#next part will not be osha compliant

[moonshine-nightlight]

Snapped - Part 3

Mech’s not sure why the aftermath of this mission is hitting him so hard, but he’s doing his best to calm down when Gwen’s presence shatters his control. Now it’s a count down to see if he can figure out how to put a stop to the instincts and hormones that are running wild inside him—before he does something they’ll both regret.

Science fiction, alien romance, male alien x female human

Story Status: COMPLETE

AO3: Snapped Chapter 3

[Part 1] [Part 2] Part 3 [Part 4 - NSFW]

“Right now,” Mech begins, trying to think of the best way to explain this without giving anything too revealing away. It doesn’t help that his mind and instincts want to tell her, his trust in her overriding his knowing that she doesn’t want him in that way. “My brain has decided to flood my bloodstream with hormones to an alarming degree, which are in turn, affecting my thought process and making my brain produce even more chemicals in response.”

Gwen nods and Mech tries to think on how to continue his explanation instead of how her hair would feel, slipping through his fingers as he–. “I need to either reverse, neutralize, or however I can stop more reactions from happening. Then I need to see if I can flush any of these hormones out of my system. While the sedative is helping for now, we’ve got a time limit before I won’t be able to think again. In that case, you’ll need to lock me in my quarters and hope I can just wait it out.”

“Sounds like we should work now while we can,” Gwen says, but he watches her head over to one of the ship’s computers and start pulling up the security for unused cabins. Smart girl. Mech purposely looks away from what she’s doing and back to cycling through possible serums. If they get to that final option, he wants locking him up to succeed even if his mind has forgotten why it needs to. Mech appreciates her not drawing attention to this option or arguing with him. It’s in everyone’s best interests that, if he can’t find a solution, he’s locked up where he can’t get to her. Gwen continues, “What was that, um—you called it a sedative, right? What was that supposed to do?”

“It was supposed to slow down the release of additional hormones and counteract some that had already been released,” Mech replies, trying to stay focused on the content of her words and not how pleasing he finds her voice. Not being able to see her helps, but he can still sense her heat, her scent swirling through the closed room with ease. He pulls up the sendative’s formula and the sample of blood he fed the system, trying to see if there are any obvious reasons it’s failing. 

“How well is that working?” Gwen asks, but she saw his reaction, his lapse in control, earlier. She must know the answer already.

“Not well at all,” he confirms. He can see now it’s not that the sedative isn’t working. It’s outnumbered and overwhelmed. His blood has a truly staggering amount of hormones, still being released in waves. The sedative has already bonded with as much as it can. “I thought it would have a more significant impact, but it could only do so much and it’s already used up, so to speak.” He would have to take a lot more for an additional effect. That would likely lead to blocking the release of necessary chemicals as well as an overabundance of the compound the bonding process produces. “If I take enough to handle the problem, it’ll poison me.”

“Ok-ay, yeah, no—don’t want that,” Gwen replies, turning her back on the screen she’d been using—so hopefully whatever room she set up to quarantine him is prepared now. That sends some ripples of relief through him—he’s not sure how he’ll able to weather the hormones one his own, but at least she’ll be safe. Hopefully, she’ll stop looking so concerned once he’s locked away. Although, when had he turned back around to look at her? 

“So what’s the next move?” Gwen asks, interrupting his thoughts. She nibbles on her lower lip as she thinks and he wants to replace her teeth and tongue with his own. Her lips must be so soft and– “You gave your computer something to analyze, right? What did it say?”

“The program identified my condition,” Mech says, forcing his eyes away from tracing her collarbones, all the lovely skin her pretty dress is still leaving on display, to the screen in question. He pulls the case studies back up. “It’s happened before, but not often and under different circumstances.”

“Like what?” Gwen asks, her voice more curious than concerned, but another glance he can’t help her reveals she’s only trying to act that way. She always starts messing with her hair when she’s worried. The strands twirl around her finger and he wants to see them haloing her head as she lies underneath him, moving as he–

“Two people at once,” Mech manages as he stares furiously at the screen. Recriminations sound through his head just loud enough to drown out any imaginings of what she might sound like as he claimed her as his mate. He begins running through some of the medications they tried on these individuals. They’d all been on his home planet when the imbalance seized them. Does he even have all of these materials? Their weathering of their systems was primarily done with supportive care as they gave into the insistence of their hormones. Mating for days in some cases until the hormone surge was satisfied. His voice is rough once more as he continues, “So they were able to help each other.”

“But there’s just you,” Gwen realizes, worry and sympathy in her voice. She’s such a compassionate person. Surely she would understand his predicament, if he just explained.  Maybe she would be willing to help him. She wouldn’t want him to suff–no, Mech cuts off his traitorous thoughts, knowing he would hate himself if he awoke from the surge to learn she’d mated with him out of pity or worse, that he’d tricked himself into hearing what he wanted to hear. “And you said I was only sort of helping.”

Mech bites back the words to explain in graphic detail exactly what she’s doing to him. Her presence remains a double-edged sword—a distracting one that is as liable to defend him as it is to cut him. “Right.”

“Sorry,” she says and her voice is so falsely casual he has to turn around. He sees her shrug and give an attempt at a smile. “Only human I’m afraid. Still, better than nothing, yeah?” She looks like he might blame her for being human, like she feels bad she can’t do more when it's a miracle she’s being as tolerant of this, this disgraceful lapse in control on his part.

“Of course.” Mech can’t have her thinking any of this is her fault. He reaches out to comfort her, to reassure her that she’s not failing at anything, that there’s nothing for her to feel guilty for, before he remembers why that would be a mistake. His arm falls back to his side, useless. Instead he tries to meet her eyes, needing her to understand. “I’m very grateful you’re here, Gwen.”

Her eyes measure his words before her smile turns far more genuine and it’s like the first drops of rain after a drought, refreshing and revitalizing. He can see the individual flecks of gold in her brown eyes, the delicate curls that frame her face, the red of her lips.

A beep draws his attention away, causes him to realize he’d stepped closer to her without even noticing.

“Okay, it’s generated a list of formulations we can create here with the supplies on hand,” Mech says, forcing his mind into the science as deeply as he can. Trying to lose himself in the problem rather than in Gwen. 

The news is as sobering as it can be. By virtue of the previous cases affecting couples, most of the treatments heavily relied on their mating. Significantly, they require complimentary pheromones as a key ingredient to lessen the intensity of the effects. Dosing the affected individuals with each other hormones in addition to those introduced via actual mating, tricking the hormones into thinking they already had enough of what they craved. Judging by the one couple who surged at the same time, but hours away from each, that was also how the duration was shortened. 

Human hormones of his “mate”, if he were in close enough prolonged contact, would likely help, but they could not be extracted from the venom for extra dosing because humans didn’t have any venom. And it would need to be human sexual pheromones, more concentrated than just the typical riotous blend they generated in abundance. So even that solution is heavily reliant on mating with Gwen, which is the one thing he definitely cannot do. 

He furiously types updated parameters into the system, ruthlessly screening out all suggested formulations that required the use of complimentary mate hormones. He can see, out of the corner of his eyes, that Gwen has drifted closer, clearly attempting to understand what the results might be since he’s stopped explaining. 

Mech can’t let her get any closer. “Most of these require supplies we don’t have or chemicals from the other who’s afflicted. I’m trying to narrow it down to a list of solutions I can actually make.” She still takes another distracted and curious step closer. He can’t even make his mouth form the words to tell her to stay back because he wants her closer. Wants to feel the heat she gives off against his skin, he wants to take in her scent directly from the source, lick the taste of her and—

“Can you get that other case of materials? I think it’s just back up of what’s here, but maybe there’s something else in there I forgot about,” he asks and Gwen brightens at the chance to help.

“Sure thing,” she replies and heads over to the other side of the room.

Mech turns his attention back to calculating which of these proposed solutions has the most promise and is the most efficient use of the compounds on hand.

He actually is able to refocus on the problem. He’s starting to hope that maybe the sedative just needed more time to kick or that he can create a more targetted one that won’t have too many negative side-effects. He doesn’t even notice when Gwen comes over, a cabinet or two down from him, with the case he asked for. She opens it and slides next to the other. It's only then that he looks at her again. He forces his eyes to stay away from her, forces them to stay focused on the carefully labeled packages and plants from his home in the case.

Just as he thought, there’s really only one or two that are different from the primary case—minor seasonal fluctuation in when they were assembled. Still, he dutifully plugs those new compounds into the system and waits to see if that alters the results.

The distant sound of the air filter system kicking on almost doesn’t rate notice either until it blows a strong stream of Gwen’s scent right into his senses. His nostrils flare and so do his spines, his claws extending into the wood of the countertop instantly.

“Mech!”

He’s already flung himself back towards the door, eyes lit up as he tries to get out of that tempting, delicious airflow. “Turn it off!” he hisses, closing his eyes as he anchors himself in place. Gwen doesn’t answer, but he can hear her pushing the cart aside to get to the control panel on the wall.

Despite his best effort, the airflow has re-circulated Gwen’s scent thoroughly throughout the medbay. He feels the pull to where he can sense she is. Humans have such strong pheromones by nature that Gwen’s typical scent is more than enough to convince his mind in this state that she’s ready for mating. His mind is spinning as he digs his claws into the wall as he strains to hold onto the knowledge that he can’t go to her.

His senses are in such an aware state that the sudden rush of cool air over his head feels more like a faucet of cold water. He lets out a surprised noise, that was not a yelp, and blinks up to see the vent over the door wide open. Tilting his head back down, he sees Gwen still at the controls, clearly running some sort of air purification program, pulling the air from her side out of the room and pushing out fresh, sanitized air from his side. 

Mech had forgotten that of course the medbay was equipped with more than the ship’s typical air filtration system. While obviously they couldn’t run a full air sanitation program with two living people still in the room, this refresh is still very helpful. Gwen’s eyes meet his own and he’s surprised by how much worry he can see in them. He thinks his eyes are still glowing, but he’s careful to relax his spines, breathing deep of the fresh air and withdrawing his claws from the wall. “Thank you,” he says, mind actually fixed on the gratitude he feels for the clear head and only minorly on how lovely her hair looks as artificial wind tugs at it.

Gwen gives him a shaky smile and wisely keeps the program running, staying where she is on the other side of the room. “Glad I still knew how to do that. Never thought I’d have any reason to be grateful for that shipment of squezares for bursting.”

Mech shudders in memory of the smell that had spread throughout the ship what that particular cargo had been damaged. “Not sure it was worth it.” Gwen’s smile gets more solid at the joke and Mech finally feels something like solid ground under his feet. He hadn’t noticed how much her scent was affecting him. Staying as close to the fresh air vent as he can, Mech reaches over and manages to pull the diagnostic screen to him. But before he can look at the results it’s populated, Gwen speaks up again.

“I know you said that even if I’m not a graviel, I’m better than nothing,” she says, looking hesitant and frustrated and guilty for no reason Mech can think of, “but are you sure that’s true?” Gwen meets his eyes and he hates how desperate she looks all of a sudden. His reaction to her increased scent must have really worried her. The mental clarity the fresh air has brought him is overwhelmed by his innate desire to comfort her. He takes a step closer on instinct, needing to sooth her anyway he can. She holds up her hand, this time telling him to stay back and it cuts far deeper than he knows it should. Because she’s right. He should stay away if he’s the reason she looks this distraught, the reason they're in this whole mess. “Because I still don’t understand what’s happening to you and it seems like I’m making things worse. Every time it’s gotten worse has been my fault.”

“Not your fault,” he insists. “I promise it’s my fault. I keep forgetting or trying to—” He cuts himself off before he can say “claim you as my mate”. Between his own mind and the way, no matter what filters he puts on it, the system keeps insisting he do so as well the thought is always on the tip of his tongue. “Trying to act as though you’re affected too, like the other cases.”

“Are you sure there isn’t more I can do?” Gwen pleads. “You’re holding yourself back and it's hurting you. I’m not gonna break or get mad at you or whatever. It’s not as though your instincts want to fight me or something, is it?”

“No, not…” Mech swallows down venom and forces himself give an answer, any answer to get her to back away from this line of questioning. Even now he can feel himself wavering. Would it really be so bad to tell her the truth? What if she wants—No. He can’t let himself think such things. But he can’t have her thinking he wants to hurt her either. Not that he seems able to help it, going by the look on her face. All he can do is shake his head and hope she can hear the truth in his voice, “Nothing like that.”

“Mech…” 

Gwen gives him a look he can’t interpret, only that her skepticism is clear to him. But at what he has no idea and with all his hormones raging it's too easy for that confusion and fear to meld into frustration. “It’s very hard to think, alright?” he snaps. “It’s heard to hear, in a sense, anything that isn’t what my body is telling me.” He needs her to understand what’s at stake. “If I stop being able to hear you…”

“But if you don’t want to hurt—” Gwen tries to argue, a stubborn look on her face. If only she understood what she was pushing for and how much he wants to take her up on that offer, damn the consequences.

But he can’t. He knows the risks, knows the consequences. Even now, his instincts also want to keep her safe and happy, even as they want to claim her. Mech’s pretty sure that’s the only reason he’s as lucid as he is. That he’s resisting as well as he is.

“Accidents happen, Gwen,” he replies, frustrated at his inability to articulate the danger to her without giving himself away. “I’m stronger than you, physically. I could hurt you. And I didn’t just mean literally hear you. I meant interpret any communication, including physical movement, as signs of possible distress. I’m essentially drunk. People do all sorts of dangerous and potentially harmful things, when out of their mind, even if they don’t intend to. Even if they wouldn’t under normal circumstances.”

“Okay, okay,” Gwen puts her hands up. “I get it. I just think that if chemistry isn’t working—which it really doesn’t seem like it is—that you should just stop beating around the bush and tell me what your instincts want.” She looks over at him earnestly. “I don’t know shit about your biology or chemistry, but maybe I could help you figure out another way to handle everything. Something practical instead of scientific. I feel like I’m trying to help with one hand tied behind my back.”

“Gwen,” he runs a hand through his hair in frustration. 

Gwen glares back at him, the frustration in every line of her body mirroring his own. “Just tell me!”

“Fine! You really want to know? My instincts,” he lets the words out through gritted teeth. He no longer has the strength to keep them in any longer. All his focus has to be on not acting on them. “They want you. They want me to claim you,” he chances a look at her face, “Make you mine. My mate.”

“Oh!” Her eyes go very wide before they dart away from Mech’s, likely embarrassed for him. And herself. And this whole cursed situation. “I’m sorry. I know you must…” She bites her lip which Mech really wishes she wouldn’t. “Sorry. How can I stop…” She makes a vague gesture at herself.

“You can’t,” he replies bluntly. “You need to be here so I don’t think you’re in danger or with rivals, but you can’t touch me or I might not be able to hold myself back, not quickly enough.” He swallows, finally articulating his greatest fear which feels more real now that she knows. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Gwen’s whole expression softens. “You would never hurt me.”

“Wouldn’t mean to,” he allows, flicking his eyes back to the screen, but all the words are out of focus.

“Wouldn’t,” she replies stubbornly, jutting her chin out. To his relief she doesn’t keep pushing it, allowing the sound of the vents working to fill the room as he finally is able to read the screen. 

She can’t seem to keep silent long. “Do you know why your instincts picked me?” she asks tentatively. “Or why now? If we knew that, maybe we could reverse it or fix it.”

“Don’t know why now—makes no sense. Must just…” Mech shakes his head. Probably just a matter of time. “Here,” he pulls up a fieldguide and throws it over to the screen near her. “Find that.” He points to a particular plant that’s in a seasonal variety only in the second case while he pulls the original main case over to him with his tail. He can’t risk going any closer to her than he already is for the moment. Even doing it that way, he knows it's only shame that she knows his weakness that’s keeping his tail from reaching out to her. 

Mech can’t dwell on what he reveals and the only good consequence is that he’s embarrassed enough, and afraid enough of how this might affect their relationship going forward, that it's actually helping to quell the hormones in his blood. Still, he knows he can’t lose focus and so he throws himself into creating the most promising looking medication. It’s untested, but it should compensate for the lack of an actual graviel mate to wait through the reaction with. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to get him into the secure room Gwen’s prepared. Maybe by the time this chemical snap has blown over, Gwen will have not forgotten, but be willing to pretend he never said anything.

He crosses from one wall to the other on his side, feeding the machine there the compounds he’s prepared. “Can you add the amount on the screen?” he asks, voice gruff and awkward. “Then close the lid, that’s the last ingredient.”

“Sure,” Gwen says. He hates and is grateful for how normal she sounds, like he hasn’t just disrupted the perfectly calibrated balance their friendship had managed to reach.

He doesn’t dare look up, waits for the sound of the lid closing and of her footsteps as she crosses back to her side. Even that short trip closer resulted in some of her scent blown his way and she smells like temptation distilled down to its truest form.

He sets the machine running and carefully breathes shallowly until the vents have once more blown away her enticing scent. 

“Mech, really, why me?” Gwen asks, interrupting the quiet. She sounds cautious but unwilling to leave well enough alone. He almost can’t handle that question. “Why would—”

“Of course, it’s you!” the words burst from him without thought, without permission. He’s already bared more of himself than he’d prefer, but this question is the worst because how can she even ask it. “Who else could it be? There’s no one—” He shakes his head and glares at her, unable to help himself. “There’s only you. Always you.”

Her eyes are wide as she looks at him, genuine shock evident. “Mech…”

[Part 4 - NSFW]

#my writing #story: snapped #snapped #alien #sci-fi #science fiction #alien romance #osha compliant #3rd pov #mech #gwen #heat #please dont @ me about the science #its all made up and its for an alien anyway so prove me wrong lol #next part will not be osha compliant #no idea why this took so long to write but it's here now

[angry-geese]

As Blue as Indigo - Naoya Zenin x Reader

Warnings: not osha compliant. femdom, light dom/sub dynamics. oral (fem recieving), nipple play, slight body worship (kinda???). alight praise kink (use of "good boy" when reffering to Naoya. Naoya usually needs his own warning but he's really not that insufferable in this. fem reader

A/N: this might be slightly ooc but ngl this ended up being wayyy different from what I intended when going into this kjfdhk

Word Count: 2.2k

jjk masterlist

For once in his life, Naoya Zenin is speechless.

It takes a tremendous amount of effort to do such a thing. He can count the times of his life on one hand. So as he sits before you on his knees, hardened cock leaking onto the floor, he takes his time memorizing it.

A thin, unlocked door is the only barrier between you and those who wander the Zenin estate at this hour. Your fingers tangle in his soft locks of hair, guiding his head to your cunt. That's what finally snaps him out of his trance. Naoya moves tentatively, the confidence he once held seemingly missing. 

A man of his standing shouldn't be on his knees for a lowly sorcerer such as yourself.

Then why is he so hard?

He thinks you take some sick enjoyment out of torturing him. Perhaps you do. Perhaps Naoya takes an equally sick enjoyment in it.

Slowly—achingly slowly—his hands move to tug down your panties, which are nearly translucent with your own arousal. Around your waist, your skirt has been bunched up, revealing the lacy trims of your stockings. The flimsy fabric falls down your hips, and around your ankles.

It must be part of your cursed technique, he thinks, the way your words pull him in, coaxing him to give up every bit of power he once held.

He memorizes the feeling of your hands cupping his cheeks. The warmth of your skin. Of the calluses on your palms. The length of your fingers, the paint on your nails—badly chipped. The scent of your perfume, and your skin, and your cunt. The way your body moves: confidently, and in control.

There is no sweeter feeling than allowing himself to give in to you. Entirely.

“Go on,” you say.

Naoya’s response—if you can consider it that—is nothing more than a quiet whimper. An undignified sound coming from the man next in line to be the head of the Zenin clan.

Guided by your hands, he tilts his head up, tongue against your clit. He licks a stripe up your slit, before giving in, and attempting to devour you completely. Naoya licks like a man starved, and finally presented with a meal.

“That's my good boy,”

Naoya lets out a strangled sounding noise at your words. Praise. Of course he expects to be praised! He’s the next head of the Zenin clan! All those before him shall…

His heart feels as if it's dinging around in his ribcage. Like it's a coin carelessly tossed down a drain.

You use him. And Naoya is content to be used.

Naoya's eyes trail up your body, to your breasts, watching as they rise and fall with each breath. To your lacy bra pulled down over your breasts. To the way your nipples stiffen when exposed to the cold air. To the scar on your shoulder—a wound earned on a job many years ago. You wore it like a badge of honor; Naoya saw it as carelessness.

He often thinks about running his teeth across that scar. Or taking one of your pebbled nipples into his mouth. Laying you back on his mattress—or bent over it—and burying himself in the heat between your legs. An action many men have died for, and even more have killed for.

His hand finds his achingly hard cock, forming a fist around it. You stop him with your foot, nudging his knees further apart. A low, muffled whine leaves him.

“No touching,” you warn.

The feeling of your nails running along his scalp makes him shiver. His chin glistens in the low light as he pulls away, smeared with a mix of saliva, and your own cum. A line of saliva connects his lips with your cunt.

“And what? How am I supposed to get off?” He asks. “Do you expect me to hump your leg like a bitch in heat?”

Naoya regrets his words the moment they leave his mouth. There’s an evil glint to your eyes that he’s only seen a few times. It seems that the only thing Naoya Zenin has succeeded in, is giving you an idea.

“The only way you’re getting off is against my foot.” You say.

