#and all of my friends have been pestering me to take my skills online | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

delicrieux · 3 years

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☆ﾐ 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 “𝚘𝚑”

PART 10: BIG DICK IS BACK IN TOWN

y/n is back in brooklyn for the holidays. thinking that a stream will make her feel less homesick for cali, she starts working on her famously titled hentai.free.srv. what was supposed to be a relaxing stream turns into a special delivery about two hours in.

─── corpse husband x reader ─── soc. media + written fiction! ─── word count: 2.2k ─── ❥ req: Here's one... You know those apps for delivery like Domino's or whatnot... What if reader is streaming Among Us with Corpse, and reader mentions they're hungry and Corpse offers to order them food, and readers like no no it's fine... Then there's delivery at the door (Corpse ordered beforehand)

author’s note: fucky format is also back in town baby!!! also if you find any mistakes - no u didnt <3 thank u everyone for enjoying this story sm i literally cant believe how feral yall going strawberry cow was a nuclear explosion im still recovering tbh. got an ask a while ago and decided to incorporate it into myso. happy holidays everyone! myso will continue on monday!

ultimate masterlist. ҉ myso masterlist ҉ previous. ҉ next.

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Indeed, being soft on any social media platform was the biggest disgrace and needed to be eliminated post haste. Moreover, it was a slippery slope - once you start flooding your timeline with cute imagery and heart emojis, what will stop you from posting inspirational Facebook quotes? Disgusting. If Rae were here, she would chide you (not you thinking about her as if she’s dead or something). For once in your life, you feel like you deserve it.

Alas, you hope this little chaos you’ve caused is enough to throw everyone off. The stans, especially. You know the hashtags, you’ve seen ARMY scourging for info online with the same fervor and ruthlessness 1 Direction fans hacked airport security cameras just to spy on the boys. If you had any dirty secrets online, they are out to the public now - thankfully, besides the Harry Styles stan account (with edits and all), you have nothing. Though, now that you think about it, exposed nudes would have been better than your Punk!Harry edit receiving almost a million views. God, your life’s a fucking mess.

Your fans aren’t the only ones out for info - you, too, are trying to decipher Rae’s message. Code: Barbecue Sauce. The two of you had come up with it roughly two years ago, around the same time when you promised that if you didn’t find significant others by the time you’re 40, you’ll just marry each other. It was one of the many rules found in your friendship codex. Barbecue Sauce signifies information - an exchange of information. And depending on how it ends or begins (”So I’m sitting there” alludes to Rae, “On my titties” alludes to you), secret data on that person is given away, usually free of charge.

But why? And to whom did Rae give away what? You had pestered her mercilessly and even sent some voice messages where you were crying. You were only crying because of a video of a grandpa smiling you saw on TikTok, but you are a snake, and so you put those tears to good use. If streaming doesn’t work out, you’ll just become an actress. Hollywood would love you. Your PR firm sure as fuck wouldn’t, though.

Rae was having none of it. She said you’ll figure it out eventually. Told you to channel your superior puzzle skills. You were quick to remind her that you can barely count to ten without having an aneurysm. Oddly serious, she admitted that she worries for you sometimes. Why only sometimes?! you demanded. She merely sighed. uttering under her breath something that sounded closely to “Boke.”

You leave her for barely a week and she’s already neck deep in the gay volleyball anime, hoodie and cardboard cutout and everything. Your life is falling apart.

But Brooklyn is nice. It had snowed when you stepped off of the plane. Thousands of snowflakes sprinkling into your hair, dotting your cheeks and nose. You missed this sight back in Cali. You missed your parents, too.

Home cooked meals, old sweaters, your old room and about 40GB worth of old high school pictures on your computer. You went through them all one night. Some were stomach churning, cringe inducing nightmares. You were especially fond of those. Texted some of your friends that were still in Brooklyn, met up, decided to bake. Bad idea, Rae was the resident chef back in Cali. Besides laughing till your stomach hurt, and almost burning down your kitchen, nothing all that significant happened. Somewhere down the line, at about 3 am, half-way through a cheesy rom-com you had the overwhelming urge to text Corpse.

That’s where the problems really started. God, you missed California, missed being in the same timezone with a guy you hadn’t even met yet, how embarrassing is that?! You missed skating around and taking pictures of the beach in the setting sun, sending it to him, silently wishing he was with you to admire the view.

You really want to call him. And to hang out with him. But for some reason, the thought of that springs up immediate anxiety and you shy away from asking. Him sending you cute good morning texts doesn’t help, either. Maybe it’s better he doesn’t know that you’re a blushing, stuttering mess each time you read “baby”.

Late evening. Your stream is already set up, people are slowly trickling in and you greet them with a grin and a soft “Hello! Hi hi!”. You did your best to make your room a perfectly chaotic backdrop - led lights, an embarrassing amount of anime merch and plushies. You always try to balance out your weeb side by dressing hot as fuck for your streams - today’s inspiration just so happens to be egirls. Mostly because you watched one too many egirl make-up tutorials on TikTok, and also because you’ve been listening to Corpse’s song all day.

Yeah, no, who are you kidding, you dressed up this way because you were hoping Corpse was watching your stream. You didn’t forget your cat headphones, either. You know he likes them. You want to make him suffer. Perhaps then, finally, he will ask you out, so you wouldn’t have to.

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“I feel like,” You start when you put away your phone, staring idly at the chat, “I feel like I need a new name for you guys. Calling you guys after two years of streaming is just... weird, no? I also don’t respect men so I don’t want to call you guys. Like, so many creator’s have, like, a name for their fans. Uhm, Cody Ko has the chodesters, Kurtis Conner has, uh, folks? Kurtis Town? Citizens! Markiplier has mommy issues--” You can’t help snorting, “So, I’ve been, like, thinking - I know, shocking! - so I was thinking I’m gonna name you cockroaches. Because you’re grimy little shits impossible to kill. And also then I can use the legendary Minaj meme ROACHES!”

Your stream enthusiastically echoes ROACHES, making the chat swim. Yes, if anyone would enjoy such a name, it would be your audience. You’re as equally proud as you are disturbed.

“Well, anyway.” Leaning back into your chair, you throw your arms out with a bright grin, “Big dick is back in town, baby! If you noticed the backdrops different, it’s cuz I’m in Brooklyn now. Don’t ask me when I will return to Always Sunny, I don’t plan that far ahead.”

While Minecraft boots up, you decide to answer a few questions.

r u dating sykkuno?

You want to smack your head into the keyboard, but as it is, you can’t exactly afford a new one, so you refrain, “No, Sykkuno and I are not dating, we are just good friends. Uhm, I’m not sure how much I’ll have to repeat this, but, we really aren’t, so if the roaches could chill - Oh my God, that sounds so stupid, I love it - uh, yeah, if the roaches could chill that’d be great.”

the roaches lmao sounds like we’re a sports team

“Oh shit, yeah it does, uh-- maybe I can make like, jerseys or something. That’d be cool, I think.”

how disappointed are your parents with the way your life turned out?

“My parents are actually not disappointed at all!” You say with a cute little smile, “Uhm, they’re both really proud, actually. They’re glad I found something I love doing and made a job outta it. Dad finds my Youtube videos endearing. Yes, they watch pretty much all of my videos, unless I explicitly tell them not to. And yeah, with all the fucks and thirsting for anime characters. Uhm, it was very embarrassing at first, but I mean, after a while, shame just...doesn’t exist anymore, I guess? Funny thing about my parents, actually, when they watch my videos-” You eye catches a comment, “Oh! No, they only watch my Youtube videos. They don’t know how to use Twitter, thank God. Uhm, anyway-- when they hear a name they don’t know, like, I dunno, Dabi, or something, they google--” You’re grinning by now, eyes crinkling, giggling softly, “--who that is, and buy me like, merch and stuff. It’s really cute.

can i be adopted by ur parents plz

will you and corpse ever collab?!

You were about to answer, though the man of the hour himself decides to do it for you.

Corpse_Husband: yes.

Okay, not to say your heart skipped a beat, but it totally did. With a pleased smile, you nod, like one of those bobble head toys sold at the dollar store. The motion is oddly reminiscent of Sykkuno’s own nod. Perhaps you had picked it up from him. The chat seems to notice.

pack it up, sykkuno

More questions pile about this mysterious collab you and Corpse are planning. Yeah, you’d like to hear more about it, too, since he single highhandedly decided one was happening right now. Corpse remains silent. Fine, keep your secrets.

“Okay, guys, oh, I mean, roaches, Oh my God--” You’re covering your mouth, giggling, “-calling all roaches, calling all roaches, calm down. Everyone grab a snack and a blanket I’m turning up the music volume so we can all chill. Entering chill zone. Entering chill zone. Roaches, prepare.”

we are prepared

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An hour or so passes and you grow hungry. It shows with the amount of cakes you had baked in your server. Currently, you find yourself throwing eggs at the wall of one of the renovated houses, your face scrunched in concentration and slight frustration. 24 of the 50 eggs have been wasted. “What’s a girl gotta do to get some chicks around here?” you had uttered under your breath, until, finally, a screech - the egg finally spawns a mob. Your mouth falls open, “Aww, look!” You approach it, so small, walking in zigzags beside you, “It’s a baby chicken! Die, bitch.” The baby chicken is no more as you swing your bedazzled (you have mods) diamond sword. You’re cackling by the time the dust settles.

y/n is a child murderer

“Roaches,” You address your fan-base, spurring another fit of laughter - you can’t get over the name, “I think I’m like, forgetting that eating in Minecraft won’t actually make less hungry in real life.”

take a break and go eat queen <3

“Fuck no, we starve and die like men. Now I actually really need another chicken.”

Another twenty minutes trickle by and you’re trying to lure back a panda from the jungle when there’s a knock on your bedroom’s door. Whipping your head to the side, you slide down your headphones. At the same time, your mom pokes her head through the ajar door, “MOM!” You scream, “Get OUT of my room I’m playing Minecraft!” But your yell has no actual bite to it, as you don’t manage to hide your smile. Your mom laughs, doing some sort of sign language and motioning for you to follow her with her head. That or it’s some sort of performative dance.

“I’m live right now,” You tell her, pointing at your screen. She knows this already, though, “do you want to say hi?”

The roaches spam the chat with friendly hellos. You mom, quite impatient now, waves you over.

“Sorry, roaches, mom needs something. Be back in a bit!”

Stopping the stream, you rush out of your seat and pleased she slinks into the hallway. “What’s this about?”

“Your pizza came.”

“My what now?” You echo, confused.

“Domino’s. You ordered pizza?”

“What? No? I was busy with the stream, I never--”

Thankfully, you had managed to grab your phone from your room before you exited. You almost choke on spit once you read the messages.

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You decide that it’ll be impossible to stream after experiencing what you had just experienced. You tweet out a quick apology to the roaches (God, that fucking name) and say that you had a breakdown but you’re okay. That is as a close to the truth as you managed to muster. It’s a sad sight, chewing and crying; your mom winced when she saw your state - disheveled hair and rundown eyeliner and everything. “D’aww,” She had muttered, caressing the top of your head, “don’t cry my little raccoon.”

If anyone was ever to ask you where did your chaotic nature come from, you’d answer with my mom. To make yourself feel better, you took a selfie - duck face and peace sign and the horrible 2000′s angle. Sent it to Rae.

looking hot, her message read.

thanks, was all you replied with.

You couldn’t just leave things as they were. Once you calmed down, you wanted to text Corpse, but how would you follow up the ungodly caps lock and screeching? Impossible. An idea sprung to mind, one that was brave. Taking the first step.

Instead of sending a text, you sent a voice memo.

“Thank you for the pizza, it was delicious.”

You voice still sounded a bit raspy. His reply was instant. Your heart skipped a beat. He sent a voice memo back.

“Glad you liked it, baby.”

He was going to be the death of you.

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tags (in italics is those i couldn’t tag! make sure all’s ok w your settings!) : @littlebabysandboxburritos - @fairywriter-oracle - @tsukishimawh0re - @ofstarsanddreams - @bbecc-a - @annshit - @leahh19 - @letsloveimagines - @bellomi-clarke - @wineandionysus - @guiltydols - @onephootinfrontoftheother - @liamakorn - @thirstyfangirl - @lilysdaydreams - @pan-ini - @mxqicshxp - @tanchosanke - @yoshinorecommends - @flightsandfantasy - @liljennyx3 - @slashersdream - @unknown-and-invisible - @sinister-sleep - @fivedicksinatrenchcoat - @mercury–moon - @peterparkerspjsuit - @unstableye - @simonsbluee - @shinyshimaagain - @ppopty - @siriuslystupid - @crapimahuman - @ofthedewthesunlight - @mythicalamphitrite - @artsyally - @corpsesimpp - @corpsewhitetee - @corpse-husbandsimp - @hyp-oh-critical - @roses-and-grasses - @rhyrhy462 - @sparklylandflaplawyer - @charbkgo - @airwaveee - @creativedogs - @kaitlyn2907 - @loxbbg - @afuckingunicornn - @fleurmoon - @yeolliedokai - @truly-dionysus - @multi-fandom-central707

more tags are in the comments bcs tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people max 💙

#corpse husband #corpse #corpse husband x reader #corpse x reader #corpse husband imagine #corpse social media au #corpse husband fanfic #social media au #corpse husband x y/n #corpse x y/n #corpse husband fic #reader #xreader #imagine #imagines #myso #make you say oh

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lesbia-with-her-sparrow · 2 years

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Weblena week day 1: Across the world

A Free Trial of Love

Hi, Andie here! This is my first time posting my writing online, so I’m kinda super excited & nervous about it. This fic was inspired by the song Tourist: a love song from Paris by Paint. You don’t have to listen to it to understand, but you know, credit where credit is due and all that. Also, this gets into the trauma Lena & Webby would have from their childhoods, so if that’s something that might be triggering or otherwise emotionally difficult for you to read, feel free to skip this one. Thanks for reading, I hope y’all enjoy!

If Lena asked, their surprise trip to Paris had been completely spontaneous. If anyone else asked, Webby had been secretly planning it for months.

When they had met, Webby had barely left the mansion, let alone Duckburg, and Lena had told her she ought to go to Paris sometime. Now, she’d been all the around the globe, except there. It was a perfect opportunity, one that her horrible (yet also paradoxically kind) brothers helped her take advantage of.

Which left Webby, tapping her fingers nervously on the armrests of her chair as she sat next to Lena on the family plane, Dewey in the pilot’s seat and Huey sitting shotgun holding a map and a navigational skills badge, a proud smile slipping onto his beak. Louie was there too, somewhere, probably napping in the cargo hold or something.

“So, Pink, you gonna tell me where we’re heading?” Lena asked for what was probably the fifth time that day.

Webby shook her head emphatically. “Nope. Not until we get there.”

“You’re really gonna keep a secret from your best friend?”

“Mmm hmm,” Webby said, squirming in her chair.

It was a very long flight.

It was honestly kind of impressive, Dewey’s ability to stay focused on flying for nearly seven hours straight—he couldn’t even keep his train of thought long enough to win a game of tic tac toe. Even more impressive was his ability to do so with Lena pestering him and Huey every few minutes to ask where they were going.

Eventually they landed on a runway of one of Paris’ less busy airports, after a long and quite confusing conversation with air traffic control.

But hey, they made it, and that was what was important. They were here, in Paris, one of Lena’s favorite cities in the world, and it was just the two of them! And Webby’s brothers, but they would be leaving fairly soon, if the Parisian authorities were to be taken seriously.

Together, they stepped out of the plane and into the mid-afternoon light. It always took Webby’s eyes time to adjust, but she found it had the opposite effect of leaving a movie theater. It was like coming into the light of the screen, leaving her life of mundanities behind and joining the heroes in a bright, beautiful world of adventure.

