#casual weekend jobs sydney
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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jude doesn’t tell me about the email until we’re back in Dublin, and I don’t ask because there are other things to think about. Such as the gaping holes left in the shelves of the apartment now that Claire has taken all of her things away or the letter waiting from NCAD detailing my timetable for my first week back in September. How is September three weeks away already? I toss the envelope onto the kitchen table and sigh as I unfold the letter.
“Ugh, the thought of going back is so weird,” I say, “You know, like the idea of not being in Mezzotint anymore, of being back to regular classes again, cycling back to Thomas Street every morning. It feels like the kind of thing I did in a different life.”
Jude opens the fridge and takes out one of Claire’s abandoned peach yoghurts, and I eye him sharply as he does it, in two minds whether I should warn him to stay away from her things, which is nonsensical as it’s yoghurt and it expires on the 30th and she won’t be coming back from Sydney to get it anytime soon. “Is Mezzotint an option long-term?” He wonders, and I ask him what he means, “Like, if you wanted to stay on and work for them longer, do you think they’d let that happen?”
“I can’t do that,” I grab a magnet and stick the timetable to the fridge door, “I have to finish college now, it’s the only way I’ll ever get a degree.”
“You can’t drop out?” He says casually.
“No, because of financial aid. They won’t ever fund my education again and I’ll never be able to afford a degree on my own.”
“Woah,” He says, “I didn’t know that. So this is your only shot.”
“Exactly. No pressure, like.”
“Lucky you picked something you like.”
“Yeah and I do like illustration, I think I’m good at it, but, ugh, NCAD, sometimes I just…”
“Judging by the way everyone goes crazy for your work, I’d say you’re more than good at it. I think your murals are the best ones I’ve seen.”
I feel self-conscious, “you’re saying that because you think you have to.”
“Never.”
I start unzipping my weekend bag so I can put some of my dirty clothes into the washing machine. I find my dew soaked shoes to and put them on the windowsill to dry.
“I’m serious,” Jude is saying as he follows me around the room, “You could really do something with those skills, that’s why I was asking about Mezzotint, I just think that if you wanted to you could make a career out of designing in the way that you’re designing now. Windows, murals, that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, maybe someday.”
“Why does it have to be someday?”
“Because I… That’s just something I’ll do in the future, I don’t know.”
“Evie, you’re so good, I swear you could do it right now.”
I sigh and toss a detergent pod into the drum, “Did you hear that bit I said about having to finish college?”
“I know,” he chews on his lip thoughtfully, “I know, you said that. I understand.”
“Why? What would you do if you were me?”
“I couldn’t say, our situations are different, so,”
“Yeah but if you were in my exact situation. Would you drop out of college and pursue illustration without a degree?”
He shrugs, “I might.”
I scoff, “Okay well, that’s not going to happen, so.”
“I know, I was just saying that if I was literally you, I might make a decision like that. I’m not saying you should, I get what you’re talking about with the financial aid and all of that I…” he breaks off and I look over my shoulder to find a troubled expression on his face. I feel tension leave my shoulders and compassion take a hold of my heart.
“Is it the long distance?” I ask him, “Are you worried about how we’re going to do it?”
He scratches the back of his head and looks at the floor, “I dunno, I suppose honestly it freaks me out a bit.”
“Yeah, that’s okay,” I abandon the laundry and cross the room to hold his face in my hands, “it freaks me out too, but look, it won’t be that long, and by the time you get a job in London and actually manage to move over there it could be a couple more weeks or months, and really, by then I’ll only have maybe, six months left in NCAD, and there’ll be weeks during the midterm breaks when I can come and visit you, and really, it won’t be bad.”
“Yeah,” He says, still staring at the rug.
“We did a month apart when you were in Berlin,” I remind him, “and it was hard, but it was also fun, because we got to talk every night on the phone, and send texts and photos, and I learned all about the art of tasteful nudes and got to experience your colourful language detailing all the things you wish you were doing with me, and I think that if we can manage that then we can totally manage this.”
“They were very tasteful nudes,” he concedes, and I laugh at the miserable way he decided to say this. I capture his chin between my thumb and forefinger so that I can tilt his face to mine. “Stop moping, there’s no need to get into a mood over something like this, you know, we’re strong people and we can-’
“One of the movie studios in LA emailed me last night,” He says.
“Yeah, I remember,” I leave a long pause for him to fill, and when he doesn’t I ask him, “What did they say?”
“They liked my portfolio.”
“Was their advice any good?”
“They didn’t have any, they, uh,” a long pause, “have an internship programme, actually.”
My stomach plummets to the floor. “Do they, yeah?”
“Yeah they told me that they’d like for me to come out to LA and work with them.”
“Oh,” My voice sounds a bit strangled, “so they really liked your work.”
“Guess so.”
“That’s really nice, wow. Nice to hear,” I shrug “…but it’s an internship.”
“Right.”
“So… not paid.”
“I imagine not.”
“So that just doesn’t make sense then,” I turn around and start fiddling with the dials on the washing machine. “Like they can’t really expect you to do that, can they? Like, to work somewhere like that without giving you any money for it, a bit ridiculous, isn’t it?”
He says nothing.
“They can’t really compete with the kind of money you’d be getting in London at all, can they? I mean think about that. Fifty, sixty thousand pounds a year versus nothing. They can’t expect anyone to be interested in something like that, especially, you know, because to live somewhere like LA would be crazy expensive as I can imagine. Wow, what a ridiculous offer.”
“Evie, I don’t have a job in London yet, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to start talking like I do.”
“Yeah, yet,” for some reason I grab the hoover and start vacuuming up crumbs from the ground beneath the oven, “But you will, that place you were waiting on, they’ll get back to you soon.”
“Yeah, maybe they will, but…” he pauses again and I feel a flash of annoyance that takes me by surprise, “But what, like?”
“What if I felt like the internship was too good to pass up? What if I didn’t want to take the risk of waiting for The Brits to hire me and I just considered another opportunity?”
“The other opportunity is really just not realistic,” I argue, “It makes no sense. It’s so far away from here and it won’t even pay you.”
“Yeah but I think it’s more exciting.”
I shake my head.
“I know that you’re being practical Evie, but there are ways to make this workable.”
“I can’t believe you’re saying this.”
When I turn to him again Jude’s face looks a little wild, and I know immediately what that expression is. Passion. Excitement. Ridiculousness. Whatever is firing off in his brain is the same thing that drove him to cycle his bike like a maniac, crash a wedding party, kiss girls he should never have kissed. “Listen,” He says, “I really think this could be amazing, and I think it could work out, and we can still have everything we want and there’ll never be any compromises.”
“How? I’m going back to college and-”
“You weren’t excited to go,” he blurts out, “You saw that letter on the floor and you were upset to see it there. You don’t seem like you want to go back to NCAD, not really.”
“I-” I break off, “Well-”
“I know how you feel about that place, I know the bad memories it has for you, and you don’t need to go back, I swear, you can just be an illustrator, that’s the beauty of being an artist, you don’t need a degree to be one, and look, if you don’t go back to college then you could come to LA with me and see if we like it, and if not we’ll try somewhere else. You wouldn’t have to live in Dublin, you wouldn’t have to find a new housemate for this apartment.”
“The money, Jude.”
“Who cares about the money?”
“I feel like I’m going insane listening to you. I can’t just up and leave and move to America.” I turn away to scrub the kitchen sink and he moves to lean against a counter and wedge himself back into my eyeline.
“Well, you objectively can, so.”
“Jude…”
He’s grinning now, “You think I’m crazy.”
“No, I think you’re passionate.”
“So are you.”
“Please…”
“C’mon, don’t be upset, it’s just an idea,” He gently pulls me away from the sink and turns me to face him, and only when he’s holding me by the wrists do I realise I’ve begun trembling. He kisses one palm and then the other, “What is it?”
“I just feel like… this is a lot of information all at once, and a lot of new ideas are being put forward here, I don’t know what to think about it, and I’m worried that if I don’t want to drop out of college then you’re going to go to America anyway.”
“No,” He says, “No, there’s no ultimatum, listen, I know I’m saying all of this stuff right now, but no matter what happens I’ll put us first. The last thing I’m going to do is leave you behind. If you don’t want to go to LA then I don’t want to go either.” I can’t bear to look at his face when he says that in case I can detect a lie in it. “Evie,” tilting my face, “I love you. I love you so much. I don’t want to be anywhere if you’re not going to be nearby, you know that. If you want to stay here and finish college then that’s what you should do, and I’ll be right here with you as you do it.”
“Alright,” and I kiss him, and keep kissing him, and he keeps kissing me back. “Can I have time to think about all of this?” I say when we come up for air, “You know, to really just get my head around it?”
“Yeah of course,” He says, “Whatever time you need.”
“Okay,” I wind my arms around his neck and kiss him even more as we forget about the whole conversation.
Beginning // Prev // Next
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1. GENERAL
2. APPEARANCE
3. PERSONALITY
4. APPAREL
5. RELATIONSHIPS
6. COMBAT
7. BACKSTORY
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
GENERAL INFORMATION
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
— FULL NAME ᥫ᭡
Min-Ya Choi
— ALIAS ᥫ᭡
Minnie, Ms. Choi
— DATE OF BIRTH ᥫ᭡
3rd of September
— AGE ᥫ᭡
18-19
— GENDER ᥫ᭡
Female
— Race + Enthicity ᥫ᭡
Asian, Korean - Australian
— OCCUPATION ᥫ᭡
Student at Arcadia high, part-time barista
— ZODIAC ᥫ᭡
Virgo
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
APPEARANCE
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
— FACECLAIM ᥫ᭡
https://pin.it/1qVcUvP0I
— EYE COLOR ᥫ᭡
Deep Blue
— HAIR COLOR ᥫ᭡
Chocolate brown
— HAIR TEXTURE ᥫ᭡
2C
— HAIR LENGTH ᥫ᭡
Falls down to around her hip
— HEIGHT ᥫ᭡
158cm
— WEIGHT ᥫ᭡
Undocumented
— SKIN ᥫ᭡
Light tan (as seen in faceclaim)
— BODY CLAIM ᥫ᭡
Hourglass, average thickness, small waist, d cup size
— BEAUTY MARKS ᥫ᭡
Freckled cheeks +nose, dimpled smile
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
PERSONALITY
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
— LIKES & DISLIKES ᥫ᭡
She likes to be left alone, the less conversations; the better. she likes to study in the school library- at times hanging out with Tobias and Jim; but that’s only when she’s needed or feels like it. She loves studying anything horror-related, whether that be dark arts or blood magic, which is why she likes hanging out with Jim and Tobias at troll market; she can find all sorts of things there.
Despite her interests, Minnie cannot stand the study of crystals- it’s too confusing and messy, she dislikes messes; whether accidental or not, she dislikes the idea of acting in a play; finding it uncomfortable and nerve wracking (more to come, can’t think right now)
— GENERAL ATTITUDE ᥫ᭡
She’s generally sarcastic and cold, finding that is the best way to keep people from getting close.
— HOBBIES ᥫ᭡
Painting, sketching, boxing and playing the guitar.
— FEARS ᥫ᭡
Deep-bodied water (to an extent), dogs (specifically bigger dogs)
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
APPAREL
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
— CASUAL WEAR ᥫ᭡
https://pin.it/JVMnNnDzy
https://pin.it/5nLKz6MkE
https://pin.it/3y2raYuw1
https://pin.it/4iAHOlo3s
https://pin.it/3rpdSJ83T
https://pin.it/2QY8NfgJB
https://pin.it/1ixCCrWt6
https://pin.it/6n3LlbkAx
https://pin.it/7zUmT89uh
— FORMAL WEAR ᥫ᭡
she does not attend formal events.
— SWIMWEAR ᥫ᭡
: while she does own swimwear, she does not swim.
https://pin.it/24YY8ePie
https://pin.it/ht5UFOx2G
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
RELATIONSHIPS
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
— FATHER ᥫ᭡
Robert King, Australian, Alive, currently living in Arcadia, 45
— MOTHER ᥫ᭡
Lin Choi, Korean, Deceased, buried at Sydney Cemetery, 43
— SISTER(s) ᥫ᭡
Katie Choi, Korean - Australian, currently alive and living in Australia, 20
— LOVE INTEREST(s) ᥫ᭡
(Depends on roleplay)
— ALLIES / FRIENDS ᥫ᭡
Jim, Tobias, Blinky, Arrrgh, Claire, Steve at-times
— ENEMIES ᥫ᭡
GumGums mostly
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
COMBAT
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
— WEAPONS ᥫ᭡
Although she’s good at hand-to-hand fighting, she enjoys using using sharp objects like knives as a weapon.
— PHYSICAL STRENGTH ᥫ᭡
She’s quite skilled at fighting, having been able to overpower steve in a fight once
— PHYSICAL WEAKNESS ᥫ᭡
She’s embarrassingly ticklish, mainly on her sides.
— ABILITIES ᥫ᭡
Thanks to extensive boxing lessons; she’s able to put someone in a chokehold, pin them to the ground and other fighting techniques.
