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mx-jinxous · 11 months

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He was in love with a dead man.

Steve found it ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it. When he was forced to find a job after his parents disowned him, the museum was the last place he’d expected to fall in love. The museum gift shop had gladly taken him in as a thank you for his family’s namesake, though Steve didn’t try to pretend interested in the way. He took the job offer, anything to pay the bills.

His current living arrangement was his car until he could save enough money back to get an apartment. Sadly with his car payment and insurance, it hardly left anything to put back, not enough to pay his phone bill for the last few months. Most days it was a toss-up for gas or food, which was going to be a harder decision with the approaching winter. Since he had to drop out of college he’d been left sneaking into the community pool to even get a shower, but soon he’d have to find other options. They started to dwindle as his friends, or rather the people who acted as such, distanced themselves when he was kicked out. He came from money and that’s all that anyone ever wanted.

His first idea was to befriend or date, but he couldn’t use them as people did to him. So he asked for more work, playing it off as expanding his knowledge and role. This led him to partner with the elderly security, who was fondly nicknamed Grey, until they could get him a trainee. Steve happily accepted it. The old man was a storyteller, even his lectures were entertaining as he drifted into stories of his kids. He often let him wander around, and that’s how he found the newest addition to the royalty wing.

They had discovered an underground burial vault, hidden beneath the remains of a castle converted into a long abandoned church. It was above Steve’s pay grade how they ever managed to acquire permission to excavate the vault. One night on his explorations the young man found the exhibit and the statue of King Kas. He ruled in the 1200 c.e., a just ruler in a conflicted era. Sadly, he existed during a blip in history, and few records have been found of his rule.

Still, the statue was handsome and mesmerizing. It was carved from marble and well cared for regardless of facing time. Surprisingly for a cold material, the eyes were warm, inviting even. It’s what kept Steve returning, making him fall. Grey had found him sometimes just talking to Kas about his problems when he came to let him out for the night. He was kind enough to offer an invite to his home whenever he needed, fatherly. He’s what he’d wished his parents were like, he cared for a boy he didn’t even know and even fed him when he didn’t have food. It was nice but also painful.

Steve spent every shift studying the statue. The king was adorned in jewelry; rings, a crown, necklaces, armlets, and bracelets filled with gemstones worth more than Steve’s parents. It only enhanced the beauty of the masterpiece, but it was truly the eyes that pulled him in. Maybe it was the dry spell in his current living situation, but he wanted to reach out and hold his face in his hands. His body was doing that on its own accord, his fingers nearly brushing its cheek when the hallway door was thrown open. Steve responded immediately, hiding behind the nearest pillar. His mind caught up with him once he was out of sight, that he and Grey were the only ones this late, still didn’t want to be caught with his hand on the exhibit.

Taking a calming breath, he stepped out and was going to give him a hard time about the scare. However, he froze when he heard more than one voice, harsh whispers echoing in the unoccupied room. Steve pressed up against the pillar, trying to be silent, trying to figure out how to alert Grey without his walkie.

So he stood there, listening to things being moved, metal clinging. “This is a goldmine. Can’t believe these idiots left it open like this, just ripe for the takin’.” A man cackled, the young man risking it to get a look at the thieves. Three of them, one stripping Kas while the other two robbed his riches.

“Shuddup. You want security up our asses?” Another snapped.

“What? That old guy probably ain’t got his hearing aid in.”

“He ain't alone dipshit. He's got that kid in here. Didn’t see him leave.” The last guy grumbled, sounding like he was struggling. “He’s not gonna be a problem. If he tries anything, I’ll show him mister pew pew.” That got Steve sweating. He needed a plan, a distraction to escape. From his vantage point, he noted the doors were close to the men, there were no windows, and the fire escape was a sprint away that gave the thieves an open shot. But the fire alarm was on the wall, parallel to him. Pulling it would alert firefighters and police, and hopefully scare the men enough to give him the opening that he needed. It was as solid as a plan he could make, but of course, he should know that life loved to make him struggle.

It came in the form of a, “Pull harder numb nuts.”, followed by a clatter. Peaking out he was met with the king's bracelet skidding past him. That’s what gave away his safe spot, the men already yelling and sprinting towards him. Steve took off, snatching the bracelet on the way to the fire alarm. He pulled it as he passed, heading towards the nearest exhibit, Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. There were plenty of places to hide, Steve choosing the curtain that framed a standing sarcophagus.

It was sheered, easy to see through, yet nearly impossible to see in the dark museum. He gripped the bracelet, trying to quiet his breathing when the men came into the room. The alarm lights flashed and blared, however, he could hear things being thrown and smashed. There was angry yelling between the three, Steve watching the best he could through the fabric. He could make out only their silhouettes, watching in horror as they destroyed parts of history, feeling powerless. Was this how it was supposed to end, hunted and afraid? A fitting end to the last shitty months.

All he knows is that he isn’t going down without a fight. The bracelet was a decent weight and could knock someone out with a strong enough swing. He hoped it was enough as the silhouettes grew closer as Steve braced for an attack.

A scream froze the moment, now four shadows appeared on the other side of the curtain. “What the hell!” The man closest to the newcomer howled before he fell, his partner's screams echoing. Gunshots rang out causing a horrified scream to escape the young man. He fell to his knees and curled up, wanting to be as small as he could. Steve couldn’t fathom, nor did he want to attempt, the horrifying noises on the other side. There were screams and then silence.

He could only hope that the perpetrator didn’t find him- but once again life loved to beat him down. The curtain was pulled back, giving him an up-close view of the mystery man. Steve met with those warm eyes that once brought him comfort, now a sign of terror as Kas stood, marble painted in blood. He wanted to beg, to scream, but all that escaped his lips was a whimper. The statue took a step forward and the younger man fell back, trying to push himself as far away from the creature.

Not taking the hint, Kas knelt in front of him, reaching out toward him. He dropped his sword as fingers brushed against Steve’s cheek, causing him to flinch at the cold stone. It was silent between the two, aside from the blaring alarm, leaving them staring at one another. Pulling back his hand, Kas scooped the young man up without warning. A squeak escaped him, fear keeping his mouth bound as he was carried through the blood-drenched room to the king's exhibit. There he was gently sitting on the edge of the stone coffin that had been cracked open to show the interior. The body had been removed before the exhibit had opened so there was no fear of a zombie popping up. Just Steve and Stone Kas.

Steve was balancing himself the best he could while stone eyes studied up and down his body. They stopped on the bracelet still gripped in his hands, causing him to fumble trying to hold it up to the marble man.

“H-Here! I-I didn’t mean to take it, but I kept it safe. See, no damage.” He shook as the statue took the bracelet, examining it closely. Steve sat there, just waiting until Kas saw fit that the bracelet was fine. He hesitated with any noise or movement, not wanting to earn the creature's ire. He wished to disappear, to be locked behind his car doors on the other side of the country, just out of the king's sight.

Unfortunately, that wish quickly broke when Kas wrapped his hand gently around Steve’s upper arm. He watched in horror and confusion as the bracelet slid onto his wrist, giving the man his first clear look at the jewelry. It was a thick gold band with some basic designs carved in it, a bright red gem enclosed in it. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry, even Kas seemed to think so as a smile came to the carved face.

“Yeah, i-it’s a lovely piece, but sadly I’m not a jewelry guy.” His nervous chuckle was cut short when the smile fell, his body tensing as it was just them in silence once more. “Please-.” He whimpered.

A sob broke free when Kas leaned in, his cold lips pressing into his forehead. “Te videre iterum, amore mea.” He whispered, pulling back enough to peer down into Steve’s eyes. Without warning he was shoved back into the coffin, the lid pulled over without a struggle.

“Shit.” He mumbled, trying to push the stone lid off to no avail. “Shit! No, no, shit!” He screamed, pounding against the marble. Panicked tears dripped down his cheeks as he kept trying to push to top off. “I- I ca-. I can’t breathe! Please let me out! Please Kas!”

There was no telling how long he was screaming for, but no one came to his rescue. The fight left him abruptly as the situation set in. He was stuck in a stone prison, running out of air, no one knowing where he went. No one would notice him missing until much later after he suffocated. This was how he was going to die, as a nobody.

Steve went to cover his face, only to be splashed with water. He sat there, horrified at the thought that he was bleeding, but no. His body was sitting in water, the coffin filling at a ridiculous rate. He no longer had to wait to suffocate, now he was going to drown long before that.

A new panicked fueled fire filled his stomach, his legs coming up to kick at the lid. He figured if water was getting in, there was a chance he wasn’t completely sealed in. His head was underwater while he kicked with all his might. Soon it started sliding with each kick, giving way to enough space for his body to squeeze through. He wasted no time, the water weighing him down as he pulled himself free.

It was dark aside from a flickering archway, his body freezing as he took a minute to catch his breath. He could tell he was no longer in the museum, the only light seeming to be the only exit. A groan escaped Steve’s lips as he pulled himself towards the light, coming to a spiral staircase that only went up. It was illuminated by torches on the wall, the only warmth in this dark room. Freedom was near, and though his body wanted to give in to rest, Steve pressed on. His body ached, each step taken with a struggling limp that made the trip feel like hours.

He nearly cried when he saw the doorway, a light illuminating the stairs. He was ready for bed, or maybe he’d try to hit Grey up for a shower to get all the death dust off of him. If he was lucky, this was all a horny-induced nightmare.

That came to head when the universe decided to remind him once more of his shit luck. When he walked out of the doorway he was greeted with a group of swords pointed at him, surrounding him. His body was aching, fighting to stay standing as another wave of armored people came in. Trying to take a step back Steve’s body gave out, a mumbled “Fucking bullshit.”, escaping before he hit the ground. His world went dark once more.

________________

If you want to be tagged in the future, comment below.

Chapter 1| Chapter 2

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #steve x eddie #SetinStoneSteddie

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snoopybutch · 1 month

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Autistic butch lesbian e-begging pt 2

Remaking my post bc I haven’t had anything sent since 4/8/24, but hello, I’m unemployed and waiting for the start date of my job offer to be announced, been unemployed since October despite applying to (counted) around 200 or so jobs, I have $120 to my name and am asking for anything anyone can spare as I don’t know how long I have to wait to get my first paycheck.