Naoya sputters out a few fragments of a sentence, before pausing, and collecting himself. “Do you really think the man next in line for head of the Zenin clan will-”

He lets out one final, muffled word as you guide his mouth back to its rightful place on your cunt. The taste lingers on his tongue; unripe persimmons, skin, sweat. Intoxicating in a way he has never known before. No drug could ever make him feel quite the same way.

“You're a lot prettier when you aren't talking, Naoya,” you say.

That’s not necessarily true. He’s prettiest when eyeliner is running down his cheeks in streams.

His erection twitches against the top of your foot as you nudge it. The feeling of your tights are strange, but pleasurable. Residing in his fate, he gives you one last pleading look, before he begins grinding against you. The position he’s in is relatively awkward, with his length rubbing against the top of your foot, neck craned to lap at your cunt. His precum leaves your skin—and his—wet enough to provide some stimulation.

“Good boy.”

His cock twitches at your words. So he begins working faster, running his leaking cock along the soft fabric of your tights. Soft moans and whines spill past his lips—he’s trying his best to be quiet. 

“Do you want someone to hear?” You ask. “Because you're being awfully loud…”

The idea almost sounds good to his lust-addled mind. The walls of the Zenin estate are thin. Not much happens around here without someone hearing. Both of you are well aware of that fact, and that makes this moment so much more lewd.

If anyone walks in on you, seeing you use him—and him using you—in such a lewd way, he may kill them. Naoya has a reputation to uphold, after all. The man next in line for clan head can't be caught humping his mistresses’ leg.

Your own orgasm is messy, and the kind that leaves you twitching. Naoya, still buried nose-deep in your sex, sucks and licks until you pull him away. The moans of his mistress are all too sweet to make him do so himself.

His own release can't be far, judging by his labored breathing. But he knows better than to do so without permission. As he pulls away, a line of saliva connects his lips with your skin.

“Please,” Naoya says, “please can I cum?”

Pathetic, he thinks, he must look pathetic to you. But Naoya can't bear to pull himself away.

With your thumb, you swipe away the tears in the corners of his eyes. “You may.” You say.

Those two words alone are enough to send him toppling over the edge. With a strangled sounding noise, he releases himself across the top of your foot, strands of cum dripping onto the floor.

Naoya sits back on his heels, cock softening. Post-orgasm clarity has set in, and so has the realization of what he’s done.

“What a mess…” He says with a scowl. And with that, Naoya Zenin is back to his normal, insufferable self.

“Let's not leave this for someone else to find.” You say.

He watches as you slide your skirt back down your hips, and shirt over your breasts. You must deem your tights to be beyond saving, as you unhook them from the clips of your garter belt, and toss them in a nearby trash can. Hopefully no one will question their absence. If not, you can play it off; perhaps you ripped one on something…

Naoya makes his way over to where you’re standing, lingering slightly to your left. If the situation were any different, the feeling of fingers snaking around yours would make you pull away. You're not expecting it. Neither of you are. Even Naoya appears surprised by his actions.

Oh how he'd like to trace his nails along that scar. Along the scar on your cheek. And the one on your hip. He thinks that's where his respect from you stemmed from. Not from cursed techniques, or eloquence, but from loose screws.

“I… please,” he guides your hand to the top of his head.

“Then be my good boy, and get me something to clean this up with.”

In the time it takes Naoya to fetch a rag, you've discarded your clothes, and made your way over to a window. A cigarette is held between your lips. Despite blowing the smoke out the window, Naoya can still smell it.

"Those are going to rot your bones.” He says. 

Naoya knows what you’re going to say next. People in your line of work rarely make it long enough for that to be a problem. This isn't the first time you’ve had this conversation.

You pat your thigh, motioning towards him with your other hand. “Come,”

And Naoya complies, falling to his hands and knees in the space between your spread legs. Your fings comb through his hair, nails scratching against his scalp. Much like a dog, his head falls into your lap. Exhaustion has set in now, and he’s feeling it in the heaviness of his limbs. The future head of the Zenin clan must always be perfect. But in brief moments like these, it's as if he can rest. He wants… to take one of your stiffened nipples into his mouth. To memorize the feeling of your hands under his.

As if stirred by something—suddenly—Naoya's head lifts up, nudging your hand.

“Lay with me,” he says. It’s not phrased as a question, but it is one. Naoya doesn't expect you to stay with him.

For a moment, a look of apprehension crosses your face. It's getting late… you should be leaving soon. You have a flight out to Seoul in the morning that you can't miss.

“Please,” he says, “haven't I been good?”

This is the closest that Naoya Zenin will ever get to begging.

“You have,” you say, running a hand through his hair. “Help me clean this, and I'll lay with you.”

Your shoulder bumps against his as you reach for the rag, swiftly dealing with the mess on the floor. The mess on the floor doesn't take long to deal with. Someone will come collect the laundry in the morning. He savors the warmth of your body against his. The softness of your curves, and the hard planes of muscle that lie underneath. A work of art in itself.

The room itself is quite warm—summers in Kyoto make sure of that—but Naoya finds himself huddling close to you. His lips brush across your neck. Not in a kiss; he’s savoring your closeness. Those same lips trail down your neck, to the soft flesh of your breasts. Your nipples stiffen under his touch. He takes one into his mouth, tongue running across the pebbled nub.

Naoya wants nothing more than to bury himself in the heat between your legs—there is no feeling more heavenly to him.

His lips find yours, and you can taste yourself on him. The hand that’s not kneading at your breast, trails down your stomach, to the slick between your legs. He finds your clit, pointer and middle finger drawing slow circles around it. The friction isn't enough to get you anywhere—you buck up against his hand. You need more.

Hooking your leg around his hip, you’re able to roll him onto his back, using his body weight against him. Naoya doesn't put up a fight. He knows what’s going to happen next. Your hands find his wrists, shoving them into the mattress beside his head, and settling down onto his hardening cock. 

Naoya’s mouth opens in what must be a protest—he’s not wearing a condom. You don't seem to care. There’s something cold, and clinical about the way you ride him; a concentration he’s only seen in fights. He doesn't much like the thought of comparing himself to a cursed spirit. Not in that sense. The moans that spill past your lips are stifled—something that can be explained by not wanting others to hear. In the low light, your skin glints with sweat.

His hands find your hips, then your hands find his. You drag his fingers up your hips, letting them explore the roadmaps of scars, and stretchmarks. You wide him to, and through your second orgasm. Naoya isn't far behind. His moans soon turn to pleading, then nonsensical sentence fragments. You watch as his body tenses up, before his head falls back to the pillow—spilling hot ropes of cum into your womb.

It’s another moment before you climb off of him, and you do so slowly, as to avoid making a mess. Your skin is sticky with sweat. It was even before the room became stuffy with the heat of two bodies.

Naoya lays on his back, and you lay beside him. He opens his mouth once, and you shoot him a glare, warning him against ruining the moment. You’ve long since given up on making it back to your hotel room tonight. Gritting your teeth, you settle in to wake up early to make your flight.

...

Taglist: @cyancherub @idkhowtoworktumbler

#idk what to title this so thats what im going with #naoya zen'in x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen smut #zenin naoya #zenin naoya x reader #naoya x reader #jjk smut #idk its been so long since ive posted a fic ive forgotten how to tag stuff skdfhkjh

[osha10hourtraining-blog]

Purpose Of Dump Truck Operator Training

Operating heavy equipment takes work. Using the bulldozer, excavator, or backhoe requires specialized skills and considerable experience. The industries that employ such workers must also ensure safety for the workforce. Operating the equipment requires certification and/ or designated years of experience. Moreover, employers must insist on recruiting workers who have successfully undergone the OSHA-approved backhoe loader training.

OSHA-endorsed professionals provide adequate training to prospective operators who are keen to know how to use it effectively without injuring themselves. While it is okay to learn the associated details by taking an online class, the training is not deemed complete without hands-on training. Both parts are equally important and must be taken successfully to obtain the certification.

 There are no prerequisites for taking the online course. The trainee is free to spend an hour to understand the following:-

1. What is a backhoe loader?

2. Components of the heavy equipment

3. How to do basic trenching?

4. Maintenance tips

5. Reason for inspection and the process to do it

6. The associated hazards

7. Safe practices

The next step is to take the final test online. Attaining 80% is essential to get the certificate. The trainee will be provided access to the concerned online resource once the test is completed successfully. This will allow the student to print the certificate of completion along with a checklist that may be handed over to the concerned employer. The company then organizes the practical hands-on training that the certified trainee works for.

Risk Factors of Backhoe Loader Operation

The heavy equipment should be operated only by a trained individual. This will enable the work to be completed perfectly without affecting the safety of the workers and onlookers. Some of the things to keep in mind when attempting to operate the backhoe are:-

· Selecting the right type of equipment.

· Review of the site and working away from the edge.

· Placing the equipment on even ground with no sharp incline, the equipment noticed.

· Raising the bucket to acceptable levels is important, as an increased height may cause the loader to tip over.

· Operating on a steep slope is a strict no-no. The equipment runs the risk of being overturned unless handled with caution.

· Not being strapped in with the aid of a seat belt seriously jeopardizes the safety of the operator. Falling out of the cab may result in serious physical injuries.

· Hitting an object mid-way can become dangerous. The operator must be mindful of the objects in and around the backhoe loader line. It is necessary to step away from individuals, stray animals, buildings, rocks, and dumpsters.

· When moving sand, materials, and dirt, one must be careful not to spill the load onto other workers or equipment in the immediate vicinity.

The OSHA-compliant dump truck operator training is also available for the concerned workers. The trainees are welcome to take a quiz after going through the details. The final test needs to be completed successfully to earn the certificate.

#dump truck operator training #backhoe loader training

[acteggnog93]

Requirements For a Major Site Plan and Neighbor Meetings

Before you start your next project, make sure you review a major site plan. This article outlines the requirements for Signage, Neighbor meetings, and the Application packet. Read on for more information. You should also consider any required permits for construction. If you're concerned that a major site plan is unsuitable, contact the office of Strategic Planning Staff to learn more. If you are unsure whether your project meets the requirements, you can also consult the City Code for the required materials. Review of a proposed major site plan A review of a proposed major site plan is required for all projects that materially alter the appearance of the site, and that may conflict with city policies and guidelines. This review covers the design and construction of any proposed structures on the property, including fencing, signs, and landscaping. It ensures that the project is in compliance with city environmental, building, and design guidelines, as well as fire department and public works requirements. Interested parties may contact the city or county planning department to request a site plan review. A review of a proposed major site plan includes considerations for site compatibility, architecture, and landscape, as well as general land use. It also includes existing conditions and features that may be important to the development concept. If the project involves a major roadway or intersection, the planning agency will take those factors into consideration. Similarly, it will consider pedestrian and vehicular traffic, as well as the appearance of off-street parking facilities. Signage requirements Major site signage must be conspicuous and clearly communicate information to workers and the public. Moreover, signs must contain the proper information, be readable from a distance and have a positive suggestion. They must also be free from sharp edges, splinters and burrs. These signs must meet all OSHA and ANSI requirements. SONCO designs and manufactures construction safety signs, including OSHA-compliant and durable OSHA construction safety signage. The company's stock bilingual security screens can replace several smaller signs, such as entrance designations, safety equipment identification, and prohibited worksite items. The area of the sign must be determined in terms of the total display area of the signs. It includes all signs with a vertical projection, except for temporary signage, which is intended to be displayed for a limited time. Temporary signs include those created by retailers for special promotions. Mobile and portable signs that change their messages frequently do not count. They must be measured in terms of the maximum vertical projection. The area of the signs must be large enough to attract the attention of employees and the public. Neighbor meetings Neighborhood meetings are designed to educate neighbors about a proposed development. These meetings are held to receive public input, discuss concerns, and resolve pending issues. The developer also holds these meetings to address the concerns and questions of neighbors, which can make the planning process less contentious. After the meeting, a developer will file an application with the city. The final decision will be made after the community has received all relevant information. Neighbor meetings are held in the vicinity of the proposed development. Neighborhood meetings are required to be in person and take place within two miles of the proposed development site. The meetings must be held at least once on weekdays after 6 p.m., and on weekends between nine a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Although virtual meetings are not required, they may be held at the applicant's discretion. The applicant may hold more neighborhood meetings than required. 메이저사이트 Ultimately, neighborhood meetings are an important part of the development process.

#메이저사이트

[creativeskullcreations]

Yet MORE Extra Details About the MD Strip Club AU (NSFW. Duh)

I know I said I would include backstory in this one, but I’ve decided to do that next, as I want to expand on this VERY [NON-OSHA COMPLIANT] AU a bit more first. Also I might expand on that new Vampire Brothel AU idea

  With that said, on to the extra stuff!

Ok so like, you sent me two of these and they seem identical so I'm gonna be posting this one.

— — — — —

I’ve said that Uzi, N and V are exotic dancers, but funnily enough, that actually isn’t their fulltime job. 

They actually work in the brothel in the lower levels of the Silver Strip

Uzi, N and V do the dances and “performances” (i.e having sex with each other on stage) to promote their services down in the Silver strip’s brothel

They’re also pretty popular. And the most shameless

I'll be honest, I wanted to put the Legolas saying "Sluts" gif here for a laugh, but I couldn't make it work.

They ALSO rack in some good clients

Moving on, S and J

J and S have a sexual but also very casual relationship. They respect each other’s boundaries and are very much in love

J and S met when J was in the brothel looking for some stress relief. S was open, so J went to her. They had sex, but surprisingly, J found that she wanted to talk with S afterwards. One thing leads to another, and after a few more times of…stress relief…J and S start dating

Good for them.

When they’re on their breaks, they, surprisingly, just talk about stuff. No sex, just talking. Also cuddling. Cuddling is good

S’s personality is relaxed and easy-going. But make no mistake, like Uzi, she’s down for anything when it comes to sex. She’s also soothing presence for a lot of people, and urges her clients to talk about their problems that they feel like they need to get off their chest before having sex. It’s one of the many reason J loves her

S is one of the main reasons J joined the Silver Strip. She makes her feel happy in ways she hadn’t known before and she wants to be near her

Aw.

One of the other reasons J joined was because of the good pay and free housing

Makes sense. I'd probably do the same.

J is S’s most frequent patron 

J usually just visits S either for her own stress relief, or to give S a break from a hard day and makes sure she’s…thoroughly relaxed

Oh yeah, J finally grew a pair and pleasures S sometimes.

J’s surprisingly gentle with S, considering how…busy…she can be at times

S is also the first person’s J’s pleasured in return

 J’s stress relievers go in this order: If she’s stressed, she’ll have a drink from her bar. When that isn’t enough, she goes to S. If she’s busy with someone else, she’ll find someone else. Though, if they’re close by and not with another client, she’ll go to either Uzi, V, or N

J’s a lot nicer to both N and everyone else in this AU

Probably cause she's getting laid on the regular, and not just when N can corner her and make her relax.

J just sees Uzi, V and N as friends with benefits and vice versa. They’ll either talk about they’re job, have sex, or talk about their jobs while having sex. It’s a mutual friendship with benefits, nothing more. and J likes it that way. As does Uzi N and V

J will sometimes confide in either Uzi, N, V, or all three for comfort, but more often than not she goes to S

Also, Uzi’s skimpy maid outfit now has a tight polyester choker around her neck, a bunch of tight polyester strands going up and down her body connected by the top and bottom parts (though still exposing the main chest area) and garter belts

Nice.

Speaking of outfits, J’s outfit is a more casual version of her old uniform, the outer jacket being replaced by a bartender vest. She still has her old inner suit and tie, though the sleeves are rolled up considering she can’t fit her arms through them

Cool. Glad she could keep it.

Little known fact about the Silver Strip, it’s big. Not ridiculously big, but big enough to make a person say “Wow that’s big” when they hear how big exactly it is. I don’t have an exact size but…it’s big enough to house an apartment complex so..IT’S BIG

One more thing before I wrap this up: the thing J went through wasn’t her dying and coming back. I’ll explain what it was exactly in the next one :)

Oooo, interesting.

— — — — —

Welp, that’s all I can think of for the AU at the moment! Next time, I’ll tell you how the gang ended up in the Silver Strip!

  Till then!

#submission #murder drones #non osha compliant #strip club au

[technicallynonexistent]

The Lady Who Sought Sanctuary, Act 1

Okay so I guess I’m posting this. All the fic is under a cut, as per Tumblr etiquette. 

Media: Balan Wonderworld

Genre: adventure, self-insert (no romance involved), crossover in later chapters

Warnings: allusions to prior domestic violence (of the emotional/verbal variety).

There was no avoiding it. She had classes the next day, and her mother wouldn’t pick her up from her hiding place. So she had to go home, even with Jim still there. 

All the same, she was loath to do it. It was only one week a month - usually. But of late, even that long was too much for her.

Usagi plucked another lemon from the branch and placed it in her grocery bag. At least these might pacify him, she figured. Sure, it would give away where she had been, and lemons seemed an odd, if not backhanded, peace offering in any other context. But Jim was a cook, though no longer by trade. What better gift for a cook than fresh ingredients? Usagi’s hosts were glad to let her take some - their trees yielded far more than even their family of eight could use in a season. Even a whole weekend of harvesting and squeezing fresh lemonade with her friend and the other five children didn’t dent their crop.

With one last lemon, the bag was filled, and Usagi set it down with a sigh. Lugging her haul two blocks home would have to wait. She peered into the thicket between the trees, hoping to find a spot of ground that wasn’t too muddy to sit and rest a while in the shade.

She found, instead, a door.

Usagi knew that door was not there before - surely she would have noticed it over the weekend. Especially since they had all sheltered from the rain in that very thicket on Sunday afternoon. And she would have noticed the inexplicable pull it had on her. What next, a white rabbit toting a pocket watch?

A small, blue puffball with pointed ears pushed the door open with two smaller pom poms for hands? Arms? ... Appendages. It noticed Usagi and chirped at her with a small, yellow beak.

Talk about timing.

Now Usagi had a famously vivid imagination - she couldn’t have made the Technically Nonexistent Space, her fictional home-away-from-home, without it. But this felt decidedly different. So either this was an illusion of another’s doing, or it was straight-up magic.

The puffball was now at her feet. It chirped again and hopped back towards the door, which it had left open. It now hopped up and down in front of the door as if to beckon Usagi forward.

“Do you… Want me to follow you in?”

The creature chirped again.

Well. It did beat going home to Jim.

---

Beyond the door was what appeared to be the front lobby of a theater. Not unlike a dinner theater she went to long ago, the walls were adorned with posters promoting all kinds of shows: a Chinese opera starring Sun Wukong in one of his many exploits; a familiar young man wielding an equally familiar sword, with part of his face hidden in shadow; a silhouette of a towering creature with a bright, red heart glowing in its clawed hands… some Beauty and the Beast retelling, perhaps? Another that stood out to her showed only two figures overlooking a snowy landscape, the sun shining brightly above them. Some light caught on a chandelier above, reflecting across the posters and the rest of the room.

As Usagi proceeded, the only sounds were the chiming of the silver bell around her neck, her sneakers against tile, and the occasional chirp or trill from the sentient pom pom that beckoned her in here. Said pom pom, something told her, was apparently named Tim. Or, perhaps, its species was called Tim. For lack of any other instruction, or signs of life besides the two, she continued to follow Tim through the lobby and to what looked in every aspect like a dining hall. No sign of a stage yet. The floor, she noticed, looked too reflective here - almost as if its tile was coated with a thin layer of water. That couldn’t be OSHA compliant.

The room darkened, and her little friend Tim was now nowhere in sight. She became acutely aware of the ever growing darkness, until she couldn’t even see a reflection in the somehow-not-slippery floor. Was she even still in that room, or did the darkness take her somewhere else entirely?

Wait… How long have I even been here?!

Whether time passed here slower, faster, or exactly the same - that was a question she’d never considered before then. What if this place spat her back out in her friend’s backyard fifty years later, or five hundred years later? If she never got back home, sure she’d avoid Jim for the rest of her days, but what about her mother? Her brother, whom even with their differences she still cared about? And her cats! What would happen to the cats?! 

As her worries piled on her, Usagi failed to notice the shadowy creatures emerging to surround her until it was impossible not to. Even then, the only things that separated them from the darkness in her vision were their luminescent markings and white, pointy-nosed masks. The scene resembled a mob of medieval plague doctors in neon body paint, which sounds absurd until you think about it and realize that it would, in fact, be quite the frightful scene.

When she did notice them, Usagi simply stared at the mob -  or at least those in her line of sight. The mob stared back. If they could blink, she certainly couldn’t tell through the eyeholes in their masks. She knew she should fear them, and probably should run, but right then they were the only thing resembling a light source in this now pitch-black place.

Negati. The same something that told her Tim was Tim told her that’s what these were. It didn’t tell her what to do about them, however.

Click

Click

Click

Click

The sea of Negati parted for a tall, thin man as golden heels made contact with the tile. Eyes like sapphires were set in a face of porcelain, framed by long, silver hair and adorned with a single black teardrop beneath his left eye. Whether it was makeup or a tattoo, or maybe a natural feature of the man’s face, Usagi still couldn’t tell even when he was right in front of her. He wore a suit of white also, with accents of gold, purple boots? If you could call them boots? That reached to his knees; and frilled cuffs of black and pink on the long sleeves of his coat.

The man offered a hand to help Usagi back to her feet. She took the gloved hand - comically large relative to the rest of his frame, she noticed - and with his assistance scrambled upright.

“Uh, hi. And thank you,” Usagi muttered. Surprisingly her pant legs and fluffy wolf tail were both dry, even after crumpling to what she swore earlier was a wet floor.