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
BACKSTORY
──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────
— CHILDHOOD ᥫ᭡
Born to Robert and Lin, Minnie was born in a hospital in Seoul before moving to Sydney, Australia when she was 1. Sadly her mother passed when Minnie was only 9, which prompted her sister to remain in Sydney with their aunt whilst Minnie and her father moved to Arcadia when she was 10; a year after her mother’s death. Where she met Jim Lake and Tobias.
— TEEN HOOD ᥫ᭡
She is currently attending Arcadia high, on the weekends and public holidays- she works at a small but local cat café.
while she finds the job stressful, she’s currently earning 30$ per hour and it’s a 9-5
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Change of Scenery // Evan Buckley
IN WHICH: Captain Bobby Nash has kept a secret from his friends, his wife and his step children since 2015 when he came to LA. Bobby’s eldest and only surviving child comes to LA to reconcile and make amends all the while she catches the eye of a certain blue eyed firefighter.
Warnings: Swearing, death/familial loss, pregnancy, blood, angst, injuries/medical emergency, and fluff
Words: 8k
A/N: Back at it with another 9-1-1 fic. Hope you enjoy, and I may just have to do another crossover with 9-1-1 and Julie and the Phantoms.
TO BE TAGGED SEND AN INBOX/ASK PLEASE!
Masterlist
There are moments in our lives that define us, whether it can be known as a positive or negative, but the outcome is always the same. A six-letter word that strikes fear and excitement into the souls of humans is change. The fear can be for ourselves or as a result of a child, a sibling, or a parent branching out on their own. Unfortunately, you had gone through a harsh and cruel experience on a cold winter night in the city you grew up in.
A typical Thursday filled with classes at the college you attended in Minnesota on a scholarship, nothing out of the ordinary. The plan had been to drive to your parents’ apartment to catch up with them for the weekend. Saturday morning was already reserved for a girls day with your little sister Brook and your mom. In the afternoon, you’d promised to take your brother Bobby to the ball diamond.
Your bag was packed, the plan to drive straight from class to St. Paul the following day to arrive in the daylight. Your dad struggled with worry when it came to you driving in the dark and especially in winter with icy roads.
“Y/N!” Dottie screeched from the living room of the four-bedroom dormitory. The pretty and curvy brunette had been the first friend you made in college.
Typically Dottie was on the quieter side, so when she screamed, you practically sprinted to the girl.
“Where’s the fire?” You demanded with a smirk at the reference to a topic that was a constant in your family.
The fire drills your father conducted every four months for an exit plan in case of a fire and general information to save yourselves. He had also trained you to remember fire hazards and how to call dispatch with clear information if that time ever came. It never did and hopefully never would.
“The Lakeview Apartments in St. Paul.” Dottie’s dark brown eyes spoke only of pity and concern. The five foot ten roommate literally caught you as you tumbled into her arms with a loud grief-stricken scream.
You were forever indebted to the brunette for the plans she sacrificed to drive you back to St. Paul. There was absolutely no chance Dottie would allow you to both drive and be alone with no news. The media hadn’t released the names of the 148 deaths the fire relentlessly tore from the land of the living.
“I want to prepare you for what you’ll see. Your mother suffered severe third-degree burns over the majority of her body.” The kind nurse, also one of your friend’s parent, explained as she guided you to the Burn Center in the Regions Hospital, “I don’t want to lie and tell you she’ll be fine. You’re an adult Y/N. You deserve the truth and not be coddled.”
“Is she gonna survive?” You quietly asked, “Has she woken up since she was brought in?”
“The doctor placed her on a high dosage of morphine for the pain. Your father hasn’t left her side.” Lucinda informed you with sympathy written as over her face, The hazel eyes unable to adequately meet yours.
“I’ll check on her, then could you take me to the rooms my siblings are in?” You asked, completely unaware Brook and Bobby had been DOA at the hospital.
Your father hadn’t answered the text messages or the voicemails you had left on his phone—radio silent. You couldn’t be mad when he was with your mom, but a text would have been nice.
“This is where your mother is staying for the unforeseeable future. If you need anything, you can call me.” Lucinda softly replied before turning her heel to head back to the Burn Centre’s front desk.
It was horrific walking into a room with no idea if the occupant who had raised you would survive. The confident, gorgeous mother you had for the past nineteen years was unfamiliar to you, the extensive gauze covering nearly every inch of her body. You almost couldn’t even recognize the man sitting in the chair with his hands wrapped.
“Dad? What happened?” You questioned the grieving man. The only person left in your family as you would soon come to know.
“Y/N?” Bobby gasped, pushing himself to his feet, staring at his only living child. The guilt ate at him just staring at you with those light brown eyes, “Oh, sweetheart.”
Your dad crossed the room in a few steps. The scent of smoke was still clinging to every part of him, but it was fine. Your dad was okay, minus the wounds on his hands. You’d always been closer with your father than your mother.
“Dad, what happened?” You quietly asked the ashamed firefighter that had to reconcile his feelings on the fire and his career—that struggle ending up pushing you away when he really just wanted you as close as possible.
“The building caught on fire after an ember from a heater lit a blanket on fire,” Bobby informed you with his eyes pinned on his wife. Bobby knew the chances of Marcy surviving were incredibly low, and he had to tell you that.
Bobby only knew the details passed on from a firefighter who pitied the man who’d lost most of his family.
“Is Mom gonna be okay?” You questioned, and the said injured woman in the bed weakly responded.
“Baby?” Marcy quietly questioned from her absolutely still position on the hospital bed, “Uh, Bobby.”
You left your father’s side to be as close to your mom as possible, with the clear plastic separating you for her safety. Your heart shattered at the sheer exhaustion in her pretty blue eyes.
“Hi, Mom.” You shakily spoke with one hand lightly pressed against the plastic divider. You didn’t even notice when your dad stepped up too.
“Marcy?” Bobby called out from right beside you, just as torn up, but Bobby carried extra weight on his shoulders, “We’re right here, Marcy. It’s okay. It’s okay.”
The muffled grunt of pain, your mom’s attempt to save you from grief, Marcy let out as she turned her head to look at you. You knew deep in your gut that this was the time place you would see your mom alive. And by the look in her eyes, she knew too.
“The...kids…?” Your mom’s breathing became more erratic as she questioned the man she viewed as her hero. The man she believed had saved her and their youngest children, “Where...are they?”
“The kids are fine.” The way your father said it and the tears led to the knowledge once kept from you.
“No.” You whispered, seeing the total grief written clear on his face. The pain meds and agony kept your mom from knowing the truth.
“They’re safe.”
“I knew you’d come and save us.” Your mom breathed as her eyes started hiding the pretty blue you’d now only see in pictures. In your dreams, until even those faded as father time cruelly pulled you along.
Then your worst nightmare happened. You watched as the woman you looked up to flatlined with the thought of her children safe. You’d always know she’d held on just long enough to find out the state of her children. You could only hope she’d forgive your father for lying to her as she died.
“Mom!” You screamed, fighting the arms of an orderly restraining you. You barely noticed the resistance to your frantic attempts.
One minute you were staring at a team unsuccessfully trying to revive your long-gone mother, then you were in a hotel room. The atmosphere tense and quiet between father and daughter, with the ghost of your dead family to keep you both company. You could hear Brook gagging every time you’d kissed your now ex. You could see Bobby toddling after you years ago.
At least you had your father—a father whose guilt festered until he couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“It was my fault.” He murmured, staring at the barely eaten burger that tasted solely just cardboard. He couldn’t bear to look at your face, “I didn’t mean to leave it on.”
Your head snapped to stare at him in disbelief, “What do you mean you didn’t mean to leave it on?”
“I-I went to the roof to sleep after your mom kicked me out. I didn’t have my keys to the apartment I had below ours.” Bobby began spilling the lies he’d told to you about his addictions. Of the apartment, you’d had no clue was even in his possessions.
The pain of losing your family tore into you, “You took my mom away from me. I’ll never get to share my wedding day with her. Shopping for a dress and gossiping about boys. I’ll never be able to wipe Brook’s tears during her first heartbreak.”
Each word broke Bobby more and more.
“You stole my future. You’re selfish, ungrateful and utterly pathetic. You cost so many people so much, all because you sought out your next high.” You spat, glaring at someone you’d never expected to hurt you. You didn’t notice your hands grabbing your possessions nor opening the hotel room door, “You couldn’t even properly try to get clean.”
“Y/N-”
“Get your shit together before you kill anyone else. I never want to see you again.” You sobbed with regret already festering in your body, but pride held you back from apologizing.
Upon your return to your dorm with Dottie by your side, you immediately began the process to enter an exchange program. Within a month, your feet entered Sydney Airport. You didn’t return to America for several years.
You took a job as a casual lifeguard on Bondi Beach, met Lucas in a meet-cute situation at the grocery store. You graduated college and found a job as a paramedic as you began becoming a flight paramedic. In 2020 Lucas and you discovered you’d be bringing in a little baby into the world.
Learning about your little Cashew growing safe in your womb fanned the flame of desire to reconcile. Ultimately the pride kept pushing the urge to apologize for the cruel words you told your father further away. You naively believed you had all the time in the world.
Remember the six-letter scary word? If losing your mom, siblings, and father was a devastating blow, losing Lucas was nearly tied. Your little Cashew lost their father before they even got to meet him. That was push enough to pack up your home and fly back to America with your father’s new address as soon as you could.
In the fallout of the apartment fire, your father relocated from Minnesota to Los Angeles.
Los Angeles, 2020
As soon as you’d found the nicest but cheapest hotel to stay in until you found a place, you walked the streets of LA. The first order of business of approaching your father at his workplace as you had no personal address. Residing still in Minnesota, Deputy Chief Evans had only given you the address of Bobby’s work.
You could only hope Bobby wouldn’t turn you away. That he was willing to bridge the gap, you’d widened over the years. That he could forgive the silence to each email, he sent when you changed numbers.
“We should go out to dinner.” The female voice was what brought you back to the present time. The woman was beautiful with her buzzed head and clear skin.
Right by her side was a dark-haired male of Asian ethnicity with a bag thrown over his shoulder, “If you’re paying, you bet I’ll be there.”
The two continued to converse in their own world until the man had to literally dodge you when they finally noticed you.
“Does Chief Bobby Nash work here?” You inquired, having no desire to enter small talk when the baby was sitting on your bladder again. You nearly retched when the man stared down at your swollen midsection, shocked, “It’s not his baby.”
Hen caught the evident disgust on your face, “He’s in his office. I’ll guide you there…”
“Y/N.” You supplied the firefighter. Hen smiled in response, “And your name is…”
“Henrietta Wilson, but you can call me Hen. That was Howard Han. He goes by Chimney, and I’ve been sworn to secrecy on the name.” Hen chuckled in her steps to the closed door of the fire chief. Hen swiftly knocked on the door to give Bobby a heads up.
“Come in!” Bobby called from his pile of paperwork he had pushed and waited to work on. It had slipped as the date came closer. Your twenty-seventh birthday, the seventh one since he last saw you.
“Cap, a woman is asking for you,” Hen told her friend and boss. It’s a good thing you didn’t choose to surprise your father because Hen was shorted, and your bump made manoeuvring around tricky.
“What can I do…” Bobby trailed off when he saw the girl waiting to talk to him. The pen in his hand dropped to the table in shock.
Hen glanced between the two equally taken aback individuals, “Am I missing something here?”
“Hey, dad.” You whispered to the man who’d been dreaming of this moment since the minute you left. He’d searched for you at your previous college and nearly made a missing person report.
“Dad?” Hen couldn’t pick her jaw up from the floor if she even wanted to because this was juicy information. Sure, Bobby had caved into telling his team, his family that he’d lost his wife and two children in a fire.
He rarely talked about his life before the 118, but he’d never mentioned having a surviving daughter. Not in the handful of times he’d talked about the tragedy, nor did he have any objects or photos of you.
“You’re really here?” Bobby lightly chuckled with a twinkle in his eye. Hen had only seen a handful of times. All of them had Athena in the scene, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” You beamed, stepping closer to the man you’d missed dearly, “I’m so sorry for the way I left. What I said was cruel and untrue. You aren’t selfish, and I can’t blame you for something you couldn’t control.”
Bobby grinned. He’d stepped around his desk only to halt when he took in an undeniable development—the baby bump you carried.
“Is-”
“I’m pregnant. Six months along with a baby girl.” You laughed to the apparent disbelief in your father’s light brown eyes. His gaze continued to shift between the bump and your e/c eyes.
“Wow. Sorry, this is...wow.”
“She’s one of the reasons I wanted to come back. To fix our relationship because I want her to know her grandpa. You’re the only grandparent Poppy will know.” Bobby was quick to tug you into his arms as soon as the first tear dropped down your cheek.
There was so much you wanted to tell your father, but that overwhelming grief rose higher. You’d left Australia where Lucas laid in a plot in a cemetery. You left the friends you’d found in the city. Left the lifeguard job you’d come to love.
“Where are you and your partner staying?”
“He...uh...Lucas passed away recently.”
The arms holding you tightened in response to your confession, “Oh sweetheart.”
