” Rose cries. Michelle, tears falling out of her eyes, “Oh, shut the fuck up, Jack, you’ve never needed a new heart!” She looks at Abby, “We’ll do it. For Seth. When he gets his transplant.” Rose and Silas hear this, and incredulous relief comes over both their faces. Abby, “They’ll do it.” Michelle, speaking up, “But there’s going to be rules. Rose and Silas will follow our rules exactly, or we’ll get up and leave. First of all, Rose and Silas will only speak to us if they are spoken to first. Jack and I will arrive at the hospital and be escorted inside without them seeing us. Nobody will follow us either to or from the hospital. We will wait in a separate room by ourselves until Seth is ready to be seen. Then, and only then, will we be in the same room as Rose and Silas. We will tell Seth who we are and what our story is on our terms, and with no interruption. Afterwards, we’ll go back into the room to wait by ourselves until the surgery is over and Seth wakes up. After that, we’ll go and see him one last time. If he wants to meet with us again…. we’ll make the agreement there. We will be there for Seth, and Seth alone.” Abby, into the phone, “Did you get all that?” Helen, “Yes, I did.” Abby, “Will the king and queen agree to that?” Helen looks at Rose and Silas. They both nod. Helen, “They say yes.” Abby looks at Jack, “Jack, do you agree to this?” Jack thinks of a moment, and then says, “Yes. For Seth.” Abby, “It’s agreed, then. Contact me again when the transplant is ready.” Helen, weeping happily, “Thank you! Thank you so much! I- I can’t tell you how much this means to both me and Seth!” Michelle angrily wipes tears from her eyes. Abby, “You’re welcome, then. Goodbye.” She hangs up. Jack: “Shit.”

Silas and Helen in Seth’s hospital room. Silas, “Good news, puppy, Jack and Michelle have agreed to come and meet you.” A radiant smiles breaks over Seth’s face. Helen, “They’re gonna meet with you before you get your transplant. And they’re very happy to finally be meeting you.” Seth: “I really want to meet them. I saw them in the paper. They’re really cool.” Silas looks on, and grows very serious, “Seth, when they talk to you… they may say somethings about me that… aren’t very kind, but are still true.” Seth, “What do you mean?” Silas, “I wasn’t the best father to them. There’s a lot of things that I didn’t tell them, but I wish I did.” Seth, “Like about me?” Silas reaches into his coat, and pulls out two photographs: the picture of Jack and Michelle at the farm house, and the Benjamin family portrait. He hands them to Seth. Silas, “The little boy in the old picture is me, with my family. My parents, Chris and Joanne, and my sister, Kathleen.” Helen leans in and looks at the pictures, “Oh, my goodness, you look so much like Seth! I never knew you had a sister.” Silas, “She died when she was fourteen, of complications from HLHS. This was before transplants and palliative surgery. I never told Jack and Michelle about her, or about how I lived in fear of my father. They had to find out on their own.” Seth: “Why didn’t you tell them about her?” Silas, quietly, “Because it hurt too much. But I should have told them, just like I should have told them about you. Jack and Michelle would have been a very good brother and sister to you. I know they both love you very much. And I’m very happy that you’re going to meet them.” Seth looks hard at Silas, “Dad, can I talk to Mom alone for a second?” Silas, slightly surprised, “Sure thing, puppy. I’ll wait outside, and your mom can come and get me when it’s time to leave.” He stands up and goes outside. Seth looks over at Helen, “Mom, you have to promise not to tell Dad this.” Helen, “What is it, baby?” Seth, tears in his eyes, “I- I don’t want to be king.” Helen puts her hand over her mouth and chokes up. Seth, “Mom?” Helen: “I’ve been trying to get you out of the palace. I really have. Seth, “Can I just… tell Dad that I don’t want it?” Helen, “Oh, baby, I don’t- I don’t know if that’s gonna work. With both you and Jack gone, who’s gonna be king?” Seth: “David Shepherd.” Helen laughs, bitterly, “Don’t tell your Dad that. He will not be happy.” Seth: “So what can I do?” Helen, “I don’t know…. You can always be made king and then abdicate, I guess.” Seth: “But I want to be a medic, like Michelle.” Helen wipes tears away from her eyes, “I’m sorry, Seth, I- I don’t know what to tell you. I wish I did. I think the best thing you can do right now is just get ready for your transplant, and then focus on getting better. Can you do that for me?” Seth: “I’ll try.” Helen, forcing a smile, “Good boy.”

Abby and Michelle sleep soundly in a bed together. On the bedside table, Abby’s phone rings. She and and Michelle groan and stir. Michelle, “What fucking time is it?” On the alarm clock: 4:22. Abby grabs her phone and answers blearily, “Abigail Hatch, AFG.” Her face grows serious, and she looks over at Michelle, “Seth has a donor.”

Jack and Michelle sit in the back of a car, driving through a rainy day in downtown Shiloh. They are both dressed in suits, Michelle’s tattoos and scars are covered. Michelle, “God, it feels so wrong to be back in this part of Shiloh.” She shifts nervously in her seat, “Have you thought about what you’re gonna say?” Jack, “I put together a bunch of pictures to show him what our life in the AFG is like. I put in some pictures of you and Abby. I can delete them real quick if you don’t want to say anything.” Michelle, “No. I don’t want to leave anything out. I’m not like Silas.”