“The pleasure is mine,” the man replied. His voice matched the rest of him - light and elegant. “Now then, introductions are in order, I find. I am Lance, Maestro of Tragedy. And I believe your name was…?”

“Usagi - you may call me Usagi.”

“Usagi! That was it. Now, I believe there’s a question you seek to posit?”

Was there? Usagi had to think about that for a moment.

Oh! Right, duh!

“Actually there is. This place seems lovely, and I mean no offense, but I really should get home. Can you help me get out of here? Ideally to the time and place I came from?”

“In matters of time, there’s no need to worry,” Lance assured her with a smile. “Here in Wonderworld, no one ever has to hurry.”

“So… Time here doesn’t match up with reality? Or at the very least, when I get back to reality it’ll be back from where and when I came?”

“In this you are correct.”

“Oh thank goodness!” Usagi sighed. “In that case, then… I guess? I could stay a little longer?”

“To host you longer would be my pleasure. You may find Wonderworld too good to leave, however…”

“... Meaning…?”

“Here in the theater, you can set a stage of your own - never again to suffer, nor hide in fear alone.”

This gave Usagi some pause. To never face Jim again, or hear his loud profanities, his crude comments, or mocking her hobbies… Never again would Usagi have cause to flinch at the jingling of keys like the ones clipped to his belt loop.

But what about Mom? About her brother? Or the cats? Or her friend whose parents hosted her that weekend? Or her other friends, for that matter - and her grandparents. Not to mention she already had a “stage,” as Lance called it - independent of this theater, where she could come and go as she pleased. 

“I sense,” Lance said, “That you hesitate for all you hold dear. You know, you can recreate it all here - all your fictional friends, and those who were real. You’d never have them too far, or too near.”

“But it wouldn’t be the same, would it?”

“Must it be, though? I thought you sought escape from the world you know.” 

With this, Lance took Usagi’s hand again - she noticed this time it was surprisingly cold. But it was solid, like the first time - so by two witnesses he was not a demon. Not that she’d suspected until he started pushing this stage idea.

“Come now,” he said, “I’ll show you how it’s done. Setting a stage is easy, and many report quite fun. I’ll even give you a bonus, my dear new friend: your memories and your pain, I can take away and thus end.”

“Woah woah woah, wait a sec!” Usagi withdrew her hand, with surprisingly little resistance from Lance, and stepped back a couple paces. “Who said anything about taking my memories?”

Lance blinked.

“Would you not be happier without them? There’d be nothing to miss from that world, then.”

“But I can’t - I can’t just leave my mom and brother out there. Not forever, anyway -”

“You already chose your own skin, when you started fleeing each month from Jim.”

“What else am I supposed to do?!” 

Now it was Lance who stepped back, if only a little. The Negati meanwhile grew bigger with the outburst, if only a bit.

“... I know it’s not fair,” Usagi said. “I know I’m a coward for leaving the rest of my family to deal with him. My brother never lets me forget that. I just… I can’t. It’s too much. I’m not strong enough anymore…”

Wait. She never even told Lance about Jim... 

Usagi looked Lance in the eyes for the first time she figured since their meeting - not that she’d avoided it intentionally. But what she saw right then caused her to recoil and try for the first time to run. No longer did she see the gentle smile of the man in white, but yellow sclera and a wicked sharp-toothed grin. Almost immediately the Negati took chase, with a transfigured Lance not too far behind.

Crap, what direction did she come in here from again…?! Crap, crap, crap, crap!

“Now, now. We’ve only just begun!”

Usagi, almost at a wall anyway, looked around for the voice. Unless his change had altered his voice as well, she knew it couldn’t be Lance. Seeing Lance pause and groan the groan she knew all too well as an older sibling confirmed her hypothesis. Also, why was this new voice quoting a Carpenters song? Or was he?

“... To live?” Usagi answered.

“Well, yes, but that’s not my point,” The voice replied, seeming to miss the queue for the song’s next line. Definitely a coincidence. 

A spotlight shone on a loft above them, revealing another tall man in white with his back, and face, to his audience. Usagi recalled that being a faux pas of live theater, but thought it best not to comment. After all she was still, as far as she knew, in very real danger.

“Step aside, Lance, lest our newest guest you shun!” The man struck a dramatic pose with this line and pointed at Lance. The Negati were well into a retreat effort by this point, leaving the dark maestro alone with Usagi on the still-too-wet-looking floor in the re-illuminated room before Lance, too, fled to the shadows with a cat-like hiss.

The stranger now turned his golden-eyed gaze to Usagi - who just then processed that said eyes seemed set into the red band of his top hat, of all things. His pearly-white grin grew wider as he dove down from the loft to bow with a flourish before the damsel recently-out-of-distress. 

“Allow me to introduce myself: the true Maestro of Wonderworld, Balan himself.”

…

“I don’t mean to be rude, especially after you just saved my life,” Usagi said, “But… Was that supposed to rhyme?”

Balan shrugged. 

“Well, they can’t all be winners. Anyway! I believe you lost this?” A familiar chirp sounded, and Tim popped up from behind his teal dreadlocks and lept into Usagi’s arms.

“Tim!” She caught him before his little round body could hit the ground, and the puffball greeted her again with a trill and… purring? Usagi didn’t realize the otherwise bird-like Tim would pur, cat ears notwithstanding. The next thing she knew, Balan was behind the pair, pulling up a chair that Usagi promptly backed into. 

With a snap of his fingers, Balan summoned multiple puffballs like Tim, in a multitude of bright colors and varying animal-trait combinations. The only constants were the pom-pom limbs, round bodies, little beady eyes, and tiny yellow beaks.

“Wait…. Are they all named Tim?!”

“Yes and no. ‘Tim’ is the name of their species, if you must know.”

Usagi looked down at the purring Tim in her lap.

“From now on your name is Tiny. Tiny Tim. Got that?”

Tiny blinked and chirped. Usagi took that as a yes.

“And now, with our Tims in a row,” Balan announced from a large stage at the front of the room that was definitely not there before. “All that’s left to say is…”

On with the show!

#self insert #self insert fanfic #self insert fanfiction #balan wonderworld #balanposting #my writing #(btw this is set like ten years in the past I'm no longer in any contact with Jim nor is anyone in my family I'm safe) #funny hat man

[daydream-believin]

The Never-Ending Roadtrip (waffles)

summary: (part 1) or (part 5) <- reader joins douxie on his quest to protect nari. he’ll need company wont he. (part 6) do you like waffles? also appalachia and nj trollmarket fun. next-> (part 7)

warnings: swearing, fem! reader, maybe an alcohol mention, proof reading is for squares yo

word count: 3875

a/n: i’m sorry to anyone from PA but wtf. i also have no idea why this turned out the way it did. bon apetit.

no gif im trying to test something

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Y/n looked over at Douxie. The blue of his hair was starting to fade into a duller hue. While not as bright and bold as his personality, it was still very nice to look at. This muted blue was softer, almost comforting in a way. Y/n found herself running her fingers through it. It wasn’t just the color that was soft. Like feathers in her hand, she gently caressed the strands. The duller color made him look tired, older, and the permanent bags under his eyes didn’t help. She placed her hand on his face and ran her thumb over a said eye bag. He gave her a very subdued smile in return. His sunken eyes were so beautiful. Her favorite color. Or colors, one should say. They were like an earth toned opal. Y/n’s hand drifted down his face. She used her thumb to explore his cheekbones, tracing constellations in his freckles, and finally settled on his mouth, tracing his cupid’s bow. Douxie couldn’t help but break the stoic face he was trying to hold.

“As much as I hate to ask this, and I really do, but will you please cease what you’re doing, My Love. I’m trying to drive here.”

“Yes, I would also like to ask you to stop, miss L/n. Not wrecking the ship is worth you canning your pda for a while.” Archie added.

Y/n pulled her hand back and exaggeratedly pouted. She teasingly stuck her tongue out at Archie for good measure, but couldn’t help but dissolve into a snicker right after so it wasn’t very effective. But really, it wasn’t her fault that Douxie’s beautifully sculpted face was right there and demanding to be touched. She tried to distract herself by focusing on the scenery around them. North Pennsylvania was delightful, so it’d be a shame if she spent the whole time that they flew through it looking at nothing but Douxie. There was plenty of time for her to do that the rest of her life. It’s not like she didn’t have every freckle memorized already. Every single adorable little dot. Right, Pennsylvania. Appalachia. Y/n was a little disappointed they didn’t manage to go through West Virginia, being as north as they were. She really wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Country roads.

The mountains were hard to transverse through, so Douxie took the boat up high in the clouds. A little too high. The oxygen was thin. While this didn’t affect Archie the dragon or Nari the plant goddess, Douxie and Y/n were getting a bit woozy. Neither would get altitude sickness to the point of dying, thanks to that good ol’ curse of immortality, but their minds weren’t exactly operating at high speeds here. They passed through a low hanging cloud in a puff of fog.

Though they were over it, just being in the range of Appalachia felt odd. There was a presence that clung to the mountains. Even flying high up in the air, one felt as though they were being watched. Like the thousand eyes of the forest were upon them. Looking down below, hanging over the edge like Douxie hated her to do, Y/n saw a herd of deer that might as well be ants. Watching over the herd was a bigger, or maybe closer, stag on a peak of some sort. His antlers were covered in crimson. Y/n hoped he was just shedding.

There were pathways cutting through the trees below, some roads, some manmade trails, some rivers, some troll trails, and some deer trails. Some that wound around in endless curves, some that seemed to start from nowhere and stop at nothing, some that went round and round in a circle, and some that crossed over each other, effectively creating a maze of sorts. Y/n didn’t know why, but she was glad she was above the trees and not in them. Something within her gut told her that as beautiful as the scenery was, she did not wish to experience it first-hand. The deer below were beautiful, but there was something not quite right about them. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to turn down a game of ninepins either, and she could really go for a drink.

Douxie’s brain may have been foggy, but he could certainly see Y/n hanging over the edge again, tantalizing him. He couldn’t help but imagine 174 ways for it to end badly. He’d been pretty passive about this before but now that they were so high up, he had no choice but to be up front now.

“Y/n, My Love,” Y/n turned her attention to him, which also pulled her weight more towards the boat than the sky. Good. “do you mind being back near the center of the ship? I really don’t like you draping yourself over the railing like that.”

Y/n was getting sick and tired of people always trying to keep her away from edges, advising her not to climb the mountain, telling her to stay inside when there was only a light rainstorm. She could handle it. She wasn’t a fucking porcelain doll. She was not wearing a fancy gown that suffocated her, she could speak, her lips were not perfectly painted on. And she wouldn’t shatter. “Relax, Dewdrop. I’m fine. I’m not just gonna go skydiving for kicks. If anyone has had a penchant for falling through the sky recently, it’s been you, Hisirdoux. I can catch myself with anti-gravity spells, like you taught me. Besides, we walk across tall, crumbly, ancient non-osha compliant walkways all the time. You never had a problem then.”

“Well,” He huffed, “it would be one thing if I was there next to you, but I’m not, so could you please just try to stay safe when I can’t reach you?” Y/n was taken about at how quick his tone went from annoyed to desperate. She furrowed her brows. Doux sighed, “Look, it frightens me, okay. I know that nothing will happen, but what if it does? I can’t- I can’t lose you.” His tone got even feebler in his pleading. “And there’s so many ways to lose you. Especially with the Order on our tails. Please, just give me this peace of mind for at least one thing.”

Y/n stepped away from the railing, crossing over to Douxie. He opened his arm and she nestled into his side. Pressing her head against his chest, she mumbled, “Absolutely. I’ll just—I’ll just stay here then. Next to you. I’m sorry I worried you. That was the last thing I wanted to do.”

He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. “Thank you, My Darling.”

~ ~ ~

The dipped down south to go through the top of Maryland and completely through Delaware to get to the south of New Jersey, in place of just going through Philadelphia. The city of brotherly love was not on the itinerary.  Philly, and the top of New Jersey, were just too densely populated to take a magic boat through. The airspace was filled with airplanes and skyscrapers. It was easier to go the roundabout way.

As they passed between Philly and Lancaster, they went by fantastically named towns such as Paradise the city, where the girls are pretty, Bird In Hand, Blue Ball, and Intercourse. Stellar. Y/n was starting to really like Pennsylvania. It was cursed ground. She made sure to get photographic evidence of every road sign. Douxie was happy to pose with them.

They took a pit stop in a town called Peach Bottom before leaving Pennsylvania. Y/n wanted to go through New Texas, since she was curious how somewhere in the original colonies could be a new Texas, but Nari could sense a river nearby, and wanted to seek it out. Peach Bottom. It was a cozy little town with a power plant that was dumping it’s waste into the riverside it was built on. Toxic river. Fun. Y/n made Douxie explain to Nari why she couldn’t get near the river or touch any of the water. Y/n wouldn’t have been able to stay as calm as Douxie could. There was nothing happening in the rural Pennsylvanian town. Nothing special about it unless you counted their countless nuclear admissions. The locals didn’t care for strangers, and that was alright with them cause they didn’t want to be here for any more than necessary for a restroom break. Dinner could wait.

The top of Maryland was great. Lots of rivers to make it up to Nari. There was just, an incredibly large walmart near the line. Just absolutely humongous whopper walmart. A leach whose name doesn’t even deserve to be capitalized, thank you very much autocorrect.

It took less than half an hour to fly right through the top of Delaware. Hi Delaware, bye Delaware.

Soon they were on the coast of south New Jersey, headed for a sleepy town called Monty. Monty was a town along the Cohansey, split across it with quite an impressive bridge between the two sides. As soon as the bridge became visible on the skyline, Y/n grabbed Douxie’s sleeve and tugged excitedly. She looked up at him with a big smile. Rest. At last, they were going to get to rest. Y/n made herself busy calling Jim to let him know that they were there so he could call someone else to let them know that they were there and to wait by the entrance for them. Neither Douxie nor Y/n had a horngazzle on them at the moment. Y/n had had one in her possession back in Arcadia, being book club buddies with Blinky, but alas that was destroyed along with their bookstore.

They hid that damn magic boat in the forest. While they did plan on staying with the trolls for a few weeks, Douxie didn’t put it back in its glass bottle quite yet, cause they were in fact taking it into New York not tomorrow but the next day. He covered the ground around it with a few more wards than necessary. Y/n threw up an illusion spell around it, as she had been all the other times they’d just left it in the woods, and thought the wards were overkill but didn’t say anything. They started on the trek to the base of the bridge.

The troll at the entrance greeted them cordially. He was a dark green color, with two massive horns resembling those of a longhorn cow, chiseled stone tattoos, and no clothes other than a tiny loincloth which made everyone but Nari uncomfortable. He let them in with flourish, as if he’d always wanted to do this and practiced it.

“Welcome to NEW JERSEY TROLLMARKET.”

Y/n was surprised at how well the town had come along within the two months the trolls had occupied the cavern. It wasn’t the Trollmarket she had known, there was no Blinky and no library, but still marvelous. The new hearthstone glowed warmly, very much alive and not making zombies. While looking pretty similar to the old Trollmarket, with a multitude of shops and homes carved into the mineral covered walls and formations, there was a sort of human touch to it now. Claire definitely had a hand in the planning and maybe the decorative features too. Or perhaps Jim. Y/n wouldn’t put it past the boy to be the one who designed the very elaborate crystal art flower bed she was looking at. Or that weirdly steampunk bridge. Funny thing, a bridge under a bridge.

Dictatious met them soon after they came in to show them around and to where they would be staying. The tour he gave them basically just included him walking them through the main street, waving his arms to various places and vaguely saying that they were shops but not what they sold, pointing out the pub, and then took them straight to their accommodations. Since the home that had been occupied by Blinky, Jim, and Claire was now empty, they’d be staying there, with the place practically to themselves. Dictatious also lived in said home, but rarely stuck around it for long now that his brother was gone.

“Alright, here’s your nest.”

Since Dictatious still slept in the nest that he shared with Blinky, he had given them Jim and Claire’s. The nests were just rocky bowls carved into the floor of the room, with a few comfort items. Thankfully, Jim and Claire had left theirs full of pillows and a couple thick cushions they must have taken from a couch. Unconventional, but better than sleeping on literal solid rock. Speaking of couches, there were way too many couches spread across the apartment. This entire place only had two rooms, a large living area and a nestroom, and yet there were five couches. Not to mention the extra-large easy chair Dic was currently lounging in. Okay, so one of said couches was technically a love seat, but still. There was no kitchen, which was surprising due to this being Jim Lake Jr’s home, and no table besides the one that three of the sofas were gathered around and a paper-covered work desk against a corner. There were glowing crystal lamps all throughout, lighting the house. All in all, interesting interior design decisions. The kids had definitely been trying to make it a more homey human dwelling but had limited options.

Nari nestled into the nest, happy that there were no blankets to smother her. Not even a minute passed and she was out like a light. Douxie and Y/n sat on one of the couches in the nestroom, watching the veggie lady snooze. Archie made himself comfy in Douxie’s lap, who absent mindedly stroked his familiar’s fur. They were underground now. Surrounded by inorganic matter. Some of that inorganic matter could fight, would be willing to fight, would probably be disappointed if there wasn’t a fight. The little devil on Douxie’s shoulder wasn’t really having to work hard. His stomach growled. They had opted to just not stop for dinner in favor of plowing right through their trip route. It was late, and dark, and Douxie really just wanted them to have a roof over their head before midnight. And now they did.

He looked over at Y/n. They had been a couple for an entire day now and he had yet to take her on a proper date. What a bad boyfriend he was. It’s not like Archie would want to come with them or anything either, since he filled himself with birds that didn’t know what hit them while they traveled. The dragon had even caught a hawk at one point, which wasn’t as impressive as it sounds, since Archie was a much faster flyer. He would be happy to watch Nari for them, surely. And Dic had given them a horngazzle so they could come and go as they pleased. It was settled then.

“Arch, watch Nari for us, please, we’ll be back in a pinch,” He grabbed Y/n’s hand to pull her off the couch, “C’mon, My Love, we’re going on a date.”

~ ~ ~

Turns out the only thing open past midnight in small town New Jersey was a waffle house. The perfect date. Y/n had thought it funny to watch Douxie try and deactivate all the fresh wards he had put around the boat. He had to be careful where he put his feet, and it was like he was doing a silly little dance. Ward trap ballet of his own barely thought-out design. At one point he stepped backwards to admire his work, triggering the ward behind him, and Y/n had to free him from the net. Lucky it was just a net one.

Entering the waffle house, they slid into the nearest booth, the one near the jukebox. They ordered what else but waffles. The food of kings and hungover college kids. Not just plain waffles, though. Douxie got chocolate chip and Y/ got strawberry, and they were going to combine them to make chocolate covered strawberry waffles. Everyone knows chocolate covered strawberries were the most romantic food, why else would they push them so hard around Valentine’s.

Douxie leaned in with his head in his hand. “So, tell me about yourself.”

Y/n laughed, decided to play into this bit. “Oh, I’m just a California lass, on her way to New York. Things have been crazy lately. Went to a very convincing renaissance faire, I’m harboring a fugitive, my roommate keeps hitting on me. Very stressful.  Sure am lucky I came across you, Mr. Handsome.”

“Lucky indeed.” Doux snickered.

Y/n pointed to the jukebox behind Doux, which he twisted around to see. “Have you ever heard ‘Last Night I Saw Elvis At Waffle House’?”

“No?”

“Oh, it’s a banger.” She got out of the booth and put a coin in the juke, making her selection. She slid back in with a Cheshire cat grin and Doux was kind of scared now, actually. As the current song ended and the song that they were waiting for began. Well, it was a song. About seeing Elvis in a waffle house. With a country tune he supposed someone thought was catchy in order for them to have recorded this. Douxie didn’t know what he had expected.

“Uh, wow.”

“Yeah, Ain’t it something. I loved this song when I was knee high to a grasshopper. All the waffle house jams really.”

“Your aunt let someone bring you to a waffle house? That’s not very proper.” Douxie chuckled.

“Oh, no, actually. Um, this was before my dad passed and my mother, ah, slipped.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Douxie rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry I mentioned it.”

“No, no. I’m fine Dewdrop. I can talk about it, really. And, like you said the other day, I’ve been focusing on the Now Love.” The silly waffle house themed song was still playing despite the air of seriousness that had fallen over the duo. It helped keep Y/n from getting too sad and dwelling on the memories she had just brought up. It was comical, really. A waffle house song keeping her grounded. She rubbed the palm of Douxie’s hand. “I still mourn my family, but it’s been so long that the pain’s but a dull ache now. As long as I don’t think too hard about it. If anyone knows about mourning it’d be you, Doux. I can’t imagine meeting hundreds of friends over my lifetime just to watch them all grow old and die while you just have to go on living.” She paused, eyes drifting downwards, “But I suppose that’ll be my fate anyways.”

Douxie reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s actually not that bad, once you get used to it. You just have to enjoy every bit of time you get. That’s what makes other magic friends so valuable, there are some permanent players on your team.” He let his hand linger under her jaw, pulling her face closer to his, “You have me. We have each other. We’re family. We always have been.”

“So I hate to interrupt, but, waffles.” The server put the plates she had been holding down onto the table. Douxie and Y/n pulled away from each other quick as lightning, sitting up straight in their seats. “Again, sorry guys.”

“Thank you.” The two chorused to their fleeting form in embarrassment. Their faces were fire engine red. Archie was right, they did get a little carried away with the pda. It may have been 12:28am in a waffle house but they were still in public. Grabby hands needed to be kept to themselves.