“I didn’t know where else to go. I can’t stay in the home we bought. Not the place he died when I couldn’t save him.”
“I don’t know what happened, but it wasn’-”
“Don’t coddle me. I was...am a paramedic. A flight paramedic, to be specific, so I know that my hesitation could be the reason he died.”
Your career took the father by complete and utter surprise because you’d always planned on a different job. Before the fire that claimed so many lives, you’d never entertained a career in the emergency field.
“We have a lot to catch up on. First, you need to know that I’ll always love your mother no matter what, but you need to know. I met someone when I first moved here, and we were friends at first. She divorced her husband. We started dating...sweetheart, I remarried.”
A wave of emotions flared in your chest, from betrayal to sadness and ultimately happiness. Having lost your first love, you understood and knew if love came around for you, you wouldn’t ignore it. Lucas wouldn’t want that.
“I can’t wait to meet her.”
Re-entering into Bobby’s new life was a difficult adjustment for everyone included. Tension had risen between Athena and Bobby for a brief period. Athena hadn’t even been aware of your existence, but she could fault Bobby. Athena had even told her first husband about her late fiance Emmett when they were still together.
It was difficult for you with the new addition of two step-siblings in the same birth order as Brook and Bobby had been. The Grant siblings had welcomed you into the family without any reservations.
“Did you ever get to fly the chopper?” Harry asked as he scrubbed the dirty dish from the Sunday family dinner.
It was the first dinner that had no awkward tension since you arrived back in the country. Athena had taken a bit to warm up, but it was nothing personal. She’d actually been the one to find you you’d been staying at a hotel. Mama Athena did not like her pregnant step-daughter living at a hotel. She’d actually stormed your room with Hen and Karen as back up to pack your room and leave for the Grant-Nash house.
“No. I had to help keep the patients alive. If I’m telling the truth...sometimes I didn’t even notice I was in the air.” You whispered to your stepbrother. He was just invested in your career as he had been when Bobby first entered their lives.
“That is so cool!” Harry enthused with soap suds splashing your thin knitted sweater. Harry’s mouth formed an ‘o’ when you flicked water onto his face in retaliation.
“Do you know Bondi Beach in Australia?” You inquired the youth with the chore of dishes completed.
“Yeah! There’s a tv show called Bondi Rescue! I watch the clips on YouTube!” Harry exclaimed, hot on your heels to the couch. Out of May and Harry, he followed you around with questions about your life in Australia.
“I was a casual lifeguard. I’m not featured on that show, but I would get called in when a lifeguard was needed. It paired well with my job as a flight paramedic.” You half-smiled, remembering the Bondi lifeguards who had welcomed you into the family. You became one of them when they started pranking you.
“Did you ever see a shark-”
“Harry, go brush your teeth. Leave Y/N alone.” Athena informed her youngest from the open patio doors. Your father, Athena and May had been outside as soon as the table had been cleared.
“But-”
“Harry,” Athena warned the youngest Grant. Harry didn’t attempt to argue with his stern mother; all he did was hug you quickly. You watched the young boy disappear into the hallway.
“He reminds you of your little brother?” Athena questioned. In your time of reminiscing, the older woman had settled in Harry’s previous position.
“A little.” You whispered, “Thank you for welcoming me into the family. For making my dad happy.”
“You know I may have some baby clothes put away if you’d like to use them?” Athena offered with that smile that made you feel at home. Athena was far different from your late mother, with her presence commanding respect and intelligence. Your mom was similar, but I suppose it could be described as a softer touch.
“Anyway, saving a penny is appreciated. I have a question for you also.” You hesitantly started with a bundle of nerves deep in your belly. Athena turned to give you her full attention.
“Well? Out with it.” Athena pushed, but she had a slight feeling of what you were about to ask her.
“My mom was one the strongest women I know. It hurts that my baby won’t get to experience her love and guidance, and you can say no. We’ve only known each other a short time, but would you consider...maybe being a grandma to my baby?”
Giddy was the feeling Athena developed along with the laughing smile that only came from happiness. The woman could only nod her head in response to your hesitant question. To Athena’s knowledge but not yours, Bobby was softly smiling, watching his formerly estranged daughter getting along with your stepmom.
“Oh!” You gasped as your baby kicked hard enough for her foot imprint to be seen through your knitted sweater.
Bobby was by your side in concern the second he heard your startled sound, but Athena wasn’t that concerned. Athena remembered having the same reaction.
“Are you okay?” Bobby frantically questioned. He faltered when the woman shared a belly-deep laugh at the sheer fear written in the seasoned firefighter’s eyes.
“Poppy was kicking.” You chuckled as your father’s shoulders dropped in relief, “Here.”
Your nimble fingers clasped around your father’s wrist to bring his palm to the spot Poppy was kicking. A certain lightness flooded your entire body, being capable of sharing this experience with Bobby. Watching tears well up in the grandpa to be’s brown eyes.
“Whoa.” Bobby breathlessly spoke as Poppy kicked against his palm. The feeling building in his was exhilarating with the small amount of grief mixed in, “I remember when your mom was pregnant with you. We didn’t know if we were having a girl or boy, but she was adamant you would be a kickboxer. So active.”
Athena watched as the relationship between father and daughter started healing directly in front of her eyes. The Sergeant was about to give you two some privacy when you caught her hand in your free one.
“Here.” You informed the older woman shifting to place her hand where your father’s hand had previously been. Your e/c eyes sought the wonder-filled different shades of brown eyes the couple had.
“You should get some sleep,” Athena spoke, staring at her hand resting on your bump. Her dark chocolate brown rising to find your gaze, “You won’t be getting a lot once she arrives.”
Bobby and Athena watched as you turned the corner to the spare room Athena’s parents used when they visited. For the time being, you’ve moved into the room, and the Grant-Nash house hoped you would stay. May had always wanted a sister, and Harry loved all the stories you told about Australia.
“You know, at some point, you’ll have to talk to her.”
“I just was-’
“-without anyone else being the buffer. Bobby, both your lives is evidence enough that some things are too trivial to stress over.” Athena pinned her stern gaze on her husband. The same husband is actively trying to avoid her penetrating gaze.
“What I did-’
“Is in the past, Bobby. You have a second chance with that wonderful woman in that bedroom and our grandchild. Now, are you sure that having the party at the firehouse is okay?”
A hand supported the base of your back where an ache tended to stay for most of the day. That ache wasn’t the worst symptom of your pregnancy. You had heartburn constantly that tied with unfortunate constipation that had thankfully lessened. Your purse always had a cardigan for the hot flashes as well.
“Perfect! May has my car, and Bobby needed that.” Athena beamed from the open bay of the 118. One of the firefighters, Eddie, if you recalled, snagged your purse and the specific ingredient for a recipe.
“You could have borrowed Bobby’s-”
“His vehicle is in the shop Buck.” Athena interrupted the only member of the 118 you had let to officially meet.
Now there were two suspects of the sudden shortness of breath you started experiencing. It could be Poppy in the limited space in your body or the handsome firefighter. Buck had to be hands down none of the most attractive men you’d ever encountered. His dark blonde hair had minimal height, but the soft waves made your fingers itch to feel it. His ocean blue eyes crinkled at the corners with mirth.
“Ah, so you’re flesh and blood of Cap?” Buck questioned from in front of you. His blue eyes centred solely on you, with half a mind thanking himself that he could navigate the station blindfolded in the dark.
“For the last twenty-seven years, I have been.” You retorted, stopping at the edge of the stairs to the apparatus. Your keen sense of smell catching one of your favourite meals your father had dug up from the recipes he hadn’t used in years.
A zing of electricity trailed off your arm when a calloused palm met yours. Your e/c eyes followed the path of tan skin until it reached the shirt sleeve of Buck’s t-shirt. The shirt emblazoned on the chest with the department’s insignia. The man in the casual uniform guided you safely up the stairs with his hand on your back.
The pressure of Buck’s hand on your aching back muscle nearly brought what would be an embarrassing moan from your lips. Thankfully a gasp of surprise fell out instead at the banner hanging with other decorations.
“What?” You choked, cupping your hands to your face. Pure unadulterated shock and affection flooded every inch of you.
The entire 118 squad intermixed with their loved ones surrounded the open area with grins. On a table behind everyone was many wrapped gifts. But the cake was the most impressive.
A large rectangular cake in the realistic shape of a fire engine parked in front of a fire hydrant with a fondant hose going to the truck. On top of the fire truck was the turnout boots next to the matching helmet, the 118 proudly on it. You adored the turnout coat draping off the top to hang off the side.
“If you look at the helmet, it says Poppy.” Buck enthused, guiding you even closer to catch the immaculate cake, “It has to be the best cake we’ve gotten from them.”
“Hey, my rebar head cake was phenomenal!” Chimney called with a belying grin on his face. His hand encased by a brunette woman about his height with her heels on.
“It’s a long story.” Buck offered as soon as you gave him a weird questioning look, “Let me introduce you to everyone!”
For the next five minutes, you spend it by meeting the family of 118, including Eddie’s completely adorable son. Christopher was happy to sit next to you as soon as Harry had found you. Slowly the others came closer to hear the stories.
“What’re the most common injuries on the beach?” Denny, Hen and Karen’s ten-year-old son questioned.
“Bluebottle Jellyfish stings. On one day, we had hundreds of people come to the tower for stings, and the treatment for the minor ones is stingose spray and ice.”
“My question is how a girl from Minnesota is a lifeguard in Australia. Especially on Sydney’s most dangerous beach.” Chimney inserted, waving his bottle of pop at you, his eyes kept moving towards the wine Maddie brought.
Unfortunately, the 118 wouldn’t be celebrating with the wine until their shifts ended in a few short hours. It was a damn miracle they hadn’t been called out yet.
“This former Minnesotan spent summers at my best friend’s parents’ place in Cali as a lifeguard. Also, Bondi is not the most dangerous beach in Sydney. That’s Tamarama.” You pointed towards the man who raised his hands in surrender.
“Have you ever seen a dead body?” Harry asked, bringing a sobering silence in the question’s wake.
Your body language changed as soon as he asked, “Unfortunately, I’ve seen death as a paramedic and as a lifeguard.”
“You’re a paramedic? I thought you were just a lifeguard?” Buck asked, interested in the new information. Buck could feel his Captain’s eyes on the back of his head; he was sure Bobby could smell the attraction on Buck.
“Casual lifeguard. Called when needed as a backup.” You turned your e/c eyes towards the arguably youngest member of the 118.
“How many dead-”
“Harry.” Athena warned her son from continuing a topic that killed the ease and happiness you’d shown previously, “Why don’t we stop talking about-”
“Too many, Harry.” You interrupted your stepmom with a gentle smile towards the woman, “It’s not just drowning that claims lives but also the cliffs surrounding the beaches. Lifeguards patrol more than the beaches and water. Lifeguards respond to medical emergencies, mostly spinal until the paramedics arrive.”
“Oh-”
“I had a fellow lifeguard leave the job because of the suicides we deal with.”
“...who wants cake?” Karen used the quiet interlude of the much too serious topic for a group of kids barely in the double digits of ages. All referenced children followed Hen’s life to the beautiful baked creation.
“Sorry for getting dark there.”
“We all know the dark side of the jobs we chose to do. You sound like you miss Australia. Are you going to return there?” Eddie questioned with one eye pinned on his son, consuming more sugar than he wished.
Eddie’s question did raise self-doubt, but you knew that ultimately living in Australia was no longer a viable option.
“There’s nothing there for me.”
Eddie, Buck and your father understood that mentality to a ‘t’ with family complications keeping them away. Your father for obvious reasons, whereas Eddie and Buck each had a living family with opinions only they saw right.
“You’re always welcome here. Especially when you bring that little cutie to the firehouse.” Maddie cooed towards your baby bump. The 911 dispatcher had asked many questions about your pregnancy.
Maddie was the type of person who could make a stranger feel like they had known for their entire lives.
“Here.”
A plate of the cake was thrust in front of your face courtesy of Maddie’s brother Buck. It is quite literally the perfect size you could ask for. In his other hand, he had a new bottle of water waiting for you to grab.
“Thank you, Buck.” Your shock must have shown in your voice when his cheeks flushed.
“This whole party is a celebration for you, so you shouldn’t have to get up...unless you want to!” Buck rushed to respond, getting more flustered with the amused look of his older sister on him, “You’re already doing something absolutely amazing, so you should get to rela-”
“Buck!” You laughed, ending the older man’s rambling thoughts. The entire party attendees had started watching Buck’s failed smooth attempt.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
Buck mutely nodded in response, “No prob-”
The bell was the one to interrupt him instead. The on-duty firefighters rushed down from the upper levels to the lockers. The swift suiting up impressed you as it was like you blinked, and the bay was empty.
“Should be the last call before they get off shift.” Maddie, still occupied with the cake she was eating, “That wine looks so good!”
Your attention snapped from the vacant spots the 118 vehicles parked to the woman ploughing down on the cake. Sure it was good, but not that good. Maybe you could tell as a pregnant woman, or perhaps you just caught some of the symptoms you felt.
“How far along are you?”
Maddie froze, “What are you talk-”
“You’re pregnant, right?”
