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umbral-archives · 2 years

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‘Ego’ Sucktember 2022 Day 2: Swollen

Obedience has its perks.

T’S STILL THE 2ND SOMEWHERE, DON’T FUCKIN LOOK AT ME. God FUCKING FUCKITY this is LONG WHAT THE FUCK. Me @ Me: WHAT HAPPENED TO 250 WORDS, PYRE?

Can you tell I don’t write blowjobs that often? Because I don’t and I hate this lmao fuck. It's something I guess yknow? Ehhhhhh.

Rating: NSFW MINORS DNI

GN!Reader

Pairing: Murdock (ISWM) x GN!Reader

Warnings: Cunnilingus. Cum eating. Pet names.

Length: 2300+

The night started out simple enough.

Murdock had brought up the idea of a movie night before he left on his most recent hunt; a sort of bonding time between you, given that you’d both been so busy lately.

He’d been more active in his hunting as a new copycat duo had popped up a few towns over. You know how livid he gets when imitators try to take credit for his work, his mission.

Work had you staying late multiple nights in a row due to short staffing. He knows how much you want to remain independent with your financial situation, so he hasn’t brought it up as an issue yet.

To say that you both needed this was an understatement. You missed your Killer. Fuck, you missed him. By the way the man practically drags you into his lap when you enter the living room with snacks, it’s obvious he missed you too.

You tuck yourself into his side with your legs over his, resting your head against his chest all in a bid to not injure anything important. You’re always self-conscious of that when you straddle him. With you properly settled and the snacks within reach to you both, Murdock presses play on his first choice of the evening.

The movie isn’t bad, but you quickly find yourself… well, distracted.

The gentle, possessive caress of his hand over your side, trailing down to your hip and lightly squeezing before traveling back up is one thing; Murdock can’t help but touch you– needs to touch you, but you don’t realize just how much. Another is the steady, deep breaths in your ear that lull you into a strange sort of torpor. You stop focusing on the movie very quickly in favor of him.

Murdock isn’t wearing his glasses or gloves right now. He rarely uses them while home anymore, but you’ve not had any sort of real quality time together in weeks, so it seems all the more special. The cloth of his sweater is soft beneath your cheek and smells immensely of his cologne. You can’t help but snuggle further into the large man, fingers idly drawing nonsense patterns into the plane of his stomach

A soft hum rumbles beneath your ear, his other hand wandering down to rest on your calf and mirroring those little patterns. Warmth spreads across your cheeks from the touch, and you quickly realize that a similar heat is starting to build somewhere else.

This proximity, immersed in this heat and scent, pressed so close to such a solid body, these hands wandering over you… you’d been trying to ignore it, but you’ve not had him in over a week. Even then, it wasn’t enough.

It’ll never be enough for you, now.

There’s a movie your should be focusing on, you remind yourself. However, you just find your eyes deviating lower than his stomach, to the bulge in his black sweatpants that’s just beside your hip. It wouldn’t take much to slide your hand down just that little bit lower and-

The shrill ringtone of your phone blares out from the charging port on the table, startling you up out of his lap. He surprisingly doesn’t protest, letting you up and even pausing the movie to save your place so you don’t miss anything. You smile apologetically before disappearing out of sight to take the call.

When you return, that budding warmth is a distant memory… at least until you step around the corner into the living area and see Murdock.

In the time you've been gone, Murdock has shifted from the side of the couch to the middle in a bid to get more comfortable. One arm is slung over the back of the couch while the other rests on his thigh, that hand too close to his crotch to be a coincidence. He's fucking manspreading, and you can clearly see the outline of his cock half-hard in his pants.

This fucker-

"Is something the matter, little fawn?"

You startle from his low, easy timbre and he chuckles, which earns him a soft glare from you. With a huff, you return your phone to the charging dock and try to look unaffected. "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?", he teases, head rolling to the side. "I'm just waiting on you, Sweetheart."

That glare gets hotter, your gaze darting between his face and that fucking bulge which just seems to be getting bigger. Your mouth is not starting to water, damnit. It isn’t. "You know exactly what you're doing, Murdock."

"Really?” he hums, hand sliding across his thigh in a rather innocuous way and adjusting his hips. You focus on the move out of habit, only to realize what you’d done a second too late when glancing back up at him. The vicious heat in his eyes belies the calm air he extrudes. “Care to enlighten me, little fawn? I'm not a mind reader."

“Why are you always fucking like this-” you grumble under your breath and step around the couch, glaring still even as you stop between his legs. "You know exactly what the fuck you're doing, you smug asshole. We’re supposed to be watching a movie, and here you are-"

“You love it, though, don’t you, Sweetheart?” He interrupts you with a smirk, fingers drumming against his thigh. Your eyes track his tongue darting over his lips with a little too much focus. "You’re free to finish the movie. Though, Sir doesn’t think that’s what you want right now, is it?”

You don’t bother to answer that question, instead sinking down to your knees while your hands slide up his thighs. He rumbles softly in approval, widening his legs even further and subtly lifting his hips in your direction. You tug on his waistband, but the hand on his thigh finding yours and lightly squeezing is just enough of a distraction that you jump back slightly when his cock springs free from his sweats.

He’s not wearing underwear again. Of course he fucking isn’t.

He’s hard, fully erect, and already leaking pre from his tip. On sighting said bead of pre, you absolutely do not whine softly and move forward to take him into your mouth before you stop yourself. You don’t. You were just adjusting your stance.

Murdock coos mockingly. “What’s wrong, Sweetheart? Are you that eager to choke on Sir's cock?"

You sputter aggressively and smack his thigh, that blush spreading out to your ears and down your neck while you take his cock in your hand. “Shut up. This is your fault. All of it.”

“Oh, I do believe it’s yours, sweet thing. You did that.” He motions to his erection. “The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

He knows exactly what the fuck you're going to do about it, because that's what you always do, and you hate that he's essentially trained you into a cum addiction.

With little hesitation, you lean forward again and take his cockhead into your mouth, sucking lightly as your tongue greedily laps up that bead of pre from his slit. The groan you earn from him with that action is almost worth the lead-up to it.

Almost.

You spend the next minute just giving attention to his tip, tongue swirling about while you gently suck, using your hands to spread saliva along his length and gently working his cock. It absolutely isn’t so you can gently play with his balls and make him keep leaking pre into your mouth. The Killer is content to watch you for now, murmuring under his breath about how pretty you always look with his cock in your mouth.

Eventually, you begin to take his length further and further into your mouth, slowly bobbing and testing your own limits with how deep you can take him on your own. The deeper you take him, however, the sharper the sounds he makes, thighs shifting beside your head. He’s gonna get impatient with you soon.

Good.

On a particularly deep bob, you feel his fingers curl into your hair and his tip brush the back of your throat unexpectedly. You gag slightly and draw back enough to look at him, only to freeze when you fully grasp that look he’s giving you.

Murdock’s eyes are so dark that they appear black, his face slightly flushed. He grins when you make eye contact, voice that low, hungry rumble that always seems to drag you down.

“Sweetheart, we both know you can take more than that. Sir taught you that much.”

You whine around his dick, and the vibration makes him curse softly, thrusting into your mouth. The heavy weight of his cock on your tongue, of being used like this, is doing something to you; something you’ve been craving for a while.

When you swallow around him as he hits the back of your throat again, he growls and keeps himself there for a few seconds longer than you can handle. Tears sting your eyes when he finally releases you again, trying to catch your breath as your hands work over his length. “Sir-”

“Shhh.” he chides you quietly, applying that familiar pressure to the back of your head which encourages you to take him back into your mouth. “Just relax and let Sir fuck that pretty little mouth like you want him to.”

Need. Need is the word he’s looking for.

So, you do.

You relax into his grip and let him use your mouth like a cocksleeve, sucking intermittently and running your tongue over the bottom of his shaft and tip when you can. The hold he has on your head is tight but not punishing, however, you do struggle a bit out of instinct when he holds you on his cock. He’s just so fucking big-

“Always a good little cockslut for me, aren’t you, little thing?” He’s adjusted himself to sit up properly now, burying your nose in the soft curls of his pubic hair as he speaks. You gag on his length again but can’t deny how his praise causes that coil of arousal to curl in your gut. “Always so good for me, such an obedient little toy.”

His thrusts are speeding up, you realize faintly. Of course, it’s hard to think with his dick mildly cutting off your oxygen supply at random intervals, but the taste of him more than makes up for it. You don’t need to think right now. You need to be used.

You start to actively move with him now, eyes rolling uselessly behind your lids as tears and saliva dribble down your chin. Pre hits your tongue again and you suck hard, forcing Murdock’s thrusts to stutter as he swears loudly. He doesn’t even have to direct you like this, you know exactly what to do.

“Fuck. Sir’s trained you so fucking well, and you take his cock so fucking perfectly-” If you had more awareness right now, you’d be touching yourself, desperately bringing yourself to orgasm at the exact moment he cums down your throat. You’ve always loved doing that, but only ever with permission. You need permission.