The weather was pleasantly warm, a soft breeze tumbling through quietly and ruffling their feathers. The pink tips of Lena’s hair blew aside gently in a way that made Webby’s heart lurch. In a totally platonic way, of course. Or maybe not? She wasn’t really sure. Webby didn’t know what it was like to have friends before the boys, and they became her siblings. Maybe normal friendship felt like this, but how would she hope to know?

Lena grabbed her hand confidently, and she felt like she might melt. It was strange, maybe because she was a shadow being without blood to warm her up, but Lena’s hand was always cool to the touch. Webby didn’t mind, though. The way Lena’s hand felt—soft and smooth and cool, slightly damp—didn’t feel clammy, it felt like clay, like their hands had been perfectly molded to fit together.

“Okay, I’ve got it. You took me to a crummy airport,” Lena said sarcastically. “Where are we really?”

But Webby didn’t answer then, either. Instead, she adjusted her grasp even tighter and started running, dragging a very confused Lena behind. She didn’t even know where she was going, only that if they ran long enough, they’d eventually find something Lena would recognize, something beautiful and warm.

They stopped when they reached a wide road that obstructed their path, brimming with bright yellow taxis and colorful dots of cars.

A few yards away was the exit of the airport, flooded with tacky looking tourists and put-together businessmen shouting in French. Lena seemed to prick up at that, and her eyes went wide as she realized where they were.

“Are we—”

“You guys could’ve at least brought your luggage with if you were gonna run off,” came Louie’s voice from behind them, along with various grunts and heaving sounds from the other two boys. “Now they’re barely able to hold my stuff.”

Webby looked behind her, and sure enough, Huey and Dewey were dragging six suitcases between the two of them (Webby had packed two—it was better to over prepare than to pack light and find yourself without a grappling hook when you really needed one.) while Louie held nothing but a single concealed poster board.

“What’s that?” Webby asked as she took her luggage from where Dewey had swung it over his shoulders.

“Just a little heist I have planned. Ask anything more and you could be considered an accomplice.”

The less she knew, the better, especially where Della and Uncle Donald were concerned. And the police, she supposed, but really, Webby could handle herself in a standard interrogation, and she had a feeling Lena could too. You only get away with living by yourself for twelve years without public education by being pretty good at evading the police.

It really was a beautiful city. Webby watched through the taxi window, entranced, as they drove to the hotel they were staying at. If she’d turned around, she would have seen that Lena was watching not the sights of the city but her expression, a soft smile at Webby’s unrestrained wonder and awe.

The hotel was stunning as well. Webby had called in a favor with Goldie and managed to get them a room at one of her luxury hotels. A grand babbling fountain sat in the center of the marble-floored lobby, its undulating light reflected in the twinkling of the chandelier that hung above it. Large canvas oil paintings filled the walls, no doubt just as expensive as some of the ones housed in France’s most famous museums.

There was also an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, a hot tub, a gym, tennis courts, and a large dining area for free breakfast and even an evening charcuterie. Webby had lived in a mansion her whole life and she was still impressed. Lena, who’d spent a good deal of time living in a single room beneath an old broken amphitheater, was positively glowing.

A few minutes later, while Webby was speaking to the concierge, she heard the sliding glass doors move open and three sets of webbed feet enter the building.

“Woah! Is this what rich people live like?”

“We live in a literal mansion. We’re rich now too, dumbass.”

“Don’t say stuff like that!”

“Why not? Uncle Donald’s not here.”

“Seriously, guys, look at this place. Not a single cockroach in sight. And there’s an elevator and everything!”

Webby turned around to see Huey desperately holding back Dewey as he tried to run towards the fountain, then turned back to the concierge.

“We’re friends of the owner, Miss. O’Gilt,” she explained.

“I’m sure,” he replied, eyeing the five of them with distaste. “Let me call her.”

One phone call later, and they were in a big room with south-facing windows, a California king sized bed, a flat screen TV to match, and even a little kitchenette area. They couldn’t see the Eiffel Tower, but Webby took solace in knowing it was there, waiting for her to have sudden clarity about her relationship with Lena, followed by a dramatic display of… something.

Lena walked straight past everything and stood out on the terrace, looking out at the streets below. It wasn’t the prettiest view—just the parking lot and some of the buildings across the street, but it had a certain foreign charm in its unfamiliarity. Webby couldn’t wait to explore.

“Why’d you take me here?” Lena asked as Webby approached.

“You said I should go to Paris when we first met,” Webby said.

“Yeah, but why like this? Why now?”

Webby wasn’t quite sure she knew how to answer that question. “Why not?”

Lena sighed and turned around, leaning against the railing but facing their hotel room. “I don’t want to ruin your vacation.”

There was a plaintive air between them as they stood on that terrace, wind in their hair, facing opposite directions as though that might make the conversation easier.

“I don’t want you to hold it all in,” Webby said quietly. “You can tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s just—it reminds me of my past. And like, back then, that was my happiest moment, but all my moments were so much worse than even my lowest ones here with you and Vi, and I—I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m ready to face that.”

Webby moved so she was standing directly in front of Lena, looking her in the eyes. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. But maybe we could face your fears together?”

But Lena just smiled sadly. “You can’t beat up trauma, Pink.”

“Okay, maybe we can’t get rid of all the bad memories you associate with this place, but we could at least make some good ones,” Webby said. “That way, next time you think of Paris, it won’t all be bad.”

Lena shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”

Webby extended her hand, and Lena took it, so she led her back into the room. She had planned for them to relax for a night before hitting the big city the next day. There was something sort of nice in it; they didn’t need to be halfway across the world to watch TV in bed, and yet it was such an excitement, such a warm sort of comfort.

It was late at night, the lights were off, the room only lit by the soft glow of the other buildings that surrounded them. Maybe it was that they were thousands of miles away from their normal lives, but Webby felt something in her tongue loosen, like she would tell Lena anything if she only asked the right questions. Being in a hotel room with your best friend at night is a sacred place—a place for secrets, a place for questions, a place for discoveries.

“What did you do?” Webby found herself asking. “Before you met me?”

From the other side of the bed, Lena gave what might’ve been a shrug. It was hard to tell when she was lying down. “Travelled, mostly. Magica’s power ebbed and flowed with the phases of the moon, so I had some time where I could mostly do what I wanted. And some where I had to spend every waking minute trying to find Scrooge or restore her power.”

“So that concert you went to?”

“That was during a new moon.” Lena sighed happily. “And—a lot of people don’t know this, but I’m sure you do since you’re such a super-genius—the moon’s orbit around the earth is actually elliptical, so it was during one of those stretches when it was at its farthest away. And I think mercury hadn’t gone into retrograde yet; that sort of celestial stuff affects her powers too.”

“I actually, um, didn’t know that,” Webby admitted. “Granny taught me all kinds of things she thought a good spy ought to know, but some stuff was kind of… skipped over. I mean, I learned my solar system, but Granny always said I was never ever allowed to go into space, so I wouldn’t need to know about it. I assumed it was her usual overprotectiveness until Della.”

“You know, you don’t act like it, but the way Tea Time raised you was kinda messed up. And that’s coming from me, the pinnacle of averse childhood experiences. I mean, locking you up in the mansion with her as your only source of information about the outside world? That’s kinda controlling, don’t you think?”

“Oh, that was only because of F.O.W.L. If they’d found out I existed—"

Lena cut her off. “I don’t think they were traversing Duckburg’s elementary schools looking for child who might’ve been Scrooge’s clone. You would’ve been fine.”

“Well maybe you think Granny watched me too much because Magica watched you too little,” Webby said, a tad defensively. Okay, maybe a lot defensively. But Webby loved her family and couldn’t stand to see it scrutinized. Besides, she didn’t like thinking about what it would mean for her if she hadn’t been raised in the way she ought to have been.

“Okay, so maybe we’re on opposite ends of the bad parenting spectrum. I still know what an over-controlling parent looks like, by the way, Magica literally possessed me a few times. All I’m saying is, you know, maybe we both went through some stuff and maybe we can figure it out together. Besides, I don’t think either of us really had the chance to develop any kind of social skills, so we’re probably not gonna have much of a friend repository to dip into. We gotta stay close, you know?”

“Yeah.” Cautiously, as though approaching a sleeping lion, Webby leaned closer until she and Lena were laying flush beside each other, Webby’s head on Lena’s shoulder and Lena’s arm draped around her. It wasn’t their first time sharing a bed—they’d had plenty of sleepovers before—but Webby had always been careful to give Lena her space. She sometimes flinched away when people tried to touch her, and Webby didn’t want to do anything that might make her uncomfortable.

But Lena just wrapped her arm around Webby tighter, and the two cuddled together as though they might be able to protect each other from all the horrors the world had to offer.

Webby woke up the next day in France, and by the time she remembered where she was, she had already leaped out of bed and scanned the room for potential threats. And okay, so that maybe wasn’t indicative of a normal childhood experience, but that was the fault of other kids’ parents for not preparing their kids enough. The first time Huey, Dewey, and Louie were kidnapped, they were utterly useless in getting out—and they weren’t nearly the shining standard for normal kids as they pretended to be. Checking a room for potential exits, entrances, hiding places, and bugs wasn’t paranoia, that was just plain smart.

You just had to be raised differently when you were a clone made of Scrooge McDuck’s DNA, and if that was anybody’s fault, it’d be Webby’s.

From the bed, Lena looked up. “You expectin’ to fight somebody, Pink?” She asked sleepily.

Webby looked back, slightly embarrassed, and opened her beak to respond, but Lena had already fallen back asleep. She looked adorable, her beak hanging open, drooling on the pillow a bit, a chunk of pink-dyed hair hanging over her face as the rest stood at awkward angles. With Webby out of bed, she had seemingly taken it upon herself to fill as much of the empty space as possible, and lay with her limbs sprawled on either side like a starfish.

Webby memorized every detail of Lena in that beautifully messy state and left to take a shower.

Webby had never been one for long showers. It was a waste of time really, and not a good one since it left you at your most vulnerable. When you’re sleeping, you can keep a gun under the pillow for safety (a knife is really a bad idea for multiple reasons), and it’s pretty easy to keep a dagger hidden under the waistband of your skirt, but the shower is too slippery to safely hide weapons, and you don’t even have clothes to protect yourself.

But the water was warm and pleasant, and who would think to look for them in France of all places anyway? Even as Webby felt guilt for not being as vigilant as her granny taught her to be, she felt it slide easily off her back, dripping off her tail-feathers and into the drain below. That was why it made that gurgling sound, she liked to pretend sometimes. That was the sound of all her guilt and fears and anxiety being ground into dust and eventually, nothing at all. Of course she knew it made no sense, but Webby had always been a rather imaginative child, and the idea had held a certain poetic charm she had been reticent to get rid of.

Surprisingly, Lena was actually awake and moving by the time Webby returned, fully dressed, from her shower. Webby had woken up later than usual, but she had assumed the jet lag would equally affect her and Lena, who usually slept in much later than her. Perhaps being made of shadows made you less susceptible to jet lag, though it was often hard to tell what was a shadow magic thing and what was just a Lena thing. It didn’t help that Lena didn’t know either.

Currently, she sat at the edge of the bed, fully dressed though with her hair uncombed, pointing at the TV with the remote in hand. “Hey Pink, come check this out.”

It was some French news station, though text scrolled through with English captions. It seemed some small but expensive sculpture had been taken from the Louvre, and nobody had any idea who it was. Nobody but them, that was. Webby was sure Huey, Dewey, and Louie would be taking off soon, if they hadn’t already, and something new would be joining them for the trip. She wasn’t going to ask about it; the less she knew the better.

That is, until her phone vibrated and she saw she had a message from Louie.

Louie-Inc: hey we’re leaving rn

Louie-Inc: had a good time hanging out in ur room all night 😉

“Hey Lena,” Webby called into the room. “If anyone asks, Louie was with us last night.”

“Yeah, whatever. He’s lucky I don’t like being a narc,” Lena replied.

But whatever the boys had done to cover their tracks proved to be working because by the time Webby and Lena finished their free hotel breakfast and left the building to do some sightseeing, not a single cop was in sight. It probably helped that they were staying in one of Goldie’s hotels. She probably had all kinds of procedures in place if the police arrived.

The Louvre was understandably closed, but there were plenty of other places, and Webby preferred history museums anyway. Like one that had a still-working guillotine from the French Revolution. It’s blade was ancient, brittle and corroded from years of use and open-air storage.

The day was bright with possibility. Most areas of the city were overwhelmingly crowded with tourists, but Webby’s interests were esoteric enough and Lena knew her way around that they were able to avoid some of the worst spots. She even found a cheap hole-in-the-wall cafe that didn’t seem to serve nearly as many of the wealthy tourists that clogged the streets.

Lena sat with her elbows propped on the table, stabbing her salad rather aggressively with a fork. She had never been taught proper dining, of course. Neither had the boys, who tended to wolf anything in front of them down so quickly you could hardly tell if they’d been using the right spoon for each dish. Webby wished she could do that, to find pleasure in simple things like eating without having to follow a thousand rules. That was what she liked about hamburgers—there wasn’t a fancy way to eat them, the very idea was antithetical to the life hamburgers represented.

Webby briefly checked her sandwich and drink for signs of poisoning. Old habits die hard, you know.

“You know,” Lena said, ignoring the way Webby scraped pieces of bread into a mysterious vial of clear liquid and shook it. It didn’t change color. “I haven’t seen much of this city during the day. It’s nice.”

Webby heaved a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you’re still having a good time. I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t have just brought you here unannounced.”

“Yeah, I mean, I keep getting this weird anxiety? Like, I keep feeling on edge, waiting for Magica’s next order, but like, it’s not coming. It’s kinda hard to convince myself I’m free sometimes. It just doesn’t seem like this could possibly be real—I keep waiting for the bad part,” Lena replied.

“There doesn’t have to be a bad part,” Webby pointed out.

For some reason, Lena just laughed. “You know, your constant optimism is a good match to my fatalistic cynicism. Together, we just might make a reasonable outlook on the world.”

“I think there’s a lot of things we could do together.”

Internally, Webby panicked. Why did she say that? Why did she say that? Why did she say that? Why did she say—

“Why’d you really bring me here, Pink?” Lena asked.

“Oh, no reason.” Webby stuffed her sandwich in her mouth so she’d stop talking.

“Oh come on, we’re all the way across the world. If you say something you regret, we can just blame it on the altitude or something.”

“I thought I might maybe like you in a romantic way, but I’m not really sure because I don’t know what a crush is even supposed to feel like so I wanted to use this trip to try to figure it out,” Webby said, all in one breath.

Lena stared back in shock. Webby felt bad. This trip had to be a lot for her emotionally. So much for a chill, relaxing vacation. Lena stabbed at her salad thoughtfully, methodically, until she sawed a crouton in half.

Finally, she said, “How about this: for the rest of the vacation, we act like we’re dating. No one else has to know, and you can decide if you like me or not.”

“What about you?” Webby asked.

“I don’t have much experience in this area either. I think we could both use a little free trial to figure out our feelings.”

“Deal,” Webby said, and as they left the restaurant, she took Lena’s hand and interlaced their fingers together, as though punctuating her declaration with it.

There was something freeing in the idea that it was just the two of them, alone to struggle and be awkward where nobody they cared about would ever possibly see them. It took off the pressure of them doing things the correct way, whatever that was. Maybe Webby should have read more romance novels to figure it out.

Lena smiled at her, and her shoulders seemed to loosen a bit. Despite her laidback appearances, Lena was rarely relaxed. But when she smiled—like, really, genuinely smiled, it was one of the most beautiful things Webby had ever seen, soft and understated and delicate, like a flower that was crumbled but refused to die just yet. Webby had been chasing that smile ever since Lena let her explode that fist bump on the night they met.

As they walked down the street, leaning into each other’s bodies in the way a real couple would, Webby felt something fragile grow between them. Just two scared girls who had to toughen up against a world that refused to learn how to love them, too afraid to acknowledge what was blooming in the cracks of their iron casing for fear that it may fall dead yet.