“Don’t tell anyone. Chim and I found out recently, but we want to wait on telling people. Once the first trimester is over, everyone can know.” Maddie pleaded with two hands cupped under her chin in a prayer position. The pretty brunette using the puppy dog eyes on the new friend she’d made.
“You should tell Buck-”
“We will once we enter the safe zone. So tell me about your baby’s father.” Maddie swiftly changed the subject, unaware of the ache developing in your midsection.
“Lucas Gowan.” You mussed, recalling the freckled half Australian half Scots man with the thick red locks.
“Ooh, is he still in Australia?”
“Technically, he is. I met him at the grocery store near the university campus. I’d transferred to escape my grief. It was purely an attraction at first sight before developing into love at first sight. We convocated and moved into a cosy little place. We’d only just found out about the baby when Lucas passed away.”
As you told Maddie, your hand had moved to cradle the only remaining piece of Lucas.
“His death was unexpected and sudden. He’d taken a run the morning of our scan to find out baby Gowan’s gender. He fell off the side of the cliff. I was told he died instantly. The investigator believes his shoelace untied, and he stepped on it. Fell right off the side.”
“I’m so sorry.” Maddie breathed, leaning closer to hold your hands in her own, “He’d be so proud of you. For returning to the states. Do you keep in contact with his family?”
“He was an only child. Parents died in a car accident when he was ten years old. He was in foster care until he aged out of the system. Poppy is named after his mom.”
Maddie instinctively knew talking about Lucas was, “You know you get along pretty well with Buck... I’ve never seen him so flustered.”
“Maddie, I can tell you are a very intelligent woman, but you’re wrong here. Why would a guy like Buck be interested in a pregnant woman with a reconciling relationship with her father and his Captain while grieving her baby’s dad?”
Maddie tilted her head to the side, “Because I know my brother. He’s only ever had that look when I first moved to LA. Back when Abby was still important to him.”
“We’ll just have to agree to disagree.”
Maddie’s mouth opened to speak, but you were saved by the bell when Athena called you over for pictures. Then her attempts got thwarted once more when the 118 returned to the house perfectly synced to the end of shift.
“Driving here was the last time until the baby’s here. You’ve got precious cargo-”
“I’m seven months pregnant; I can still drive. There’s no law saying I can’t-”
Never argue with Athena Grant-Nash, “It may not be illegal, but I won’t endanger my daughter or my granddaughter.”
“I have to get to my OB/GYN appointment tomorrow. You and Dad each have a long shift during my scheduled appointment. Harry is both too young to drive and in school. May has a shift at dispatch. There’s literally no one available to take me.”
Bobby watched as two of the most important women in his life argued over something as trivial as driving. Harry shook at listening to someone fighting against his mother; she could be terrifying.
“I can take her.”
Everyone in the fir house turned to the voice who’d offered suddenly and found the sheepish form of a tall firefighter. Eddie’s eyebrows raised at his best friend.
“I don’t work tomorrow. I’ve got no plans. Albert’s got some date with a girl at her place.”
“I couldn’t put you out.”
“You need a ride, and I’ll be bored, so why not take my new friend to her baby doctor.”
“Baby doctor?” Hen parroted to her wife in astonishment towards her coworker and close friend. Both the women found the blatant flirting from Buck to the soon to be mother.
“She’ll take you up on the offer. She’s staying in our guest room. Come early for breakfast before you go. We’ll be having waffles.”
Buck found any excuse to visit the Grant-Nash home with the motive to hang out with you ever since the baby shower. From delivering baked goods from your favourite bakery to insisting on driving you to appointments. Didn’t matter if Athena or Bobby could take you; Buck was adamant he drove you.
The friendship was easy going and very natural, like a ball glove still moulded perfectly to your hand. The hangouts in your home evolved to weekly visits to restaurants with guidelines to the current event happening worldwide.
Ultimately it even led to a test date.
“You look breathtaking.” Buck breathlessly informed you once he’d gently pushed your chair closer to the table.
“Thank you.” You kindly responded despite thinking the complete opposite to the charming man sitting across from you.
Athena and May had helped you get ready for the date with calming words on how going on a date so far into the pregnancy was okay. Then, your father had tentatively inserted himself with sage advice on re-entering the dating scene.
“I thought we could grab some ice cream after,” Buck spoke up as soon as the waiter had taken your drink order. Buck had decided to refrain from alcohol and went with glasses of lemonade and water.
“You shouldn’t say that. I’ll just want ice cream.” You snickered, caressing the taut belly you’d grown to love. In fact, the firm push of a heel announced Poppy’s agreement with ice cream as dessert.
“How is Poppy?”
“The doc says she’s right on track. Healthy all around and in the position, she’s supposed to be at this stage.” Buck adored the affectionate smile that always appeared when the topic of your pregnancy was brought up.
“That’s amazing! Bobby gushes about you and Poppy. The fridge has an entire door dedicated to sonograms of Poppy. Even a few from that maternity shoot Hen and Maddie surprised you with.”
A few weeks had passed since the baby shower the 118 had surprised you with. Maddie had announced her pregnancy to the joy of the chosen family she had. Bobby had put together a crib he had painted. Michael, Athena’s ex-husband, had started making plans for adding on to the house for a room for the baby.
Despite informing the architect, you planned on moving out when you had saved enough, he’d made a sound argument. Athena would want a place for the baby to stay when you visited, or the woman demanded to babysit.
Now you found yourself in a National forest not far from Los Angeles, posing in front of nature. A surprise photoshoot Hen and Karen had organized with Karen’s brother Trey. Maddie and Athena had been the ones who drove you.
“Hold the teddy bear on your bump,” Trey informed you from behind his professional and intimidating camera. The photographer praised you in the rapid movement to listen to his offer.
“Hey! Maddie! You should take a few photos. I need a pee break.” You didn’t wait for Maddie to respond in your rush to the somewhat rustic bathroom hut.
By the time you returned, Maddie was taking a couple pictures. Then you took some with Athena to have on the nursery walls and for Bobby to have a photo for his desk.
“Now one with all three of you.”
Present
“So a daredevil.” You stated unsurprised that the firefighter had a history of recklessness. You don’t go into firefighting without a taste for danger.
“The bruises and blood fit better than the awful bleached hair during my time in Peru.” Buck laughed, recalling the questionable choice in his fashion pre-firefighting. Sometimes he missed the people he encountered in his period of self-discovery.
“You didn’t wear puka sh-”
“I did. Bleached hair, puka shells and Hawaiian shirts were my staples during my bartending years. I fit in with the aesthetic of the bar I tended.”
“Buck!” You nearly gasped at his raw honesty. Buck didn’t hold back any answers to your questions, but you each strayed from the topic of family.
Talking about the tragic family history wasn’t a good idea on the first time regardless of the time you’d known each other.
“You’re telling me-” Buck halted as soon as he caught the flash of discomfort flicker over your beautiful features, “Are you okay?”
“She shifted. Been sitting on my blad-” You cut yourself off with a hiss of pain. Buck’s eyes widened at the pain taking over your features, “Oh, that hurt.”
Buck went straight into work mode, “Have you been in pain for long?”
“No. A few cramps here and there today, but my doctor said it was nothing to worry about.” You informed the experienced first responder resting level to your knees.
Buck didn’t want to say it, but he was sure that you’d gone into early labour. There was no indication your water had broken, but he kept over the last hour together. Every once in a while, you shifted or pressed a hand to your bump.
“Has your water broken?”
You shook your head, “No, but...oh... that’s not a cramp.”
With that statement out, you clenched your fingers tight on the edge of the table as pain rippled in your belly. A contraction that stole your breath momentarily. In your contraction, Buck had dialled 911. Buck recalled that sometimes a woman’s water doesn't break until right before the birth.
“We’re not getting that ice cream, are we?” You snorted upon being lifted onto the gurney. How fortunate or unfortunate you were to have the 118 right there.
Hen had taken a position at your feet to check on your lower body while Chimney took your vital signs. You honestly didn’t like the look Hen and Chimney shared with Buck.
“What is it?”
“We’re gonna need to deliver here.” Hen sighed, giving you the facts that terrified you. When you envisioned having the baby, it was in a medical centre. Not in a restaurant.
“My office is large and away from the crowd if you want. I can show you the way.” Sophie, the restaurant manager, offered already starting to lead the way. Sophie would never know how thankful you felt for being able to have privacy.
“Okay, Y/N, is it okay if I check how dilated you -.” Hen breathed with her hand, gently disappearing until the thin blanket Chimney procured from the stocked ambulance, “Y/N when I saw I want you to do that.”
Hen didn’t need to check your dilation when she could see the baby’s head already.
“I’m right here.” Buck cooed in your ear. He had held your hand as his coworkers did their jobs around you.
“This isn’t the way I envisioned you seeing my pu-”
“Push.” Hen urged, cutting off your almost vulgar language, but it eased the tension in the small restaurant office. You couldn’t even see Buck’s flustered reaction as you bore down with the contraction, “Good! Take a breath.”
“You’re a strong woman. It never ceases to amaze me the strength women have.” Buck spoke, keeping your e/c eyes on his blue ones. His hand raised to push a strand of your sweaty hair off your temple.
“Once more push!” Hen called out just in time with the last contraction. The feeling of the pressure between your legs popping was moan inducing.
Poppy was silent. Your entire body froze, yearning for the sweet sound of crying instead of the eerie silence. The world stood still as Chimney worked on your baby girl.
“Pulse is strong,” Chimney announced, keeping his attention on the task of clearing Poppy’s throat and nose. And that sweet sound of crying commenced, “Congratulations Y/N, you have a beautiful baby girl. Let’s get you to the hospital.”
Your father beat the ambulance to the nearest ER in pure anticipation at meeting his granddaughter Poppy Nash Gowan. He barely noticed as Buck stuck to your side like glue. Bobby waited outside the door as you got checked over in the room.
“Quite the first date.” You mused towards Buck, who hovered in awe over the life form you had carried for nine months. You’d been pregnant for three quarters of an entire year to his fascination.
“All my meaningful relationships started with a medical emergency.” Buck finally looked up at you. He’d kept Poppy company in the bassinet while you delivered the afterbirth upon entering the hospital.
“Seriously?”
“Had a tracheostomy on Valentine’s Day with Abby, an earthquake with Ali and a newscaster in a crashed helicopter.” Buck listed off. He hadn’t even noticed scooping the newborn into his arms until he’d sat in the chair by your bed, “Why not add a sudden labour and delivery.”
“He would have liked you.”
The sentence came out of absolutely nowhere. Almost like something had ripped it out of your vocal cords. At the look of confusion, you elaborated.
“Lucas. He would have liked you. I think if it is possible, he might have pushed me into meeting you. I’ll still need to take it slow, but I’d like to give this a shot.”
That was all Buck needed to lean in closer to kiss you—the first of many kisses.
Some might disagree on how quick your relationship with Buck developed, but they didn’t know yours at all. It was natural with the firefighter who stepped into the role of father figure for a growing Poppy. By the time Poppy was one, you’d moved into a house not far from your father’s place with Buck. By the time Poppy was three, a pretty ring had sat on your finger. By five, the young girl had a baby brother.
“Your parents spoil Poppy.”
“You say that like you didn’t crawl into her crib during her afternoon naps.” You deadpanned towards your husband. Buck had the nerve to sheepishly grin, “You give in each time she says ‘pwetty pwease’ for a cookie.”
“It’s a crime to make her sad!” Buck defended himself, but a grin of amusement threatened his act, “Besides, you crack each time too!”
“Mhm. Just wait until Theo can talk.” You pressed a kiss to the sleeping infant strapped into the baby carrier. Theodore Robert Buckley could fall asleep in a thunderstorm if he was in Buck’s arms.
“Oh! Maddie wants to have Poppy over for a play date. Madster’s been begging for her cousin to have a sleepover.”
Maddie and Chimney’s daughter was only a few months younger than your daughter, but the two were thick as thieves. Buck had referred to the Han daughter as Madster with how similar her mannerisms were to her mother.
“Think they’d take the rascal?”
“Is this code for you wanting to have another?” Buck questioned with a twinkle of mischief in his blue eyes. The same blue Theo had inherited along with a birthmark like Buck’s on his bicep.
“I-” You choked, blinking furiously, “Evan, I pushed Theo out of my body barely three months ago!”
Buck inconspicuously winked in response with the sudden scream of excitement coming from Poppy. The rambunctious five-year-old ploughed into Buck’s legs full force. Falling into the practised ease, you’d unstrapped Theo from Buck’s chest and promptly had his tiny body stolen into his grandpa’s arms.
“There’s my boy.” Bobby cooed to the sleep drunk tiny infant. The little baby is crowded by his Gram Athena and Aunt May, “Gonna have to get you a Minnesota Wilds jersey.”
“Hell no. That boy is LA born and bred. He’ll be wearing a Kings jersey like the civilized.” Michael announced with the sudden arrival of Theo and Poppy’s Uncle Harry.
“Mommy? When are we going to Stralia?” Poppy inquired from right beside your leg. Her tiny handheld is the giant one of her dad.
“In a few weeks. Are you excited to see the mommy’s old friends again?”