The SUV parks outside of the hospital. Helen stands beside an escort who holds and umbrella over her. Jack gets out, holding an umbrella, and Michelle follows. They hold hands and approach Helen, who smiles fondly at them. Helen goes over and hugs Michelle, “You’ve grown up so much!” Michelle smiles, painfully, “Hi, Helen.” Helen turns to Jack, “Jack, you’re so handsome now! I hope Seth looks like you when he grows up!” She hugs Jack. Jack, “How are you, Helen?” Helen, “I’m well. It’s been a rough couple of weeks. But I’m so happy you’re both here.” Michelle, “We’re here for Seth.” Helen looks for a moment at both Jack and Michelle, and hugs them both.

Jack and Michelle stand in a private waiting room, still nervous and holding hands. Jack: “You ready?” Michelle, taking a deep breath, “I’m ready.” A door opens, and Helen enters, “Okay, come on, Seth’s ready.” Jack and Michelle follow Helen down a hallway. Helen opens a door, and inside, Seth lays on a bed, Silas and Rose sitting in chairs beside him, holding hands. Rose covers her hand with her mouth. Jack and Michelle keep their eyes fixed on Seth as they enter. Michelle goes over to Seth, “Hi, Seth, I’m your sister, Michelle.” Jack, “I’m your brother, Jack.” Seth smiles, “I’m Seth. Nice to meet you.” Michelle smiles radiantly, “It’s very nice to meet you, Seth.” Helen, “Let me get some pictures!” Jack and Michelle pose awkwardly with Seth wile Helen snaps some pictures her phone. They both sit down, still avoiding looking at Rose and Silas. Michelle, “You know, I was sick, like you.” Seth, “I know. Dad told me.” Michelle, “I got my transplant when I was fourteen. And now I’m a medic saving lives.” Seth, “I saw you on the news. I saw both of you on the news.” Jack grins sheepishly, “Yeah, we end up in the news, a lot.” Michelle, “You’re gonna get better, with your new heart. You have to take medicine, but… you won’t get sick because of your heart, anymore.” Seth: “Can I see your scar?” Michelle grinning slyly, “All right.” She unbuttons her jacket, revealing a sleeveless shell underneath. Rose, who hasn’t seen Michelle’s tattoos up close, makes a noise of shock and disgust. Jack and Michelle both look at her. Seth doesn’t notice, “Woah, you have tattoos?!” Michelle looks back at Seth, “Yeah, I do,” she looks down at her chest, “The heartbreaker was the first one I got,” she puts her hands on it, “Breaking hearts is kind of my thing,” she turns her arm, “This is Joan of Arc. Underneath it, it says ‘I am not afraid. God is with me. I was born for this.’ Words I try to live by,” She turns her back, “I have a caduceus on my back because I’m a medic,” she extends her other arm, “Jack and I have matching tattoos here, for Apollo and Artemis. They’re a Greek god and goddess, and they’re twins, like us.” Seth looks at Jack, “Lemme see yours.” Jack, grinning, “Okay, hold on.” He removes one sleeve of his jacket, unbuttons his sleeve cuff, rolls his sleeve up, and extends his arm, “See?” Seth, “That’s so cool! I want one!” Michelle laughs, “Maybe you can get Hermes.” Seth looks at Helen, “Can I, Mom?” Helen, “When you’re eighteen.” Rose looks on in disgust, struggling to hold her tongue. Michelle touches her shoulder and points to her bullet scar, “And here I have the three stars of the Army of Free Gilboa. This one got kind of messed up because I got shot right there.” Rose, horrified, “You got shot?!” Jack and Michelle both stare at Rose. She sinks into her chair, realizing she wasn’t supposed to do this. Michelle, “I did. We were trying to escape over the Ammon border and I got shot.” Jack, “She stuck a needle in her chest to help re-inflate her lung. It was badass.” Michelle, “No point in being a medic if you can’t perform an emergency procedure on yourself.” Seth, “I want to be a medic, just like you.” Jack and Michelle both awkwardly look back at him. Jack, softly, “You can do whatever you want.” Seth smiles for a moment, and changes the subject, “Why did you two leave?” Michelle stares awkwardly at the floor. Jack, “You’re very lucky, Seth. Dad’s always been good to you. He wasn’t always so good to me and Michelle.” Seth, “Dad says you left because of David Shepherd.” Jack, “I fell in love with David, and that gave me the courage to leave, but, it wasn’t all him. I’d wanted to leave for a very long time, but I didn’t know how.” Seth, “You’re in love with him?” Jack, “Yeah. He loves me, too. Do you want to see some pictures of what our life is like?” Seth, “Sure.” Jack pulls a tablet out of his jacket pocket, pulls up some pictures, and hands it to Seth. On the screen is a cute couple-y picture of Jack and David in the woods behind Chez Iggy. Seth scrolls to the next picture, one of Michelle and Abby. Michelle, “That’s me and my girlfriend, Abby. I love her very much.” Silas shifts in his seat, but doesn’t say anything. Seth scrolls to the next picture, Jack and David on stage at the Gath blowout party. Jack laughs, “The first place we ran away to was Gath. After awhile, we wanted to get out, so we decided to make King Gerald think we were all really stupid by throwing this big party. I was blowing glitter out of my nose for a week.” Michelle, “That was fun.” Jack, “It was fun!” Seth scrolls again, a picture of Michelle wrapping Jack’s head in bandages. Michelle, “When I was going through medic training.” Another picture. Michelle, “That’s us getting our tattoos in Moab.” Another picture, Michelle, “We were tying to move around without getting noticed, so we all dyed our hair, and I gave David some piercings. Jack was too stubborn to change his hair.” Jack, “I