#we just have shitty management.. bad wages and little staff

[lixxen]

FNAF Security Breach Uniform Designs

For the last ten years I've been absolutely obsessed with FNAF. Lately I've been obsessed with the idea of what the Pizzaplex uniforms would be and how awful they probably would be (plus I wanted to cosplay a worker). So I decided to do a deep dive and create the most obnoxious uniforms ever.

I may actually make these very slowly and cosplay them at conventions. I was slightly inspired because of an artist on here does an xReader fic and I didn't see them in a specific uniform really, maybe besides a few accessories. So here we are. The most ugly FNAF uniforms you will ever see and I WILL expand to jackets and name tags on a later date.

(Explanations and designs UTC)

So, to preface I wanted to say that I am majoring in PR and social media management, so I have a little bit of an idea of how branding and marketing works. I've also have worn the most ugly uniforms in minimum wage jobs, so I do know that corporate companies do not care if they put their employees in the most ugly thing as long as it is on theme.

Things to consider:

What did uniforms for establishments in this category looked like over the years?

Are you doing specific uniforms for specific areas of the Pizzaplex?

What color pallets are branded to each character?

What aesthetic are you going for?

Establishments

For establishments, I chose Disney (theming being important and a big establishment that would hide skeletons) and Chuck E Cheese (animatronics and specifically the time frame). I did a deep dive on Chuck E Cheese and their uniforms in the 80-90's, which led me to doing a ton of Ebay and WorthPoint searching along with watching old taped birthdays from the 90's.

I personally believe that Fazbear Entertainment wouldn't stray from the bright and manufactured look that they have going and are very cheap, plus the glamrock phase was in the 70's. And companies tend to be very late to trends. So we can take these the fact that they would be ugly and bright uniforms that are severely outdated and put that together.

With this, you get something that looks like this (all being CEC besides the screencap of the movie trailer):

I used the idea that each area of the Pizzaplex would have its own uniform, much like Disney. So I assigned each of these uniforms a different animatronic's area (Roxy's Raceway, Mazercize, Superstar Daycare, Monsty's Wild Golf, and then for Freddy I did Rockstar Row). I did one general staff shirt, which is also very ugly.

Color Pallets

This was very simple. I just chose colors from the animatronics/their sign logos and then made a simple color pallet.

This process was easy enough and I made sure to give myself a few colors for some of the ones that had multiple shades or similar hues.

I didn't do Bonnie, only because he wasn't in the game. BUT, I do have a design in mind for him. And it is actually the least ugly one.

Uniforms

Each uniform comes with a polo and either a full cap or visor. You will wear them with either black or khaki colored pants or shorts, held up with a black belt. Black shoes. Then you will have a matching apron. The aprons I have not designed yet, so they will come with the others I am going to design.

Here are my ugly designs.

I hope y'all remember that they're supposed to be god awful and poorly drawn. I am not spending a ton of time perfecting them. I debated on putting the logo on the arms also, so that is an alternate design.

They're supposed to be ugly, not make sense other than theming, and just be obvious copy paste designs made just so they have a little bit of differentiating.

If anyone wants me to go deeper into it, I will. I'll make more shirts and make them even worse.

Please guys they're supposed to be poorly drawn and obnoxiously not good designs. I am using my shitty knowledge for bad

#five nights at freddy's #five nights at freddy's security breach #fnaf sb #fnaf #fnaf security breach #glamrock freddy #glamrock chica #montgomery gator #monty gator #roxy wolf #roxxane wolf #fnaf roxy #fnaf chica #fnaf monty #the daycare attendant #daycare attendant #fnaf sun #fnaf moon #sundrop #moondrop #fnaf daycare attendant #fnaf moondrop #fnaf dca #fnaf sundrop #fnaf freddy #fazbear entertainment #uniforms #fnaf uniforms #help

[zhuhongs]

WAIT BEFORE I SLEEP.. FINAL THOUGHT... GOODNIGHT AND HAPPY PRIDE TO THE OLDER GAY COUPLE I RANG UP TONIGHT... omg they were so cute. they bought like.. 100 plus dollars worth of just Normal T Shirts but one of them kept talking to me about the weather and was rlly nice and at some point they were joke arguing abt who was gonna pay and yea.. i hope they had a rlly good night. such nice dudes. i hope they could sense that i was a young homo as well. like sirs i admire u both sm, thank u for talking to me abt the weather.

#lgbt couples that come in my atore are just so!!!!! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤 #ALSO shout out to my long gone (she quit) coworker patty that taught me the word 'pantuflas' literally thats the most useful spanish word #ive learned for retail bc ppl always ask for them and i cant speak well but ik what they mean and i direct them to the slipper wall #i also teach many Hispanic ppl that it translates to slippers and theyre always like oh!!!! thats it!! thank u #like yea.. dw.. its an oddly specific word #🐌.txt #i genuinely like my job.. retail isnt bad.. its management that makes it unbearable #but if we had decent management and better wages.. i wouldnt mind working retail. like rlly its nit bad.. it can be rlly enjoyable at times #we just have shitty management.. bad wages and little staff

[delightfully-ella]

Not management material...

So as part of my development at work and making the most out of my supervisor role I went on a management training course today.

"coaching for performance"

Now the training itself had some really amazing points and tips I'll be taking back to work, but honestly listening to how the others I was with deal with their staff made it all so clear why these courses happen.

And honestly it just mostly made me hate managers and their mindsets.

There were 6 of us there 3 managers and 3 supervisors (the other two supervisors had been so for a long time, I was the most inexperienced)

And honestly listening to them all complain about their staff, and how they either never believe them or just wish they could essentially talk to them like shit is appalling.

One woman spent the whole time complaining about one girl who she clearly hates. And just talking about her made her angry so imagine what she is like face to face.

A big part of this training was learning to get ideas and goals out of people without deciding for them. Asking them how, what and why, having them set the own goals and be accountable for their own progress.

Now the woman above ended up teamed with me, as as the day progressed she wasn't moving on from the girl she dislikes the attitude of. We had to do a role play, reverse the roles and I coach her. First I asked some questions about the girl so I knew what the issue was (finding out that actually there are good days where she performs amazingly)

So I started....

"there are days you seem really happy and perform amazingly and I've seen how you interact with customers and staff and I love seeing that. But there are also some days where you don't seem as happy and struggle a bit (wait for it)... Can you tell me what's different on those good days V bad days...

Honestly her face dropped, she looked so surprised and she told me how good that question was. I asked her why and she basically told me she never thought to even bring those "good days" into it.

I questioned her a little more and basically she never acknowledged that this person can be amazing at their job. Only talking to her when she is a problem...

So I followed up with

"is there anything we can do to have more of those good days"

We went on like this and honestly I was actually quite confused that this woman didn't understand why she was getting shitty results to start with.

Another guy talked about changing some shifts for a staff member because she had issues with childcare, but then felt he was taken advantage of because a year later she is still having childcare issues "no one has childcare issues for a year"

I pointed out that actually you dont know their financial obligations allow for that extra expense and that not everyone has the support of friends and family. So a year with childcare issues could be much longer for some.

One girl said she got annoyed with the fact she has to be careful what she says to her staff, that she can't just tell them they are crap.

I talked about a girl who wants a pay rise because she has financial struggles, but also talks about how those financial struggles are effecting her performance as it's on her mind, so ultimately she is under performing.

The suggestion I got was to question this girl on what she is spending her money on if she is "apparently" struggling (basically none of these managers believe people)

Which to me is blatantly obvious you cant question your staff on what they should or shouldn't be spending money on, but this wasn't obvious to many of the managers who then said I should check with HR.

It's disgusting to see how these kinds work.

The course itself wasn't bad, it wasnt backing up these attitudes, but also I felt it was cut short with all of these people moaning about their staff who "get above minimum wage (not by much) and should just do what I say because I'm the manager" that was one woman's default response "I'm your manager you do what I say"

I never want to be a manager and it's solidified that trying to change jobs is the best thing for me

#work

[bathunterofdevon]