Pls reblog, thank you very much :)

https://paypal.me/TLaurion?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US

TLDR-> autistic butch lesbian w/chronic pain has been unemployed for way longer than I’d like, has job offer and needs to get to my first paycheck-> asking 4 $175

$0/$175

[Plain text and image descriptions: Autistic butch lesbian e-begging pt 2.

[Two stock photos of a person in formalwear or their knees in begging posture.]

Remaking my post bc I haven't had anything sent since 4/8/24, but hello, l'm unemployed and waiting for the start date of my job offer to be announced, been unemployed since October despite applying to (counted) around 200 or so jobs, I have $120 to my name and am asking for anything anyone can spare as I don't know how long I have to wait to get my first paycheck.

Pls reblog, thank you very much :)

TLDR [rightwards pointing arrow] autistic butch lesbian w/chronic pain has been unemployed for way longer than I'd like, has job offer and needs to get to my first paycheck [rightwards pointing arrow] asking 4 $175

$0/$175

So my start date is 5/14 and I think l'm starting right as the pay period ends and won't be paid for another two weeks (will update if wrong)

Looking for more money as it will be a 50 min commute (altogether not one way thank god) and I need money for gas n my car is from 2007 so not great gas mileages

$60/210 \End descriptions]

#diarmuid makes a post #butch lesbian #chronic pain #anything helps #pls reblog #described text and images

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seat-safety-switch · 10 months

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Boats: are they cars? New evidence suggests that they do contain gas-guzzling, emissions-spewing engines, of a horsepower unnecessary to accomplish daily transportation tasks. I'm Bob Newsgiver, thank you for sharing your evening with us tonight.

Our investigation begins in Newark. Here, we see a small "boat house," which is where these degenerate ocean-going perverts prepare their ramshackle vehicles. Once considered a middle finger into the face of God, the collapse of Western civilization and morals has caused an explosion in the number of people who have considered, experimented with, or are actively involved in the alternative lifestyle known as boating.

In case you're unfamiliar with the trend, "sailors," as they call themselves, place a boat into the water and then get inside it. Through this method, they can travel on the face of the Earth and even visit other countries. This is the historical purpose of boats, laid down in oral tradition by books. Those books, I should point out, are coincidentally written by boat operators. Our studies show that ninety-nine percent of boats actually return to their parking lot – incorrectly spelled "dock" by the illiterate psychopaths who helm these death machines – at the end of the day. The remaining one percent sink in an avoidable whale collision.

Keep an eye on your children tonight, as the ocean-going conspiracy threatens to corrupt the morals you strive to teach them. Our investigation found dozens of boat-themed toys at a local toy store. The proprietor refused to talk to us on camera, but the cops had their stun guns ready when he tried to flee.

To get close to the wave-riding radicals and discover their plans for our government and land-loving way of life, our team went undercover, donning disguises. In order to blend in, our cameraman even had to obscure his camera under a pile of unpaid bills for rope. Even our hardened veteran investigative reporters were shocked by the depth and breadth of the depravity on offered inside their so-called "marinas."

Some sailors will even engage in ocean-going congress with hundreds of others, by riding an enormous boat in a hedonistic display of consumption and excess known as "a cruise." Your reporter was not able to gain access to one of these, after they spotted him trying to leave the marina parking lot with a base-model Honda Accord instead of a financed BMW that is four to five months behind on payments. The investigation will continue.

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usertiff · 8 months

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the worst part about disability and struggling, is that the struggle just seems to continue, and honestly? get worse and worse. so yes, i know, like, "hey, it's me again! needing help..." but as my wait for disability/SSI continues, the harder and harder it is getting to survive. i'm on the verge of losing my home and my car (that transports me to health appointments and my partner to work). like many others in america, they took away our food stamps. to make things harder, as you may know, my mom has recently had 2 heart attacks and 3 different surgeries, which has only increased my struggle by tenfold, because instead of paying certain bills, we had to use our very limited income to pay for gas to get back and forth from the city hospital (3hrs away) multiple times, bandaging and other medical expenses her insurance doesn't cover, and things of the like.

being disabled is catching up to me, being the caretaker for my disabled mom is catching up to me. i'm so far behind it's absolutely terrifying. under the cut you can find my more important bills and a breakdown of things i need.

i know that life is really hard for everyone right now, everything is so expensive and assistive programs are so depleted, so i definitely want to offer what i can for any help received. this idea was 100% inspired by lomapacks, and i did ask permission to use it before doing this! so here we go.

how much do i need? basically i'm $2,291.11 behind in bills, plus have literally nothing for food or gas, which if we add it up for a month or so would then be like almost $3k.

how does the raffle work? for every dollar spent commissioning, you will earn an entry! for every dollar donated of good will, you will earn 3 entries! example, if you order $15 worth of gifs (150 gifs), you will have 15 entries! if you donate $15, you will have 45 entries! (or if you donate $1 = 3 entries, $3 = 6 entries, etc)

what are the prizes?

first place: 1500 gifs, 5 manips of your choosing, 1 crackship gifset

second place: 1000 gifs, 3 manips, 1 crackship gifset

third place: 500 gifs, 2 manips, 1 crackship gifset

every single person that commissions or donates gets: 1 manip

when will the raffle end? the raffle will continue until i've reached the massive goal, so it really depends on how quickly i can climb out of this financial grave! i'm hoping that it can be as quickly as possible!

what do you do to join? you can find my payment info below to donate or commission. if you plan to commission, please message me first so we can sort out what it's for/how much! then, please fill out the form in the source link when payment is completed. :)

when will everything be delivered? commissions will be completed in the order they were received, and delivered as soon as i can possibly get them done. once the raffle ends, the raffle prizes will be delivered upon your request for them and completed as soon as possible! i will try to deliver the manips for everyone same-day!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING, FOR SHARING, FOR BEING KIND, AND FOR GIVING ME ANY TIME OF DAY.

payment information:

kofi! https://ko-fi.com/tiffanyvalentine

paypal! [email protected]

venmo! oraclelauren

cashapp! $selinaaakyle

amazon wishlist! https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/259VCVX9R5LCS?ref_=wl_share

so, here are screenshots of the most important bills i'm behind on.

RENT (update is the top screenshot, i have late fees)

CAR PAYMENT

UTILITIES (2 mo overdue, power will be shut off soon) PAID!!!!!!!!!!

other important things i don't have screenshots of:

some things are on my amazon wishlist like my cats special food.

FOOD: we have no food stamps. the need for food money will not necessarily end. food banks only provide so much.

car maintenance: overdue for oil change and the brakes are squeaking badly (oil change is like $50 around here plus brakes idk maybe $80?)

gas: to transport myself to health appointments and my wife to work.

#please share if you can!#i appreciate everyone #raffle 2023

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qqueenofhades · 4 months

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I graduated a year ago and had a job for the 2 months and they laid me off without reason or anything because i was still in the 3 month trial period. Anyway I noticed that they didn’t let the engineers and architects reach the year, you know avoid seniority and stuff. And that was in April, it’s gonna be a year and I still haven’t got another job, I’ve done some freelance jobs here and there, but the last one was for December. I know January it’s kind of a dead month but I’m dying with it, honestly I don’t think I’ll reach the minimum payment of my credit and my car needs gas(at least it’s payed off) and I’m honestly so goddamned depressed. Somewhere I read that a lot of vacancies come out in January but I haven’t seen that many and the ones I’ve seen and sent haven’t even contacted me

Im sorry to bring all this glum to you, but I’ve seen some other recent graduate anons come at you, and you’re so understanding and aware of this economy and job market 🥹

Alas, as ever, I wish that I could make it better and tell you exactly what to do to fix it, but I cannot. However as always, I am absolutely offering you a cup of your preferred beverage, a baked goodie, and a chance to sit at my Internet Grandmother Kitchen and get some things off your chest, so yes. It does suck a lot out there and while it sounds cliché, you gotta do your best, keep trying, and see what comes along.

Hopefully you have other resources or support systems, but if you are in the US and need assistance in basic stuff like paying bills and getting gas, please think about looking into the federally funded 211 service:

Not enough people know about this, and it's way better than hoping that people on the Internet can help you out with bills every time you hit a crunch (although if you do have generous friends, I myself have been saved by them a time or two -- absolutely no shame or judgment here!) But they literally exist to help people find funds and resources for situations like this, and even if you're not in the US, I advise looking for similar government initiatives or programs. They might or might not exist (alas, I am American so I only know our version) but there should be at least something like this. Try searching "211 service equivalent for [country]" or similar keywords?

And of course, if you are reading this and ARE in the US: look into 211! Please don't drive yourself crazy with fear or stress! There are definitely stopgap services and funds that exist for just this sort of thing! Please do use them. I am sending hugs.

#anonymous #ask

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actingwithportals · 1 year

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[Image Description: A commission sheet split up into two boxes over a dark background of distant space. Both boxes are outlined in a light lavender and filled in with a deeper purple. The top box (the smaller of the two taking up only the top of the page) contains in large text the same color as the outlining "Awpie Redacted Space Commissions". The second box, taking up the rest of the page, contains at the top three full paintings of various space settings. The leftmost a scene of many bright multi-colored nebulae with distant bright stars and a dark nebula taking up the bottom left region, the middle a scene of a large Jupiter-like gas giant over a backdrop of deep space, and the rightmost another scene of many nebulae but with the center showing a bright star-forming region, whiting out much of its surroundings under its light. All images are outlined much like the boxes themselves, and beneath them is text that reads "Full scene $45-$90 depending on complexity/number of elements* (below this area of text is another area of smaller text reading "(*element referring to planets, stars, nebulae, moons, etc.)". Taking up the lower rest of the box is an image on the left side showing a simplistic scene of space with simple distant stars and a purple-hued nebula. This image is labeled "Simple phone/monitor background $20". And on the right side of the bottom is a singular planet or moon with visible craters and rendered in many colors ranging from cooler purples to warmer oranges. This image is labeled "Astral body transparent $15". End Image Description.]