grew a beard! And I taught you how to drive on that trip, so you can’t complain!” Another picture, Jack, David, and Shay in the woods, posing with guns. Seth, “Why do you have guns?” Jack: “Because we’re an army. We fight battles.” Seth, “Like with the Amalekites?” Jack: “Yeah.” Seth, “I know David Shepherd is trying to overthrow Dad. Do you want to kill him?” Jack, slowly, carefully thinking of each word, “I hope it doesn’t have to come to that.” Seth, “If David’s king, that means I don’t have to be king.” Jack, “Yeah, that’s true.” Seth, “What did Dad do to you, to make you want to overthrow him?” Jack thinks for a moment, “A lot of things. Too many things for me to possibly tell you in one sitting.” Michelle, without hesitating, “He lied to us about you. He lied to us about a lot of things.” Silas, very carefully, to Seth, “It wasn’t always so bad. I used to tuck them both in at night and read to them.” Jack, interrupting, suddenly angry, “You treated me like dirt, constantly told me I was weak, made me feel ashamed of who I am, and nothing I did was ever, ever good enough! David saved my life in ways that I can’t even describe to you!” Silas glares at Jack, but says nothing. Michelle, “We could have been your big brother and big sister. We would have loved you as our little brother so, so much. And Silas lied and kept you away from us.” Seth, “Why do you call him Silas?” Michelle: “Because after the way he betrayed me by lying about you, I can’t call him Dad,” She looks over at Silas, “I can’t even think of him as Dad.”  Jack looks back at Seth, “Like I said, you’re lucky, Dad’s been nice to you.” Seth looks back at the tablet and keeps scrolling. Jack, awkwardly changing the subject, “We spent some time in the desert, I got really sunburned.” Michelle, going along: “He looked like a lobster.” Seth scrolls again, David and Michelle in their AFG uniforms. Michelle, “That’s when we went to Royal Council in Damascus. You could have met me, then.” Seth: “A bomb went off.” Michelle, “Yeah, I was there when it happened. David and I saved a lot of lives. I should’ve brought the medals I got.” Seth: “I’ve seen pictures.” Seth scrolls again, a happy-looking group photo of the AFG leadership at Chez Iggy. Jack: “Those are all our friends. They’re more then friends, really. They’re our new family. We trust every single person in that photo with our lives.” Seth keep scrolling: cute couple photos of David and Jack, Michelle and Abby, silly sibling photos of Jack and Michelle. Silas, “You know, Seth, I’m proud of your brother and sister and what they’ve done.” Jack, Michelle, and Seth, all stare at Silas. There’s a knock at the door, and the doctor enters, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but the donor heart is here. We need to prep Seth for surgery.” Seth puts the tablet down. Michelle reaches over and puts her hand on Seth’s, her eyes brimming with tears, “I know this is scary. But you’re gonna get through this, and your life is gonna be so much better because of it.” Seth nods bravely, “I’m not afraid.” Michelle stands, and kisses Seth on the forehead, “I love you, Seth.” Jack stands up behind her, “I love you, too.” Silas and Rose stand, followed by Helen. Silas, “We all love you, Seth.” They step back, and the doctor and some nurses wheel Seth’s bed away. Everyone stands awkwardly not looking at each other. Finally, Michelle looks at Helen, “He’s wonderful. I’m proud to say he’s my brother.” Jack, “Me, too.” Helen, “Thank you so much.” Jack, “If Seth’s not here, we should go back to our waiting room.” Silas, “Can I ask one question?” Jack, “What?” Silas: “Are you happy?” Jack smiles slightly, “I have experienced more happiness in one year of living in tents with David than I did in twenty-three years of living in a palace with you.” Michelle, thinking carefully, “It’s hard to say you’re happy when you’re living in a war zone. But I don’t regret any of the decisions I’ve made. I’m happy with my life.” Silas, pained, “Good. I’m glad.” He turns and exits the room with Rose. Helen, “Can I speak with you in your waiting room?”

Helen sits with Jack and Michelle, “First of all, I am so, so sorry for all the pain that I’ve caused you. You have every reason to feel betrayed-” Michelle interrupts, “Silas was the one who betrayed us. We’re not angry at you.” Helen smiles painfully and wipes a tear from her eyes, “I saw the two of you growing up on news reports and in gossip columns, and I knew something was wrong in the palace. I knew you couldn’t have been happy. But Silas was so good to Seth. I was afraid to say anything. I should have.” Jack, “You couldn’t have changed anything. Not even David could get Dad to change.” Helen smiles encouragingly at Jack, “I always knew you’re a strong, smart, kind person, Jack. I’ve always hoped that Seth would take after you.” Jack, “Is he happy, at the palace?” Helen, tears falling down her face, “No. He isn’t. He’s told me so. But the fact that the two of you have managed to find happiness gives me so much hope.” Michelle reaches out and holds Helen’s hands. Helen, “I’m rooting for the two of you. I really I am. I hope David becomes king, and that he can get Seth away from all that. Because I can’t. I’ve tried.” Michelle, “We’ll do everything we can to support Seth.” Jack, “We’ve been trying all along to protect him, but we can’t be there, so it’s hard.” Helen smiles sadly, “Just do what you can to make sure that David becomes king, all right? And I’ll do what I can.” Jack reaches out and holds Helen’s hands, along with Michelle. Helen, “I’m so proud of both of you.”