Update

So I might as well give some commentary on my cryptic last post. Basically, I have had to fly back to the UK immediately due to the coronavirus - cutting my Canada trip short. I have had a wonderful time living and working in Collingwood, Ontario, and I made plenty of good friends. But after getting laid off, due to the place closing down, and being unable to pay the rent, I was actually pretty lucky to get back here when I did. I have heard stories of family friends being stranded in many far away places unable to get back, due to airport closures.  I am a little upset that I had to leave Canada - there was so much I wanted to do there. But in all honesty, working the minimum wage job I had, much though I enjoyed it, I never would have been in any position to do anything else beyond that point. It sure is expensive being an immigrant. When I came over to Canada, I have over £3,000 in life savings that I had stashed away. But in the very first month, I lost all of it; just by looking for a place to live. (This was when I was in Toronto). Toronto is a pretty expensive place to live. It's so expensive - I swear there is a tax on the oxygen you breathe over there. I worked a shitty job over there for the first three months, as a server... except, not quite. What I did was basically like serving food, except I only did menial tasks that that were beneath the main service staff, like cleaning tables, and the floor. I didn't even get to collect tip money. And three months later, I was suddenly fired for some minor indiscretion. I won't talk about it here, because I'm a little worried that if I tell you, you might not take my side.  But basically, if you have a job in Canada (and I found this out the hard way) for the first three months, you are on a kind of probationary period. You can be terminated immediately during that time with no notice whatsoever. That devastated me more than a little, because I had never been fired before. It ate into my psyche and made me wonder if I would ever really amount to anything, and whether I would have to give up and fly back early.  Fortunately, after that, it turned out that I had a contact, who was a friend of a friend of my mother, who worked further up north, in this little resort by the Blue Mountain Ski Range, in Collingwood, Ontario, who managed to get me a referral for working at the front desk over there. I did a FaceTime interview, and accepted the position.  Working at the resort was wonderful. Not only did I get given accommodation, but I had staff lunches, and basically all of my immediate needs were seen to. Best of all, my staff accommodation was ten times better than the last place, where I lived. I had a room all to myself, with a desk and everything. I had the resources and time schedule I needed to work on my Youtube videos all the while I was having off time from working at the front desk. After 11 whole months, I finally finished Dirty Danganronpa, while out there and breathed a sigh of relief. That sure took a lot of energy out of me.  I had some troublesome flatmates though. I say troublesome, because they were difficult and unreasonable at times. They could be really unreasonable when it came to cleaning the dishes... and I later discovered that they were not equally unreasonable when it was THEIR turn to clean up after themselves. While I was initially friendly towards them, in the months gone by, I was avoid them as much as possible, because it was tricky talking to them. It was for the best that we became isolated from each other. They were nice to me at times, and I was grateful for their company at times - but their moods were often unpredictable and transient, which made me feel unsafe and unsure as to whether I could trust them.  The whole time, I reflected on my status as a foreigner, and how much more useful it would be if I had a skill of some kind, and if only I had finished my driving test before I came there. Thinking about my real life situation was enough to drive me into a deep despair and self-pitying fest that would leave me feeling too exhausted and miserable to produce anything. But it wasn't all bad. I still have some positive memories of that place. I did leave a good lasting impression with my employer. And while I did eventually lose my job, unlike last time this one was not my own fault. Everybody was getting laid off, left, right and centre. And the resort itself, incidentally has closed down indefinitely. It is astonishing how far-reaching the effects of the virus have proved. I never would have predicted this level of hysteria before - I'm old enough to remember the Bird Flu, the Swine Flu, the Zika Virus, and Ebola... all I remember of those, was nothing more than there being a huge media craze; even some Youtube stars talking about them, besides a couple hundred thousands of deaths too far away for any of us to know or care.  But... this was different. To be honest, though it may sound heartless of me to say this, part of me is actually excited at all the chaos that's happening. The world is in full-blown panic mode. And now government and health ministers are advising everyone to self-isolate. I just want to let these government officials and everybody else know, that I had been self-isolating long before it was fashionable. Else I would not have found the time to make these.  Anyway, the day finally came when we all heard the announcement - the owner of the resort was laying off virtually everyone in the housekeeping/maintenance/front desk department, and we were being faced with a choice - either I would have to work in a different (less glamorous) department, like maintenance, or cleaning, or I would choose voluntary redundancy, and claim unemployment benefits. For me, it was a no brainer. I don't have the brain, nor the mentality to do menial, repetitive tasks like painting, and cleaning. In spite of the fact that I have worked for years in MacDonalds, and in restaurants doing tasks like that. But considering everything that was going on, I had a chat with my Mum and Dad, and they insisted that I fly back home as quickly as possible. I was reluctant to do so at first. I didn't want to throw away everything for which I'd worked so hard to achieve. It was meaningful that I was living entirely by my own means, and providing for myself. I basically wasn't a kid anymore. And I didn't want to put an abrupt end to that. But then, everything changed. Dominic Raab (The UK Government's Foreign Secretary) basically told all Brits abroad to return home as soon as possible. By then, I figured I ought to get back as soon as possible, so that I didn't end up stranded with nowhere to live.  Officially, the UK is under lockdown due to the virus. But honestly, based on what I've seen, it does not feel like we are under a lockdown at all. Most of the local shops down my road are still open. Even some of the restaurants are still open - except they only do takeouts instead. I have not seen any police roadblocks, nor checkpoints of any kind.  In fact, I've seen quite a few people out cycling, walking their dogs, basically just life as normal. I have to wonder how they are going to enforce this lockdown, seeing as so many people are ignoring it? Not like I care either way. If we are officially under lockdown, then I have a better reason to stay indoors, and work more on my computer. :D  Now, it is estimated that we will remain under lockdown for approximately 3 months - although I don't know the actual figure. Everybody fails at predicting the future. What am I going to do in that three months time? Well, the only thing I can do at this point. If there are things that my Canada trip have taught me, it's that I have a Creative disease. I have to find ways to satisfy my urges and channel my creative instincts effectively. One of those channels is through this - my Youtube Channel. But there are three others.  Another one for me is voice acting. I've mentioned earlier that I have another account where I take part in voice acting, except I'm not sure if I'm ready to introduce you to my real voice and real self yet. The third one is music. Not a lot of you may know this, but I actually have a background in music. My grandmother on my mother's side was a concert pianist (Just like another girl we all know, hmmm?) I am also an alumnus of the Academy of Contemporary Music, in Guildford, Surrey, UK. There are three videos dated about 5-7 years ago on this channel which I had to make private, because they all feature me, singing and playing guitar in them. One of them is me playing a guitar cover of the Hollyoaks Theme Tune (God - what a loser I was. So desperate for validation I would actually cover the Hollyoaks Theme tune) I don't even like Hollyoaks. I hate it with a burning passion - like every other Godawful soap opera on British Television. In fact, TV in general is just so depression and despair inducing that I refuse to watch it. Anime/Video games and Music is my escape from all that. I despise pretty much anything that depicts the real world in a realistic life setting.    But to give you an idea of what else I sometimes do in my time, there is an old video - 6 years old - of a remix I did of the Allegro Cross Examination theme tune for Ace Attorney, which I made on Garageband. I make quite a lot of music using Garageband. Music is actually an even bigger part of me, than Danganronpa is - well in any case, it goes back way further than my interest in Danganronpa, that's for certain. At some point, maybe when I reach a certain point in terms of how many subscribers I have, I would love to introduce you all to my real self. It would be a rewarding experience to have all of you get to know me, and all of my facets. ...Oh, and before we all forget: 

Happy Kayay-day, everybody! Let's all give a show of appreciation to Best Girl, and wish her love and happiness in Heaven. Happy Birthday, Kaede Akamatsu. - Bat Hunter

#Kaede Akamatsu #Update #Bat Hunter #Happy Birthday #Covid-19 #UK #Canada #So I'm Back Home Now

[wildflowerirwin]

Love Me Back - a.i. (1)

Summary: Lacey Teller needed more, she found it in a sugar daddy

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Swearing, smut, men are shit

Words: 3k

The worst form of lust was that of an employee lusting for a life free of capitalist work. At least, it was to Lacey. She hated her job. She wanted nothing more than to be free of her current job. She despised her boss, hated her catty coworkers, and most of all, resented each customer that threw their coffees back at her. Lacey had been a barista at the local coffeeshop since she was a freshman in college, now a first year law student. “Lacey, I’d like to speak with you in my office.”

“Yes, sir.” Lacey sighed, following Ray into the office. He gently trailed his fingers down her back as he closed the office door, her shoulders tensing.

“We received another complaint today.” Ray said, sitting in the swivel chair.

“Sir, I can assure you that whatever they claim I said was taken very out of context.” Lacey defended, her heart racing.

“I’m not blaming you, Lacey.” Ray said, placing his hand on her lower back. “I know customers can be rather insensitive at times.” His thumb grazed the exposed skin of her back lightly.

“Sir, with all due respect, don’t touch me.” Lacey moved aside, Ray’s hand falling from her back to the bottom of her thigh.

“Lacey, you’re my longest employee. I’d hate to lose you over something like this?” Ray tutted, looking up at her from his chair.

“Lose me over what? Your inappropriate touches?” Lacey crossed her arms, anger rising through her veins.

“I wouldn’t call them inappropriate.” Ray shrugged, his fingers gripping into Lacey’s denim clad thighs. “They’re simply affectionate. You know, you’re my favorite employee. You always have been.”

“These touches are inappropriate. You know how I know that? Because I don’t want them.” Lacey said, struggling to keep her voice from faltering.

“Lacey, Lacey, Lacey..” Ray chuckled and stood up. “Just because you’re in law school, doesn’t mean you know everything. Now, either you accept my affections, or I’m going to have to fire you.”

“Oh, no need.” Lacey opened the office door. “I quit.” She pulled her apron off and threw it at Ray before storming out of the shop. As her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, she glanced at the bar across the street. The bright neon sign read ‘Babylon Bar & Grille.’ Below that was a wooden door, next to which was a window. In that window, a sign. The sign wasn’t just alerting the public to the need for workers, but it was a calling to Lacey. She tightened her jacket around her shoulders and faced the wind, making her way to the bar. She walked inside and up to the counter where a tall, soft faced man stood.

“What can I get for you?” His thick Australian accent stunning Lacey. He raised an eyebrow as she continued to look at him, but failed to speak. “Uh, Miss?”

“I.. Sorry. Uh, I saw the ‘Help Wanted’ sign in the window. I’d like to fill out an application.” Lacey said, finally speaking. He nodded and placed an application down in front of her. She pulled a pen from her purse and filled out the application. She slid it back across the bar.

“Great. Lacey is it?” He looked down at her.

“That’s right.” She nodded.

“My name is Michael, I’m the opening shift manager. I’ll pass your application on to Ashton, the general manager, and we will see you Thursday for an interview.” He nodded, picking up her application.

“What time?” Lacey asked, putting her pen back in her purse.

“2:30. Don’t worry about wearing anything nice for the interview, you could come in sweatpants and still get the job. We’re desperate.” Mike said, shaking her hand.

“Cool.” Lacey giggled softly. “See you on Thursday.” She smiled softly at him and walked out of the bar. Michael walked into the back room and set the application down on Ashton’s desk.

“We’ve got a new waitress.” Mike said, lighting a cigarette. Ashton grabbed the application and gave it a quick glance over.

“Lacey Teller, aged 22, Harvard Law. Impressive. Nerdy.” Ashton shrugged. “Was she hot?” He looked up at Mike, a smirk falling on his face.

“Guess you’ll have to find out on Thursday. She’ll be in for an interview at 2:30.” Mike smirked, walking into the side alley.

*** On Thursday, Lacey walked into the bar at 2:15. She knew what time exactly to leave her apartment to be right on time, but she had to be early. If she wasn’t early, she was late. Even if she got there right at 2:30, she considered herself late. She walked up to the bar where Michael stood, typing away on his phone. Lacey cleared her throat and looked at Michael. “Lacey! You’re early.” Michael smiled and set his phone on the bar. “Let me go get Ashton.”

“I’m right on time.” Lacey muttered to herself and took a seat on a barstool. Michael walked into the back and knocked on the office door.

“Hey, your 2:30 is here.” Mike said and Ashton looked up from his work.

“Lacey Teller?” Ashton looked at him and Mike nodded. “Perfect. Here, this is the address for the delivery tonight. Be careful, cops have been patrolling the area pretty heavily since one of Aaron’s guys got caught.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be careful. Luke’s gonna be late today. Petunia’s got her vet appointment.” Mike said, walking back out to the front with Ashton.

“I told him to schedule her appointments in the morning.” Ashton sighed, and poured himself a glass of scotch. He looked at Lacey and licked his lips. “You must be Lacey.” He smiled softly at her.

“That’s me.” Lacey smiled and stood up, looking at Ashton. She almost lost her balance when she saw him. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. His dimples, his eyes, the chest hair peeking out of his button up. She couldn’t get enough.

“Awesome, follow me and we’ll get started with your interview.” Ashton nodded and led her to the back room. He walked into the office and took a seat at his desk, pulling up a chair for Lacey. “So, tell me a little about yourself while I get my shit together.” He said, pulling a binder down from the shelf.

“Uh, I’m 22. I was born in Kentucky, but I moved here when I was 18 for college. I have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education with a minor in photography, but I’m back in law school now.” Lacey said, looking around the room.

“Interesting major/minor combination.” Ashton nodded. “Why education?”

“It was easy to get through.” Lacey shrugged. “I just needed a degree so I could go to law school.”

“Very interesting. So, why do you want to work in a boring restaurant that doesn’t get many customers?”

“Anything is better than my last job. I worked at the coffeeshop across the street for 5 years. I quit the same day I came in here.”

“Why’d you quit?” Ashton asked, looking at her.

“My boss was a pathetic excuse for a man. He threatened to fire me for not accepting his advances, so I quit.” Lacey shrugged and Ashton crossed his arms.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Luke is gonna be even later today.” Calum said, poking his head into the office. “He called and said Petunia is too sad to let him leave.”