After dinner, neither Doux nor Y/n could bring themselves to go home quite yet, despite the nagging feeling to return to Nari. They loitered around woods, unsure of what to do. Leaning against the parked boat, Douxie got an idea. He put on the music on his phone, turning the volume all the way up and positioning it so it’d put out a better sound the best he could. The playlist he selected was actually the one he had of songs that reminded him of his beloved. Copying what Y/n had done last night, he held out his hand.

“Come on, dance with me, My Darling.”

Douxie twirled Y/n around in the night breeze that blew through the trees. This song was much faster than the one they danced to last time, and there was more energy between them. Y/n’s laugh echoed through the forest. This was a lot of fun, she could do it all night. Honestly, she could do anything all night if it was with Douxie. He lifted her up, like she weighed nothing. Seriously, how strong was this noodle armed wizard. She threw her arms around his neck, looking down to meet his eyes, a rare thing. Y/n kissed his nose, eliciting a happy giggle from his mouth.

He should have put her back down by now. Instead, he still held her up, transfixed by her face ringed in moonlight, like a halo. She noticed the awestruck look on his face, kissing him properly, yet it did nothing to pull him out of his stupor. He had one thought running over and over in his mind. Marry me. But, he couldn’t say that. A proposal had to be special, not after a waffle house date. Their first date, mind you. He couldn’t possibly jus-

“Marry me, Dewdrop?”

Well apparently he couldn’t but she absolutely could.

It took him a moment to take in her words, shocked out of his overthinking. The biggest grin spread across his face as he giddily spun her around in his arms. He finally put her feet back on the ground, crashing his lips into hers. Y/n brought a hand up to drag through his hair and left the other to slide down his back. No battle for dominance, Douxie’s tongue was definitely the one leading here. He just couldn’t believe it. It was if she had read his mind. It was still hard for him to believe she wanted him in the first place, but this much? If this was the afterlife he must surely be in heaven. One makeout session later, Y/n rasped “So I’m guessing that’s a yes?”

“Let’s sign the papers tomorrow.”

~ ~ ~

Despite the uneasy feeling they had both had about leaving Nari alone for so long, she was perfectly fine. In fact she hadn’t even moved an inch form the spot they left her in. Like they never left at all. Archie was asleep on that couch, as peaceful as ever. They’d tell him the news in the morning.

Y/n climbed into the nest and dragged Douxie down with her. After getting comfy on the array of cushions, he opened his arms and she nestled into his chest. She could feel his hands rest on her back. Perfect. It was calming, listening to his heartbeat, being lulled to sleep with the rhythm that gave proof that her beloved was alive. A steady beat that reassured her he was there, he was there. He wouldn’t leave her again.

*** check notes for chapter illustrations lmao

#douxie x reader #douxie x y/n #hisirdoux casperan x reader #hisirdoux x reader #douxie casperan x reader #douxie imagine #douxie casperan imagine #hisirdoux casperan imagine #hisirdoux imagine #tales of arcadia x reader #douxie #toa douxie #hisirdoux casperan #toa hisirdoux #douxie casperan #my writing

[hognosesnakehalloweenfest]

Oct 19: Air Pockets

By Thunder (@THUNDERD0NE on twitter, Driftbit on AO3, @driftbit on tumblr)

"Jameson."

"Not here right now. Please leave a message after the tone."

"Jameson! Wake up now, lazy ass."

The aforementioned Jameson let out a low, grossly faux snore.

"James, please. Take this seriously."

Slowly, as if his eyelids were weighed down with the hundreds of sheep he had been counting, Jameson peered over toward his coworker. The bright orange and yellows of his uniform glared back at him, under the fluorescent lights of the train car, and he shut his eyes again. Why West needed to be OSHA compliant even on their commute home was beyond him. "I'm awake. What do you want."

"Did you take the film off the new glass before we left?" West asked. Even with his eyes closed, Jameson could perfectly envision the determined yet gentle glare being leveled back at him. "It was the last thing we were supposed to do. Then the green line trains will be all set."

The last part of his phrase was obstructed by the squealing of wheels and release of steam as the train wheezed to a stop. A leg bumped into Jameson's, as the person sitting to the other side of him headed for the doors. Peering through his eyelashes back at West, Jameson crooked an eyebrow at him.

"It's just a bit of plastic, doesn't fuckin' matter, man."

"Maybe, but it was the last touch! We were supposed to do that, so they could be all shiny before the grand opening tomorrow."

"We can do it in the morning, Wes, get your shit together." He flicked his phone over to peek at the time, 2AM, with home nearly in sight. Glancing out the window, the skyline was only dotted with the occasional street lamp. Even the moon was asleep before he was. All he wanted was his bed, his pillows, and an uninterrupted eight consecutive hours for nobody to bother him. "We clocked out already, anyways, we're halfway home."

"We can't do it in the morning because someone took tomorrow off because, and I quote, 'I don't want to deal with that fuckhead mayor.' There's too many for me to do alone tomorrow, James."

"Just leave it! It doesn't matter. Doubt the fat fuck will notice the difference anyways." Jameson closed his eyes, shaking his head again. He wasn't big on politics, the last time he could remember voting was for superlatives in high school, and even then that was a joke; his crooked teeth and bleeding gums weren't ever getting Best Smile. But that mayor was a shithead in his honest-to-god opinion. He only wanted new trains because one finally kicked the bucket. Experts like him and West said there was no point in trying to fix the forty-year-old cars for ten years, and only when they completely lost one train did he want a new one. It wasn't like the constant cancelations, delays, packed subways affected anyone, right Mister Mayor?

"James, I would rather not get fired over some unpeeled plastic, and I know you feel the same way. And with the hiring shortages-"

"Fine! Fine. We can go. But you owe me a beer. Or at least like. Therapy for creepin' around that god-forsaken junkyard at the witching hour, of all times."

"Thank you James. I owe you a beer." West nudges James' hand with his own, making him open his eyes again, just a crack. Before him, West held out his pinky, twitching it slightly. Begrudgingly, he wrapped it in his own, before yanking the both of them to their feet and out of the train, onto the next one back to the yard.

"What's your phone at?"

"About twenty percent. Yours?"

"Fifteen. There's like-... Management has flashlights. If we really need, we can get into their office, borrow them for tonight."

"I mean...? It's just a bit of plastic. Won't cause too much trouble." Jameson holds his hand up to the first car window, scratching his nails against the thin sheet. His fingertips pause over pockets of air that shift under his hand, wrinkling his nose at the feeling. It was only temporary, however; he found the corner of the film soon enough. Getting his nails under the plastic, he yanks hard and pulls it off. The plastic groans as it peels away, elongating under the force of his tug. As he throws it to the ground, he becomes uncomfortably aware of the residue of the stickiness beneath his nails, shuddering. He tries to flick it out.

"No use, is it?" West says, watching him and picking at his nails. "We've got a lot more to do. Better get used to it."

"Yeah. Go around to the other side, will you? We'll split it. Sound good?"

West nods, barely containing a yawn. "Yup. Sounds just fine to me." Their voice carries away from Jameson as they walk to the other side of the train, disappearing from sight into the darkness of the night.

The peeling was simple enough, once he got into the groove of it. Reach, feel for the corner, yank hard and discard. Repeat ad nauseum, just like all the odd jobs he had to do here. It was boring work, but someone decided that it was necessary, so he had to do it. Who cared if the glass had fingerprints on it anyways? It wasn't like anyone who took the train would be up in arms over two smudges. Hell, they had seen worse scratched into the seats or graffitied on the walls for the past forty years.

As he began to near the end of the train, there was something uneasy settling in his chest. Maybe it was the darkness, maybe he was just tired, but he could swear he was being watched. Not a soul was in sight, even through the train cars' windows, he never caught a glimpse of West. Something felt wrong about what they were doing. At the very least, this wasn't a prank. West wouldn't know a prank if it bit him in the face.

He rounded the corner to the last door; the conductor's-maintenence's door. For this window, Jameson had to take a few steps up to reach it. But before he could, he paused, staring at the plastic film for longer than he had let himself before.

The bubbles beneath shifted, just like they did under his hands. It was subtle, but he saw it; without the external pressure he had been putting on them, they wriggled. Weird air pocket, he thought to himself, but still put a hand to his phone to pull out his flashlight. Nothing more, just a weird air pocket.

Holding his light up to the plastic, James watched as the film wriggled, squirming under the cold blue-white light. He took a step closer, one foot resting on the metal stair, raising the angle of the light. Pausing to examine one of the lower air pockets, he raises one hand to touch it; hoping to calm its wriggling.

Before he could make contact, however, the bubble enlarged, turned, and James found himself face to face with a cloudy eye, nearly viscous in aside from the pitch black pupil and blue iris.

Jameson tumbled back with a yelp, slamming into the front car of the train behind him. He keeps his grip on his phone tight, keeping the light spotlighting whatever was between the glass and the plastic. The film twists and engorges, bloating with new weight as more eyes popped from out of the circular air pockets. Thin tentacles, spindly and and pulsing with energy like a jellyfish’s, formed in the little slivers of air, sneaking in to meet the eyes. It was only when one of the air pockets reached the bottom of the film, and a single slimey mass wriggled out from under the film, that the threat became real to James.

Cursing, James launched to his feet and scrambled away from the car of the train he's fallen on. His feet find purchase on the ground; gravel kicks up below him, yet he suddenly cannot move. He's held, suspended in air, with the slick creature sneaking toward him along the ground, more of its mass still dripping from its bubble. Whipping his head and light around, he looked behind him.

Several eyes stared back, as another one of the translucent monsters held onto his shirt, spilling out of the plastic sheeting on the train car’s front window. It had wrapped around his chest and arms before he could notice; the only hint of it was the coldness lurking into his bones where it touched him.

Before he could scream, a mass of its flesh slapped against his mouth. Instantly, his skin started feeling very dry. His lips, already chapped, begin to crack, and his throat parches, like he hasn't had water in days. His head goes light, and even his eyes start to feel dry as all of the moisture is sucked out of him.

James' body drops minutes later, wrinkled and wisened beyond his years. As the creature that grabbed him slinks back into its film, the other creature passed over the phone, fumbling until the light was turned off. Daylight would bring them all the energy and all the feast they could dream of.The grand opening was only a few hours away.

"James?" West called out from around the train, phone light in hand, "Have you finished?" The creature slunk back under the film, pressing itself flat against the window, as flat as it could, before sucking in the air around it. It closed its eyes, vanishing into the illusion of air pockets once more, and waited.

About the Author:

Thunrder is an artist in their early twenties, currently working on a degree in illustration and creative writing. When they’re not working in the local library, they highly enjoy knitting, and creating fanart under the moniker Driftbit (found on AO3 and tumblr). They don’t enjoy their new commute to work very much.

#horror fiction #autumn #fall #fiction #halloween #horror #short stories #writing #original fiction #original writing #short fiction #scary stories #creepy #morbid #spooky #monster story #monsters #monster art #short writing #creative writing #writers #writeblr #writers of tumblr #writing on tumblr #short story #Hognose Snake Halloweenfest 2021

[maximumsnow]

Chapters: 8/? Fandom: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware, HLVRAI - Fandom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Gordon Freeman, Tommy Coolatta, Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Bubby (Half-Life), Benrey (Half-Life) Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical swearing, Basically an au exploring what if HLVRAI followed Half Life a little more closely, Au where there isn't a betrayal in that one spot, Mainly was wondering what would happen to the others if they hadn't been in on it., Some things change some don't, Oh also this is sort of intended as a not a game au

Summary: Anyone who knows original Half-Life knows that the ambush happens in that spot no matter what. What would have happened if the ambush was as rough for the others?

There was a lot to unpack involving the full realization of just how inhuman Benrey was, but all of it was shoved aside thanks to the current problem.

Which was that Benrey was horribly injured and trapped in a room that was full of a poisonous gas, and, if Coomer’s continued explanation from Wikipedia was anything to go by, it was really, really bad. Gordon did not know the limits of Benrey’s ability to heal, but if he looked this bad while getting poison shoved down his lungs, Gordon wasn’t sure about Benrey’s chances of bouncing back if he stayed for too long.

The worry cranked up to eleven when Benrey suddenly collapsed below the window.

Gordon ran over to the control console and anxiously glanced over all the buttons and levers that clearly had something to do with the environmental room. “Shit, is there like, an emergency release button?!”

Tommy wasn’t far behind. “There should- there has to be one. It’s gotta be OSHA compliant!”

“No offense, Tommy, but given everything else you’ve said followed OSHA, that doesn’t mean shit.”

“I was joking then, Mr. Freeman.”

The conversation was cut off by Bubby yelling, “Look for ‘Emergency Ventilation!’ They might be idiots, but they don’t want to waste that much space and money on a bricked room.” He had taken Tommy’s place at the tank of poison and was fiddling with something over there.

Now that he knew what to look for, Gordon renewed his search, but Tommy was already reaching over him and slammed a fist onto a button. “Woah-”

A sound not unlike an air conditioning unit but much louder kicked in, and there was an immediate change in the enclosed room as the green started to clear out. With the fog fading away and the lack of a large rainbow body covering the floor, it was much easier to see what the room used to be.

The rocky terrain was mostly barren by this point, with the remains of possibly alien plants dotted around pools of water. Corpses of headcrabs were also strewn about, but, shockingly, they were mostly still intact despite Benrey’s presence.

Most notably, though, there was the body of a soldier, and Gordon could not say the same about it. It was in more pieces than Benrey’s still alive body. There was an arm in the corner, a leg by that murky pool, and Gordon had to look away from the torso with organs leaking out of it.

That was enough nightmares for today.

He anxiously waited for the door to unlock, but despite the toxin being flushed out by fresh air and vented elsewhere, there wasn’t a click or a hiss or any other sound he would associate with an unlocking pressurized door.

“Uh, why-”

The overhead sprinklers in the sealed room turned on; the hiss of spraying water was immediately covered up by a sharp scream that could only have come from Benrey.

Gordon slammed against the window as he tried to see what was going on. “Benrey? Dude, you okay?” He knew the question was stupid, but due to where Benrey dropped, it was difficult to see the security guard from the angle the window allowed.

“What are you doing?” The tone would be called whiny if it wasn’t for the gasps of pain that punctuated each word.

The implied accusation stung. “I don’t know! We hit the button to clear out the gas and-”

Tommy interrupted, “Sorry Benrey! That stuff- That gas residue can stick. The room has special surfactant laced water in the sprinklers and… yeah. Just hold on a little longer, okay?”

The explanation was met with silence.

“Benrey?” Gordon couldn’t help but call out.

“Oh. Okay. I can chill a bit.” The voice was strained, but at least he spoke at all.

The tension left his shoulders a little. As long as Benrey was still talking, they knew he was fine. At least it sounded like his voice wasn’t as raspy this time.

Unfortunately, all they could do was wait until the room went through a complete clean cycle if the book Tommy had pulled out was right.

Feeling bad for their stuck companion, Gordon turned the intercom on and panicked when he didn’t have an immediate topic to bring up. Latching onto the first question his mind thought of, he asked, “So uh, was this why you kept disappearing on us earlier?”

More silence.

“Benrey?”

“Hey bro. Appreciate what you’re doing, but please no talking? Pretty please? I’ll be fine. Promise.” Benrey’s voice was barely audible over the fans getting louder.

The pained plea immediately made Gordon feel guilty, so he turned the intercom off and started to pace in front of the window. The sound made it difficult for any of them to hold a conversation, even if Benrey wasn’t involved, so Gordon was stuck alone in his thoughts as he waited for the door to finally open. From a different perspective, it looked like he was all but bouncing between Bubby and Tommy, but he didn’t get to appreciate that mental image due to worrying over the condition Benrey was in.

He was still reeling over the full understanding that Benrey’s one off line about not being human was not an impulsive gag, but a truthful statement. Sure, he probably should have guessed by now given Benrey’s apparent powers, but Gordon still thought that he was more in line with Bubby or Coomer. An… Enhanced human, if anything else.

But nope, Benrey was apparently a shapeshifting monster that had a human form. The scientist in Gordon was intrigued at the apparent alien life form, but the empathetic part of him knew that outright asking shit like that would be rude at best. De-human… Depersonalizing at worst.

Sure Benrey gave him hell, but it wasn’t like Benrey had been outright malicious. Hell, he had even rescued Coomer.

… Actually, he was probably also the thing that slammed into Bubby’s tube to release him.

Damn, Gordon really felt bad for being a dick to Benrey earlier, now.

His thoughts were interrupted as a loud hissing sound brought his attention back to the room, and Tommy all but yanked the door off its hinges before catching himself. “Mr. Freeman, you have to, uh. You’re wearing an HEV suit. You have to be the one to pull him out.”

Nodding, Gordon quickly passed him and entered the now supposedly cleaned environmental room. Benrey was huddled under the observation window, and when he looked up at Gordon, he actually had more than half of a face.

The sight of muscle and bone still made Gordon recoil in horror. “Holy shit, dude. Doesn’t that hurt?”

Benrey half-heartedly gave a one-armed shrug. “I’ll regen soon, don’t worry about it.”

“That doesn’t mean this doesn’t suck ass!” Hell, just looking at him was making him queasy. But the half-drowned puppy look compelled him to at least try to ease the poor guy’s pain. “Come on let’s get you out of here.” He knelt down and tried to figure out where he could potentially touch Benrey without hurting him.

“Need a hand?” Benrey rolled over, and clutched in his remaining hand was a now very muddy arm.

Needless to say, the visual equivalent of a non-sequitur gave Gordon pause as he tried to process just what he was looking at.

“Why the fuck do you have a random arm?”

“Wasn’t his.” He lazily waved the arm like it was a magic wand and pointed the hand end towards the dead soldier.

Gordon could feel his stress headache building. “What do you mean it wasn’t his?”

In lieu of saying anything, Benrey shoved the other end of the arm into Gordon’s face, and the movement startled Gordon into falling on his ass.

He was so glad that he couldn’t feel the mud through the HEV suit.

“Dude, what the fuck?”

“Look, it’s not, uh, natural.”

“I don’t want to look at the bony end-” He stopped and stared at the place he knew there should be blood and bone, but there were bits that looked shiny under the mud. “Metal?”

“Yeah. Not his. He’s kinda made of meat.”

“Is this… Dr. Coomer’s arm?”

“Think so. Tried to get it back for ‘em”

… That’s right, Benrey was the monster that chased the soldiers that had taken Dr. Coomer apart.

Gordon shook his head as he got back on his feet. “You can show him when we get out. Come on...”

Given Benrey’s current state, Gordon finally decided to just try picking him up bridal style. Other than a few grunts of pain as he was shifted around, Benrey kept mostly quiet.

Exiting became a problem since the others had all elected to stand directly in the doorway to peer in like children trying to snoop on their parents. He rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything, Benrey shouted, “LET ME OUT OF THIS BOX!”

The sudden volume actually made Bubby and Tommy scramble out of the way, but it took a not so subtle yank from Bubby to make Coomer move.

With the path clear, Gordon walked in and found a relatively clean spot next to a wall to put Benrey. “Here we go. Sorry, can’t do anything more comfy for ya.”

“It’s fine,” He said before shoving the arm into Gordon’s hands. “I gotta. Gotta nap.”

While the thought of staying too long made him nervous, Gordon couldn’t help but agree with him there. They could afford to take a break for a while. “Alright, I’ll get you up before we leave.”

“Sounds good.” The one eye was already drifting shut, but the steady breathing soothed Gordon’s fear.

Despite still being worried, he could see some of the skin regrowing on Benrey’s face, and, frankly, Gordon didn’t want to get sick. Instead, he turned to the others, nearly bumped into Tommy with how close he had been standing, and asked Coomer, “Hey, your arm-”

“Look, Gordon, you found my left Extendo-arm!”

“-Your arm is dirty. Do we have to do anything special to clean it?”

“Nope! It’s perfectly waterproof even when unattached. You’ve even seen me swim with it.”

“The chemicals in the water should have- should have made it safe to use. Even after exposure to- Even after being exposed to the poison.”

“Okay so just some good old soap and water to get off the dirt should be fine.” With that, he walked over the bloodstains to one of the sinks built into the counters. He tested one of the faucet handles, and sighed in relief when water flowed out of the tap. Grateful that the water was still working, he started trying to wipe off all the mud.

Progress was… Slow, however.

“How the HELL did this get so fucking dirty?”

The clunky gloves of the HEV suit didn’t make it any easier, either. As he scrubbed at a particularly stubborn clump of dirt, he glanced over towards Tommy and Benrey.

Tommy was practically standing over Benrey. Like he was guarding him.

But before he could say something to him, Bubby and Coomer’s movements caught his eye as they wandered towards Gordon’s other side.

Coomer had moved first. Something had caught his attention, and he was walking towards the other sink. Then Bubby’s examination of the poison tank ended, and he joined Coomer in looking over what was left on the counters.

They both stood in front of a strange egg-like thing, and when Gordon looked over his shoulder to do a quick headcount, he had to ask, “Uh, what the fuck is that? Please don’t poke it.”

“Hello, Gordon! I have no idea what this is!” Given his current lack of upper limbs, Coomer had settled on nearly shoving his face into it as he tried to examine it.

Bubby, of course, decided to pick it up, and before Gordon could stop him, the egg appeared to hatch on contact. “Oh. I uh. Didn’t expect that. Does this mean I’m a parent now?”

“What a beautiful child!”

The creature in question was an insectoid creature not much bigger than Bubby’s hand with a large faceted eye. When Bubby brought up his other hand to presumably touch it, a beak snapped shut very close to his finger and nearly caused him to drop it.