It wasn’t fair, but nobody had ever told either of them that life would be.

When they got back to the hotel to freshen up a bit before heading back out, the police were waiting for them. Perhaps Lena had been right, and this was the bad part catching up with them. It was almost relieving in a way; people feel more comfortable in familiar situations, even if that means actively seeking out stress because it’s all they’ve ever known.

“This isn’t anything we can’t handle, innit that right, Englabeth?” Lena said in her atrocious British accent.

“Oh, indubitably so, Britannica,” Webby replied, and it was the last thing either of them said before they were separated at the station, sent into two different interrogation rooms.

The room Webby was placed in was dull and gray. She knew it was because she was supposed to be questioned in a neutral location, but it couldn’t hurt to spice up the decor a bit. She’d found that her stuffed animal interrogations had been just as effective in a genteel tea party setting. The least they could do was get her some juice.

But instead, they just slapped a rather embarrassingly thin dossier down on the table as though they might scare the girl who’d faced down gods.

“You came here with one Llewelyn Duck, oui?” The officer, a stout bear with a young determination in his eyes asked.

“Oui,” Webby replied, but that was it. The secret to situations like these was to say as little as possible without being considered uncooperative. But you had to be careful—you couldn’t let them think you knew more than you were letting on.

“Was it planned that he would exit the country now and leave you behind?”

“Oui.” Webby pulled out her phone and scrolled back on her group chat with her and the boys. “See?”

Webster: soooo if I could get some alone time with Lena that’d be neat

Lets-Dewey-This!!: ur finally gonna ask her out right

Webster: idk maybe? idk

Louie-Inc: u absolute useless lesbian talk to her

Webster: idk how I feel? About me? And Lena? It’s confusing??

Huey-Duck: We told you we would help you with any social problems you might be experiencing. I can say objectively, scientifically, you have a crush on Lena.

Lets-Dewey-This!!: ^^^^^

Louie-Inc: we’ll leave early if u talk to her

Webster: fine

“Hmm,” the investigator said. “And where was he last night?”

“In our room. He was trying to be my wingman,” Webby answered.

“We’ll take a look at the hotel’s security footage. You can go,” the man said.

Webby didn’t bother trying to warn Louie. There was no way he hadn’t already called in a favor with Goldie and gotten the footage erased. And Goldie, the sap, had probably already done it. She could pretend she was a lone wolf all she wanted, but she’d do anything for Louie. And she was starting to warm up to the others too. Hence them having the hotel room in the first place.

When she got out, Lena was waiting for her in the lobby.

“Wow, you got out even faster than I did,” Webby said, impressed.

“I said I had diplomatic immunity as a representative of the shadow realm, then I turned into a shadow and dipped out,” Lena explained.

“Do you think the shadow realm has to follow international laws or is it out of jurisdiction?” Webby asked.

“I mean, it’s not a member of the UN, so what are they gonna do about it?”

Webby shrugged. “Probably whatever they decide to do about the Moonlanders.”

Lena considered that a moment. “God, this is why I hate politics.”

“I love politics!” Webby exclaimed involuntarily. Then, because she could, she added, “I can’t believe I’m dating you.”

Lena laughed. “I hope you’re not breaking it off this early. Our first date was at a police precinct. God, it makes me sick just thinking it about. We gotta do something rebellious tonight to wash the stench of authority off us.”

That night, Lena took Webby to her first ever rave. Everywhere she went, there were dancing bodies and blaring music, drums so loud they forced her heart to beat along. They stayed at the edge of the action, not wanting to risk getting trampled, but even that was pretty overwhelming. Colored lights blinked in and out, neon pinks and blues and purples. The energy of the crowd was electric; every time the DJ spoke into his mic they screamed, though it wasn’t entirely clear to Webby what they were yelling for.

Webby liked dancing with Lena, at least. She didn’t really know how, but there seemed to be a lot of jumping involved, and she was pretty good at that. Sometimes, she’d launch herself off the ground just high enough to see above the crowd, the wave of people all dancing along to the music. Her head felt so stuffed with noise that she could hardly think. Lena, for one, looked happy about it.

Not that she was dumb or anything, just, she was able to clear her head in a way Webby might never manage. She liked watching Lena like this, at one with the music. Sometimes, the crowd forced them to dance so close, Webby thought they might kiss. Her heart was beating so fast she couldn’t tell if it was adrenaline or anxiety. Maybe that was part of the appeal.

The lights flashed. The music blared. All the bodies pressed in, in, in. And suddenly Webby found herself a hair’s breadth from Lena, their beaks nearly touching in the dark. Webby had never noticed how blue her eyes were. Lena reached behind her and pulled her in tight, protecting her against the crowd. Webby wrapped her arms around Lena’s neck and swayed, and it must’ve seemed so silly to an outsider, to see these two lovesick teens slow dancing at a rave.

“Let’s get outta here,” Lena said into her ear, and all Webby could do was nod and hope the darkness covered her rising blush.

They ended the night with a classic case of breaking and entering. It wasn’t anything terribly exciting, just stepping over the fence of a park that was closed. Webby always thought that was strange anyway, for parks to have hours. Nature wasn’t a thing that could be fenced in and shut down each night.

It was nice out; the cool, fresh air was a needed break from all the sweat of the rave. There weren’t many stars out, though Webby found it comforting enough to know that they were still there, just behind all the light pollution of the city. It was a new moon too, so the sky was nothing but inky blackness, stretching endlessly on.

“I wish for a blessing to follow Lena and me to the next cycle,” Webby said as they walked. Every once in a while there was a break in the trees, and she would stare up at the penetrating darkness, the moon in shadow.

Maybe that was why Magica’s powers were so low during this time. There was no light on earth for shadows to be cast by.

“What are you doing?” Lena asked.

“There’s a superstition that if you don’t ask for a blessing on a new moon, bad luck will follow you for the next month,” Webby explained.

“Don’t you know the goddess of the moon? Can’t Selene just give you blessings like, whenever?”

“There’s more to the world than gods and goddesses,” Webby said like it was obvious. Didn’t Lena know that? “There’s also spirits and cosmic forces that guide and shape the universe through our actions, not their own. A new moon represents wiping the slate clean, giving yourself a new beginning. You have to ask for a blessing because the spiritual realm is resetting itself, giving you another chance at connecting with it, following the path Fate laid out for you.”

“You’re kinda something else, aren’t you, Pink?”

They continued the path in pleasant silence. It wasn’t like Webby to just stop talking, especially when she was nervous, but she found that her anxieties wore down until she was enveloped in a sense of calm. Maybe it was remembering that her life lay in the palm of Fate, and that while Fate could be cruel, She always saw fit to give a sort of poetic justice in the end. Or maybe it really was that blessing coming through.

They stopped at a bridge overlooking a large body of water. Bridges were very supernatural too, of course. They represented the pathways between one realm and the next.

Lena sat on the railing, her legs dangling over the edge. She looked out at the small ripping waves, mostly dark but sparkling ever-so-slightly in the reflected light of the city. Webby sat next to her.

“I’m not very good at feelings,” Lena said suddenly. “But Webby, I—” She turned her head away and took a deep breath. “I think you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Aww, Lena, that’s—”

“But sometimes I just feel… I feel selfish, because you’re the most compassionate, wonderful person in the world and I—I put you in danger for my freedom. And I know you forgive me, but… you deserve the perfect girlfriend and I don’t know if that’s me.” She paused. “I want it to be. And if you choose to go through with this then I promise I’ll try so hard to be the person you deserve, but—I want you to know what you’re getting into.”

Maybe it was a bit insensitive, but Webby actually laughed. “Can’t you see? You are the perfect girl for me! Don’t you see the way I’m more confident? I’ve loosened up and learned to think for myself and not just blindly follow whatever I’ve been told to do. Lena, that’s all you.”

A small smile pricked at the corners of Lena’s beak. “A noble teen ne’er do well, huh?”

Webby gripped the railing tightly with one hand, and with the other reached out, held Lena’s face in her hand. “And a beautiful idiot too.”

Webby wasn’t sure who leaned in first, but suddenly, enveloped in the dark, black night they were kissing, and it felt like magic spreading from the tip of her beak to the rest of her body. It was everything she had ever dreamed of. It was nothing she’d ever expected.

There they were in Paris, France, not on the Eiffel Tower but on a graffitied bridge in a closed park, kissing for the first time. They hadn’t even reached the end of their free trial of a relationship yet, but Webby had a pretty good feeling about where it was heading. For now, she relished in the secrecy, in the fact that it was something just for them. Just two scared girls, on the other side of the planet, letting the cracks in their carefully constructed walls burst wide open.

Just two scared girls, on the other side of the planet, falling in love.

#Weblena week 2022 #weblena #ducktales2017 #dt17 #Weblena week #webby vanderquack #dt lena #dt webby

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puropoly · 4 years

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honest 2am post i guess

(edit: context that i forgot to add: i’ve been in quarantine since march, haven’t met with my partner since then, as well as several friends, and except for 30 min of daily walking my dog to the park, i’ve been living my life exclusively inside my house)

things haven’t been great. But they haven’t been that bad either! this year is difficult for everyone and I’m counting my blessings which are not scarce. My family is healthy and we’re financially stable.

I’ve been struggling (again, as everyone else) with my mental health and regulating my emotions, working as a therapist has unexpectedly helped a lot in the process since the obligation to put my focus on someone else and actively trying to help them resolve their issues plays a huge part in healing myself as well. It’s kind of a mutual process, and it’s very interesting

I’ve been spending a LOT of time in the kitchen as well. I never expected to connect with COOKING of all activities, I’m pretty much squidward in the episode where he burns some fish’s soda, BUT i have to admit I’ve been learning a lot of cool, cheap vegan recipes that are healthy and in general I’m just glad to have learned an useful life skill for when I live alone / with my partner, if it ever happens in the future

Haven’t drawn anything in ages, only commissions and that was...during June, for the most part. I don’t have any interest in drawing right now to be honest, but I hope for the energy to come back, as it usually does

My baby niece is super cute and a big chungus, love her

If there’s something I can give 2020 credit for is that it drove my focus away from superficial day to day stress and place it in reflecting about my routine, and what part of it I’m actually dedicating to the things that are important to me. Y’know, is watching this 40 min video about someone talking about internet drama nurturing myself in any way? is watching youtube videos about facts of the pokemon franchise that i already know helping me cope? should I just log off youtube???????????? (yes)

So I’ve been trying to accomodate my routine in separating and organizing activities according to a) the energy i have for them and b) the value they have for my life. Which consists mostly of spiritual time (praying and metitation have been VITAL), family time, cooking time, working time, and pestering the death note tag with butt jokes occassionally time

And I’ve been doing well- still not happy or energized for art, but ...surviving you know? which is no little thing in 2020

I specifically wanted to give this update in this blog because, again, it is important to me. Some folks who usually DM me I haven’t been interacting with a lot lately, and I’m sorry for that, it’s never my intention to be rude, but i’m going through some rough times and it’s difficult to connect with what others are saying to me in this moment :o( I miss my online presence but it takes a chunk of my energy to be here sometimes - just online communication for me is particularly difficult? I suck at tumblring it’s incredible why are you even FOLLOWING

ESPECIAL sorry to that anon who asked me about the ending of danganronpa V3 ages ago I’M SORRY it is utterly uncomprehensible and a terrible ending and I hate it and it’s not meant to be clear or accessible for anyone AND THAT’S WHY IT SUCKS

anyway!! that’s all i wanted to say right now. not really a vent post at all, but more like...a heads up of what has been going on in Poly city. And a checking up of how everyone’s doing, which i hope is great

God bless you all and thanks for keeping up with this erratic blog

#brb printing 'i survived 2020 depression' shirts #polygonal

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cryptidshuffle · 3 years

Text

the less we say about it the better - chp 1

ao3

Rating: Teen Fandom: Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware Relationships: Tommy Coolatta & Gordon Freeman, Tommy Coolatta/Gordon Freeman (pre relationship) Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Temporary Character Death(its benrey dont worry hes ok), meta about deaths and respawns, arguing about the rules of uno, gay pining, Mutual Pining, fellas is it gay to comfort ur friend who u love and are both boys?, also fair warning it'll eventually be a poly ship with benrey, Autistic Character, Autistic Tommy, ADHD Gordon, everyone is gay and trans, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Summary: “after everything we’ve been through we deserve a few mental break downs.” they are trying to recover after black mesa, but recovery is hard. especially when one of you is still dead

---------------

They had been out of Black Mesa for a few weeks now. It was difficult trying to acclimate to life after the incident, but they were all making it work.

The science team had gotten together for some sort of game night, something cathartic about being around others who share the same trauma. Anyways, snacks and Uno was just as chaotic as one would imagine with this group of chucklefucks, with competitive tensions high on the last round of the night.

“You can’t stack the draw 4 cards, Gordon,” Bubby argued, smacking Gordon’s hand just as he placed the card.

“Says who?”

“It’s literally against the fucking rules of the game,” Bubby said back.

Tommy agreed with, “It is in the official rules, Mr. Freeman, they- Mattel confirmed it on Twitter.”

“But that’s dumb!” Gordon argued back, “I’ve always played where you can stack those, why change that now?"

Bubby retorted, “Well maybe you’ve always been playing wrong, huh? Ever thought about that, smartass?”

Dr. Coomer chimed in with, “Well on the official page for Uno (card game) on Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, it states that

The following official house rules are suggested in the Uno rulebook, to alter the game:

Progressive Uno: If a draw card is played, and the following player has the same card, they can play that card and "stack" the penalty, which adds to the current penalty and passes it to the following player.[4](Although a +4 cannot be stacked on a +2, or vice versa.)[6] This house rule is so commonly used that there was widespread Twitter surprise in 2019 when Mattel stated that stacking was not part of the standard rules of Uno.[6]”

“Well, there you have it,” Gordon exclaims, interrupting Coomer’s Wikipedia infodump, “Just because it’s a house rule doesn’t mean it’s not a legitimate way of playing."

“What if I don’t want to play with that rule, that’s fuckin stupid,” Bubby grumbles.

“Jesus ok, I'll play a different card, happy?” Gordon says dejectedly, taking back his controversial draw 4 card for a more innocuous one. “It’s your turn anyways.”

Bubby throws down his last card onto the pile. “I win fuckers!!!! Ahahahahaha!"

“You wouldn’t have won if you let me stack the fucking cards,” Gordon said as he threw his losing card pile onto the coffee table.

“Don’t fret Gordon! Bubby is just extremely good at card games,” Dr. Coomer replied.

“You're forgetting I’m a goddamn genius, that extends to my sick-ass Uno skills,” Bubby bragged.

Gordon chuckled, watching the two older scientists get up to leave, and watching Tommy remain, quietly cleaning up the uno deck into neat piles to place in its box.

“Well gentlemen, it’s been fun, though I think it’s time Bubby and I better get going!” Dr. Coomer said.

“No problem, don’t want you two to be late for your old man early-bird breakfast at Golden Corral tomorrow!” Gordon teased.

“Shut the fuck- I’ll kick your ass,” said Bubby.

“Hello Gord- Actually our old man breakfast is not until Saturday! It’s the one day a week I let loose and unhinge my jaws at the buffet like a Burmese Python!” said Dr. Coomer as Bubby grabs his coat and keys.

“That sounds absolutely horrifying,” Gordon laughs.

“It really is,” says Bubby. “Well, see you later asshole,” Bubby says, herding himself and Coomer out the front door.

“See you guys later,” Gordon says.

“Goodbye, Gordon! Goodbye, Tommy,” Coomer also says, before they leave Gordon’s apartment.

Tommy had yet to get up to leave, he stayed sitting in his seat staring into space, and fiddling with the Uno card deck.

“Hey Tommy, you alright man?” he asked gently. At the mention of his name, he was shaken a bit out of his stupor.