Heyo! Interested in some cool space art? Want a fun little aesthetic background for your phone or computer? Got a favorite constellation you'd love to see rendered? A particular planet of intrigue you'd want to print out as a sticker or use for an icon? I offer you my space-enthusiastic services!

Like my mainline commissions all payments are made through PayPal, 50% upfront and 50% at completion. Message me for a quote on whatever ideas you have of what you might want or for any other questions!

As always boosts are appreciated. I am still technically open for my mainline commissions, but right now I need to make quicker cash to cover a lot of bills and my space renderings can be completed much faster than my character renderings. Thanks all 💜

#art commissions #space art #space #artists of tumblr

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theoasiswinds · 5 days

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when life gives you lemons... and drama

Hey you guys, quick odd update

My husband is an electrician, he works for a solar company.. or let me put it this way he is quitting today, and starts a new job on monday.

Here's the drama, this job that he is quitting offered him a company van, and a really good payment arrangement, its a family business, that installs Solar.... we tried to give them the benefit of the doubt since the owner is a family man.

So they never gave him the van... my husband had to use our mini van for work, he traveled a lot and never got paid for the gas... that was at least 100$ a week, he filled our van with tools and work matterial.... didn't really fit. The company didn't offer safety equipment at all even though it was discussed so many times so the team would not fall off the roofs. There was no regular scheduling.... there would be no work up to 4 days and then 2 large projects, and no communication...Heck in 5 months that my husband has worked there he saw so many people quit and not get paid. well last week the company lost some material and tried to make my husband pay for it, even though its not his fault or responsibility.

Thats illegal and when he told them no, they refused to pay him his 15 days worth of work and still have the audacity to ask him to keep working without paying him.

They actually had him fix other peoples errors as well before and never paid him, even though he was using his van and gas money to go to the work.

Thats why he has been looking for work, for the past 3 months and he got a new job yesterday and starts monday.

But the problem now is that we are so behind in bills, and since he did not get paid and they refuse to pay him (even tough they still want him working) Now we are in a bad position with money since we dont have any more savings for the bills or savings, and this economy is terrible.

We opened a case with the State Labor commission, because one way or another he is getting his paycheck! and we are also contacting OSHA! This is me being petty because I am so angry, they risked not only my husband but all their employees safety. They don't care if someone falls off a roof installing solar, and they wouldn't pay for accidents, looks like they dont even have insurance.

So as you can imagine we are very stressed, I don't know when he will be paid. Even with the new job it will be 15 more days from the start to get paid at all. so as of now we are looking at month with no income.

So.... Im thinking on doing another sale.. or something. Im a homeschool mom, and we have 2 small children. To have a babysitter its so expensive and we just don have that or daycare money.

So thats what's going on... any advise is welcomed, we have never been in this situation

#so stressed

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fruitless-vain · 1 day

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Oooooookay here comes the rant post

What happened: jacks old coworker had a series of unfortunate events happen that resulted in them being homeless and jobless. We offered a place to stay first month rent free while they get a job, $200 a month after the fact just to cover absolutely bare bones basics so they can save up and move out quickly. Started out with him putting on a great people pleasing act and quickly turned in to a nightmare.

Ye animal related rant list:

Given explicit instructions not to do xyz with Yoshis because she is a service dog that cannot get in to these bad habits. One moment I see him telling her to eat something off the floor, I pick up the item and politely tell him she’s not allowed to do that since scavenging while she’s on the job at a restaurant would get us kicked out. I reward her for not eating the thing, turn my back for two minutes just to hear him whispering “eat it, take it, you can have it” once again encouraging her to eat off the floor

Initially I was letting her follow him downstairs, whatever, dudes going through a bad time and a happy dog makes anyone better. Until I learned he had been feeding her HUGE doses of food off his plate I’m talking larger than her entire meal and was feeding things that are outright toxic for dogs. I only found that out because Yoshi would throw up in the middle of the night for seemingly no reason. Asked him and sure as shit feeding her toxic things.

Repeatedly got in the way of Yoshi retrieving medications as well as actively trying to distract her while she was doing DPT for a medical episode.

On the first day I told him it’s hormone season for the parrots they are aggressive and sensitive right now please just ignore them, don’t interact with them at all, it will make things so much worse and someone will get bit. A couple days later he taunts Newt by wagging his fingers in front of him deliberately trying to set him off, I immediately tell him to stop in a very stern sharp tone, he blatantly ignores me, I have to raise my voice to get this grown ass man to stop harassing Newt. This disregard resulted in Newt flipping so bad he is now totally unhandleable I have to wear bulky headphones a loose sweater and a hood because he will launch to bite anyone to moves right now. Thanks for that genius.

Explained how scents will kill the birds, please smoke outside away from any open windows, wash your hands// air off before going near the bird room so the smoke residual doesn’t kill my pets. Does a mostly okay job at smoking away from windows, for whatever reason thinks smoking outside open doors is fine though? No attempt to ensure he doesn’t reek of cigarette before going down near the bird room. No effort not to kill my animals.

All my animals are clean and well maintained to the best extent an animal can be. He will pet sham then immediately make a snarky statement about him being gross or having to wash his hands now bc gross, smell his hands and huff away to wash his hands before resuming something dramatically. Just don’t pet him then? He’s a dog.

Finances:

We paid for everything for the first chunk with 0 need for payback because we wanted to help him out. Get some new clothes, the basic hygiene stuff, cover one tank of gas so he can hand out resumes. A startup base to get back on your feet with. Anything past that point that he asks for from us was agreed upon to be paid back whenever possible. He owes us over $1000 currently and has paid us $10 to take off of that debt. It’s been two months, he got a job within the first week. The only other payment has been the $200 rent agreed upon for the second month. Anything else he has ever “attempted” to pay us back with he would ask for it back within 8 hours.

Which wouldn’t be the biggest issue if not for the fact that: he has gone out drinking at bars every weekend, got a new girlfriend and has been buying her stuff/ giving her gas money/ paying her bills just for funsies, he started eating out and refusing to make food with the Free Stuff We Supply. He has the money to spend and pay us back. He just won’t.

Wasting, Everything. He showers twice a day every day. Our water bill has gone up $150 on his water usage alone. He will make a huge plate of food then just leave it sitting out all night and throw it away. He will cook 6 eggs at a time for himself then not finish it consistently. Make Less Next Time or USE THE FRIDGE.

He leaves every single light on and I don’t mean oops I left it on when I came upstairs and forgot. I mean he will leave at night to go to the bar and leave four lights on, the computer running and everything on high to go out for 4-6 hours. I am now acting like the parent of a child having to listen for his car driving away to go down the stairs and shut everything off god forbid my hydro bill pay the price and the birds be stuck with lights blaring keeping them awake.

We are flat broke right now, we have run ourselves dry, we made it very clear that past the first batch of purchases we got for him his expenses were his responsibility. He has asked for gas money every week since the start. He will make up some story about his car just burning through gas “it must be broke !” “Just filled it now sure how this happened???” For the first bit we went along with it adding it to list he owes us for but it quickly became a clear habit so we stopped. IMMEDIATELY started guilt tripped and being manipulative about it. Sending pictures of a car on E on the road after we said no, going “well where’d that 10$ I gave you go?????” Being super pushy and not taking No I don’t have money to give You as an answer.

Keeps wanting to do the grocery shop with this undertone of “I want to do the shop without you there so I can over buy things we don’t need and you’ll have to foot the bill for it” constantly mentioning things like expensive meats he wants to eat, buying excess of things we already have in the house, brands and things we cannot afford. Initially I interpreted his offers as kind like oh this is a hard task for me he wants to help! But this one day he was supposed to do it but we were out of pizza sauce and I was literally in the middle of prepping the dough so I just ran out and did it. He was So Mad that he didn’t get to do it like sir? Wtf was so important about groceries that I’ve foiled your plans here? What the HELL were you going to do?

Jack also smokes, if you buy x amount of cartons you get them cheaper so they were going to buy x amount and split the bill together. Dude smoked like 5/6 cartons all by himself. To add to this I have found his cigarettes all over my front yard from him smoking in his car and throwing it in to the grass, also some left at the side door instead of the ashtray that’s right the fuck there. On top of that half of these are still like full cigarettes? Just completely wasting shit that’s already a chaotic price for a habit he certainly can’t afford.

Habits:

We’ve had alcohol sitting in our house since our wedding. We don’t drink much but every now and then we celebrate something and have a nice night together. It’s nice having the booze sitting there for those random times we can have some fun without spending any money cause it’s already here. He drank a full bottle of vodka, rum, gin, kahlua, and wine within the second week of being here. It was all gone in a night.

He is incapable of flushing his own toilet. Every morning after he leaves for work I have to do the round shutting off the lights and discovered that he just leaves his shit to ferment all day long. There is piss splash all along the seat and surrounding floor. It reeks like a porta potty. It’s fucking disgusting.

Lies about it every tiny little thing, pretended I just didn’t buy two chocolate bars I mustve only gotten one and that’s why only one is in the pantry now. I found the wrapper on the floor of his room for that bar. Says he’s staying in this weekend doesn’t want to go out drinking can’t afford it then immediately goes out. Says he has no money for gas he can’t be doing anything then goes to drive to a fro around town for no reason other than to just drive.

Gotta love the casual bragging about all the “chores” he’s done so we should be grateful (he washed his own frying pan he used and the whole house needed to know about it)

Weaponized incompetence. Ohh I didn’t know the dishwasher was clean! There’s a giant sign on the front that says clean. Deliberately messing up cookies he wanted to make four times for his coworkers so that I would have to do it for him (that didn’t work, enjoy bringing gross cookies in, magically he made them perfectly the next time)

My all time favourite of “I think I’ll do X!” And then standing in the kitchen staring at me waiting for me to get up and do it for him. Boy does he every huff and puff when I do not move and just go “enjoy” when he starts asking 20 questions back to back to trigger me to just do it myself it’ll be easier I instead just go “idk” “try asking google”. Suddenly he’s capable of doing the thing with no further questions.