“Careful, before it bites your hand off!”

“I’m not that stupid.”

Gordon chose to not rise to the bait and start a fight there. “We can’t take it with us, so figure out what to do with it.”

Turning back to his task at hand, he continued scrubbing mud away, and he couldn’t help but notice that the artificial skin on the arm sometimes made it look far too real.

Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think- Wait where the fuck did that thing go?

When he looked back over the counter, the creature Bubby had picked up was nowhere to be seen.

He had to ask, "What did you do?"

"Tranq'ed it."

Gordon blinked a few times before yelling, "HOW?"

"With tranqulizers Gordon use your goddamn brain." With that, Bubby turned away and walked over towards the desk.

"Where did you- you know what? I don't need to know." He knew a lost cause of a conversation when he saw one, and he did not want to deal with it anymore.

Once the arm was sufficiently cleaned, he placed it on the counter and nearly ran into Coomer.

“Hello, Gordon!”

“Hey, Coomer. Does this need to dry before we reattach it, or can it just go right on?” He waved towards the drying arm.

Coomer mused for a second before saying, “It is waterproof, but I’ve never tried attaching the arms while they’re still wet. Maybe we should sit it in rice for a few minutes?”

“Uhhhh, we don’t have rice, dude. But we can let it air dry for a while. Don’t think we’re going anywhere soon.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards the resting Benrey. In a quieter voice, he asked, “How’re you holding up?”

Matching his volume, Coomer responded, “I’ll be much better when I have my arms again. At least we’re almost halfway there.”

Gordon reached over and patted Coomer’s shoulder before going back to the others. “How about we just. Take a breather for now?”

“Best idea I’ve heard all day,” Bubby said before promptly dropping to the floor. At least that spot was clean...

“… You okay?” “I’m fine!” Despite the claim, Bubby was removing the shoe on his bad foot and was checking on the injury.

Before Gordon could go over and repeat the question, Coomer lightly shoulder checked him as he passed by and gave Gordon a look.

As Gordon understood it, that was an unspoken, “Let me handle it,” gesture, and he backed away from the older scientists as they settled.

Coomer lightly leaned against Bubby on his way down to a sitting position; the ease with which he went through the motions spoke of years of practice.

How often had Coomer been armless before?

Gordon knew the question would be unappreciated at the moment, but it hovered in his mind like an annoying fly. He tried to distract himself by taking a seat not far from Benrey and Tommy, but Benrey was still obviously regrowing shit, which Gordon still didn’t want to focus on.

So that left trying to get Tommy to relax.

“Yo, Tommy, uhh. How long before I can sleep?” He nearly slapped himself on the forehead with how dumb that was. Wow, great conversation starter, Gordon. Bringing more attention to their group's various injuries was a great way to ease Tommy’s worries.

The expected reaction of Tommy managing to tense up even more made Gordon vaguely wonder when the theoretical string would snap. “I don’t- It’s not an exact science. Just. If you-” Tommy cut himself off. “-I know we can’t keep you up forever.” The admission was followed by a drop in Tommy’s shoulders. “Can you stay up until night- until the we have to stop and sleep later?”

The correction was appreciated. Sometimes they didn’t see the sun for a while, and at this point, Gordon didn’t even know what time of day it was. The lobby had ambient sunlight shining through the skylight, but with everything happening, he couldn’t even begin to guess how long ago that was.

Right, he needed to answer that question before Tommy wrung himself into a spiral of anxiety. “Yeah, man, I can do that.”

Tommy’s face lightened up into a faint smile, and while that gave Gordon some relief, he couldn’t help but feel sad that the normally vivid expression had faded so much.

Deciding to take the conversation back to what he actually wanted to talk about, he asked, “Wanna take a breather? The rest of us are. Can you mess up the door like the last one?”

Tommy bit his lip as he appeared to weigh the options. “This door doesn’t- This room doesn’t have a Tesla charge. So it doesn’t have the same-” Tommy waved his hand in frustration, “-Things. That the last door we blocked did.”

Gordon groaned, “OSHA Compliance?”

“OSHA Compliance.”

Sure, he knew why most automatic doors didn’t have an auto-lock on them, but it made things really inconvenient right now.

“How about we just block the door with something? We’re all hanging out on the ground.” Despite that last statement, Gordon adjusted himself so that he could stand up and help.

“Take it easy, Mr. Freeman, I can get it,” Tommy said before putting a hand on Gordon’s shoulder to keep him seated.

“But-”

“It won’t take me long, just keep- Watch out for the others.”

He wasn’t entirely sure just what he meant since Bubby was already faintly snoring, and Coomer was loudly snoring, but didn’t argue as Tommy breezed past him.

Gordon would swear he only blinked before Tommy had come back and settled near him and Benrey.

“You already done?”

“Yeah, just took some- Took a few chairs and made a barrier. The counter already blocks us from view. And the- the uh, blood trail should be a warning sign...”

Tommy sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Gordon, and it didn’t look like it was working.

“I believe you.”

The look Tommy gave him conveyed incredulousness and gratitude.

“We’ll get through this, okay? But don’t burn yourself out. I can keep an eye on things for an hour or two, if that would help?”

Sure, Gordon knew he would be an alarm system at best, but Tommy looked so tired. Even if Tommy would only take a short nap, it would be better for him in the long run.

Honestly, it would be better for all of them since he was the only one not physically fucked up in some way, but Gordon’s primary concern in the moment was Tommy’s mental wellbeing.

The quiet after the question stretched for an uncomfortable minute, but Gordon knew Tommy needed to think this through on his own terms. “Sure, I can- I can take a nap. Will you wake me up in-” Tommy then seemed to notice the lack of functioning clocks in this room, “-In a little while.”

“Poggers,” Gordon nearly died as the streamer lingo slipped out. Sure his interest in video games had slipped out earlier, but the residual fear of exposing his private interests to professional colleagues never went away completely. “Sounds good, I mean.”

Tommy shrugged before handing over the assault rifle and sliding down from his seated position to a laying position.

“G’night, Mr. Freeman.” “Goodnight, Tommy.”

#My writing #HLVRAI #Half Life VR but the AI is Self Aware #gordon hlvrai #Dr Coomer #Bubby #Benrey #Tommy Coolatta

[exellent-skills-blog]

Employee Orientation Training

Employee Orientation Training is an effective way to make sure that everyone on your team knows how the company operates. If employees don't know who you are, how do you expect them to work?

In order to motivate your employees, you need to give them the tools to communicate with each other and the employer. An Employee Orientation Training can help this.

It is very important that you have a training session that you have created yourself. The training needs to be both informative and entertaining.

The most important part of this type of training is the content. The training needs to give your employees everything they need to know to run a successful company. It doesn't need to be lengthy, but it needs to be detailed enough that it is useful to the employees.

The employee needs to know what to expect when they get to work each day. They need to be aware of the kind of work they are going to do and what the company does.

If employees don't know what they are doing, how will they be able to do it well? This is very important for the employee to know. They will not be able to provide the best service for your customers or give you the best results if they don't know what they are doing.

Employee orientations are also an excellent way to let your employees know what to expect in their working hours. This can also be a great way for you to get to know your employees better. This can lead to a more enjoyable working environment and make your team feel valued.

It is important that you find an employee orientation training program that is both comprehensive and exciting. You want them to be able to take the information in it and use it in their daily work.

A good employee training program should allow employees to learn about a variety of different aspects of your business. This will help them to see how the company works and how they can use this knowledge to improve the business. They will learn about your company, what makes it different from other businesses and how they can improve their own skills in their own work.

A good employee orientation training program should also help your employees to understand why they are working for you. They need to see that they are valuable to the company.

An employee orientation training also provides a great way to communicate your company's goals to your employees. They will know the goals you have for your business. and how you plan to reach those goals.

You need to make sure that the employee orientation training is both effective and informative. They need to be able to take the information and use it to their advantage. They need to be able to understand what they are learning.

An employee orientation training needs to be interactive. It should allow employees to ask questions, and you need to answer them. They need to be able to see their questions being answered in a way that encourages them to ask more questions.

The employee needs to feel like they are respected, listened to, and understood. This is how they will see you as a leader. This is also how you will see your employees as a team.

A good employee orientation training program should include things like the benefits of a job in your company, employee benefits, your company's policies and procedures, and more. The program should also include information about the company. This includes what the company does, what it is about, and who the company serves. The program should also include information about your company and the type of company you run.

A good employee orientation training program will be able to provide you with information that will help your employees to understand the importance of the company and how they are a valuable part of it. The information will also show them that they are valued in the company. and they are able to see that they have a role to play in the success of your business.

An employee orientation training should be one that helps the employee to see that they are valuable to the company and how they can be a part of it. It should also be one that gives them a way to communicate the importance of the information.

Sources

This brief scanned the following sources (title, domain, description):

Employee Orientation and Training (courses.lumenlearning.com) -

Orientation and Training Programs (cliffsnotes.com) - Once employees are selected, they must be prepared to do their jobs, which is when orientation and training come in. Orientation means providing new employees w

The complete guide for new employee orientation [2019 Edition] (talentlms.com) - First days at work determine your staff's whole experience with your company. Learn how to master new employee orientation with this step-by-step guide.

What is Employee Orientation? (bamboohr.com) - New employee orientation is important to the onboarding process. Dive into to the essentials to create the best experience. Learn more in our HR glossary.

Examples of Employee Orientation Training (smallbusiness.chron.com) - Examples of Employee Orientation Training. New-hire orientation training is a critical time for the company and the new employee. The company has the opportunity to make each new employee comfortable with the way the company does business, and the employee has the chance to ease into a new job. Examples can ...

What to Include in New Employee Orientation Training (community.articulate.com) - Think back to the last time you started a new job and completed onboarding training. Did you have a deluge of content to sift through?

Employee Orientation Checklist : OSH Answers (ccohs.ca) - What is employee orientation? What is a sample orientation checklist?

Difference Between Orientation and Training (differencebetween.com) - Orientation vs Training Every employee who is hired into the organization or into another division needs to be given a brief introduction on the policies,

How to Conduct a Successful Job Orientation [2019] (betterteam.com) - Get step-by-step info on the basics prepping for and giving an employee orientation, as well as detailed info for creating a truly great orientation.

Why is Orientation Important? (hr.oregonstate.edu) - Orientation is important because it lays a foundation for the new employee's entire career with the department. First impressions are important since they establish the basis for everything that follows.

New Employee Orientation Training (sciencedirect.com) -

Worker Orientation Module Quality, Safety and You' (ndiscommission.gov.au) -

Fun run during the two-week New Employee Orientation training (huawei.com) -

training.gov.au (training.gov.au) - training.gov.au is the national register for training in Australia

Is your new employee orientation and training OSHA compliant? - Go1 (go1.com) - When it's time to expand your business and you've done the hard work of finding yourself the ideal recruit, you might wonder…where to next? They've had a successful interview, their references check out, and they're happy to accept the salary and conditions of the role. Providing every new team member...

training.gov.au (training.gov.au) - training.gov.au is the national register for training in Australia

Topics

These topics were mentioned multiple times across various sources:

employee orientation

employee training

new employee orientation

orientation program

orientation process

orientation training

orientation checklist

Workplace orientation

new hire orientation

new employee training

company culture

team members

company policies

employee handbook

orientation sessions

Training Package

orientation schedule

orientation plan

Training methods

training sessions

effective training

performance criteria

training programs

relevant exercises

organisational structures

onboarding

Mentoring programs

workplace orientation and induction procedures

personal daily routine

workplace procedures

Questions

These are some relevant questions found across sources:

What to include in new employee orientation

What is the purpose of new employee orientation?

What is Employee Orientation?

How important is new employee orientation?

What to Include in New Employee Orientation Training

What is the purpose of employee orientation?

Why Is New Employee Orientation and Training So Important?

Why Orientation is Important for New Employees

What is an employee orientation checklist?

What is a pre-employment orientation?

Statistics

These are some factual sentences found across sources:

A recent U.S. study, for example, found that 57 percent of employers reported that although employees' skill requirements had increased over a threeyear period, only 20 percent of employees were fully proficient in their jobs. (cliffsnotes.com)

You read that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for at least three years after a great onboarding experience. (talentlms.com)

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration , 4,836 workers were killed at their workplace or on a work related task in 2015. (go1.com

[moonshine-nightlight]

Nothing's Wrong with Dale: Part Twenty

It’s been a week, but you’re fairly certain your fiancé accidentally got himself replaced by an eldritch being from the Depths. Deciding  that he’s certainly not worse than your original fiancé, you endeavor to keep the engagement and his new non-human state to yourself.

However, this might prove harder than you originally thought.

Fantasy, arranged marriage, malemonsterxfemalereader, M/F

AO3: Nothing's Wrong with Dale - Chapter 20 - MoonshineNightlight - Original Work [Archive of Our Own]

[Part One] [Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four] [Part Five] [Part Six] [Part Seven] [Part Seven.5] [Part Eight] [Part Nine] [Part Ten] [Part Eleven] [Part Twelve]  [Part Thirteen] [Part Fourteen] [Part Fifteen] [Part Sixteen] [Part Seventeen] [Part Eighteen] [Part Nineteen] Part Twenty [Part Twenty-One] [Part Twenty-Two] [Part Twenty-Three] [Part Twenty-Four] [Part Twenty-Five] [Part Twenty-Six] [Part Twenty-Seven] [Part Twenty-Eight] [Part Twenty-Nine] [Part Thirty] [Part Thirty-One] [Part Thirty-Two] [Part Thirty-Three] [Part Thirty-Four]

Your turn catches Breighton’s attention and you both move to allow Dale and Grandfather into the loose circle that your group has formed.

Greetings fly around as everyone is introduced yet again while you hope this is enough of a disruption for the topic of conversation to change. 

You haven’t even had a chance to hear about anything truly new and interesting about medical studies from this world yet.

“Lord Dale,” Dr Louisa says, a glint in her eye you don’t trust. “We were just discussing demonology laws. Given my area of study and given Northridge’s historically rigid stance on the laws forbidding any practice or study of the Depths, I was curious as to what your opinion on the matter was. Or yours as well, Lord Northridge, if anything has changed in that regard.”

You nearly have a heart attack at her bold question. Was the fact that only Grandmother was specifically warned against made her think that meant Grandfather is a more amenable target? Didn’t she realize the original warning was for her own benefit, not Grandmother’s? Your eyes dart to Grandfather and you brace yourself for whatever he’s going to say—you doubt Dale will be able to speak first.

Grandfather frowns sternly at Dr. Louisa, looking at her as if she had asked his opinion on the merits of running around naked with an unsheathed sword in the muck. “My stance has not changed, if you mean to say that Northridge should permit such activities within our lands or that any of the laws written by Lady Northridge should be repealed.” There’s no give to his words, no gentling them or self-consciousness. As if he had been asked if he still thought it was water in the river and couldn’t understand why that was a question in the first place.

He continues reproachfully, “A very audacious question, but I suppose given the foolhardy nature of your studies, unsurprising. Studying the intersection of materials from the Depths with an eye towards our medicine, except in how to counteract their poisonous effects, is the height of arrogance and recklessness. Northridge’s laws remain the gold standard and if everyone were wise enough to adopt them, then the violence and grief in the world would suffer a great blow.”

Dr. Louisa blinks back, clearly not having expected such a definitive and blunt dismissal of her entire field. Teresa pulls her goblet up to her mouth in a poor attempt to hide her grin. “I see,” is all Dr. Louisa manages.

Hopefully, that puts an end to her desire for drama or debate on the topic and you can finally move on. 

Unfortunately, not everyone shares your opinion.  Kenneth asks, seemingly unable to resist stirring the pot further, “And you, Lord Dale?”

“Hm,” Dale gives his head a little shake, as if bringing himself back to the conversation. “Oh.” The thoughtful frown on his face deepens as he rubs a hand on his chin. He gives Grandfather an apologetic look before he shakes his head. “I’m afraid I do not entirely agree.”

Grandfather turns to give Dale a look of parental skepticism, the kind given when a child expresses an opinion the parent feels they cannot be qualified to speak on. “No?” 

Is that a good attitude for Grandfather to have or a bad one? You’re not sure. It’s not suspicious at least.

“No,” Dale repeats. Is it only because of your knowledge of his nature that you see in his eyes when he makes the decision to truly present an opinion other than agreement on this, most delicate of topics. Does it read merely as bracing one’s self to a parent to the others? Or is it only you who can tell what placing his glass down means?

Dale opens his mouth, closes it with a frown, before he begins again, “I understand the motivation behind the laws Grandmother championed at a national level and agree with the vast majority of them.” His voice is careful and firm, but you see him fiddle with a cufflink before continuing, “However, if I am being honest, I feel Northridge’s ban is ultimately to our own detriment.” 

This is a risk and you don’t know why Dale is taking it. Obviously, since he’s a demon you assume he must have a less than glowing opinion of Northridge’s stance, but why press that now? Now, when Grandfather had finally backed off? He’s clearly being careful with his words, but why say them at all? 

When Grandfather opens his mouth to object, Dale barrels onward, obviously having committed to this conversation, “I certainly do not think the danger is not real or present, however, a complete ban prevents us from truly understanding that danger and prevents us from learning best to counter and deal with such a thing, if it were to arise.”

Your thoughts race with each new word out of Dale’s mouth. Is he trying to test the waters? To see if Grandfather will bend? And to what point? What is he planning? For the first time in a while, you let your worries about what Dale has planned overwhelm your worries for what others have planned for him. What does he want? Why is he still here? Is trusting in him the biggest mistake you’re ever going to make? Why is this the line he’s walking, that he’s pushing?

“Banning the knowledge and materials needed to summon or create portals is what keeps us safe from the very danger they present,” Grandfather scolds.

“What about the Fallridge fire ten years ago?” Dale counters. He glances at the group, likely seeing unfamiliarity with this incident. His eyes end their scan on you and he elaborates, “While home from school, a student tried to use substandard ingredients and whatever notes he could sneak into Northridge to open a portal. The result killed him and everyone within the block.” He turns back to Grandfather. “Let alone the others who died when those firesprits ran loose and no one knew how to seal the portal or banish them?”

You wince at the description of the incident, though you’ve heard similar stories before about summoning mistakes, or those who were summoned correctly but with the intent of causing harm. It does sound like a larger death toll than usual, especially if no one had the supplies or training to put an end to the incident or the demons. 

It’s also an interesting angle for Dale to come at this from. You were worried he’d just suggest a repeal to the bans, that having such strict laws is holding the fief back, as you’re certain the original Dale had thought. This Dale though… he’s certainly not trying to downplay the danger demons can present, if anything you think having such trained personnel would only make it hard for him to remain undetected. Why is he going there with this argument? Just hoping to propose stricter protection in order divert suspicion?

“And how bad could it have been if he’d done so correctly?” Grandfather snaps back, but he looks uncomfortable. “What about all the other disasters that the ban prevented from happening?”

Dale looks disappointed in Grandfather’s answer although you think it's a fair question to ask. “Firstly, you know I cannot prove a negative. Secondly, there are plenty of other fiefs that do not have bans who also do not have constant accidents like this. Thirdly, his warding is what failed which means if he’d done so correctly, it is less likely anything would have gotten through. And finally, having trained responders in the guards and our own schools to help combat such an accident could only have helped in this situation.”

Of course, that’s also a fair response. Your own fief, as best as you can remember it, has the same laws as the country as a whole and have not had significant incidents—at least, none that you heard of. While you were never particularly involved in anything regarding the running of your fief—that was your parents and brother and sister-in-law—they did frequently discuss such matters in front of you, having forgotten you were in the room in the first place. You’ve heard of accidents like that once or twice, but always handled competently by the city guards and put to rest quickly. 

“A singular occurrence is not enough to call for a solid and successful policy to be re-written or repealed,” Grandfather replies, folding his arms. You can see he’s not willing to concede this point. 

Dale folds his own arms in response and you hope he knows what he’s doing because this seems incredibly risky. You’d just gotten Grandfather to fall back from his investigation and now Dale is possibly bringing that back into focus. At least, you feel relatively comforted by the fact that so far, Dale is only discussing policy and law, nothing personal. “What about the incident in Hallen five years back? Or the diplomatic incident with Fief Sularia? They still refuse to talk to any of us. Our mining caravans are more vulnerable to bandits who use demons as they cannot hire any with sufficient knowledge to defend them.

“And even myself.” 

Well, there goes that. He has to go and bring up his own experience. You try hard to stop your nails from digging into your arm as you wait for what he’s going to say. “Someone from the family Vitoron attacked me for the fact that his entire family, save himself and his older sister, were worked to death in the mines because of a book they possessed and work they did outside the fief, where it was legal.”

You glance at Breighton to see if she has any insight into this specific incident and see her face has paled.

“What?” Grandfather’s look of frustrated discomfort melts into something truly startled and worried at the last point. “You never said anything of the sort happened.”

“I knew how you and Grandmother would take news of such an occurrence,” Dale replies smoothly, no hint of apology for keeping this from them in his expression. “And while I don’t blame the laws for his actions—revenge against me, who did not write or enforce the laws or actions taken against his family when I was all of nine—what did concern me was that I had no means of defending myself or knowledge of what he was even attempting,” Dale replies, his mouth grim.

“So yes, I did look into demonology.” Dale juts out his chin. “Ignorance is not safety.” For the sake of the sun, you hope this is Dale’s try to convince Grandfather that any odd behavior or demonic knowledge came from before he returned to Northridge, not his accident, but why now? You’d both already hid any reactions to his clumsy unmasking attempts that he’d finally started to truly back off. This seems like a step backwards, like it will make Grandfather more suspicious, not less—or at least anger him. Maybe he was just trying to act as authentic to the original Dale as possible, hoping that would sell the deception?