“Such lewd little sounds from this filthy little mouth-” Murdock’s thrusts are desperate now, growling above you as you fuck yourself onto his cock as much as he sinks into your mouth. It’s a messy, lewd affair, and you don’t think you’ve ever really been this turned on from facefucking. He is absolutely going to let you ride him after this. It’s not negotiable.

It’s when you hear his voice devolve into a gruff snarling that you know he’s reaching his end. You’ll be ashamed of how excited you are after the fact. Right now, it doesn't matter. You need his cum inside you, no matter how you get it.

“You’ve been so good for Sir, haven’t you, sweet thing? Such a good little fucktoy-” His thrusts stutter heavily, deep and punishing. “Good little fucktoys get rewards for behaving so well, don’t they?”

You look up to him blearily as you squeeze his thighs so hard, you’re sure there will be bruises there later. You can’t speak, so you plead with your gaze, your body; hell, even your mind.

Please, please- you’ve been so good, you need it-

“You want it? Then fucking take it-”

He stops altogether and groans hotly, low and long, choking you on his cock just long enough for that first rope of cum to hit the roof of your mouth. The desperate little noise you make when you finally get what you’ve been craving isn’t lost on him even through his own haze.

“God, that’s it, pretty little thing, take it all. Just for you, only for you-”

He continues to mutter over you as he comes down from his high, panting quietly and running his fingers through your hair.

“So fucking perfect.” Murdock growls your praises, easing his cock out of the mess he’s made of your mouth. Your head droops for a variety of reasons, but the most important of them right now is how fucking flustered you are. You should not be this turned on from goddamn facefucking-

“Come on, Sweetheart, look at me. You know what Sir wants to see.”

The gentle brush of his thumbs against your jaw is all the encouragement you need, eyes fluttering open. Your pupils are blown wide, dried tear streaks covered over by fresh ones streaking down your cheeks. Tilting your head back to not lose what you’d earned down your chin, you open your mouth and show him what he wants to see.

His cum, thick on your tongue, glistening on your puffy, swollen lips. What a lovely sight, indeed.

With an appreciative hum, he brushes his thumb against your lower lip and leans in. “There you are, lovely, all messy and owned. You know what to do, Sweetheart.”

You do, and you do so, swallowing his cum without hesitation. What flashes across his face can only be described as possession, but it’s gone as soon as he blinks. You are more preoccupied with how he’s kissing you now, dragging you up into his lap.

Looks like you won’t be finishing the movie tonight after all.

#murder bastard 🗡#murdock x reader #my writing #sucktember2022 #ego sucktember #gn!reader #i will not apologize #i am making this your problem

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justtogetthrough · 8 months

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Work is going real bad and my manager and I have a meeting at 9 am she was supposed to cancel tonight because we are sick of this CAS’s shit and we have a hard deadline of them moving their kid by Thursday at noon. So meeting tomorrow to check in is pointless. We are so angry with them about what has happened over the weekend, and they’re mad at us for whatever reason when we’re the ones having people traumatized by a violent kid they refuse to remove from our homes, so meeting tomorrow would be even more tense than it already has been. She hasn’t canceled it however so I need to be up and ready for 9 cuz I guess we might be having it 😐

I told my manager I am ready to throw hands I am so furious. There’s a safety clause in our service agreement where they need to come collect their kid if we cannot keep them safe. It has now been over a week since we’ve given notice. The worker had the audacity to complain about 3:1 staffing today and it’s like. This kid is in his third home in 3 weeks, with a 70 year old single woman who is NOT a treatment level caregiver and has only actually been providing respite for a year. We had 2 staff in the treatment homes because we had skilled caregivers. His safety plan is 2 staff plus a caregiver makes 3. This particular caregiver does not and will not make 3 so we are making them pay for a 3rd staff. If they really take issue with it, then they need to move this kid to a suitable environment because where he is right now is not okay and we won’t risk our caregiver getting hurt.

Ive checked with people at two other CAS’s and they’re horrified this particular one has repeatedly told us he’s our problem. Both of their agencies would have moved him to a hotel over the weekend when he cornered a treatment level foster parent and threatened to kill her while brandishing a weapon. This is an absolute nightmare. Their excuse on the weekend was on call supervisors can’t make that decision. So Monday comes around and still they’re not moving him despite our insistence and now it’s because they “don’t place kids in hotels”. Bitch please we all know you do because there’s no beds in the province. You’re not fooling anyone.

Someone has decided Thursday at noon is the absolute latest we’ll keep him. CAS better pick him up. I’ve started giving my team the heads up that if his worker doesn’t come, someone needs to drive him to the CAS office and leave him there. No one wants to have to do this, that’s so traumatizing for a child, but this kid is violent and we don’t have the resources to care for him. I’ve seen foster parents with other agencies abandon kids for a lot less. His legal guardian has failed him gravely and endangered our caregivers and i s2g if we don’t lodge a formal complaint with the ministry about CAS failing to take responsibility here I am going to lose my shit more than I already have.

#I’m pretty sure my team made new group chats to exclude me because I have been so blinded by rage I couldn’t even contribute #to the planning over the weekend. I was shocked that every call to after hours wasn’t resulting in them coming to pick him up #this job is burning me out so bad and I can’t fucking self regulate anymore #personal #work stuff

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jackgraysonfox · 2 years

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About Ponies Exposition

Yes, I went to Ponies Exposition (PoniExpo) in Phoenix the weekend before last. I had an alright time personally and, well...it wasn't a complete disaster.

Despite the staff by and large working admirably to make this happen, it's clear that there were several things that went wrong. This convention has a lot of work to do if it wants to come back in the future.

First, some general thoughts on convention feedback and criticism:

I have very little experience in staffing conventions so please take what I say with a large grain of salt. I also recognize that there can be reasonable differences of opinion, so I won't fault the convention if it decides to take a different path from what I would like in certain areas. I'm just laying out my personal opinions to hopefully try to improve this convention.

A common "meta-issue" that has come up is whether people who didn't attend the convention should be allowed to provide feedback on it. Arguably, if someone hasn't actually attended an event, then it's easier to rely on speculation and misinformation rather than hard facts. And even when online posts and second-hand information aren't outright false, they can miss important nuances. All this means that feedback and criticism from non-attendees may turn out to be not constructive, so some skepticism is warranted. But even so, blindly dismissing such feedback with, "You weren't there so you don't know what you're talking about," without any thought is, quite frankly, rude and condescending. This is especially true when the people providing feedback are those who have experience in running conventions (and so may be able to spot potential problems from the outside), or those who witness aspects of the convention that are open to non-attendees (like social media).

Another common refrain I've come across is, "It's their first year." Yes, this is true, and so it may be reasonable to expect some problems that a more established convention wouldn't have. But using this as a shield against criticism is entirely backward. Acknowledging that it's the first year means acknowledging that there will be problems, so this should be an invitation to criticism. The convention should take this first year as an opportunity to learn, not as a way to ignore problems.

Finally, I think it's important to keep in mind what "constructive criticism" actually means. I think some people confuse "constructive" and "civil." While constructive criticism should generally be delivered in a civil matter, civil criticism isn't necessarily constructive. Constructive criticism is criticism that helps improve something, so ideally it should include specific suggestions or solutions to problems. Pointing out problems without offering solutions can be constructive, but only when they are not already known or they are known but persist. (I will admit that some of what I say is not strictly constructive under this definition, because I'm pointing out some problems that are already known and are being worked on. But I'll mention them anyway to serve as a record of what happened at this convention so hopefully these problems don't come up again.)

Okay, now let's get into the actual feedback:

This did not seem like an outright scam. I'm mentioning this because some people do believe that this was a scam, given that there have been previous attempts to start a brony/pony convention in Phoenix under different names. Both times that I'm aware of, the organizers deleted the convention's entire online presence before it got off the ground, and I will say that I did find that suspicious. But this did seem like a genuine attempt to put on a convention, and there's no indication that the organizers are simply running away with attendees' money.

Appointing new chairs is a good start. With all due respect, I think the new chairs are better equipped to take on this challenge. The staff has been fairly quiet after the convention, but from what I've seen I think this convention has a chance of coming back under this new leadership.

Announcements were inconsistent. There was only one announcement on the Discord server before the convention, and, while the Twitter account seemed active, some important information wasn't communicated there. Ideally, all important information should be announced to all forms of online presence, including the website (in a "News" or "Announcements" section). Online presence should also be kept up to date: There's also a Facebook page linked from the website but it seems to have been taken down. (Either the Facebook page should be restored or it should be removed from the website.)

Related to the previous, schedule changes weren't communicated consistently. In addition to announcing major changes, I suggest having a schedule available on the website (separate from the conbook), so any last-minute changes can be reflected in the schedule. I assume Wordpress has a schedule plugin or something to enable this, but if that's not feasible, Google Sheets lets you "publish" spreadsheets so people can view it in a nice format. (Note: This is different from just sharing the normal link to the spreadsheet.)