“You tell Luke that if he’s not here by 3:30, I’m gonna make him go on deliveries instead of Mike.” Ashton groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll tell him to just bring Petunia here.” Calum said, walking away.

“Sorry about that. That was Calum, the assistant manager. Luke is our closing manager, who is far too attached to his baked potato.” Ashton sighed, looking back at Lacey.

“Oh, no problem at all.” Lacey said, a smile tugging at her lips.

“Right, so, back to this shitty boss of yours.” Ashton said, looking at his notes. “Was he the only bad boss you’ve had?”

“No, but he was by far the worst. None of the others tried to touch me like he did.” Lacey sighed, crossing her arms over her stomach.

“I’m sorry, Lacey.” Ashton sighed. “Would you be comfortable working here? The management staff is all male, and we only have one female employee and you’d be taking her job.”

“I’m fine with male employees, especially when they’re as attractive as the ones I’ve seen here.” Lacey blurted, her eyes going wide. “I mean, as long as they’re respectful of women.”

“Alright,” Ashton chuckled quietly. “What are you hoping to be paid here?”

“Well, I am in law school currently, so I need to make enough to pay rent and save for tuition.” Lacey nodded.

“Well, I can offer you $12 an hour, plus tips.” Ashton said, looking at Lacey.

“That won’t be enough. I’d have to get a second job to afford rent every month.” Lacey shook her head.

“Let me finish.” Ashton said, raising a hand to quiet her. “I can also offer you $2000 a month in exchange for your services keeping me company.” Ashton leaned back in his chair and looked at her. Her jaw dropped slightly and she stared at him.

“You want me to be your sugar baby?” She gaped.

“If you’re comfortable with that. Otherwise, I can just pay you higher wages for your work here.” He shrugged.

“I..” Her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty. Her mind was running a million miles a minute, yet she couldn’t form a comprehensible thought.

“I can give you time to decide.” Ashton said, sitting up straighter.

“No, I’ll do it.” She looked at him, her words shocking both of them.

“You’ll do it?” Ashton asked, looking into her eyes.

“I’ll do it. But, just what will this entail?” She asked, leaning forward.

“I will give you as much money as you would like, in return you keep me company. You’ll accompany me on dates, to board functions, and if you’re comfortable with it, you’ll keep me company between the sheets.” He bite his lip as he watched the idea sink into her brain.

“Okay, it’s a deal.” Lacey smiled softly at him.

“Great. I’m gonna put you into the schedule and get payroll set up, I need you to go pack up your apartment. I’ll be there in the morning.” Ashton smirked, shaking her hand.

“Pack up my apartment?” She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Ashton.

“That’s right.” He nodded. “You’ll be moving into a new penthouse much closer to campus and to the bar. I’ll pick you up in the morning and take you over there.” Lacey nodded and stood up.

“Alright, I’ll see you in the morning.” Lacey smiled softly and walked out of the office.

*** That following morning, Lacey awoke to Ashton knocking on her door. She rolled off her mattress on the floor and walked to the door, pulling it open. “When you said morning, I thought maybe you meant, like, 11am. Not 6:30,” Lacey yawned, rubbing her eyes.

“We’ve got a big day ahead of us.” Ashton said, walking into the apartment. He looked around, his features showing his disgust at the apartment. “It’s a good thing we’re getting you out of here.”

“Why’s that?” Lacey asked, closing the door.

“This place is a death trap. You’ve got exposed wires, windows that don’t lock. Anyone can walk into your building. I was expecting at least a code, but the door just opens.”

“It’s cheap.” Lacey shrugged.

“Well, you’ll be living so much better when we get you to the penthouse. Now, you go get dressed and I’ll start bringing these boxes to the truck.” Ashton said and picked up a box. Lacey nodded and walked back to her bedroom. It didn’t take long for them to get Lacey’s things up into the penthouse. The long part was the unpacking.

“Ashton?” Lacey asked, looking up at him.

“Yes, baby girl?” Ashton looked down at her, the new pet name causing her stomach to flip and a pool to grow in her thong.

“How can you afford this?” Lacey asked, her eyes not leaving his.

“I may not look like it, but I am a millionaire.” Ashton chuckled. “I just don’t use hardly any of my money. That’s why I offered you this arrangement.”

“I don’t need much either.” Lacey shrugged.

“Well, I do have something else for you.” Ashton smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“What is it?” Lacey asked, watching as Ashton walked out the door of the penthouse. She jogged to catch up with him, following him into the elevator. He pressed the button for the parking garage and the elevator slowly began moving. Lacey leaned against Ashton lightly, not wanting to put all of her weight on him. Ashton smiled to himself and wrapped his arm around her, slipping his hand into the back pocket of her jean shorts, squeezing gently. Lacey giggled softly and rubbed her hand over Ashton’s chest gently. The elevator doors opened and Ashton walked with her to the other side of the lot.

“Okay, close your eyes.” Ashton smiled. Lacey giggled quietly and covered her eyes. Ashton continued leading her, stopping her once they reached the other side. “Open them.” Lacey opened her eyes and looked out at the brand new car in front of her.

“You bought me a car?” Lacey looked up at him.

“You need some way to get around town, don’t you?” Ashton smiled down at her.

“Thank you, daddy!” Lacey squeaked, hugging Ashton tight.

“You’re welcome, baby girl.” Ashton grinned, pressing his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back, her lips slipping against his. “There’s more.” Ashton hummed, sliding the keys into Lacey’s hands. She chewed on her lip as she unlocked the car, opening the back door.

“Oh, my God. Ash, you didn’t have to get all of this for me.” Lacey’s eyes widened as she looked at the shopping bags in the backseat. There were bags from places she could never have afforded before this. “This is amazing, thank you.” Her arms were around his neck again and her lips on his. Ashton hummed and pushed the bags into the trunk as he laid Lacey on the seats, settling between her legs. “I mean it, Ash. You didn’t have to get all of this for me.”

“I did.” Ashton said, cupping her cheek gently. “Things have been very lonely for me lately and having someone to spoil is going to help with that.” He smiled, pressing his lips to hers again. He slipped his hands under her shirt, pulling it over her head.

“In the car?” She looked up at him.

“Gotta christen it.” Ashton smirked, pulling his own shirt off.

“Our first time, though? In the car?”

“Do you not want to do it in the car?” Ashton asked, looking down at her.

“It’s fine, I just want to do it. I’ve been thinking about it since you asked me to be your sugar baby.” Lacey said, pulling Ashton down into a heated kiss. He smirked against her lips and unbuttoned her shorts, pulling them down along with her thong.

“Fuck..” Ashton bit his lip, the sight beneath him something he wished he could see for the rest of his life.

“Something wrong?” Lacey asked, a sudden wave of self consciousness overwhelming her.

“No. No, God, no.” Ashton shook his head. “My God, baby girl, you’re so fucking stunning.” Ashton brought his hands to her thighs, rubbing gently.

“Promise?” She whispered, looking up at him.

“Promise.” He pressed his lips to hers. She hummed against his lips as his fingers moved to her clit, rubbing slowly. Lacey gasped as his fingers rubbed between her folds. “Such pretty sounds.” Ashton’s lips attached to the skin of her neck as he pushed two fingers in, curling them upward.

“Oh, God..” Lacey moaned, her hips bucking against his hand.

“You like that, baby girl?” Ashton mumbled against her neck as he worked his fingers into her.

“Yes, daddy. Feels so fucking good.” Lacey moaned out, her head lulling back. “Please, daddy, I need your cock.” Lacey whimpered, digging her nails into his bicep. Ashton pulled his fingers from her and sucked them into his mouth, cleaning them of her juices. Lacey leaned forward and unbuttoned Ashton’s jeans, pushing them down. He pushed his boxers down and pumped himself slowly.

“Do I need a condom?” Ashton asked, rubbing the tip of his cock along her folds. Lacey moaned softly and shook her head.

“Mm-mm, I’m covered.” Her lips found his as he pushed in slowly, filling her completely. “God, yes.” Lacey moaned, her eyes falling closed as her head lulled back. Ashton groaned lowly and held her hips in his hands as his thrusts sped up.

“Your pussy was made for me.” Ashton grunted, pulling her hips up against his. Lacey wrapped her legs around his hips, pushing him deeper.

“Oh, fuck.” Lacey moaned louder, bringing her fingers to her clit.

“Mm-mm, baby girl.” Ashton groaned, pushing Lacey’s hand away and replacing it with his thumb. He rubbed his thumb against her clit in slow circles, matching the pace of his thumb to his thrusts.

“I’m so close, daddy.” Lacey whimpered softly, her walls clenching around his cock.

“Cum for daddy.” He mused, his hips pounding into hers. His name fell from her lips repeatedly as she came, her toes curling. “That’s it, baby.” Ashton moaned, filling her with his load.

“The car was a perfect spot for this.” Lacey hummed, pressing her lips to his.

“Couldn’t agree more.” Ashton grinned, his lips molding against hers.

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[downerpress]

snapshot

it’s been a wild few weeks, everyone.  after all the job hunting and stress and interviews and bullshit, i did indeed get a new job.  full time, working at a car dealership (i know, it’s weird for me too) doing some accounting, some HR and a whole lot of research on rebates and stuff.  the full time bit is taking me some getting used to; i’m not making as much art or crafting as much, but i am trying to trust that after a while i’ll adjust and get back into the swing of things. 

the pay, OMG. the pay isn’t minimum wage. it’s a honest to goodness living wage and the first real paycheck i got almost made me weep.  all the things i haven’t been able to do for YEARS were suddenly options. things like, seeing a dentist about the stupid broken teeth i carry around in my jaw, saving money for trips out of town, maybe getting my car fixed so it doesn’t randomly stall!

i was also worried about being back in an office job because my last office job in health insurance made me want to be dead, but it turns out if the office isn’t in hell, i’m actually really good at office work and enjoy it. if i’ve said it once, i have said it a million times, what i want is to be when i grow up is support staff. let me do the dumb research and follow-up, let me file things and reconcile accounts and pass out mail and i am the happiest worker bee on earth. my coworkers treat my skill with excel spreadsheets and my ability to google things as a heaven sent gift and i’m like, “really? that’s all it takes to impress you?”

the new coworkers are all women in my department, and they are delightful. there’s no micro-managing. there’s no shitty cliques. there’s time for bullshit and coffee and chatting with the salespeople. i’m still not super keen on capitalism, and think that people shouldn’t be willing to pay over $800 a month on a car payment, but they’re adults and no one asked me what my opinion was.

my morning panic attacks have reduced themselves drastically.  normally i have to take 1 benzo a week (split into two) just to make it out of the house, and that was often when i was only working 3 to 4 days a week. last week i only used 1/4 a benzo for the whole 5 days. not having to argue with machines that are poorly maintained and a boss who has unreal expectations and a junkie son to coddle all day has been good for mental health. who would have thought?! i miss my coworkers at the sign shop, but i stop in once a week for lunch and we still talk often. 

my husband is in a bad spot mentally, partially due to work shit, partially just his winter funk coming on strong. the drinking is out of control and he’s home all the time right now and that is making me crazy, but having a little extra money means i can take care of shit and not have to depend on him.  not that he ever gave me money or helped me out when i was working part time, but now i can be helpful to our kids and not worry so much about whether or not he’s going to go to work or stay home and get drunk and pick fights with me. i mean, i’m not a fan of the fights and the drunken crying, but like, he can stay home more often if he wants and i can take care of the mortgage. there’s a lot more to unpack there, but let’s just leave it at this: more of my own money gives me a bit more freedom and that feels good. 