Helen walks into the waiting room where Silas and Rose sit. Silas and Rose stare at her as she sits down. Rose, “What did they say?” Helen, “They’re glad to finally meet Seth. You have good kids.” Silas looks at his watch, “We still have a while to wait.” He looks at Helen, and everyone sits and waits in silence.

Jack and Michelle sit alone. Jack, “Do you think Dad really meant it when he said he’s proud of us, or was he just saying that for Seth?” Michelle: “Fuck if I know.” Jack: “I knew Seth would be unhappy. It’s hell, being the heir.” Michelle: “At least now he has us to talk to. Its easier when you have someone who knows exactly what you’re going through,” She leans over and puts her head on Jack’s shoulder, “We’re gonna take care of him." Jack puts an arm around her reassuringly. Cut to:  Michelle naps on Jack’s shoulder while Jack scrolls through his phone. The doctor enters. Jack shakes Michelle, and she looks up in surprise. Michelle, “What? Is- is it done already? It’s only been three hours!” The doctor sits down next to Michelle, “A blood clot went into Seth’s brain, and it caused a stroke. Seth died. I’m so sorry.” Michelle’s eyes widen in horror and disbelief, “Wh- what? That- My transplant went fine!” Doctor: “Complications can happen to anyone.” Jack rubs his face, and Michelle breathes heavily. Jack, “Thank you, doctor.” Doctor, “Is there anything you’d like me to do?” Michelle, stares out in shock, but then looks at the doctor, “Can- can we see him?” The doctor nods, “Of course.”

Jack and Michelle stand in the operating room, looking down at Seth’s small body. (“Medicine” Daughter). Jack cries silently while Michelle trembles and strokes Seth’s face. She sobs, strokes his hair, and leans over to kiss his forehead. She stands back up, and Jack puts his arm around her. She cries into his shoulder. The door opens, and Silas rushes in. He sees Seth, “Oh, no, no…” He looks over at Jack and Michelle, who stare back at him. Silas, “You can come home. We can be a family again.” He takes a step towards them, and Jack reflexively tightens his arm around Michelle. Silas, growing more desperate, “We need to be a family again. We have to be a family again!” Michelle stares at Silas, unable to say no. Silas takes another step towards them, “Please!” Jack pulls Michelle away and points furiously at Silas, “YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM US!” He pulls Michelle away and out the door. He leads Michelle through the hospital, downstairs and to where their car sits waiting. He opens the door and they both get in. Jack, to the driver, “Take us back to Iggy’s. We’re done here.” Michelle begins to hyperventilate. Jack struggles to keep from crying. Michelle screams at the top of her lungs, screams again, and keeps screaming. Jack puts his arm around her and cries with her.

That night, David and Abby stand waiting outside Chez Iggy. Jack and Michelle’s SUV drives up. David and Abby both go and greet them with tight hugs. Jack is a mess and Michelle is beyond tears. David, “I’m so sorry.” In their room, Jack bawls uncontrollably into David’s shoulder while David strokes his hair. In her room, Michelle lays on her bed, listening to her heart with a stethoscope, not crying. Abby goes over and lays down beside her. She puts her hand on her arm, “What are you doing?” Michelle, “I’m listening to the heart in my chest. I can’t even call it my own. Another family lost their daughter so that I could have it. Today, another family lost their son so that Seth could have his heart. And Seth died, anyway.” Abby puts an arm around her, “I love you.” Michelle puts her arms around Abby, “I love you, too.”