Registration had a few different issues. When I went to pick up my badge on Saturday morning, registration opened late, and materials (like the badge sleeves) were missing. From what I witnessed, there weren't any checks to make sure that the person picking up the badge was the actual registrant, nor was there anything to verify that the registration was real in the first place. I could be wrong here and maybe there were more checks than I realized, but it seemed like it would have been easy for someone to sneak a badge without paying. Ideally, everything should be ready to go before registration opens, and registrations should be checked to make sure every attendee is legitimate. (Since the convention is using a third-party ticket system, I assume there is some way to check in attendees within the system, or at the very least a way to create a list of all registrants and check them off manually.)

Certain staff acted in a hostile manner towards critics. This is simply unacceptable, and I believe this forms a major part of the convention's current negative reputation. People with legitimate criticism were kicked or banned from the Discord server, or received hostile responses on Twitter. At one point, a channel in the Discord server dedicated to feedback was completely wiped, forcing people to repeat their comments. It's true that some critics were a bit harsh in their remarks, but the reaction needs to match the action. If someone is derailing the conversation, then the first response should generally be a warning, not a kick or ban. To be fair, things do seem to be getting better in this regard, but it's been pretty quiet since the convention ended so it may be a bit hard to tell. I'll be watching this. (Before someone else mentions it, yes, there were actually two instances of the feedback channel being wiped, but the second one was by a troll due to improper permissions, which was another problem, but not relevant to this point.)

The COVID-19 policy was not enforced well, if at all. I certainly hope that COVID-19 safety measures won't be needed for this convention next year, but nevertheless this may hint at a bigger issue regarding communication among staff. Before the convention I got three different responses from three different staff members about how it would be enforced, and at the convention it didn't seem to be enforced at all. (I heard from someone that this policy was dropped at the last minute, but I was never informed of this directly and I don't think it was announced publicly at all. Also, I've already expressed my opinion on a convention changing such a policy shortly before it happens.) I don't want to get into a debate about what the policy should have been for this convention; my point is that, once a policy is set, all staff should be on the same page. This applies to other important policies as well, including, for example, the anti-harrassment policy.

The conbook could be improved. One thing in particular that bothered me was how the venue map was printed: The two pages were back to back rather than side by side, which made it hard to navigate between the two ends of the venue. Also related to maps, the area guide should have a north-facing arrow, especially given that west was up in this particular map. These are both minor issues; overall, the conbook seems decent.

The convention has a negative reputation to overcome. I could tell that some people were wary of coming to this convention, and I'm sure the actual convention only reinforced that for a lot of them. I can't speak for everyone, of course, but before I personally even consider coming back, the convention is going to have to make it clear that there are significant improvements.

All this is based on what I've witnessed personally. There are also posts from others that go into other important issues:

Twitter thread by Button (attendee and chair of another pony convention)

Twitter thread by Sophie Scruggs (one of the guests of honor)

Twitter thread by Retro (longtime convention staffer) about the conbook

(I may add more of these posts in the future.)

Whew, that was a lot. I know that I'm focusing a lot on the negatives, but please understand that I'm not simply attacking the convention or the staff. Like I said, I think there is hope for this convention, and I do want to see it succeed. (I may apply for staff but I don't think I'm ready to do that right now.) If you did make it all the way, through this, thanks for reading.

#Ponies Exposition #PoniExpo #Ponies Exposition 2022 #PoniExpo 2022 #brony #brony convention

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sariahsue · 3 years

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I'd love to know what movies get wrong about orphanages if you wouldn't mind sharing!

Oh, I'm so glad you asked!

So imagine all the movies with orphanages in them: Annie, Despicable Me, Meet the Robinsons*, Stuart Little, etc. The narrative goes like this. A bunch of poor orphans live in a home run by usually one person. When prospective parents come to visit, the children eagerly all line up, hoping to get picked! So exciting! The parents find the child they want, fill out a bunch of paperwork, and go home with their new child. There may be a couple bumps as everyone gets used to the new family dynamic, but they work themselves out by the end of the movie. Happily ever after!

Literally every single thing about that scenario is wildly incorrect. First off, and this comes as a surprise to most people, there aren't any orphanages in the United States. None.

Not many kids are orphaned these days thankfully, and if they are, there’s usually extended family or other arrangements previously made by the parents (like through their wills or godparents). If there’s truly no one that can take the kid, they’d be put into foster care and given an adoption worker along with their normal social worker.

The closest thing we have to orphanages are probably residential programs and group homes (which are basically a step down from residential and in a house with a smaller group of kids). I say they’re similar because they look it from the outside. A bunch of kids living together being cared for by adults who aren’t their parents.

That’s where the likeness ends, though. Kids in residential aren’t up for adoption. Strangers can’t go in and visit. The kids are there to receive extra care. They have something going on that make them too much to handle for their parents or foster parents, and it could be physical disability, behavioral issues, or mental health struggles. Most kids are in programs like that temporarily, though some live there for years. The adults that work there don’t live there. It’s a normal 40-hour workweek and many people work in shifts to make sure it’s properly staffed.

The government does line the kids up to show them off to prospective parents sometimes. They’re called adoption parties, and for some reason they’re held at Jordan’s Furniture store a lot. (Because they volunteer the space, I think.) There’s food and music and lots of kids up for adoption and lots of parents hoping to adopt.

Little kids tend to like them because they’re too young to understand what’s going on and, hey, lots of people to pay attention to me! Older kids HAAATE them. If they want to be adopted, then this is a great way to feel judged and rejected for a few hours. Most aren’t really excited about being adopted. Most kids’ birth parents are still alive, but their rights were forcefully terminated by the state. The kids can feel lots of things about this. Angry. Disloyal to their birth family if they want a new family. Scared of being hurt by the new family. Sad to leave their foster family. Still want to go home even if it’s not possible. It’s not a fun time.

Nothing concrete comes of these parties usually. Parents can talk to social workers afterward if there’s a kid that they want more information on, but it’s really the beginning of the process. There are other ways to begin that process. I’ve heard of teachers meeting a foster kid and wanting to adopt, or someone knowing a foster family taking care of a kid who’s up for adoption. Others simply talk to an adoption worker. I don’t know what the process is like for that. Quite often, foster families will take care of a kid and then adopt them. (That’s what happened to us. We fostered a newborn. He wasn’t up for adoption until he was two, and we were couldn’t even contemplate giving him up at that point.)

Sometimes, social workers will try to get prospective parents to meet kids without the kids realizing the adults are thinking about adoption, to spare the kid the worry and rejection. Once the parents have decided to move forward, there is paperwork, but I think it’s normal foster parent type paperwork because, surprise, you can’t adopt them yet. Kids have to live in your house for six months before you can adopt

Since most kids will be with a foster family before going to a pre-adoptive home, and they probably are comfortable there and attached to the family, the transition to the new home is gradual. They start out with visits for a few hours, then sleepovers. If the kid hasn’t figured it out already, they’ll let them know these people want to adopt them around this time. Some kids take it well. Some... don’t. Longer sleepovers, then finally they officially move in. This could be a couple weeks if the kid is already familiar with the adoptive family or longer if they’re particularly attached to the foster family.

If six months are up and things are still going well, the real paperwork can start. There are home evaluations, interviews with the parents, interviews with the children already in the family, psychologists determine if the adoptee is adjusted well and securely attached. I’m sure there’s a ton more that I don’t know about. It freaking takes forever. When you’re done, you have to go to court and have papers signed by a judge. I’m sure this is the best part of every judge’s day. There are smiles and pictures and kids happily banging the gavel to make it official!

Unfortunately, the issues that come from adoption are not all solved at the end of the 90-minute movie. My brother, who never lived with his birth mother and has only had us as his family, still has issues. I know a girl who was straight up abandoned by her mother. She’s got serious mental health and self-worth issues years later, even though she and family adore each other and they are so good to her and super supportive. On the other hand, some people have zero issues over it. They don’t know and don’t care about their birth family.

Some issues go away after time and love. Some people start out with no issues, but after a few months or years, things start to change. Their subconscious realizes that they’re not in danger, and this is a safe environment where they can finally start to work through the trauma they’ve been through, and suddenly they’ll start having mental health or behavioral problems, and sometimes they’re severe.

It’s sad, but occasionally adoptions fail. This is part of the reason for the six-month wait. Sometimes the kids have so many issues that the parents can’t help them and keep them safe. Sometimes the parents weren’t as good people as they pretended to be and should haven’t kids. Thankfully, this type. of thing is pretty rare. I’ve never met anyone who it’s happened to. Most of the time, kids are put into good homes with people who love them and help them heal from the things their birth families put them through.

TL;DR There aren’t any orphanages in the US. Adoption is very complicated and emotionally messy, but it’s great! I’m sorry not sorry I wrote an essay.

*I give Meet the Robinsons a pass. Lots of kids who are up for adoption or who have been adopted struggle with it a lot. For some, they feel worthless because their foundational belief about themselves is that not even their own mother wanted them. For others, they feel guilty about betraying their birth family when they start to love the adoptive family. Some are rejected repeatedly. Almost all of them have been deeply hurt in the past. Meet the Robinsons acknowledges issues like these and told the story of a boy who dealt with them in a healthy way, and showed kids that it’s okay for them to be happy, and made a very cute and imaginative movie out of it, and I love it for existing.