#tl:dr #80% of things are going well for me #weirdly work is one of them #snapshot #personal #text

[winterheart17]

Those of you who have been with me for awhile will probably know my work woes as a magazine writer. Essentially, while I love my colleagues to death and more often than not, the work I do (except when I run into fake ass scum of the earth and still have to write a good piece on them). Anyways, an update on what’s been happening - it’s been a very, very rough three weeks. I’ve broken down more times than I have in the past 2 years in this short span of time. I’m unashamed to say my wage is incredibly low - I get paid RM2350 (that’s approx 580USD) a month. In the past (almost) three years, never gotten a bonus and only a RM100 (approx 25USD) raise which bumped it up to 2350 only in the past year. As for my workload, I have to handle the Features, Lifestyle, and Beauty sections (that’s pretty much more than half the magazine). Most writers only handle one section or at most, Features and Lifestyle go hand in hand.

The company’s narrative is also unethical and shitty. Think about everything you know of a toxic relationship - this is it. Instead of motivating you, they keep telling you you’re not worthy of being paid more until you actually believe it despite having everyone else’s jaw drop when they find out how little you earn. The sad thing is, the CEO would rather pay an outsider she thinks can add value to the company as opposed to treating her actual staff well and retaining them. Turnover rates are crazy. And I used to think my editor was better than that, but after the last appraisal, it’s all changed. She doesn’t seem to get that I’m doing so much, SO, SO much. Since last year, we are down by 3 people but we never hired and the workload was redistributed with me taking on the lion’s share. To put things in perspective: I have to write 30 pages from scratch. If it includes sourcing for and lifting other articles as well as editing them for the sections I handle, it’s 50 pages. Every issue. Every month.

This is also why I’ve had to take periodic breaks from Tumblr simply because I don’t have the energy to do anything else. And if I’m honest, my love for writing is so drained because I feel so undervalued and overworked. I work through weekends at times to rush articles. I don’t even realize weeks have flown by.

Anyways, my appraisal was about 3 weeks ago and it was a shitstorm. I felt my editor had it in for me. She’s been telling my deputy editor (my friend) how she feels my work has been slipping and etc. I’ve asked my dep ed if it is that bad, and she’s told me while she’s noticed my spark is no longer as it was, my work is still relatively good. Never terrible. Plus, despite handling the most, I hand in my articles one of the earliest coz that’s my way of being a team player - if I hand mine in late as well, that’s it, the whole train will be derailed.

When I told my editor I was handling a lot and I feel the company undervalues me with such a low pay - she took it so personally. SO PERSONALLY. Despite me telling her three times it’s not her, it’s upper management - she attacked me. She went on about how I’ve been slacking and this is bad and that is awful and how I haven’t given her a reason to fight for higher pay. And inside, I’m just... so the past 2.5 years were nothing? And she went on to say how she knows when I cut corners and she allows me to do them (excuse me, miss, it’s impossible for me to handle EVERYTHING without lifting or easing up some workload in some areas if I’m to hand in everything on time). Plus, she’s a bit hypocritical. When she sees me stress, she will tell me not to and that I can lift to ease my workload. But when I do, I’m perceived as lazy.

I broke down. Badly. It wasn’t even the pay. It was how underappreciated I was and it showed. Her face completely shut down and no one knows why - she’s often been very emotional with her previous writers. She told me she could see I had one foot out the door and I told her that’s about right. And I told her I hate being in this stagnant rut and I take pride in my work - I don’t do this on purpose but seriously, this job is killing my love for writing. She told me she appreciates me and how much it “breaks her heart” I don’t see it - but how she treats me below is bullshit. So, we didn’t actually manage to resolve anything. But before we ended, she asked me to give her a “hug” - it felt so fake to be honest. And it was obvious I was crying still when she switched off the lights and walked out of the room.

The meeting room is adjacent to reception where we often get media packages. Reception will call us down from Level 1 to pick them up. But this time, as I was trying to compose myself, my editor called me out to pick up HER package to be taken upstairs. I think I was just so in shock, I couldn’t comprehend so I did it quickly so that the receptionist wouldn’t see me cry. I was halfway up the stairs when my editor hollered up the stairs for me to come back down as there was another package. This time, the receptionist did see me cry.

And I feel so ashamed - I feel I should have just walked away back then or done something. But I was too in shock and struggling to control the tears - I couldn’t believe how appalling she was at the time. She couldn’t even be a decent human being to someone she said she “appreciates”. And that was it - that was the end of the line for me and the last straw. She came back up and cheerily spoke to the rest of my colleagues - acting as if nothing had happened.

Shouldn’t you ask yourself as an editor why one of your most hardworking girls is demotivated instead of shutting it in until appraisal and just assume I was slacking? You want me to give my best - but do you even deserve my best consistently. Oh, I also said the way I tried to be a team player is by keeping with the deadlines and handing my work on time to ensure we go to print on time. Her response: “but if that’s the kinda work I’m getting, I don’t want it.” Not gonna lie, that was a slap to my face. I wanted to quit there and then. I promise, no matter how demotivated I get, I never hand in unsatisfactory work - just not my BEST.

Anyways, long story short - I don’t want to jinx it but I may have a new job on the horizon. But I just need to have it in black and white first before I confirm everything and quit. The offer actually came just a few days after the appraisal, which was a godsend. But yes, that’s not even the end of the drama - I’ve got another post coming up soon about another huge headache I’ve had to deal with the past two weeks. So, it’s unfortunate but this job has just drained my soul and what I love about writing and I know it’s reflected here on Tumblr. Man, it feels good to let it all out. This is why updates come out so slowly now and why sometimes I go MIA. I just couldn’t take it anymore and had to write it all down here. Thank you to all of you who have waited so patiently for all my updates. Seriously, you have no idea how grateful and thankful I am for all of you keeping whatever small embers of my love for writing still burning ♥️

#update #personal #work

[my-add-chronicles]

Hello everyone! I have wonderful news

I got a new job!!! It starts April 1st (I swear it’s not a joke). I just found out on Sunday.

For me that is a really big deal. I have always had pretty severe social anxiety disorder, so the entire process of the job hunt has always been unbearable and the prospect of change and learning a new job is also terrifying. I basically was in a mode where I was prepared to stay in my awful job I have right now forever, just because it is familiar and my coworkers are nice.

But I am in a place these days emotionally where my anxiety is far less bad than it was when I first got my job three+ years ago- I’m 29 now and I’ve grown a lot as a person over the past few years!!

The job I’ve been in for 3+years was basically...

W,Fri,Sat,Sun- shift from 12pm to 10pm.

It’s a shitty very exhausting retail job. The job was ok, most of my coworkers are super nice, my store manager and assistant manager are good people, and the customers are MOSTLY good natured so that’s fine. But the company I work for is HORRIBLE, horrible! Disorganized, disrespectful, shaming, terrible communication, constant change, basically want us to grovel for our minimum-wage job and complain that we get paid too much. I got a raise once... and then they literally recersed my raise two days later because they said it wasn’t ‘allowed’ that I get paid as much as a store manager (which tells me just how little they were paying them!). And then this year with zero notice they cut everybody’s sick hours for all the US stores and then maybe a month later reversed their decision because they got so much shit. Disrespectful! The upper managers are HORRIBLE and the job is incredibly exhausting and demoralizing. The staff is incredibly minimal so we all are burning out, with the constant negative feedback being icing on the cake

Obviously that job is super toxic for me so I had made up my mind to leave March 31st or to leave April 30th and then just burn through my savings account and hope to not run out of money before finding a job.

So I was fucking SHOCKED that I got offered a job that starts April 1st, I haven’t even left my job yet and just barely started job hunting.

My new job will be M-F, 9-5 which I have never done in my life. It will be an adjustment from my customary evening shift, I will have to learn to be a morning person.

More on that later! But in just under 3 weeks I will be escaping retail!!!

Yess!!!!!!

[flyswhumpcenter]

Bad Things Happen Bingo! The event where you send me requests according to this marvelous card!

Don’t ask me why. It’s like I did a 360° on my ideas about being that one local whump hipster asshole. It wasn’t even a request, but the art block was stronk and the tentation even stronker so... DBH whump! I can’t explain, just take it! Father-son Hank & Connor + “Blood from the Mouth” wasn’t in my inbox but fuck it. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Nothing Ever Goes Right Around Here

Summary: It was supposed to be a normal case of missing deviants, goddammit. Instead, it turned into a shower of blue blood.

Fandom: Detroit: Become Human

Wordcount: 3.5K words

Event organized by @badthingshappenbingo

AO3 version available here.

There was this thing about being in the police that all cops knew about: the danger of death. Unless you were stuck behind a terminal waiting for shit to happen or filling goddamn paperwork for the tenth time in two days, you were going to put your life in danger. Criminals were all over trying to get away with their crimes: if it meant killing an officer or two to evade it, then they’d probably do it.

Everyone was aware of these dangers when androids started to become a thing. Housekeeping and making stuff in huge hangars in what used to be the desert part of Detroit hadn’t been enough to contain the “epidemic”: in the end, that one corp named CyberLife had managed to slip some of policer/detective/whatever robots in the police forces to fight against other robots having gone deviant/defective/however they called it.

 In a way, Hank could say his career changed the day he had gotten a partner assigned to him in 2018 Anno Domini (and he only knew what “AD” stood for because he once had gotten through a torrential lecture about it, holy shit that had been boring as balls). A non-human partner. A plastic prick assigned to him because now he was investigating androids or something. Wished he had been warned about facing these assholes before Fowler had slammed them in his face. Would have been nice to get prepared, y’know.

The thing was awkward to look at. It looked goofy with puppy eyes, a haircut which seemed to have dated back from when he was born and with a weird-ass voice with a weird-ass accent. “CyberLife androids are conceived to work harmoniously with humans”, sure. It kept trying to do some fake small talk, including such classics as “I like dogs” and “Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?”.

 It wasn’t like it wouldn’t follow him around all the goddamn time. The thing was tenacious as fuck: no matter how many times he’d tell it “don’t go there, you’re gonna get killed”, it’d still do so. Fucking prick. Drinking himself to death? It’d break his window. Eating lunch? It was there, commenting on his street friends taking part in illegal gambles. Getting shot in the fucking head? It’d come back the next day as if nothing had happened, “My predecessor was unfortunately destroyed, but I was sent as a replacement”.