#Kings

[plainlabelwriting]

Rachel #2 - Zora

Sixty-seven cars. Thirty red, twenty-five black, eleven blue, and one off-green POS that had probably been built before I was born. I had gotten all the way to sixty-seven before I heard the soft “ahem” behind me. I turned, more out of habit than any semblance of wanting to be helpful. Standing behind the counter was a lanky teenage boy with moderate acne, long greasy hair, and wearing what could only be described as women’s acid-washed tights. I turned back to the window, knowing full well I was missing more outside than I was in here, but the ballsy teen threw out another “ahem,” and I decided he could have five minutes of my time. “Yes?” I said, running my fingers through my own long hair, and trying to remember the last time it had been trimmed. Or combed. Or washed. “Well,” stammered Young Axl Rose, “I was looking for a...a beginner guitar. Something I can learn to play on.” A wave of confidence seemed to hit him and he attempted a smolder. “It’s for a girl I think I’m in love with.” I sighed. Love? How adorable. I gave my hair another shake and eyed the kid over my Irish Pepsi. “Son, I’m gonna say this to you, right now. As a friend. No amount of guitar is going to get you laid in those lady pants.” “CAN I HELP YOU SIR?” Maybe he had overheard my verbal assault. Or maybe it was his sixth-sense of my bubbly personality, but before I could launch into my extremely well-researched theory of the correlation of guitar players and small penises, Aiden and curly blonde mop of hair had basically hurdled over the back counter and snatched the poor child away from me, all caffeined up and ready to make a sale. While Aiden started in full-steam on his “you’ll-be-playing-Free-Bird-in-no-time” spiel, I grabbed my drink and sauntered over to the keyboards. Aiden, sensing the teenager relax a bit in my absence, launched into full sales mode while I started in Fur Elise. Halfway through the song, Aiden had already walked the young future star over to our newest and most expensive models. I switched to Flight of the Bumblebee as the young man was walking out the door, clearly ready to be disappointed by another life choice. I got back to front window counter with my drink and had discovered a half-eaten bag of potato chips that I had left for myself a few days ago. How great. Aiden waved to the kid, turned on his heel, and strode right over into my personal space and bore blue eyes into my soul.“Zora, you have to be nice to people.” “Why? It doesn’t make sense to be nice to people who aren’t smart. They wouldn’t know I was being nice in the first place.” “Zora, this is retail. This is my store. You have to be nice to people who are going to spend money. If you aren’t nice, they won’t spend money, and then I don’t make money. Then the shop goes under and I’ll be out on the street or at Freddie’s Bar begging for food and a place to stay. “But that’s where we met darlin.” He took the bag of chips out of my hand, which I considered an official offense. “This is important. “Important to you, yes.” Sigh. “Zora. It should be important to you. This is your life. Do you want to work at Band Land for the rest of it?” “Well, my supervisor is wonderful.” A snort and a head nod. “I am pretty wonderful,” he said, with a wink. “But you hate it here. It’s so obvious.” “How is it obvious?” “You come in late or not at all.” He was ticking off on his fingers. “You look like you’ve just rolled out of a meth house, and you’ve almost made a game for yourself to see how rude you can be to the customers.” A pause from me. “At least I have goals.” Aiden rolled those eyes. Then he pushed his shoulders back and set his head straight in my direction. “Zora. You are one of my best friends.” “Thanks darlin, you too.” I said, my mouth now once again full of chips. “So because of that...you’re fired.” I spit my chips on the floor. “Fired! What the hell Aiden?!” “You are smart. You are talented. You --” “I don’t need to go through any positive affirmation shit with you right now. I need this job.” “You don’t know what you need.” Ugh. “And you do? Can I just --” “Also you’re a terrible employee and people are genuinely afraid of you.” I smiled at that. “Well, I can’t argue with the facts.” “So,” he said, putting his hands on my shoulders in a very dad-like fashion. “I’m giving you two weeks’ pay to figure out your game plan. But I need you to promise you will not interact with any more customers.” “Well, I appreciate the glowing severance package,” I said, finishing the rest of my chips. “Now why don’t we toast over a quick drink?” Aiden waited. “You know it’s noon.” “Yeah,” I said, throwing the bag in the vicinity of the trash can. “And I’m unemployed.” My cell phone was ringing as I got back to my apartment. I, of course, had no intention of answering it. I tossed my keys close enough to the table and traipsed into the kitchen to look for some food and a possible beverage. My puppy, Jingle Bells, hopped through the doorway looking for cuddles. Oh my god, just kidding. Did you really think I had a dog? I can’t even take care of myself, let alone a small animal. I found some leftover pizza and a Coors Light, plopped down on the couch, and turned on the TV. As I flipped through trashy reality shows and overly-heartwarming sitcoms, my phone buzzed a voicemail alert. Not wanting to actually pick up my phone, I clicked on the speaker phone and went back to shoveling pepperoni and cheese into my face. My mother’s voice was a high and shrill as ever as it radiated from the phone, filling the nooks and crannies of the room with crackling anxiety. “Oh, hello Zora.” Think style of the good witch from Wizard of Oz with all the malice of the bad one. “I’m not sure if this is still your telephone number, but if it is, *sigh* your father is turning 60 this weekend and we are having a small get together. Your father would love it if you would be available to come and celebrate with him, but I understand if you are busy or don't’ have the, er means to get here. I just wanted to let you know. Bye Zora.” I hadn’t realized that during the few seconds of that voicemail I had clenched my jaw and was squeezing my pizza so hard I was dripping grease into my lap. “Shit,” I said. I started to drop the