#adoption #foster care

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fuck-customers · 2 years

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(🐸 so I can find this later)

Oh boy, a fuck coworkers story!

I work at Moss and I’ve been around for almost 2 years now, surprisingly great work environment when it comes to getting along with all managers/coworkers. Work is hard and frustrating and there’s been issues with upper management but in this smaller store it’s usually fine.

Usually.

We got this new employee recently, let’s call her P because I can’t come up with a name. So idk how long P has been around now since she mainly has been staffed for fitting room and they mainly have me in the stockroom. We got along great at first and she’s nice to talk to when I get the chance, I thought everything was fine.

So there was an incident between P and my other coworker uhhh S. So S works fitting room usually too or they put her on register or just out on the floor to organize etc., and a little backstory between her and me is that we get along but she tends to never stop talking and takes her breaks for a little longer than she’s supposed to but like I don’t find either of those things a huge deal, everyone just kind of finds it a little pet peeve about her. Honestly she’s real sweet.

So what I had heard directly from S and the two seconds I was around them when this incident happened was that P, who was relatively new and learning how to do the fitting room tasks, snapped at S because S was trying to tell her she messed up the sizing nubs on items and the z-rack wasn’t organized right. Now, this incident wasn’t that bad because I can understand the frustration over the rack organization since it’s not a huge rule and as long as it’s organized in a way where you can run it fast then do it your way yknow? Apparently this was the third time P snapped at S about this stuff.

Anyways that was a couple days ago and TODAY (12/8) P snapped at ME because I was trying to keep her out of trouble.

So, here is how you run the fitting room (to the best of my summarizing ability):

1. Greet customers

2. Count their items

3. Only allow clothing in the fitting rooms

4. Let customers into the bathroom (it’s right by fitting rooms and we have an open button since it’s a keypad door)

5. Take clothes customers do not want

6. Hang the clothes on the rack provided in an order that feels right for you

So, not too hard even if you add in the occasional phone answering which usually you say hi thanks for calling I’m gonna put you on hold and send this call to the manager.

A customer exited the fitting room and she had her clothes with her but she also had scarves (which is counted as merchandise and not apparel) and a big ol pair of thigh high boots (which also doesn’t count as apparel). So, obviously, that’s a problem! The whole point of not letting anything but clothes in is to help prevent theft. Like, opinions on shoplifting aside, if a manager sees you’re not watching for this kind of stuff while in charge of fitting room, you can get talked to sternly about not letting it happen again but if it keeps happening and the shoplifting percentage goes up, it’ll get traced back to you and you’ll get in trouble. It hasn’t happened yet while I worked here so idk about any of it.

Either way, you can get in trouble. So I go to P and I say “Hey! That customer had merchandise with her in the fitting room, did you catch that earlier??” I try to be casual and nice all the time when it comes to this stuff and I just wanted to make sure she actually KNEW about the no merchandise rule to save her the trouble of managers having to get on her ass about it.

She??? Gets mad??? And starts talking fast and when people get mad at me and I can’t process why I tend to zone out or panic so all I remember her saying is snippets of “I don’t got time for that” and “I didn’t see that’s what you saw I hadn’t seen that that’s what you saw” etc etc and I eventually was like “Woah hey it’s okay it’s okay! Okay okay—“ like trying to diffuse it cause she was going off on me and I was so confused.

I left and found my nicest manager and sat down with her in the office and told everything to cause now P has done this to me and S and me and S have worked fitting room way longer than her and we both know how it works well. S even told me that when she was snapped at she was told by P the same sort of “I don’t got time for that” line but about the rack organization and sizing and we both were like??? Then make the time??? That’s kind of part of the job???

Like, don’t organize the rack the way others what? Not that big of a deal it’s whatever. But to get mad about this??? To just let people go in with merchandise??? That’s actually a BIG deal and an IMPORTANT part of your job in fitting room. Not to mention I noticed she’s not even counting clothes like she should. She’s acting like a passive object in the back just puttin clothes on the rack and not paying attention to customers.

Whatever comes of this is gonna be fun (sarcasm) because I hate drama and I don’t appreciate being talked to like that.

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Riding On

CH7- Home, Sweet Home

Summary: Frank and Fliss find their perfect family home, but there’s something bothering Mary.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Discussions about suicide. A little bit of angst.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N: This is a bit of an emotionally charged filler chapter…and we move time on a little through to June in the middle. And photos of the Adler house are included at the bottom so you can visualise what I used for inspiration.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 6

You’re giving it another try, staring at the deep blue sky, and you say to the driver just drive, coz you never felt so alive.

April 2019

“Hey honey, you ok?” Frank juggled his phone, pinning it between his ear and his shoulder as he leaned over his computer in the office, scanning the database on the screen for a filter part they needed to order.

“No, I mean yes! I’ve just heard some awesome news!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, so you remember the guy that bought the house that backs onto the yard when Old Man River died…” “That wasn’t his name.” Frank chuckled “It was Mr Morris.”

“He called himself River, it was funny and suited him. Anyway, that’s not the point. You know the guy who bought it…guess what I found out before?”

Frank stopped what he was doing and straightened up. He didn’t like that dick, one bit. When Mr Morris had died at the start of the year, Fliss had been quite upset about the news as the old man had been very friendly to her, often popping in for a cup of tea a few afternoons a week for some company. Mr Morris’ son had sold the house without them even knowing it had gone on the market, which was a shame as it would have been perfect for them given the location. The guy who had bought it, Frank didn’t even know his name, nor did he care because he was a dick and a pervert to boot. The way he looked at Fliss made Frank want to punch his face in.

“What’s Douchey Mc Douchebag done now?”

“You’re so childish.” she scoffed “Anyway, I was only commenting to Joanne last night that we haven’t seen him for like a month and she went home and mentioned it to her dad who works with some other guy in the property development business and the long and short of it is he’s gone bankrupt Frank!”

Frank laughed loudly “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, babe!”

“I know right!” Fliss voice was gathering pace and pitch, the way it always did when she was excited. “So literally about half hour after she’s told me this, someone turns up and there’s a For Sale sign outside, the house is on the market!”

Ok now he was interested. Frank could picture the look of excitement on her face as she spoke to him and he felt the smile cross his face “No shit?”

“Yeah, I’ll send you the website to look at the photos but…oh God, it would be perfect! Some of it is really nice, some of it needs decorating but…”

“Ok, well, why don’t you call the realtor? Arrange a viewing” he said “Hopefully you won’t puke halfway round this one.”

“Ok, first off that wasn’t my fault. Bean objected to the smell. Who the fuck cooks eggs the day they know they have someone coming to view their house?” her indignant tone made Frank chuckle “And second off…”she paused “I already did. He said he can meet us at half 12.”

“Half 12? As in lunch time? Today?” Frank frowned.

“I know I just really don’t want to miss out on this one Frank, and you said you were gonna come up here for lunch and-”

“Ok, ok.” Frank sighed “I’ll shuffle some stuff around, work a little later tonight and take an extra half hour.”

“I love you.” she replied and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“Good job I love you too.” he said back gruffly “Because you’re a pain in my ass.”

He bid her goodbye and just as he was looking at the rota to make sure there were enough staff in to cope if he took a longer lunch, his phone beeped. He clicked through to the link Fliss had sent him and had a scan through the photos. To be fair the house didn’t look in too bad condition. It was deceptive from the outside, looked like a small farmhouse but they knew thanks to the extension Douchebag had put on the back it now formed an L shape and from the look of it, was pretty spacious. The kitchen was new, the main bathroom was new so the big work looked like it had been mostly done. The décor in some of the rooms was really old fashioned, especially the hallway you and the front reception room, but that was all cosmetic. What really grabbed him was the price. It was up for just over 320 thousand, which was a fucking steal considering the size, location, the garden and the garage/outhouse it came with.

“You ok Frank?”

He looked up and smiled as Alan, his boss walked in to the office. “Yeah, sorry, Fliss has found a house and managed to book a viewing for lunch time. Fucking 7th one in 2 weeks.”

Alan snorted “Keeping you on your toes I see?”

“Well I gotta say, this one’s looking pretty good. It’s the house that backs onto our Yard out in Pinellas Park.” Frank explained “It was sold not even 6 months ago to a developer and he’s apparently gone bankrupt so put it back on the market.”

“Huh.” Alan smiled “Sounds like it was meant to be. Take it you’re going then?”

“Yeah, Charlie and Gary are in all afternoon. I thought I could take an extra half hour, work it back tonight or…”

“Frank, when was the last time you actually took a full hour for your lunch and didn’t cut it short by 10 or 15?” Alan looked at him.

Frank hesitated “Yeah, but that’s-”

“No buts.” Alan shook his head. “Do what you gotta do.”

“Thanks Alan.” Frank smiled, “I appreciate it.”

Alan waved away his gratitude before he dropped into the chair on the opposite side of Frank’s small desk and gestured for Frank to sit down.