After a while, though, Hank noticed himself warming up to the fucking robot. In fact, he started to refer to the latter as a “he” instead of just “it”. In a way, advanced androids showed: at times, Connor was more human than he would have liked his artificial partner to be. It was too real when he had had to slam his heart back into his chest as it bleed blue everywhere in a staff room.

Way too real.

 In the end, deviant androids weren’t in the wrong and lead a peaceful revolution. Bigotry was still there (when wasn’t it? Being an asshole was a part of being a human being), insults and slurs were still there, deviants hating humans and vice-versa were still there. The world would change, he figured. It always did, so why wouldn’t it change this time? Androids had claimed back the tower in which they had once been conceived, built and stocked: it was already changing.

It was easy to perceive: instead of just having some kind of plastic partner crossed with a poodle trying to sound human, he had a workmate with just a different colour of blood and way to express himself (“androids cannot die, we get shutdown”, “androids cannot get sick, Hank, they can get infected”, yada yada yada). In a way, Connor was the son he had never gotten the chance to see grow up, but he’d be damned if he ever spat that in front of the kid.

 It wasn’t about hunting down deviants for the sake of making them go back to being machines anymore, at the DPD. Now, it was about hunting down violent deviants, find missing androids scared by deviancy, or arresting even more assholes killing androids. Hank wished he didn’t know android sex trafficking was a thing, but it was a few cases too late. It was better than before: he didn’t feel like he was being an ass just for making his job. Connor still licked blood off the floor as if it wasn’t any big deal (God, that was still gross as fuck), but it was better.

So now, he was teamed with a sentient android investigating android-related cases and it wasn’t even swerving his hate nerve anymore. Getting over what had happened to Cole was finally going somewhere thanks to him not being a blind piece of shit about it anymore. How things had changed in such a short span of time.

 All this had brought him to this day. They had been assigned to the case of the disappearance of an SR300 which had apparently gone deviant and fled the place with a similar model, a JL900. Both were android models specialized in education and teaching, and had fled from the high school they were used in.

“I guess being a teach is only slightly better than findin’ corpses on the ground,” Hank grunted as he turned on the car. “These two must have fled because the brats weren’t worth the shitty-ass wage.”

“According to witness accounts, the two have taken shelter in a nearby abandoned school, of which the current school is a rebuilt one,” Connor stated, looking through window to a decrepit building barely standing.

 They both got out of the car, making their way to the old building. It was a disaster to look at: shattered windows, rotting walls with tags all over them, shards of glass and wood on the concrete, weeds starting to take over the entire place and a few animal corpses to sell the thing. It seemed like little shits liked to come here to get a quick laugh by being assholes to innocent animals.

“Look at this. Isn’t it a place where ya wanted to spend a nice afternoon, Connor?” he asked his partner who looked way more serious than he was.

“We usually visit unpleasant locations such as this one,” he replied with an unnatural seriousness. “I don’t see how this is any worse than our usual investigations.”

“Ain’t wrong.”

 They walked into the building through its busted doors, glass breaking even more under their footsteps. The walls weren’t just about to collapse under the weight of four abandoned floors: they were also covered in incoherent, compulsive writings.

“The words on the walls were both written by humans and androids. They used a standard font to write about rA9 again…” Connor seemed to mutter to himself as he scanned the walls.

“So both have been there, huh. That’s just fantastic. We’re trying to find androids and we’re faced with the possibility of humans having put their dirty noses in there.”

 The ground floor was at times inaccessible, huge chunks of wood and concrete having long since blocked most corridors to what seemed to have been administration-related rooms. Oh well, was for the best: the less places to access, the less to actually investigate. Moreover, it blocked most of the staircases, which meant there was no risky stair climbing today. Hey, if the place wasn’t so creepy and such a hazard, it wouldn’t be too bad of an investigation.

But there was a catch to it (there was always a catch to things anyway): there were two ways to go. They’d have to either split up and cover more field or remain together but lose time. He couldn’t tell all by himself what thing to do, even if he was more inclined to split and spend less time in this goddamn debris of a place.

 “Which way is the most likely to have these deviants, Connor?” he asked, thinking some fancy-shmancy scan ability could maybe make that easier.

“I can’t tell. The writings on the walls seem to be very similar on both ways.”

His LED cycled to yellow, a sure sign he was scanning something, perhaps simulating, if he wasn’t wrong about these specificities that was.

“I’d go as far as to say the two androids could have gone either way and could have split at some point.”

“Fuck. Let’s split too then. I’m going left, you’re going right, got it?”

“Got it.”

 Gun in a hand and a flashlight in the other, Hank made his way into the left corridor. It was everything an abandoned school would be in a clichéd horror movie: blood dried on the walls, broken wooden floor tainted in red (from what, he didn’t want to know), incoherent tags filled with penis crudely drown on former paint job… Truly the “work” of some shitheads.

Doors to classrooms were completely busted, revealing most of the furniture had either been moved to the new school or had been stolen. Because of the state of the building, these rooms were all identical: dark, smelling like wet red ice, rotting and just unpleasant to look at for more than three seconds.

 Eventually, his eyes stumbled upon two blue diodes shining in the dark. The deviants were in the last room of the corridor (of course). Making sure to have his gunned hand lowered (if seeing Connor act upon deviants had told him something, it was that being unarmed was better in these cases) and the flashlight more visible. Violent confrontation wasn’t really his cup of coffee these days.

He shined his light onto the two female androids, revealing them to have been sitting still on top of a desk. They didn’t look that scared or surprised to see him, as if they had expected him to come in at some point. He wasn’t the stealthiest cop around, to be fair.

 “Detroit Police,” he told them as he put his gun in its holder for the moment. “Stay put.”

They didn’t say anything back, just stayed there. They were still dressed in their factory uniforms, looking undisturbed enough to seem like they had never gone deviant in the first place.

“What? You’re not reacting or trying to kill me or something?”

The SR300, a brown-haired one with blue eyes, got up and walked closer to him.

“We don’t have to fear anything from you. We already know who you are and who you came with.”

“Guess info does spread amongst deviants. Look, I’m not good at negotiating, especially compared to my partner, but I still wanna know why you fled the place like that. Was it the brats?”

That was soft coming from him, but he didn’t feel threatened by two female androids smaller than him.

 The second android got up too, revealing herself to have brown eyes, darker than Connor’s he’d say, even if the shitty lighting of the place didn’t help.

“We didn’t know what they’d do with us once they knew we were deviants. It was starting to look too obvious.”

“Who, the brats? I don’t think they’d give two shits. Kids are usually nicer than adults about that kind of stuff.”

If he remembered one anecdote from Connor before the latter had deviated, it was the one about the little girl who was taken hostage by the family’s android she loved.

“No, the school staff,” SR900 interjected. “Discrimination against androids is still a thing for us deviants. These dicks wouldn’t want us to think too much. Ironic, considering that’s what school is supposed to teach the kids.”

An android who cursed freely. Felt like talking to a real human for a second over there.

“We escaped so we wouldn’t be chained to our original, programmed mindset,” JL900 added. “Being free is being able to think for ourselves and being able to teach how we want. For once, the students aren’t the issue.”

“So ya escaped because ya wanted free will, right? Seems like a cool motive. Ya killed people while ya were at it?”

“We’re supposed to be teacher androids, Lieutenant.” JL900 seemed offended at this. “We wouldn’t kill people. I don’t think we’ve even unlocked that.”

“Now, if you want a killer deviant, there’s one in the building,” SR300 said as she glanced towards the corridor. “We were about to leave the place anyway, it was just so they’d lose track of us. Now, if I was you, I’d leave too.”

 Wait, how did they know he was a lieutenant? Huh, no, wait again. There was something worse about this.

“There’s another deviant in there?!”

SR300 didn’t seem this disturbed.

“Yeah. A deviant with a knack against other androids and humans alike. He calls himself Brandon, if you ever come across him.”

JL900 didn’t seem this tranquil with it, though.

“Sarah,” she said as she looked at the other android, “isn’t Lieutenant Anderson always accompanied by an android?”

“Oh, yeah, he is,” she replied looking at the ceiling, before starting at him again. “You should go check on your partner, Brandon may have found him.”

That smelled like shit. The calmness of that swearing android was pissing him off beyond reason, to the point he wanted to scream at her for not telling him earlier, but Connor was a priority there.

 Not even saying something again, Hank hurried to the other end of the corridor he had gone in and into the one he hadn’t been in before. As he did so, he armed his other hand with his gun, determined to make it to where the deviant was and shoot him in the head if it meant having his partner alive and perhaps saving the two pacifist androids in the back over there.

As he did so, the stench of the place had changed. It smelled much, much more like plastic and machinery. It was probably his mind playing tricks on him, considering he was getting concerned and almost scared of finding Connor in pieces by that point.

 Getting breathless, he stopped running, trying to catch his breath as soon as possible. Heart beating against his ribcage, cursing himself for having tried to attract death glass after glass, his hand dropped down, lighting the floor. There was this weird ambient noise of someone dragging something on the floor,

His eyes went wild when he noticed there were drops of blue. Whatever Connor had to get his parts functional was spilled on the floor, his or not. Considering the short timespan during which it’d stay wet, it had to belong to one of the four androids in the building. Also considering the pristine condition of the two female androids he had just left, despite the place where they were, it had to belong to either Connor or the deviant. He needed to act fast.

 As he was about to continue delving into the corridors, something grabbed his ankle, almost making him fall.

“Goddammit! Don’t pull my legs, for fuck’s…”

His heart skipped a beat.

“Jesus Christ!!”

 The hand clutching his ankle belonged to Connor, whom he kneeled in front of. There was blue blood all over the android’s fingers and dripping from his mouth, ragged breathing also coming out from it.

“Goddammit, Connor, you’re okay?! What happened to ya?!”

“A deviant… shot me in one of the classrooms… He’s armed…”

“God fucking dammit…”

 Putting his partner’s head on his lap, Hank put the gun back in this pocket and shone the light on the android. It wasn’t too hard to spot the wound: there was a blue hole right in his chest from which liquid oozed, tainting everything it touched in cobaltic tones. The damage seemed to have been enough for Connor to cough up even more blood, all contributing to tainting even more of the place blue.

It was a storm inside Hank’s head. Should he try to stop the haemorrhage the same way he’d so with a human, with red blood? It didn’t cost anything to try. He put his hand on there, trying to use pressure to his advantage, when footsteps arrived next to him.

 There was no LED light around the footsteps’ noise. A “shit” escaped his mouth as he realized this wasn’t any of the two girls from before, but the last deviant in the building. The one with the homicidal tendencies and a lack of empathy to his fellow androids. He needed to get rid of it before it got rid of him.

Regretfully targeting his flashlight towards the deviant, other hand already moving from the wound to his pocket and to his gun, he noticed there was a barrel pointed right between his own two eyes. This was going to end in a bloodbath, wasn’t it.