“Hm. Can we see Dada?”
Buck may be Poppy’s father, but he’d never let Poppy go without knowing she had two fathers in all. Her first one waiting to meet here decades from the time she was born and solely referenced Lucas as Dada. Buck was grateful for the man who brought Poppy into existence; the little green-eyed tot Buck could never regret. Unlike Buck’s parents keeping his older brother’s existence a secret, the firefighter refused to follow in their footsteps. He’d continue to shower the late Lucas in gratitude and respect. He refused to make the same mistakes as Phillip and Margaret Buckley.
“Of course. C’mon Poppy, time to say goodbye.” Buck guided the little girl to the extended family showering her little brother with love. The little girl was quickly swung into Bobby’s arms, and Athena cooing at your infant son.
Changes. The six-letter word doesn’t have to be terrifying. It can be breathtaking, memorable and beautiful to experience.
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New Year, New Adventures
Book: Open Heart
Pairing: Sienna Trinh x Max Valentine (M!OC)
Format: Moodboard and headcanon
Rating: Teen
A/N: Here’s the New Year template for Maxenna, my fluff couple. I posted the one for Ethan and Cassie earlier here.
Submission for @choicesdecemberchallenge2021, prompt day 31, New Year.
The timeline for this headcanon is the same as Cassie and Ethan in Auld Lang Syne.
Max and Sienna welcomed their second child, Isabelle, in November and are still on parental leave.
As a newborn, Isabelle cannot fly yet, and they didn’t want to drive to Newport. So, they spent the holiday season at home in Georgetown.
They have a lot to celebrate in the last two weeks of December: their wedding anniversary, Christmas, Noah’s birthday, and then New Year’s Eve.
They hosted a small New Year’s Eve party for close friends and kept it fairly casual. Their apartment overlooks the Potomac, so they watched the fireworks on the river from the second-floor terrace.
The past year was memorable as they decided to grow their family. Sienna got pregnant early in the year after a short weekend trip to their home in St. Thomas. Winter was particularly harsh at home, and they wanted some time in the sun.
Sienna wants a big family and Max was on the fence because of her health issues after the last one. While it wasn’t completely planned, they did discuss having another kid during Christmas and knew they would be expanding their family soon.
During the year, they juggled demands from their busy jobs, raising their son, monitoring her pregnancy for any thyroid issues, and getting ready for the new arrival.
They were excited to learn that they were having a girl. Thank you to @dorisz for the lovely manip of Max and Sienna with their newborn daughter.
Max always tries to see his grandparents a few times in the year; he knows they won’t be around forever. While Sienna and Isabelle couldn’t travel, he did take Noah to see them for a weekend before the holidays. It snowed and he captured a picture of his son trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue.
They’re excited about the new year and their new adventures in raising their young family. Having two kids that close together means it’ll never be quiet, but they love it.
Before the next year is out, they will add a puppy to the mix.
During the second half of her pregnancy, Sienna switched to working part-time. During that time, she started posting Cooking 101 type videos on YouTube and quickly grew a huge following, especially among young moms, who love how easy she makes it and that she focuses on nutrition.
Sienna doesn’t want to work full-time as a doctor as she wants to spend more time with her family. So, her plan is to continue working part-time in private practice while also doing her YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Max is excited about implementing the digital experience initiatives he’s spearheading through his start-up at The Hudson Group’s hotel properties.
He also wants Noah to know the family legacy, so he’s excited to share it all with his son, even if he’s still a bit too young to understand it all.
As busy as their lives are, they realized during this past year that they need to make time for fun as a couple. While their family is important to them, their relationship is stronger when they also have just “me and you” time for Max and Si.
These two beans love to socialize, host parties and have fun. In this, they’ve always been aligned.
Max does prefer scotch/whiskey, but he also likes champagne when the occasion calls for it. They’re both the kind to adjust based on the situation – casual, fancy, in-between. They don’t have strong preferences, just that it’s right for the occasion.
He prefers life to be full of extraordinary experiences like ringing in the New Year at Times Square (or heading to Sydney one year), while Sienna is more of a homebody. They compromise though and mix it up over the years.
They would both prefer to be the one hosting a New Year’s Eve party than attending one. Fireworks and kissing at midnight? They’re all for it.
Perma-tags: @jamespotterthefirst @genevievemd @forallthatitsworth @queencarb @openheartfan @danijimenezv @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @schnitzelbutterfingers @mainstreetreader @tsrookie @bex-la-get @chaoticchopshopheart @headoverheelsforramsey @thegreentwin @dorisz @custaroonie @takemyopenheart @jerzwriter @mm2305 @a-crepusculo @rosebudde @lucy-268 @crazy-loca-blog @writer-ish @wanderingamongthewildflowers @trappedinfanfiction @rookiemartin @anonymousrookie @natureblooms24 @cokesbetterthanpepsi @coffeeheartaddict2 @happiness21 @mysticalgalaxysstuff
@openheartheadcanons
Max & Sienna only: @gryffindordaughterofathena @utterlyinevitable
#sienna trinh#choicesdecember2021#sienna trinh x oc#open heart choices#choices open heart#sienna trinh x max valentine
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the many lies of kanzaki hitomi to her long-suffering best friend uchida yukari
summary: when hitomi is on time to their weekend coffee time, yukari knows something is up.
notes: because I utterly adore escaflowne in ways that I don’t know if I can truly describe, and the wonderful @wuzzyletoastermac recently finished the show, I couldn’t not attempt a post-series write-up about...the best friend who’s only in four episodes. (I just love van and hitomi so much). G, hitomi and yukari friendship, van/hitomi mention. 1450 words.
---
Yukari knows it’s something big when Hitomi makes time to meet for coffee on a Saturday. Normally, Hitomi—best friend since forever, national track star at the age of 18, certified social worker, truly wonderful person, etc. etc.—is off with her long-distance boyfriend, or coaching track, or coaching track with her long-distance boyfriend looking pleasantly befuddled at the whole proceedings. On a rare occasion, she’ll ask Yukari for help getting Van into what can politely be termed “normal people clothes,” and Yukari can spend most of the afternoon puzzling over Van’s absolutely bizarre accent and failing to get either of them to tell her where exactly in Greece she can find someone as hot as Van Fanel.
Hitomi swears up and down that they started dating while she was doing a study abroad in Australia her second year of uni, but that doesn’t explain why the poor man 1: doesn’t speak English at least on par with an average high schooler’s cram school classes, and 2: doesn’t own a single pair of jeans not currently in residence in Hitomi’s closet. The Greeks aren’t that weird. Besides, half of Yukari’s architecture clients are based in America. She knows weird. And even by those standards, Van is weird.
Not to mention there’s some nagging part of Yukari’s brain that seems to recognize Van. It’s bothered her since they first met, and the last three years have done nothing to assuage that feeling. How silly to believe that they met in a dream or a vision. That is certainly more Hitomi’s realm.
But he loves Hitomi. It’s impossible to unsee that deep unending well of affection in his dark eyes, the soft smile that makes him look ages younger whenever she’s around, how patient he is even when she’s determined to find the perfect sweater for a job interview or the exact right cafe she claims was there the last time she was in this part of Asakusa. Occasionally, he’ll even catch her before she wanders too far afield, hand tight on her wrist in a way that speaks both to his own nerves wandering around in a crowded city (again, Hitomi went to uni in Sydney, why is Tokyo that much different) and to the way Hitomi turns back to him like a flower blooming in sunshine, all blushing cheeks and bright smile and alive in ways Yukari only wishes she could feel.
So Yukari’s a little jealous. It’s hard not to be. If it weren’t for the occasional argument blowing Hitomi’s temper sky high and Van’s own anger coming out in blistering tension, or the way that Hitomi will sometimes spend more time complaining about the weekend she’d had with him than bothering to answer any of Yukari’s questions about where exactly they’d met up, she’d worry that Van actually was perfect.
Okay well, no one she has to force into jeans against their will is perfect. Especially someone who looks like that.
So Yukari has kindly deigned to meet with her best friend at their favorite cafe on a beautiful Saturday morning, despite everything (Hitomi’s boyfriend and Yukari’s desire to sleep until 3pm respectively). Something’s off.
And when she rounds the corner at 10am on the dot, Kanzaki Hitomi is already there sipping a latte with Yukari’s favorite sitting there, still steaming. Hitomi is never on time. For anything. Ever. If she is, it’s because of her long legs and bizarre luck.
Something is definitely off.
“Yukari! I got you coffee,” she says, bright guileless grin on her face.
Yukari sits and sips. Sweet, caffeinated bliss. She almost forgives Hitomi the hour.
Not enough to loosen her suspicions, though. “Hitomi, what are you up to?” she says once her brain is active.
“Ah, well.” Hitomi casually brushes non-existent lint off her jacket sleeves. “I wanted to tell you something.”
“Is it about Van?” When her best friend’s face turns a bright pink, Yukari’s eyebrows rise. “Is he moving here?”
Head shake no. Hm.
“Did he finally take his jeans home?”
Deeper flush.
“Are you pregnant?”
“Yukari!” Hitomi screeches, face luminescent and voice far too loud for the little cafe. A few of the other patrons, including some who clearly have had as much sleep as Yukari, turn and glare at them, and Hitomi clasps hands over her own face. Yukari tries to not laugh, really. “I’m—no. And if you’re gonna be a jerk, I won’t invite you to my wedding.”
Any and all feelings of malicious annoyance vanish in an instant. “You’re—Hitomi! Congrats! That’s amazing, when are you getting married? Where are you getting married? If Van’s not moving here, does that mean you’re—where is he these days, is it going to be big or small? What should my dress look like? Do you have the colors picked out?”
Hitomi giggles through her fingers, a little on edge and clearly overwhelmed. “That’s too many questions!”
“I can write them out in a list and email them if you’d rather.”
A high-pitched whine more like a tea kettle than a woman in her mid-20s erupts out of Hitomi, and she drops her face to the table in her best impression of a puddle of melted ice cream. “I wanted to tell you properly, you know,” she mutters.
“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t let it slip on accident,” Yukari says. As much fun as it is to mercilessly toy with her best friend who completely deserves it, there are more pressing matters, particularly Yukari’s own calendar that she is going to completely shuffle around. “But before I spend the next three hours getting you to spill every detail, at least tell me when and where.”
Without moving her face off the table, Hitomi rustles in her purse, pushing a pair of envelopes at Yukari. The first is a classic wedding invitation, cream colored envelope brushed with elegant black kanji. It’s exactly what Yukari would have expected from Hitomi’s mom, who has handled the years after her husband’s death with astonishing grace. But the second…
The parchment—it’s too thick to be paper, fibrous and off-white and flecked with gold—is about as wide as Yukari’s hands spread apart, and covered in a mix of runes and curling symbols that spread across the top of the invitation like wings. In the center of the whole thing is burnt a diamond-shaped emblem with a winged dragon. It doesn’t look like any Greek Yukari has ever seen.
“Would you be the host for my reception? It’s in a month and a half,” Hitomi is asking, which under any other circumstance would send Yukari into delighted peals of laughter. She’s a planner by nature, and organizing something as momentous as Hitomi’s small wedding will be worth every moment of her best friend and her boyfriend making sappy eyes at each other.
“Of course I will,” Yukari says, distracted. Social work doesn’t pay enough for an invitation this fancy, and Van can’t even afford his own clothes. And it’s not in Japanese, or English, and is that real gold? “What is this?”
Hitomi rubs nervous circles around her latte mug. “Since Van’s not from here, and the only person who can travel is his sister, we thought, you know. One wedding here for me, one there for him.”
“Sounds great,” Yukari says, turning the parchment upside down and over onto its back, hoping that the meaning will magically appear. “Hitomi, I can’t read this.”
“Oh, right. Sorry, Yukari.” Hitomi passes a hand over the parchment, the ring on her hand glimmering bright pink in the sun, and the runes curl and shift before Yukari’s eyes like…like magic. Yukari resists the urge to rub her eyes. Magic isn’t real. Just like dragons aren’t, or friends vanishing into pillars of light.
Your presence is requested
at
The marriage of
Van of Fanelia
and
Hitomi Kanzaki
White, 12th Moon
Present invitation upon arrival
“It’s almost like a destination wedding!” Hitomi says. “Will you come? Please? Only Mom and my brother can come, and you know Sota hates this sort of thing.”
The things Yukari does for Hitomi. “Of course I will,” she says. But before Hitomi can relax too much, she reaches across the table and grabs her best friend’s hands, digging in just a little too hard. “But Hitomi, for once, don’t lie to me about this: where on earth is Van even from?”
Hitomi gives a little hiccup of a laugh and refuses to meet Yukari’s eyes. “So, funny story…”
——
“You owe me so much cake, Kanzaki Hitomi.”
“I promise, at least one at the wedding!”
“Each wedding.”
#the vision of escaflowne#escaflowne#kanzaki hitomi#uchida yukari#van/hitomi#hey guess what I'm gonna write the rest of this fic later#but I am writing and posting this in one night because I feel like it#look I tried to fix the center text but lol#my writing
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The Joy Of Work
That last reblog reminded me.