pizza, then thought about it and shoved it all into my mouth. Walking to the bathroom to wash my hands I began to do one of the things I absolutely hate doing -- processing, ugh, feelings. It was fairly obvious (as it had been for some time) that my mother could give a flying fart if she saw me this weekend (or ever again). To say the feeling is mutual would be a definite understatement. But my father, that was a different story. My father had my constant companion, my partner in crime, and my only cushion when it came to my mother. I had formed an outlaw bond with him from an early age. Before I had even shut off the water and began to dry my hands I knew that if I didn’t go back and see him I would regret it - and coming from me that was a bold statement. I sighed at my own face in the mirror. God, I need to mentally prepare the shit out of this. I’m definitely going to need more pizza. I waltzed into Band Land the next morning with Aiden’s favorite muffins and my best shit-eating grin on my face. I had a plan. And that plan involved manipulation, possible sexual innuendos, and carbs. Aiden didn’t even look up when I entered his office. “I fired you yesterday.” he said to his computer screen. I set the muffins on the keyboard in front of him, making sure to accidentally push my boobs into his back. He saw the muffins and felt the boobies and his head jerked up. “What’s all this?” He eyed me skeptically. I feigned stupidity and went a bit valley girl. “Aiden! I don’t know what you mean! I can’t get my very attractive friend breakfast and then see if he needs help with anything in his day?” “Zora.” He turned to look up me and gently took my wrists in his hands. “Look, I appreciate the effort but I’m not going to give your job back.” I ripped my arms out of his grasp. “My job back?! I was trying to get you to come home with me! I could care less about this stupid place.” Blank stare. “No offense.” “Mmmmhmmmm.” “Sorry Aiden. The job thing is behind me now. I mean we already know I’m a horrible employee, and a bad person in general.” “You’re not a bad person, you’re just misunderstood.” “I stole the muffins.” “I was wondering.” I sighed. Time to drop the charade and be real. “Look. I have to go home for my dad’s birthday. I love my dad and I want to see him, but I hate most of the other people in that town. I need a buffer for my horrible mother. Someone to back up my lies and also possibly pretend to be my boyfriend if necessary. And I want that buffer to be you,” I said, getting down on one knee like I had three-month’s salary worth of diamond in my hands. “Because you literally have no one else,” Aiden said. “And also you’re cute,” I countered. “Wow,” said Aiden. “This is the best indecent proposal I have ever received.” “I didn’t say I’d have sex with you.” “You also didn’t NOT say it.” “Aiden.” But I could tell he was thinking. “I’d have to get Blake to cover for…” He raised a questioning eyebrow. “Three.” “Three days.” He pretended to ponder some more. “But I think It’s doable.” I was shocked. “Holy shit. Does that mean you’ll go?” I asked. “Is there a chance for sex?” “Why not?” He grinned. “Then I’m in.” “When I invited you to Bumfuck, Iowa with me, I did not realize I would be subjected to hours upon hours of “So You Think You Can Model.” Aiden hopped into the doorway in his third outfit in the past five minutes and ignored my almost audible eye roll. “Firstly, those are two shows put together. And secondly, I’ve never been to the midwest and I feel like it’s a totally different country.” I snorted. “Oh, it’s country.” “So, I want to do as much as I can not to look out of place,” Aiden said. “Anyone whose family hasn’t lived in the area for 50 years is out of place.” “Zora.” he dropped the shirt he was holding in front of him and looked over at me. “Be serious.” I set my whiskey on the coffee table, leaned back, and crossed my arms. “Ok. I would recommend jeans, t-shirts, nothing flashy. And if you MUST dress up, then wear something you would have worn about three years ago.” Aiden scampered over and capitalized on the opportunity to drink my whiskey, which I allowed for many reasons (one being that the whiskey was his in the first place). He set the glass down and then sat on the coffee table facing me. He looked at his fidgeting hands and then at my face. “I just don’t want to embarrass you.” Oh God. Those damn feelings again. He is being so nice doing this favor for me. And he is absolutely adorable and such a catch. And you are leading him on keeping him just close enough and he keeps trying and you keep rebuffing him so little by little his heart will go cold and heart, thus ruining him for the rest of the vaginal population. You’re such a dick. I slapped his knee and kissed his nose. “Honey don’t worry. I will more than likely be embarrassing enough for the both of us.” “So what do I need to know about your family?” Aiden asked as we cruised along at mile-high-club altitude. I sighed so loudly that the grouchy woman in front of me turned around in her seat to stare at my from the aisle, essentially forcing me to pull my eyebrows up and give her the “did you need something?” glare. “Well,” I said, turning back to Aiden, and pushing my knee against the seat in front of me. “My dad’s okay, we’re friends. But my mom’s basically the worst.” “The worst how?” I shrugged, “Pick one.” “Zora…” “She can find something wrong with anything you do. Anything.” “Because she loves you and wants you to keep improving yourself?” “Because she wants me to be miserable?” “I don’t believe that.” “Believe it, baby.” Silence. He was waiting for more information. “God, okay. When I lived there I ashamed her little by little over the years and then right before I left I made sure to make a sure-fire asshole out of myself.” Aiden’s interest was peaked. He cocked his head at me. “Oh really?” “Yep.” This time I let the silence expand between us, knowing this to be a tactic of Aiden’s that I now refused to fall for. Sometimes Aiden doesn’t know when to fuck off, but this particular subject he apparently knew was off limits. He leaned back into his seat by the window, but also lifted his right hand and set on the back of my neck, a calming and supportive gesture. The plane landed without any movie-centric