Claims to be a neat freak, will make an underhanded comment about dog fur or a bird poop on the couch or some other very small not a big deal thing then fails to even keep his bedroom clean. I have had to clean up sticky coffee spills from the hallway, deep clean the stair he covered in mud and clay, his room has no visible floor, need I mention the state of that bathroom again? Neat freak my ass you just want to complain and talk shit without sounding rude?

Dramatic gagging sounds whenever he sees a bird poop. Pretended to “help” by picking up a dog poop (which we didn’t ask him to do it’s our dog we’ll clean it) and then dramatically fake vomiting the entire time until one of us walked over took the bag from him and did it. Our dogs are on raw, the poops are small and have very minimal smell. No one asked him to do this if you were truly this bothered by poop you would just not. You just wanted to make a scene. About how Gross our animals are cause that seems to be all you do in a day.

Keeps going out the side door to smoke in the middle of the night then not locking the door when he comes back in.

Goes out every night drinking then spends all day bitching about not getting enough sleep

OH MY GOD I can only take Advil for my migraines bc of my heart medication. We have Tylenol for everyone else. HE TOOK THE ENTIRE BOTTLE OF ADVIL IN ONE FUCKING NIGHT. So I’ve been stuck with debilitating pain and no pain relief because it’s expensive as fuck. The bottle of Tylenol was also half chugged down by the next weekend. We will not be buying more.

Any and all leftovers I have from cooking for myself and Jack (I cook meals for all of us if he’s home but if he’s not I won’t bc who knows what time he’ll show up) he just eats without even asking. Most of the time the leftovers are for my flare up days so I can eat when I’m in pain. He’s been told this. He doesn’t care. If there is food pre made he will consume all of it it doesn’t matter if it’s way too much for one person to eat. He’ll just leave it out all night for a week to rot in the basement. Otherwise the only thing he will cook for himself is eggs. Expensive. We no longer buy eggs he can buy his own to feed that expensive diet choice.

Common sense not to use metal on things like frying pans and baking sheets. I inform him of this anyways, do not cut directly on my pizza pans. It will make them rust and no longer be non stick. These are new. Don’t damage them. He was supposed to be home for home made pizza, didn’t show until like 2am. I left cooking instructions with the dough pre set up for him just need to put on toppings bake and serve. I left a note saying “do NOT cut on tray” he cut on the tray. This was the second time. Both trays are permanently damaged. My notes were found in the oven burnt. Thanks for the fire hazard.

Complains about there being insects in the basement (there’s the occasional spider and we’ve had some rain so the occasional little wood bug is piping up the escape the rain) it just needs to dry and they’ll be gone. It’s a basement. There’s gonna be some spiders n shit. Bitched about there being ants. I’ve never had ants in this house anywhere, lo and behold leaving his food out all over the damn room attracted them. Told him this fact. He goes no it couldn’t possibly be that and demands to use chemicals (bird death so NO). Eventually got him to bring up his dishes and BEHOLD the ants are all gone.

Bitched about it being cold in the basement, (it’s warm enough for my tropical parrots?) we bought a second space heater for him. Yet he doesn’t use the spare blankets down there at all, still complains about it being cold. It’s the pit of summer. I’m not turning the central heating on??? Use the damn blankets????? Move the space heater closer to you????? Close your bedroom door??????????? This space heater has been left too close to flammable objects on no less than four occasions so far. It’s like he wants my house to burn down.

He kept wanting to be involved and help the house so we were having a bbq and asked him to pick up some small things we needed like a case of beer and some buns. He left and never showed back up. He then ate the leftovers of five burger patties and seven hotdogs which we were hoping to eat after pride all in one sitting for breakfast.

Ah yes, continuously eating the last of something and informing no one that it’s gone. Had no pickles for the bbq cause he ate them without telling anyone, numerous times I’ve been ready to do something just to find out there’s no cheese in the fridge bc he failed to notice it used the last of it and replace it with one we have in the freezer, eating all the prepped ingredients and putting empty containers in the fridge. It’s not hard to tell someone something is getting low, add it to the list, write it down, or literally anything other than eat the last of it and make it someone else’s problem later

Anywho this whole setup is shit, if we don’t get money by his next check we’ll be cutting ties and telling him to find a new place by the end of the month. This is getting ridiculous. Every day he’s asking for money while talking down to us and talking shit about our pets or our home all the while making no effort to pay what’s owed.

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spidereggs888 · 3 months

Text

Miguel bangs Dr Doom and the poor bastard asks for seconds

Miguel & You

ACT 3 | INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE

Miguel O’Hara & y/n, any gender or non gender. Very casual writing style. TW Dark humor, dangerous situations, 18+ language. Y/n are sorta attracted to Miguel (why else would you be here?) but he doesn’t know you lol

(Seriously, if you haven't read ACT 1 or ACT 2, NONE of this will make sense)

≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋

“Okay? I mean you still got your job, yeah?” your friend says.

“It’s different now! I can’t- my job’s not enough- all my savings are GONE! All those data sticks were full of nontaxable credit and now it’s probably being hocked off for rapture! What the shock am I gonna do?!”

“Wait, wait! Hang on, lemme text Bryce! He gonna know something!”

“I REALLY can’t believe that O’Hara! We talked about this! I made my case pretty simple and he agreed to a follow up meeting- and now he’s just gonna CANCEL on me?!”

“Hey it’s not his fault! He doesn’t know what you’re going through.”

You are so mad you almost tell her the truth. But his secret identity could be a bargaining chip! Yeah sure that will be stooping low but he KNOWS you are one lost payment away from house hunting, which is a horrible experience in Nueva York, especially if you’re broke.

After some sounds of computer work on her end, Speshall re-emerges.

“Hold on… okay. Bryce says Mister O’Hara is back in the Alchemax Business Bureau building.”

“Good God, tell Bryce I said thanks!”

“You better hurry, cuz people who lost their shot yesterday are trying to catch him today. I don’t know how word got out that he didn’t choose anyone as a secretary, but yeah, they are scrambling to get a hold of him. You better hurry!”

You pull out your only spare jacket (the clear plastic one that only keeps off the rain), and throw on a new scarf. You are back at square one, where you gotta compete with all the other interviewees, including Suck-up Syd who’s gonna be even more desperate this time, and Beta-Brody, who just might actually appeal to O’Hara now that he’s about to have an uninterrupted audience with the guy!

Your chances are slim, but if you stand to lose everything, why the hell dwell here?!

░▒▓スパイダーマン▓▒░

When you exit the apartment complex, you run through all of the holograms offering a better life, past all the salesmen trying to convert you to the great house of Thor, and slam your palm down on the terminal button to call the apartment valet.

"Welcome back, tenant 27," the AI apartment valet greets, “Do you want-”

“YES! Give it to me!”

Your car roars out of its hiding place as if it knows today isn’t the day to worry you with her many problems. She is bright red with flaking paint, but she is here in your time of need.

“We refueled your vehicle. Do you accept the charges-”

“BILL ME TOMORROW!”

You rush and slide across the hood, executing the perfect slide and land on your feet on the other side. The door unlatches automatically and you climb in (that almost never happens), and you slam your foot down on the gas pedal.

“I’m comin’ for you, O’Hara!”

░▒▓человек-паук▓▒░

After dodging and slipping through traffic, you arrive at the Alchemax Business Bureau parking lot. The automated parking center kiosk accepts your money this time since your mom knows how to clean her gambling money (you have yet to learn this difficult process), and you get to enter the building in a more conventional way.

The lobby is already in chaos. People are fighting over the coffee machine for some reason, slapping and hitting each other. You turn your back on it and face the old man behind the receptionist desk. He grimaces at you.

“You don’t have anything to do with the crazy shit happening over there, right?” He asks. This was the first time he’s spoken to you in a while.

“Don’t think so. Uh, has O’Hara come through?”

“Heh. What do you think?”

You cringe at the sound of a coffee pot crashing to the floor. The receptionist opens a holoscreen and looks at you through it.

“He’s up in the temp office again.”

He discreetly brings a cup of black coffee up from behind the desk and sets it near you.

“Just pushing forward a favor.”

His eyes focus on the video call that pops up between you, and he continues, “We need custodial support in the lobby. We got some broken glass and hot coffee all over the damn place.”

≋≋≋（スパイダーマン）≋≋≋

You are on the elevator, coffee in hand with a pocket full of sugars. You decide not to drink it, you plan to give it to O’Hara (everyone else must have had this same plan, hence fighting over the pitcher of coffee.) The elevator lets someone else on. The doors open and you see the smoky eyes of Suck-Up Syd.

“Ah, you got past everyone else, I see.”

You reluctantly move over as she strides in. You notice she’s wearing a backless dress before she pulls her faux fur jacket back over her shoulders. She knows you saw, she chuckles and sighs.

“Don’t ya love this day and age?” she asks innocently.

“It could be better,” you say pleasantly.

“I just love how a woman can be herself and flaunt what she’s got…”

She waits for a word of validation but you say nothing to her. She continues.

“I got this dress from Michael, our last boss. Remember him?”

“Ah, yeah. The guy who gave me a second chance…”

“Yeah after the whole embezzling thing! Tsk, I’m so glad you didn’t get fired, you know that? Like really, you are the nicest person in this whole wide place! It would have been so unfair of him to let you go. But he’s very generous.”

You wanna say something mean to her but you are at a crucial point in your life to have stupid Suck-Up Syd karma in the mix.

The elevator door opens and you see a guy laying face down on the floor. He’s groaning in pain. It’s the nice Indian man from yesterday.

“Oh my, what happened here?” Syd asks.

“Ah just some stuff that needed settling,” says the familiar douchey voice of Brody, who walks up from the corner while rubbing his knuckles.

“Did you beat up that guy?!” You scold.

“Well, he got in my face,” he says with a matter-of-fact tone.

“I somehow doubt that!” You scoff.

Brody smirks and takes your coffee.