“I wanted to talk to you in person, before the news gets out. I’m looking at retiring Frank, fully this time.”

“That’s good news, for you I mean.” Frank smiled, taking his seat. “You must be happy?”

“Kinda bitter sweet.” He shrugged “But I hit 70 this year and bout time I let it all go. Bill’s already chomping at the bit to book damned fishing trips so...it’ll be nice to step back. But I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot.”

“My son, James is going to be taking over, that won’t come as any surprise to you as you’ve seen him knocking around a bit and he likes you.”

“Good to know I’m not going to be out on my ass.” Frank smiled, breathing out a little.

“No, not a chance. I wouldn’t allow it.” Alan said “I’ll still be the owner, just stepping back from major decision making and day to day running. Anyway, the point is Frank, James needs a deputy. He is young and a little inexperienced. I’ve seen how quickly over the last year you’ve picked up rotas, staffing issues, dealt with the stock takes, haggled with the supply chain…I wondered if you’d consider it.”

Frank blinked “You wanna make me deputy manager?”

“In a word, yes. And I know you got your hands full at the moment and they’ll be even more full when that boy of yours arrives but the changes won’t come into effect until the end of the year so we got plenty of time to work out the details.”

“Wow, I err…” Frank shook his head “I don’t know what to say.”

“I don’t need an answer now.” Alan said, “Take some time to consider it. Talk it over with Fliss.”

“I will, I’ll give it some thought.”

“Ok, well, that’s all I dropped in for.” Alan said, standing up, groaning a little “Did you just hear my damned knees click?”

Frank laughed and shook his head “No, but to be honest mine click too so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Getting old sucks.” Alan said, shaking his head “I tell ya, the minute I can’t enjoy the simple things in life, put a bullet in my head.”

Frank snorted as Alan shot him a wink and left him to his thoughts.

******* Frank glanced down at the wooden boards beneath his feet in the entrance hall. They were solid old wood, oak he thought, and with a clean and polish would look stunning. He looked up and saw Fliss talking animatedly to the realtor, a young man called David as he nodded and gestured to his left. Fliss opened the door and looked at Frank who followed her into the first reception room. It smelt musty, and there was an old sofa and threadbare carpet in the room but it was light and had a nice, airey feeling to it thanks to the large windows at the front of the house.

“New carpet and a bit of paint…” Frank mused nodding, “Be good as new.”

She nodded eagerly, her eyes shining a she looked around and nodded at the fire place “Really, in Florida?”

“It gets cold, as you know.” he teased “Besides, we just fill it with some of your million candles or whatever…”

She nudged him and they turned around, David watching them.

“So, you’re obviously in the older part of the house that hasn’t really been touched apart from upstairs.” he explained, “But if you follow me I’ll show you the extension which is all new and, well, to be honest, I think it’s stunning.”

The three of them moved back into the hall and through a door at the end which led into a huge open plan kitchen and living area. The kitchen was gorgeous. Sleek white units, modern appliances, marble tops, a huge breakfast bar. Douchebag had clearly spent a fortune doing this up. The floor was a light grey and white laminate which David pointed out was heavy wearing. To the left of the kitchen area was a huge space where Frank could clearly picture their sofas and TV, and then just off that was a door which led into another smaller reception room, freshly painted and carpeted. He was just pondering how they could turn that into a play room when Fliss gave a gasp and nudged Frank pointing to the large bay window at the back which had been converted into a seating nook of sorts. They made their way over and saw that the view extended right over their garden highlighting a small pool area which was surrounded by a low set of railings with a gate that were all painted a glossy black. The pool itself was sparklingly clean and clearly brand new.

“Oh wow… “ Fliss mumbled, looking at the sand stone tiles that surrounded the area and the rest of the garden.

“Yeah the rear garden loops in an L round the house” David said. “There’s a larger fence around this area to keep it private and separate from the land at the front that runs flush to the yard area.”

Frank’s hands dropping to her hips as he nodded to the right “Could extend that little patio area for a table and chairs, maybe build a brick BBQ. Couple of sun-loungers for that bit at the back of the pool.”

She nodded eagerly before they headed back into the hallway they’d entered into where the realtor showed them the little room that was to the right as you came in the door which held a number of shelves and coat hooks and a toilet and sink basin. They then headed up stairs to find 4 bedrooms. The master extended down the entire side of the house overlooking the main yard area of Sandybrook. It needed some work, the plaster and paint was peeling away in some areas, but Frank wasn’t worried at that. It was an easy job. What he was pleased to see was that the rest of it was in good condition. There was a brand new en-suite attached to it, housing a toilet, a huge shower and his and hers sinks. The room also had built in wardrobes and huge ceiling to floor bi-folding doors which opened up onto a small balcony. Douchebag had clearly been focussing on the big jobs first before he got into the cosmetics, which Frank had to give him credit for.

The main bathroom was in between the wall of their en-suite and the next bedroom, both situated at the back of the house over the extension and overlooking the fields belonging to the yard. The plaster was fresh in that bedroom but hadn’t been painted, again, not an issue, because Frank knew a certain little miss would be no doubt picking a colour as soon a she spotted this room.

“Bet Mary chooses this one.” Frank said, voicing his thoughts and Fliss nodded, smiling

“I would if the Master didn’t have that en-suite.” she grinned “Look at that view!”

“Yeah, who’d have thought you could work from home in the equestrian business” he chuckled as they then headed to the next bedroom on the opposite side of the landing. This was also rather large, but like the main part of the master bedroom, was clearly one of the original two bedrooms the house had and it needed some updating.

The 4th bedroom was a smaller one up a narrow set of stairs hidden by door in the hallway. It opened up into an attic room which tucked into the roof of the house.

The realtor then led them back down and the out to the outbuildings. There was a huge garage with a half- finished apartment of sorts above it that had been used as storage but could be easily a guest suite if they so wanted, and then the thing Frank had really loved was the workshop off the side of the garage, accessed by a small door. It was musty and full of crap but was somewhere for him to store all his tools and work on any side projects he decided to pick up.

All in all Frank was finding it pretty damned hard to pick faults in the place.

As they headed back to the main house and Frank asked David politely to give them a moment to look around alone and he nodded eagerly before Frank and Fliss headed back into the house.

“I’m getting good vibes Sailor.” Fliss said as she turned round, looking at the kitchen, once more heading over to the bay window seat, “really good vibes.” she spun back to him and he smiled at the look on her face. “I mean, ok, a few rooms need decorating and there’s some finishing off bits to do all over but it’s nothing that dad can’t help with and I’m sure-“

At that she stopped dead, and gave a little gasp as her hand flew to her bump.

“You ok?” Frank stepped forward.

“Yeah he’s…” she swallowed “Bean’s kicking, Frankie! Quick!”

He reached out with his hand and she took it, pressing it to the side of her bump. After a second or two he felt something wriggle a little under his palm and he looked at Fliss, his face cracking into an open mouthed smile as he felt his son move for the first time.

“Lissy…” he swallowed his eyes misting over. “That’s…oh my God!”

“You should feel it from my POV!” Fliss smiled her own eyes glassy too.

Frank didn’t want to take his hand away. Instead, he kept moving his palm, tracking their baby’s movements when eventually they stopped.

“I think that means BB likes the house.” Fliss looked at him.

Frank scoffed, shaking his head. “BB’s Momma likes the house.”

“Doesn’t his Daddy?” she asked, her hands sliding round his neck.

“Yeah, his Daddy does.” he replied honestly in a low voice as he looked around the large room. “In fact, I like it a lot.”

“You think Mary will?”

“Are you kidding?” Frank snorted “Soon as she sees that view and that pool, she’ll be packing to move in straight away.”

“Suppose there’s only one way to find out.” Fliss smiled.

So they did. They brought Mary back the next day after school. She had squealed at the window seat, yelled about the pool and as she had shot upstairs and headed into the bedroom Frank had predicted she would like, given a jump for joy as she realised from the upstairs she had a view over the tall picket fencing that shielded the private area of the garden.

“I can see Monty!” she gleefully pointed out before turning to Frank and looking at him then to Fliss, her hands on her hips “If you don’t buy this house you’re a pair of dumbasses.”

The same sentiment was echoed by Bill when he turned up fifteen minutes or so later and walked around with Frank whilst Fliss and Mary headed to feed the horses. He did exactly the same thing he had done when they had looked at the apartment, pointed out what they needed to do, how long it should take them to do, rough estimates of cost. Plus, he also reminded Frank they were in a great position. They could buy the place and then give his months’ notice on the apartment meaning they could stay where they were until it was finished.

So that was it. Decision made. The next morning they went in with a cheeky offer, some twenty thou below the asking price which was rejected instantly. Then they upped their offer by five…then an additional three to total eight, with the fact that they were cash buyers and not in a chain a huge bargaining chip.

It was later that evening, just after they had finished dinner when the realtor called back.

“Evening Mr Adler, ok so…I have spoken to the vendor. He says if you can up your offer by another two thousand then you’ve got a deal.” David spoke. At that, Frank let out a huge grin, as he looked out of the kitchen window at Mary and Fliss who were outside the apartment, both sat on a chair round the table. He and Fliss had both agreed they were prepared to go to the full asking price, in their mind it was worth it, but they were about to seal the deal here for ten thousand less.