crisis and we stumbled to the baggage claim like we were walking out of a strip club at 6am. “Ah! We made it,” said Aiden. “Silly boy,” I said. “He turned to me like an inquisitive puppy.” I explained myself. “This is an airport in a fairly well populated city.” The puppy face continued. “And?” “And we have about a three hour drive to get to the middle of nowhere.” “Zora! How did you ever get out of this state?!” His cheesy joke didn’t fool me. I saw Aiden put on a brave face but immediately sensed that he was ill-at-ease with the current situation. We had known each other for about a year and he had taken me under his wing, given me a job and a place to live, and he just hopped on a plane to the equivalent of a deserted island with someone who could be plotting to kill him. Ballsy. It was at that moment that I realized how out of his element he was, even now, and how much he had gone through to support me. I felt terrible. “We can listen to your horrible 90’s hip hop jams in the rental?” I offered. There was the grin again. “You know you love TLC as much as I do.” Three and ½ hours and two pit stops later (somebody couldn’t hold it, Aiden), we approached the familiar bend in the road. “We’re almost there,” I said. “Almost where?” Aiden asked, incredulous. “We’re driving on a highway in the middle of nowhere.” “I realize this isn’t the fucking freeway,” I said, probably a bit nastier than I should have. “Sorry. But the best part of being in the middle of nowhere is that you can see REALLY far.” As if on cue we reach the crest of the hill and were rewarded with a gorgeous view of the landscape below, complete with a tiny little town, freckled with twinkling lights battling the fading sun and outlined on either side with corn and bean fields. “Wow.” Aiden said. An odd sense of pride welled up inside me. “It’s kindof pretty, isn’t it?” “I don’t know about that,” Aiden said. “I just can’t believe that’s the whole town! What is it like six blocks across?” “Probably more like 15,” I said begrudgingly. “15?! Well shit, we’ve got ourselves a metropolis.” “Shutup Aiden.” Aiden’s head snapped over to me. “What? I thought you hated this place?” Taken aback, I said out loud. “Yes of course I do.” But there was a feeling of raw excitement that I couldn’t pinpoint. What is happening here? More feelings? Pride? Nostalgia? Aiden tapped my knee and smiled,“Of course, Hun. I was just kidding around. I’m excited to meet your friends and family.” “Now let’s not get carried away.” I sneered. And just like that, I was back. Aiden navigated the car through the town, and looking out of the window into the dark streets, so many memories came flooding back, and I realized then that this was a horrible, shitty idea. Coming back here in general. Dragging Aiden with me, talking with these people. Mistake, mistake, mistake. I needed to get out of here. I needed to rectify the situation. Right. Now. I reached across Aiden, grabbed the wheel of the car, and yanked as far to the right as I could. The car swerved on the deserted street, briefly veering off the road before Aiden corrected course. “Zora! What in the actual hell are you doing?” He pulled the car off the to side of the road and threw it into park. “This was a stupid idea!” I blurted out, not realizing I had grabbed Aiden’s hands and was squeezing them so hard my knuckles were turning white. “This is dumb. Let’s go back to the airport and get a flight. Now.” Aiden has somehow gotten his hands fee of my death grip, and was rubbing his own together, more than likely to get the feeling back into them. “Um,” he said, not exactly meeting my crazed eyes, “would you like to talk through what happened just now like a normal human person?” I took a deep breath and met his gaze. “Sorry. Just, sorry.” I threw my hands in the air. “I just freaked out. There are so many….reasons I shouldn’t come back here. This might turn into a shit-tastic weekend, and I don’t want to pull you down with me.” Aiden put his hand on my neck again. “Why don’t we...take things one step at a time. We put the car in drive?” I smiled and sighed, “Yes.” “Good,” Aiden said. “Then we drive to your house, we say “hi” to your dad, and then we take it from there.” Creeping fear. I pretended to think it over. Drive back to the airport, sleep there and wait for a flight or continue the three minutes to my house. What choice did I have? I nodded my head. Aiden mimicked my nod, put the car into gear and started us toward Lennox Lane, and my possible impending doom. Aiden eased the car into the driveway and we both breathed in deeply and locked eyes. “Are you ready?” Aiden asked, with a look of general concern on his face. And I was. Now or never, a numb acceptance had washed over me. Get through the weekend, come hell or high water. Before I had even shut the trunk of the rental car the front door had been flung open and my father had come bounding out like an excited golden retriever. “Dad,” I breathed, and hurried to the sidewalk to await my bear hug. And it came full force, hurricane Paul. I felt the air escape my lungs and I giggled and snuggled my face against his gruff neck. And in that moment I knew why I had come home. The feeling of unequivocated love is the best drug, the favorite song, the first shot of tequila. We stood there for awhile, little forgettings and forgivings floating between us. I heard a throat clear and remembered that I had brought a person along. “Aiden!” I said, pulling away from my father long enough to catch his eyes. A thought had crossed my mind that I didn’t want him to be here, and once again I felt ashamed. He might make this father/daughter reunion awkward by ruining it with recent personal details or going into specifics on the nature of our relationship. “Um, Aiden, this is--” “Mr. Scott,” Aiden said candidly, meeting my father’s eye and giving him a hearty, friendly handshake. “Zora couldn’t stop talking about you on the way up here. She was pretty excited to help you celebrate your birthday.” Releasing his grip, he took a step back and embraced me in a sweet side hug. “I’m Aiden. Zora’s boyfriend,” he said, beaming from ear to ear. And that was that. I should have known that Aiden would be absolutely adorable and charismatic. He could sell almost anything to anyone. He knew how to read the room. Right now, I don’t know if he was playing house more for me or for himself. But either way I was grateful. Paul Scott’s eyes lit up and he smiled mischievously. “Brought the new man home to meet the folks, huh?” he elbowed me mockingly in the ribs. “Well, I’d better give you the ‘dad treatment’ then son.” My father straightened himself up and grunted to clear his throat. “Where are you from?