But is this public argument before he even officially inherited be what Dale would have done? Quite frankly, you didn’t know him well enough to guess. You can only hope this Dale knows what he’s doing.

When Grandfather looks shocked at Dale’s admittance, Dale’s frown deepens. “You trained and taught me to protect myself and Northridge. You expect once I have the opportunity that I would neglect to learn to protect myself from what is potentially the greatest one?”

“Those tools and knowledge are double-edged blades—poisonous ones at that,” Grandfather says, obviously settling on parental outrage. His face is hot with anger, though you expect it is also to cover up embarrassment at Dale’s public disagreement. And it's not as though you don’t think he believes what he’s saying about the danger.

“All tools are. All knowledge is,” Dale retorts, sounding the most like his old self since the accident—but even in his anger, there is a restraint, an attempt at sounding measured that the original Dale never thought to exercise. “I’ll not leave myself vulnerable out of fear or the misguided arrogance that I can successfully remove the threat entirely. I’ll not be held captive in my own home.”

“Dale,” Grandfather looks stricken by that statement. “That’s not the purpose of our laws. That does not mean that there are not degrees of danger. One can be warned against poisons without sampling them and hoping you survive.”

Is Dale trying to use the original Dale’s thoughts and motivations to justify laxing the laws in Northridge so that later he can take advantage of not having to hide so much? Is now the time for that? Your eyes go to Breighton, who looks grave as her eyes dart between her father and nephew, her lips firmly pressed together.

“Can they? In Northridge?” Dale asks, resigned, as he picks up his goblet once more, eyes focusing intently on the liquid within like it might hold the answers he seeks. “Because from where I’m standing everything is banned, including how to protect oneself.”

“There should be nothing to protect yourself from, if everyone would simply listen to reason and stop inviting venomous snakes into their homes or playing with fireworks indoors,” Grandfather snaps.

“But they won’t,” Dale says, the frown set deeper in his face, his countenance dark. “They’re never going to.”

“There is no safe way to engage with demonoloy or summoning,” Grandfather says, a cord on his neck standing out. “I don’t know what you thought you learned or what benefits you think you gained with that knowledge, but you’ve only put yourself in unnecessary danger.”

Dale opens his mouth to respond, his eyes snapping, but Grandfather refuses to let him. “I will not hear anything more about this and you’ll not mention anything of the sort to your Grandmother. She has worked far too hard and for far too many years to keep you safe to hear you’ve disrespected her efforts in such a manner—to say nothing of the disrespect to the memory of your parents.”

Dale had pressed his lips together when Grandfather mentioned Grandmother, looking away, but at the mention of his parents, he snaps back to attention. Taking a step towards Grandfather, Dale says, heatedly, “You may disagree with my decisions, but do not suggest I did so out of disrespect. That I did not do so because of what happened to them, not despite it.”

“Father,” Breighton’s voice cuts through the tense silence, her hand landing on Grandfather’s shoulder. The other landed on Dale’s. “Dale. Now is not the time nor place for such a discussion. I know that neither of you would disrespect Remmy or Qiana and you know that about each other too. This is a celebration of a betrothal, not a magistrates court. No laws are being rewritten tonight. And no one is going to get Mother involved in this either. Yes?”

Grandfather looks as though he wants to disagree, but then he finally looks away from Dale to meet Brieghton’s eyes. Whatever he sees there, makes him deflate. He bows his head slightly. “Yes.”

“Yes,” Dale echoes after a similar look from Breighton. He looks more annoyed than Grandfather, but also more cowed.

Grandfather sighs, looking tired. “I know your intentions are meant for the best, Dale. That whatever you’ve done is because you felt it warranted. I am aware you have felt trapped in Northridge in the past, but that has never been our intent. We have only ever acted for your safety and wellbeing.”

“I know,” Dale admits before downing the rest of his wine glass. “I did not mean to imply otherwise.”

Breighton lets go of both of them at those words, seemingly aware that's as close to an apology either of them will get. She turns back to the group, who have, out of politeness or discomfort, given the Northridges’ space. They closed their circle to talk quietly amongst themselves while the family argument between their hosts resolved—no doubt listening, but at least pretending for propriety that they were not.

Before she can say anything to smooth your return to more calm conversation, a sudden noise makes you wince and look around, eyes a bit wild, at the sound of a threat when you are already so tense. Instead, your gaze lands on the balcony overhead where the instruments for the musicians had been left. Multiple people are up there and seem to be setting up to resume performing. One of them gives you an apologetic look before returning to her cello.

Breighton has snagged Teresa’s elbow, who steps aside easily so Breighton can say to the rest of the group, “It looks as though the music will be starting up again momentarily. Was someone going to fetch us when the Governor’s study room was ready?” She directs the question to Dr. Louisa, who had originally went to see about it, but there is that same sharpness Breighton occasionally has that betray, despite her mild words, the fact that she remembered exactly who instigated the argument. 

“They were supposed to come to me,” Dr. Louisa replies evenly, her voice calm and giving no hint that she might be concerned about Breighton’s ire—except the wary look in her eyes. You don’t think she regrets what she pushed for, but she’s at least aware it had consequences and that Breighton will not forget. 

You wish you could send Dr. Louisa the bill for the next batch of ingredients for calming and sleeping teas you’ll have to order after this conversation. This betrothal has made you work through your store at an unprecedented rate–the only other times you came close was during final exam periods. That’s not all her fault, but tonight certainly is. 

“However,” Dr. Louisa continues. “I propose we head over now regardless. Perhaps we can intercept a messenger.”

“Why don’t we wait in the chess room?”Alent speaks up. “I know the Governor always has it prepared, for all there’s not much to amuse oneself with there. We can let someone know we’ve relocated there to wait. It’s directly off this hall.” He begins to purposely move in that direction and the others follow.

Julion catches the attention of a maid to tell her we’re moving while Breighton purposely steers Grandfather to the other side of the group from both Dale and Dr. Louisa. Since he’s met Kenneth before that seems like the safest move. You nod in response to her look and heard Dale towards Teresa—the least intimidating member of the party—for distraction.

You wind up in step with her and you’re grateful when she picks up the conversation right away, asking Dale what universities and colleges he’s visited throughout his travels. That leaves Grandfather up front, with the other members of the group in the middle, and Dr. Louisa just ahead of you, Dale, and Teresa who are pulling up the rear.

As you make your way through the rather crowded hall, conversation getting louder as the musicians who are ready begin to play once more, you start to feel claustrophobic. The only benefit to being somewhat of a main attraction at these events is that usually there’s more open area around you. Now that you’ve got to cross the entire hall and everyone’s caught up in the gala, which is in full swing with the music returning, that’s not true. You’ve never wished for that extra attention and therefore space more.

After the pair of you are jostled by a hurrying woman, you start to remind Dale to use his cane, for it often seems to slip his mind at these events, but then you stop. You don’t want to come across as ordering him about—that’s one of the reasons Grandfather was suspicious in the first place. Nor do you want to seem overly fretful—or draw too much attention to his continued balance problems. 

Of course, him tripping reminds people of that as well. Still, you’re not going far and the cane is in his belt, if he needs it. If he needed it, he’d use it. You’re just looking for something to do, some way to offload some of the tension still causing you to hold yourself tight.

You can’t say you contribute much to the conversation between Teresa and Dale. Between the noise of the crowd, your own nervousness, and the fact that you haven’t traveled much yourself, you feel strangely out-of-place, like an impostor despite this whole event technically being held for you. Like someone’s going to catch you and Dale in your lie at any second. It’s the most uncomfortable you’ve felt at one of these events after going to so many the past few weeks.

Reaching the chess room and entering the mildly cooler room feels like a relief. Since nothing has happened yet, each minute that passes feels like it's lifting the weight slowly from your shoulders.

As you all rearrange yourself around one of the tall tables, Dale catches his foot on a too long tablecloth and stumbles. As the other closest person, Dr Louisa reflexively steadies him, clasping Dale’s hands and forearms as she helps him regain his balance. 

Dale smiles ruefully, saying, “I thought training would be the time I needed my cane the most, but alas, the opposite appears to be true. My primary instances of near falls have all been while walking at my leisure, rather than during anything rigorous.”

You quickly move in to offer your own hands to aid him in stabilizing his balance and something dark catches your eye. Does Dale have ink on his hands? How odd, neither of you did any paperwork today. 

Then you remember: Dr. Louisa’s gloves. Your hands clench around on his own, his fingers instinctively curling around yours. She said they revealed the stain of a demon when coming in contact with them in the flesh or the possessed. 

Shit.

Dr. Louisa seems preoccupied with her discussion with Scholar Callipan and has already dismissed her contact with Dale, but who knows how long this effect lasted? She had said not long but what did that mean?

Dale doesn’t seem to have noticed your grip on his hand is far tighter than it should be, which is smething. He also doesn’t seem to have noticed what’s happened because now that you’re paying attention, you can see his other palm as he returns it to his side. There are dark, rich blue deepening to black smudges blooming where Dr. Louisa’s gloves touched him. And he’s making no move to hide them.

You need to either alert Dale so he could be extremely careful himself or get him away from Dr. Louisa so she can’t notice. Ideally you want to find some way to cover up his hands, though you’ve no idea how to subtly encourage Dale to put on gloves without anyone else noticing. Plenty of the others overheard her explanation of Dr. Louisa’s gloves and you didn’t want to alert any of them.

“Excuse me?” You turn to see a maid just inside the entryway. She curtsies and says, “Dr Louisa?” Dr Louisa nods, taking a step forward to identify herself. “The Governor’s study is now available for your use.

“Wonderful,” Dr Louisa says before turning to the others, “I know we only just arrived here, but let us relocate once more.”

“Yes, let’s,” Kenneth agrees. “There will be more room there and there’s a manuscript on the Governor’s shelves that I’m certain will support my point.”

“If you think it will aid in your case,” Julion says and gestures out of the room, “you’re welcome to attempt to locate this tome. I cannot wait to hear about how you misremembered which book or see that it will show I am correct.”

“This is far too academic for me,” Grandfather says and you risk looking directly at him, having avoided doing so since the argument. He seems more or less back to his usual demeanor, for all his gaze skitters over you and Dale relatively quickly. Good news for now, though it does nothing to calm you down. “I believe I shall return my wife’s side.”

Everyone murmurs their farewell to him and your mind races to come up with a similar excuse to leave the group without having to follow Grandfather—that seemed far too risky.

Another note from a violin pulls at your attention and inspiration strikes. “Lord Dale, would you care to indulge me with a dance? I adore this song,” you say, hoping your smile seems sincere to the others as well as Dale.

He turns to look at you at your words and so do quite a few of the others. You’re suddenly aware that you’re still holding one of his hands in both of yours, covering his palm as thoroughly as you can since you haven’t been able to think of a way to subtly grab the other. Do you look too simpering or clingy, holding on to him like this? You try to remind yourself that Dale is your fiance, that this is well within the bounds of acceptable contact and of acceptable social requests.

Dale looks mildly surprised, but his eyes dart to the musicians and to the paused scholars. While it feels far longer to you, it's truly only a few seconds before he smiles. “Of course, my lady.” He nods to the others, “Please excuse us. We shall endeavor to rejoin you later.”

They all murmur their farewells and none seem to take second glances at Dale or his hands. A few look mildly amused by your hold on him or perhaps your request. Someone makes a joke to his husband about how they used to dance when they were newly married. 

Still, you don’t feel the steel rod of tension melt from your spine until you’re on the dancefloor, one of Dale’s hands clasped in your own and the other firmly pressed to your waist. You hope that between the dance’s movements, the lack of the more educated audience, and then your hands covering each other will help mask any sign of Dr. Louisa’s little test until the effects dissipate. 

While you’re starting to relax, you stumble as the dance picks up pace. Dale’s hold on you is strong enough that you don’t fall out of step too badly. You try to recenter yourself in the moment, in the dance, before you make a more obvious mistake when Dale asks, “Are you quite alright?”

“Hm?” You look up to see him looking down on you, concern in his expression. You feel some heat in your cheeks as you rush to reassure him, “Oh, yes, I’m fine.” He still doesn’t seem aware of what happened and while you’re glad that means whatever the darkening effect is, it doesn’t hurt, it does mean he’s likely confused to some degree by your desire to dance and then inattention to the movements of it. 

Before you can make an excuse, he looks almost guilty as he says, “I hope I didn’t upset you back there. I hadn’t meant to start such an argument with Grandfather.”

Your fingers tighten briefly around his at the reminder, but you try to smile back at him. “I did not think that was your intent.”

“But you do think it was poorly timed,” Dale deduces.

It’s one thing to still be hesitant in large groups, but you have been making strides with being more honest with Dale. “Perhaps, with such a sensitive topic, at a party, with an audience before… Now, was not the best choice.”

Dale sighs, looking out over your head as you turn. “You’re probably right, though I struggle to think of a good time.”

“I doubt there will be, but there will still be better ones than now.”

“You are right, I simply couldn’t resist the opportunity,” Dale replies. He looks back down at you. “Poor judgment on my end, but I grow weary of so much talk around things, vague allusions to topics that can’t be broached because of propriety, time spent with nothing much to show for it.

“It’s been a long few days,” you reply, rather relieved to hear him say as much. “A necessary stepping stone, but a tiring one, especially with these galas thrown into the mix alongside the meetings. I’ve never met or talked to so many new people in my life.” In fact, the act of dancing without having to listen intently and worry about what you say is welcome. You feel yourself settling even further, away from the danger and, while not truly alone, at least currently only expected to converse with Dale.

Dale actually lets out a short laugh at that pronouncement. You cautiously meet his eyes and smile shyly when you see he’s truly not laughing at you, but with you. “It has been rather a marathon of meetings and galas, hasn’t it?” Dale agrees. He gives you a smile that says he’s happy to be in on the secret. “I’m pleased to help you escape whenever you’d like, provided you don’t mind my own company.”

Your smile widens, this is what you’d been wanting—a friend, a partner, an equal who helps you as you help him. “Of course not,” you reassure him, “it's not the same sort of thing at all.” 

“No?” he asks, sounding amused.

“Oh!” You blanch at how that might sound and rush to clarify you don’t mean to discount his company, “I didn’t mean that as an insult, rather the opposite, I promise.” Aside from still being very aware of Dale’s physical presence and his attention when alone with him, most other sources of tension and worry that usually tug on you are less. 

In fact, the remaining danger seems to be the way he makes the rest of the world fade away, makes you want to lean on him in this dance, far closer than it requires. To spill your thoughts even though there’s no call for it. To ask him the many questions of who he really is and why he does what he does that stay buried so that you can still claim ignorance. Because you are still afraid of what the answers might be.

“No insult taken,” Dale replies, sincere enough that you believe him. He spins you around in time with the music and that must be why you feel lightheaded when he pulls you back. He continues, confiding, “I rather feel the same. There is so much to remember and a chance to breathe is appreciated—well, so to speak.”

You puff out air as the pair of you spin out and away, taking more jumping steps with the music. You briefly trade partners for the next portion of the dance before you’re spun back together. The dance slows enough for you to allow you to attempt to manage your panting. 

“Yes,” you agree, out of breath, but enjoying yourself despite the exertion. There had been so many years when you couldn’t have managed more than the first few steps before needing to sit down and you always get a thrill when you remember you can truly dance now. Beyond that, so much close attention on talk and connections and names—the simplicity of dancing in terms of deep thought is making you feel almost fluttery without the weight of concentration. “Dances such as these do rather discourage conversation by virtue of leaving you with little breath to do so.”

“Was that not your plan to avoid conversation with me from the start?” Dale asks, his tone nearly as arch as his eyebrow.

You’re relieved that by now you can tell when he's teasing you. Your cheeks are hot from the exertion, not from said teasing, you reassure yourself as you try to toss back, “You overestimate me, my Lord.”

Dale laughs as he spins you away from him. You trade partners in a whirl of motion before he catches hold of you once more. He tilts his head down in order to speak close to your ear—his words for you alone, “I don’t think I do, my Lady."

[Part Twenty-One]

#my writing #story: nothing's wrong with dale #nothing's wrong with dale #story part #terato #exophilia #monster bf #monster romance #reader #male monster #osha compliant #arranged marriage #slow burn #we've finally reached the end of this part lol #i legit thought all the convo with dr louisa would just be part 18 #and then it kept going lol #hope the dance at the end was worth the argument #sana needs a spa day #unfortunately the next arc will not help #honestly the majority of the rest of the story wont either ha ha #thats what the honeymoon is for ;) #hope you liked it!

[jewellansing]

Consult with an Employment Law Attorney before Laying off Your Employees

One of the best parts of employment laws is that they are changed frequently. This does not happen gratuitously and changes take place whenever it’s necessary. In this brutal time of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) when almost every part of the world is being affected by its hit on humanity and economy, as an employer, you may be facing some tough bet. While the world itself going through a slowdown and economical loss due to this virus, layoffs could be stressful for both your HR department and workforce. An employment law attorney advises both employers and employees about their legal rights, duties, and responsibilities.

How to Handle Layoffs

The numbers of layoffs throughout America are skyrocketing and the current employment scenarios seem unpredictable. In the circumstances, when almost all of the businesses whether they are small or big undergoing huge financial setbacks along with reducing manpower, things can be overwhelming to be tackled without errors. Employers need to be calm in this situation and handle layoffs with prudency.

·         Plan: you should devise a plan that include people you’re going to lay off, details to be shared with them, and what resources or support you need to allocate them. Working with OSHA law firms New York can help in taking each step carefully and avoiding legal mistakes.

·         Approach laying off staff: laid-off employees often feel emotionally distress. It is important to approach and talk to them with compassion. You may no longer need some employees but the process of their resignation must be carried out smoothly with continuous conversations between them and company administration.

·         Be compliant to laws: laying off employees will surely require you to consult with a labor attorney to understand the latest updates in labor and employment laws. You must work closely with your legal team to stay compliant with current rules and regulations pertaining to terminations.

·         Offer support: as an employer, you should know your legal roles and responsibilities before laying people off your organization. It is better to explain the reasons compassionately and discreetly. You should offer them deserving support like severance package, insurance benefits and outplacement assistance.

·         Connect with an attorney: most of the workers are protected by the federal, state and local laws. You might not be familiar with different protected classes and relevant laws like WARN Act and OWBPA. An employment law attorney NYC can review employment contract and company policies to keep the layoff fair and legit.

We are certainly going to face terrible employment crisis in the next six months seeing the current situation where thousands of people are losing their jobs everyday and businesses disappearing overnight. OSHA law firms surely have much responsibilities and workload of requests from around the country. You may consult a labor attorney for professional assistance.