“Sorry, son,” he whispered under his breath as if Connor could hear it, ready to shoot and get shot, until the barrel disappeared from his immediate vision.

 Two lights had appeared in his field of vision.

“Sir!” SR300’s voice rose from the darkness. “Get away from here as fast as possible! We’re gonna keep him in there long enough, don’t worry for us!”

He wished he didn’t have to resort to that, but seeing Connor cough up some more blue blood was giving him the urge to leave as soon as possible.

“We… we can’t leave them here…” Connor said with echo in his voice and liquid pouring out as Hank was putting him over his shoulder.

“We can’t wait around here, or you’re gonna die! No officer dies on my watch!”

 It was a chore to get moving with someone barely able to walk weighing down on his shoulder, but it had to be done. His partner was attempting to speak despite the leak continuing. Hand on his phone, phone to his ear, ear twitching, he was barking into it to request backup and some kind of medical assistance for androids, whatever that was called.

“Hang on there, we’ll get you to safety and repaired in no time. Just… don’t die on me.”

Connor attempted to speak, only for more blue to come out from it, spilling on the ground.

“And don’t speak, Jesus Christ! You’re gonna make yourself even worse if you do that!”

 Sirens filled the air, lights blinded the eyes, backup deafening sounds and visuals alike. That had been tougher than expected… Of course it’d be. Why did he have expectations of anything going right, again? At least, question solved, right?

  If there was a thing Hank hated deep down, it was waiting for something to happen whenever things turned to shit. He was covered in blue, staring at the wall in a fucking waiting room because he couldn’t focus on anything else. Order from Fowler himself, he didn’t need to add another page to the goddamn bible that was his behaviour history.

The kid had been shot in the chest and he couldn’t have done much about it. He knew he couldn’t have guessed, couldn’t have known, but it still felt like his fault nonetheless. He didn’t care if Connor was supposed to just be robotics with a humanoid face, he was still alive and he had almost died right in his arm for the second time. Fuck this deviant, he deserved the bullet in the head he got from the backup.

 He had seen the two female androids from earlier pass by him, apologizing for not telling him earlier. One of them, the SR300 if he wasn’t mistaken, had almost been shot too, but it only grazed her instead. They had seemed to be adamant to join society as functional members, albeit deviant androids by default. They weren’t bad persons, he supposed, so it was only fair that they had survived the ordeal and had left that decrepit school straight out of Satan’s asshole.

That still didn’t make that shitty situation okay. He hadn’t been here for long and he knew that: at best half an hour, at worst a couple minutes, the time to want to punch something and throw coffee at Gavin for the tenth time in the week. It was pissing him off to dick around like that waiting for something to happen.

 “Lt. Anderson?” a voice called for him, unfamiliar and neutral all the same. Some random technician, he figured.

“Yeah?” he simply replied, before realizing it could be important. “Did the kid make it?” he proceeded to ask, a bit more concerned about the entire ordeal.

The small smile on the guy’s face betrayed the answer.

“He did indeed make it. You may visit his room now.”

 The lieutenant obviously followed. In all silence, yet sighing internally in relief because never again, he made his way in the room. Closing the door behind him and leaning against the wall, he looked at the unconscious (or so he assumed) man in the bed in front of him. A smirk crept up on his face.

“Never do that again, kid, got it?”

#bad things happen bingo #dbh #never believe me in me ever again #hank anderson #connor (dbh) #whump #gunshot #injury #i have to invent new tag smh #brotp: hang on son #bthb 1

[dammitjameskirk]

well its holiday time!! that means so many families will have more free time and theyll think going to the movies is a great time had by all!! this might be true for anybody actually going, but its definitely not true for anybody WORKING THERE THIS TIME OF YEAR.

so here are a couple notes from somebody who works in the theatre business and i am so gotdamn exhausted by the hundreds of thousands of families i see walk through the doors of my building

THE END OF YEAR HOLIDAYS FROM NOVEMBER TO EARLY JANUARY ARE THE BUSIEST TIME OF YEAR FOR ANY MOVIE THEATRE, HANDS DOWN. EVERYONE HAS TIME OFF AND COMES TO THE MOVIES, YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL AND MILLIONS OF OTHERS ARE GOING TO THE MOVIES JUST LIKE YOU. REMEMBER THIS WHEN YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE LATE OR BUY YOUR TICKETS AT THE DOOR INSTEAD OF AHEAD OF TIME.

everyone makes minimum wage or less (minors dont have to be paid minimum wage, PLUS theres no such thing as overtime or holiday pay in the movie business); youre yelling at literal children almost 100% of the time and quite frankly they have no control over any of it and you throwing a hissy fit will help literally no one, not even yourself

the movies cost mega money if you dont come prepared; eat beforehand if you dont want to spend anything extra. tell your children no if you have to, theres no reason to spend 5$ on m+ms if you cant spare the money. we understand and feel just as badly when we have to tell you the total

if you bring your own snacks, none of us care as long as we dont see it. take it in undetected and you better throw it out afterward as well; if youre not buying any of our concessions then youre not paying for us to clean up after you

(yeah, the concessions cost so much bc thats what pays our paychecks. the theatres do not get any money from ticket sales, save for MAYBE 10%, depends on how long the movie’s been out but most of the time the max amount of money made from ticket sales is about 50 cents. concessions pay for employee paychecks and the building running costs)

BRING YOUR ID IF YOU ARE SEEING AN R-RATED FILM. ALL R-RATED FILM TICKET PURCHASES ARE LIKELY TO BE ID’D AND IF YOU DON’T HAVE IT THEN YOU’RE SHIT OUTTA LUCK. policy for most theatres: you have to be at least 17+ to see an r-rated film WITH A VALID ID (school ids do NOT count), OR be 21+ WITH A VALID ID to take in any more people without an id themselves. no exceptions. this is a firable offense, on the spot, if the cashier or ticket taker is caught allowing underage kids into r-rated films. take this into consideration the next time you want to go see a movie bc there are no exceptions!! fuck you if you dont bring your id but then get mad bc we wont let you in to see the movie!! its your own fault!!!!

understand that there are physically not enough people working in the building to keep the place spotless as hordes of people run around and make a shitty mess everywhere. like, im sorry, but the movie theatre business SUCKS and theres nothing we can do about it other than try and sweep up the popcorn as fast as we can. you complaining to management will not suddenly materialise a new person to come out of the employee breakroom, ready to sweep up whatever it is youre complaining about. patience is KEY bc we quite simply do not have the staff or the staff allowance to provide a perfect atmosphere. it wont happen no matter how much you squall. like, im sorry it sucks, i know it does, im trying to make it run as smoothly as possible but theres just not enough employees allowed for us to do any better. bring your own trash bag and your own napkins if youre that concerned, i promise we wont look at you sideways

ENUNCIATE YOUR ORDER AT THE CONCESSION STAND. the more communicative you are the faster you can be served, i promise, thats EXACTLY how it works and its not taking too long bc the employee is bad its bc youre not speaking up or youre not actually defining what you want. be better, get done faster

try to be more on time when it comes to getting to the theatre. doing everything late makes you angrier and it means we dont have as much time to fix whatever problems you may be having. we cant fix what you need if theres no time because you didnt think youd have to show up to your movie until 20 minutes after it started!!

be mindful of when the locations you visit actually close; we’re not a 24/7 business, and concessions and ticketing sales usually close before midnight, depending on the time of the last show and that building’s policies. at that point, the only thing youre doing is renting space on our premises. take care of everything you need, money-wise, before that time passes or else youre out of luck, just like any other business

dont.... dont bring babies to the movies please. this is more personal than like, actual tips or tricks about the movies or like backalley knowledge or whatever, this is like, this is from a health and courtesy standpoint. movies are LOUD. movies are SCARY. babies shouldnt... be going through that experience. i cant stand whenever i see newborns being carried around as if their ears arent so sensitive and that theyre likely to cry and be generally uncomfortable bc a movie theatre is NOT A PLACE FOR BABIES. find a sitter, or stay home. thats what you sign up for when you become a parent, taking care of your child to the best of your ability. and if that includes taking them with you to the movies... youre a bad parent and theres nothing you can do to convince me otherwise. (also 6 and under cant see r-rated films past a certain time and i rly dont understand why so many folks dont understand that or think its a new rule?? its not a new rule, every movie chain i have been to has had that rule its not new and not specific to just one place cmon now get out of here)

also if you leave garbage in the theatre under the impression that Somebody Gets Paid To Do That, just know that we know and we also hate you passionately bc youre the worst type of person. if you have family like this, correct them. we get paid very little to do much more than you could possibly expect

happy holidays!!! dont take this as a Dont Come To The Movies post, take this as a Come To The Movies Prepared post instead. just dont be a dick, its the holidays, and these are mostly children youre upset with. like, youre yelling at 15 + 16 yr olds. just be nice. if you have a problem with the business itself, take it to corporate, thats the only way youll get anything changed.

#litter box #work tag #im tired and its barely december #none of my crew has had busy weekends and stuff bc the weeks leading up to thanksgiving were all shit movies #this thanksgiving weekend was the first busy weekend many of them experienced and it was rough #one of the busiest thanksgiving weekends the theatres have seen in quite a while #akin to when frozen came out i think is what one report said #but like. Damn. be better to the ppl u interact with outside of your own home!! #why leave the house in a bad mood??? cmon now

[thebuckblogimo]

It’s a sickening feeling to be broke.

May 8, 2020

I have no idea what it feels like to be truly poor.

But there have been times in my my life when I have experienced economic pain and had a taste of what the unemployed and furloughed people across the country are going through these days. And I can tell you, it’s a shitty feeling. 

In 1970, when I was unable to find a job after college and went out west with my pal Joe to “explore new horizons,” he fronted me the money for our road trip. I was flat-out busted when we got to San Francisco, and it took a couple weeks to find a job as a janitor. After work each day we’d go to a cheap buffet for dinner and sneak an extra hard-boiled egg or two into our pockets while in line to sustain ourselves in the evening.

I felt like such a loser.

Later that year, after I had returned home, I landed my first copywriter’s job at AAA in Detroit. I worked there for almost ten wonderful years. Then one day a big management shakeup took place, and I encountered a new boss who, literally, caused me to be sick to my stomach going into work each morning. Long story, but I quit my job. I hadn’t been married for even a year, but thankfully we could pay the mortgage and get by on Deb’s salary as a nurse.

During my unemployment, I recall walking out of a phone booth, fighting back tears one dismal afternoon, after learning that I’d lost out on a job at Ex-Cell-O Corp., after going through three interviews I felt I’d nailed. I was crushed.

Things eventually worked out, and I enjoyed a long run in advertising at Ross Roy. And yet, years later, after “the Roy” was acquired by a large communications holding company, I was in for some economic pain again.

I and my art director friend Dave had been recruited to work as a team at the J. Walter Thompson agency. However, after little more than two years on the job, we got a surprise visit to our office by the creative director and someone from human resources who told us that the company would be “going in a new direction.” Our services would no longer be required.