“ “Orange County.” “Uh huh.” He pretended to frown. “And do you have a job, son?” Now it was Aiden’s turn to straighten up. “Actually I own my own business.” My father’s face brightened and I smiled. I knew this would strike a chord. My family had owned the hardware store in town for as long as I can remember. My grandfather has passed it to my dad, and when I was a little girl I would go there every day after school to do my homework and eat lollipops. When I finished, I got to help my dad with “store stuff,” doing inventory, stocking shelves, and even helping customers. Growing older, working in the store wasn’t always as fun, but I stuck with it because he always stuck with me. Also, as I got older, I realized that I needed to help my dad with other store duties. Paul Scott was great with customers, but unsure of himself with accounting, and forgetful with inventory. People came into the store because of my father’s “local celebrity” status, high school football hero, homecoming king, all around wonderful guy. But I found out soon enough that operations strictly fell to my mother and me. It was also subversively obvious to me that we didn’t tell people that we “helped dad” with the back end of the business. Mother. In all the excitement I had almost forgotten they were a package deal. Dread rushed through my body clear and icy. “Is she here?” I whispered almost to myself. My father, knowing the exact context of the question, sighed. “You bet kiddo. And she’s over the moon to see you.” We let the lie sit between us. I gave him a weak smile as he turned to help Aiden get our things out of the car, and I trudged into the house to face her. I tapped the front door open, hoping maybe to sneak in unnoticed and get to sanctuary of my old room upstairs. Or go all dead like an opossum if she came into the hallway. Avoid contact for the next two days and then get the fuck out. But it had been too long since I had been to the house, and as I was making my way up the stairs, I hit the creaky step, and it snitched. Hard. EEErrrrrk. “Who’s there?” The sickly sweet voice came from the front room. “Paul?” Oh God. Run for it. Bolt out of the front door, grab Aiden and head out of town. Almost involuntary though, “No, it’s me” popped out of my mouth. There was a deep silence in the room, and I almost repeated myself until I heard, “Zora? Is that you?” Sheeeaat. “Yes it’s Zora.” Resigned, I headed down the stairs and into the front room. Nancy Scott was perched on the flowered loveseat in a dark pink dress that wrapped around her shoulders and stopped right where her knees began. Her heeled feet tucked primly to her right side and holding a martini in her left hand, my mother looked as though she stepped off the cover of Good Housekeeping circa 1959. Minus the beehive. Her blonde hair was painstakingly curled and just hit her shoulders in a sideswept style that the local salon literally calls “The Nancy.” She didn’t get up, but put her non-martini hand out to welcome me. I awkwardly took it, thought a moment about doing a curtsy and kissing it, and instead gave it a half-hearted shake before stepping back like I had been dismissed by royalty. “My darling,” she cooed. “I’m so happy you made it. Your father must have already seen you?” she said, dipping her head toward the front door. “Yes,” I smiled, more out absolute fear than happiness. “He’s out there with Aiden right now.” My mother’s ears perked up like a wolf. “Aiden?” she asked, and gave me a half grin. “And who is Aiden?” I thought about pretending that I didn’t know what I had just said and faking some crazy seizure, but she would find out sooner or later. “Aiden is...my boyfriend.” It felt weird to say. “I met him out in California and we’ve been dating for a few months.” “Well now,” my mother beamed up at me. “Isn’t that wonderful? I can’t wait to...meet him.” I knew what that meant. She couldn’t wait to judge him. According to my mother, verbatim, the only men I can meet are “unemployed lowlifes, disrespectful heathens, or just plain crazy.” The support was just overwhelming. I could see her silently trying to decide which was Aiden was going to be. Well fuck her because she was in for a surprise. At that moment, dad and Aiden appeared in the doorway of the front room. I tried to take him in like I was looking at him for the first time. Semi-shaggy blonde hair, lean and tanned physique, and sea foam green eyes. He was a beautiful man. And nice. What in the hell was he doing with me? Nancy had stood up by now and I could tell by tuning toward me that she was thinking all the same things, right down to the “what in the hell is he doing here?” question. Aiden, again immediately reading the situation, came over to me and gave me a peck on the lips (a bit much, but I would talk to him about it later). “Hello love,” he smiled, and turned to mom. “And this must be Nancy!” he exclaimed, extending his hand. But Nancy wasn’t having it. “In this house we hug” she said. We do? She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body to his just a half tick long enough to make everyone in the room feel uncomfortable. Aiden came out of the death grip, patted her on the shoulder, and (a little quickly) got back to his new position with his arm around me and a smile plastered on his beautiful face. “Zora has told me so much about you,” Aiden said. Nancy laughed, a low, throaty gurgle that she had perfected for dinner parties. “If that were true, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten the hug.” Apparently the day drinking had gotten a bit worse since the last time I had been home. Aiden laughed and said, “Believe it or not, she was happy to come here.” This seemed like new and not altogether unwelcome information for my mother, who looked at me with a warm? smile. “Well isn’t that wonderful. Now how about some dinner?”