“Dude, that’s mine!” you complain.

He sips it while keeping eye-contact with you. He then immediately scrunches his face.

“Ew, you don’t add anything to your coffee?!”

“That’s very rude and gross, Broly,” Syd says with sarcasm, walking away towards the glass elevator. He hands the coffee back to you and swiftly follows her, and you reluctantly follow.

“I was just playing, Sydney, lighten up! Nice dress, by the way!”

“Thank you.”

“I mean... you flaunted it for Micheal, I bet you could do the same exact routine for O’Hara and get the job instantly! That's your in-an-out plan, right?”

“Hey, if he thinks hiring me will get him there then that’s on him, not me.”

“What are you pushing 38, going on 39 any time now? You can’t use your looks forever, tick-tock tick-tock.”

“Oh wow, says the guy who believes in that Alpha Male BS. You are aware that the same guy who coined that whole thing turned around and disproved it years later, you know that, right?”

“So it’s not true for wolves, but it’s definitely true for Man.”

“You are not even close to being a Beta…” you grumble.

He looks back at you with a fake smile. Syd laughs.

“Oh well check this out-”

He slaps the coffee down out of your hands and it gushes all over your pants and shoes. You jump back and kick your legs.

“Dude! That BURNS! What the FUCK?!”

“You got it on my dress, you fucking animal!” Syd complains, stepping back away from the dark puddle.

“Oh you were gonna take it off to show what’s left of your body anyway! Get with the now and lighten up!”

“You are SUCH an asshole!” You yell. You start kicking him in the legs. Syd joins in, thrashing him with her stiletto. The both of you back him into the corner as he tries to guard his face. The glass doors open and the three of you stop your squabbling as y’all realize there has been an audience for the last few seconds.

The pair of security guards from yesterday are standing near the elevator, both looking somewhat amused about the elevator fight, and two men are sitting on either side of the tiny desk, one of them being O’Hara and the other is your ex boss.

“Oh… uh, hi!” Syd stammers, taken aback by the present company. Brody pushes her aside and strides across the room with his hand extended.

“Hey, Mister O’Hara! The name’s Brody Tice! Nice to meet-”

“The hell are you guys doing here?” O’Hara asks.

“Hey, yeah, I didn’t get to meet you yesterday- had some stuff come up, but I heard you were here today, so I thought-”

“Then SIT,” O’Hara demanded.

“Actually, I do better standing!”

“Sit the hell down, Brody,” Micheal snaps, “Now’s not the time!”

[Brody mumbles something about being fine where he is.]

“Is everything okay, Micheal?” Syd asks, defaulting to an innocent tone.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Micheal says with glossed, lazy eyes. He always had this look whenever he was forced to care, “Someone formerly in our department just complained about some old history and we are trying to smooth it out.”

"Oh, this is beyond smoothing out," O'Hara said with an unsafe tone while smiling, "Yeah, this little game you have going on comes to an end today."

"What game?!" Micheal scoffs, leaning back in his chair.

“I’ve had my AI assistant cross-reference your employment history and your payment history and I did not like what she told me," O'Hara says, putting his giant paws together, "You’ve been withholding payment from your employees by not immediately updating their salary in the system after they were given a raise. And you’d neglect doing anything until they actually confront you about it, and even then, you never paid them the missing difference. And you did this, let's say, roughly eighty times in the past four years?”

Your blood boils. This man has been a parasite this whole time while you scraped by. Micheal looks back and forth at Syd and Brody, unable to keep eye contact with O'Hara.

"Wha- WHICH of you- Syd! I thought I could TRUST you!" Micheal stammers.

"What? Micheal! No! I didn't say anything about you!"

Micheal's gaze darts to Brody, but then he swivels his head to you instead.

"Was it you?!"

"Wow, you're really just gonna look for someone to blame, huh?" Brody scoffs.

"Whoever did this doesn't know who they're messing with!" Micheal says, his face red as he shakes, "I have too much as stake to be taken down by some rat!"

“It was ME!” you yell, not willing to take anything else laying down anymore, “I confirmed what happened!”

Micheal looks genuinely surprised at you yelling. Syd just blinks awkwardly and Brody grins. O’Hara is still sitting with his elbows resting on his desk, watching from behind clasped fingers.

“What on earth did you-”

“The ultimatum you gave me! You pulled me aside into the maintenance closet and made me choose between getting fired or demoted, REMEMBER?!”

“We took you into the maintenance closet because the situation was private-”

“You just didn’t want anyone with a brain noticing you were doing something illegal!”

“He was on vacation!” Syd said defensively, “You should have just waited-”

“Oh that’s SUCH bullshit! He wanted to see how long he could go without actually paying me what I was owed!”

“It was just a fluke in the system-”

“It was no fluke, it was CALCULATED!” You snap, stepping towards her with your finger in her face, “And you should know, Syd! You fucking stood there watching like the stupid little henchman you are! You KNEW Micheal was doing something illegal and you did NOTHING to report it! And we know why! Because you KNEW if I went down, you would instantly get my position as vice head PR accountant! You were a snake from the start and always HAVE been!”

“Oh shush! You were sniveling and crying like a BABY, begging to keep the job! I may be what I am but at least I have some dignity-”

“Sydney! Let’s not push it!” Micheal warned.

“That’s fucking laughable coming from you, y’know that?” Brody says to Syd, “You are the LAST person with any dignity around here! You dropped your panties for Ashton when I told you he was head of our department! You didn’t even try to research him or anything! You just did it because you’re a whore.”

“And you!” you yell, pointing at Brody.

“Ah, let’s hear it!” He retorts.

“You are the biggest lying asshole in this whole fucking industry! How the fuck has no one laid you out yet?! All that alpha dog bullshit has gone so far up your ass, I don’t know where your sexist bullshit ends and where your goddamn shit-eating grin begins! You gotta tear people down because you aren’t strong enough to hack it with the big dogs, are ya?! ARE YA, BRODY?! Oh, look at me! I’m Brody Tice! I’m too mean and stupid to make meaningful relationships work, so I bully others to assert a false sense of dominance! And if that don’t work, I resort to telling people I was diddled in the doo doo hole by my best friend Ashton because that’s the kind of LOSER I am!”

Brody’s pride is on the line, and he was not taking too kindly to you airing out his dirty laundry in front of O’Hara. He steps up to you, his fake smile now grinding into a dangerous sneer.

“Oh, NOBODY has laid me out yet because they CAN’T!”

“You are so full of shit!”

“Go ahead and make your move, then!”

“Everyone just stop!” Syd pleads anxiously.

“You can't always get away with everything you’ve DONE!” You say coldly. Blood is rushing in your ears and you can feel your neck getting hot. Brody jabs you in the shoulder with his knuckles.

“Make your move, bitch-”

Having seen enough, O’Hara stands up and swiftly grabs Brody by the front of his shirt. He leads the smaller man around on his toes as they come face to face. Brody’s eyes bulge.

“Wow, man! Your hands are massive-”

O’Hara picks the whole man up and one-arm slams Brody through the tiny desk. Just *bam* throws him down TLC style. Travel-sized bottles fly everywhere.

Brody stares up at the ceiling, making a long minuscule whining sound. The desk is finished and everyone is frozen in place.

“Quitar este loser,” he commanded, pointing down at Brody and flicking his finger at the door. The two guards grabbed Brody and lifted him out of the rubble.

“As for you two,” he said, turning to Syd and Michael, “clean out your desks!”

“W-why?!” Syd whined

“You can't do this!” Michael begged, his grey eyes bulging, "I have been with this department for thirty years! I was here when your father ran this place!"

O'Hara clenches his jaw and fists. His eyes flash dangerously.

"--Though you do a spectacular job as CEO, WAY better than... It-It really was an honest fluke, I get very overwhelmed with all my responsibilities- please! You can’t fire me!”

He stares down Micheal, considering him a little longer. He drops his scowl and lets his hands free.

“Relax, I’m not firing you or Miss Sarcoth here,” O’Hara says with a falsely kind tone, “I mean, you really should be fired, but a guy your age doesn’t stand a chance in the private sector, so I’m moving you both to the custodial department! They’ll love you there!”

“Oh... well alright,“ Michael mutters, eyes bugged out at the giant financial nuke that missed him by inches.

“Wait, why am I being dragged down too?!” Syd whined, “there’s no proof I was even THERE!”

“There's lots of surveillance of your complacency and possible cooperation, Miss Sarcoth. Don’t even bother trying to argue your way out of this one. Now both of you, off to your new jobs! C’mon! You only get one chance!”

O'Hara gives them both a clenched smile. Syd and Micheal exchange confused stares.

“Go on before I get pissed off,” he said in a colder tone.

They scramble to gather their coats and rush out of the room. Those two jackasses who screwed with your livelihood just to make themselves laugh are now fucking off to whatever hell hole O’Hara has decided to stuff them into.

O’Hara sighs and paces away. He grumbles about idiots fucking around with their goddamn money. You clear your throat. He straightens his anti glare lenses then looks at you.

“Have a seat, since you’re here.”

You sit down where Michael was seated before. You stare this guy down because this is it! You are ready for hellfire. You are ready for searing words and possible loss of a limb or head in the conversation to come. You squint at those red eyes behind the comically large lenses. How has nobody accused him of being a vampire? Either way, you are ready to gamble it all, to hell with being cautious!

You are gonna take this vampire down.

“You are wondering why I canceled our meeting, yeah?” He asks with raised brows.

You are relieved he brought it up first.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I decided I don’t need a secretary,” he said, “turns out it’s too damn stressful and stupid. I’ve been doing just fine with my AI assistant.”

“What about all the people who wanted to work for you?”

“They have their own jobs already, it’s not like they have nothing to go back to.”

“Well I don’t,” you say, gripping the edge of your chair. He makes a curious face.

“You have a job, what do you mean-“

“I’ve been cheated, blackmailed, rejected, declined, and robbed, all because of idiots like Michael and Syd… and that idiot Brody! I’m not about to let a dismissive playboy who fires people left and right, AND moonlights as Spider-Man kick me down without a fight-“

O’Hara comes back over and sits down in his chair quickly, making you flinch, but he’s smiling.