I worked at MacDonalds in various stores throughout Sydney for six years of my life - from the DAY I turned 14 & 9 months (which is the legal starting age for work in Australia) until I was 21 or so (with a brief gap where I did my HSC).
It was. A life. I was a fairly middle class kid - my parents were both teachers and I went to an academically selective high school where most of the kids were well enough off that they didn’t need a part time job. Most of my friends didn’t work, or if they did they worked four hour shifts at an ice cream store on the weekend, or they did odd jobs at their dad’s law firm. You know the drill.
I worked three eight and a half hour shifts a week from the time I was 14 years old and often went full time in the holidays. It meant I was relatively wealthy for a kid (I paid board to my mum to help out with groceries and things but it was, in the end my choice to work as much as I did - I had a wicked book and video game habit to support) but it also meant that I was living a kind of double life.
The other kids that worked at Maccas were a different class, a different WORLD to me. They were the poorer kids from the local high school. They had stories about kids getting stabbed on the playground and they swore so much more than I did, and while I never asked details I knew some of them had some serious shit going on in the background of their lives.
I loved working there so much. I loved the kids there. We didn’t socialise much out of work time but we hung out after close and before shifts and we joked and had fun and yeah, stuff like in that video happened a lot (GOD the FJ Walker deliveries at 3am were a fucking HOOT).
AND NOT TO SAY I’m not looking back on these years without some rose tinted glasses. I wasn’t scraping to pay a mortgage or living hand to mouth. This was thirty years ago and the world was a different place and it was also a shitty job - I went home stinking of beef lard and my feet hurt and my manager was a cunt and we were always understaffed. But that was par for the course and most of the folk working there were doing what people say casual work IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR - they were there to supplement the income of their household, they were there for pocket money, they were there to save for their trip overseas when they finished high school. They weren’t there just to survive. So I figure the atmosphere was a little different back then.
Fast forward twenty years, I’m a married woman with a husband who works in finance. He introduces me to a work colleague of his and her husband and we IMMEDIATELY hit it off. It’s never been this easy to talk to any of husband’s friends before, they’re all rich as creasote and talk about maths all the time (husband is not like this by the way, he is just as silly as I am, it just so happens that he also works in finance). Any way we get to talking and laughing and it comes out that both of them used to work in a MacDonalds as well - not only that they had one of the same managers I did. Everything slotted into place. We started using production bin jargon and joking about running 6/12 macs for rush and complaining about shake close.
It’s in our BONES now.
Any way my husband now knows more about how old school MacDonalds was operated than my old cunt of a manager :D.
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@agentgem tagged me for this!! tysm these are fun
1. What is the colour of your hairbrush? i have like 3 but theyre all black with pink or gold accents
2. Name a food you never eat. capsicum...if u put it in anything i will pick it out
3. Are you typically too warm or too cold? too warm
4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? i was in class for feminist legal theory
5. What is your favourite candy bar? basically any chocolate bar with raspberries in it i love that shit
6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? when i was a baby my parents took me to the sydney olympics
7. What is the last thing you’ve said out loud? there was a police helicopter circling my house so i shouted out the window for it to fuck off
8. What is your favourite ice cream? golden gaytime
9. What is the last thing you had to drink? orange juice
10. Do you like your wallet? YES im so proud of it cause its so hard to find a good wallet and i got mine while i was on exchange for a really good price and its perfect
11. What is the last thing you ate? leftover takeaway from last night
12. What’s the last sporting event you watched? i was in the same room as someone watching the football last week but my involvement was limited to ranking the guys based on how bad their haircut is
13. Did you buy new clothes last weekend? yes i got a super cool shirt with bats on it
14. What’s your favourite flavour of popcorn? plain butter usually but i also love caramel
15. Who is the last person you sent a message to? gemma who tagged me in this is talking to me on discord as we speak
16. Ever been camping? yeah! i used to go once a year with some friends when i lived in the states but none of my other trips have ever lived up to that since i left :(
17. Do you take vitamins? no
18. Do you regularly attend a place of worship? nah
19. Do you have a tan? bro i am so pale
20. Do you prefer Chinese or pizza? there you go pitting 2 bad bitches against each other for no reason
21. Do you drink your sodas through straws? i guess if it comes with one
22. What colour socks do you usually wear? black but i have a lot of patterned ones too
23. Do you ever drive above speed limit? i cant drive
24. What terrifies you? failure
25. Look to your left. What do you see? the posters and lights above my beds headboard
26. What chore do you hate the most? laundry because all the medium sized time gaps in it mean you cant totally focus on it or do anything else
27. What do you think when you hear an Australian accent? i speak with one mate
28. What’s your favourite soda? sprite
29. Do you go in a fast food place or hit the drive thru? usually go inside
30. What’s your favourite number? 8
31. Who’s the last person you talked to? my mom to complain about the fucking helicopters
32. Favourite meat? uhhh idk they all really depend on how well theyre prepared
33. Last song you listened to? i think he knows by taylor swift its fun
34. Last book you read? the princess bride novel
35. Favourite day of the week? i really dont have one university is online and i work as a casual so i have no set days for anything
36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? probably
37. How do you like your coffee? does coffee ice cream count
38. Favourite pair of shoes? dark purple docs i got from a thrift store in italy (theyre my only shoes i actually wear)
39. Time you normally get up? between 8 and 9 usually but sometimes 7 or 10
40. Sunrises or sunsets? sunrises
41. How many blankets are on your bed? 1
42. Describe your kitchen plates. mix n match
43. Describe your kitchen at the moment. uhh its on its way to being clean but isnt quite there
44. Do you have a favourite alcoholic drink? not really
45. What colour is your car? i dont have a car
46. Can you change a tire? ive never been taught
47. Your favourite state or province? okay ive only been to like 4 here and one of them is the ACT so im gonna say NSW cause i live there
48. Favourite job you’ve had? the one i have right now is pretty alright because there is always free cake but i had a nice volunteer position at a cat shelter a few years ago which was good because kitties!
anyway ill tag @jaramass @nbeenary @avis-icarus and @cacturne but you can totally ignore that if you dont want to
#question games#idk is that what you call them?#who knows#anyway cool uqestions thanks for tagging me!#text
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I need to spend more time on tumblr I forgot how calming this was.
I haven’t blogged since April it looks like so fuck...uuhhhh i used to make mini timelines on here and idek how to sum it all up but imma give it a shot for future me cause i always like to come back and read these - gonna go back in time a little to get the full covid picture but it ends with talking about the woods walk that lead to this video which brings me SO MUCH JOY
march 12th ~ last day i was at clinicals before it cancelled
april 1st - online class stuff officially starts happening it probably happened before this but this is when i made a record of it. started anatomy review n shit for big ass exam
april 5th - judging by my writing.. depression kicks in hard but also studying WAYYY too much every damn day
april 14th ~ big deal first job interview
april 17th ~ did the breakup thing, think that was the last time i wrote on here
april 29th - found out big ass certification test on may 20th is scheduled for TBD ~ also found out i got the job but awsjhcfksdjhk now certifcation is postponed for got knows when
may 1st - journal says “i got to see syd and i feel better”, dont think i realized how hard the breakup feels were hittin me cause i remember casually hanging out n then suddenly crying
may 13th - slept through last day of my fucking class like a goddamn depressed dummy
may 18 n 19 n 20 - miss kitty to the er, and then to her nuero appointment and they think brain tumor but cant afford MRI but prednisone instantly makes her better. all the scared feels of losing her and class being done and no certification exam in sight and just general awful nothingness floating through the void (still studying way too much everyday day)
seems like i saw kirk like every other weekend idk how to feel about that im the worst w clean breakups
may 21st ~ technically ive graduated but it feels like nothing. also idk if he did it this day or the next but kirk dropped off flowers and a card and a you did it! smiley face thing with a grad cap on that yells YOU DID IT whenever u touch it lol
may 26th ~ study sesh w shawna n jordan i know i did other study seshs w them too but idk when, and then home and parents had signs made on the lawn to congratulate me graduating, and then sydney got dropped off and we headed to rhode island
may 28th ~ very interesting/bad/idk wtf mushroom trip. adderall was still in my system and i dont think my body liked that mix and then i took xanax to try to calm down but theyre not pharm approved xanax so i just lost some time but syd took awesome care of me and we laughed about this weird juicy couture dress idk even though it was bad it was great cause i was with her. i do remember petting miss kitty and she had like overlapping colored outlines and looked very ethereal and it kept me calm while syd was outside. before the trip was great too i went to ocean state job lot and syd and i made a bonfire and ate donuts n delicious coffee milkshakes honestly it was all great
slept entire day after bad trip but then wokeup and immediately started studying again lmao
june 1st - called the people to try to get my test scheduled but that was a no go
june 4th - letter arrives can actually schedule test - schedule for 16th
STUDY STUDY DIE DIE DIE STUDY DIE STUDY DIE SHdkjceshkfchsdjc
june 16th - FUCKIN PASSED MY TEST
june 30th - mask fitting n stuff
july 1st - good hangs w syd im lucky to have her
july 5th - go to the fells for the first time in FUCKIN FOREVER cause syd and lucas were going n invited me and im so happy they did swimming felt so good omg
july 7th - first day o work
july 10th - officially scrubbed in again, feels good, but exhausting
july 21st - all nighter where connor tells me he never loved me but in the context of an actually really good heart to heart session (which weve been having a bunch of latelyp) im upset but also not at all, work is exhausting but ive started taking my antidepressants again (literally that morning lol) and i go for a woods walk n swim after, and a deer follows me in the forest and its magical and life is good
july 22nd - fuckin slept through work and thats never happened so been pushin myself a bit too hard
july 25th - yesterday, worked saturday w j so we’re the only tchs there and did 2 lap apps and a hemiarthroplasty and it was good but also a little discouraging idk if this career is for me
and that about brings it up to today. talking to kirk less which is good for both of us. connor and i having lots of heart to hearts n genuine friendship chats. glad thats come full circle. lucky to have syd in my life. just generally idk that bears repeating haha i love her and writing this is realized how many times i wanted to write “and then syd made everything better” - she was the first person i called after i passed my test and she started screaming for me cause she knows me and knows my past and how hard ive worked and idk just a lotta love there. im lucky. word end of things idk wtf is going on but does anybody really? hahahaha. this career is not for me and i know it deep down but ill finish orientation before i do anything. but as of right now even though lifes good it kinda feels bad cause almost everyday im sweating and shaking and in so much fucking pain for a 10 hour shift and then i come home and collapse. antidepressants are helping though. i havent been on them for the entirety of my program/job so i thought that the job just came w this sort of exhaustion. but now im remembering theres after work tired and then theres depression tired.
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All the houses I’ve lived in
1. 94 Queens Rd, New Lambton, NSW
My parents current house since 1989 and the house I’ve had sex with the most people in. A regular two storey house opposite bush on a nice street with neighbours that don’t talk to you (perfect). 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with air con, a big fireplace, pool and massive garage. Lovely, but I don’t expect to inherit it so the attachment must remain minimal.
2. 11 Cobb Ct, Annandale, QLD
Okay formative toddler years were spent here. A tropical style bungalow with the lowest ceilings you’ve ever seen and even lower hanging ceiling fans (take off your shirt with caution). A massive pool constantly populated with cane toads year round that saturated the yard with chlorine every time a cyclone blew through. More floor space than is necessary for anyone. Horrible, angry neighbours that hated children. Short walk to shops, no air con despite Townsville being the armpit of the country. I spent almost all of time sitting on a Big Bird beanbag watching Sesame Street and screaming in abject terror every time there was a toad sitting in the toilet bowl (which was worryingly frequent).
3. 27 Woodrose Cres, Sinnamon Park, QLD
Literally the ugliest house I’ve ever seen in my life. Gaudy, over-tiled, far too big for any family, nothing but white tiles everywhere and not a tree, nor plant, nor weed in the backyard, just grass the colour of hay. Who in Brisbane requires an attic? Who requires THAT many bedrooms? What the FUCK is that suburb name? This house we thankfully lived in for no more than 7 months but good God what a relief.