“Y-yeah I'm fine Mr. Freeman, why do you ask?”

“I mean you were kinda just staring into space for a bit, and you didn’t say anything when Bubby and Coomer left.”

“Oh shit. Sorry about that, I’ll get out of your hair,” Tommy said, starting to move to leave.

Gordon placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “Hey, if something’s bothering you, just know I’m here if you wanna talk about it,” Gordon comforted.

Tommy blushed slightly at the contact and nodded.

“Thank you. I-uh… I’ve just been thinking about things that happened back in Black Mesa and, you know,” he pauses to think for a bit, and sighs, “honestly I’ve been thinking a lot about Benrey.”

Just at the mention of him, Gordon felt his stomach drop with the weight of too many emotions.

“Yeah...I uh… I understand,” he responds with a sad sigh, “anything in particular you’re thinking about him?”

“I don’t know just kind of- Earlier I started thinking about how much he would enjoy game night. And then I started to miss him and realize that- that he’s not here. I feel guilty about killing him and upset at what he did. He was still my friend and I just- I want to know why he did what he did. I just want to understand,” Tommy said.

Gordon looked away as he thought about his own emotions regarding Benrey. He was undeniably angry with him, for getting him ambushed by the bootboys, for getting his arm cut off, frustrated with the constant taunting. Yet… he also felt guilty for some reason and he couldn’t quite place why. Gordon really didn’t want to feel guilty.

“Yeah…” Gordon sighed, “I'll be honest I do feel guilty about it too. I don’t know why because I feel like it should be justified since he did try to kill us. But there were times when him pestering me about my arm felt like… like sincere questioning? I still… I don’t know.”

“Yeah… I think-” Tommy cut himself off, staring at a fixed point in his vision, trying to decide whether or not to bring this up.

“I don’t think Benrey understood how human mortality worked.”

Well, that wasn’t what Gordon expected. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he was from Xen, Mr. Freeman, he wasn’t human. It was different for him. You remember he did die several times, but he came back eventually. He had to wait for his form to regenerate.”

“Wait-” this time Gordon cut Tommy off, “Oh shit, that wasn’t a joke? For some reason I just assumed his talking about respawns and shit was part of his Epic Gamer bit?”

“I mean it was a little but I think… there’s probably a reason Benrey attached himself to video games so much, yeah? He can see himself in the structure. Like, uh- something he can relate to.” Tommy says. “It doesn’t excuse what- what he did, but I feel like knowing why things happened makes- makes them more understandable.”

Gordon leaned back on the couch blown away by the revelation. In hindsight it wasn’t that surprising but it took him a few seconds to come to terms with the reality.

“Yeah, when you put it that way, I guess it does make a lot of sense. Wait though, I swear to god all of you have died at least once, but you guys aren’t from Xen?” Gordon said, now confused about the seeming metanarrative of the mortality of his friends.

“Yeah, but those were weird Black Mesa things, Mr. Freeman,” Tommy said, not elaborating any more than that.

Gordon waited a beat for Tommy to explain more but he said all he needed to.

“I will ask you more about that later, but I do not have the energy to unpack all that right now,” Gordon said with a gentle laugh.

“Wait, getting back on topic real quick, why couldn’t Benrey just... respawn now? Did we really get him that good?”

Tommy looked incredibly sad when Gordon said this, and he regretted it immediately. ‘Damn it Gordon, Tommy’s clearly upset about Benrey, you don’t gotta be an insensitive dick.’

“Well Mr. Freeman, that’s kinda why I’ve been thinking about him,” Tommy said, “I’m not sure. It shouldn’t have taken him this long to respawn. Depending on the amount of damage it takes longer but… It’s been a while and what if- What if he is back but he is mad at all of us and that’s why we haven’t seen him? Or what if it is taking a really long time because we hurt him a whole lot. Or what if we…”

Tommy got quiet for a few seconds, the silence in the room was deafening. For an instance Gordon felt as if making a sound would shatter the air like glass.

Tommy finally said with a whisper, voice thick with choking back tears, “What if we killed him for good? And I don’t- I never see him again?”

It honestly broke Gordon’s heart how distraught Tommy was. Pushing his own complicated Benrey feelings aside, he was gonna focus on Tommy here and now.

“…Tommy, is it ok if I hug you, man?” Gordon couldn’t think of the best way to comfort the other man with words, but physical comfort he could do.

Tommy looked a little surprised at this ask but nodded. Gordon leaned in to hug the other scientist and Tommy collapsed in his embrace, completely breaking down.

Gordon just sat there and held him as Tommy sobbed into his shoulder, trying to comfort the crying man by rubbing circles into his back.

Gordon’s brain processed the things Tommy had said. Was Benrey really gone? Why did he feel guilty about the idea of having killed Benrey, he was fine with the concept during the final boss fight on Xen but now… the thought made him feel… sad? Regretful? Even his seemingly rational justifications didn’t seem as clear at the moment, only thinking of his fonder memories with Benrey.

‘Fuck this,’ he thought as he felt his own tears well up, ‘this isn’t about me, I need to focus on being there for Tommy,’ pushing his own feelings to the back of his mind to be dealt with later.

Tommy eventually calmed down enough where his sobs turned into sniffles, and he started to pull away from the hug.

“S – sorry for having a – a breakdown on your- on your couch Mr. Freeman,” Tommy said, the post-crying mental fog making his stuttering more noticeable. Tommy didn’t really have the effort in him to care.

“Don’t worry about it, man, after everything we’ve been through we deserve a few mental breakdowns,” Gordon joked trying to lighten the mood.

“Oh, that was nothing, Mr. Freeman, in terms of mental breakdowns that was as mild as a first-grade pizza party in the eye of a hurricane,” Tommy compared in a way that made little sense to Gordon, yet ridiculous enough to cause the man to burst out laughing.

“Alright I’ll take your word for it,” Gordon said, still laughing.

“I’m serious Mr. Freeman, once you have a meltdown so intense that you accidentally teleport yourself to an inter-dimensional void, the rest is a cake walk at the school fair,” Tommy said.

“Waitwaitwait- teleport?” he leaned back to look at him in surprise, “Since when could you fuckin teleport!” Gordon asked caught off guard.

“You know, learned some things from my Dad,” Tommy said, again failing to further explain himself.

“…Well alright. Yeah that tracks.”

Gordon was quiet for a moment before responding with, “You know, Tommy, I want you to know I’m here for you if you need anyone to talk to. You were there for me when I was at my lowest in Black Mesa, and I wanna be that friend to you if you need it,” he said giving the other scientists hand a comforting squeeze.

Tommy smiled, “Thank you, that means a lot Mr. Freeman.”

“You know you can call me Gordon, you don’t have to be so formal all the time Dr. Coolatta,” he teased.

Tommy blushed, ‘dammit why did he have to be so cute?’

“Wow Mr. Fr – Gordon are you really gonna make fun of my doctorate that I worked very hard for,” Tommy teased back, still a bit sniffly from crying.

“Dude, I cannot imagine you in college for some reason, what was your doctorate even in” asked Gordon, semi-jokingly, but still a bit serious.

Tommy laughed a bit, wiping the remaining tears away with the back of his hand. “Bio-chemical engineering. Creating Sunkist was for my thesis project.” Normally Tommy would be more then willing to infodump about the topic but he found his energy to be draining fast.

“What the fuck, that’s cooler than mine was. Us nerds in the Theoretical Physics department didn’t do any crazy shit like that,” Gordon said.

“Bold of you to assume I was a nerd, G-Gordon. I was the craziest guy in the frat house,” Tommy said.

Gordon’s memory vaguely recalls Tommy’s insistence that he “do something crazy” when drinking Darnold’s Potion of Grow Gun Arm.

“You know what, yeah, surprisingly I can see that image vividly in my head,” Gordon said. “Real talk though…” he said changing the subject and putting his hand on Tommy’s shoulder, “Are you- uh, ok? Like feeling better?”

Tommy was quiet for a second, eyes flickering down to look at his fidgeting hands in his lap, before replying with, “I’m ok. N-not great, I don’t think, but I will be.”

Gordon nodded. “Tommy, if there’s one nugget of wisdom that I have to share, it’s that healing takes time, things usually turn out to be ok in the end. No matter what’s going on with Benrey…it'll be alright, I’m sure.” Gordon patted his shoulder for emphasis, “not the best advice out there but it’s the best I can come up with straight off the dome. And I don’t wanna seem like I didn’t try to help you out."

Tommy laughed gently, “Thank you Mr. Fr- uh, thank you Gordon. You did help. Even if- if your advice was a bit cheesy.”

“Whatever man, you can’t blame me for trying,” Gordon laughed, playfully shoving Tommy where his hand had previously rested on the other man’s shoulder. Tommy laughed in return. He only noticed the warmth of Gordon’s touch once it was gone.

Tommy absentmindedly noticed the time on the wall clock in Gordon’s apartment. Jesus, 11:30? When did it get so late? The older scientist really hoped he wasn’t overstaying his welcome; While he would love to just stay here and joke around, he had already bothered Mr. Freeman enough and was already exhausted.

“I- I’m probably gonna head back home now, I didn’t realize how late it was,” Tommy said, standing up from his spot next to Gordon.

Gordon nodded. He had the passing thought of offering for Tommy to stay but… maybe that was a step too far. ‘Tommy probably wants his space,’ Gordon rationalized to himself.

He nodded, “Alright, don’t let me keep you,” he said, getting up as well to help Tommy gather his belongings. Which, to be honest Tommy didn’t bring much but some snacks for the group, but Gordon just needed an excuse to do anything.

Gordon walked Tommy to the front door of his apartment, like the good host he was, opening the door for him.

“Thanks for coming over Tommy,” he said.

Tommy nodded. “Thank- thank you again for letting me talk about Benrey, I know it was kinda rough there at the end, but if you ever need to talk about anything… I'm here for you as well.”

Gordon smiled, “Thank you Tommy, I'll keep that in mind.”

Tommy smiled in return, “Have a good night G-Gordon,” he said turning to head to his car.

“Goodnight Tommy.” Gordon turns to head back inside, but before he does, he can’t resist one more jab.

“Thought you could teleport?” he calls out teasingly.

Tommy flips him off, which causes Gordon to laugh harder. “Gives me a headache,” Tommy called back, trying and failing keep a straight face.

Gordon laughs as he waves a final goodbye, turning back inside and closing the door after Tommy waves as well. His thoughts race as he gets ready for bed, trying to ignore his fluttering heartbeat as he lays down for the night.

Tommy shuffles his thoughts in his head as he drives home. The emotional rollercoaster of his already draining social interaction meter from the science team, his Benrey guilt, and his small crush on Gordon was just too much for one day. His hands clench and unclench the steering wheel, looking forward to collapsing in bed for the night, hoping his dad won’t notice he'd been crying.

Somewhere, in an interdimensional void far away from this reality, someone begins to shift awake.

#fanfic #hlvrai #half life vr but the ai is self aware #freelatta

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sincerelymarinette · 4 years

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A Recorded Life (24/50) - Miraculous Ladybug

Words: 1715 Chapter Summary: Marinette and Adrien are going back to school right after their secrets went viral. The video will go out after their school day, and Marinette isn't quite sure how today will go. Well, there's only one way to find out. Author's Note: Marinette is a ball of anxiety and it is way too relatable.

Prev / Next / Masterlist

Going Back To School

---

She just had to make it through one day. One day at school, then it's the weekend. Her Ladybug questions video is set to be posted right as school lets out so her friends could watch it, as she had no intention to talk to anyone today.

Marinette set her bag down and walked up to Mrs. Bustier's desk. "Hi, sorry I wasn't here yesterday. What did I miss? I couldn't find anything on the class website," Marinette said, quieter than usual.

Mrs. Bustier offered a warm smile. "Don't worry about it, Marinette. It was a simple assignment that we did in class, and we didn't have any homework. You and Adrien will be excused from the assignment," She told Marinette. "How are you doing?"

Marinette shrugged. "I'm dealing with it," She said. "Lots to process, and my online presence makes it harder, but Adrien and I made a video to post about it all," She explained quickly.

"That's good. If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm a good listener," Mrs. Bustier offered, and Marinette nodded before heading back to her seat.

"Hey, girl," Alya greeted. "How are you holding up?"

Marinette didn't reply, only shrugged. Before Alya could say anything else, Adrien walked in. There were whispers as he walked past his desk and to Marinette, as she was sure there would be all day. "I saw your text. There's no need to worry today, everyone here is our friends. Don't worry about all the stuff online; it will calm down once the video goes out. We just have to make it through one day, and then we have the whole weekend!" Adrien reminded her, smiling at Alya, who watched closely.

"He's right," Alya added. "Just one day. And besides, they know now that if they mess with you, you'll throw them across Paris."

"And trust me, no one wants that," Adrien laughed as he rubbed his lower back.

"You're right, thanks, guys," Marinette nodded and got things out of her bag. "Just have to make it through the day," She sighed.

Every one of Marinette's teachers talked to her before or after class, trying to make sense of everything and letting her know that if she needed help in school not to hesitate to ask. She appreciated it, but it also felt weird that this was happening just because she was revealed as Ladybug. No matter how hard she tried, she could not shake the idea out of her head that her being revealed only put everyone around her in danger.

In science, a student brought a note to the teacher. Of course, it was a note for Marinette to go to Mr. Damocles's office. She should have seen this coming, but she was so focused on not attracting too much attention to her, that she didn't even think about the principal. As students murmured when she gathered her things, she tried her best to ignore it.

"Will you all be quiet about this?" Alya groaned. She sat at the opposite end of the room from Marinette, and frankly, she was tired of this. "We all know what happened, so be quiet. Watch Marinette's video that's coming out right after school and leave her alone," Alya said. Normally, the teacher would say something to her about how she addressed everyone, but she let it slide this time.

Marinette smiled weakly at Alya as she exited the room and started down the hallway.

"No, we are trying to keep the attention off of us," Marinette heard Adrien say as she approached the office. "Marinette and I made a video. One video is all she wants to do addressing this. We are not doing anytime more. Even if we did, Marinette and I would want to have control over it. We're not going to have our words twisted or put anyone in any more danger," Adrien argued.

Marinette knocked on the door, and the voices stopped. "Come in," Mr. Damocles called. She pushed the door open slowly with a confused look on her face. "Ah, Marinette, take a seat."

Quickly, Marinette noticed that Adrien looked rather annoyed but was trying to remain a respectful student. "Hey, Mari," Adrien greeted. "Making it through the day?"

Marinette shrugged and sat down in the other chair. "Alya had to address the class I just left," She chuckled. "But other than that, it's been okay. I can't wait for this video to go out, so people just be quiet."

"No one has really talked to me about it; I think they're scared I might cataclysm someone," Adrien sighed. "Like I would? Being cataclysm-ed sucks."

"Which is why I think we need to do an assembly," Mr. Damocles interrupted. "Students should know not to pester you two and to not go crazy over this, especially now that Hawkmoth knows who you are," He suggested.

Adrien groaned. "And I keep telling him no," He directed to Marinette.

"Yeah, it's not a good idea," Marinette shook her head. "My video goes out as soon as school ends today. People will see it, and they will know that it is the only time I'm going to talk about it," She explained. "I don't even want to be talking about it now."

Mr. Damocles tried to keep his cool. "You just said Alya had to address the class; we should do something, so the students aren't constantly thinking about this. Why not?"

"The same reason I have turned down countless interviews for TV, radio, and articles. I won't have control over it. If someone were to record something Adrien or I said, they could edit it to say something that isn't even true. It would only endanger us more," Marinette said, also trying to remain calm as she explained this to Mr. Damocles again. "I edit videos, it's easy to make someone say something they never did. I want to have control over what I release about Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Mr. Damocles blinked. "But-"

Marinette grabbed her bag and stood up. "If you don't mind, I was really enjoying what we were doing in science class today, and I would like to continue learning," Marinette said, staring at Mr. Damocles.