“So you WERE awake when I saved you!”

“Yeah,” you say quietly. You are now shaking but not breaking your stare from his amused expression.

“Now you know who I am and what I do… at least only the tip of that gargantuan iceberg… so what do you want? Money? You gonna blackmail me?”

“What fucking choice do I have?” You say heatedly, “I lost everything down there in that hell hole! My data sticks, my phone, all of that was my LIFE in order, and now I either go further into debt or I get a better job that will take care of me for the rest of my life!”

O’Hara leans back into his chair, his brow furrowed as he rubs his chin.

“Don’t think for a second I’m not grateful for you saving my life! I don’t know how you knew I needed saving but you did!”

“My AI assistant Lyla informed me your location was moving down to a notorious criminal breeding ground. I thought you were one of those Black Market Demons trying to infiltrate Alchemax for drugs.”

“What?”

“I mean the descriptors fit. I guessed you were financially unstable and turning to gambling because you had a Rapture habit. But… you didn’t seem physically unwell like a Rapture user. The only other possibility was that you were being kidnapped. Since I already met you and saw it about to happen, I just couldn’t ignore it.”

You look to the floor, feeling bad about readying yourself to fight this guy.

“I knew you needed help. I'm sorry about your data sticks and all your money. I didn’t know- you do have a bank account, right? I mean, you have a job-”

“My job salary goes there, yeah, but that goes straight into automated payments since I’m on the Alchemax home-employment plan… I have the data sticks because my bank won’t accept anything considered gambling money. And I don’t have enough earnings for an offshore account… so I kept it all on the data sticks…”

He is hanging on every word now. You look up at those sad bespectacled eyes.

“Also… I just wanted some personal spending money for myself. I just wanna wear nice stuff and eat something else besides mineral bars…”

He politely watches you try not to feel sorry for yourself. You are both quiet for a little spell. You can hear the wind outside, and an automated cleaning system starts spraying the shit out of the glass elevator. It sounds like a car wash. All that coffee on the floor is being washed away.

He sighs and looks out the windows.

“Well, I can’t say I wasn’t impressed at the decade and a half you put into PR work for Alchemax,” he finally says. You wipe away a single tear and look up at him as he pulls up your files on his neat watch. He picks out your best work with his calloused but beautiful hands, “You started running hot meals for the Alchemax elderly program at fifteen years old… went into mail room tech for a while there, occasionally doing lobby work and handling public events… not bad at all.”

"Thanks," you say modestly.

“Most of all, I really admire that you came here. I don’t know how you knew I’d be here, but you must have some great resources to pull that off. I'm impressed.”

You smile at him weakly. He smiles back.

“What do you think about taking Micheal's old job?”

“Wha- REALLY?!”

“Ah I’m sure you’ll do fine! Besides, I didn’t know who I was gonna pick as head of PR account and finances, anyway! So, what do you say?”

You stand up and so does he. You extend your hand and he takes it.

“Thank you for this opportunity, sir! I won’t let you down!”

“You actually don’t have a choice.”

You smile but then feel yesterday’s emotions catch up with you. The darkness with the dead bodies and freaky black market demons. Running until your legs were on fire and your lungs hurt. Being surrounded by those demons in the darkness. You dive in for a hug.

“Thank you for saving my life…” you murmur into his shirt.

“C’mon, I’m Spider-Man, it’s what I do.”

You hold your head against those mighty pecs of his. His dress shirt is so silky and soft and smells like the kind of detergent that goes hard like crack. You go ahead and wrap the other arm around him as you behold the heartbeat of a hero, something so rare in any day and age. You will never forget this sensation as he carefully pats your back.

“Ah, okay, just take it all in… I’m only allowing this once… hey, also promise me you'll keep my secret, okay?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"I'm not kidding. If you go telling people I'm Spider-Man, I'll make you clean toilets. SPECIFICALLY toilets. And only toilets."

You start to giggle. He does too.

"Just toilets, all day and all night! I'm serious. I know we are laughing but I'm dead serious. No estoy bromeando! Comprendes?"

"Si comprendes," you manage to muffle out.

"Good, good... Okay get off me. Please.”

You smile and let him go. He gives you an awkward smile and rubs the side of his massive neck.

"So... seeing as I'm removing Micheal and pretty much any and all staff members who conspired with him, you’ll need to hire your own assisting staff. You have anyone in mind?”

≋≋≋（蜘蛛侠）≋≋≋

“I’m going to lunch!” You call out as you leave your glass paneled office.

“You want me to go ahead and send out this mass email, dear?” Your mother says from behind her grand desk.

“You let Speshall look at it, right?”

“It’s wordy but I’m sure it’s fine,” Speshall says from her office area. She returns to her phone, “Oh they eloped?! To where?!”

Your new staff has it's own habits but they are much better than the unjust monsters running things before. You walk onto the elevator (the only one since the other two are STILL broken), and the nice Indian man from weeks ago joins you.

"How's life, Arjuna?" You ask.

"Ah, in-laws are staying over for a month."

"Oh? Is that bad?"

"Not really. Let's say I just might jump out a window," he says, slyly.

"Well I know a few custodians perfect for the job!" you blurt out. The both of you crack up laughing. You fortunately don't have to ever see Micheal, Syd, and Brody on a daily basis since O'Hara sent them off to clean in the Alchemax Museum of Tech, but that hasn't stopped you or your friends from making them the butt of all your jokes.

You walk out into the lobby of the Alchemax Business Bureau, where you see your red Maglev Nova outside waiting in the rain.

“All fueled up, boss!” Says the old receptionist behind the counter. He’s drinking his coffee in peace.

“Thanks, Stan!” You say.

You walk outside to your car. The paint job was redone and all her internal issues gone as she hums cleanly, awaiting your arrival. You open the door to get in.

"HEY!"

You look over the Nova. You see O'Hara across the street.

“Miguel! Hey!”

“Hey! We doin’ this?”

“Yeah! I got some coupons for double thick enchiladas! Two for the price of one!”

“Ay, you and those coupons! I told you, I’m buying! Woah-“

He steps back as a truck flies past him. It drives right through a puddle, drenching the man. He stands there all stunned; his jacket was folded on his arm and his dress shirt soaked.

He gapes at you and you realize you are staring at the wet shirt clinging to his chiseled body.

“We- we can stop by the dry cleaners on the way," you stammer as you politely look away.

๋࣭ ⭑🕸 fin 🕸๋࣭ ⭑

Thank you for reading.

#miguel o'hara #spiderman 2099 #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara art #Miguel & You #miguel o’hara x y/n #miguel o’hara x reader #kinda but not really #enough to make a rando uncomfortable

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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 years

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Billionaire grifters hate her

A billionaire’s crime spree has come to an end: a federal judge held that Fleetcor was running a fraudulent, predatory business, and found that the company’s billionaire owner, Ron Clarke, was personally responsible for the company’s offenses. He woulda gotten away with it, but for the reporting of a former nurse turned self-trained muckraker:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-11/payments-billionaire-found-to-have-knowingly-deceived-customers

The Fleetcor scam wasn’t sophisticated. The court found that Clarke’s sales reps would call up small businesses and offer them a “discount” gas credit card with “no transaction charges or hidden fees.” These cards had lots of transaction charges and hidden fees. That’s it. That’s the scam.

Fleetcor preyed on small businesses, counting on the fact that these business-owners wouldn’t have time to scrutinize their bills in detail and would get suckered into paying its fees. A senior employee says Clarke called these customers “stupid dumbasses” from “shithole southern states”:

https://twitter.com/ddayen/status/1020300688377577474

According to senior staff, he assured them that “They are never going to know about the fees and the tiered rebates. They are not watching their bills.”

We owe the downfall of Clarke’s Fleetcor racket to one woman: Lisa Epstein, a former oncology nurse who was scammed by a big bank in the post-2008 financial crisis and devoted her life to reporting on finance crime for The Capitol Forum, a news site she founded:

https://thecapitolforum.com/

It was her careful, dogged reporting that unraveled Fleetcor’s scam and established Clarke’s personal culpability in it. She’s a hero — and she’s part of a glorious American tradition of muckraking women journalists who devoted their lives to bringing down the billionaires who preyed on them and their families.

Reading about Epstein, I was immediately reminded of Ida B. Tarbell, who brought down John D. Rockefeller and triggered the breakup of his juggernaut, the Standard Oil Company. Rockefeller was the most powerful businessman in the world and Standard Oil was the most powerful company in the world, and Tarbell took them on — and won.

It’s an amazing story. Tarbell was the daughter of a small-time Pennsylvania oilman who had been crushed by Rockefeller’s cartel. She was brilliant — the only woman in her biology program at Allegheny College. Despite her love of science, she devoted herself to activism, campaigning for votes for women and against the business elites who had sewn up American life:

https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1404569929437749248

Tarbell was a brilliant orator, a careful researcher, and a quietly scathing writer. In 1902, she began publishing a series of articles in McClure’s Magazine that unwound the baroque scams that Rockefeller used to crush competitors and workers. These were wildly popular, and when they were collected in 1904 in the two-volume History of the Standard Oil Company, it galvanized public support for a Standard Oil breakup.

Rockefeller hated Tarbell, called her “Tarbarrel” and dismissed her as an irrelevant fabulist (Clarke dismissed Epstein’s reporting as “fake news” and says he’ll appeal the judgment). But Tarbell won: Standard Oil was smashed into 34 independent companies in 1911, and Rockefeller lost his grip over the lives of millions of Americans.

Tarbell’s History is in the public domain today, and you can get your own copy for free at the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/historyofstandar00tarbuoft/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/historyofstandar02tarbuoft/mode/2up

There’s also a fantastic free audiobook edition at Librivox:

https://librivox.org/the-history-of-standard-oil-volume-1-by-ida-tarbell/ https://librivox.org/the-history-of-standard-oil-volume-2-by-ida-m-tarbell/

Tarbell did not claim to be objective (something to keep in mind when you hear about the evils of a “polarizing” press) and she had no credentials (another important point to recall when someone tells you that our current news crisis will be solved by certifying “real” journalists). She was on a mission, and she accomplished that mission.