4. 45 Clarence Rd, Waratah, NSW
My grandmother Bessie’s house. We lived there for a year while I was in pre-school and while my parents house was being renovated. Absolutely fascinating house that each grandchild loved to visit. The most bizarre things were to be found there. First of all it was a regular 2 bedroom home with gaudy wallpaper and a 1950′s kitchen and bathroom, plenty of living space etc. BUT the bizarre flat that was downstairs under the house that was built for my great-grandmother to inhabit was like stepping a 1950′s motel room. Pea green bathroom, pink kitchen, rising damp, mouldy wallpaper, dust upon dust upon bugs upon discarded venetian blinds. Oh my goodness it was amazing down there. It smelled like a nursing home. PLUS under the house was this enormous space all covered in dirt and other crap and trinkets and sheets. ZERO light penetrated this space and therefore was the best place to crawl around and get spooked. The laundry, also under the house, had high ceilings that were stained a Jackson Pollock amount of colours from years of laundry and rising damp and rain leaks AND leading from under the cupboards in the kitchen upstairs was a laundry chute that led all the way down to the laundry WHICH smaller grandchildren could actually fit into and snake their way down to avoid the prying eyes of older cousins during games of hide and seek. Until you were too big to fit. Like I found out one day. Not an easy search and rescue mission, I’ll tell you that. OH AND the back bedroom had some creepy as shit naked dolls with no hair and meth eyes that rolled back in their head along with like strange 60′s childrens paraphenalia and tiny trinkets that I later found out were things like ACTUAL jewels from Scotland and vintage broken Rolex watches. Also I remember sleeping in that room in my mothers childhood single bed while she slept next to me in another, while my father slept next to my grandmother in a separate single bed in her room (why??). Later after she died, new owners bought the place and my mother met them after a few years and asked if they thought the place was haunted to which they replied an unequivocal “YES”, my mother then asked if they left dishes out in the sink of a night, to which they replied “.....yes” and Mum was like “Well that’s the culprit, my mother would NEVER allow that” and the look of understanding coupled with genuine fear cements the fact that my grandmother was and is a motherfucking force to be reckoned with, alive or dead.
5. 7/58 High St, Randwick, NSW
I moved to Sydney! Why? I don’t know! My partner was doing a degree at UNSW and I went with him because I was 21 and couldn’t stand my parents any longer so I buggered off. Now. This apartment was a second floor walk-up in a WW1 era building opposite a hospital and BEHIND a Coles loading dock. Plus there was a screaming autistic Arabian child downstairs and the loudest dog you’ve ever heard next door. Serene. Peaceful. Damaging to the psyche. We lived with my partners brother which was fine, but that place not only had no heating nor ceiling fans it also had no flyscreens. I didn’t even have my own set of keys. I shared ONE set of keys with my partner for two years. Fucking ridiculous. Yes, the food nearby was good. Yes, I commuted back to Newcastle most weekends to keep my casual job. Yes the neighbours were fascinating, ranging from the American guy across the way who never ever closed his bathroom window and gave me many shows of his frankly monstrous penis, to the chainsmoking nurse below who had a permanent frown despite living across the street from her work, to the Koreans downstairs who constantly cooked delicious barbecue while pretending to not speak English, to the gorgeous gay couple who lived above us who could add a new synonym to the dictionary to define “unfriendly”. We got out just before the new light rail was to begin construction right outside our building, but regardless, because of all the noise that surrounded that place before that, I now can sleep through the sound of a fucking jet engine roaring right next to my face.
6. 145 Wilson St, Carrington, NSW
Back to Newy! Okay so this was the first house we even Googled when looking for a new place back in Newcastle, and weirdly, we got it!. It was a tiny cottage in a harbourside suburb that was across the the street from wheat silos that are literally the size of Windsor castle. The day we moved in, a representative of the Port Authority knocked on our door and told us that if we ever heard a particular siren, that it meant the silos were on fire and an explosion was imminent and that we would have about 10 minutes to evacuate before half the city was Hiroshima-ed. Lovely welcome. We heard that siren (or a siren at least) about 50 times in the 2 years we were there. Pretty alarming, as it were. Anyway, the house was literally 3 rooms and a kitchen, 2 tiny cubicle afterthought bathrooms, and a nice big back deck. Now I was happy there, it had everything I needed, it was pleasant. I had a good garden going and I really learned to cook there. Carrington is where my family is originally from, and it was easy to walk everywhere and I loved the history of it. However, our landlord was a Chinese lady called Winnie who could not have misunderstood the concept of landlord responsibilities less. Any repairs or things we needed, she was not just unavailable but actively apathetic. It was like pulling teeth to get her to even communicate to the property manager in even basic English in regards to anything we required. Our neighbours on one side were a lovely couple with 2 babies but they had a dog called Trippi that would bark whenever someone in the opposite hemisphere coughed, and on the other side were a couple in their 70′s who were both suffering dementia, constantly screaming at each other and who also had two elderly dogs that would bark whenever someone nearby inhaled. For two years I heard literally nothing except Matt’s piano, Trippi barking, the other dogs barking, the neighbours angrily SCREAMING at one another, wheat silo alarms, screeching train tracks and coal tankers blasting their horns as they entered the harbour. Again, seasoned professional, can sleep through anything.
7. 46 Garden Grove Pde, Adamstown Heights, NSW
Alright, so two friends of mine, also a couple, were living in a tiny half house situation and also wanted out of their place, so we decided to all move in together, into a place that was much larger and that we could all collectively afford. So we found this lovely large house with 4+ bedrooms so that we could all have our own space and get on rather well. And it worked out! My partner and I had a great big bedroom, Matt had his own study, we had a library, a music room, and my friends had an enormous bedroom downstairs plus a huge bathroom/laundry AND there was 3 tiers of yard that we grew all sorts of vegetables in, plus it had a driveway that looped around (I would call it a plantation driveway?) so heaps of space for everyone. It was great, plenty of space for guests which we had a lot of, plenty of outdoor areas for entertaining, it was wonderful. But unfortunately my friends relationship ended and an old friend took one of their places for a year (also fine) but eventually it turned out that the place was getting sold and after literally months of surprise inspections and open houses we’d all had enough and decided to move out separately. Now this so far has been my favourite place. It was 10 minutes to work, everyone had their own space and we lived, I think, pretty well harmoniously together. But nothing good lasts so now...!\
8. *** Kings Rd, New Lambton, NSW
From Queens Rd to Kings Rd! We found a gorgeous house right near a train station that I am currently in and pretty happy with. For the first time I have ceiling fans again plus air con and FOUR bedrooms that I barely know what to do with. Currently I’m sitting in my study surrounded by all my books with the fan on typing this out and it feels good to have my own space for a change and actually have trouble furnishing a house as opposed to making concessions about what I keep and what I can’t. I’ve planted a veggie garden, I have my kitchen the way I want, and the house has been renovated, re-carpeted, painted and made livable for a modern couple. We have spare space for guests (or a spare room for me when I don’t want to wake up Matt when I go to bed at 3am, but that’s the sleep pattern of a shift worker) and overall I feel good about it. Finally. I’ve been looking for a good home to just COME HOME to for ages and for a long time I haven’t really felt that. My last home was lovely, but honestly 3 tiers of gardens to maintain and roommates (though they remain dear friends) are just not what I want to deal with anymore. Actually not even that, I’d be fine with roommates, but it’s just nice to feel like I have MY house and it’s mine to come home to.
Anyway, apologies for this long post, and I know barely anyone will read it, but I started this blog TEN years ago so and I don’t have a print journal to write all of this stuff in, so I might as well talk here. HOUSES! If they’re not haunted, then where’s the drama we so desperately crave?
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1. How tall are you?
6′2″ (and I hate low-hanging objects.)
2. What color and style is your hair?
Dark, with silver at the sides - the style is bedhead meets brushed-by-hands. (Made famous by Dean Martin, you know.)
3. What color are your eyes?
Blue or grey, depending on the light.
4. Do you wear glasses?
Yes, but only if I want to see things. (I often take them off for photos because I’m self conscious.)
5. Do you wear braces?
Never - though I probably should have...
6. What is your fashion style?
Batman / fandom for sleeping, light casual for day. (Flannel in winter~)
7. Full name?
Never you mind.
8. When were you born?
The end of August - I was an induced birth, so as far as I’m concerned, I never enjoyed winter.
9. Where are you from and where do you live now?
Born in Sydney, moved to where I am now when I was 2. Been here ever since. There is nothing. Send help.
10. What school do you go to?
Just the local primary and high, though I attended Griffith university briefly while pursuing journalism. (I left after discovering that nobody pays them anymore since people are all too willing to write for peanuts. And newspapers don’t mind the typos.)
11. What kind of student are you?
I like books over websites, because books are sexy. For the better part, I’m the ‘I want to learn this but right now I have a headache and I’m exhausted, show me snippets tomorrow” type. Oh! Or the “Now that I’m at work, I know exactly what I should have studied! Oh, it would have been easy! When I get home...”
12. Do you like school?
School was bad. I went to adult school though (Tafe here) and it was a fantastic experience. I’d love to go again but the nearest campus is an hour away - you go broke driving there just three days a week. Maybe in the future, though.
13. What are your favorite school subjects?
I liked electronics and history. History was my best subject.
14. Favorite TV shows
Oh ho ho ho. Okay : not many Live actions - 30 Rock, Ash vs Evil Dead, and I could easily just watch old BBC/classic shows like ‘Allo ‘Allo or Get Smart. For animation : Tangled (duh), Duck Dodgers, Batman (especially anything with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammil), Ducktales ‘17, The Venture Bros. and old Adult Swim stuff, like Harvey Birdman. (The Switch Off Brain stuff.) I sometimes watch/listen to American dad, but not over and again like the others on this list.
15. Favorite movies?
As much as I like Tangled, I’d have to say one of my fav films is Operation Periscope. (And like most movies, I can’t remember the last time I watched it. Movies are so long!)
16. Favorite books?
Ugh, aside from art and resource books, I can’t remember the last time I really sat down and read one. Does Batman count? Please tell me it counts...
17. Favorite pastime?
What’re those? I’m trying to make drawing as much fun as it is a study thing, but pastimes probably include doing as little as possible. Still, that’s.. probably going to change fairly quickly, now.
18. Do you have any regrets?
I regret how much money I spent on Transformers in my life. Oof.
19. Dream job?
It used to be voice acting, but now I’d love to be an artist. Not just hirable, but maybe good enough to teach a little. Also I totally plan on being in costume whenever I do a public appearance. Will I bet Inspector Gadget, or Adam West? You’ll find out when you get there!
20. Would you like to get married someday?
August is our fifth wedding anniversary. (I met her here!)
21. Would you like to have kids someday?
Not for us, no.
22. Do you like shopping?
I’m a tart for just browsing things. I need to be controlled. A few weeks ago I had a stressful time as being a carer so I got “comfort plastic.” Cause I really needed that Lego Bat-sub and Hairavan. (I blame that last one on Bex.)
23. What countries have you visited?
Doha, Malaysia and Georgia. (Though Doha was just the airport on a lay over.) We went to Malaysia for the weekend once. .... I’m not kidding. We don’t talk about Malaysia and what happened there anymore. We don’t.
24. What’s the scariest nightmare you’ve ever had?
Ugh, last year a religious old biddy tried to destroy our family - fun fact, she’s still around! (It’s okay - as soon as we threatened to get a lawyer she began to avoid us.)
25. Do you have any enemies?
See above. She’s 60, deranged, and a Jesus fanatic.
26. Do you have an s/o?
I do - she’s currently sleeping after falling asleep while watching me play Arkham City for the 54th time.
27. Do you believe in miracles?
I do - I’ve seen too many to ignore them.
Tagged by the effervescent @kelseyfitzherbert
Tagging @lostsunshineofcorona @lanternfreed @gcrminator @ctherprcmise @darkestkye @wvinterisms and @spareisms
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In the aftermath of the Christchurch terror attack, my social media feeds have filled with people expressing their shock and disbelief that something like this could happen in our part of the world.
But like Waleed Aly, I wasn't shocked and couldn't understand why anyone else would be either.
This is because for the past three years, I've worked at Sky News. More specifically, Sky News "after dark" — when the rolling coverage of the day's news makes way for conservative commentators to share the "opinions you can't ignore".
As a young Muslim woman, I had many crises of conscience working here, but the events of Friday snapped me out of the endless cycle of justifying my job to myself. On Saturday, I finally sent in my letter of resignation.
I was a liaison for the channel based in their Canberra studio, a junior role helping with studio guests and the running of the office as a casual a few times a week.
When I started, I did not know what I was getting myself into. I was 19, and though I'd heard about Sky News, I had never watched it before. I was excited that I would get to work in Parliament House, and there could be a full-time job when I graduated. I didn't do as much research as I should have.
I realised pretty quickly though that the Sky News I worked on wasn't focused on reporting facts and informing the public. Rather, conservative media commentators came together with current and former right-wing politicians, disseminating misinformation which bordered on conspiracies.
I stood by as the fear and hate grew
I compromised my values and beliefs to stand idly by as I watched commentators and pundits instil more and more fear into their viewers.
I stood on the other side of the studio doors while they slammed every minority group in the country — mine included — increasing polarisation and paranoia among their viewers.
I'd walk commentators to the studio where after some very polite chit chat — "how are you?", "how's uni going?"— they'd go on air and talk about my community.
I was there when Cory Bernardi advocated for banning the burqa, and when he called on the government to remove "offend" and "insult" from 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act under the guise of free speech.
I was there when Pauline Hanson proudly talked about how she would, the following day, put forward the "It's OK to Be White" motion to counter the rise of so-called anti-white racism.
I watched as Bronwyn Bishop, following the "terror raids" in Sydney, insisting that "war" had been declared against western culture.
I answered calls from viewers who yelled about immigrants and Muslims ruining Australia. They did not realise that the person on the other end of the phone was both of those things.
And in the aftermath of Friday's terror attack, Sky's coverage was among Australian media outlets who played parts of the gunman's live stream.
This is not a journalist's job
Some nights I felt physically sick, others I even shed tears in my car on the way home.