With a sigh, he gave in. "Of course. If you guys need anything or change your mind, let me know," He said. Marinette nodded once and walked out first, letting Adrien gather his things.

Right as the door was shutting, she heard Adrien chuckle and say something under his breath. "You don't fight Ladybug or Marinette."

---

Marinette and Alya walked out of school together as Alya asked about Marinette's day. As she was explaining the conversation with Mr. Damocles, Marinette felt her phone non-stop buzz. "Oh, the video is out. Can't wait to read the comments," She sighed.

"You don't have to," Alya reminded her. "But, you know I am going to watch it and post about it on the Ladyblog."

"I was counting on it. At least I know you won't trash me for being Ladybug," Marinette said.

Alya hugged Marinette. "Never!" She said. "But I've got to go do some homework and watch your video, and I'll text you later," She waved at Marinette as they split apart.

Marinette started her walk home, trying to avoid everyone she could. Now that she was revealed, all she wanted to do was turn into Ladybug and yo-yo her way home, but she held back. As she was getting lost in thought, she was pulled out by hearing her name called.

Swinging around, she was surprised to see Chloé walking towards her. "Chloé?" Marinette said suspiciously.

"Can we...can we talk? Privately?" Chloé asked, and though she looked confident, her words were definitely not.

"Sure?" Marinette said, but it sounded more like a question. Chloé nodded and led the way to her car. Marinette recognized her butler in the front seat, but it was like he wasn't even there with how quiet he was.

Marinette looked confused as Chloé opened the door for her. "I'll take you home, okay? This way we have a chance to talk, and I'm not holding you back."

Reluctantly, Marinette got in the car. Once Chloé got in as well, they started driving. "I'm honestly kind of shocked," Chloé started. "But I shouldn't be. I was thinking about it, about Pollen and Queen Bee- I've seen your Kwami," Chloé told Marinette.

Her eyes got big. "What?" Marinette said, her heart rate increasing.

"Yeah, it was like your first year of Ladybug. I found a red, bug thing on the road and took it. You told me it was a doll," She explained. "I didn't think about it until I saw the news, and realized that doll was your Kwami," Chloé admitted. "I should have put the pieces together after meeting Pollen, but it didn't even cross my mind."

"Did you want to talk just to tell me you should have realized it?" Marinette said in a quiet voice, getting more and more anxious as she felt her phone continue to get thousands of notifications.

Chloé shook her head. "No, I wanted to ask you...why did you let me continue to be Queen Bee?

Marinette was shocked that Chloé admitted to being mean to her, but was also confused that she finally did only when she found out about Marinette being Ladybug. "I don't know; it seemed to give you something good. You used it to help us fight Hawkmoth, and you were really serious about it all. Besides, once Adrien and I got to be closer friends, you toned it down a little bit. It was a few years back you were mean to me the most," Marinette explained. "I mean, sure there were those few months that you didn't get the Miraculous due to him knowing who you are...but I guess that doesn't matter much anymore."

"Really?" Chloé asked with hopeful eyes.

With a shrug, Marinette thought. "I mean, it won't be all the time. But like normal, when we need you. It all depends on what skill set we need; you know that," Marinette explained.

"Of course," Chloé nodded. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the car stopped in front of Marinette's home.

"Well," Marinette said. "I'll see you around."

"Bye, Marinette."

---

@lady-of-the-roses-and-lilies @bookishserendipity03 @avatheexceed @gkz10 @coccinellegirl @kat-thatoneweirdo @strawberryblondish @snow-swordswoman @lilgaga98 @evufries

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fftwister · 5 years

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Byleth/Dimitri C-S Support

I went to bed after posting the Byleth/Claude support chain, so I don’t know if other supports are online or not. However, a few folks requested Dimitri and Byleth’s support chain, so here it is for clarity’s sake. Major spoilers below regarding what Dimitri’s deal is (+general BL route and Byleth spoilers). Be wary, this too gets really fucking long.

Dimitri: Perfect timing, Professor. If you don't mind, I have a favor I'd like to ask of you. Byleth: What's the favor? Dimitri: It's in regard to sword training. Not for myself, but... Well... To be honest, I've been teaching swordsmanship to the orphans at the monastery for a while now. Dialogue Tree:

A: How unexpected. B: How did that come to be? Dimitri: (A) I must agree. Frankly, I'm not great with children. (B): Some of them saw me sparring with the knights one day. They started pestering me to teach them. They were so earnest... I couldn't help but oblige. There's much I wish to show them, but due to my own studies and training, I'm afraid my time is rather limited. Which brings me to my favor. Your swordsmanship is unmatched. I hate to ask this of you, but...Would you consider lending me a hand? Dialogue Tree:

A: You can count on me. B: You leave me no choice. Dimitri: Thank you, truly. I am in your debt. And I always repay my debts, I'll have you know. All of these children lost their families and homes to war or illness. This may sound a bit arrogant, but...I feel it's my responsibility to help them. I lost my parents without warning too. In that way, we're the same. In Duscur, I lost my father, stepmother, and closest friends. I didn't have many allies at the castle after that. In truth, I had only Dedue for companionship. Dialogue Tree:

A: Have you no other family? B: Is there no one else you can trust? Dimitri: I'm afraid not. My birth mother fell ill and died shortly after I was born. And my uncle...suffice to say we don't get along. I once had people I could confide in. Family, friends, instructors, even the royal soldiers. But they were all taken away from me four years ago. Ah, but there were those outside the castle walls\nI was close to. Such as Rodrigue! Byleth: Rodrigue? Dimitri: Heh, pardon my rudeness. I meant Lord Rodrigue. He is my father's old companion, and the father\nof Felix. On the occasions he would visit the capital, he'd take me out hunting or on long horse rides. While Dedue is like a brother to me, Rodrigue is more like a second father. It might sound ridiculous, but...he's the kind of man I hope to become one day. Someone who helps others... Someone who can reach out and save a lost soul. Oh... Please accept my apologies for boring you with my life story. In any case, don't forget your promise, Professor. I'm counting on you.

B Support

Dimitri: Thank you for your help the other day, Professor. Please, allow me to express my gratitude by taking you to dinner. Dialogue Tree:

A: It was nothing. B: I would be delighted. Dimitri (A): Nonsense. Your guidance was magnificent. Just what I'd expect from a professor at this esteemed academy. (B): Fantastic. Please think about what you'd like to eat. After all, such magnificent guidance must work up quite an appetite. I've studied swordsmanship for some time, but your mercenary skills are something else entirely. Speaking of which, there's...another question I must ask you. Were you reconciled with the reality of battle from your first foray? With...the killing part, I mean. Dialogue Tree:

A: I hadn't the luxury of questioning it. B: No. It's never easy. Dimitri: I see. Byleth: And you? Dimitri: No... I do not carry that burden well. I doubt that will change, no matter how many years come and go. The first time I led on the battlefield, I was sent to quell a rebellion in the west. It was not a difficult fight. The enemy was not well-trained and their morale was low. A swing of the lance, and your opponent falls. A flash of your blade, and a path opens up. That's the sort of battle it was. Easy...right? Dialogue Tree:

A: You did what you had to do. B: What caused the rebellion? Dimitri (A): That's one way to look at it. (B): The noble family from that area sought to seize the throne after my father's untimely death. The leader of the rebel army was defeated and the rebellion quelled. This was at the height of the post-war period. I recall coming across a dead soldier's body. He was clutching a locket. Inside was a lock of golden hair. I don't know to whom it belonged. His wife, his daughter...mother, lover... I'll never know. He was a soldier. An enemy. Someone we had cut down without hesitation. But in that moment, I realized he was also a real person, just like the rest of us. Of course, we cannot stand idly by and allow anyone to commit senseless acts of violence. Yet in dispensing what we call justice, we take the lives of cherished family members. Beloved friends. Killing is part of the job, but even so... There are times when I'm chilled to the bone by the depravity of my own actions. Dialogue Tree:

A: It's normal to feel that way. B: I've felt the same way. Dimitri (A): Is it? Perhaps you're right. I pray that you are. (B): That you feel the same way is more comforting than you could know. Professor? May I speak freely? When we first met, I thought of you as someone who felt no strong feelings about killing your enemies. I could never trust someone who kills without batting an eye. My heart won't allow it. But after speaking with you and getting to know you better, I can see you're not like that. Now I know, with all my heart, that I can trust you. Thank you for that.

A Support

Dimitri: ... Dialogue Tree:

A: What are you doing? B: Still training? Dimitri (A): Sleep evades me, so I thought I'd get in some extra training. I was just about to finish. (B): Indeed. But I was thinking about ending it here. Perhaps it is the gloomy weather, but I am feeling the sting of wounds that should have healed long ago... Byleth: What wounds? Dimitri: The injury I got when that girl stabbed me after the battle at Gronder. Her eyes were filled with revenge...just as mine once were. Byleth: Who was she? Dimitri: I don't know... But I have a guess. ... Ah, I suppose I haven't told you about that yet. Byleth: What are you talking about? Dimitri: I was attacked inside the monastery the other day. It caused quite the uproar. The ones who attacked me...were some of the youths we taught swordsmanship to, once upon a time. Dialogue Tree:

A: Are you OK? B: Why did they do it? Dimitri (A): Of course. I could capture the lot of them with my eyes closed. (B): It seems they were raised by a group of thieves who we put down five years ago. I heard Lady Rhea took custody of them, claiming that the children were innocent. I have taken so many lives...and with each one, I face hatred. During the last five years especially. My life was not so different from that of a wild beast... And that young girl's brother... At some point, I must have... That is why I thought it only natural that someone would retaliate someday. Because I hated, because I stole, and...because I killed. But with those children, it's different... We drew our blades with the best of intentions, only to hurt them in the end. I suppose this is yet another thing we will just have to live with. Dialogue Tree:

A: It's part of the job. B: I feel the same way. Dimitri: Yes... As one who chose to fight, it is my responsibility to confront this anguish and the true nature of war... Until the day my life comes to an end. Dialogue Tree:

A: It is mine as well. B: We can confront it together. Dimitri (A): Perhaps... (B): Thank you... You know, Professor... There is something that I only recently realized. I never knew it could be so...comforting to have someone standing by my side...

S Support

Dimitri: Come now, my friend. You must stop staying up so late. Tomorrow is yet another early morning. Then again, I know that matters little. You cannot sleep, can you? Neither can I, of course. I... I want you to know I am sorry for making you do so much when your battle wounds aren't even completely healed yet. Dialogue Tree:

A: And what of yours? B: It's awful. Dimitri (A): Do not worry about me... My shoulder has healed nicely. I still have some numbness in my hand, but it should not hinder me too much. (B): Well, I am truly sorry. I only ask that you do not overexert yourself. But I am afraid our burdens will only grow in number. I hope you are prepared for that. ... It is a lovely night... Is it not? How many years has it been since I was kept awake by hopes for the future, rather than by nightmares of the past... Byleth: Nightmares? Dimitri: I have had the same nightmare for nine long years. A nightmare in which I am constantly tormented by those who have died... They ask me why I have not avenged them...Why I got to live, yet they had to die... No matter how many corpses I piled up for them, in the end, their voices only grew louder. Voices loathing me, calling out to me...Their inescapable death cries ringing in my ears...clinging to my soul... Even now, I can always hear them. I am certain I will be hearing them until the day I die. But I will not cover my ears. I will go on living...and their voices will serve as a warning. As a king...and as a wretch who claimed countless lives...I will build a Kingdom where the people can live in peace. I am sure she would laugh and call such talk foolish... But I wish to change this world in my own way. Well, Your Grace, things will be busy from now on. Our first order of business is tomorrow's coronation. Once a professor and student... Now an archbishop and a king. How very far we have come. Dialogue Tree:

A: We're still the same. B: Only our titles have changed. Dimitri: That is true. To me, you will always be the one who guided me so kindly. My ally through all. My beloved... Dialogue Tree:

A: Yes...my beloved. B: Dimitri... Dimitri: Listen... There is something I wish to give you before the coronation. Give me your hand. Byleth: ... Dimitri: Please... I beg of you. Say something! If you do not wish to accept it, please just tell me.If so, I will face the truth and walk away. Dialogue Tree(? There’s a lot of responses here, I don’t know who says what)

A: That's not it at all... B: What is this? C: I love you, Dimitri. Marry me. D: You beat me to it... Dimitri: ... Yes, I see. Right. In that case, let us exchange them, shall we? Your hands... Now that I hold them within my own, I see how small and fragile they are. These hands that have saved me countless times...Thank you, my beloved. Your kind, warm hands... May they cling to my own forevermore...

*Note

Checking through the zip file, Dimitri doesn’t have a final bit of dialogue with Byleth like Claude does in his ending, as the next text file after the S support is his dialogue for a moment after the ballroom dance, and the following files being Claude’s supports. It’s possible the dialogue might be in the ZIP, but I don’t know for sure.

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe16 spoilers #fe3h spoilers #three houses spoilers #for those with the zip file this group of text files starts with the one labelled:#006116091200_00016c8c2540

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cheeseeatingtrashmonster · 5 years

Text

Be My Lois Lane (Marichat May) Chapter 3: Kittens

@marichatmay I don’t know if you’re still reblogging these now that it’s June, but I’ll tag you this time and see what happens :)

Ao3

"Look! Look, Alya! I may faint. Gorgeous."

Alya looked up from her phone to the runway. "The girl or the clothes?"

Marinette couldn't tear her eyes from the model. "I meant the clothes, but both."

The Gabriel fashion show was exactly the distraction Marinette had needed after her first day as a Junior Reporter. It wasn't even time for lunch yet when Chloe had heard through the grapevine that she had "taken" Marinette's job. Marinette had been sorting through the records of past articles on Chat Noir when Chloe stopped to talk to (more like corner) an intern about how some other person almost got her job and how narrowly the paper had avoided disaster by hiring her. She just "happened" to talk to the intern loudly, and three feet from Marinette's desk. The day had gone downhill from there.

"You wanna go backstage after?" Alya asked, returning to texting.

"Nino can swing that?"

Nino had gotten Alya two tickets to the fashion show to celebrate Marinette's promotion. He hadn't told Alya how he had gotten the tickets, but he did mention that they weren't a job perk.

"Apparently. He says there's a surprise."

Marinette groaned and leaned her head on Alya's shoulder. "No more surprises. Today and last night were enough surprises. No more, just for a little while?"

Alya gave her a quick side hug, then went back to texting. "I'll see if I can get it out of him for you."

Marinette meant to thank her. However, she seemed to have lost her voice. It had been stolen away by the sight on the runway. All she could do was grip Alya's arm and try to catch her breath.

"What?" Alya asked, still not looking up.

"Him."

Marinette was vaguely aware of Alya teasing her, but she didn't care. The single most attractive person she had ever seen was stopping at the end of the runway and smirking at her. With a tip of his hat- and was that a wink?- he turned and walked back up the runway, giving her a view of just how well the back of his black, shimmery suit fit him.

"Starstruck." Alya's singsong teasing finally made its way into her brain. "That was Adrien Agreste, wasn't it?"

"This is his second appearance since going to Japan for university," Marinette said.

Alya snorted. "Good to know your celebrity crush is alive and well."

"Can you blame me?" Marinette asked. "Oooh, look at the way this jacket drapes on her shoulders!"

"Don't change the- Oh, you're right. I want one like that."

"Thank you, Nino!" Marinette hugged him and, being Marinette, almost knocked them both over.

"Ready for your second surprise?" Nino asked, setting Marinette on her feet.

"Is it a good surprise like the fashion show? Or a bad surprise like you getting a picture of me with that stupid super-cat and giving it to the paper?" She crossed her arms and pursed her lips as he opened a door for her and Alya.

"Marinette, bro, I can't apologize enough. The fashion show was a 'yay promotion' present. This is a 'sorry I sold a picture of you and Chat Noir before figuring out that you were the one in the picture but in my defense, you can only see a little of your face but I'm still sorry anyway please don't me be mad at me' present."