“Ok, two thousand more.” Frank said, keeping his voice level “But the property comes off the market as we don’t want anyone else spotting it and offering him more before we exchange contracts.” he repeated word for word what Greg had instructed him to do when he had asked him to handle the conveyancing earlier that morning.

“Ok, so the offer on the table is Three-ten on the proviso he grants exclusivity…” David repeated. “Ok, leave it with me.”

Frank finished loading the dishwasher, and had just grabbed himself a beer when David called back not even five minutes later.

“Congratulations Mr Adler, you have a deal.”

He thanked him, and grinning ear to ear headed outside, jumping down the steps onto the lawn.

“What you looking so pleased about?” Fliss looked up at him suspiciously.

“David called… we’ve settled on three-ten plus exclusivity” he smiled

“What, you mean…” Fliss’ mouth fell open and Frank nodded.

“Yup, subject to contracts, the place is ours!”

Mary gave a loud cheer as Fliss jumped up and leapt at him as he smiled, wrapping her in his arms, swinging her up slightly.

“I can’t believe it…” she whispered. “Our own home!”

Fliss grinned and using the arms that were round his neck pulled his face down to hers and pressed a fierce kiss to his mouth. “God I love you.” she mumbled.

“Love you too.” he grinned, kissing her again, ignoring Mary’s fake puking noises in the background.

*****

June 2019

“Mr Adler?"

Frank stopped as he had been striding over the yard to collect Mary and turned to see Mrs McCarthy, her teacher walking towards him.

"Hi." He smiled, removing his sunglasses so he could look her in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry to bother you"

"No bother at all." He assured her "is everything OK?"

Mrs McCarthy glanced over to where Mary was stood talking to her friend, Rosie, and turned back to him

"Yes...nothing too drastic but I wanted to make you aware about a little incident in class this afternoon"

Frank looked at her, blinking "incident?"

"Maybe that's the wrong word." The older, blonde woman said "Look, as you know next week it's the end of year Gala, the fundraiser and we invite the parents to join us for activities.”

Frank nodded, wishing the woman would get to the damned point. He was hot, dirty and bothered after an afternoon of helping the team on a particularly awkward repair and wanted nothing more than to stand under a cold shower for an hour and flop down outside with a beer.

"Well, one of the girls asked Mary if she was bringing her mom and if they were making anything for the bake sale and Mary rather bluntly told the girl her mother was dead and then clammed up. She didn't speak a word for the rest of the afternoon."

Frank felt his chest tighten as he looked over at Mary who was now giggling with Rosie and sighed

"She didn't do anything wrong" Mrs McCarthy pressed "I was just a little worried."

"Thanks for letting me know, I'll talk to her later, make sure she's okay." Frank assured her.

The woman nodded and headed back across the yard as Frank gave a sharp whistle and slid his aviators back onto his face. Mary looked up and said goodbye to Rosie and came wandering over as Frank waved to Rosie's mom who tossed a hand in greeting in response.

"I'm not Thor" She fixed Frank with a stare.

"I know but I couldn't be bothered walking over." He replied honestly as they climbed into the truck

"You have a good day?"

"It was OK." She shrugged. Frank eyed her for a second before she pulled the car away from the kerb and set off down the road.

"What's for dinner?" Mary asked.

"Steak, baked potatoes and salad." He replies "Fliss' choice."

"Are you grilling?" Mary asked.

"Yup." He nodded

"Cool." Mary nodded "Can I go in the pool before?"

"Got any homework?" Frank countered with another question as he looked at her. Mary shook her head

“End of year next week and Uni didn't give me any summer work."

"Then yeah, of course you can.”

Frank didn't raise the so called incident, deciding to let her chill out a little bit at home first and digest how she felt. After 20 minutes or so of general chat Frank pulled up their driveway and stopped the truck next to Fliss' truck. As they hopped out Mary glanced across the garden over the smaller part of the fence where she could just see Fliss walking across the yard.

"Please can I go see Monty?" She looked at Frank and he nodded.

"I'll watch you." He agreed. With a grin she sprinted over the lawn, climbed over the fence and dropped over onto the other side. Thor gave a bark and Fliss turned round and smiled at her, before she waved at Frank. He waved back before he headed down the side of the house, through the gate in the larger fence before he unlocked the back door and stepped inside the cool air conditioned kitchen, kicking off his shoes and heading straight to the fridge for a beer. Draining half in one he stood, looking around and smiling. They’d finally unpacked the last box yesterday evening and Fliss was still in the process of moving things around their new home, positioning them where she wanted them.

True to Greg’s word, they’d had the keys to the house 4 and a half weeks after making the offer, and 2 weeks post that once the bedrooms and hall had been decorated with a lot of help from Bill, Verity and Roberta (who had been happy for them yet still cried her eyes out when they’d left the park, despite the fact they had assured her they would still come visit and she could also come stay with them too) they’d moved in. The only thing left to do was the reception room (which could wait, it was easy to just shut the door and pretend it didn’t exist) and Bean’s nursery, which he, Fliss and Mary had decided to do together as a project. Mary and Fliss had spent nights pouring over Pinterest for ideas and they’d finally settled on a scheme. Frank had picked up all the plastering supplies and the paint, the furniture was on order and should be arriving at any time that week now he thought about it…so hopefully that weekend they could get cracking. That might cheer Mary up now he thought about it.

Taking his beer with him, he picked up his boots and took them to the cloakroom/bathroom by the stairs. He trudged up the steps, shaking his head at Fred who was led at the top, his paws hanging over the edge of the step as he eyed Frank.

"You're gonna cause a fucking accident." He looked at the ginger cat who merely swished his tail in response. Frank headed into their bedroom, stripping off as he went, walking straight into the en-suite, turning on the shower, setting his beer down on the edge of the sink unit. He stepped in and under the stream of cool water, closing the screen behind him, his mind still on Mary and how he was going to bring up what her teacher has said. With a groan he opened the door, reached out of the cubicle for his beer, took another gulp before he set about washing the grime of the day away.

***** "Have you finished grooming him?" Fliss asked, standing in the doorway to Monty's stable. Mary glanced over from where she had been brushing through his white tail and nodded.

"Wanna take him to the paddock?" Fliss smiled. "Cap and Bronson are waiting for their little pal."

"Sure." Mary shrugged and Fliss frowned a little at her demeanour. She was quiet, which was unlike her when she was round the horses. She was normally full of excitement.

"You OK?" She asked and Mary nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem quiet, that's all."

"No, I'm good." She shrugged, before she tossed her brush into the little grooming box she had, closing the lid and passing it to Fliss. Fliss placed the box into the larger wooden one outside the stable before Mary put Monty's halter on and led him out of his stall. Fliss allowed them to walk ahead, her hand on her bump as she followed them out of the yard and down the little path to the gate that led to the paddocks. They reached the one were Monty was going and undoing the gate, Mary led him in. The white pony stood patiently for her to take his halter off before he stuck his nose into the crook of her neck and shoulder. Fliss smiled as Mary gently stroked his neck and then to her utter horror she saw Mary’s shoulders begin to shake as the girl started to cry.

"Hey, Mary..." she soothed, stepping forward as the small girl turned to her, wrapping her arms around her as best she could, pressing her face into her bump "Oh baby what's wrong?"

Mary didn’t reply, instead she continued to sob and Fliss felt powerless to do anything other than wrap her arms around her, one hand resting on her head, the other between her shoulders.

“Something happened at School…” Mary whispered and Fliss gently tipped her head up to look at her. “Someone said something and…”

“Ok, how about we go back to the office and you can tell me all about it ok?”

Mary nodded, sniffing as her sobs died down. Fliss held out her hand and Mary took it and together they headed back down to the yard. Joanne looked at Mary who was hiccupping slightly with her sobs and frowned but Fliss shook her head.

“Can you feed the top barn for me and then you can go.” she said to Jo who nodded. “I’ll lock up.” “Sure, see you tomorrow. Bye Mary.” she smiled. Mary looked at her and gave a small wave before Fliss led her into the office. She grabbed them both an apple juice from the fridge and then Mary sat on the chair at the end of the desk, wiping her eyes with a tissue that Fliss handed her from the box.

“You ready to talk?”

Mary nodded, and then she stood up and walked over to Fliss who made room for her to clamber up onto her lap. It was a bit awkward but after a little shifting around they found a way she could sit unobstructed by Boston Bean and Mary lay her head against Fliss’ shoulder.

“It was about the gala.” she sniffed “One of them asked me if my mom was coming and…”

“Oh sweetie.” Fliss sighed, rubbing her back. “I get that must have been hard.”

Mary shrugged “I told them she was dead.” she said matter of factly “I get that and I never knew my mom so I don’t miss her as a person…but then I started to think about why she died and I don’t understand.” “Understand what?”

“Why?” Mary looked at her. “Why would she do what she did when she had me? Why did she want to leave me behind?”