In particular, Tarbell attacked the idea that ripping off workers and crushing competitors was “just business,” saying that this would lead to “business men weeping on one another’s shoulders over human frailty, while they picked one another’s pockets.”

https://marker.medium.com/illegitimate-greatness-674353e7cdf9

I learned about Epstein from David Dayen’s excellent story on the Fleetcor defeat for The American Prospect. Dayen writes that “We have her to thank for exposing FleetCor’s practices, just as she exposed the banking industry’s. The nation has a lot of reasons to thank Lisa Epstein for her work.”

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/importance-of-citizen-activism-lisa-epstein-fleetcor/

Dayen also points out a fly in the ointment: though the court has found that Fleetcor was running a scam, they will not have to pay any fines — for now. In 2021, the Supreme Court found that the FTC can’t provide financial relief to the victims of the scams it runs to ground:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/22/supreme-court-limits-the-ftcs-authority-to-extract-monetary-relief.html

In order for the FTC to get justice for the victims of Fleetcor and Clarke, they’ll have to conclude an administrative action that’s been in limbo since last year, awaiting the resolution of this lawsuit:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/08/ftc-sues-fleetcor-its-ceo-fleecing-small-businesses-mystery-fuel-card-fees

They’ll also have to separately pursue a permanent injunction against Fleetcor, which they’re likely to get, which is why the company’s stock is down 25% (40% of Fleetcor’s revenue comes from its scammy fuel-cards):

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/FLT/history

If you want to learn more about Epstein, you can (and should!) subscribe to her Capitol Forum — but you can also read about her in Dayen’s 2016 book Chain of Title, which chronicles her journey from oncology nurse to tireless muckraker, when she refused to tolerate the foreclosure scam that cost her her home:

https://thenewpress.com/books/chain-of-title

You can learn how, in 2010, “she was instrumental in helping shut down the entire foreclosure system temporarily.”

We need a thousand Tarbells, a thousand Epsteins. We should be grateful for the ones we have and nurture and support them. They’re fighting for us all.

[Image ID: Ida M Tarbell uses her writing to kindle a fire on a tree labelled 'Standard Oil Traditional Policy of Silence.' A panicked John D Rockefeller peers out of a squirrel-hole, screaming in alarm.]

#pluralistic

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enbykelpie · 6 months

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Hey, I know it's the holidays, so money's more of a Thing for everyone right now, but my husband @bestlittlesnek and I could use some help if anyone's able.

We are both disabled trans guys, I am unable to work a traditional job but also can't receive benefits, and my husband does have a full time job, though it's still not enough to really make ends meet.

Our last paycheck for the month has hit and we don't have enough for rent, much less an upcoming credit card payment, gas for transportation, groceries, or other bills. We haven't even bought Christmas presents yet, but we're not that worried about that because theyre not needed.

Both of us offer art commissions, I can do crochet commissions as long as you're willing to pay for shipping, or we just have pp/cashapp if those are preferred.

My Commission Page // His Commission Page

c$app enbykelpie /// pp rainybrewster

thank you, all help is seriously appreciated

#mutual aid #ebegging #sorry #i feel really bad i just. dont know what to do #we cant ask family #trans mutual aid

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phulmoon · 2 years

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Offering $2-$5 ask box mini readings for me & my partner’s birthdays ♌︎⭑

Brief intro:

Me again! Your very non-local afro-indigenous divination witch of the backwoods, and I’m finally re-opening personal readings after a long break! I’m focusing on mini readings in this post, but you can find info on full readings here (all less than $20 rn!) & reviews here

My long distance gal pal™️ is visiting me in a few days to meet my family & just be together as a joint Leo power couple birthday celebration. After necessities & bills, I have no extra money so these readings will fund stuff like: horror movie date, black femme night at a gay bar, maybe 1 or 2 sensible dinner dates, & gas to get us from the city to the woods n back ❣️

Rules:

• $2 for simple yes/no questions + no explanation, $3 for any questions + 1-2 sentences explanation, $5 for any questions + 2-4 sentences explanation

• send an ask (or dm) after your tip to lmk which payment belongs to you + your question/subject, I will do anons but please give me a name or initials to connect with you & I will do private replies (just include [private] in your ask)

• no health questions (guidance in navigating emotional issues are fine) & no wild shit like “is x person gonna die this year”. I reserve the right to refuse any question, I know what I can & can’t offer so I will refund you if I know I’m not the reader you need.

• finally, I’m taking these indefinitely but I won’t be doing full readings from July 19th-27th and my ability to answer the mini reading requests will be limited during that time frame! I’ll be with my love!

• heartemojie on cashapp + venmo, @13thead on paypal, if u don’t want a reading feel free to toss us a few dollars just in the spirit of black gay love if u wanna 🥺❣️

#im approaching these using whichever deck(s) speak up for you but if something is really pulling at you in these pics feel free to lmk #and in the same vein I’m only planning on using cards bc they’re the only tool I use consistently but again if anyone else reaches for your #question or I feel called to use the pendulums or runes or anything else I absolutely willllll #just to be transparent abt what we’re doing :•) approaching these kind of casually bc like. they are ask box mini readings lol

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compo67 · 1 year

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struggle bus

this is a mental health/chronically ill post/personal info dump

cn for suicidal ideations, bipolar disorder, depression, mental health

my therapist is on leave for a month, so in the meantime, i'm meeting with my DBT group leader for therapy once a week

the mental health struggle has been real this past month. lots of depression, anxiety, and voices that get so loud that tell me what's even the point of living

i struggle a lot with managing my bipolar disorder and depression. i struggle with getting dressed and showered most days. even the stimulants i'm on don't help as much as they used to before. i spent all day last saturday asleep or crying. i lost a whole day of working on my big bang, something really important to me, because i just couldn't wrangle my brain into functioning in a positive or healthy way

i'm hopeful about sitting with my psychiatrist this thursday and talking about switching antidepressants and maybe upping either the mood stabilizer or the anti-psychotic

i'm also hopeful that he'll be on board with one of the two treatments my other providers have recommended: keta and TMS

both are concerning to me, but they're both recommended for treatment resistant depression

i can't hardly picture what it's like not to be depressed

i know this might be weird to read, because i write such happy/romantic stuff, but it has been a continuous struggle to deal with being so depressed, especially in the past 2 years

i can't keep up writing or my patreon as much as i want to because i'm either too depressed or in too much pain and i just... feel like i let people down because of it

i have been avoiding doing really important paperwork (applying for financial hardship assistance and LTD stuff)

now it *has* to be turned in and the deadline is looming

coming back to this post a few hours later and i feel a bit better sharing this. it's important to me that i share not just the happy stuff but the other stuff that's going on too

i know i will get out of this spiral/flare. it's going to take time and effort, but i *want* to do it

it just gets really hard sometimes

especially when i'm under so much pressure from financial stress

like, i am doing my best to take my benefits and dig myself out of debt while at the same time trying to stay afloat with things like my car payment, car insurance, gas, phone bill, groceries, medical/dental premiums, medical expenses, and everything else

i am hopeful that doing some light SP work will be another income stream and lessen the pressure, but i can't depend on that until you know... i actually start. and who knows how many hours or projects i'll be offered and can physically do?

this flare up has just been awful. i've been flared up since the end of march and prednisone is not doing the trick, which means it's not inflammation, it's probably just EDS

i say just EDS like it's a cold or something when it's a genetic debilitating disorder/syndrome

i think EDS is one of my biggest struggles. it just takes so much energy to keep my joints together

sigh

i just want to be back working full-time, thriving and surviving on my own

but it's not possible at the moment

if i go back to work too soon, i'm just going to wind up in the same place i was in 2021--a big mess

i've been on and am still on the struggle bus

even if it's a struggle bus, i still want to stay on a bus

i still want to be "here"

even if some voices get really loud and try to convince me otherwise

if you made it this far reading, please know i appreciate it

you didn't have to read this but you did and therefore, i <3 you

things will get better.

#compo67 #authorial rambles #personal #mental health #mental illness #bipolar disorder #ehlers danlos syndrome

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roshanenergy · 27 days

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Exploring Different Approaches to Utility Cost Recovery in California

As California grapples with evolving energy regulations and the imperative to promote sustainability, property managers and owners face a pressing challenge: recovering utility costs efficiently while encouraging conservation. In this dynamic landscape, Roshan Energy emerges as a trusted partner, offering innovative solutions to navigate the complexities of utility cost recovery and promote responsible resource management.

The Context of Utility Cost Recovery

Utility cost recovery refers to the process by which property owners recoup expenses incurred for providing utilities such as water, gas, and electric submetering California to tenants. Traditionally, property owners relied on flat-rate billing or included utility costs in rental payments. However, evolving regulations, increasing utility costs, and growing environmental awareness have prompted a shift towards more transparent and equitable methods of cost recovery.

Different Approaches to Utility Cost Recovery

1. Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS):

Under the RUBS approach, property owners allocate utility costs among tenants based on predetermined factors such as unit size, occupancy, or a combination of factors. While RUBS offers a simple and straightforward method of cost allocation, it lacks precision and may lead to disputes over fairness and accuracy.

2. Submetering:

Utility submetering involves installing individual meters in each unit to measure consumption accurately. This approach enables property owners to bill tenants based on actual usage, promoting transparency and accountability. Submetering incentivizes conservation by empowering tenants to monitor their consumption and make informed decisions to reduce waste.

3. Fixed Billing:

Fixed billing entails charging tenants a flat fee for utilities, regardless of actual usage. While this approach simplifies billing and budgeting for tenants, it may not accurately reflect individual consumption patterns and can lead to inequities among residents.

The Role of Roshan Energy in Utility Cost Recovery

Roshan Energy offers comprehensive utility submetering solutions tailored to the needs of property owners and managers in California. By leveraging advanced metering technology and cloud-based analytics, Roshan Energy provides accurate, reliable, and scalable submetering systems that optimize cost recovery and promote conservation.