By this time Debbie and I had built a nest egg to fall back on. She was happy and fulfilled being a stay-at-home mom. However, if our family of six was going to have the protection of good health insurance while I was out of work, she would have to return to full-time nursing.

Those were some tough days.

The point is, when I see what some small business owners are currently going through, trying to keep their heads above water, or hear about unemployed, single moms, cutting back even more so that they can put food on the table, it brings back bad memories of similar emotional pain.

Moreover, I’ve recently acquired a new understanding of just how much some of the people who are working--sanitation and delivery people, home-care workers, bus drivers, supermarket staff, janitors, police, fire fighters, nurses, EMTs and other frontline workers--contribute to the collective good.

There are always going to be rich people, poor people and people who struggle. I get that. I also get the national debt, as well as local and state budget deficits. But it just seems as though we should be able to shrink the income divide rather than let it keep widening. When coronavirus is history, I hope enlightened minds in business and government will lead us in new ways to assist the impoverished and improve the wages and benefits of people who contribute so much to society.

[ruffsficstuffplace]

And The AWRD Goes To... (Part 25)

The Shitty Bar was in a much more populated, urban section of the lower levels, where the roads were paved over with concrete, the buildings got taller and much closer together, and the signage and advertising bounds more blatant and showy now that they didn’t need to reckon as much with zoning laws and restrictions for residential areas.

The street it was in made no secret of what sort of clientele they serviced: nightclubs and bars were all over the place, interspersed with betting houses, dedicated liquor stores, “alternative medicine” shops, two weapon stores, and the one 24 hour clinic called “Bahala Na Si Bathala” situated between them.

Mun, in spite of the bar’s name and its neighbours, Weiss found that the exterior of the Shitty Bar was quite nice: the walls were recently scrubbed clean and free of grafitti; there didn’t seem to be any serious structural damage and visible attempts at patching up the cracks; and the signage was vibrantly coloured and recently repainted, except for the worn and dirty noren over the entrance.

However, Weiss’ opinion of the place quickly dropped as they came closer, and she noticed some of the stains seemed to be dried blood that didn’t quite get lifted out.

The Faunus bouncer at the entrance scowled and held up her hands. “Woah, woah, woah, little girl in red—you look way too young to be—“her eyes and ears perked--“oh, shit, you’re Ruby, right? Mr. Fong told me about you.”

She stepped aside and pulled open the noren for them. “Sorry, I’m new—go right on in.”

“Thanks!” Ruby said as she slipped on through, and into the bar.

“They know you well even here…?” Weiss asked as they entered a small, L-shaped passage.

“Yep!” Ruby replied as she waved hello to the clerk behind the coat/weapons check counter. “Like I said: my courier job with Souma took me pretty much everywhere here in Mistral...”

They stepped out into the establishment proper, a wide, open area, with a long bar to the left of them, the kitchen a little ways further in, the tables and floor space stretching on and on till you hit a “Staff Only” staircase and the bathrooms at the very end.

“What the hell happened here?” Weiss asked as she gazed at the recent scratches and breaks on the furniture, the bent metal rods of the overhead lights, and especially what looked like a crater roughly the size of a human head at the end of the counter.

“Oh, same thing as usual,” an elderly, balding man with an incredibly thick south-western Mistral accent replied. “Got first years from Haven coming down celebrate passing Initiation, or get drunk after failing; always Sunday batch, Monday batch next day, then Friday batch. Sometimes on other days, but they rare, and not as rowdy.”

“Hey there, Mr. Fong!” Ruby said as she took a seat at the bar, gripping the edge as she climbed up a stool.

“Hello, Ruby!” Mr. Fong said, nodding and smiling. “I hope your sister sent you to pay?”

“Yep!” Ruby said, pulling out the envelope, before handing quite a bit of the Lien over to Mr. Fong. “She said this should probably cover her tab, plus some of the damages.”

Mr. Fong took the money and counted it, before he struck out Yang’s name on a handwritten list nearby. “Yep, this good enough to not be banned for life, but she still not welcome back to bar; tell her after you bring me 1,000 more, cash-money, she can come back and bring friends again. Lost lotta business when she and new teammates left, you see.”

“Dare I ask what happened…?” Weiss asked as she climbed up the stool next to Ruby.

“Oh, it pretty simple: Yang and her new friends Amanda and Jaune got in fight. Well, actually, more like Yang and Amanda got in fight, and Jaune try step in and stop it.

“Unfortunately, he failed, big guy smashed his head into bar like he trying to crack watermelon on it.  Fortunately, Jaune’s head much stronger than watermelon, Yang punch back of big guy’s head, and his head lot less strong than Jaune’s.  Unfortunately, Jaune’s head probably ring too hard, couldn’t hear shit when Amanda yell and she and Yang ran for it.

“Fortunately, they come back for him when they realize he didn’t come with, though had to fight whole lot of other guys and girls to get to him then back out this time.”

“Are you saying they got into a bar brawl, and had to fight through this whole bar to rescue Jaune then escape?!” Weiss asked, gesturing out to the extremely long bar.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Mr. Fong said. “First years: always got lots of energy, lots of spare money for booze, not a lot of self-control for all the things they now legal for, like booze. Was really brutal, too: usually, damage like this caused by lots of small groups fighting each other over course of night,” he said, gesturing out to the tables. “This time, almost all damage caused by one small group fighting with lots of other small groups.

“Gonna get furniture fixed and lights straightened out eventually, but thinking about whether or not to fix bar.”

“Why not?” Ruby asked.

“Landmark!” Mr. Fong replied, pointing at the crater. “Look closely: can almost see stupid look and regret on Jaune’s face.”

Ruby and Weiss did, getting off their seats and walking over to it. “Oh, damn, you really can see it...” Weiss muttered.

“Might be good deterrent, put up sign: ‘Don’t Start Shit, or End Up as New Face on Bar.”

“What else happened after they got out?” Weiss asked as they returned to their original seats.

“Dunno,” Mr. Fong replied, shrugging. “Bouncer last night tell me they got back in Bumblebee, threw Jaune into sidecar before they made break for it. Lotta whole other bikes and cars outside, though, and lotta whole other people they really pissed off. Police did call asking for statement come morning, though; it was Dugal, and she sound especially tired and done with them, so seems like what happened after was even worse than usual.

“Probably because of Jaune; look like baby dolphin swimming with sharks whole night.”

“And you didn’t think of helping him...?” Weiss asked.

“Own business first before others!” Mr. Fong said. “Can’t help every baby dolphin, else sharks raid bar, drink all my booze, and steal all my money.”

Weiss sighed. “Point taken...”

“Speaking of booze: you look like shit. Tryin’a sweat off hangover from last night? Because you should just’a stay home, eat vegetable soup, drink lotsa water, not helping Ruby run ‘round Mistral.”

Weiss groaned, and glared at Mr. Fong. “I do not drink in general, thank you very much, and what makes you think I’m hungover?”

Mr. Fong started pointing to himself, or miming as he spoke. “Red eyes, slouching on bar like might fall over any moment, pissy as hell; kinda look like epilogue of huge emotional trip that ended in bottom of bottle last night, probably really bad heartbreak.”

“She just didn’t get much sleep last night, Mr. Fong,” Ruby said.

Mr. Fong shrugged. “Eh, whatever you say.”

“Anything else you needed to get done here, Ruby?” Weiss asked testily.

“That was all I really needed to do, we can go, Weiss,” Ruby said as she hopped off the counter.

“Want soup to go?” Mr. Fong asked. “Free, ‘cause your Ruby’s friend!”

“We already had sandwiches from Haven, Mr. Fong, but thanks!” Ruby said as they headed out.

“Alright, stay safe out there, and remember: 1,000, cash-money!” Mr. Fong called out.

“I will, Mr. Fong!” Ruby said before they reentered the lobby. “You know, he was right earlier: you do look like you’re getting worse,” she said to Weiss. “Do you just want to try and sleep the rest of the trip, maybe head back to Haven?”

“I’m fine, Ruby!” Weiss snapped. “Even if this trip isn’t helping my sleep deprivation like I thought it did, it’s... been a pretty good opportunity to find out more about you!” she said as the bouncer pulled the noren open for them. “Evidently, it seems there’s so many more, deep sides to you than just being really good at weapons...”

“Oh, I’m not really that special,” Ruby said as she stood by the side of the cart once more.

“You apparently meet face-to-face with an information broker who seems about as reclusive and secretive as they come, a bouncer at a bar stopped you for looking too young before she realized who you were and mentioned you by name, and the owner of said bar apparently trusts you well enough to pay your sister’s bills, and presumably come back with 1,000 Lien, in cash, if she ever manages to come up with that amount in the future,” Weiss said as she was boosted up, and climbed back in.

“Not to mention, Souma paid you quite generously earlier!” she said as she peered over the edge. “I’ll admit, I don’t know the average wages of couriers here in Mistral, but that doesn’t seem like the kind of money most runners will make.”

Ruby shrugged. “Eh, it’s been a while since I came to collect, I do a lot of jobs in general, and I had a big bonus that’s been sitting for a while.”

“And what would that bonus had been from?”

“When I stopped a robbery one night,” Ruby said as she mounted the bike once more. “I was just doing my usual deliveries while I was working nights this summer, when I happened to run into an antique store getting attacked.”

“Any sort of details you’d like to share?” Weiss asked. “I mean, it’s not exactly everyday one just happens to run into a robbery and foils it.”

“I was taking a shortcut through an alley,” Ruby said as she started pedaling again. “I didn’t realize that there was a robbery going on until one of the goons keeping watch over the perimeter stopped me. He tried to rob me, too, and take all of the work I had done for Souma earlier, but since I had Crescent Rose with me and some clips, well...”

Weiss stared at her. “Did it not occur to you that you could have gotten killed back there?”

“Nope—adrenaline, I guess...” Ruby replied. “Not the first time I’d ever been stopped and someone tried to rob me, either, so it wasn’t like it was the first time I had to fight off people, then get away at the same time...”

“… Ruby… who are you, really?”

“Just a girl in a red hood who worked as a courier, studied at the Bunker, and stopped a robbery that one time…” Ruby said, pointedly looking forwards. “I mean, you know, I guess there’s also the fact that I got boosted up two years ahead and got into Haven on special recommendation because of that last one, but otherwise I’m just like every other lower lever kid in Mistral.”

Weiss stared intently at the back of her head, Ruby stopped, and looked back at her with an anxious expression. “Look… Weiss… I know you’re curious and all, but I’m like Souma: I have my reasons, and I have my reasons not to share certain things with other people.

“It’s just that it’s a lot better for me and my family if people forget about what I’ve done because it never got brought up again, or think I could have been any number of couriers who just happened to like the colour red, too, alright…?”

Weiss peered at her for a few moments, before she sighed and stopped. “Alright… I suppose it isn’t fair, considering how I haven’t been forthcoming over my own past, either.”

Ruby smiled. ��Thanks,” she said, before she reached the crest of a downhill road, silently gauged the winding turns, the potholes, and other potential hazards. “Going down, hold onto your butt!” she said as she nudged them forward, just enough for gravity to start taking hold.