#labor attorney #OSHA law #employment law attorney

[inkdeath95]

Home Cleaning & Disinfection Services

WASH is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". Universal, affordable and sustainable entry to WASH is a key public well being problem within international growth and is the main focus of the first two targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 . Targets 6.1 and 6.2 goal at equitable and accessible water and sanitation for all. "Access to WASH" consists of safe water, sufficient sanitation and hygiene schooling. These programs additionally present outreach and counseling to achieve target households with sanitation promotion messages that construct consciousness and assist change habits. The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing combines the advertising expertise of the soap trade with authorities help and the enabling surroundings to set off behavior change and reduce diarrhea. Whereas the PPPHW has expanded globally, the coalition has not yet been topic to rigorous effectiveness trials . Evaluations of PPPHWs have been commissioned by non-public soap firms and concerned offering free cleaning soap to households , thus limiting their exterior validity. Particularly, local weather change could cause in a decrease of water availability, an increase of water necessity, harm to WASH facilities, elevated water contamination from pollution, and so forth. Many women's rights and water advocacy organizations have recognized water privatization as an space of concern, typically alleging negative results that particularly have an effect on ladies. Such inequalities are for instance associated to earnings degree and gender. For 清潔公司 , in 24 nations where disaggregated information was out there, basic water protection among the richest wealth quintile was a minimal of twice as excessive as coverage among the poorest quintile. Part of the explanation for gradual progress in sanitation could also be due to the "urbanization of poverty", as poverty is increasingly concentrated in urban areas. Migration to city areas, leading to denser clusters of poverty, poses a problem for sanitation infrastructures that were not initially designed to serve so many households, in the occasion that they existed in any respect. Window Cleansing & Strain Washing If you do not clear them, particularly your window, they'll naturally look older than they're normally are. To begin window washing, you want - a water-fed pole, a hose, and distilled water. Your water-fed pole must be extendable and it should have a delicate brush on its high. They make the job of cleaning windows longer and tougher. Our protected and biodegradable cleansing chemical substances won't harm your home or landscape. By keeping your property clear, you're defending your biggest funding. A properly cared for property has much better curb attraction, feels higher to reside in, and will command the next value upon resale. HSG is compliant with all CDC, OSHA, State Guidelines and Applicable Laws of Covid-19. HSG Employees have been skilled, and offered the required PPE tools to make sure the safety of all. If on a very rare event there was injury, don't worry! Our fully licensed and insured firm will deal with it. We clean almost each kind of surface with a quantity of exceptions. There are some surfaces we won’t do owing to a excessive potential for water damage or others for which we're unequipped to do safely. I had 23 home windows installed and wrapped trim in not even two days. All structures are susceptible to environmental contaminants and turning into an eyesore over time. We suggest pressure washing your personal home no much less than once per year. Are you the host of the subsequent household outing or get-together? You will want to be after we clear your deck and surrounding areas with our delicate or pressure washing course of. This type of cleansing method has many benefits which transcend what traditional power washing does. Pressure washing can be great for your peace of mind. Contract For Shelby County Colleges Cleaning Companies Up In The Air New York City janitorial cleansing service suppliers which are working in the course of the day may also clear mirrors and home windows at varied occasions in the course of the day, as they turn into soiled. In addition to cleaning, there are other upkeep companies that janitors provide buildings in New York City. Janitorial companies will clean and exchange filters within the constructing to scale back the amount of mud and allergens in the air. Minor restore issues may be handled by a janitorial cleaning service. OpenWorks claims that shoppers who normally request cleanings 4 to five days per week at the second are requesting their services six to seven days a week. The college administration could be assured that every facet of each area is completely scrutinized. It supplies confidence that each one housekeeping merchandise to be utilized are non-toxic. We procure the required cleaning agents and tools to effectively machine sweep/scrub concrete floors in amenities. Our Spotless Restrooms Program to take away filth and dirt in restrooms and locker rooms. The widespread areas of an academic facility bear the brunt of downtime in-between courses. Our constructing upkeep companies embrace emptying trash bins, cleansing carpets, restroom sanitation, dusting workplace furniture, and more. Building maintenance is important for the wholesome and secure operation of any facility or workplace. Thoroughly cleaning Northwest Arkansas companies is our specialty, and we're devoted to providing our clientele with distinctive industrial cleaning and building maintenance providers. For most faculties, funding is a big issue when it comes time to make choices. Industrial Hard Surface Cleaner Leaves a restroom clear and recent smelling whereas also offering virucidal, fungicidal, and mildewstatic properties. Always be positive to comply with instructions, permitting the needed contact time for the disinfectant to work. Therefore, only products with mold-killing claims ought to be thought of for performing this task. Alcohol is typically used with hand sanitizers and surface sprays. Before you head to the shop, print out this free printable Cleaning Supplies listing. It will help you keep in mind all the provides you need when you’re buying. Toothbrushes – Toothbrushes are additionally a good way to clean small spaces. Squeaky clear grout that is restored to its authentic hue. Make a paste with baking soda and water for an all-purpose scrub that’s great for grout or tub stains. Molly Maid’s toilet cleaning guidelines also helps you clear in probably the most sensible order; there’s, in spite of everything, a technique to cleansing a rest room nicely. This information will allow you to flip your loos from grimy to wonderful. • For a troublesome scrub, use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath, which include microscrubbers and foaming cleansers that dissolve, and wipe away cleaning soap scum. Just moist the sponge, squeeze to activate the foam, and clear. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may acquire a share of sales or other compensation from the hyperlinks on this page. Oh, and FYI — costs are correct and items in inventory as of time of publication. Get cleansing tips, product updates, promotional provides and extra to your inbox. With a swab applicator, remove water from bowl by forcing out entice. Available in household or germicidal focus, confirmed to kill Covid. Aerosol sprays are great for speedy disinfecting, especially of high touch areas. Tips On How To Get Cleaning Contracts With Colleges Locally-funded districts could request assistance from the California Department of Education to evaluate plans and specs for any new faculty development or rehabilitation project. Storage and planning house is out there for off-track teachers or academics not assigned to a classroom. F. Space is out there for refrigeration and preparation of foods to accommodate maximum number of college students deliberate for the college. F. Special day lecture rooms are distributed all through the campus with age applicable regular education classrooms. With this a lot site visitors and tons of contact points and avenues for pathogens to spread, instructional centers have to be nicely prepared with a meticulous faculty cleansing sport plan. Eliminating and preventing the spread of germs, fungus, and viruses maintain your learning inhabitants and employees safe and healthy all 12 months long. School cleaning contracts want a slightly completely different strategy, though. Compared to an office constructing, for example, faculties can take a lot longer per square foot to clean. Despite that, you’re usually up in opposition to strict budgets and might anticipate some negotiations on providers and fees, particularly within the case of public faculties. You can also be competing in opposition to well-known service providers, though that will current a hurdle, the personal touch you'll be able to supply could be appealing to excessive school districts and personal colleges. Do not mix cleaners and disinfectants until the labels indicate it is safe to do so. Combining certain products may find yourself in critical damage or demise. If surfaces or objects are dirty with physique fluids or blood, use gloves and different normal precautions to keep away from coming into contact with the fluid. Suppose you presumably can try to get critiques from these corporations and show the colleges constructive feedback. The more positive suggestions, the better it's going to look when pitching your company. A senior citizen volunteer putting on colours within the schoolThe spirit of the Brigada Eskwela is working as one in a community. Best of all, it’s completely free, and even has a 14-day free trial should you choose to make use of one of its paid plans. That‘s all before you get your head round how to make sure every of those employees are the place they say they're, displaying up to their jobs and ensuring they see and answer your important messages. You should collect state tax, plus any native taxes on the quantity you invoice for your service. The waiver contains justification as to why the non-integrated facility is the one possibility available on a long-term basis and discusses the feasibility of a short-term lease as an option to new development or acquisition. 13 Secrets And Techniques Of People Who At All Times Have A Clear House If you usually ship one cleaning person to every house, sending a new rent alongside could be helpful on-the-job training. Drop your mail in a dedicated basket or tray whenever you stroll in the door, and empty your tray as soon as per week when paying bills. Unless you’re waiting for one thing urgent, most mail can wait a few days. CIMS is the first consensus-based administration normal that outlines the first traits of a profitable, high quality cleaning group. This website is using a security service to protect itself from on-line attacks. The action you simply carried out triggered the safety solution. Vacuum cleaners additionally remove the dust from sofas, ottomans, and corners of the ground. Keeping house clear and organised is a very huge task. It consumes plenty of time and energy however in case you have the best guide and tools by your side then it is extremely straightforward to take care of a clear and organised house. All you have to do is refer to this listing and discover out what all you want to do to keep your own home clean and tidy. If you don't wish to use a squeegee, Dellutri recommends a glass cleaner and a microfiber material. When wiping with the cloth, use horizontal strokes and transfer from prime to backside. Tyler Window Blinds Cleaning How To Venetian blinds, which are sometimes broader than most blinds, are most likely to get fairly dusty in comparability with different varieties. However, since they're often made of faux wood, cleansing them is as easy as a wipe. Simply combine a drop of mild detergent to a humid cloth and swipe throughout the blinds. As you might count on, faux-wood blinds are slightly more durable than actual wooden blinds. As such, they can face up to some detergents and chemical cleaners. This signifies that dusting and vacuuming might be your first transfer, with yearly professional dry cleaning advised. If you wish to nourish your picket blinds, it’s straightforward to find some olive oil in your cupboard at home. All you have to do is combine it with a little heat water and use a soft rag to bring a new gentle sheen to the wood. Not solely can it be a laborious and time-consuming task, however no one appears to be sure what best approach to cleaning blinds even is! So I determined to take it upon myself to put collectively a information of simple and efficient ways to wash window blinds of all styles and sizes. Here’s all the data on how to clear window blinds and shutters, whether they are model new or not-so-new and kind-of-yucky. Follow these cleansing suggestions all year long, especially if there are bronchial asthma or allergy victims in your liked ones.

#清潔公司

[francecan93]

4 Steps To Meals Safety

Particularly, climate change can cause in a lower of water availability, a rise of water necessity, harm to WASH amenities, elevated water contamination from pollutants, and so forth. Many ladies's rights and water advocacy organizations have identified water privatization as an area of concern, generally alleging unfavorable effects that specifically affect ladies. Such inequalities are for instance associated to income level and gender. For instance, in 24 countries where disaggregated knowledge was available, fundamental water protection among the richest wealth quintile was no less than twice as excessive as protection among the many poorest quintile. Part of the rationale for sluggish progress in sanitation could also be because of the "urbanization of poverty", as poverty is increasingly concentrated in urban areas. Migration to urban areas, leading to denser clusters of poverty, poses a problem for sanitation infrastructures that weren't originally designed to serve so many households, if they existed at all. These packages additionally provide outreach and counseling to succeed in target households with sanitation promotion messages that build awareness and help change behavior. The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing combines the advertising expertise of the soap business with authorities help and the enabling environment to trigger conduct change and cut back diarrhea. Whereas the PPPHW has expanded globally, the coalition has not but been topic to rigorous effectiveness trials . Evaluations of PPPHWs have been commissioned by personal cleaning soap corporations and concerned offering free soap to households , thus limiting their external validity. The Joint Monitoring Programme’s definition of improved amenities focuses on the know-how sort and is an imprecise proxy for the quality of providers (Moriarty and others 2010; Onda, LoBuglio, and Bartram 2012; Potter and others 2010). Immerse articles in the third bucket of chlorine solution for 60 seconds. The effectiveness of chlorine for disinfecting is instantly associated to time of publicity. Energy Washing & Window Cleansing Providers Bay Village, Oh Additionally, HSG’s big selection of providers from water proofing to caulking supplies us with a one stop shop for a big selection of initiatives. I would extremely recommend HSG in your class-A business projects. Soft washing, sometimes referred to as no strain washing or low pressure washing, we flip down the water stress and then add soaps and detergents into the tank. This highly effective resolution can eat away on the toughest dust and gunk with out harming the floor beneath. What is it that makes the individuals of Palatka prefer Sunshine Cleaning Service compared to our competitors? If you don't clear them, particularly your window, they will naturally look older than they're usually are. To start window washing, you need - a water-fed pole, a hose, and distilled water. Your water-fed pole should be extendable and it ought to have a soft brush on its prime. They make the job of cleaning windows longer and tougher. Our protected and biodegradable cleaning chemical compounds won't hurt your house or landscape. By keeping your property clear, you are protecting your best investment. A nicely cared for property has a lot better curb enchantment, feels higher to stay in, and will command the next value upon resale. HSG is compliant with all CDC, OSHA, State Guidelines and Applicable Laws of Covid-19. HSG Employees have been skilled, and offered the necessary PPE instruments to ensure the safety of all. At Platinum Pressure Washing and Window Cleaning, we use the latest technology in our firm trucks to ensure complete custom-made cleansing of your Denver, CO, property. From top-of-the-line pressure washers to gentle wash tools and specialty stain removers, we’ve obtained all the needed tools available. Let us impress you with our dedication to customer support and our attention to detail. AZ Pro Clean specializes in strain washing services and window cleaning of business and industrial properties. Keep A Step Forward With Effective School Cleansing Download it right now at issa.com/cleanstandard and enhance your college's well being. This video has been dropped at you by ISSA, the worldwide cleaning trade affiliation. Most janitorial providers companies are inundated with commercial cleansing jobs on account of the coronavirus outbreak. An in-house janitor might not be in a position to provide the long-term administration wanted to often carry out deep cleaning, particular treatments, strain washing, and more. When making selections about hiring a cleaner, administrators and other decision-makers ought to contemplate the long-term impact of an expert performing regular cleansing and maintenance. School services must final for many years, so that they benefit considerably from skilled upkeep. Here are 5 methods to keep your members pleased and keep a wholesome, protected environment for everybody. Utilize recyclable and renewable college cleansing merchandise, which aids in the utilization of assets. We know the way particularly essential cleanliness is in a faculty, and we don’t take that duty lightly. Floridian SG360 janitorial staff members are vetted and highly-trained in the disinfectant processes. 清潔公司 with constant service that builds trust. All SG360 staff stay and work in Greater Brevard County, offering a personal contact to prospects. That is why SG360 makes use of examined and specialized cleansing strategies to provide a safe setting for occupants. Frequent carpet and fabric cleansing, together with standardized processes to fully take away dust and allergens from surfaces, goes a long way in preserving your employees functioning at their greatest. Most companies struggle when a virus is spread from worker to worker. With a lot of your most valued group out of the workplace, production slows. Whether an illness is affecting your gross sales, supply, or different space, reducing the unfold of illness is necessary. A deep, skilled cleansing is an important think about maintaining your workforce more healthy and can help scale back the spread of the most recent virus. The Eight Best Bathroom Cleaners Of 2022 It’s necessary to make use of a good moisturizer to prevent that from occurring. Beware of hucksters selling bogus productsThere isn't any treatment or treatment for COVID-19, however that hasn’t stopped individuals from making an attempt to promote them. Click around my web site and find enjoyable youngsters actions, get together video games, easy family meals, good household hacks, and cool family journey destinations. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for kid’s actions, family hacks, household journey, and enjoyable parenting humor to give you a laugh every day. If you enjoyed this article and wish extra family hacks, easy household meals, and fun family ideas, be a part of the Happy Mom Hacks group with ourweekly e-newsletter. The secure various to the ever growing drawback of toxic chemical use. This concentrated all purpose cleaner is the answer to all maintenance needs. Formulated to a balanced mix of detergents, chelating agents, and builders to chop via any grease, dirt, soil, grime after which droop soil. Excellent to be used as general purpose cleaner for walls and home windows. Better Life's products are created from plant-based components, and with out utilizing dyes or synthetic fragrances. This toilet-bowl cleaner is made with ultra-fresh elements corresponding to tea tree and peppermint oils, in addition to soapbark extract, which has antibacterial properties. Aversive brokers, such as denatonium, are occasionally added to cleansing merchandise to discourage animals and babies from consuming them. It is actually rated much safer than any other cleaning merchandise. College Cleaning Providers, Faculty Janitorial And Maintenance Providers Many companies usually supply three totally different packages, with every providing incrementally extra value than the subsequent. The level is I learn a political change occurring domestically and started considering how we may apply this to our business and most significantly started doing this properly before any rivals even noticed this coming. See after the varsity opens each cleaner on the planet goes to start out calling on them and it’s going to turn into hyper-competitive. Well, we don’t really need that, we wish to bounce forward and begin talking to them BEFORE our rivals are and begin a relationship. For the well being of your student body and the surroundings, you're sensible to pick a janitorial company with an established environmental coverage. Well, schools could be a nice trade to get into, and it is an industry that wants day by day cleaning services. Plus, the buildings are bigger, which means good sales will increase on your cleansing business. In this publish, you'll learn how to get cleaning contracts with schools without past experience. In this case the PEST software was Political and the topic was constitution faculties and their future progress. Offering higher wages and common raises is an obvious strategy, but that’s not the only way to construct a loyal, long-term group. Paid trip time, paid sick days, and health benefits will allow you to appeal to and keep good staff. But even things as simple as skilled growth alternatives and saying, “thank you,” can have a large impact in your worker retention charges. Four-year colleges and universities pose an much more significant challenge as a outcome of a big campus and shared widespread areas such as dorm rooms, lecture halls and gymnasiums. However, we offer particular coaching to our workers, giving them the data required to clean these places safely. Straightforward Ideas For Organizing And Cleaning Your House Check out these 10 really cool pet merchandise you may wish to pick up. Turn off the agitator brush on exhausting flooring so you are not blowing dust into the air. Cleaning up broken glass is an actual ache, nevertheless it's nothing in contrast with a glass shard within the foot. Scan the floor with the flashlight from a low angle and the shards will glisten, making even the littlest piece stand out. Besides being an all-time nice Parliament music, a glow-in-the-dark flashlight might be a light-weight saver in a blackout. From what you must tidy first thing within the morning to a 2-minute task to do earlier than bed, these tips to hold a clean home could have your house looking tidy all week. Your range might be the hardest thing to wash in your kitchen, so put it off till the end. Then start cleaning your kitchen, top to backside, going all the best way around the room till you get back to the stove, the place the product has had time to activate. Once it is clean, you probably can chill and benefit from the feeling of residing in an exceptionally clear house. Outside home windows require somewhat additional effort to get actually clear. Spraying them with window cleaner and wiping it off with a paper towel would possibly do a greater job of smearing dirt all over your windows than really making them clean. It’s not always potential for hosts to be current through the turnaround interval – so communication should be impeccable. When selecting the best company, you can assess ranges of communication earlier than you commit. For example, you'll have the ability to contact the corporate via different channels/mediums to check their response time prior to making your determination. Experience and status are additionally essential when choosing the proper firm to work with. If further cleaning of the display panel or case is required, use a soft, barely damp, lint-free cloth. Don't use window cleaners, household cleaners, aerosol sprays, solvents, ammonia, abrasives, or cleaners containing hydrogen peroxide to clean the display. Create an in depth guidelines masking the deep cleaning course of, and a second list that includes residential maintenance and maintenance points. In most houses, carpet is by far the most important mud reservoir. It's a huge supply of fibers and absorbs dust like a large sponge. Even the padding beneath holds dust, which fits airborne with each footstep. How Do I Clean And Look After Window Blinds Not only can it's a laborious and time-consuming task, but nobody appears to be positive what finest method to cleansing blinds even is! So I determined to take it upon myself to place collectively a guide of straightforward and effective ways to wash window blinds of all sizes and shapes. Here’s all the data on how to clear window blinds and shutters, whether they're model new or not-so-new and kind-of-yucky. Follow these cleaning suggestions throughout the year, especially if there are bronchial asthma or allergy sufferers in your beloved ones. This implies that dusting and vacuuming might be your first transfer, with yearly skilled dry cleansing suggested. If you would like to nourish your wood blinds, it’s straightforward to search out some olive oil in your cabinet at house. All you must do is combine it with a little heat water and use a gentle rag to convey a new mild sheen to the wood. Venetian blinds, which are sometimes broader than most blinds, tend to get fairly dusty compared to other varieties. However, since they are typically made from faux wooden, cleansing them is as straightforward as a wipe. Simply combine a drop of mild detergent to a humid fabric and swipe across the blinds. As you might count on, faux-wood blinds are somewhat extra sturdy than real wooden blinds. As such, they will withstand some detergents and chemical cleaners. Start by closing the blinds and gently wiping them down with a microfiber material, moving from the highest of the blind down. (For horizontal blinds, wipe from side-to-side.) It helps to carry the bottom of the blind in your other hand so it's pulled out from the window. Adjust the blinds to open them, and run the microfiber cloth over them once more.

#清潔公司

[weirdfetishes123]

OSHA lets us do this - deviantart

Liam could have been literally anywhere else right now. He could've been at home playing videogames, he could've been getting food, he could've been drinking, he could've been doing literally anything, but instead he was stuck here, traipsing around some candy factory that he'd already forgotten the name of after his girlfriend Morgan and some of her friends won a free tour in a raffle at work. The tour guide, done up with a fancy purple coat, top hat, and a cane, was doing a pretty decent job at making the place seem alive and wondrous, but Liam was having none of it, constantly skulking around at the back of the group with his hands in the pockets of either his black hoodie or black jeans, occasionally getting in with a snarky remark that the rest of the group tried to swiftly ignore while he internally convinced himself of how hard he'd gotten them with his witty banter.

Still, at least the candy was alright.

This general vibe continued as the touring group entered the current area of the factory. It was a large room with a pink, fluffy aesthetic, with a skyline painted across the ceiling with light, sunset-pink clouds and machinery that, for all its imposing industrial nature, was streaked and highlighted with a bright pastel pink. This already didn't sit right with Liam, who's outfit and general vibe reflected more of a "dark night of the soul" kind of vibe, but it was the next development that would really set him off.

"This part of the factory is something of a mood room for the time being," The tour guide began loudly, trying to ensure she was heard over the adjacent machinery. "a lot of the production of pink, sugary stuff tends to run through here, cotton candy, bubblegum, stuff like that. Unfortunately we've had to suspend most production for the time being due to a few new products turning out… different than expected, but hey, at least it looks pretty!"

"Wait wait wait wait, hold the phone." Liam interjected, prompting a few eye-rolls from the rest of the group. "it's bad enough I'm getting dragged around on this tour in the first place, but you're telling me this part doesn't even have any more free candy!?" He asked with the kind of rage that would make one think the tour guide had personally insulted him. The guide gave a brief, exasperated sigh in response, before answering Liam in a standard, PR compliant manner.

"I do apologise for any inconvenience. We do have some surplus gumballs being made for testing purposes, but I'd advise aga-"

"Say no more." Liam interrupted once again before striding over to a conveyor belt on the opposite end of the room as if he owned the place. Morgan was bright red with shame, laughing nervously before beginning to profusely apologise for all of Liam's behaviour up to this point. The tour guide simply dismissed her apologies with a wry smile and a wave of her hand.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she began with a warm, friendly tone. "This next part ought to more than make up for it~"

Liam, meanwhile, had wasted no time at all in plucking a bright pink gumball off the conveyor and self-assuredly starting to chew on it. What immediately caught him somewhat off guard wasn't necessarily the flavour itself, but how strong it was. "Sugary" didn't even come close. It was intensely sweet, yet somehow still fluffy and not nearly as heavy as the intensity of it made him initially brace for. it was as if they somehow managed to work out what the word "pink" tasted like and then mixed a whole load of that in.

"Yknow, I gotta say," Liam began amid a cacophony of loud, open-mouthed chewing. "This place may not exactly be my kinda vibe, but the flavours are on point." He continued. The tour guide nodded along, handling the situation with an almost rehearsed sarcastic nature.

"Mhm, and that's only the tip of the nose." She replied as a bizarre, bright pink spot began to spread out from Liam's nose onto the rest of his face.

"Hang on, the what?" Liam quickly asked

"Iceberg. Tip of the iceberg, that's all I said. I was under the assumption that was a pretty common phrase." The tour guide replied, prompting stifled giggles from the rest of the group at both the comedic timing and the colour rapidly taking over Liam's face.