Marinette looked around the room. It was a private dressing room for a model, with a person behind the curtain tossing clothes onto the couch against the wall. Whose dressing room was this? Was the surprise that she was getting to meet one of the models? She looked closer at the clothes. Was... was this Adrien Agreste's dressing room?

"Alya was saying how you've been feeling a little lonely lately, so I figured I'd introduce you to-"

Adrien stepped out from behind the changing curtain in jeans and a plain black t-shirt, looking even better in casual, everyday clothes than the runway pieces.

And then a squirmy, sleepy mass of fluff was shoved in her face.

"-these kittens!" Nino finished.

"Oooh..." Marinette breathed, holding out her hands for the kitten. His fur was pure black, with a little pink nose and big brown eyes. He cuddled into Marinette's chest and began purring the moment she pulled him close.

"These are your friends?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, hey bro!" Nino walked over to slap Adrien on the back. "This is my girlfriend, Alya, and my childhood bestie, aka Alya's college bestie, Marinette. Lady-bros, meet Adrien Agreste. He’s the one who got me the tickets for you."

"Any friend of Nino's is a friend of mine," Adrien said, shaking both girl's hands. "I hear there's a promotion to celebrate?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Marinette said, bowing her head to drop a kiss on the kitten's ear.

"She got pushed out of the job she wanted," Nino explained, picking up a second kitten from the small, towel-lined bin. "Our fashionista is gonna be reporting on our local hero cat-boy. That part's my fault, I told you about that."

Adrien turned to Marinette, eyes widening. "You're the rescued-by-Chat Noir girl?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Let me tell you about how that cat ruined my life."

Adrien watched Alya, Marinette, and Marinette's new kitten, Shadow, head to Alya's car an hour later.

"So that's Marinette?" Adrien said to Nino.

"That's Marinette!" They gathered their things, heading out for the celebratory drink that Adrien had promised Nino for his picture in the paper.

"She really doesn't like Chat Noir," he said.

"Nah, she's just mad that she has to report on him."

"She's also really into fashion," Adrien said. Marinette had had three topics: Chat Noir, her new kitten, and fashion.

"Yeah, she's got her finger on the pulse of the city's... fashion... stuff. That's why she woulda been perfect in the junior reporter position for that department."

The wheels in Adrien's head started turning. Before he could talk himself out of it, he asked, "Could you give me her phone number? I've been looking for someone- a designer. Marinette knows fashion and has investigative journalism skills, so I figured-"

"Why can't you ask around work?" Nino asked. He was pulling out his phone and opening his contacts as he spoke though.

"I don't want word getting back to my father. If he thinks I'm looking to leave the company-"

"Say no more."

Adrien's phone pinged with a text, and he had Marinette's number saved in his phone a moment later. One step closer...

They settled in at a bar before Nino let his curiosity get the better of him.

"So, who is this person you're looking for?"

Who indeed?

"Well... there was this girl..."

Six Months Ago

"Sorry, but this is probably smaller than you're used to," the nervous designer, Jakob, said, guiding Adrien to a small, curtained dressing area.

"This is more than enough room," Adrien said, looking over the rack of clothes. "And I'm excited to work with you."

The fashion show was a small one for new designers and students finishing fashion school to get the attention of bigger name labels. Adrien and a few other models had volunteered to work with the designers to help their labels find new hires.

Someone sneezed in the dressing area to the right of Adrien's.

"Bless you," Adrien said automatically.

"Thank you," A raspy voice replied. "I've been working so hard to prepare for this show, the second my work was set, this cold hit."

"That's unfortunate," Adrien said. Jakob started handing him pieces of clothing and helping him adjust the clothing for the right fit.

"I'm happy to be here, though," the woman in the other area said. "What about you? Have you been in fashion long?"

"All my life," Adrien said. "My name's Adrien Agreste."

The woman cleared her throat. "Oh. Um. Wow. Yeah, you have been in fashion your whole life, huh?"

The model working with her snorted. "Don't let Agreste fool you, he's a dork."

"Oh, hey, Chelsea!" Adrien called, recognizing the model's voice.

"This your first show since you got back last year?" Chelsea asked.

"Yeah, I figured I'd start with people who were actually happy to see me," he joked.

Someone closer to the stage yelled something barely comprehensible, and the flurry of activity picked up. Designers made their final adjustment and the first few models headed to get in order for the catwalk.

"What's your name, Miss Designer?" Adrien asked before Jakob could pull him out of the dressing area.

"Ladybug."

Adrien stopped dead. "Excuse me?"

Chelsea giggled. "Ladybug here won't tell anyone her name. We've all been pestering her, asking for it, but that's her thing, not sharing her real name."

"My brand is my identity," Ladybug said.

"Adrien, you need to get in line!" Jakob said.

"I'm gonna ask about that in a minute," Adrien said.

Between turns on the catwalk, Adrien and Ladybug got to know each other, as much as Ladybug would let him know her. She had one semester left of school, she had an online boutique for her brand, she had always felt drawn to Ladybugs, and yes, she had had a celebrity crush on him as a teenager. Whenever Jakob wasn't in the dressing room with him, Adrien was giving Plagg significant looks from where he had nested in his messenger bag.

Adrien was working his way up to asking Ladybug to get a drink that night when he heard her gasp.

“Ladybug? You okay? Stick yourself with another pin?”

“It’s- it’s my mom,” she said. “She slipped on the ice on the sidewalk and hit her head. She’s in the hospital.”

“What do you need, hon?” Chelsea asked.

“I need, um…” Adrien could hear the tears in her voice, even with the cold she had. “I need to go to her.”

“But the show! You’re doing so great!” Jakob said.

“We can take care of it,” Chelsea said. “Jakob, Adrien, and I can get your last two outfits on me and I’ll speak to the labels on your behalf, okay?”

“Absolutely,” Adrien said.

“Yeah, we’ve got this, go,” Jakob said.

Ladybug sniffled. “Are you sure? You’ll have to do two models at once-”

“LB, you got me through sophomore year in one piece,” Jakob said. “The least I can do is this.”

“And then she was gone,” Adrien said. “I never saw her face, and I didn’t get her name or number or anything.”

“Dude. That’s some fairy tale stuff there,” Nino said. “Chelsea didn’t have her contact info?”

“She didn’t,” Adrien said with a sigh. “And while I trust her not to let word get around, I don’t trust anyone else not to let my father know I’m looking for another designer.”

“Well, if anyone can find her, it’s Marinette,” Nino said.

“I can hope,” Adrien said. He rested his hand on the pocket of his blazer where Plagg was napping.

I can hope I’ll find my Ladybug again.

And maybe… maybe Chat Noir could use this phone number to find out more about the woman assigned to be his personal journalist. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but no one said anything about cats and a little bit of teasing.

#marichatmay2019 #miraculous ladybug #marichat #chat noir #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #marichat may #superhero/reporter au #Be My Lois Lane #my writing #events

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borntofishforcedtowork · 5 years

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Hello to nobody

This is just my stupid ~emotions~ that I have nowhere to talk about lmao here you go I'm sorry for bugging you

*slams head on table* so I have no social skills

I've got this 1 friend, she's amazing. She's the best friend I could ever ask for, I love her so much. She seems to tolerate me,and I'm so grateful to have her around. She's worth 299383 million friends. She's all I have. Shes the kindest, funniest most beautiful, accepting person ever.

She is going to live with her grandparents who live 3 hours away to go to a certain school. ((I'm currently in 8th grade, she's going to a special smart people HS and I'm a useless dumbass so I'm just going to the one closest to me ()()))) and so I'm gonna be all alone again

I don't like talking about this around her because I don't want to make her feel bad, so I kind of just have to think about it myself yeehaw

*clap* anyways

So today she comes up to me and says that she might transfer schools because the school I go to isn't really amazing, and she wants to leave and so do her parents (her immediate family isn't moving btw)) ((it's only her going to her grandparents))) and I almost cried lol I'm pathetic

So I want the best for her, her happiness is all I want, she means the world to me. I love her and want her to live happy, I don't want her to feel bad about me. I hope she doesn't lmao

So I'm trying to be supportive and but trying not to come off as wanting her to leave

I don't want her to transfer, I don't want to outright say that because I don't want her to feel bad but I really don't want her to go, I don't want to be alone longer. The school we go to is pretty small and everyone knows each other by the way. So I have no other options for friends because they all hate me and have their own friend groups. Whenever she's not there they annoy me and call me things, when she's there nothing happens, they don't bother me wuwu. Last time she was away a kid poured chocolate milk on my head and stole half of my lunch, and they say I'm annoying?? They treat me like a nuclear waste dumb and think I'm gonna treat them nicely?????? I'm to pathetic to say anything though oof. haha I'm so fucking dumb

I don't really tell her about that because I still don't want her to feel bad iwujekeoeo

If she leaves I don't know what will happen? I just feel so alone.

I can't even seem to make online friends, I don't know how and I wish I could, I've cried so much, I feel so lonely, it's been like this for years and I don't understand what to do. Whenever I think about her leaving I cry and everything hurts and I want to die, I hate it. The only thing that makes me feel better is drawing which I do in all my spare time, but my parents keep putting so much on me and I feel like I have no time!!! It's the only thing that stops me from hurting myself other then ((friend,pets))) and they keep taking it away from me. I'm so stressed I haven't gotten a decent sleep in so long, I'm so tired and my parents never understand, they just yell at me for being lazy.

I hate myself so much lmao, people think I'm just looking for attention but I wish I could just be another person, I wish I started drawing earlier then maybe I'd be OK at it. I see people so much younger then me doing so much better,and yeah that's great, they're doing their thing and enjoying it, that's amazing, but I feel such a deep anger and wanting and I hate it, I'm so selfish. I wish I didn't exist.

OK next thing don't know how to transition into this, kind of talked about it before but not much

I keep trying to talk to people online and do things online, but the people who do have friends either have talents, real life connections, or have done something of note. I've got none of that. I try to talk to people but I feel like I'm annoying them or wasting their time and feel worse,they never stay. Nobody cares. If I were to jump into the ocean and drown nobody would notice, I'm useless. I feel so hopeless I debate even moving, moving is even so painful. I just want to end this feeling, I want to end it but I don't want to leave ((friend, pets)) behind. They'd probably get over it pretty quickly though lmao

Anyways I can't really see much anymore, and I don't want to cry anymore or my parents will hear. If you've read this, thank you so much. I really appreciate it, honestly. Sorry to seem pestering but maybe comment? Anything??oof

Maybe I'll write more later Idk

My headache is coming back see ya I love youwu

#hello #anybody #vent #i guess #lmao #self loathing #i just want somebody #pleaseeee #dumbass #please talk to me #loneliness #dumbass syndrome #dumbass.txt #im a dumbass #dumbass pride #what a dumbass #lskdkdkfkfosk #jsks #djd

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margoism · 6 years

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"No Nubs Land" Sometime in March 2018, a good friend of mine finally got me to download and play the game. Imagine, he kept pestering me eversince it was available in the apps store. My sorry excuse was that I have retired from online gaming (the original Ragnarok Ph, Iris Server, MacWorld Clan guild) and I am done with playing among kiddie trashtalkers plus my introvert self is quite content with self-paced playing on the PS4 - no human interaction needed: just me, my tv, the PS4, and well...because I am quite "senti" and perhaps "kuripot", reruns of Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Persona 5. Anyway! As soon as the Mobile Legends icon appeared on my phone, he and his sister (we were together the night) gave me a quick run down of how things work and I kid you not...it was so fast that I don't even remember taking the tutorial, hahaha! This was then followed by tons of brawling (dayum, click everything! swear like a sailor in real life! Run away!) until they decided we can play Classic. I don't remember much about my first game but since I used to play a priest, I had my first noob experience: Rafaela (for some stupid reason, I keep calling her Angela...must be the wings, dammit) was my thing. Stupidly. Yes, good thing there is healing for everyone. I'd eventually graduate loving Estes but that is another story. ...even before 24 hours that I had been introduced, I forgot I own a PS4. So it has been almost 2 months now since I started and so far, depending on how a game goes, I am a noob/nub or just that ordinary player who randomly joined a game of brawl or classic...and occassionally rank. From my experience, people are so critical of new players during the game itself but when you have a friend who also plays, they tell you that it is fine to play even if you know nothing (then go berserk when they have a noob/nub on their team in a non-rank game) and even recommend not to read the chat. Just play, they said. But the again, the chat drama can sometimes be entertaining though I don't get the point of trashtalking your own team mate/s. For me, it's a sign that that asshole doesn't have any leadership skills or is having a bad day and decided to pour it out on some poor soul having a bad play day (it could be lag, a newbie, a new hero, etc). Oh, one time, a tank dude tried to tell me I was being a noob for staying in the mid lane because I wasn't helping out at a heavily ganked area (I was Lesley). Politely, he told me (towards the end) that he wasn't just saying it to sound like a dick. Hey, happy to learn mehn, I actually thanked him and experienced my other noob/nub thing: chatting while playing. It kills. On the other hand, sometimes some things can just be annoying regardless of gamer status. I once played a classic game and our Estes would not actually heal anyone...if he ever did, it was as if he accidently clicked on the first skill. I jokingly asked if he has no heal but he just stood there silent and casted his 2nd skill for the nth time. Healing for everyone mehn! I played Estes in my first rank season and the problem of being him or Rafaela is, players tend to depend on you heavily, forgetting that they have great heroes who can actually survive/hack/slash/kill/magic their way to the enemy base/throne. I mean, people...support characters have cool down time too. Don't trashtalk them if you died because of your own miscalculation or if the support chose to preserve him/herself. They aren't exactly tanks (though let's not count Minotaur or Angela here). Speaking of ill manners ingame, while jesting and jeering may be part of the game, sometimes it is just too much but the report button does not have an option to choose "person is a being jerk" or "harassment/bullying" or "unruly behavior" - the nearest choice would be "using profanity" which they aren't really doing. It is easy to say it can be ignored but I guess, being old and all, it just kills the mood and group dynamics. Which brings me to the last thingy on my first Mobile Legends post in this really old and neglected acct (I was on Tumlr when tumblarity was a thing) - so just last night I learned I can buy heroes using the BP card. I have 3k of it and a friend helped me buy heroes as he showed me how to use them, hahaha. Before that, I was telling him how fascinating Alucard was because it was the recurring hero that loves to kill me (not sure if he is just commonly used) to the point I used his trial card in AI play. Poor noob/nub me, thinking life was that simple played one classic game using him. It was my shortest classic game ever; my team mates called me names and conceded defeat before 5 minutes. I would learn some hours later that he was actually pretty tricky to play, much to my embarassment. Oh well, I told my friend, I would have to content myself with using him only on AI play and trial cards. In jest, he converted some of my BP points to buy Alucard then accidentally shared it on my FB on "friends only" post. So now the image above is the horrifying truth that I have a hero I am afraid to use (I don't like frontline heroes) and omg, an image visible among my fb friends. ..on the other hand, they say that he ranks as #1 on a list of 10 handsome heroes in the game. Whoopie. For me, the most handsome hero is Guisson (?) and Alucard would probably come 3rd but then again, I can't think of a 2nd. Lancelot has lotsa haters but then being an Odette player, I actually ship them...for as long as I don't hear "Experience the handsome" (I pray he gets an image makeover or a really normal, long haired man skin), he can probably be the 3rd...but summer skin Clint is handsome so dammit, rank down. I am noob/nub is realz.

#mobile legends #online games #mobile games #alucard

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nighty-amy · 6 years

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Chapter 260 translation is up

It took a long time but gosh, there was so much talking this chapter >< @my-otp-list actually did the majority of it since with my skills I only got about a half of it. Too much complicated dialogues in here ><

Page 1 "My name is Yang Jinghua; I am 23 and deceased." "No big deal though, I'm now employed under the Duanmu family though without salary, health insurance or social insurance." "Very bad, isn't it? It seems like dead people have no rights." "I get good food though and living here is not too bad. My main job it to be responsible for the head of the Duanmu family safety. Of course, I have learnt that as long as I don't bring him any trouble, he's basically safe with me."