Fliss took a deep breath and cradled the girl as best she could, trying to think of a way to explain to which Mary could relate, and then it came to her, she could use her own experience here. There was no getting around the fact this was going to be a heave conversation, but Mary was a smart kid and deserved to be treated as such.

With another deep inhale, Fliss looked down at her, kissing her head before she opened rather bluntly "You know I tried to kill myself."

"You did?" Mary pulled back to look up at her "Why?"

"Because I saw it as my only way out." Fliss gently smoothing Mary’s hair back. "I was stuck in an awful situation. My ex-husband hurt me physically and mentally and I gave up. I wanted out."

Mary remained silent and looked at her.

"For someone to get to that point...they have to have hit rock bottom. Like there is nowhere to go. It's not their fault. And it doesn't mean they don't love the people they leave behind just that they're desperate to escape whatever pain they feel, be it in their head or their body or both."

"But I still don't understand." Mary shook her head.

"And you may never, not fully." Fliss sighed gently "And as horrible as it is that's something you are gonna have to live with but you have to remember that your mom was sick. And for whatever reason she saw this as her only escape. It wasn't Evelyn's fault, it wasn't Frank's fault and it certainly wasn't yours."

"But if she loved me like Frank says she did..."

"You think I don't love my mum and dad? Or Steve? Charlie, Joel?"

Mary blinked before she lay her head back against Fliss' shoulder. "Of course you do.”

"But I was still gonna leave them behind. I was desperate. And you wanna know the real stupid thing?"

"What?"

"When I got better I still went back to John. I went back to a real toxic environment and a man that abused me. Because I felt like it was what I deserved. And even though I left him way before I met you and Frank, it wasn't until me and Frank started dating that I really understood I wasn't to blame. I always thought I did something to make him hurt me but I didn't. Being with Frank, the way he treats me and loves me made me see that it was him with the problem, not me.”

"But that's different" Mary glanced up

"The trigger was, yes." Fliss nodded "But your mom, like me, was in a position so helpless, so unbelievably sad that she thought she was to blame and that the world, including you, would be better off without her even though she was so wrong."

**** Once showered and dried, Frank dressed in a pair of shorts and clean T-shirt before he headed back downstairs. There was no sign of Fliss or Mary but as he strode out into the garden he heard a car heading down the drive by the side of the house from the yard and correctly assumed it was Joanne leaving for the day. He opened the gate and just saw the tail of her car turn onto the main road as he headed into the garage for the charcoal to light the BBQ.

Once that was done, leaving the flames to die down he headed out across the lawn, vaulting over the small fence onto the yard. He headed round the barn and frowned as he couldn't see anyone. After a quick look round he spotted the door to Fliss' office was closed. He went to open it but stopped as he could hear the sound of voices. It was Mary and Fliss but he could tell from the pitch and stutters in Mary's that she was upset. He paused, hand hovering over the handle as he heard Fliss speaking to her softly. "Stack, you are so loved. Frank loves you, I love you, Nanny V, Poppa Bill, Uncle Steeby, Roberta, Evelyn...Thor, Fred and Monty..." she paused "You're such a special little girl and I know I'm not your mom but, well, I feel like I am."

"You do?"

"I'd do anything to keep you safe and happy. And so would Frank"

They both fell silent and Frank swallowed, the lump in his throat almost choking him.

"Don't ever feel like we don't" Fliss continued "and if I have to bake 200 fucking cookies for your Gala next week to prove it then I will."

Mary giggles "You know Bean can hear you swearing."

"Well I won't tell Frank if you don't"

"Do you think Frank feels like my dad?" Mary asked a moment later and at that point Frank really wanted to walk away. He couldn't listen to this, he didn't want to listen to this...but something kept him rooted to the spot.

"I know he does." Fliss replied.

"But he doesn't like it when people say it. I know that, I heard him talking to you. Bill’s not your real dad but you still say he is…."

“That’s slightly different sweetheart.” Fliss sighed "My real dad left my mom before I was born, so when he died. I didn’t even know him and I don’t care that I didn’t either. But your mom was Frank's sister. He wants to make sure you remember her, understand who she was. He could have easily just pretended to be your dad all this time, you would never have known any different but he didn't. Because he loves you and your mom too much. He's too honest and it’s important to him that you understand. But that doesn't mean he doesn't love you like he is your dad, or that you can't love him like he is."

Frank turned away from the door, looking up at the sky and taking a deep shuddering breath. Fuck, this was hard to hear. He knew Mary had been upset before but the thought that it ran this deep was killing me. Wiping at his face, his hands then dropped to his hips and he looked down at his sneakers before he turned to the door, reaching for the handle but once more pausing as he couldn’t face interrupting them, not whilst they were in the middle of a moment.

“I suppose that makes sense.” Mary continued “And I do love him like he is. And I love you like you’re my mom too.”

“Well that’s all that matters.” Fliss replied “It may be unconventional but we’re a family, and that’s the main thing huh?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks Lissy.” Mary spoke.

“You’re welcome Stack” Fliss’s voice was soft and there was a pause as Frank could picture the pair of them hugging.

“Hey, did you now I’m going to be doing all the money stuff for the bake stall?” Mary’s voice was suddenly up beat as she switched topic “Because I’m good at maths they said I could be in charge of payments and handing people their change and stuff.”

“Nice work kiddo.” Fliss smiled, “Tell you what, we’ll put Nanny V on the case, her baking is way better than mine. We can get her over one night next week whilst Pops is helping Frank with the plastering in the nursery.”

Ok, that was it, safe to enter without interrupting anything. Frank gave a little knock and then opened the door, fixing a smile on his face.

“Hope I haven’t interrupted any girl talk” he smiled and Mary jumped up and ran to him, giving him a hug. He looked at Fliss who wiped her eyes.

“Ok?” he mouthed at her and she nodded back, her lips moving silently as she replied.

“Tell you later.”

“BBQ is lit.” Frank said, looking down at Mary “You still wanna play in the pool?”

She nodded and grinned. “Yeah.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Fliss grinned “Let’s lock up and head home…oh wait, we don’t need to head home because…” “We’re already there!” Mary grinned, and then she spun round to see Fred peering round the door. “Hey, look who came to visit!” “Bout time he earned his keep.” Frank grumbled “Go catch some mice.”

Fred stalked past him into the office, looked around, before he sauntered back out, clearly not interested.

“He’s a lover not a killer Frank.” Mary grinned, as Frank watched the cat walk off into the evening sun.

The three of them locked up before they headed back to the house and Mary shot upstairs to get changed.

“So, how much did you hear?” Fliss turned to Frank as he pulled a beer from the fridge along with a bottle of water, sliding it over to her.

“Enough.” he sighed “Her teacher collared me before. Said that one of the kids had asked about her mom in class and she’d gotten upset.”

“She asked me why Diane did what she did.” Fliss sighed, “Why she left her behind if she loved her so much.”

Frank swallowed. “What did you say?”

“I explained about why I tried to kill myself.” Fliss shrugged “Told her about the desperation I felt…but that didn’t mean that I didn’t love my family just that I saw it as my only way out. I know it was heavy and maybe not really the right thing to do but...”

She was cut off as Frank stepped forward, taking her face in his hands as he kissed her, hard. It took her a moment to catch up but once she did she melted into him, her mouth opening to grant him access as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip.

“Thank you.” He said gently as he pulled away, his hands still cupping her face.

“What for?” Fliss asked, reaching up to gently wrap her fingers around his wrists.

“For loving her as much as you do.” he shrugged. “For loving us both as much as you do.”

“Oh, Sailor.” Fliss’ eyes brimmed with tears “How could I not?”

***** Frank didn’t sleep particularly well that night. Mary’s conversation with Fliss was running through his brain and every time he drifted off he would wake about an hour or so later, fresh worries and concerns running through his mind. In the end, at just before 5 am he gave up and climbed out of bed. He grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of sweats and putting them on he headed downstairs. He flipped on the TV in the hope the early morning new would distract him, but it didn’t.

It was clear to him that Mary was struggling with where she was going to fit in the family dynamic. He hadn’t really worried much up to that point, being convinced by Fliss that if they kept her involved with stuff to do with Bean she would be ok but this went much deeper than the fact they were expecting a baby.

He’d be lying if he said the thought of him claiming to be Mary’s Father had never entered his mind. It would have been a lot easier but out of loyalty and love to Diane he had wanted to make sure she knew about her mother, and understood the truth because in the end, a lie would always come round to bite you on the ass. It wasn’t that he had a problem with people assuming he was Mary’s father but…

God what a fucking mess.

“Hey…” a soft voice drew him from his thoughts and he looked up to see Fliss stood in the doorway, his T-shirt she was wearing now hardly covered the top of her thighs thanks to her Bean bump.

“Sorry beautiful, did I wake you?” he asked.

“No.” she shook her head, dropping down next to him. “I got up to pee and you were gone.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” he shrugged.

“What’s wrong handsome?” she lay her head on his shoulder and he took a deep breath.

“Just thinking about Mary that’s all.” he shrugged. “She’s always asked questions about Diane but not like that.”