"What? what's so funny?" Liam asked, quickly beginning to lose his temper. "Listen, you'd better fuckin-" he began, pointing his finger at the group accusingly before stopping and staring, transfixed in confusion at his outstretched hand. By now, his entire upper body, including his arms, had turned a bright bubblegum pink. He'd even begun to take on a strange, rubbery shine, as if his skin was actually changing into something else entirely, rather than just shifting in hue.

"I tried to warn ya, I really did," came a patronising reprimand from the tour guide. "It always goes wrong, we don't know what causes it but it always goes a little funny.

"Ohhhhhh my gosh, this is just like in the movie!" Morgan said, hands over her mouth in shock and laughter.

"The movie? What, you mean I'm gonna turn into a blueberry or something?" Liam asked in shock and disbelief. "Oh, for fucks sake, and you really couldn't have picked any other colour? I'm trying to look edgy here!" He yelled, feeling less concerned by the fact that his skin was changing colours at all and moreso concerned with the fact that it was turning pink specifically. Even the tour guide couldn't resist the urge to break her aloof, professional facade to get in a quick laugh, both at Liam's mislaid priorities and his insistence that his outfit was in any way "edgy"

"Well, not quite. There's no food imitation shenanigans here, we just set out to make some really tasty bubblegum. Sadly, that means the ensuing faults will be far more straightforward than in the movies."

"Straightforward? W-What do you mea-" Liam began before again being cut off by the noticing of a change in his body. Slowly, he became aware of an uncomfortable bloated sensation radiating out from deep within his gut and slowly working through the rest of his body. He gave his tummy a cautious, soothing rub as a nervous grimace spread across his face. In an instant, his belly suddenly rounded out to the size of a near fully pregnant woman with a low *BWOOMP*, creating an immediate contrast with his previously lanky frame before continuing to insistently swell outwards. Liam's black hoodie slowly began to ride up as his belly inflated, exposing the pink, rubbery flesh beneath. Said hoodie even had to fight for what little space on his torso it was now taking up, as Liam’s chest began to blow up as well. Before he knew it, what began as an uncomfortable tingling grew into 2 small mounds on his chest, which then grew further into a bona-fide pair of boobs. This was enough to momentarily break him out of his awed, confused stupor, drawing out a high pitched yelp and causing his pastel, bubblegum pink cheeks to momentarily blush a darker hot pink.

"Funny thing about this is I don't even get to keep ironically quoting the movie, cause that actually is air in there, not juice." The tour guide said, prompting laughter from the rest of the group.

"What do you mean "air?" what's happening to me!?" Liam cried out, his voice suddenly jumping an octave or two as his ass began to blow up, ruining his balance.

"Come on, think it through genius. You ate some weird magic bubblegum and now you've turned pink and you're filling up with air. What do you think's happening?" The tour guide replied, not being paid enough to continue teasingly dancing around the issue any longer.

"Ohhhhhh my god, it's like he's turning into a big round bubble!" Came an excited shout from the rest of the group, unable to believe what they were seeing.

"See? They managed to figure it out. Do try to keep up with the rest of the class."

Liam couldn't respond. Even if it wasn't for his swelling belly began to overtake the rest of his torso, his entire upper body starting to bubble up in front of his face, his brain was simply moving too fast trying to take in the present situation to have any capacity for intelligible speech. He just barely managed to get out a few confused half-syllables before his cheeks began to puff up. By this point, his back and sides had started to round out as well, turning him into a bright pink sphere supported by enormous puffy thighs and an all-too-appropriate bubble butt. However, as even they began to join with his increasingly spherical body, he soon found that he had other problems to worry about.

He was so caught up in worrying about his immediate predicament that he almost didn't notice his feet beginning to lazily sway in the air below him as the gas currently filling his bubbly body began to lift him up and off the ground. He let out a long string of panicked *mmmmmmph!*s as his body rotated over and over in the air, struggling to find its new center of mass, prompting uproarious laughter from the rest of the group. Even the tour guide broke her eternally tired-of-life veneer to suppress a few giggles as Liam began to take his place among the pink clouds on the walls; an errant bubbly cloud drifting away on the horizon. Or at least, he was drifting away for approximately 14 seconds before his now almost spherical body unceremoniously broke the illusion by bumping into the ceiling. It was more or less at this point that the laughter began to die down, and the thoughts of the group turned to more practical matters.

“Hey, uh, how are we gonna get him down? We can’t just leave him up there, can we?” Morgan asked the tour guide, unsure herself whether she was speaking rhetorically or if she was genuinely inquiring as to the possibility of leaving her bubble boyfriend floating on the factory ceiling.

“No, I suppose not. Give me one second.” She began as she lifted her wrist up and spoke into some unseen device. “Hey, I’m with the current tour party, we’ve got a 7105 down here… mhm… yep, I tried to warn him… alright, cool.” She said, turning back to Morgan. “Don’t you worry, we’ll have this taken care of any moment n-”

Nobody in the room could scarcely believe the event that ended up interrupting the tour guide. Two doors opened on either side of the room, and two groups of five women quickly filed out. They were unusually short, yet their figures more than made up for it. Each of them sported disproportionately large boobs and asses, as if they'd shrunken down and had all that lost mass shoved into voluptuous curves accentuated by figure hugging full body black spandex. They were running towards Liam with a kind of chaotic, eager energy to them, yet somehow maintained perfect synchronicity despite this. As quickly as the women entered, they came to a sudden stop underneath Liam, staring up at him as if to assess a situation none of them had encountered before or had any frame of reference for dealing with. There was silence for about five seconds before the room was once again filled with loud, girlish laughter as the group of diminutive women immediately fell about themselves laughing at Liam's inflated body. Whenever the laughter seemed to be dying down, one of them would call the attention of a few others before comically puffing out their cheeks, causing the others to swiftly resume their mocking laughter. The girls eventually collected themselves after what felt to the rest of the group, especially Liam, like an uncomfortably long time spent laughing, and swiftly got to work.

With an almost rehearsed precision, the majority of the group split up into pairs and positioned themselves on opposite sides underneath Liam’s round expanse. They threw four long ribbons over the parts of the bubbled boy’s curved torso that weren’t quite in contact with the ceiling and slowly began to pull him down. They had enough strength between them to have slammed him down into the ground if they wanted to, but they figured that doing it this way was far more fun. As Liam’s view was gradually brought back down to ground level, what greeted him was not the tour guide, his girlfriend or any of the group for that matter. Instead, the remaining two women were lying on their stomachs on the floor in front of him, arms crossed in front of them and legs crossed in the air behind them. They both stared at Liam as he came into view, wordlessly and motionlessly holding eye contact with a sultry, playful look in their eyes, then slowly began to blow bright pink bubblegum bubbles, just like the sort Liam now was. Liam watched uneasily as the bubbles grew and expanded, covering most of the women’s faces before they both suddenly popped. The message, Liam thought, couldn’t have been clearer, and the shocked grimace and muffled yelp of panic that came from his puffed up cheeks brought out yet more laughter from both the diminutive women and the main tour group. With that introductory bit of teasing out of the way, and the now-secured ribbons holding Liam firmly at ground level, the girls began to really have their fun. They immediately set about playing with Liam with giddy abandon, jumping and climbing up and all around his giant, spherical body. Some of them remained atop his belly, bouncing and grinding against him as if testing the tensile strength of his newfound stretchy and rubbery skin.

“So… this is just a thing you have on standby here?” Morgan asked the tour guide, not objecting to anything happening in front of her, but still confused by it all.

“Mhm, yup.” The tour guide replied, not even looking away.

“There aren’t any, like, inspectors or anything who flagged this up?”

“Oh don’t worry, this is all to code. OSHA lets us do this.”

“...Huh.” Morgan trailed off, intending to question the situation more thoroughly but finding that, when faced with the sheer absurdity of it all and the indifference the tour guide, the closest thing to an establishment representative currently available, it was a lot quicker and easier to simply accept the spectacle of a group of shortstack candy factory employees making a raunchy, inflatable gymnastics act out of her boyfriend.

Liam once again found himself struggling to take in an overwhelming amount of new stimulation. These small figures kept darting to and fro across his already limited field of vision, running off to tease and play with whatever bit of his puffed up body wasn't currently occupied and leaving him to deal with the sensations of things he didn't have a hope of being able to see, even with his now semi-translucent skin providing everyone else a better view of where each individual woman was at all times. He struggled to hear anything over the internal *bwoomph* and *creeeeak* sounds coming from the air pressure moving about his body and his skin groaning and straining in response, but he could occasionally make out bits of taunting words and phrases coming from his new tormentors.

"bubble boy~"

"such a cute balloon~"

"careful he doesn't pop~!"

these taunts, along with the omnipresent giggles and moans that signified the worrying amount of fun the women seemed to be having at his expense, All started to blend together before too long. Liam occasionally tried to protest but his efforts mostly resulted in little more than him wiggling his giant bubble butt around, which prompted even more uproarious laughter from all involved.

Gradually, the energy in the room died down and all the women put their fun to an end. As they began to regroup, one of them stepped forward towards Liam's face, placing a hand on each of his puffy cheeks as she addressed him.

"Alright, bubble boy, this has been a lot of fun, but I think your friends here have waited long enough. We'll be done with you in just a moment~"

Liam looked at her with apprehensive confusion as she turned and walked over to the tour guide. "He's all yours, ma'am~"

"Thank you, dear, that'll be all. I’ll see to it that you get paid overtime for this.” Replied the tour guide in a calm, diplomatic manner.

“Heck yeah.” Said the woman with a smug, satisfied look on her face before turning back to the rest of her group. “Alright, quitting time! Come on, let’s get outta here.” She yelled out as she and the rest of the women all quickly ran out of the room, as chaotic yet oddly synchronised as they did when they entered. There was an awkward silence once the last of them left the room, as the manic energy that they brought with them rapidly dissipated.

“Well then, there’s really not much to see here, and I think we’ve spent more than enough time here as is.” The tour guide said to the rest of the group, breaking the silence in an attempt to keep the tour going.

“Uhhhh, sure thing, but… what about him?” Morgan asked as she gestured towards the still tied down Liam, genuinely unsure if everyone else had just forgotten about her big, pink, inflated boyfriend or if there was just some kind of policy for this that everyone but her was unaware of.

“Huh? Oh, right.” The tour guide replied, briskly walking over towards Liam. He followed her with his eyes as far as she could with a nervous *mmmmph* before she slipped out of his range of vision. She came to a stop just behind and to the left of him, giving one of his perfectly rounded cheeks a few pats before reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a metal straw. “Give me just a second, this won’t take long.” She said before swiftly jamming the straw through Liam’s asscheek. This prompted a brief wince of panic from everyone in the room, who all thought that this was it and that Liam was about to pop like the fragile bubblegum bubble he was in the next instant, but instead the straw effortlessly passed through the thin, stretched out membrane that was his outer body and came to a stop halfway-inserted. Without missing a beat, the ever-stoic tour guide proceeded to lean down towards the straw, take a deep breath and blow hard into the straw, and by extension into Liam. Liam began to let out panicked grunts and groans through his puffed up lips and cheeks as he tried to muster up any kind of movement in protest, what little range of motion he had left rapidly vanishing as he began to inflate once again.

“Oh shut up, ya big baby.” The tour guide quickly said as she took her lips off the straw for a moment to regain her breath, before leaning back in and redoubling her effort. The rest of the group could only watch in awe as the already globular Liam grew bigger and rounder by the second, his body making more and more ominous creaking noises as more and more air was packed into his spherical form. Finally, once his diameter reached just over half the height of the room, the tour guide finally stood back up and swiftly removed the straw. As she headed back over to the group, she stopped to swiftly kick away the weights holding down 2 of the ribbons keeping Liam down on the ground. With two of his ballasts gone, Liam once again slowly rose up to the ceiling of the room, gently bouncing against the painted skyline before taking his place as just another fixture of the horizon.

“Right, that all seems to be taken care of… Shall we move on? We can deal with him later.” The tour guide proposed to the group, returning to standard business as if none of the events in this room had ever happened. The rest of the group, unsure about what would be done with Liam but ultimately quite looking forward to the prospect of a tour without his constant snarky quips, nodded in agreement.

“Alright, this way please.” The tour guide said as she lead the group out of the room and onto the next part of the factory. Morgan briefly turned back to face her boyfriend before she left, flashing him an awkward grin, as if to say “sorry, but not sorry~” before closing the door behind her, leaving Liam the bubblegum boy a fixture, at least for the time being, of the room that gave him his transformation.

He could have been literally anywhere else, but here he was.

[handyguypros1]

Best Commercial Weed Eaters HandyGuyPros

When you have a lot of ground to cover regularly, it’s smart to upgrade to one of the best commercial weed eaters. What’s the difference between a professional string trimmer and one made for homeowners? The pro weed whackers are built to withstand long hours of use and much more abuse than a homeowner model.

Companies that make commercial line trimmers are moving to four-stroke engines because of EPA requirements regarding pollution. This is advantageous for home users because four-stroke engines don’t require you to mix gas and oil. They are also quieter.

If you’re new to shopping for weed eaters, there are three things to remember. The first is to consider the weight and balance. If there is a way you can experience how the trimmer feels in your hands before you purchase it, that’s very helpful for ensuring that you’ll be comfortable using it.

Second, you’ll need to choose between straight shaft or curved. If you trim underneath bushes or along fences, a straight shaft is convenient. But if you need to navigate a lot of structures like flowerbeds, you might appreciate a curved shaft. (Plus, remember that some weed whackers are made for right-hand control only.)

Third, for your long-term health, consider how much the trimmer vibrates. Strong vibrations over time can damage the nerves in your hands and arms. Opt for one with low vibration and plenty of padding if you’ll be trimming frequently.

Best Commercial Weed Eaters

Now let’s look at reviews of top commercial weed eaters. We hope to help you discover the perfect one for the job you need to do.

Husqvarna 324L Straight Shaft String Trimmer

Husqvarna’s 324L straight shaft string trimmer features a four-stroke 25cc gas engine. That’s 1.07 hp with a top speed of 7000 RPM.

Unlike a two-stroke engine, you’ll never have to mix fuel and oil for it. Also important, it’s made to start on the first pull. It has a Smart Start motor plus an air purge for the carburetor. But you’ll still want to wear hearing protection.

The 17-inch base helps you cover a lot of ground quickly. And the loop handle allows you to hold it however is most comfortable for you. That’s essential when it weighs 11 ¼ pounds and measures 58.4 inches long.

Husqvarna also provides information about the vibration. The front handle was tested to have 9.1 m/s2 and the rear handle 8.2 m/s2. Double-check that against OSHA regulations for your job.

Husqvarna 967175201 322L Straight Shaft Gas String Trimmer

The Husqvarna 322L is slightly less powerful than the 324L weed eater above. It has a 23cc X-Torq engine with easy start technology and low emissions. Fans of this model like how easy it is to refill and use Tap ‘N Go trimmer line. Moreover, the controls are so straightforward that anyone with limited experience can pick it up and go. The heavy-duty gearbox ensures that it will stand up to years of use.

Tanaka Commercial-Grade Straight Shaft Trimmer TBC-340PF

Tanaka’s commercial-grade trimmer doubles as a brush cutter because it’s compatible with attachments. The 32cc two-stroke engine offers 1.6 hp, enough to slice through the toughest weeds and young saplings. It’s noisy, but it’s a PureFire with CARB-compliant Tier 2 low emissions. Also, it starts quickly because of the Walbro carburetor with primer.

Overall, this weed eater weighs 13.2 pounds. Part of that heft is due to the 59-inch solid steel shaft that comes with a lifetime warranty.

Echo GT-225 Curved Shaft Gas Trimmer

Echo’s GT-225 had a glowing review from Popular Mechanics that highlighted two benefits. The first is that the 48-inch curved shaft balances the weight well. And the second is that the two-stroke 21.2cc engine starts quickly and has the power.

We also noticed the two-line Rapid Loader head. But if you’re not a fan, try the EZ Feed attachment instead. And lefties beware: this trimmer has the throttle mounted for the right hand.

Hitachi CG23ECPSL String Trimmer

If you’re tall, take a look at Hitachi’s CG23ECPSL weed whacker. It has a 69.6-inch length so that you can stop bending over to get the work done. The 22.5cc PureFire two-stroke engine keeps emissions down. Furthermore, users say it always starts by the second pull when it’s cold, or the first when it’s warm.

Other vital features include an anti-vibration system and a solid steel drive shaft. You can also make it easier on yourself by purchasing premixed fuel/oil.

Tanaka TCG27EBSP 2-Cycle Gas String Commercial Grade Trimmer

Our other pick from Tanaka’s lineup weighs only 11.2 pounds. But it still has a solid steel drive shaft with vibration-reducing technology and padded handle. It’s powered by a commercial-grade 26.9cc two-cycle engine. The engine is CARB-compliant and has a Walbro carburetor with purge primer .

You won’t need tools to change the attachment since it has a built-in spindle lock. And every part is built for durability. For example, even the fuel tank has a protective housing. Tanaka offers a two-year commercial or 7-year consumer warranty. Should you purchase it to loan as a rental, they offer one year’s coverage.

Toro 2-Cycle 25.4cc Gas Commercial Straight Shaft String Trimmer

Would you like to save a little money? Then try a refurbished model. Toro’s 25.4cc engine is commercial-grade for long life and quick starts. The string trimmer has a 60-inch straight shaft and a bump-feed head.

Blue Max 52623 Extreme Duty 2-Cycle Dual Line Trimmer and Brush Cutter

Blue Max’s Extreme Duty trimmer and cutter is powered by a two-stroke 42.7cc Blue Max engine that runs on a 40:1 fuel to oil ratio. It weighs 17 pounds and has a straight shaft with anti-vibration handles. Users say that the three-prong brush cutter blade slices through 2-inch saplings with no problem even though the manufacturer states that the maximum is only one-inch thickness.

Southland Outdoor Power Equipment SWFT15022 150cc Field Trimmer

Save yourself from an aching back and arms with this professional weed eater. It’s a field trimmer that you push similar to a lawnmower. You don’t have to balance and sweep a string trimmer to edge your driveway with this tool.

Notice that it has a150cc engine that can tackle overgrown spots in a flash. The 22-inch cutting swath and 12-inch wheels help you cover a lot of rough ground quickly.

The folding handle is coated with anti-vibration foam. Additionally, the trimmer comes with a two-year limited warranty and it’s both CARB and EPA-certified.

Poulan Pro PR22WT Walk Behind String Trimmer

Poulan Pro also makes a back-saving line trimmer that you walk behind. The 190cc Briggs & Stratton 675 EXI engine and 22-inch cutting width slices through rough terrain with weeds and brush. The 12-inch diameter wheels make sure you don’t get slowed down by ruts and rocks. Best of all, you can throttle down to tackle difficult spots.

Remington 25A-26J7783 22″ Hi-Wheel Trimmer

Remington’s walk-behind line trimmer makes a lot of customers happy. That’s because it’s trouble-free for non-professionals to use. It has a 22-inch cutting width and uses standard 0.155 trimmer line. You can adjust it to three different cutting heights to keep everything neatly manicured. And users appreciate that it doesn’t throw debris at them the same way a conventional weed eater does.

It has a 159cc four-stroke OHV engine with plenty of power to slice weeds and tall grass. The off-set trimmer head makes it simple to reach awkward places. Finally, it’s covered by a two-year limited warranty.

Swisher STP4422HO Self-Propelled String Trimmer

The only thing lacking in Swisher’s self-propelled string trimmer is a robot brain to operate it unattended. It has a 4.4 hp 160cc Honda engine that moves it forward at 2 mph. The 22-inch cutting width resembles a lawnmower’s work since it provides precision cuts with eight effective cutting lines. You can also adjust the height between 1.5 to 3.5 inches.

Since the trimmer head is off-set, it allows you to reach into nooks and crannies. And you can turn the trimmer head on or off from the handlebar. This allows you to drive it without cutting anything.

Husqvarna 128LD Straight Shaft Gas String Trimmer

Yes, we know this is not a commercial-grade weed whacker. But there are pros who love to use it. That’s because Husqvarna’s 128LD string trimmer is compatible with attachments. This fact alone gives this one tool the ability to replace six others. You can match it with Husqvarna’s (or Poulan Pro’s) brush cutter, pole saw, hedge trimmer, tree pruner, sweeper, and tiller accessories.

It’s powered by a 28cc two-stroke engine and has a 17-inch cutting width. It uses 0.095 trimmer line and has a straight shaft. Husqvarna’s Smart Start technology ensures that one pool has it ready to go. Finally, it weighs only 10.8 pounds.

Tips for effective weed trimming

Chances are, you’re an old pro at weed whacking. If not, try these tips to make the job go easier.

To get rid of weeds growing in the cracks of the pavement, tilt your string trimmer so that the tip of the string is just brushing the pavement. Then move into the base of the weed to cut it flush. This takes a little practice as tilting too much or too little won’t get the job done right.

Next, you can achieve a perfect edge between the grass and the sidewalk. Turn your trimmer till the string is vertical. Pass it along the edge. If you’ve never neatened up the grass in that spot before, you’ll probably dig up debris. But after you do this for a few weeks, you’ll train it to stay tidy.

To wrap up, there’s one spot in your yard that you need to avoid. Never use a string trimmer right up against a tree. That’s because the string will cut into the bark and expose the tree to disease and pests. Instead, save yourself from future problems by laying down mulch around the base of the tree. Then you can edge around the mulch and never touch the tree.

Conclusion

Which commercial line trimmer did you choose? We’d love to know which tool we helped you find. That’s because we’re always on the lookout for the best home and garden products.

Source : https://handyguypros.com/best-cordless-electric-lawn-mowers/