Still, I continued to compromise my values. Not only my values as a member of a religious group who was continuously being blamed and alienated by the rhetoric on these shows, but also as an aspiring journalist.
I know other emerging and aspiring journalists who continue to compromise their values just for a foot in the door in the hyper-competitive media industry.
This weekend, though, I realised that where we get our start matters too. Over the past few years, I was playing a role — no matter how small — in a network whose tone I knew would help legitimise radical views present in the fringes of our society.
Now, I am done being a part of something I do not stand for, and I urge other young journalists to do the same.
We're all responsible for 'the media'
In the media industry, who we work for matters, as we are responsible in some way for the information being disseminated. What we distribute has consequences.
Of course, we all still need jobs. Of course, we could not be held responsible for the hatred and division spread by the commentators on the network. Of course, no media organisation is going to be perfect.
But I felt like I compromised the very reason I went into journalism — a search for truth — for a foot in the door.
When I reflected on who I work for and whether I could justify going into work this weekend, I knew what I had to do. Even as young journalists, we should act on our morals now rather than at some point in the future where we assume that we will have more of a say.
This isn't limited to journalists — it applies to all Australians. The news we read, the way we talk about minorities in our community — every decision we make matters and it all adds up.
As we saw in Christchurch, what happens in our media can have real life consequences.
Rashna Farrukh is a former Sky News employee.
Note: A previous version of this article said Sky News played the gunman's live stream of scenes from inside the mosque. This was incorrect: the broadcaster showed segments of the live stream but not from inside the mosque. The article also said Sky New Zealand pulled the Sky News Australia feed, but Sky News Australia said in a statement that this is incorrect.
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Explaining the 4 Legs of Revenue
I’ve been thinking about strategic planning and I may have mentioned that last week, but this week I want to take you towards my area of expertise: business growth and revenue.
For a long time, I was unable to create a simple enough framework to build up the idea of a process for revenue that applied to small businesses and large, non-profits and other types of firms, but I think I have a 4 pronged focus that any business can use to rethink their revenue strategy.
Like most things, this is the basics and there are layers within this, but here itis, 4 steps:
1. You come up with a product or service of value that you can offer your market.
2. You identify your customers.
3. You market to them.
4. You close the sale.
Obviously, there is a ton of complexity that fits into each of those areas, but I want to kick start the back of the year by hitting a few keynotes on the basic ideas that support each of these concepts.
Start with value:
This is simple, but in too many cases we forget that the value we provide our customers is essential to them buying from us.
Let’s look at me: I help businesses grow, fast.
I focus on a business outcome and one that is pretty clear.
This is obviously valuable to a lot of businesses.
Does it check that box?
Yes.
What about the original iPod?
Do you remember the ad campaign?
“1000 songs in your pocket.”
That was great.
Shows value and explains everything in 5 words.
This is your job.
Start with your value and make it easy to understand.
Know your customers:
How often do I hear people say that everyone is their customer?
Far too often.
You know what, if everyone is your customer, no one is your customer.
Here’s the thing, even if you have a product that is focused on the mass market, everyone isn’t your market.
Why?
Because you still are focusing on some specific segment in everything you do.
Let’s say you are looking to buy a ticket to a baseball game for the holiday weekend here in the States, if you are marketing there might be a number of different segments of the market for you to communicate with:
Families
Business folks
Groups
Long-time supporters
Casual supporters
The list can go on and on.
The key is that each of those groups has a specific button you can hit to get them to buy.
And, you need to make sure that your value proposition is pointed at those folks in a way that is meaningful.
Remember, even if you sell to multiple markets everyone needs a tweak on their message.
You aren’t going to talk to the law firm client the same way you are to the family.
You aren’t going to sell to a group the same way you are to a casual fan.
Market to folks:
This is the fun stuff for a lot of people.
But marketing is important and it is about 3 things at its core:
Message
Targeting
Consistency
I could write a book on this, but I’ll give you the Clif Notes this morning:
As I mentioned above with your customers, every segment of your audience is going to need a message that presents your value proposition in a way that is meaningful to the people you are trying to reach.
You need to target your message because everyone is going to be reached in a different manner. You might advertise, you may send direct mail, you might speak, but the key is to know your customer, the important message to share, and where the person is most likely to receive the message in a way that they will engage with it.
Finally, be consistent.
You have to deliver your message consistently.
A Hail Mary isn’t a great marketing strategy. So make a plan and stick with it by delivering your message consistently.
This will vary depending on what you are up to, but set parameters from the start that you can live with and measure results against.
Close the sale:
I’m of the Peter Drucker mindset that if you do a good enough job marketing, you don’t need to sell…but let’s be honest, salespeople aren’t going away.
The final step to generate more revenue is to close the sale.
The art of closing the sale needs its very own series and newsletter, but let’s just say that you have to ask for the business.
There are tons of books on this topic, but I will point you towards my favorite: The Lost Art of Closing by Anthony Iannarino. In lieu of me writing something about closing that is incomplete, check out Anthony’s book.
That’s it though: 4 things to think through when you are thinking about reinventing your revenue or growing your business:
1. Value proposition
2. Who is your customer?
3. Marketing
4. Closing sales
What do you think?
Where in this process are you struggling the most?
Let me know.
Dave
_______________________
Upcoming events:
14 & 15 November in Sydney: Ticketing Professionals Conference Australia delivering the keynote address: “The Courage to Change”!
18 November in Melbourne, Australia: 1-day workshop called: “Fans For Life: Creating and Capturing Fans In Today’s Crowded Marketplace”. For additional information, reply to this email.
25 November in London, England: 1-day workshop called: “Revenue Reimagined: A The Business of Fun Workshop”.
In this full-day workshop, we will work through the how arts, sports, and events organizations can rethink and reimagine their revenue operations from selling more tickets to generating more membership sales, to selling more merchandise, and more. This workshop is a great way to kick off your strategic planning for 2020 and motivate you and your team to take new actions to create change in your organization.
Because this is going to be very hands-on, I’m going to limit this to 20 folks or less. So space is super limited!
Want more information, reply to this email.
I’m going to launch the sales pages for both of these events in Melbourne and London this week, but I wanted to share them with you first.
st
Please follow and like us:
Explaining the 4 Legs of Revenue was originally published on Wakeman Consulting Group
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Name: Raye Windhelm
Birthday: December 2nd (27)
Species: Untriggered Werewolf
Lookalike: Ruby Rose
Availability: Open
Personality
Raye is genderfluid, preferring she/her or they/them pronouns. Raye tends to be an overly solemn person, and they also can come off as antisocial and mean. They don’t know how to trust people, and feels like they need to lie to impress those around them. Due to this, Raye tends to be dishonest in the majority of the social situations they’re in, never really giving out personal information or any pieces of them. They’re pansexual, but since their one and only serious relationship ended very badly, they don’t really delve into romance. It’s more just casual sex here and there before Raye drops the person and stops speaking to them once they get bored. Raye can come off as mean, as she isn’t really nice to people unless she wants something from them. It takes a long time for her to warm up to someone, and when they do, they still aren’t completely nice. Raye enjoys darker aspects of life, and doesn’t have a problem showing it. She doesn’t mind causing people emotional pain, and feels little remorse when she does.
Past
Raye was born Rachel Windhelm in Sydney, Australia to Garrett and Alexis Windhelm, college sweethearts who had gotten married after they had graduated. They had a vibrant and invigorating kind of love, but when their daughter had come along, that had changed. Alexis felt like Garrett was hiding something, and to be fair, he was. He had werewolf ancestry in his blood, and his brother had recently triggered the gene so he had been doing intensive research and not been at home as much. Finally deciding to tell Alexis, she was horrified. She filed for a divorce when Raye was only one year old, and then Garrett moved to the United States, despite his efforts to still stay in touch with his daughter, Alexis didn’t let him. She intercepted every form of communication every time Garrett tried to contact Raye, and Raye ended up growing up fatherless.
Alexis was a strict single mom, and devoutly Catholic, she raised Raye the same way. They went to mass every single Sunday without fail, and Raye went to Bible Study every Wednesday. She felt uncomfortable in church, and would protest to her mom every weekend on the way there, but Alexis didn’t listen. She wanted her daughter to be protected from the rest of the world and possibly her werewolf gene, and she thought religion was the only thing that could save her. Raye began exploring her sexuality in high school, and realized that she was far from just being straight. However, her mother didn’t approve of relations with the same sex, or even relations before marriage. She still went ahead with it, however, and her mom caught her kissing her girlfriend one day after school, and in a rash decision, kicked her out of the house.
After that, Raye lived on the streets for a few months before she met the owner of a strip club, Thomas. They began working for him, and fell in love with him in the process. She never felt right calling herself a girl, but she also didn’t feel like she was a boy, so she then began to identify as genderfluid. During this, she never told her mom what she did, but tried to keep in touch with her as she still cared for her. Thomas was in the center of a high profile cocaine ring, and once he had gotten caught, she was named an accomplice. Her lawyer was inexperienced and given to her by the state, so she got convicted. This made her rageful, and when she was in jail, she purposefully wasn’t docile. She fought everyone who tried her, and it ended up adding to her sentence more and more. After a few years, she got out, and decided to check on her mother, who had all but disowned her when she landed in jail. She found out that she had died in a car accident a few months earlier. She rummaged through her childhood house, finding dozens of letters that her Dad had written her years earlier. They tracked him down, and he invited her to move in with him.
Raye then started their life over, moving in with their father in Mystic Falls .They’re worked on cultivating a relationship with him, as they have missed 26 years with him. They weren’t aware of their werewolf ancestry, but their father ended up telling them a few weeks after moving in. Her dad told Raye everything that he knew, and how to protect themselves from triggering the curse. Raye doesn’t think it’s this easy, but the supernatural is always at the forefront of their mind.
Present
Raye has managed to turn their life around for the better, and has gotten a job at Murchadha’s new branch. Raye knows that they will be helping with mundane administrative stuff, and that it isn’t a forever job, but they want to be able to move out of their dad’s home, and maybe start a life as a real adult. It’s hard for people arrested for drugs to get jobs, so they’re thankful for the opportunity, even though Raye doesn’t understand what they’re doing.
Connections
Rachel Lyons
Helps her enter her research into Murchadha’s system. Has a little crush on her, but knows she shouldn’t sleep with someone at work.
Rebekah Mikaelson
Is currently being threatened by her. Is not sure who to turn to in order to evade her.
Mateo Mendez
Is trying to sleep with him but isn’t sure why he doesn’t seem too interested.
#to rp#bio rp#oc rp#ruby rose fc#raye windhelm#ONB#nonbinary#open#werewolf#untriggered werewolf#oc#oc nonbinary#nonbinary oc
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Tag Game: Get to Know Me
Tagged by @kylo-ren-has-an-8pack ! Thanks for tagging me! It was nice reading yours. These things help me put a digital face and personality to my Tumblr friends. ❤️
Rules: Answer these questions then tag 20 some blogs you’d like to know better.
Nickname: Cesca
Zodiac: Libra
Height: 5′2′
Time: 6:18PM as of this question
Favorite Band/Artists: Maroon 5 but more of their old songs. I’m not too into their new releases.
Song stuck in my head: Babe by Sugarland because my sister keeps playing it. Also Fake Love by BTS.
Last movie I saw: Baywatch on the plane back from Sydney. LOL.
Last thing I googled: A number of a restaurant nearby. Sisig for lyf.
Other blogs: My main is thisishowcorrolls. I also help run other sideblogs. I have a travel/food blog that I haven’t touched in a while.
Do I get asks: Sometimes. Not often. But everyone is free to message me. ❤️
Why did I choose my username: Because Wanda is a badass Avenger.
Following: A little north of 600.
Average amount of sleep: Depends. Normally 6 hours. On weekends, I can sleep up to 12 hours. I love sleep.
Lucky number: I don’t have one.
What I’m wearing: Business casual attire.
Dream Job: Humanitarian. Or astronaut. Or astrophysicist.
Dream trip: I haven’t been to Europe so a tour there would be nice.
Favorite food: Salmon, ice cream, and most forms of chicken. Whenever I go back from a trip abroad, my go-to dish is Jollibee Chickenjoy. Favorite fried chicken!
Play any instruments: I used to play the piano, but I quit after my instructor moved abroad. I hated my new teacher. In hindsight, maybe I should have just requested for a different instructor instead of quitting in a fit of rage. Haha.
Favorite song: She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5. Forever fave.
Play(ed) any sports: No. I’m a marshmallow. I literally cannot do sports.
Hair color: Natural hair color is black but now it’s a dark-ish brown. Ever since I started dyeing my hair, it never reverted back.
Eye color: Black. Or very dark brown? Depends on the lighting lol.
Most iconic song: Isn’t this the same as favorite song? But maybe, I’ll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan.
Languages you speak: English and Filipino.
Random Fact: People always say I look young for my age. And I smile most of the time, even if I am delivering bad news. LOL.
Describe yourself as aesthetic things: Stardust, knitwear, retro camera. Am I doing this right?
Since Tumblr isn’t cooperating at the moment, I’m not tagging anyone. But feel free to do this if you want!
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