Page 2 "Yes, this cool and stylish person that is obviously different from all the NPCs is Duanmu Xi." "Although he looks very fashionable, he's actually a priest." "Nah, he's not the kind of priest with the powerful magic wand that you see in AOE (I think it's Age of Empires???). He is a priest of the common men." "Right, about six months ago, I woke up in the morgue and this guy knelt down at me, insistently pestering me to become his Spirit Shadow. I didn't agree and he immediately threw a tantrum..."

Page 4 "Well, I reluctantly agreed later on." "Anyway, it doesn't matter, currently, every day I am busy playing online games and eliminating instance (an online game jargon)," "or gossip with the unmarried and married ladies about the domestic affairs of other people." "but when I'm very bored I would take care of the young master"

Page 5 "I'm 23 and he just turned 18 so that acting as a big brother is no problem for me." "Being a Yangmingsi is really tough work. He often has problems with getting up in the morning. Every morning this guy will get out of his nest looking so sloppy that it seems he just hibernated." "And then he will be late for school. Although his IQ is extraordinary, I have a feeling he won't be able to graduate..."

Page 6 "Duanmu, have you been getting taller recently?" "Do you think everyone is like you - stopped growing taller at 18 years old?" (Duanmu Xi's line of thought: Isn't growing taller at 18 years old very normal? => Normal men grow taller till when they are 25 years old => Jinghua lived until 23 => And he still asked this... Conclusion: I should just say that he stopped growing at 18 years old" "You are only 18 and already stopped growing, but I would definitely still continue to!" "If still alive, Grand-daddy perhaps will be taller than you!"

Page 7 "Jinghua, come to accompany your sister!". "This girl with beautiful breasts is Qin Siyao, Duanmu's fiancee. She might look like the usual Ms.Perfect (rich & beautiful kind), but she's a strong woman." "She is honest, straightforward and she knows what she wants. She's not too naive either. I like her a lot."

Page 8 "It feels that after we freed Shenlong Zhangxuan's soul, "she has become particularly close to me. We recently became the best of friends..." "How annoying, I got pimples again." "You can try putting chrysanthemum tea on your face." "How come you know so much about this kind of thing?"

Page 9 "Later let's come with me to this place." "Okay" "I go first." "They just shouted that if you leave the game your whole family should die!" "Haha, one thing I am not scared is other people cursing my whole family to die~" "You don't want to play?"

Page 10 "I can play games any time," "shall we go?" "I will finish this game with you." "Won't you get late for school?" "I won't.".

Page 11 "Wow! Today Duanmu must be in a good mood!" "Come let's beat this game!" "OMG OMG I need to keep calm!" (Siyao has turned on Fangirl mode lol) "I feel that Duanmu Xi is a lot more spirited now. "compared to his cold persona earlier. Now he acts more like a living person."

Page 12 "Though sometimes I think that during the time when he lost Shenlong Zhangxuan and I haven't met him," "How did he pull through?" "When we first met he did not have a tinge of life in his eyes," "It should not be solely due to the death of Shenlong Zhangxuan..."

Page 13 "When I see him getting along well with Siyao, he seems still unrelaxed around her. I can feel it..." "Just like she said: the one thing that is worse than death is," "having no one to watch your back." "Duanmu Xi was living alone "Duanmu Xi was living alone in a beautiful world instilled to him by Shenlong Zhangxuan."

Page 14 "He must have gone through some excruciating pain to turn out like this..." "I don't dare to think about it, let alone bringing up this matter..." "I know deep inside he is warm-hearted boy."

Page 15 "Now he will talk and laugh with us sometimes, that's so good." "Silently, I credit myself for this."

Page 16 "I only hope that days like this could last for long time."

#ling qi #spiritpact #soul contract #my translations

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newscheckz · 3 years

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RED FLAGS YOU CAN SEE IN A JOB INTERVIEW AS A WARNING!

New Post has been published on https://newscheckz.com/red-flags-you-can-see-in-a-job-interview-as-a-warning/

RED FLAGS YOU CAN SEE IN A JOB INTERVIEW AS A WARNING!

These are different real situations gathered from social media families from their experiences while attending a job interview.

From their experiences, they say if you see below signs, it is high time you respect yourself and move on. We believe these information could help someone avoid toxic workplaces early in the interview process.

1. Keeping a candidate waiting for too long without making them comfortable. It shows the value the business leaders places in people. 2. Interview interruptions, either from external members of staff or the interviewers always excusing themselves to take a phone call. 3. Pestering the candidate as though you are trying to show them how much they do not know. 4. Interviews being postponed severally or taking too long to be set after the initial conversation is a sure red flag, 5. Impromptu Interviews, eg, being called this morning for an afternoon Interview. It is not necessarily evil, but it should be a red flag of disorganization that shall affect your employee experience in the long run. 6. Interviewees speaking to each other, in their mother-tongue in between your interview.

My story I went for a job induction at an LG electronics dealership and the manager there who I guess wanted me to feel his authority came and told me, ‘ unajua hatujajuana vizuri, akasema wait kidogo I will be back so that we get to know each other.That manager harassed me sana that day by just telling me to take a scenario where am selling a tv on phone then sell it to an employee who was there, I gave it try and it was not to his liking. Kupewa lecture ikafuata for long then akauliza an employee there if nimefunzwa how to respond to such things wakasema bado but they will teach me. The whole day huyo manager tu alikua ananiita ananiambia imgn you are selling a tv ,sell it to this employee. After unaambiwa enda, then unaitwa tena unaambiwa imagine you are selling a tv sell it to now a different employee. Niliharasiwa hivo the whole day hadi nikauzia Kila employee kwa hiyo place scenarios za tv, I felt like a mono joining form one. Hapo nikaloose hope na hiyo kazi

When they give you those “interview assignments” in the name of testing your skills beware. Most want interviewers to give them ideas and work plans then they will go ahead and use it and not hire any interviewers. I got such a job interview and told them due to time I can only do part of the task to show them my skills and thought process. I did the bare minimum but gave it my all. They later followed up that my work was unique and if I can give more details. I told them I got other engagements and I would appreciate if they could give me feedback of the interview from my work and the oral interview. They wrote back saying they can’t hire me at the moment but if I could be interested in giving them more details they would appreciate it. I ignored them coz I knew they were users. You work for them for free in the name of “it’s an interview process.” Pass me with that sh*t! I prepared a whole recruitment strategy for them. Their mzungu called wanting to get more information on what I had written, I gladly explained and that was the end. There was actually an online petition to make them stop interviewing people for ideas and never hiring them. One Acre Fund is good at this. They advertise one position daily only for ideas from candidates and will NEVER hire them.

Look at the shoes of the employees from the gate to the interview room. You’ll learn a lot about the company. Viatu if the salary is low they’ll will be very well dressed but with cheaper shoes, Most people with Low income can rarely budget for a decent pair of shoes… I’ve used it severally, not only for interviews but even in marketing. When approaching a company for a deal I look at the shoes of every person I meet. If most have decent shoes the deal normally goes through if not they people you’ll meet at the office will have very little regard of what you are selling and theur clients…. That thing works like it’s yesterday… There is a firm I found most employees had very nice but cheaper shoes and some had torn ones at the gate, yet the director wore imported designer sandals… By the time I got to talk to him I already knew his answer. Problem is his firm is based on out look, I.e they are in the service industry yet he had invested so little in his employees… Honey, I work for a leather company and am in leather footwear sales…. I know a good shoe by looking at it…If your employees can afford nor to recycle good leather shoes with a quality sole (can even start from 1000/= but with a good sole from 2500/=) then they are paid well. On the same note, you can spot an overworn Leather shoe anywhere. .. Ata viatu za punch, You need like 5 to maintain a good look throughout the week… If a shoe is overworn you’ll know…

Once upon a time(not so long ago) a certain hotel on Mombasa road called and asked if I could attend an interview, I told them I was not interested as I was already working elsewhere…..they were insistent and I opted against my better judgement and went for the interview. They wasted 3hrs, and they had no courtesy of keeping us informed on what’s going on. I went to the Ass. H.R and asked her to give me my c.v which they had from earlier application, she politely did, asked her to go to their system and delete my profile as a viable candidate and to never contact me and I left. The following day they had the nerve to call me and asked why I left……..I just hang up on them.

Business people interviewing young businessman in office

Always inquire about the employee turnover….. No matter how nice the boss sounds as you step in, this might just be a way to win you then use you. I joined a UK-based company in 2018, remote working with staff all over…. First as a backoffice supervisor and in two months I was promoted to asst.PM. Senior PM was an Indian lady based in Abu Dhabi. I used to find too many collisions on calls between her and the boss and I thought she was the issue. In 5months I was promoted to senior pm and she was fired. In short, by the time I resigned after two years, the company had lost 8 senior employees, most just resigned out of frustration. So, just note that if the turnover is high, you’ll either take too much shit or the job won’t be there for too long!

There is this lucrative job offer I got with some tea company..so the day we went to discuss the offer and sign off the contract tukamalizana vizuri with the then to be my boss..He asked me when I would report nikamuambia in a months time…same response I gave in the interview akasema okay..kuenda kwa Hr a kiuk lady..aliniongelesha matope ati you are doing nothing at home yet u need one month to report ati people would give anything to be in your place blabla.. I told her the fact that am not employed doesn’t mean I have notjing else running mayoooo tantrums ati ohh ama u think ur husbanda money is soo sufficient etc..i just told her am sorry I will not take the job anymore!alibaki kinywa wazi..she kept on calling to ask if I had had a rethink nikamuambia ? Rita, know your worth dear..utafika hapo tuu…always remember apart from being a job seeker you are a HUMAN BEING that should be treated with dignity…nothing less..You can imagine the baggage I would deal with coz she already had a formed mentality about me…Mark you I had not applied for the job someone referred me sue to work experience

“Willing to work long-hours and under pressure” on the JD. Won’t even bother applying.

Politely ask how many people have quit the team that’s trying to hire you in the last year. If it’s more than 1, there’s probably a good reason. High staff-turnover is a huge redflag. Run!!

Boss shouting and/or being rude to the teagirl. Also watch the other workers. If they shrink at the boss’ sight, run.

Being delayed at the interview eg you are scheduled to be interviewed at 9am and come 11am you are still waiting worse still if no explanation is being given to you

If he/she tells you that there’s no fixed work schedule (yet the arrival time is fixed), or no fixed job description, just know you’ll be misused thoroughly. Also if you are told a story about how the employee you are meant to replace quit without notice…

I once attended an interview and at some point the panel started discussing something in their native language, in my presence yet am not a Dutch??, really disrespectful i knew i didn’t belong there

No organization will treat you better than they do at the interview. If it’s off then, it’s off.

So many years back, I went for an interview and had this guy smoking in the interview room. The oral went on for more than an hour and the guy was now chain smoking in the interview room. I excused myself from the interview and went home.

Show up at the interview scheduled time…. interviewer running late up to two hours and no explanation is given

the workers look stressed, and underpaid, not smartly dressed…..and if you happen to ask there is a high rate of employees leaving and new ones being recruited….jua iko shida

You go for an entry level job Interview you meet more than 10 panelists.. Honestly for a simple reception job why need such a crowd..yet they have shortlisted more than 20 candidates..that’s a scaam

An organization that keeps on hiring (for same positions) indicates a high level of staff turnover.

If u want to gauge how serious an organization is, read the body language of the security guard n the receptionist!!! If they appear demoralized n dejected, my friend, run.

The type of questions they ask.. one male interviewer kept asking about my personal life e.g “if you say you are not married then are you dating?” And you said you have children, where is their dad?” Questioning for an Administrative position.!!!! I answered like this like this coz I was already pissed..

Reading the comments…this is the way to go..Don’t entertain bullshit..know your worth..Don’t ever look desperate and have confidence .

The best one I went the boss offered me lunch as we discussed my experience and job description. I got the job…I salute that gentleman.

I went for an interview ,fikad there early that time it’s in inda,around 9 it’s when 3 men came with mud all over their shoes ,the supposed directors,instead of apologising for being late one of them told me in kikuyu “mbũra ĩrĩa yũrĩte limurũ”….I knew it was my time to leave…..

I went for an interview once ,the interview which was scheduled for 2pm started at 5pm. Prior to that,us interviewees had been sent a form to sign that we would forfeit 50% of our first salary because we had used an agency, which wasn’t true because all of us had been shortlisted from a career fair. I had been jobless for a while but I knew there was no way we would work peacefully. I did the interview as a formality,counted my fare and time loss and trusted God for better opportunities.

Attended an interview hapa tu Mombasa road ,I was asked my tribe on the questionnaire and there was an interview room which was a red flag for me ,it meant people were either getting fired all the time or they quit all the time . After the interview , I was informed by somebody on the inside that they don’t take luos because wako na malalamishi mingi and luhyas because wanapenda kuenda leave na matanga kila weekend. They only take kikuyu and merus because they are hardworking.

I went for an interview with some garbage collection organization based in mukuru, Kwa gate napatana na matope mob, then the guy I was to converse with was missing and sent his colleague to sit in for him, the guy I think called John looked tired and not interested and at the same time lacked interview skills. From the looks hao ata mshahara wangesema 35k for a HRO position. Those are the kind of jobs I don’t regret not getting

1.”Why do you think this is the job for you?” ( The interview process is for the candidate to learn if they also want to work for you) 2. “What’s your weakness?” (This question is just dumb)

Any company that has a relative to the owner working in a powerful position…..RUN

When employees are speaking in their vernacular languages kwa reception.. Wamama wanauziana bras hapo reception.. I am kinda glad i failed that interview. Alafu interviewers kukaa as if they are being forced to be there.

After the interview,If they tell you “Don’t call us,we will call you” Jipatie shugli and carry on with your life.That call will never come.

Ask what’s the company’s Employee Value Proposition, if the HR has none, take off!! The value a company offers to employees in return for the value they bring to the organization. This is the compensation and benefits from the employer in exchange for the employees skills, experience and productivity. This is a HR plan that determins rentation or loss of talent. If theres none – hapo ni Pata Potea Organisation…

At my job interview yesterday the MD said to me, why do you think i should give you this job?

i said, because my friend Mwangi works in your IT department, and he told me you’re fucking his sister.

???????

When they ask you(a lady) Are u married, do u have children, how many children do u have…& especially when the questions come in quick succession..They don’t want an employee wakuenda martenity ama wakushinda akisema ‘my baby is unwell’.

I was invited for an interview, The Ladies kept asking me if I’m married…one time… two times… third time they got into my veins and I asked them if they are married themselves ?Then they asked for a Three hundred thousand bribe…I told them if I had that money I wouldn’t be sitted There answering questions cz I don’t like questions anyway.Next day I was called to go start the Job

Dirty toilets,no thank you…I always make sure to visit the toilets

Alot of luhyas and kambas very toxic work place ???95% of kambas are the worst people to work with. The two tribes are snitches..will laugh with you but things they tell the boss behind your back…Kambas are sycophants, if they are colleagues unacheza chini, wasikuelewe, afadhali luhyas unajua livelive ni mchochezi, kambas can confuse you ??????????No wonder kaoz were long distance traders…kusambaza tu mushene na kujipendekeza kwa wadosi ..

A lady panelist asked what my family planning plans were.they were tired of female employees coz they have to go for maternity leave..saa hio am newly married ata nilishindwa la ku sema…afterwards they sent me a mail that I was the successful applicant two days letter they withdrew the offer wakasema they will let me know in due cause if I will be employed or not…useless organization..nkt..

I went for an interview at Faulu, it was going well till I was asked, “are you saved?” I said, no but I’m a Catholic. That’s where the interview ended.