Weiss frowned, but braced herself against the side of the cart as they started rolling downhill, Ruby braking and steering them away from potential danger, keeping them away from fellow pedestrians, other vehicles, animals, and especially the wooden fence that was the one thing keeping them from a drop off a cliff and onto whatever and whoever was unfortunate enough to be down below.

They reached a stretch of mostly flat road again, the tires and the brake pads screeched as Ruby brought them to a complete stop. “Clear!” she called out.

Weiss relaxed, and looked around at their new surroundings: garages, junk shops, a used car dealership, and another bar with a very different market than young and reckless hunters in training. “I’m assuming we’re here to get vehicle parts?” she said as she looked back at Ruby.

“For Yang’s bike, Bumbleee!” Ruby replied as she made for one shop in particular. “She had to get it towed back to Haven on Monday, its engine is pretty shot.”

“Is that in the ‘overworked,’ or ‘struck by bullets’ sense?”

“Both, actually!” Ruby replied. “She said it took a couple of stray bullets when they ended up crashing straight through a test-shooting for a back-alley gun deal, and she pushed it a LOT farther than she should have while it was damaged.

“It was a miracle it didn’t blow up since it punctured one of the dust intakes; Yang sure loves herself some pure red dust for the booster,” she said as she stopped in front of a garage, the “Arm And A Leg,” its two bay doors open, the sounds of machinery and busy work pouring out from both.

“You want to stay inside the cart this time?” Ruby asked as she got off. “It’s pretty much all going to be shop talk, and maybe hauling parts back here at this point.”

“No, I want to stretch my legs a bit,” Weiss said as she stood up.

“You want me to go see if I can’t buy a short ladder to weld onto the side?” Ruby asked as she stepped up to Weiss. “Maybe install hinges to the back and replace it with metal plate so you can just walk up and down by yourself?”

Weiss frowned and blushed. “… That would be appreciated, thanks. On three...”

Soon, the two of them were walking into the garage, Weiss frowning at the almost deafening hum, roar, and buzz of power saws, blowtorches, hydraulic lifts, and other machinery deeper into the building, Ruby completely unaffected as she stepped up to the counter.

She reached up and pressed the button for service, the man behind the counter, Wei, looked up from his scroll as a bright light by his eyes activated. He looked around in confusion, until Ruby held her hand up and waved. He peered over the counter, smiled and waved back, before he tapped at the laminated pictures taped on the counter.

Ruby pointed at the graphic assorted vehicle components, the word “PARTS” printed on both ends. Wei nodded, and signed, “Someone soon you with.”

“Okay, thank you,” Ruby signed back to him, before she took Weiss to a room to the side.

The din of the garage was muted as soon as she closed the door behind them; now you could only really hear the sounds of other customers and clients asking about parts, arguing about prices, and discussing what they might be able to use instead.

“What did he just say?” Weiss asked as they took a free seat.

“He said ‘someone will be with you soon,’” Ruby said. “Well, maybe not exactly that, but ASL’s never been a very specific language.”

Weiss looked around, found one of the clients signing with the staff attending to her, and another who seemed to be pointing out the parts they needed with the help of a catalog and a pen. “I suppose this place is a really popular shop among Bunker students?”

“Yep!” Ruby said. “Management makes it a point to hire PWDs, and even offer us discounts. Maybe not the best business practice if you want to make lots of money, but I guess that isn’t what they’re after.”

The door opened, the ruckus of the shop outside poured in again. “Thank you for waiting, Ruby!” a female fish Faunus sang as she rolled in on a wheelchair. “So, what is that you need to--” she stopped, her eyes opening wide in shock. “Weiss...?!”

Ruby hand froze in the middle of a wave, she cast a glance at Weiss—eyes wide open in horror, her hands clapped over her mouth, her whole body trembling violently—then at Aqua—stunned, looking like she couldn’t decide whether to be overjoyed, or just as horrified.

“Uh… so, you guys know each other…?” Ruby asked awkwardly, raising her voice over the noise of the shop pouring in from the still open door.

Weiss shot up from her seat, quickly made for the exit with her eyes cast down. Aqua tried to reach out to her as she maneuvered around her wheelchair, Weiss nearly tripped on the spokes as she sped up to avoid her, scrambled out of the garage and back to the cart.

Ruby stood up from her seat. “Do you mind if I take care of this really quick?” she asked Aqua as she made for the exit too.

“Go ahead! I’ll be here!” Aqua replied as she quickly moved her wheelchair out of the way.

Ruby headed out of the garage as quickly as she could, ducking under two mechanics hauling a car bumper between them, slowing down as she stepped outside and found Weiss. She was standing with her hands pressed flat against the cart for support, her whole body shuddering each time she sobbed, tears raining down on the pavement below her.

“Weiss…?” Ruby asked, hesitantly holding out her hand.

Weiss gasped, shakily sucked in a breath, and whispered, “Just… just leave me alone, Ruby… please...”

Ruby stopped, and slowly took her hand back. “Okay… do you want me to help you back in the cart, though?”

“Yes...” Weiss whispered as she turned around, her eyes puffy and red from crying.

Ruby began to move to the side of the cart again, until Weiss stepped up to her, clutched fistfuls of Ruby’s blouse. “I’m sorry…” she sobbed, sniffling and coughing before she continued, “Could you please carry me up there…?”

“No problem, Weiss,” Ruby said, before she carried into her arms, bridal style. “Gonna need to use my semblance for this again, so be ready for that! On three! One… two… three!”

They disappeared in a flash of rose petals, reappearing on the edge of the cart; Ruby carefully balanced herself on the edge, before she hopped back inside, and carefully laid Weiss down on the sleeping bag.

“… Thanks...” Weiss muttered as she brought her knees up to her chest, buried her face between them as she hugged her ankles.

“… Do you need me to stay a while…?” Ruby asked.

“No… just… please, leave me alone for now, Ruby...” Weiss blubbered, before she started sobbing again.

Ruby frowned, and nodded. “Okay… but just call me if you need me, okay...?” she waited for a while longer, before she climbed back over the edge of the cart, and headed back into the shop.

Note: Yes, Aqua’s current condition is tied to Weiss not using her summons. Details in the coming chapters.

Yes, the owner of the “Arm And A Leg” is missing both limbs on her right side from a factory accident long ago. She decided to name it that way because of the cost of opening a machine shop in Mistral. The price of parts can be pretty expensive still, though you can be sure that it’s always good—customer loyalty is how they survive.

“Bahala Na Si Bathala” = “It’s in Bathala’s hands now.” Bathala is a creator deity in Philippine mythology, which gives it a similar meaning to “It’s in God’s hands now.”

Do you guys like how I foreshadowed the awful reveal in this chapter?

#little witch academia #rwby #fanfic #and the awrd goes to #au #white rose #dianakko

[solohux]

if given the choice, don’t work in retail

first off, I like my job okay

I mostly work on the checkouts (because out of the 40+ people that work here there are only 7 of us who are trained to use the tills GO FIGURE) but I do good stock and tidying and get pushed into other departments to help them out too

It’s not difficult, it’s not mentally taxing like I’m used to with college & university, and the majority people that I work with are really lovely and genuine

The store that I work in is a home, leisure and garden store so it’s big okay (for UK readers, it’s The Range)

there are 3 managers (1 big boss, 2 deputies–one for upstairs and one for downstairs) and 4 supervisors, and they’re all USELESS

the ones who’s upset me today is the deputy manager, the one on the downstairs departments where I work

think of someone who knows nothing about retail, who knows nothing about how to speak to people, who knows nothing about organisation and systematical thinking

this is him

he’s the most useless piece of shit I’ve ever met–he got the job because he was the only applicant and he has no idea what he’s doing

he was particularly horrible today and told us (the 4 of us on the checkouts) that he was forbidding us from leaving the little square of of tills and if we needed anything then we’d have to shout someone to help

so, if I needed scissors, I’d have to shout someone to go to the cupboard to get me the scissors. W H A T

so, being the rebel I am (not), I decide to fucking ignore his stupidity and put the food stock out that’d been brought to our tills from the warehouse

obviously the dickhead sees me and comes over to me stacking biscuits up and this is our conversation (him speaking first and then me):

“which manager gave you authority to leave your till?” “erm, I’ve not left my till. There’s no queue and this stock needs to go out” “no, no. I don’t care about stock. You have to stay on your till.” “so what are we supposed to do with the stock?” “take it back to the warehouse” “but I can’t take it back to the warehouse because I can’t leave my till” “oh. well. just leave the crate there”

SEE!?!! YOUR FUCKING PLAN HAS ALREADY BACKFIRED BECAUSE NOW THERES A MASSIVE CRATE OF BISCUITS IN THE MIDDLE OF WHERE PEOPLE QUEUE BECAUSE YOU WONT LET ME TAKE IT BACK

Then, he takes 2 of the boys off the tills to go and do something else, leaving me and another girl (also called Charlotte!) to keep the queue moving. The dickhead then comes to us and complains that there’s a queue and how we’re not going fast enough and so we had to get the girl who works in the Cash Office to come out and go on a till, which meant she got massively behind on her paperwork.

like, he just couldn’t understand that taking half the till staff away on a sunny Saturday afternoon was a bad decision

I had 2 people at my till complain about him walking around wth an energy drink in his hand and another lady who complained that he used the store exit to smoke at and not the designated area at the back of the store in the warehouse

the icing on the cake? firing a till boy because the dick found out that the boy was keeping a list of the things that are wrong in the store, with a whole section dedicated to the wrongdoings of the dick

he fired someone because he had a LIST of things he’s doing wrong, because he was fucking afraid of him going to HR with it

like firing him is going to stop him from exposing his bullying

it’s just unbearable

customers too. I have people click at me, call me ‘girl’, don’t thank me when I carry boxes of furniture to their car, and I had a woman today shout at me and point at me because it was apparently my fault that I served her when she bought a lampshade and she got home and it ‘was broke when she opened it’

and yes. That was my fault because I served her. It’s such bullshit. People are just cunts. And as someone who fucking believes that you just BE NICE TO PEOPLE instead of being a moody and miserable twat, I don’t know how much more I can take. Just BE NICE. Just smile and say nothing if you’re having a bad day because believe it or not, customer, I’m not happy to be here either.

I’ve already started looking for another job.

I’m only on minimum wage. Fuck it. It doesn’t matter.

I’ve ranted to my parents too but they don’t care. My mum is a banker whose manager is her best friend and my dad is an engineer who is a skilled worker, paid extremely well, and just laughs with his coworkers all day because he’s practically the boss

They don’t understand what it’s like to work in such a shitty store, like I’m sure A LOT of you do

if you’ve read this far then thank you. Being able to type it out really helps me avoid cutting myself to deal with it. 💕

#I have to talk I'm sorry #im so stressed #I feel on the verge of a panic attack so I've just had some extra meds #and I haven't had to have extra meds in ages!!!!