“She’s getting older Frank.” Fliss said, her hand reaching out for his as she began to play with his fingers “She’s bound to start thinking about things differently. She was ok last night after she talked to me, and then later you when you tucked her in. She doesn’t keep her feelings bottled up, and that’s good. It’s a testament to you that she feels like she can talk to us about things.”

“I know.” Frank looked down at her, kissing her head “I guess I just worry Lissy, worry about how she’s gonna feel when Bean is here and he’s calling us mom and dad and she doesn’t.”

“Frank.” Fliss sighed as she sat up straight. “Mary knows we love her. And what she calls us doesn’t change a damned thing. You’re worrying unduly now. We can’t do anything about that other than-“

“Yes, yes we could.” Frank looked at her. Fliss took a deep breath as his eyes locked onto hers, instantly understanding.

“I thought you said you’d never even consider adopting her?”

“I never thought I would.” he shrugged. “But it’s been playing on my mind after what mother said and then after last night…” “Why? What did Evelyn say?” Fliss asked.

“When she was here last, she told me that Diane’s memory wouldn’t suddenly fade if Mary called me dad…” he licked his lips “It was almost like she was giving me permission to do it…you know? Not that I need it or really give a shit what she thinks.” he paused, taking a deep breath “If I’m totally honest Diane isn’t the only reason I said I didn’t want to. I just never thought of myself as being dad material. I was such a screw up until I met you and I thought that by staying as her Uncle, it would give her that distance, you know?”

“Not dad material?” Fliss looked at him, shaking her head “Oh Frank, you idiot. You’ve done an amazing job with her…and you will do with Bean too.”

He smiled at her, sniffing slightly as she continued.

“But there is one person who’s opinion counts most here.” Fliss said gently “And that’s Mary. If you’re serious then you should ask her if it’s what she wants. Because after 9 years of calling you Frank…”

“I know.” Frank agreed, “And I agree, completely. It would have to be her decision. But at least if I ask her if she would like us to then-“

“Us?” Fliss looked at him, blinking. “You mean you want me to?”

“Of course I do.” Frank nodded, before he frowned slightly “But if that isn’t what you want, I understand. It’s a big-“ Fliss cut him off by pressing a kiss to his lips “Of course I do Frank. I love Mary like she is my own anyway so…” Frank beamed at her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head. “So, we’re agreed. We ask her?”

Fliss nodded and pulled back, her hand resting on his cheek. “We ask her.”

Chapter 8

#riding on #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x oc #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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mylifeasaserver · 3 years

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Side Work Swap

Remember the 16-year-old hostess that wanted to be a server I posted about a while back?

She’s been trained (by me) and is doing great and hasn’t caused me any headaches (so you don’t see much about her here.)

We have an older woman here that works for us periodically. She re-applies, works for a few months for whatever money she needs/wants, and then puts her notice in again and fucks off into the distance. Given that she’s a competent server and we’ll hire literally anybody because we’re so short staffed she was a welcome addition.

At least she was until tonight.

She didn’t like the side work she was assigned (by me) so instead of talking about it (with me) she decided to swap with said newly-trained 16-year-old server without discussing it (with anybody.)

Normally I don’t care when servers swap side work (most nights I don’t even bother assigning it since they just take care of it) but when they wait until it’s almost done and then tell the other server they were “re-assigned” just so you can leave a few minutes earlier, then I take issue.

So when my newest server comes up to me to ask what she should do because she doesn’t want to cause problems, I told her I’d cause all the problems and she could go home. I then signed her off on everything, since she always does her work and I can’t be bothered to check a sure thing.

Shortly after the older woman comes up to me wanting signed off. Even though she changed who had what side work on the board, I knew what she was originally assigned and told her that until that was done she wasn’t being signed off.

Minor tantrum ensues.

As you might imagine, it has zero effect because that would require giving a shit, and I’m not about that life.

She complains to the GM, who was already informed of my schemes and just needs a night without drama or me being a thorn in his side - so he just rolls his eyes and tells her to just do what I say. “It’s easier,” he says.

She does her side work - which took all of ten minutes - and comes back to be signed off. Which of course I do because there’s no more fighting to be done.

Until she says something like “I should be able to swap as I please with new servers. I have seniority.”

No. I do the shittiest side work each and every day because nobody else wants it and I’m the most experienced person on night shift. If I can handle that you can handle your easy-ass ten minute bullshit side work. Fuck off with that logic.

Just because she’s 16 doesn’t mean you’re going to bully her.

End of discussion.

I remember my first restaurant job (excluding fast food.) I also remember being 16 and being treated like shit by the older servers who felt they could walk all over me. Not a good feeling. Also not happening here if I can help it. -J

#server #restaurant

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

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Riding On Ch7: Home, Sweet Home!

Summary: Frank and Fliss find their perfect family home, but there’s something bothering Mary.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Discussions about suicide. A little bit of angst.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N: This is a bit of an emotionally charged filler chapter…and we move time on a little through to June in the middle. And photos of the Adler house are included so you can visualise what I used for inspiration! Chapter Song: Kill For A Dream by Beady Eye

Series Masterlist // WIYPT Masterlist

You’re giving it another try, staring at the deep blue sky, and you say to the driver just drive, coz you never felt so alive.

April 2019

“No, I mean yes! I’ve just heard some awesome news!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, so you remember the guy that bought the house that backs onto the yard when Old Man River died…” “That wasn’t his name.” Frank chuckled “It was Mr Morris.”

“He called himself River, it was funny and suited him. Anyway, that’s not the point. You know the guy who bought it…guess what I found out before?”

Frank stopped what he was doing and straightened up. He didn’t like that dick, one bit. When Mr Morris had died at the start of the year, Fliss had been quite upset about the news as the old man had been very friendly to her, often popping in for a cup of tea a few afternoons a week for some company. Mr Morris’ son had sold the house without them even knowing it had gone on the market, which was a shame as it would have been perfect for them given the location. The guy who had bought it, Frank didn’t even know his name, nor did he care because he was a douchebag and a pervert to boot. The way he looked at Fliss made Frank want to punch his face in.

“What’s Douchey Mc Douchebag done now?”

Frank laughed loudly “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, babe!”

Ok now he was interested. Frank could picture the look of excitement on her face as she spoke to him and he felt the smile cross his face “No shit?”

“Yeah, I’ll send you the website to look at the photos but…oh God, it would be perfect! Some of it is really nice, some of it needs decorating but…” “Ok, well, why don’t you call the realtor? Arrange a viewing” he said “Hopefully you won’t puke halfway round this one.” “Ok, first off that wasn’t my fault. Bean objected to the smell. Who the fuck cooks eggs the day they know they have someone coming to view their house?” her indignant tone made Frank chuckle “And second off…”she paused “I already did. He said he can meet us at half 12.”

“Half 12? As in lunch time? Today?” Frank frowned.

“I know I just really don’t want to miss out on this one Frank, and you said you were gonna come up here for lunch and-”

“Ok, ok.” Frank sighed “I’ll shuffle some stuff around, work a little later tonight and take an extra half hour.”

“I love you.” she replied and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“Good job I love you too.” he said back gruffly “Because you’re a pain in my ass.”

“You ok Frank?”

He looked up and smiled as Alan, his boss walked in to the office. “Yeah, sorry, Fliss has found a house and managed to book a viewing for lunch time. Fucking 7th one in 2 weeks.”

Alan snorted “Keeping you on your toes I see?”

“Huh.” Alan smiled “Sounds like it was meant to be. Take it you’re going then?”

“Yeah, Charlie and Gary are in all afternoon. I thought I could take an extra half hour, work it back tonight or…” “Frank, when was the last time you actually took a full hour for your lunch and didn’t cut it short by 10 or 15?” Alan looked at him.

Frank hesitated “Yeah, but that’s-”

“No buts.” Alan shook his head. “Do what you gotta do.”

“Thanks Alan.” Frank smiled, “I appreciate it.”

Alan waved away his gratitude before he dropped into the chair on the opposite side of Frank’s small desk and gestured for Frank to sit down.

“I wanted to talk to you in person.” Alan said, “Before the news gets out. I’m looking at retiring Frank, fully this time.”

“That’s good news, for you I mean.” Frank smiled, taking his seat. “You must be happy?”

“Kinda bitter sweet.” he shrugged “But I hit 70 this year and bout time I let it all go. Bill’s already chomping at the bit to book damned fishing trips so...it’ll be nice to step back. But I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot.”

“My son, James is going to be taking over, that won’t come as any surprise to you as you’ve seen him knocking around a bit and he likes you.”

“Good to know I’m not going to be out on my ass.” Frank smiled, breathing out a little.

Frank blinked “You wanna make me deputy manager?”

“Wow, I err…” Frank shook his head “I don’t know what to say.” “I don’t need an answer now.” Alan said, “Take some time to consider it. Talk it over with Fliss.”

“I will, I’ll give it some thought.” “Ok, well, that’s all I dropped in for.” Alan said, standing up, groaning a little “Did you just hear my damned knees click?”