You two fat women. I have never forgotten how you looked at me like I’m Jezebel. ????

If you see the job adverts ama your interviewer asks you whether you can work for under pressure ama for long hours wewe hepa tu. Hapo utafanya more than the standard 9 hours and most likely hutapata any overtime

We’ve shared experiences on toxic workplaces. Kindly share the different red flags you’ve seen at a job interview. This could help someone avoid toxic workplaces early in the interview process.

#interview #toxicjobinterviews

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georgewagner · 4 years

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What tradespeople are saying about us: July 2020

10s of thousands of tradespeople use Rated People to find work every year. Each month, we share some of their latest reviews.

Rob Makvand Fast Electrics 24/7

“Definitely 5 stars for this company. I work as a qualified electrician through Rated People and I would say it’s the best ever. Such lovely costumer service, especially Jack. Since working with them, I make much more money than before and it’s the best way to invest in finding more and more customers. Many thanks guys.”

Alan Mollloy For Ever Homes

“We have used Rated People for a number of years as a regular source of business. The whole process, from the minute we signed up, has been incredibly easy and professional, and the quality of leads is very high. Add to this that we have found the levels of customer service to be exceptional, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommended Rated People to other tradespeople.”

Jordan Hughes TJHUGHES

“I’ve used Rated People for 2 to 3 years now and I have been so happy working alongside them to achieve the very best as a business. Very friendly team and I wouldn’t be where I am today with my business if it wasn’t for this team of professionals alongside me. From creating a great profile to bringing in enough work for me to make a living. Thank you so much !!!”

Access 75,000 leads a month, build your reputation online and get over 200 discounts a year. Enquire now

Michael Schewtschuk MS4 Plumbing

“Our short time with RP has been very productive. We have joined RP as a means to feed our team of engineers with a varied work range to improve their skill set and customer service standards. The multitude of projects, large and small, that are available through RP seems too be endless. Within a short period of time, we’ve upgraded our monthly payment package effortlessly which has given us more freedom to purchase leads large and small. Our Account Manager, Jack, has kept in regular contact via email and is taking time to call and discuss how best to mould the account to our specific preferences. Whether that be the level of lead purchasing we have and also the different trade options we are able to cover with our small team. To summarise, Rated People has been an excellent option for our business.”

Joe Lockhart Lockhart Roofing and Brickwork

“I joined rated people 7 years ago when they were recommended by a friend. I started off with no ratings and not so great vans but after each job I completed with Rated People, my 5 stars

soon added up. My vans improved and so did my salary. I intend to keep expanding my business and continue to receive 5 star rating reviews. I’m over the moon that Rated People took time and effort to film my company in action, which shows how far I’ve progressed and how professional I am. I am only interested in working for Rated People and I don’t work for any other company. Jack, my Account Manager, gives me reassurance and we have more of a workmate relationship. He is always very helpful in every situation and I’m very happy to continue building my relationship with Rated People.”

Scott Macaree S.Macaree Plumbing and Heating

“I’ve been with Rated People for two years and they have helped me grow a lot of return trade, along with the new leads I buy. I actually started my whole business with Rated People. Before that I worked for a company, so realistically it was all about Rated People and nothing else. Some weeks I use it as a top up, and other weeks I rely on it for my business. I wouldn’t have a business if it wasn’t for Rated People, that’s really the be-all. I spend thousands a year with Rated People, I could put this into any advertising but a lot of the jobs which came through, I probably wouldn’t want to do. With Rated People I only choose the jobs I actually want to do.”

Access 75,000 leads a month, build your reputation online and get over 200 discounts a year. Enquire now

June 2020

Mark Johnson Unique Lofts Limited

“Rated People are an integral part of my business and I’ve used them since my business started nearly 4 years ago. There hasn’t been one week where I haven’t bought at least one lead and I’ve secured many jobs over the years. My business wouldn’t be as successful without Rated People and I look forward to a continued working relationship in the future.”

Vio Voiculetiu Vio’s Property Maintenance Ltd

“I started using Rated People in 2017. I was looking for a way to grow my business online and be introduced to new customers. Since working with them I have had a consistent flow of work coming through every month. I’m very proud of my reviews on the site, and excited to reach 100 5-star ratings very soon. The Rated People team have encouraged me to become a premium member with them, where I receive dedicated support from my Account Manager who is always on hand when I need him.”

Rodi Mirza Relm Interiors Ltd

“Rated People has helped Relm Interiors grow in many ways. We have gained many loyal and valuable customers over the years. Our business revenue has flourished thanks to Rated People, and we continue to attract reputable customers.”

Access 75,000 leads a month, build your reputation online and get over 200 discounts a year. Enquire now

Keith Marsh K Marsh Plumbing & Heating Ltd

“When I started with Rated People I was a one man band, my work came only through word of mouth or builders that I knew. Since starting with Rated People I’ve now grown to a small business with multiple employees, covering a larger area. The best thing about Rated People is being able to pick the work when I want it and not waiting for the phone to ring. I’m only advertising with Rated People, I have tried other companies but I like that leads are only sold a maximum of 3 times, so I’m not fighting against 20 other plumbers for the same job.”

Rhys Campbell Knights Roofing & Joinery Ltd

“I’ve been with Rated People for a couple of years now and my experience has been great from the very beginning. Account Managers are only a call away for anything we need and the leads are consistent and good quality. I’ve personally brought in hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of work through my Rated People membership. I couldn’t ask for a better service and would recommend it to any business that wants to grow with a professional partner. You will not find better value for money.”

Steven Pester Resolve Plumbing Services Ltd

“I have worked with Rated People now for over a year and they have been exceptional in helping me with the success of my business. They have continued to be very professional in helping me with any questions and problems in a fast and fair manner. Rated People have proved to be a greater success to me than all of the other review based work platforms that I had also joined for a year. I am sure to continue with Rated People for many years, and I am sure that with the team of staff I deal with I will have no problems with my company being in good hands. Thank you Rated People.”

Access 75,000 leads a month, build your reputation online and get over 200 discounts a year. Enquire now

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angeltriestoblog · 4 years

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I went from reluctant leader to ACTM officer!

Kind of a late update but after what seemed like an endless discernment period and an unforgivably rigorous application process (on my part), I’m officially the Ateneo Association for Communications Technology Management’s Associate Vice President for Documentations! And yes, I’m aware that’s a mouthful so from this point on, I am referring to myself as ACTM’s AVP for Docs.

I honestly did not see this coming though: Freshman Angel stuck out like a sore thumb in her home org. In addition to finding all upperclassmen intimidating as I do with anyone born at least a day before me, I felt like I was just… not feeling it most of the time. All I lacked was a button that read “I really wish I weren’t here right now!” pinned to my shirt. It was only when I was a sophomore, familiar with the organization’s events and able to see them up close that I realized that I didn’t remember going through most of them myself. Although I’m pretty sure I was present because it was mandatory for all new members, I don’t recall going to a general assembly, being briefed on the different departments within the org, and especially being taught what our core competency was. I was very content with doing the bare minimum as a Docs Head: going to meetings to take minutes and do registration, nagging at the project heads and point people to submit the necessary requirements for post-documentations, and smiling shyly and saying “I’m ok!” when people asked me how I was.

Although I was much more active in my second year, I never realized I wanted to increase my level of involvement until I went to LEAP, the three-day leadership training seminar in Zambales I raved about in my first semester recap blog post. It was there when I noticed the home aspect that ACTM prides itself on: everybody—regardless of batch and predetermined social circle—bonding in more ways than one, both with and without the influence of alcohol, just having a great time and joking around like they’ve been friends forever. I saw just how much ACTM was investing in me to help me realize that maybe I could be an officer too. Maybe I could contribute to the great culture that makes us so much of a family. But of course, that thought quickly found its way to the backburner the minute we boarded the bus back to Manila.

I never really saw myself as leader material after several failed stints in my old school: I was the secretary who forgot to ask the teacher to sign the attendance sheet, or the vice president that ran out of the classroom first during earthquake drills when I was supposed to be last in line to check if all appliances were off. (In my defense, it was an act of self-preservation.) I didn’t realize it then while I was busy wreaking havoc in every homeroom class I found myself in but when I finally grew up, for the lack of a better term, I came to the conclusion that being put in charge of a group of people would only bring disastrous consequences and I didn’t want anyone involved in that.

Fast forward to several months later: I had an individual consultation with my boss Chelsea, the previous holder of my current position, to help with her plans in running for vice president of our department. Somewhere along the way, she tapped me to fill her shoes—a request that was met with a high-pitched “WEH?” that probably shocked everyone on the third floor of MVP that day. I had been diligently doing my work for two years, she said, just as long as she has so I knew enough about the processes. Back then, I was very preoccupied with two other extracurricular commitments and had plans of joining three more the next school year. My goals and ambitions were all over the place and I guess it reflected in the way I skirted around the topic because she just patted my knee (throwback to the time when physical contact was still acceptable) and told me to think about it. Real hard.

I guess this lockdown period also served as the time for discernment I needed: I weighed the pros and cons, made the necessary trade-offs, and got the insights of those I trusted, mostly by pestering them with uppercase keyboard smashes. I’d think I had a final decision one day then wake up the next, completely changing my stance. It’s not like I didn’t want to serve—I guess I just wasn’t giving myself permission to believe I could. I can’t really pinpoint when it happened but one day, my brain went: “What the heck. What could possibly go wrong?”

—

After making the decision to run, I felt at peace, no longer overthinking about every single thinking that could possibly go wrong, just eager for the day application season would formally start. Well, that is until I received the actual notification from the Ateneo ACTM page that said a Facebook group for all AVP aspirants had been made. I tossed my laptop aside and started yelling, much to the dismay of my mother who was on the receiving end of all this panic. Over the next few days, I would watch the electoral talk that followed, a webinar of sorts that basically gave a rundown of the process we would have to go through should we want to take on the challenge.

One of my requirements was a long-ass form complete with questions about myself, my leadership skills, the department, and the organization. I remember looking through the platforms of the Executive Board applicants during the first wave of elections and saying to myself, “Wow, I hope I don’t have to fill up something that long. I would cry my ass off!” only to find out that I would have to submit almost an exact replica of that and truly enough, cry my ass off. While Noelle, our EVP, was glossing over everything, I took these pictures on my laptop’s photo booth to express my frustration and sent them to my friend Julia, who was also watching via Zoom. I was actually very paranoid that I had my video on during the call and would end up exposing my contorted facial expressions to all 70 people watching the livestream. Thankfully, the universe was merciful enough to be on my side at the time.

Believe me, I wanted to get started with the work the minute the virtual meeting ended: I felt like I needed to so everything wouldn’t pile up and paralyze me on the day of the deadline. But even early on, I was already pretty overwhelmed and I couldn’t bring myself to do anything. So I lay down on my bed for the rest of the night and played Ribs by Lorde on repeat. It was an effective coping mechanism then but I instantly regret it the next day once I realized just how much time I had wasted doing nothing when there was so much to be accomplished.

I answered the introspective questions pretty quickly: thanks to my sense of self-awareness, I was able to identify my strengths and weaknesses well. What I really struggled with was the platform. I couldn’t generate any original ideas that I felt could solve the problems I spotted—I had wondered if I could just copy paste Chelsea’s platform and add comments such as “Same” or “RT” on the side and call it a day. Thankfully, this is what individual consultations were for. I contacted Elise, a co-Docs Head from the previous school year, and Gella, my boss back in freshman year and both were kind enough to bounce ideas off me and give me reassurance that the working drafts I had in my mind were actually worth executing. With their insight (and a lot of ice cream), I was able to finish my application form days before I expected to.

I also wrapped up shooting my platform presentation ahead of schedule. I couldn’t find any decent background at home besides this one cabinet but I failed to notice that part of its door was actually faded until I was already done filming. In an attempt to hide it in a way that still appeared on-brand, I slapped some star and cloud stickers on the video and claimed that it matched my own name. The only obstacle I had to overcome was practicing for my panels.

The fact that my question and answer session with the Executive Board was to held be online instead of in-person given our circumstances was supposed to comfort me somehow. But either way, not knowing which answers were going to be expected of me gave me a great deal of anxiety. To stave off this irrational fear, I prepared a Quizlet with 27 potential questions or points for clarification on one side, and my response on the other, which I rehearsed with just the right amount of uh’s and um’s interspersed to make it look as spontaneous as possible. Maybe my greatest sacrifice though was boycotting any TV shows or movies until I was done presenting because even the most mindless programming could take away precious brain cells needed to retain more important information.

On the day of my actual interview, I was feeling pretty confident. I had gone the extra mile by preparing an hour early and recording videos of myself answering my imaginary questions on my laptop camera. This way, I felt like I was simulating the actual experience. But not even this form of planning could have prepared me for the real deal. I wish I could tell you more about how it went but I was so nervous that I blacked out. I vaguely remember puckering my lips and flashing a peace sign every time I didn’t know the answer to something and had to respond with, “I will look into that if I ever get the position.” I also remember that not a single one out of the 27 questions I had committed to memory was asked.

As expected, I was the most relieved when it was over, I didn’t even feel embarrassed until much later on. I got out of my smart casual attire, slipped into some pajamas, watched a movie, and finished the tub of Coffee Crumble waiting in the freezer as a reward. Two days later, I had received a message from Chelsea asking if she could call me. My friend Iverson had said that results are announced to all applicants via phone call before being released to the public at night. It’s not a clear indicator that I was the one they chose, which was horrifying because who wants to be rejected over the phone? My younger self hated Joe Jonas and what he did to Taylor Swift for precisely this reason!

Thankfully, I was only met with good news. Chelsea had told me that I had been chosen by the Executive Board and I was ACTM’s new AVP for Docs. I hadn’t eaten breakfast at the time despite the fact that it was 10 minutes to noon at the time so it took a while for my nutrient-deprived brain to generate the appropriate reaction. The joy kicked in eventually: I jumped up and down and yelled I’M SO HAPPY so many times once the call ended that the words have started to lose meaning.

Since then, I’ve spent my time familiarizing myself with my roles and responsibilities while getting to know everyone else on the team. I’ve had a video call via Google Meets with the people in my department where we leveled off, got to know one another better, and set our goals for the year as we watched Chelsea eat pasta. Very wholesome! EC Wars was also pretty fun: all eight departments of the organization were head-to-head in different challenges. It kinda reminded me of high school intramurals but with less broken friendships. We had to auction one another a la Unsubtle Syota Searching, make a Tiktok introducing our department, its relevance and the roles of each member (which officially launched my career as the org’s official Kris Aquino impersonator), and had a chaotic game of Bring Me through Facebook Messenger. Yes, it’s possible but not if you’re a PLDT subscriber! I also got put in a group with other members of the EC for an activity where we had to make an IMC campaign for a chosen advocacy. As the Mind Readers (named as such because of the multiple instances we sent the exact same message at the same time), we were assigned to tackle sustainable fashion and I have to say that our finished product was, as Dani Rosales herself would call it, “hot”.

This week, we’re on to the more serious stuff: revising internal procedures, refining platform points, etc etc. The fear caused by my self-doubt is further compounded by our current situation, which is keeping us from performing our tasks the way we envisioned we would. But I am a hundred percent confident that since I’m with the right people and we’re all doing the very best we can, it’s going to be one crazy fulfilling year ahead for all of us. I’m endlessly grateful to ACTM for taking a chance on me! Shoutout, of course, to: (1) Chelsea for serving as the final push I needed to decide that serving this organization is what I wanted to do; (2) all my friends who told me I had nothing to worry about while I was being neurotic and who were the first to congratulate me and say that they told me so; and (3) my parents who listened to my rants even if they were 90% org-related jargon.

Wishing you all love and light,

Angel

#quarantingz #personal?? actually ewan #angeltriestoblog #life dump #angel tries to be a leader #hopefully angel succeeds

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