Benefits of Submetering with Roshan Energy

1. Accuracy and Transparency:

Roshan Energy's submetering systems ensure accurate measurement and transparent billing, eliminating disputes and promoting trust between property owners and tenants.

2. Conservation Incentives:

By empowering tenants to track and manage their utility usage, Roshan Energy's submetering solutions encourage conservation and responsible resource management.

3. Regulatory Compliance:

Roshan Energy stays abreast of evolving regulations and industry standards, ensuring that its submetering solutions comply with California's utility billing laws and regulations.

Conclusion

In the dynamic landscape of utility cost recovery in California, property owners and managers must adopt innovative approaches that balance cost efficiency with sustainability. Roshan Energy's utility submetering solutions offer a reliable and effective means of recovering utility costs while promoting conservation and compliance with regulations. By partnering with Roshan Energy, property owners can navigate the complexities of utility cost recovery with confidence and promote responsible resource management in their communities.

#Residential Electric Submetering #Utility Management California #Water Submetering Services #Commercial Electric Submetering #Electric Submetering California

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palmofafreezinghand · 1 year

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oh bill, i love you so...

Billy Black and Sarah Wilde get engaged. on ao3 here.

1984.

La Push, Washington.

The trip had been shit, the entire last three months of fishing had been shit. Not a single catch was worth the amount he spent on diesel. This time Billy would be lucky to get two hundred bucks for a week worth of work. He was halfway to Mexico — off the recommendation of Harry Clearwater who had caught enough bluefin to pay his rent for the rest of the year — when the engine started to click…again. Last time that had cost him almost a grand in parts and almost a month in a dry dock.

At this point he would be better off sinking the thing, taking the insurance payout, and working at the gas station for the rest of his life. He had missed last month’s insurance payment. It was between that and the slip fee. There went another one of his plans.

The boat pulled into its slip, the clicking louder and louder, like a time bomb, until he cut the engine. Then it was hauntingly silent.

Anxious to get to shore before the entire thing exploded, Sarah wouldn’t get his life insurance anymore, he tied the knots quickly, looser than he should have. Maybe he’d get lucky and it would drift out to sea, he’d have no other option than to work at the quick fill or maybe he’d get a job at the bait shop telling hobbyists what lure to use when he couldn’t manage to catch anything himself.

He threw the nearly empty cooler onto the dock, a week of exhaustion meant the cooler flew right over the dock and into the harbor, his spoils spilling into the sea. The gulls which had followed him in from a mile out, anxious to get spoiled bait descended on the gourmet feast. He cursed under his breath, watching two pelicans fight over a halibut larger than both of them combined. He threw his laundry bag onto the dock, which landed perfectly dry, because of course it did.

After he locked the boat up, although there was nothing to steal he didn’t need to find a sea lion in his bed, he jumped onto the dock himself. He landed wrong, not in the water, but his ankle rolled under him. Another expletive as he analyzed the sprained ankle.

He needed a drink. He needed a stiff drink. Hell, he’d take the bottle.

Sarah hated alcohol, so he rarely drank, but she wasn’t here. She was almost four hours away, ignoring his proposal.

When she got the almost full ride to the University of Washington there was no question she had to take it. She had offered to stay, to go to Pensiula instead, they would be able to see each other more often. He wouldn’t hear it. At that point, they had been dating for almost five years. They had started as two dumb middle schoolers who didn’t know a thing about love and then in the blink of an eye his grandmother was giving him the family ring and Mr. Wilde was asking when he was going to get serious.

He let her go without asking, he figured it would be easier that way, and it was until it wasn’t.

She had less than a year left, it might as well have been a death sentence for him. They hadn’t seen each other in months.

He couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment he decided to send her the ring, instead of waiting until they saw each other next. All he knew was two weeks ago he had driven down to the post office in Forks, wrapped the ring box in three dollars worth of bubble wrap, stuffed the package in a far too expensive cardboard box, tucked a simple note inside, and paid for overnight shipping for the first and only time in his life.

He waited by the harbormaster’s phone for three days, waiting for an answer to a question he had asked in a hundred unspoken ways. His boat bore her name, a deteriorating friendship bracelet that had never left his wrist since she had made it many summers ago, he spent every Saturday evening eating dinner with her family. It was a question he had waited to ask until he couldn’t anymore.

It was a question she had yet to answer. They had spoken on the phone twice since he sent the ring. On the first call, she hadn’t gotten the box yet, on the second call she had just picked up her mail but had yet to open the box but she promised she would as soon as she could.

They hadn’t spoken since. She had left a voicemail that she had gotten full credit on all her finals and she was excited to finally have a weekend off, she was doing something he didn’t quite catch with her friends. No mention of the ring.

He slung his laundry bag over his shoulder and fished his cooler out of the empty slip next door. A gull lunged at his hand, a half-eaten mackerel still hanging out of its mouth. He averted the attack and started to wheel his cooler down the gangway.

Someone in the parking lot was blaring their radio, some kids who should have been in school. He was barely twenty. Two years removed from being one of those rowdy teenagers ditching last period to linger around the harbor and he was already a cynic. They had warned him the sea would turn him cold, would take everything he ever loved until it swallowed him too, but he hadn’t listened.

A car horn honked. He didn’t look up. The kid probably bumped it, clamoring into the backseat doing something they shouldn’t. Billy had found himself in that situation before. Never in broad daylight, he’d been smarter than that. Well, Sarah had been smarter than that.

The horn blared again, longer much more intentionally this time.

“William Black Junior!” His head shot up. No one used his full name…except one person.

Sarah Wilde was leaning against the hood of her car, doors open, radio blaring. Much too far away for his liking.

“What are yo-”

“Listen to the song,” she shouted across the harbor.

He stopped, dropping the cooler by his feet. It was an old song, he’d heard it before, years ago, probably on one of his mother’s cleaning records. He didn’t know the song well enough to understand why Sarah had shown up unannounced simply to play him the song.

“ I was on your side Bill when you were losin'

When you were losin’”

He was certainly losin’ at the moment. He opened his mouth to speak again, and Sarah simply held out her hand to quiet him.

‘I'd never scheme or lie Bill there's been no fooling

There's been no fooling

But kisses and love won't carry me.’

Sarah was now holding a small box in her hand. Was it the same box he had spent a small fortune shipping to her? No. It couldn’t —

“'Til you marry me, Bill

I love you so I always will.”

Waves were crashing against the jetty behind him, threatening to drown out the song.

She opened the lid of his grandmother’s ring box, picked out the small heirloom ring, and slipped it on her left ring finger. The whole time singing along to the woman on the radio lamenting about her own Bill.

“Yes?” Billy stammered.

“You thought I’d say no?” She yelled over the gulls and radio.

“It took you two weeks to respond!” He shouted back.

“You sent me a ring in the mail. Who does that?”

“How else was I supposed to get it to you?”

“Just kiss her already!” An old man shouted from the dock across the way.

Sarah laughed, leaning into her car to turn down the radio as the song ended. Billy smiled to himself, picking up his empty cooler and full laundry bag and starting down the creaky gangway.

The short walk felt like a marathon.

He unlocked the harbor gate and was promptly greeted by arms latching around his neck. He dropped his cooler again but caught something, someone, much better.

The two broke the kiss when they were interrupted by cheering. From the docks, the nosy fishermen who had pestered him about settling down clapped, he could hear a few jokes about the big mistake Sarah had just made. He was too happy to care. From the small fish and chip stand by the shore came a roar of applause, from some of their best friends: Harry Clearwater, the head cook of said fish and chip shop, Sue Uley, and Billy’s best friend since third grade, Charlie Swan, who had been the first person Sarah called and the only person’s blessing she asked or cared for.

“You reek,” Sarah smiled, hands clutched on the lapels of Billy’s jacket.

“That’s me?” Billy asked, feigning innocence. He smelled like a bait box.

She laughed, a laugh he had missed more than land.

“You’re not quitting school,” he said, thumb brushing over her hand, settling atop the diamond.

“Can you stop worrying for one minute?” She grinned, leaning closer for another kiss. He happily obliged.

“Hey,” Harry shouted. “I have world-famous fish fry in here, come on!”

Billy looked up.

“It’s on the house,” Harry laughed.

“Alright then,” Billy smiled, slinging his arm around Sarah’s shoulders as they made their way across the parking lot.

They ate dinner happy as could be, and for the first time in his life, without a worry in the world.

----

2000.

Somewhere in the Olympic Peninsula, Washington.

The Clearwaters had the children for the night. Sue had insisted he needed a night to himself. The last thing he wanted was to be alone. But, the one thing he wanted more than anything a month after he had received the call which stopped his heart was to break down. He refused to do this in front of anyone, let alone his children and so he found himself driving down the 101 at three in the morning.

That’s how he found himself driving down the 101 at three in the morning, sobbing. He had refused to get in a car for a week after the accident. But La Push was too small. Every single inch a reminder of her. Every street one she had been on. Every person, someone she had known, who looked at him with pity.

He needed out. He drove all the way to Astoria, without truly realizing it. He needed to make it back before school drop-off. He was in Quinualt, less than an hour from hom– the house, when the song came on the radio.

The truck swerved off the road and into the ditch as The 5th Dimension sang, ‘ I look at you and see the passion eyes of May .’

At some point, he managed to get out of the truck, hike down to the roadside phone, and call Charlie Swan. It was blurry.

An hour later a police cruiser, lights on, came to a screeching halt on the side of the highway.

It took Harry and Charlie till sunrise to pull the truck out of the ditch. Billy sat on the side of the road as they worked, working through a six-pack of Ballantines Charlie had brought. His first drink in fourteen years.

Charlie drove him home, without a question, Harry following in the now dented truck. They made it home in time for Billy to walk his kids to school when nothing else Billy Black was a man of his word.

#billy black #sarah black #charlie swan #harry clearwater #sue clearwater #twilight fanfiction #my stories #do you ever just think about billy black?

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